For many, spring and fall shots are a ritual. The change into these seasons prompts a call to your vet to come out and vaccinate your horses. Have you ever considered the effects on your horses’ health from this rigorous schedule? Do you pay attention to how your horses’ feel on the days following the shots? Is there a pattern of regular signs of discomfort every time? As your horses’ caregiver, these signs and patterns are so important to recognize!
Before you jump on the phone to schedule your horses’ spring shots, consider asking yourself these questions…
- Have my horses’ received shots regularly over the last few years? Did you know that vaccines stay active within the body for many years? When tested, an animal can show anti-bodies for as many as 15-20 years after the shot. This means that the animal is protected from the threat due to these anti-bodies. It has immunity!
There is a simple test called a TITER. This is a blood test that checks for anti-bodies. If your horses have the anti-bodies, then they are protected and do not need another shot. If they are given repeated shots, there is a build-up of adjuvants which are the additives in vaccines. These are heavy metals and other toxins that cause the harmful side effects. When the build-up becomes too much for the animal’s system, it may experience VACCINOSIS.
- Do my horses live at home, perhaps older, and rarely come in contact with other horses? This situation most likely eliminates the need for vaccinations. Providing plenty of good forage, balanced minerals, fresh water and movement will do more for preserving the health of your horses than anything!
- Do any of my horses have an existing health condition? It is NOT recommended to give a vaccine to an animal that is health compromised in any way. This includes horses prone to laminitis, any metabolic disorders, fever, etc.
One experience I recall, was helping a friend to learn to trim her horses. I’d visit periodically to check in and see the progress. Through our conversation about her mini, I suggested she consider skipping the vaccines that spring. In the past, he had suffered from laminitis after every vaccine. This time for the first time, without the shots, there was no episode of laminitis in the spring!
Think back to the patterns that have occurred for your horses. Are there reactions at the shot location? Do any of your horses have a fever after the shot? Are there movement changes? Or behavior changes? These are all red flags and reasons to reconsider giving your horses their spring (or fall) shots. Instead, consider the TITER test mentioned above.
For those who are required to have shots for a boarding situation, help your horses by giving them a Rain Drop session. This is a technique utilizing Young Living Essential Oils and application techniques (there’s more information on this technique in The Hearts Of Horses; Empowering Through Holistic Care Facebook group). This application helps to clear the body of the heavy metals and other toxins and allows the body to heal itself.
If you’d like to hear more, from a holistic veterinarian, I had a conversation with Dr. Barb Fox DVM on this topic. Visit the Guide Section in The Hearts of Horses; Empowering Through Holistic Care to hear our conversation.
Goin’ Bare…It’s Easier Than You Think For Your Horse To Go Barefoot!
There are, however, some key lifestyle factors that are critical to include in your horse’s life in order for the transition to be successful! First, the hooves need proper nutrients to grow in healthy, strong and well-connected, there needs to be stimulation through movement over varied terrain, you’ll need a regular trimming schedule either by a professional or by learning to trim your own horses and lastly, there will be a transition period where the hooves will need protection with padded boots.
Let’s look at nutrition first. It’s a great place to start to grow healthy hooves. One of the most detrimental ingredients that ruins more feet… is sugar! There are hidden sugars in so much of what is given to our horses. Everything from grain to supplements to treats. It is in virtually every item that goes into your horses mouth, including grass and hay! Understanding and controlling the sugar in your horses diet is going to be a major step in going barefoot with your horses. One of the easiest ways to do this is put your horse on an anti-inflammatory diet. This means you primarily feed grass hay and provide minerals needed that are not accounted for in the hay. If other feeds are needed look at whole foods like flax, chia or hemp seeds that add beneficial Omega-3’s. The important thing is to avoid processed grains and ingredients like corn, soy and molasses. There is also a supplement that I started giving mine for joint health yet realized how great it was for creating healthy, strong feet! It contains the building blocks for good skin, hair and hoof growth. You can read about it here. And if you'd like more information on the basic nutrition for your horse's needs, check out the guide I made up here.
Next you’ll want to make sure you’re encouraging your horses to move in their home environment. The hoof is a blood pumping mechanism who’s purpose is to expand and contract to pump blood back through the rest of the body. The simple act of spreading hay into multiple piles in their environment will encourage them to move and eat. Putting up a series of hay bag stations around their space will offer the same benefit as well. By incorporating this simple feature you will be encouraging the growth of healthier, stronger hooves as well as supporting a healthy digestive system! Include, in some high travel areas, abrasive terrain to help stimulate and condition the foot to grow a more dense sole and create go-anywhere hooves!
