Neglected horse leads new life thanks to the RSPCA

This weekend is RSPCA Live, a major online event where you can get up close and personal with the RSPCA. But before you get involved with the fun activities that are happening on the RSPCA’s Facebook page and Twitter profile on Saturday and Sunday, we thought we’d share a success story about Billy that demonstrates how valuable the charity’s work is and why you should show your support.

Billy is a 16 hand chestnut thoroughbred cross gelding who was owned by a 17 year old boy in Devon.

In November 2010, the boy began working and living away from home as a groom at a private stud in Somerset. The boy had made arrangements with his mother and 14 year old cousin to attend to Billy on a daily basis and he would return home once a week. However, during the time the owner was working away, Billy began to lose condition. The owner became very concerned about the deterioration in condition of Billy so he decided to offer Billy up for loan in hope that he would have a better life.

A lady arrived to look at Billy but was shocked by the condition he was in. She decided to take Billy on as she could not bear to leave him in his current state. She arranged for a vet to attend, who performed tests to rule out any underlying conditions. Upon examination, the vet confirmed Billy was in an emaciated condition, though thankfully, appeared otherwise healthy. The vet advised the lady to contact the RSPCA.

How the RSPCA found Billie

Billy was signed over to the RSPCA, remaining in the care of the lady. On a second visit, the vet described a good improvement in body condition and confirmed that Billy had no reason other than neglect and lack of appropriate food for the emaciation previously exhibited. The vet concluded Billy had been caused to suffer unnecessary for several weeks, possibly months.

During the interview the mother of the owner stated that it was usually the 14 year old cousin who looked after Billy but on the odd occasion that the cousin couldn’t attend to Billy, she would, usually after work in the dark. She said she was devastated and had never seen him look so bad. She was visibly shocked and upset throughout the interview process. She admitted she should have checked his condition in daylight without the rug on.

The owner admitted full responsibility for Billy. He stated that he had left written instructions regarding hay, water and feed for Billy but that he had not asked anyone to take Billy’s rug off to check his condition. In the interview, the boy had thought Billy had loss muscle due to not being ridden and not because of a lack of being fed. It was not intentional and the owner was only trying to do his best for Billy by putting him out on loan.

In the circumstances, the boy received a police reprimand for failing to adequately address the cause of Billy’s poor condition, while his mother received an adult written caution.

Billy after receiving care from the RSPCA

If you’ve been moved by this story and would like to know more about the RSPCA, tune into RSPCA Live - a virtual event happening on the charity’s Facebook and Twitter profiles on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th April. Find out what it’s like to be an RSPCA inspector, take part in the Animal Oscars poll, and hear the best ever pet jokes as told by celebrity ambassadors – including Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon. You’ll also be able to find out more about the RSPCA’s work, and join the Animal Nation by taking a pledge on Facebook.

To take part in this exciting online event, make sure you’re following the RSPCA via Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RSPCA) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/RSPCA_official) and tune in to the activities this weekend. Don’t forget to tell your friends!

Hello there! I wanted to share a special blog with you to attempt to covey some of the magic that occurred,  as we aligned to bring the Inaugural Awakening to Animals Conference to the UK on the 17-18 March 2012.  Already  two weeks ago, it had taken me this long to get to a place where I can begin to articulate some of what took place!  For those of you that were there – I want to say another HUGE THANK YOU  and I also want to invite anyone, who wants to be a part of this new community, to join us – with the pure intention of allowing Equality for All Life.  Join us on Facebook at Awakening to Animals and get involved in the discussions.

Let me start with a little introduction though, to explain how the conference and all that has unfolded with it came to be….

Elaine, Sue and I at the conference donning our A2A Polo Shirts!

About 12 months ago or so I had arranged to meet for the first time with a fellow animal communicator and healer, Elaine Downs, to get to know each other.  We talked and talked and very soon realised we had an awful lot of alignment in terms of our beliefs and life purpose.  Towards the end of our first meeting, one of us (and I honestly don’t remember who!) said “you know I had a vision a while ago telling me to organise a conference to share this knowing  about animals with as many others as possible!”   To our delight and surprise it appeared that we BOTH had been receiving guidance to co-create a conference and that THIS was one of the reasons we had met that day!  The Universe is so very clever at aligning people and circumstances together to allow experiences and expansion to occur.  This arises from our abilities to align with what is and the vibrations we are sending out into the Universe.  There is simply no such thing as random happenings….

So right there and then Elaine and I committed to co-creating a conference.  Elaine’s partner Sue Reid became the third wonderful corner of what has become a very strong and amazing triangle, we each have a range of skills, abilities and experience that has allowed us to manifest this incredible conference template, all set to annually take place in the UK and already we are being asked to visit other countries around the globe to share the vision and build the community.  I must also mention that my amazingly talented and wonderful partner David Bell has also been a key part of the team, he composed and orchestrated the score for the conference, including a unique theme tune for each speaker and was the IT man who solved every problem, glitch and hiccup that occurred all through the process.  So THANK YOU for all you are and all you did David!

The three corners of the triangle!

