- Loss of weight
- Poor appetite
- Diarrhea
- Anemia
- Allowing your horse the ability to move about as much as possible. Get them out of the stall and onto a track. Moving as a herd plays into their sense of safety and less stressed life. Emotional stability plays a huge role in their wellness.
- Keep a clean environment. Removing manure will help to insure good health and reduce parasite problems.
- Feed a good forage based diet to your horses with plenty of minerals and fresh water.
- Have fecal checks done periodically on your horses. Your veterinarian can do this or you can get a microscope and do it yourself!
- Aloe Wood Sorrel
- Marshmallow Thyme
- Pumpkin Garlic
- Senna Ferns
- Peppermint Patchouli Orange
- Tarragon Copaiba
- Fennel Tea Tree
- Thieves Immupower
- JuvaCleanse. Purification
- AromaEase Melrose
There’s a great saying from entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn that has stuck with me since I first heard it… “For things to change, you must change. For things to be different, you must be different.”
This sentiment can be life changing when put into practice. And that means life changing for our horses too when we do change for the better!
Like so many of the things I have learned on my horse discovery journey, I have found most to be lessons that have expanded my understanding of myself. It was the Parelli program that first helped me to understand that being with our horses involves being a better version of ourselves. Our horses serve as our teachers and offer us a very distinct set of rules that we must learn and live up to. Without learning these ways of interacting with them, we cannot connect. What happens next is the horse is blamed, it needs to be “fixed” and when nothing changes, the horse is sold to make way for the new, better model.
If we look to ourselves to open our minds to new ways and new opportunities, the detrimental experiences that keep happening can now be replaced by positive new patterns!
Better solutions and improvements all come down to us doing and being better! Being open to new ideas, listening to others, learning new ways and trying new things. Remember what Jim said…“for things to change, you must change…”
Our horses require us to change and get better in order for us to be worthy leaders and partners. Now let’s take this one step further and incorporate it into their care…
What if we change the way we look at keeping our horses?
What if we took into consideration the nature of the horse?
When we look at these factors and know that horses are designed to live in a herd, to move many miles throughout the day, browse for their food, eating grasses, leaves, flowers herbs and a variety of other plants, then we can look to adapt these qualities to their lifestyle.
We can do things like…
Trade the stall for track life. Horses are movers!
Let them live and move as a herd. They are herd animals and get a great sense of purpose and security knowing their place in the herd.
Switch out the processed grain for a forage based diet with whole foods. Removing toxins from the diet goes a long way toward better physical and emotional health.
- Let ‘em go barefoot. Allow the increased movement to help develop and condition the feet to be their best.
The one thing to change, our minds! Let's be open to making changes that are with the horse’s benefit, comfort, safety and security at heart … and not just for the ease of the human!
If you'd like to learn more about these natural horse keeping ideas and more, check out the videos and posts in Guide 2, in our community... join The Hearts Of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care.
As horse care givers we know the damage that thrush can do. Or do we? There are so many horses out there who have back foot pain. It could be that slit up the back of the frog into the heel bulbs, maybe it’s the gooey, smelly junk in the collateral grooves, or perhaps it’s just a small frog that does not seem to grow. This pain causes the horse to land on the toes first creating all kinds of tearing and trouble for the hoof.
Much of the time this lameness is due to untreated bacterial and fungal infection. If let go, unnoticed for a long period, it creeps deeper into the hoof causing pain and more damage.
Needless to say, thrush is a big deal and we, as horse caregivers, need to be aware of it!
Because I am a huge proponent of a prevention philosophy when it comes to the care of my horses, I’m going to share the one big thing that you can do to help your horses to avoid thrush! The one thing that has the biggest impact on PREVENTING THRUSH is MOVEMENT!
Getting your horse out and moving on a track system is ideal for the health of their hooves. It offers stimulation to the hoof for growth, the ability to clean itself out and helps to wear the foot depending upon the terrain. If you’ve never heard of a track system or would like to learn more, I invite you to check in with our The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care community. Guide 2 is all about the benefits and features of a track system.