Maintaining a regular trimming cycle for your horse’s rate of growth is crucial to going barefoot. The cycle can vary depending upon your horse’s nutrition and even the amount of wear their hooves get. In some environments horses can self- maintain their hooves! For many though setting up a 4-6 week schedule to maintain a healthy foot is a good guideline. Finding a good barefoot trimmer is helpful or if you are so inclined, you can learn to do the trimming for yourself. With the help of your trimmer checking in on you, it is possible for you to learn to use a rasp and knife to maintain your horse’s hoof walls and bars. Of course there is some learning that needs to happen first and practice with guidance. Taking an active role with your trimmer right now can set you on that path. Asking questions, paying attention at your trimming sessions and in general being curious about your horse’s feet. If trimming your own horses is something you’d like to pursue, I have a go at your own pace course along with a FB support group for any help you might need. Get the course here.
Lastly, your horse will most likely need some sort of padded hoof boot protection for a period of time. This time will vary for each horse. The factors I talked about above and how well you have incorporated them into your horse’s lifestyle will have a great impact on this. Having been an Easy Care dealer when I had my practice, I am partial to them. However, the important thing here is finding a boot that fits and will stay on well while your horse is out with his herd. Boots need to be taken off daily to give the foot time to “breathe” and to check for rub spots or any other possible discomfort. Utilizing boots to protect your horses hoof and reduce any potential pain in this process will significantly impact their transition time.
Are you interested in learning more about transitioning your horse out of shoes, nutrition, booting or living a healthy, holistic lifestyle? Maybe you'd like to check out a free workshop on hooves? Its all in here... The Hearts Of Horses; Empowering Through Holistic Care
As I look back over the years, I realize I have had experiences with some pretty mysterious origins. There have been accidents, failures, even chronic issues in my body that could not be explained. What I finally figured out was, my emotions were controlling my body and my world! Let me share with you a couple of memorable experiences I had, that were very puzzling, but have shown me just how connected our emotions are to our bodies and our everyday experiences!
My first experience that showed me the power of our emotions on our physical world was the sale, or rather the lack of, of my house. It was my first house that I had purchased soon after finishing college. I lived there for about 17 years. After getting married, and not needing two homes, we put a lot of work into the house and listed it on the market. The home was lovely with many custom, rustic features added. But Not-One-Person looked at the house for the multiple years we had it on the market! I even did the “ bury the St Joseph statue” ritual in hopes of making something happen! What I came to realize was that I had not been ready to let go of the house. Emotionally, vibrationally, I was holding onto it. This realization came when there was a shift in the way I felt about the house and property. As soon as that emotional shift happened, we had multiple people looking at and making offers on the house, after so many years of trying to sell it!
Another powerful experience happened during my transition from trimming horses to educating about using essential oils with animals. My excitement about the oils was growing while my interest in trimming for others was declining. But I kept on trimming. Soon my right hand thumb started to freeze. Like it didn’t bend! That meant I was having trouble using my nippers. At this point, I hadn’t made any connection with the way I was feeling about wanting to pursue a new area of interest and my thumb. All I knew is that I was just frustrated and angry! I decided I needed to stop trimming. The very day I declared I would stop and pursue my new passion, my thumb returned to normal use! Crazy right?! Well I discovered through doing some research that the hands are governed by the heart energy center. Some of the feelings that reside here are confinement, the inability to cope, injury, distress. I think all of these were applicable to my situation at the time. It is easy to see now… that once I followed my heart’s desire, the physical issue I was having disappeared and all was well!
Over the past few years, as I have been exploring the path of gaining better connection and understanding with my horse Calli, I have come into contact with ideas that have expanded not only my mind but my everyday life with my animals! Much of this particular subject about emotions, for me, started with a collection of CD’s called The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The idea that we could create the life we choose by the thoughts we think and the emotions we attach to those thoughts was both thrilling and motivating! It lit a fire in me to learn more. It is THIS feeling, this excitement and exuberance that manifests and tells us we are on the path to big and wonderful things! I was lead to other resources such as, Releasing Emotional Patterns With Essential Oils by Carolyn Mein. This book really solidified the idea that our emotions reside, vibrationally, within the different energy centers of our body.
As I was doing my horse workshops, helping people to understand how to “read” what their horses might be feeling and how it affects their body, I found that I needed something to refer to that had the body systems along with the emotions and suggestions for essential oils. I couldn’t find anything like that, so I created one! It’s a downloadable pdf called Connecting Emotions, Energy Centers and Essential Oils and is included in a mini course with videos explaining each section of the ebook. It includes a chart with the emotions, body systems and essential oils for each energy center, graphics of the horse, dog and human showing energy center location, an explanation of how and why to use this resource, tips and techniques, an observation and notes template and additional resources. There are also videos on how to use a pendulum as well as the application of the Feelings Kit oils to a horse.
Knowing the extent to which emotions affect our bodies, for us and our animals, I think it is so worth the time to pay attention and explore this subject! I know for myself, I now choose my thoughts and emotions to create positive experiences and manifest life goals. When caring for my animals, I now have greater insight into their feelings and can provide better support for their health and well- being.
If you’re looking to know more about emotions and the body, and specifically horse related topics, join my community The Hearts of Horses; Empowering Through Holistic Care.