So that is how all this began and from there we have been on quite an epic journey, allowing the conference to shape up into something amazing – yet we had no real idea just how incredible it would actually become…

One of our crucial tasks was to get all of our speakers in place and this was a delightful experience too!  It seemed that the Universe knew exactly who was meant to be speaking and guided us to them beautifully.  As we connected with them they all responded very rapidly and although a few couldn’t make this years event, they have all shown huge interest in the coming years.  Many of them replied to our invitations literally within minutes of us asking!!  For example, I e-mailed Billie Dean and within minutes she wrote back saying yes – she had been thinking about wanting to visit the UK and my e-mail arrived!!  Very similarly with Brian Reid too, he replied almost immediately – he answered YES with all his heart and that is how to allow things to manifest in your world!

So after much meticulous planning and Skype meetings between Elaine, Sue and I – we now affectionately call them “Skyping Gown Meetings” as more often than not we are all sat in our dressing gowns!!  We did think about wearing them for the conference but perhaps that would have been taking it a little too far!!  We opted instead for the very smart A2A polo shirts, which are quite in demand, so watch this space to be able to purchase your own, should the desire take you!

What was wonderful about the way we worked was that we all had different skills and expertise, Elaine is an ex-lawyer and very detail aware, great at doing the tasks that need a keen eye, such as finding us the best insurance, going through all our contracts and thinking about many, many important things that Sue and I wouldn’t have even considered!  Sue is great at researching and evaluating options, such a warm hearted connector, who really builds strong relationships with those she meets and is wonderfully creative and heart driven.  I have a background in learning and development in the corporate world, over fifteen years of professional development and have studied creativity,  psychology and NLP, and have also learnt  a huge amount about how to organise events, how to communicate with people and how to effectively speak at conferences.  So between us we have been able to easily handle each part of the organisation.  It feels wonderful too!

So with all the planning, preparation done, we all traveled to the stunning Low Wood Bay Hotel, set right on the banks of Lake Windermere (see below) on the Friday evening to get set up ready for the conference. Our speakers and community were flying in from all over the world and there was such a buzz of excitement and anticipation.  We had a great briefing meeting with all the speakers, their assistants and our wonderful helper team before having some well earned dinner!

The View From The Low Wood Bay Hotel – Lake Windermere – just beautiful!

So the morning arrived!  It felt like Xmas morning to me, as I excitedly leap out of bed and prepared to get things started.  Had we done everything we needed to?  Would everything go according to plan?  Would all the technicalities involved in running big scale conferences all work as they should…. the list went on and on and on in my head!

Yet there was also an overwhelming sense of calm and composure that I have felt many times before, when you just know that things are going to be great.  A centred kind of well being that makes you feel connected and full of life!

So as the wonderful community started to register at 8.45am the atmosphere was electric and all our speakers were already in place manning their stands with their wonderful assistants, ready and eager to welcome everyone into the conference.  People excitedly were beginning to connect with each other, knowing that we all were there for a common purpose and with a common passionate love of animals!

9.30 arrived so quickly and with everyone welcomed and sat in their places in the beautiful conference room we opened the conference to a visual presentation and the theme tune to the A2A conference, both created by the hugely talented David William Bell.

We began the conference with our messages about the purpose and intention of Awakening to Animals – to create a community of light minded souls that stay connected and take practical action toward helping rebalance the planet with a focus on creating Equality for All Life.  We asked everyone to listen to everyone’s views and ideas with respect and love and to really open up to learning over the two days and beyond.

Billie Dean, one of our amazing speakers was supposed to be attending in person, a few weeks prior was told in no uncertain terms from her dogs that she was not to attend.  We were all, of course, very disappointed but we arranged for her to create a film of her presentation instead.  It had two parts to it and we shared the first part as Billie officially “opened the space” for us as a community.  Billie is what she calls a New Shaman and lives in the East of Australia.  Turns out she was flooded into her home so her dogs were spot on with their wisdom…

Billie shared two films with us – from her home in NSW, Australia.

Sue then went on to invite everyone to “Imagine a World….” by guiding us through a magical and very emotional journey, exploring a world where all is in perfect balance and love and respect is given to all.  So with the space opened and the scene all set we commenced our speaker presentations.

Amelia Kinkade – As many of you will know Amelia is one of the true beacon’s for animal communication, she began way back in a time where most people would just think she was totally crazy!  Today Amelia, has written two incredible books, Straight From The Horses Mouth and The Language of Miracles, both I  highly recommend.  She works with many African Animal Centre’s educating the staff and teaching them to connect with the animals from this heart centred place.  She has and continues, without question, to shift the world view about animals and how it is possible for all humans to communicate with them, with practice and belief.

She shared with us her incredible stories of how eminent scientists have worked with her to prove how inter species communication is possible and that we are ALL capable of developing the skills needed.  She told us many stories from her life where the animals have shared incredible wisdom.  Amelia was the lady that reconnected me to animal communication and so many thousands of others too and for me she will always be the bright light that shows the way. Thank you Amelia!

