To believe or not to believe

Let me clear up the record on one thing:  I'm a skeptic.  It's my natural state.  I don't believe in anything that isn't right in front of me.  Psychics?  Nah, with the exception of my mom.  She's got a very uncanny ability to know what's up with me.  Whether it's phone calls asking why I'm stressed because she can't sleep or getting pants in the mail that are perfect for a new job (even though she bought them before I got the job), she always seems to know what's up.

So if I'm willing to make one exception, can I make two?  My mom was referred to an animal communicator that her dog friends swear by.  She asked the communicator to talk to Fiona.  As my mom put it, we've tried all of the science, time to stretch a bit.  The communicator is in Wisconsin, my mom is in Minnesota, Fiona is in New Hampshire.  My skepticism knows no bounds, but my mom really wanted to try.  All I had to do was tell Fiona that it was okay to talk to the communicator.

I also added instructions that the princess should talk about more than her favorite treats, but that's because I know her so well.

I got the reply today.  Keep in mind that the lady in question knows Fiona's name, has a picture of her, and knows that she's in New Hampshire.  She was told Fi's age (wrong age, mom said she was 7) and given a couple questions to ask.  Here is what I got, word for word including the typos, from the communicator:

I did the reading on Fiona. She is so sweet, an bsolute sweetheart. She gave me lots of information. I hope this all makes sense to you. I don't know horse terms so I'll do my best. If you want to talk or have any questions, please feel free to call me or email me. My phone number is ***-***-****.

Fiona likes to run and play. I saw her frolicking inside of a fenced in dirt area. She's very happy, and she loves Catie. She also loves apples. She loves the one-on-one time with Catie. She likes training, but she gets tired when she does too much jumping. She showed me the course, and she's very proud when she does it. I did pick up that her front legs hurt, not bad, but you could try glucosamine-chondroitin or Legende shots to help her joints. She said she doesn't want to let Catie down.

As far as her health, I felt an upset stomach, like really bad nausea. It feels like it is upper GI to me. I asked what was causing it and it is something with her diet. Is the hay okay, is it moldy? I definitely picked up on the hay that she was eating. It's not digesting right. She also said she would like more apples.

As far as jumping, Caite needs to relax. She seems to tense up just enough for Fiona to feel it and be apprehensive about jumping. Fiona also felt that she would get hurt if she jumped too high. Her front legs are uncomfortable when she jumps to much or too high. Catie needs to go slow and easy when coming up to a jump and start out by lowering the jump at first so Fiona can gain confidence. Also, is Catie keeping her head up when she jumps or is she looking down? Also, give Fiona some lead so she can see where she's going, don't tighten up on the reines.

Fiona wanted to tell you thank you for loving her so much, and thank you for all the help you have given her and for your patience. 

Huh.  That's a pretty interesting analysis from someone that's never seen either of us or seen us jump.  Even if she tracked down this blog, there aren't pictures of her turnout (which is a small, dirt paddock) and I haven't mentioned the fact that we're dealing with diarrhea right now after a hay change.  It's been about a month of trying to clean up after her upset stomach.  I haven't written about that anywhere on the net.  Even my mom doesn't know about that, so she couldn't have told the communicator.

So now what?  Do I believe in this reading or do I just shove it off as my mom being quirky and gullible?  Even with my skeptic tendencies, I can't make myself just dismiss the message.  She got too many things right.  I've been looking down lately due to my anxiety.  And I'm anxious.  I do need to keep the reins long.  She does have an upset stomach.  She does love apples.

I e-mailed my farrier, asking him to test Fi's front hooves when she's shod next and see if the heel pain is back.  We've been completely focused on her back end, did we miss something on the front end?  I'm also going to look into the hay situation and see if there's anything that can be done.  I know the hay is good, I handle it all the time, but there's something about it that's upsetting her stomach.  Maybe it's acidic?  I'm also going to get more apples, since she's been getting carrots.  It appears she doesn't approve.

None of this is information that seems extreme or like a bad idea.  It won't hurt anyone to investigate it further.  As my mom said, we've tried science.  Time to stretch out, even if it's not comfortable for me.