TTEAM AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

With a strong, lithe, muscular body and a keen sense of competition the balanced Wood Horse thrives on physical and mental challenge and as a result often excels in the field of Eventing, Jumping or Long Distance Riding.

Quick in mind and body, the Wood Horse possesses a keen sense of self and has a confident and energetic personality. These attributes make them fun and exciting horses for the experienced rider who enjoys competitive riding but the strong minded attributes that accompany this type can make them unsuitable for the novice owner as Wood types have a tendency to become over bearing and excessively assertive when out of balance. Independent by nature, the Wood Horse will quickly take charge if what is being asked of him/her is unclear and will often test out a new rider or handler to see where the boundaries lie.

The clear thinking, confident approach to life is applied to work and Wood Horses are generally bold and clever on the cross-country course or hunting field. They will often correct themselves should rider error occur when tackling an obstacle and get themselves (and their rider) out of a potential problem. Should disharmony occur however, judgement may become impaired and the thought process muddled, which may result in a dangerous situation as they take charge without clear planning and forge ahead out of control.

The Wood Horse dislikes confinement. Excessive mental and physical restriction can have an extremely detrimental effect on this type and give rise to volatile behaviour, as anger is the emotion associated with this Phase. Limited turnout, a strict schooling regime or excessive use of draw reins or other such 'training' equipment that forces the horse into an outline can literally enrage the Wood type and earn him/her the reputation of being inflexible and difficult to handle. Dressage alone may not be an appropriate discipline for this type of horse.

Wood Horses are clear at expressing their feelings and the subtlety of their language should be noted. The eye, with its affinity with this Phase is a good indicator of how the Wood Horse is feeling. When in balance, the eye is generally kind as kindness is also associated with this Phase, but can change to become hard and almond-shaped should disharmony occur. Horses with perpetual almond-shaped eyes are often extremely tense in the neck (and I believe suffer from a constant headache) and may become intolerant and even aggressive when under pressure. As Wood types are often prone to tension around the poll and TMJ, ridden and ground exercises using the Roller Bit can be of great benefit to the Wood horse. In particular he/she will greatly appreciate the freedom of movement afforded by the Lariat and this can often have a dramatic and almost instantaneous effect on the shape of the eye. Vision problems, light sensitivity and erratic spooky behaviour can also be symptomatic of unbalanced Wood.

Spring time is Wood time and is when the Wood Horse is in his/her element. Access to fresh, spring grass (green is the colour of this Phase) and the opportunity to stretch and lengthen muscles that may have been restricted through the confines of stabling or winter rugs will have a highly beneficial affect on the Wood Phase.

As a tree sways with the wind, balanced Wood types are generally happy to 'go with the flow' but care should be taken not to take advantage of the horse's nature and push the horse to its physical and mental limits. If the goals are too high, Wood can become dry and brittle and the horse will literally 'snap' under pressure or become prone to chronic health problems. Of all the Phases, Wood is the one to be affected most by stress because the Liver (the Yin organ of the Wood Phase) is responsible for eliminating stress from the mind, body and soul. Excessive stress can therefore over burden the Liver and deplete vital Wood energy.

The Wood Phase has correlation's with hoof growth and tendons. Cracked, brittle hooves or ridged hooves and/or recurring chronic tendon problems can be further indications of Wood disharmony.

Wood Phase Associations

The Liver and Gallbladder meridians are associated with this Phase. Although horses do not have a Gallbladder as such they have a meridian that corresponds to the Gallbladder meridian in humans. This meridian runs from the corner of the eye, down the neck, along the body and down the hind leg. The Liver meridian runs up the hind limb and along the flank. Kicking and sensitivity to contact on the hind leg, and inflexibility through the neck and body can be indicative of disharmony in the Wood Phase.

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