An extra special moment happened the night before too when I tested our Skype connection for the Q&A session with Billie Dean, I’d arranged to call my Dad who lives over in New Mexico – whilst talking with him Amelia came up to say hi to him, she shared with him that her Mom lives about two hours or so away from him too!  How cool is that?  It was great to be able to have my Dad join us for this very special event, thanks Dad!

A special moment for me – with Amelia Kinkade

Billie Dean’s film presentation was next on our incredible agenda.  Billie talked with us in some depth about her strong beliefs about deep peace for all species and how this includes, for her, being Vegan.  She shared a lot of very powerful information and video footage that really for made powerful learning.  Billie has a centre at her home in New South Wales, Australia where she has over forty wild horses, goats, dogs and many other beautiful beings.  As she shared her teachings with us she took us around the land and the animals engaged with us too.  A very powerful and thought provoking presentation indeed.  Sadly, we didn’t manage to get connected on Skype at the time for Billie’s Q&A session but we asked everyone to write down their questions and Billie will be sending her answers back very soon.  I will be posting all of them onto the Awakening to Animals blog page.  Thank you Billie!

The Wonderful Billie Dean

After our wonderful lunch and time to talk with all our speakers at their stands, Richard DeBoo took to the stage. The Politics of Compassion the title of his presentation.  Richard, also a passionate Vegan demonstrated how he feels about the way millions of animals are factory farmed and slaughtered, often in deeply traumatic and horrific ways all around the world.  We asked all of speakers to share with us their latest work and what they wanted to say about Equality for All Life. Richard is the former Deputy Leader and Co-Founder of the political party Animals Count, as well as a school educator and animal rights public speaker.  So politics is the name of Richard’s service to animals.  He shared with us a political speech, very bold, very challenging and in your face.  As politics is.  I was very interested to learn more about Richard’s passionate beliefs and he educated me a great deal through his sharing.  Richard chose also not to share many of the images that are available of the atrocious ways animals are kept and slaughtered around the world, which I think was the right decision.  Thank you Richard!

Elaine, Richard, Sue and I relaxing in the evening

To round up our fabulous presentations for the first day we welcomed, for his first ever visit to the UK, the founder of Horses Know The Way Home, Brian Reid.  Brian had responded to my e-mail contact back in October, asking him to be one of our speakers with a resounding YES!  and as he began to share his story with us, it is so evident to see that he really does walk his talk!  Brian spend his hour sharing with us the most beautiful film footage of his teaching team back in Rhode Island, USA – Shire mare Brenda Lee, Red, Eddie and Lucy the wonderful canine teachers and Brian, and as he went he shared the communication messages he got from them.  Brian told us about the way he teaches people how to live in the moment and to be true to who they really are through the model of the horse.  Beautiful and very powerful teachings indeed! Elaine, Sue and I, as well as some of the wonderful community at the conference went on to experience his workshops down in Northamptonshire the following week – what an amazing team the HKTWT are!  Thank you Brian and all the team!

Jaimie, Julie, Brian, Sue, Elaine and Katleen enjoying the Lake post conference

So with the presentations for day one complete, all that was left to do was to enjoy a celebration dinner in the beautiful Low Wood Bay Hotel.  Nearly the whole conference stayed for the evening celebration and the atmosphere was simply beautiful.  Excitement, sharing, enjoying each others company.  It feels so good to be with people that align with who and what you are about.  Feels like coming home in fact.  It was such an honour to be with this community at the start of this wonderful adventure.  What an honour to have been guided to co-create this nurturing, supportive and fun community to help change the way humanity views and treats animals for the good of all…

So, onto day two!  Much more incredible wisdom still to come!  We welcomed everyone back to the conference room and began with the most amazing lady.  Margrit Coates, world renowned animal healer and communicator, I met Margrit last July in beautiful Kamloops, Canada and have learnt such an enormous amount from her already.  Margrit kicked off our Sunday with a wonderful presentation. She shared with us some of the things that can get in the way of receiving pure information and communication from our animal companions.  She talked with us about how important it is to separate our baggage, our filters and wounds from the communication that is coming in from the animals that we communicate with.  If we don’t we can miss the blatantly obvious facts, such as present pain and discomfort that we must attend to and assist the animal with over and above other information that we may receive.  Margrit’s latest book is about to be published on May 3rd – Communicating with Animals: How to Tune into Them Intuitively.  Margrit very kindly asked me to contribute a small section of the book and I am very excited to get my hands on a copy!  Thank you Margrit!

Margrit and I celebrating the conference

Next came the fantastic Nick Thompson, homeopathic holistic Vet. Nick shared with us many of his incredible success stories, working with animals, where looking and treating the whole picture, drawing on many holistic aspects, enables animals to go on to live happy, healthy, long lives.  He talked about the importance of the food that we give to our animal companions and was a roaring success at his stand too – everyone so keen to learn more about how best to care for their animals, learning from his amazing knowledge and experience.  Nick talked about how everything is interconnected, and that this must be taken into account when working with an animal showing an imbalance.  Thank you Nick!

Nick in action!

