Earth Energies Ranch: The Healing Power of Horses, Naturally

Volume 2 Issue 1
April 1, 2008
Author: Cheryl Hentz

We've all heard how petting a dog or cat can lower one's blood pressure and bring a smile to one's face. Or how watching fish in an aquarium can bring about a certain calmness. But horses? You bet! And one such place to experience a very special kind of healing is at Earth Energies Ranch (www.applebyannie.com) in the Green Bay/Oconto, Wisconsin area.

Ranch owners and horse breeders Sally and Ray Turcek have been breeding Gypsy horses since 1995. They started their herd with two Gypsy mares that originally came from Europe and were brought into the United States by an importer in Texas, where the Turcek's began their breeding operation.

The Gypsy horse was developed about 75 years ago in Europe by the gypsies, and is a combination of four different breeds: Clydesdale, Fresian, Shire, and Dales Pony or a Fells Pony.

"This breed was developed to pull the very colorful wagons that the gypsies call home. They had to be very strong to be able to pull the wagon. But they also had to have a very docile nature because they'd be pulling them through the streets with children and dogs around them all the time," says Sally.

The colorful Gypsy breed is very versatile when it comes to the different venues or classes of how you can use a horse. They're good in dressage, they're good hunter/jumpers, they're good in Western pleasure, and they even perform well in some extreme obstacle course events.

"They're very striking in color. They're a standard 14.2 hands in height, but they can come larger than that -- up to 15 or 16 hands," says Sally.

Just as uncharacteristic as the horses, is the ranch on which they live. Earth Energies Ranch is just under 43 acres. And the name Earth Energies Ranch came from the fact that both Sally and Ray believe in holistic healing, both for horses and humans.

"We want to use the earth and the universe to draw the energy to heal and to grow, to help all those folks who come out here with problems, or who bring their children who suffer with issues and problems and maladies of their own," says Sally. "We want to be able to use the energy of the earth and the ranch, and the healing nature of the horses and animals on the farm, to be able to help folks to grow...