I had the privilege recently to use my healing skills on working animals in Egypt on a voluntary basis.

Horses and donkeys especially are used to pull carts and carriages, some to transport produce and others to serve the increasing tourist industry.

Poverty is a fact of life in Egypt amongst local people where I was staying. Many animals are used until they can no longer work. Horrendous injuries are caused by collisions with the increasing number of cars and coaches on the roads.

I like animals but am not so sentimental that a horse being put down due to a very severe injury unduly upsets me. I’m apt to take a spiritual approach to this; it was the animal’s time. I believe animals have souls and a spiritual path, just as we do.

Sometimes putting the animal down is the only available option for the vet. I witnessed this on one particular occasion. I was impressed by the gentleness and respect the vet had towards the animal. There was no trauma. I think our abattoirs could learn a great deal from what I saw.

On an optimistic note, many of the animals heal and their owners learn to look after them better. The organisation I volunteered with, ACE (animal care in Egypt), who dealt with 49,640 animals in 2005, believes education plays an important role in improving the situation for animals. Traditional burning for example is still considered a cure for some aliments by local owners. ACE tries to encourage modern treatment by a qualified vet instead which they provide for free to local owners. Even the owners came in for treatment for themselves sometimes!

Besides collisions with cars, injuries are also caused by the weight animals have to carry. Joint damage is often the result and wounds caused by friction. Many times I saw an animal in distress because its owner had left it too long before obtaining treatment.

In the UK we rarely use animals for working purposes and many people have domestic pets. It is the opposite in Egypt. It is easy to judge something as cruel if you are unaware of the culture and context. There is no welfare state in Egypt and working animals are often the only means people have to earn a living. It wasn’t that long ago that ponies were used in coal mining in the UK in life threatening situations.

During the week I was a volunteer I saw donkeys, horses, sheep, goats and cats come through the door for treatment from the vets at ACE. I played a part by using healing energies to calm animals and help them get well. In Egypt people believe healing energies come from Allah or God and they are less apt to question them. This in itself was freeing as it gave me scope to use a range of healing skills for the benefit of the animal.

One particular horse was going to be put down due to its injuries but in the end through some brilliant veterinary care and healing it survived. I also found I could feel the animal’s emotional state with my hands and sense its aura. This helped me to understand if the animal was giving up or fighting to get well. This horse, although angry with its owner, wanted to live.

I also tried some basic hypnotherapy techniques on horses whilst I was there. This appeared to work well in calming them down. So much so that at one point I had to ask the vet to hurry up as the horse’s head was resting on my shoulder and it was becoming too heavy!

It was a delightful experience working with animals in Egypt and to see how, in some very difficult circumstances, vets help them to heal. I’m planning my next trip soon!

ACE also welcome visitors and it was good to see so many tourists with an interest in the animals and supporting the work done there.

Further details on the work of ACE can be obtained on www.ace-egypt.org.uk or call 01732 700710. ACE relies solely on donations to continue giving free treatment to animals in Egypt.

Ankhra Laan-Ra
Isis Priestess and healer