We enjoyed another lovely lunchtime – eating, drinking and talking!  Lots more sharing and connecting going on and much laughter and camaraderie forming, just wonderful to be a part of.  Our next speaker had not long returned from yet another incredible healing journey to Malaysia, Loesje Jacobs, BodyTalk specialist and much more than that shared her adventures with us, Linking Awareness is how she describes the wonderful work she does around the world.  Loesje shared with us the messages she has received from indigenous tribes on her travels, speaking truth, for their part, of the balance of things and how important animals are in this balance.  We also got the chance to experience a little Body Talk ourselves as she guided us through a session.  Thank you Loesje!

We all have a taster of Body Talk!

As the sun moved around the conference room, we realised that we were now ready for our second and last Keynote Speaker.  Linda Tucker had joined us from South Africa to share her incredible story, so far, as founder of The Global White Lion Protection Trust.  Linda captivated the community as she shared her story both verbally and with powerful videos of the amazing work she has done to bring the sacred White Lion back from the bring of extinction.  She has now established the White Lion Leadership Academy, so that she can begin to share and raise awareness for all who go to her to study and learn, so that they may step fully into their true leadership potential and do what they are meant to do in this life.  Linda concluded her presentation to a roaring (!) standing ovation and we enjoyed taking time with her singing some traditional (an not so traditional!) songs in celebration of the emerging wisdom.  Thank you Linda!

  A wonderful standing ovation for an inspirational soul, Linda Tucker

We concluded this magnificent weekend with a closing of the space, beautifully led by Sue Reid, inviting us to bring in our animals to give us their messages, sending out love and peace to all and absorbing the beauty our animal loved ones are so willing and able to give to us.  Happy tears and much love exchanged.  We said our heartfelt thanks to all the animals, that so tirelessly teach us and love us.  Thanks to all the community that followed their calling to be at the event and to our incredible speaker team and all the helpers and assistants that worked so very hard to make everything such a wonderful success.

We shared with everyone that our next UK conference will be on the 22-23rd June 2013, so if you would like to become a part of this very special community, pop this in your diary now so that you know you will be free to make it!

What a weekend! As we all took our time to say goodbye and farewell, we shared many thanks and hugs!  It took me quite a few days to begin to digest all that had happened and reading through all the feedback forms I am so delighted that Elaine, Sue and I had the courage, determination and leadership to bring this conference and community to life!

We also want to be able to offer this conference community to other parts of the world too – so if you know of a venue and would be able to assist us with organising a similar event near to you then please do get in touch with either, Elaine, Sue or I.  We’d love to hear from you.

So, with that all said we are now moving swiftly forward.  Our next steps are that we are editing the film footage that was taken of the whole conference so that we can offer a the Awakening to Animals DVD to everyone who wants to experience the 8 presentations.  It will be a full coverage of all eight speakers presentations with music from David William Bell.  So watch this space for news of this.

We are also starting soon to contact our speaker line up for 2013, we have a great long list, provided from the community and some people that we approached this year who have indicated they would like to attend… some VERY exciting souls indeed, again watch this space for more news.

And we will also soon be offering, for all of you that asked, the opportunity to buy your very own Awakening to Animals Polo Shirt too!

We’d love to hear from you so please do get in touch, I hope you have enjoyed this special post and sending much love and peace to all.

Julie XXXXX

How To Communicate With Animals Intuitively
Weekend Playshop with Julie Lines
24th-25th September  2011

Wildcroft Rare Breeds Farm, nr Guildford, Surrey, England.

Can you imagine how wonderful would it feel to be able to communicate intuitively with animals?  Would it be reassuring to know that you could ask your animal friends anything you wanted and be able to understand their responses? How would this change your relationships and your life? Well, it is possible and you can learn how.

This Playshop is held at a wonderful rare breeds farm where the wide variety of species are all ready and willing to help you to practice communicating with them!

Our Playshop is designed to give you all you need to be able to reactivate this amazing and humbling ability. All you need to do is bring an open heart and mind coupled with a willingness to practice and learn.

You will get everything you need to allow you to explore these topics in a highly practical, positive and supportive way including; practice with guest animal teachers and photographs, guided meditations, group discussions, and personal reflection. You will also be given a playbook containing key information and plenty of space to write your own notes.

Included in this Playshop you will learn and practice how to;

• Centre yourself
• Quieten your mind and reopen your receptivity
• Re-sensitise yourself
• Receive animal communication
• Conduct a body scan to identify “dis-ease” within an animal
• Track lost animals
• Channel the collective consciousness of animal species

The weekend is facilitated by Julie Lines, a talented animal intuitive who has been training and developing people for over 15 years. She is passionate about sharing these skills to change the way humanity views and treats the animal kingdom. Julie was trained by Amelia Kinkade, the highly acclaimed animal intuitive and has developed this Playshop to centre on you as a learner, sharing with you all you need, regardless of your current level of knowledge and skills.

Here is a brief glimpse of one of our earlier Playshops to give you a flavour.

Click here to view the embedded video.

8 places only.  If you book before the 1st September benefit from a great discount of 25% !!

£150 if you book before 1st September, £200 after.

To book your place now e mail Julie, submit a comment below or
telephone +44 (0)845 838 6801 or +44 (0)7968 038279 for an informal chat.