You can get started helping your horse to move simply by giving them multiple places to eat hay, whether its from piles of hay or hay bags. They will move from one area to another. Setting up other features such as their water and salt in other areas will encourage even more movement. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, its easy to set it up for the horses’ benefit!
Another key piece in the prevention of thrush puzzle is the importance of nutrition. Sugars are food for the bacteria so removing the sugar from the diet will benefit the health of the foot. If you’ve had a stubborn case of thrush, look to changing this piece and see what happens! Sugars will be in hay, grains, supplements, mineral licks and more! Take a look at the suggestions in this guide to get your horse started off with a good nutrition foundation.
Alongside the nutrition piece comes adequate minerals. They are key to hoof growth and quality. Minerals like zinc, copper and selenium are necessary for healthy growth. You’ll want to make sure your horse’s diet contains these. I have seen tremendous growth with my own horses hooves and hair when I started them on a supplement ! The supplement, Sulfurzyme, contains sulfur which is loaded with the vitamins and minerals needed for hair and hoof growth. I started giving it for joint support to my older guy, but needless to say I was pretty happy with the hair and healthy hoof growth as well!
Another piece you’ll want to be aware of, is making sure there is no added iron in your horses diet. This can come from a variety of places including hay, water and feeds. There are barns who have discovered high iron in their water sources when they couldn’t get rid of the thrush (and other hoof troubles) issue for the majority of horses at the barn. It’s easy enough to have your water tested to figure this out. You’ll also want to check your feed labels for the word ferrous (and another word after it). These are iron related and will add to the problem.
One of the most valuable products I learned about when I had my trimming practice was Thieves Household Cleaner. I started carrying it when trimming and used it to spray every clients hooves when I finished trimming. It is a great way to keep the hooves in great shape as it promotes healthy growth while keeping trouble at bay.
If you’re dealing with thrush and working toward removing it, put these other factors that I wrote about above into place. Then, use the Thieves Cleaner as a soak in a soaker boot. Mixed with an essential oil like Melrose, it does a terrific job of clearing things up! For the really bad feet that have that painful crack in the back of the foot, I have found Animal Scents Ointment to be incredibly soothing and helpful in making the horse more comfortable.
And isn’t that really what it’s all about…? Making them more comfortable so they can heal faster. That is definitely my goal!
Thanks for reading and I hope this information is helpful to you.
All the best,
Marta
Early on when my horse Calli came to me, I noticed that she was rubbing her tail a lot…on posts, trees and inside the run in area. In May, when the Noseeums come out, she would get bit up all on her underside from her chest down past her belly. There were oozing, crusty clumps all along her midline. It wasn’t until we started doing a few things differently that the itching stopped. Soon Calli was no longer bothered by any of these earlier problems. Don’t get me wrong, she will still run for cover when the bugs are around but her body no longer reacts to them as they did in the past. Without realizing it, the steps I took served to lay a foundation for building her immune system and making it less likely for her to have these problems!
It was during this time that I was learning about plant based products and using essential oils. I began trading out a lot of the “traditional” products that I had learned to use and started using cleaner options. The first one I started with was Thieves Household Cleaner. A capful mixed up with water in a 28 oz spray bottle went a long way for a small amount of money and seemed to soothe Calli’s itching right away. All I did was spray her tail head area and her midline daily. I continued to use it throughout the nice weather. There are many other products that I traded out and shared in a video. You can watch it HERE.
I was also learning about how important diet and nutrition is to the hooves and overall health of horses. Are you aware that about 80% of the immune system is in the gut? So it’s a good bet that feeding your horse clean, nourishing food is going to help support their immune system. As part of my nutrition education, I realized just how difficult processed feeds are on the body. Whether it’s the processing or the ingredients, these processed grains actually cause more damage to the gut (when combined with a confinement lifestyle)and subsequently the immune system.
I started feeding my horses flax as their base “grain” and added oils and oil infused supplements to that. Offering a whole food like flax and feeding them in a fashion more conducive to their nature (movement for their forage) is a huge benefit to their overall gut health and immune system.
