Camarillo : Pendulum Swings to Heal Ailing Horses

Quartz-crystal pendulum swinging in her left hand, Karen Hamel-Noble moved her right hand along a horse’s back looking for problems.

A dozen people in jeans and cowboy boots watched as the Oklahoma horse healer examined five animals whose owners had paid about $100 each for a 40-minute session on their horses.

“There is energy in everything,” Hamel-Noble told them. “What we’re doing here is tapping into that force to balance body, mind and soul, and bring the animal into harmony.”

Hamel-Noble calls her specialty “equine parapsychology.” The pendulum, she said, is her method of locating weakness or blockage in an animal’s energy field.

The weekend workshop in Camarillo was arranged by horse broker Carole Hagel for members of the Santa Rosa Riders club after she heard of Hamel-Noble from other Ventura County horse owners.

Hamel-Noble’s work healing horses during the past eight years has been endorsed by many of her clients, including Tom Ferguson, winner of nine world rodeo titles.

“Karen is a true professional,” he said. “Her gift is special. . . . Seeing is believing and she has made a believer out of me.”

Local veterinarian Beth Stolzy of Equine Specialty in Newbury Park was more skeptical. “I hate to comment since I didn’t see the seminar, but I would need some personal experience to be completely convinced,” she said.

Besides searching for energy weakness and soreness on an animal’s body, Hamel-Noble checks for flawed nutrition and incorrect horseshoeing. She offered assessment of the horse’s compatibility with its handler and its performance potential in various equine sports.

All potential problems were checked by touching the horse and monitoring the pendulum’s movement. Her recommendations were specific, ranging from the amount of whole oats and kelp tablets the horse should eat to the precise angle that each hoof should be trimmed.

“It’s a spiritual gift,” Hamel-Noble said. She emphasized that she does not diagnose, prescribe or treat. She “reads” an animal and makes recommendations for natural health remedies. She says the gift also allows her to clear blocked energies, even over the telephone.

At the conclusion of the workshop, some participants said they found Hamel-Noble’s method “a little weird,” but all were willing to give her recommendations a try.

Satisfied clients in three states testified by telephone that with Hamel-Noble’s help, their animals recovered from a variety of injuries and illnesses.

Veterinarian Jerry Woodall, 34, of Perkins, Okla., said in a telephone interview that he collaborated with Hamel-Noble after a horse was injured in a serious accident. He said that daily “readings” were done on the animal.

Whether Hamel-Noble’s mysterious source suggested aloe vera or antibiotics, “That’s what we did,” Woodall said. He said the horse recovered, and he gave Hamel-Noble full credit.

“I’d say she’s effective more often than not. Just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work,” Woodall said.