Well, I’m delighted to tell you that the new webinar programme has commenced and the first session went really well.  AS with any new project I did encounter a few teething problems but thankfully they are all now resolved and all is running smoothly!

The first session included a wonderful meditation with our animal guide.  We also connected with beautiful Anne, the elephant, and her energy was truly awe inspiring, especially considering the life she has experienced over the last forty years or so…

If you missed it however, do not fear,  you can download the recording on our Webinars page, just read the instructions on how to download a recorded session, then click on the Session One Paypal button and follow the guidance.  It’s quick and easy and costs just £4.99.

If you’d like to sign up for the remainder of the full programme (nine more fortnightly sessions) you will find that I have reduced the price, and will continue to do so, after each session.  This will  ensure that you still make a great saving of 15%. 

REMEMBER: If you sign up and for whatever reason you can’t then attend a live session, you will automatically still receive the link to download the recording of it, the day after.

SO do come along and join us, our next session is on TUESDAY 26th April 2011 at 7pm (GMT+1)

We are exploring the 2nd and 3rd keys to animal communication, grounding ourselves and connecting to a higher power.  We will also have a practice session with our next wonderful guest animal teacher and a question and answer session at the end, to give you the chance to ask any questions and get my direct response.

I am very excited to share this with you, using this new method of learning, and really hope you will find it stimulating, exciting and FUN!!!

Blessings and love to you all. Julie. XXXXX

It takes something of a different breed to give up the comfortable 9 to 5 lifestyle in idyllic Kent trading it in for a windswept, cold and somewhat precarious new life in the highlands and islands of Scotland – all for the love of a few chickens and sheep, but that is exactly what we did in 2008.

With 2 dogs, 4 cats and a rabbit in tow, Tracy and I headed north and have never looked back. We have always wanted to work with livestock, it’s an indefinable urge that lies somewhere deeper than just a job or keen hobby. We felt passionately (and still do) that we didn’t want a commercial business nor indeed to play at farming but to achieve a sustainable and more wholesome life – that brought us closer to nature and the land and animals that we share our life with. Somehow we wanted to make a difference.

Desperate not to fall into the trap of wanting the Good Life and seeing it through rose-tinted glasses, we did our homework before we began. Digging away in the mountains of information and archives about animal breeds, we were shocked to find just how many rare breeds of domesticated animals we have already lost and just how many more continue to be under threat. Now, the north of Scotland might not be the depths of the Amazon but we too were losing breeds, diversity and heritage before our very eyes. The Caithness cow and the Orkney pig being some of the examples of those that have disappeared that spurred us on to do something about it. It was then that we decided to dedicate ourselves to doing something about it and the seed of Saving Rare Breeds was sown.

Scarcer than the mountain gorillas in Africa – the Boreray sheep (left) was the first breed we decided to concentrate on. Fewer than 300 individuals existed in the summer of 2008 when we proudly and rather nervously took ownership of our founding flock.

Working closely with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and specific breed societies our aim is to help to remove as many rare breeds from the watch list as possible. After negotiating the maze of paperwork always associated with livestock, we achieved charitable status in the Autumn of 2009 giving us the chance to spread the word of our work to others and to fundraise to help rare breeds. There are at present over 50 breeds of pig, sheep, goats, cattle and horses on the watch list and our main aim will be to reduce this number.

Inevitably our flock has grown to include several more rare breed sheep; at present we are home to Boreray, Castlemilk Moorit, Shetland and Soays with provision being made to accommodate Portlands and Herdwicks shortly.

Rescue animals are another area we are keen to work with further. Our latest rescue being some abandoned sheep two of which were in lamb and the fellow on the left, Noah, no Ears. Noah lost his ears to an infection and is one of our animals that is available for sponsorship.

As word of our work has spread so too has the breadth of our rare breeds to include poultry too. The Scot’s Grey, Ixworths (pictured below) and Marsh Daisies will be a focus for 2011 and we have successfully developed a hatching programme which we hope to extend to other rare breeds in the future. Another 2011 scheme is Project Pig and 2 British Lops will become the base for a future breeding programme for this the most endangered of pig breeds.

2010 also saw one of our greatest achievements in securing Julia Kendell as Patron.

The guys and gals of BBC’s DIY SOS are a rare breed in themselves, but the gorgeous Julia Kendell in particular. The inspirational interior designer who quite simply makes others dream homes come true has a special place in her heart for wild things, and that doesn’t just mean her fellow presenters and handy men on the must-watch show.

Julia, a keen naturalist, advocate of self-sufficiency and passionate about animal welfare, is highly excited to be working with us and our supporters we have both at home and world-wide given the wonders of cyberspace and social networking sites which is where contact with Julia was first made.

Julia is to spearhead our work, as Patron.

Why save rare breeds?

Surely, rare breeds have become just that because they an uneconomical, difficult to look after or simply outclassed by modern breeds?

Rare breeds are absolutely perfect for the modern small-holder as they have effectively been designed to work best as hardy animals fulfilling the specific and often demanding needs of our climate and terrain.