Another powerhouse I use is NingXia Red. This juice is made up from the wolf berry, and other fruits and essential oils, and is considered to be a super food! It contains 15% protein, 21 essential minerals, 18 amino acids, is loaded with B vitamins and a high amount of Vitamin C! Adding this to the daily feed of a horse needing an immune boost works every time. And they like the taste!
If you’re looking for a solid foundation on nutrition to get started with your horses, here’s my FREE GUIDE.
As I was learning how to use my essential oils, Thieves Essential Oil became an instant favorite. Using it for myself in a daily tea to support my own immune system, I also turn to it for my horses. I add drops to their feed as needed or use a roll on to run over their body. Both ways help to get these powerful oils into their system to help provide balance and support to the immune system. My horses also like citrus oils added to their water in the warm summer months. Citrus oils are a great support to the immune system!
A very important piece of the wellness puzzle that had been missing, was supporting the energy healing of my horses. I finally started learning about Healing Touch for Animals®. I am currently practicing in Level 2 of the program and am so happy to be able to offer this key healing piece to my horses. The benefits of energy healing are many…it helps to regulate the immune system by offering a variety of physiological responses. Such responses as relaxation, release of endorphins, increased circulation, elevates oxygen, absorbs nutrients, influences every cell of the body, builds enzymes, regulates hormones, releases toxins, promotes healthy cell growth and promotes healing. If you’d like to learn more about HTA, watch HERE.
Working alongside these other areas of healing I’ve talked about, I also use light therapy. It has been so helpful to supporting my horses’ immune systems. The light therapy protocol called the Immune Boost is a way to proactively support your horse. The red light helps to stimulate the immune system and to regulate all meridian systems. Using the light on the 13 points for about 30 -60 seconds (each point) every other day for a few weeks sets up your horse for increased balance and wellness. Interested in light therapy? Here’s the one I use, Photonic Health.
Focusing your attention on supporting your horse’s immune system is key to their wellness. So many of the “problems” that horses have with skin, allergies, etc. just seem to go away when there is a healthy, well balanced immune system in place. I hope you’ll get started cleaning out your horse feed and products too as a first step on the way to a balanced immune system.
All the best,
Marta
The winter can be tough to spend time playing with or riding your horse, especially if you don’t have access to an indoor or good footing. But don’t fret, there are loads of things you can to with your horse! These activities will help to develop your relationship as well as improve your horse’s mental, emotional and physical wellness.
Here is a list of a few things I like to do with my horses when its cold or I’m short on time…
Just be with them. Put your hands on them and breathe. Let your breathing and hearts get in sync. Talk quietly with your horse. Tell them your secrets…
Do stretches. Lifting the front leg with a little stretch forward is great for their shoulders. Tickling the belly with your finger tips is great for getting them to lift their top line. A hind leg, cross in front hold is great for the hind end and balance (there’s a great video of this in Guide 9 of the Hearts Of Horses group).
Ask for yields. Using the lightest of touches, or maybe even just a thought. Ask your horse to move their hindquarters or crossover their front feet moving away from you. Have them back up or move sideways away from you. A challenge…ask them to move sideways toward you!
Pick up their feet and check them. Do a quick clean out and inspect each foot to make sure all is well. A quick spray with Thieves Cleaner goes a long way for keeping the frogs healthy too!
Assess their energy centers to see if all are open and flowing. Not sure how to do this? Watch this video and learn to use a pendulum.
Use energy healing techniques from Healing Touch for Animals to clear away congested energy and blockages from their system. To me this is the most overlooked part of our care for our animals. If you'd like to learn more about energy and vibration tools read my recent blog here.
Use light therapy (red, green and blue). Apply the light to wellness points on your horse for a preventive approach to their care. Use the light on the carotid for 10 minutes to cleanse their blood!
Apply essential oils. Do a RainDrop Kit session to promote relaxation, cleansing and immune system stimulation. Spend a month applying the Feelings Kit daily and you’ll be amazed at how much more harmonious you and your horse will be together! It will bring your partnership to a whole new level!
If some of these things are new to you, or you’ve never heard of them but are interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out the Guide section at the top of the page in our community, The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care.
Stay warm and enjoy your time with your horses,
Marta