Even on a larger scale, rare breeds have added values that have all but disappeared from more modern breeds. They generally suffer fewer health issues, are good mothers rearing sturdy and healthy offspring with minimal input, and thrive in harsher conditions on poor pasture, harsher climates and terrain and can digest a wider range of plant material that would simply be unpalatable to many others. Many rare breeds are used for precisely this purpose in conservation areas.

Our aim is make some of the breeds of livestock we have common again – we really would like to see the rare part of our name disappearing over the years and for the diversity and heritage of our traditional livestock to be valued in the farming community and within associated industries too.

Maintaining the diversity of characteristics and traits we find in rare breeds can also potentially provide us with options in the future too. With an ever-changing landscape and climate our rare breeds may help us to find solutions to changes we face in the years to come too as well as safeguarding our heritage for future generations.

So what’s happening at Saving Rare Breeds now?

We are really excited at Saving Rare Breeds as we have just launched some really brilliant new opportunities for young people to get involved with saving rare breeds themselves. By sponsoring our animals and keeping track of them, what they are up to, videos of farming and loads of great info too. Individuals, schools and community groups can get a first hand account of what it is like to look after livestock and how they fit into our daily lives. Who knows we might just encourage some of the young farmers of the future. To find out more, go to;

A new addition to the sponsorship will be our Easter chicks. We will be starting the incubation process at the beginning of April and will be hatching over the Easter weekend. The whole process  from beginning to end will be recorded on your sponsorship page.

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk/Sponsorship.html

Farming whilst caring for the environment is something we care strongly about and follow organic principles. Once we have found a new home we will be pursuing full organic accreditation. In the meantime we are carrying out a 12 month research project with natural wormer market leaders Verm-X into its efficacy. Progress and results will be published on our website.

Also new in 2011 is our e-newsletter which provides news on what’s happening at Saving Rare Breeds and also includes articles on sheep, pig, chicken keeping and also vegetable gardening from some true experts in the field. And the story of Ghillie Mcdog our Deerhound undergoing sheep dog training.

2011 also sees our search for a new home intensify. We have outgrown our current location and we urgently need more space.

How can you support Saving Rare Breeds?

There are many ways you can support Saving Rare Breeds.

By searching the internet using Everyclick – http://www.everyclick.com/savingrarebreeds

Shopping at Amazon using our click through -

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk

By sponsoring an animal -

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk/Sponsorship.html

Or by making at donation -

http://www.everyclick.com/savingrarebreeds

Making donations of livestock keeping equipment. We are always in need of feeding, water troughs and sheep hurdles.

You can also keep in touch via our website, blog, twitter and now on facebook

Contact Details:-

Stephen Pickup & Tracy Owen

Tel: 07514 408293

A huge thank you to Stephen for contributing this fascinating post.  Please do get in touch with him through the methods highlighted if you are interested in learning more.  Blessings and love to you all.  Julie. XXX

How to Communicate with Animals Intuitively
Weekend Playshop With Julie Lines
2-3 July 2011
Near Guildford, Surrey, England.

Can you imagine how wonderful would it feel to be able to communicate intuitively with animals?  Would it be reassuring to know that you could ask your animal friends anything you wanted and be able to understand their responses? How would this change your relationships and your life? Well, it is possible and you can learn how.

This Playshop is held at a wonderful rarebreeds farm, so there is a wonderful range of different animal teachers waiting for you!

Our Playshop is designed to give you all you need to be able to reactivate this amazing and humbling ability. All you need to do is bring an open heart and mind coupled with a willingness to practice and learn.

You will get everything you need to allow you to explore these topics in a highly practical, positive and supportive way including; practice with guest animal teachers and photographs, guided meditations, group discussions, and personal reflection. You will also be given a playbook containing key information and plenty of space to write your own notes.

Included in this Playshop you will learn and practice how to;

• Centre yourself
• Quieten your mind and reopen your receptivity
• Re-sensitise yourself
• Receive animal communication
• Conduct a body scan to identify “dis-ease” within an animal
• Track lost animals
• Channel the collective consciousness of animal species

The weekend is facilitated by Julie Lines, a talented animal intuitive who has been training and developing people for over 15 years. She is passionate about sharing these skills to change the way humanity views and treats the animal kingdom. Julie was trained by Amelia Kinkade, the highly acclaimed animal intuitive and has developed this Playshop to centre on you as a learner, sharing with you all you need, regardless of your current level of knowledge and skills.

Here is a brief glimpse of one of our earlier Playshops (held in Preston Capes) to give you a flavour.

Click here to view the embedded video.

15 places only.  If you book before the 1st June benefit from a great discount of 25% !!

£150 if you book before 1st March, £200 after.

To book your place now e mail Julie, submit a comment below or
telephone +44 (0)845 838 6801 or +44 (0)7968 038279 for an informal chat.

Hello Everyone!

Well, we had a successful first live webinar last night, with plenty more of these to come soon, so watch this space!

As promised, here is the link to download the recording of it.  So whether you were there last night or you couldn’t make it, you can download the recording here, quickly and simply.

It was great fun to run, for those of you that were there, thank you so much for joining me and I hope you found it thought provoking, fun and helpful.

Sadly, I have discovered that the report, that should capture all questions asked, didn’t work last night, so if you asked a question that I didn’t answer please do ask it again in the comments box (under this post) and I will respond as promised.

OK, so to download the recording of the whole session simply;

• Right click on the link below
• Then click on the “save link as” option, choosing whereabouts you want to save it on your computer.

Then, once it’s downloaded it, you’re all set to watch it as often as you like, please feel free to share it with as many others as you want to as well.

Right click here

As I mentioned, there are a whole series of flexible webinars coming soon, designed to guide you through, in much greater depth, all aspects of animal communication, so watch out for posts coming soon with dates and details.  Whether you are a complete beginner or an old hand at this there will be something for everyone to enjoy!  There will also be new Playshops one and two days, designed to complement the webinar teachings and created for beginners and advancing masters!  If you haven’t signed up yet to the website please do so that you can receive information about these as I launch them.

Feedback

Please let me have your feedback about the webinar, using the comments box below, it is really important to me that you find the format and methods as helpful and supportive as possible, so let me know what you like, what you don’t like and suggestions for new and better ways of sharing this wonderful ability.  Also, what would be the optimum time for a webinar for you?  Many thanks.

Enjoy the webinar recording.  Have a wonderful day and sending blessings and love to you and all the animals.   Julie XXX

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, shared by a wonderful lady called Barbara Nock from Willows Animal Sanctuary in the North of Scotland and wanted to share it with you too, it really does sum up the way of being these days…. Let us hold the intentions, the visions of the way we want things to be, and live our lives in accordance with this way of being.  This is the way to allow change to happen.

Enjoy and see what you can vision today, that will take us towards peace for everyone.  Blessings and love to you all. XXX

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hello Everyone,

Join Julie Lines for a FREE half hour introduction to the fascinating topic of Intuitive Animal Communication.

Sign up NOW for the webinar by clicking on this link https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/580138470 to register your details. You will receive an e-mail with a link to the website that you simply sign into on the 7th February at 7pm (GMT).

There is a limit of 100 people to attend the live session – so if you would like to come along please sign up now to avoid disappointment.

Once you have logged in on the 7th you will hear Julie and see the slide presentation as she guides you through the session.

You also willl get the chance to interact with Julie, ask her questions and put your views and ideas across to the group, verbally and using the comments text box.

In this first webinar the aim is to give you an insight into what intuitive animal communication is all about, what the key skills are to be able to receive incoming animal communication and you will get the chance to practice  with a photograph of a wonderful guest animal teacher!

All done in a light hearted and fun way, if you can’t make the live session, it will be recorded so that you can download it from the website for FREE afterwards.

We look forward to welcoming you to this event and to sharing with you fascinating insights into intuitive animal communication!

I am delighted to share with you the newly updated Voice of the Animals website, including our gorgeous new equine logo, hope you like her!

There are going to be lots of new product developments in 2011, helping you to learn how to intuitively communicate with animals, including short webinars that you can attend live or download recorded versions, downloads of guided animal meditations, new and different one day Playshops for beginners, intermediate and advanced communicators and lots more!  So watch this space for news as they launch!

2011 is going to be a wonderful year set to see many shifts in the consciousness of  all souls on the planet.  This can only mean great news for the rebalancing of the planet.  I intend to do everything in my power to assist with this process and know that you care just as much and will do the same too.  This is the way change happens…

I also wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas/holiday season on behalf of Voice of the Animals.

I found this delightful short video that sums up the reasons why I, and I’m sure you, love our animal relatives so much!  Enjoy!!! XXX

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hello Everyone,  I wanted to share with you a link posted on our fan page on Facebook by Sarah, thank you so much.  If you visit the website you can download your own World Tiger Day icon like the one about in a range of different colours to help share the message.

These precious animals are becoming so rare now we MUST act to protect them. Do everything you can to raise awareness, hold a positive vision of their numbers increasing and please do share this with as many others as you can.  Thank you so much.

http://bushwarriors.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/celebrate-world-tiger-day-with-us-this-sunday-september-26th/

I am running an animal communication playshop this weekend and on Sunday we will be practicing channelling the collective consciousness of species – guess which species I’ll be connecting with?

Blessings and love to you all. XXX

How To Communicate With Animals Intuitively
Weekend Playshop with Julie Lines
25-26 September 2010

Preston Capes, Northamptonshire, England.

If you’d like to come along to our next Playshop now is the time to book. Until 1st September the investment is held at £150 – after it increases to £200.

This weekend promises to be great fun with a herd of horses, cats, dogs, chickens and much more than that!

Get in touch to confirm your place and we look forward to welcoming you to the Playshop!

I found this wonderful ten minute video via one of my wonderful friends Emma. It holds such truth and encapsulates so much, please do take a break to watch it and share it with your friends and family if you like it too. This planet we all share is to be treasured, honoured and respected, all of life.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hello everyone,

As you are probably aware I am supporting WSPA (The World Society for the Protection of Animals) and raising desperately needed funds to prevent the extinction of the precious Orang-Utan.  Please would you support me in changing the future for the Orang-Utans and ourselves. We can turn things around if we work together.

There are two simple things that you can do personally to make a positive difference.

One – research and buy products from organisations that buy sustainable palm oil. Try Google and rspo.org and www.palmoilaction.org.au all hold useful information.

Two – make a donation to get your hands on a copy of the “hot off the press” CD being made…. as I type this message, a group of highly talented musicians called Musikscool (including my wonderful partner David Bell) are creating from scratch, in a day, 5 unique tracks all written for and about the Orang-Utan.

I’ll send out a short video soon to show you what they are up to.  If you would like a CD then all you have to do is send me a message with your postal address and make a minimum donation of ten pounds to the link below and we will send you your copy for you to enjoy.

Please help… If you don’t want the CD please do make a donation, whatever the amount, it all makes a difference.

Thank you.

www.justgiving.com/thestandingovationman or www.virginmoneygiving.com/JulieLines

For those of you that have known me over the past decade, yes it’s that time again! I’m embarking upon my fourth charity challenge!

This time, a cause that is especially close to my heart. Organised by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA),  I am raising funds to protect the Orang-Utan from extinction. The challenge is The Borneo Adventure 2010.(this link gives you a flavour of the last trek in 2009) If you would like more information I can send you some further information about the wonderful work being done.

To give you a flavour, this challenging jungle trek takes place between the 5th-15th November across Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, one of the least visited parts of the dense rainforest.  We will be raising funds desparately needed to protect the precious Orang-Utan from extinction.  This great ape shares over 96% of the same DNA as humans and its numbers are dangerously dwindling at around 50,000, a decline of over 80% in the past 100 years.

Mass deforestation for logging and creating huge palm oil plantations are the main cause of this incredible animals demise, something that we can and must change. Orang-Utans are being killed, maimed and/or orphaned by the people/organisations that are profiting from this unsustainable money making operation. For those of you that saw the film Avatar, I’m sure many of the images created in this film give a glimpse of what it must be like for the animals affected by this hideous devastation to our precious planet and their natural habitat. Not to mention the damage we are causing to the balance of our beautiful planet. We must readdress this balance to ensure our future generations survival. The sad truth is that this is not an over dramatic claim, it is a statement of fact.

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO GET INVOLVED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, PLEASE?

OK, so that said, here is what I would like you to consider doing in order to support these vital fund raising efforts;

I have organised two sponsored abseills in different locations;

• The first on Friday the 13th August (yes, Friday the 13th, an extra excitement/challenge!!!) at RAF Alconbury, Nr Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
• The second on Thursday the 19th August at a wonderful Viaduct, near Plymouth, Devon.(once you commit, I’ll send you a further e-mail with full details of the location and how to get there.)

Each event will have two sessions that you can attend, either 1-5pm (ask your boss for time off!) or 6-9pm.

All you need to do is;

• Agree to do one (or both!) and raise a minimum of £50 (for each if you do both!)
• If this is really not your cup of tea, enlist friends/family to take up the challenge in your place – please pass on this mail to anyone you think may be willing to get involved.
• If you can’t do either then please consider making a donation directly to the cause by visiting my fund raising website link at Virgin Money Giving (all of the proceeds go directly to WSPA, as they are commission free)

My aim is to get 40 people to abseil for each date (including myself of course!) which would raise a minimum total of £4000. This would make a HUGE difference to the work that WSPA would be able to do, if for example you know that it costs £100 to rescue an Orang-Utan and just £50 to feed one for two months. A small amount of this (£400 plus VAT) would go to the safety instructors for their time but at a much reduced rate.

If you are willing to get involved in the abseilling please contact me by e-mail and I will send you out full details and a sponsor form. Confirm back to me which slot you would like and which date/venue. Then, using the sponsor form attached, get to work finding people to sponsor you or you could just make the donation yourself, its entirely up to you!

PLEASE WOULD YOU LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE GOING TO COMMIT TO ABSEIL BY THE 21ST JULY LATEST. This enables me to gauge numbers and to secure the services of our wonderful safety instructors. Please do commit to this once you agree as you can imagine it is two days out of our safety guys working week, that they could be earning their normal rates, plus it would be a real shame to turn away willing people if the sessions are seemingly full, only to find out too late that there are spaces available.

I will send out confimation to all of you that do commit, nearer the time of your abseil, to give you all the important details, like the venue address and parking, a list of who is attending and to remind you about the essentials!

If you would like to do the abseil and yet you are a first timer or a little apprehensive, please do give me a call or e-mail and we can talk further.

Thank you so much for reading and considering this post, I really hope you will be able to come along and enjoy a very special event for a very special purpose and help to make a positive difference on our precious planet. Thank you whether you choose to abseil, find others that will or donate directly, your efforts will be contributing to a very special and worthwhile cause.

Just one last thing to be aware of. I am away on holiday between the 4th and 14th July so please don’t worry if you don’t hear from me during these dates, rest assured I will contact you on my return!

Warm wishes,

Julie

Julie Lines, Animal Intuitive,

Voice of the Animals

0845 8386801

07968 038279

julie@voiceoftheanimals.org.uk

www.voiceoftheanimals.org.uk