All the best,
Marta
Before I discuss the five ways to help calm your horse holistically, I’d like to give you two key characteristics to keep in mind that are necessary for raising kids, training animals or running a business--- Honesty and Consistency. With these two qualities you will surely have success, especially with your horses. Animals are honest…they know no other way. It is one of the reasons they are so good for us. They help us to become better for ourselves and for them. The consistency part can be difficult for us. It means doing the same thing, in sequence, repeatedly. It also means offering the same (non-emotional) response to undesired behavior. Horses learn patterns 7 times faster than humans. So be sure to pay attention to what you are doing BEFORE, because they’re already 7 steps ahead!
Now let’s talk about the 5 ways to calm your horse, holistically…
1. Get your horse out of the stall and moving! Horses are herd animals who live in small bands that cover approximately 25 miles a day in their wild setting. Their range revolves around the water hole. There are also a variety of “events” within the range that keep the horses moving to the next one! Knowing what these are and incorporating them into your horse’s environment will contribute to a more balanced emotional state. There are “events” like the water hole, the bathing/grooming area, a resting area, a salt/minerals lick and more. The “vices” that come into play with horses in stalls, become virtually non-existent when they are allowed to move as a herd.
2. Play with your horse! Get to know them on the ground and learn to have a conversation with them. Allow them to have a choice and a say in what you are doing. Remember you are developing a friendship/partnership where you each have responsibilities. Can you imagine hanging out with a friend who is always telling you what to do and never asks what you like or want?!
Asking your horse to change directions gets them into their thinking (left) side of their brain instead of the emotional (right) side of the brain. So if your horse is getting all wound up and excited, AVOID the lunging circle! Get your back to a fence and get them changing direction. They’ll soon come off their adrenaline high and begin thinking again. Asking your horse to move backwards and sideways also requires using the thinking side of the brain. These two movements are definitely a great thing to incorporate into your regular routine with your horse!
3. Feed your horse like a horse! It’s so easy to want to give our horses all the things. Admit it, it makes us feel better. The fact is most grains and treats are loaded with sugars and can be deadly to our horses. Horses are browsers. Browsing for small amounts of plants while moving all-day-long. Setting up the environment so they can eat this way will reduce many of the “problems” we see with traditional horse keeping. It could be as simple as spreading the hay into many piles (instead of one or two) so that horses can push their herd mates to the next pile. There should always be more piles than horses!
Another key part of nutrition are the minerals. This is often overlooked and one of the key pieces of their overall emotional wellness. Magnesium plays a large role here too! Get your hay tested to find out the minerals you will need to supplement. For more information on providing a good foundation of nutrition for your horse, get this guide.
4. Use essential oil blends and singles daily for your horse’s emotional fitness! A few of my favorites are Peace and Calming, Valor and Stress Away. They were instrumental in my hoof trimming business for helping to settle an unsettled horse (and owner too)! I could offer a drop in my hand to the horse and depending upon their need; they may sniff it, lick it from my hand or sometimes they’d grab the whole bottle! That seemed to happen a lot with Stress Away. There are a few other oils used in protocols that I have found to offer incredible emotional releases and help to balance the horse’s energy. These are the Feelings Kit, Freedom Sleep and Freedom Release Collection.
5. Lastly, incorporating Healing Touch for Animals has forever changed my animal care for the better. I can help my animals to be calm and release experiences that are causing them to feel or behave in unwanted ways. Learning the techniques from the Level 1 online course have allowed me to not only help my horses (dogs and cats too) live better… I have been able to help other people’s horses to feel relief from traumatic events, to release traumas they have carried and to get their energy open and flowing again. If you have horses (or any animal) the Level 1 is a wonderful addition to your holistic care tool box. Click here for more information about the Healing Touch for Animals Level 1 online course.
Having a calm horse is something virtually anyone can achieve. By taking the time to understand the things that motivate a horse (and are innate in them), you can begin to put each facet in place in their environment as you care for and interact with them. For me, each of these has contributed to the emotional balance of my horses as, over the years, I learned and incorporated them into my life with horses. I am forever grateful to have learned these holistic care ways. I hope you take the opportunity to incorporate some of them too!
If you have questions or choose to learn more, join my free Face Book group...
How To Conquer Bugs For your Animals… Without Using Insecticides
Admit it... we all hate bugs, right?!
From the nasty biting flies, gnats and mosquitos to ticks, fleas and giardia! These pests can be aggravating to our animals and a health risk to both us and them.
If you’re like me, applying a topical spot on treatment, collar or spray containing an insecticide/pesticide is NOT an option for my horses, dogs or cats! I love them too much to poison them with those kinds of treatments. They are my family.
The natural food additive I discovered, that fits in with my holistic care lifestyle and works for us, is garlic.
Now you may have heard or read about the dangers of feeding garlic to your animals based upon a single study out of Japan. It seems dogs were forced to ingest excessive amounts of raw garlic with adverse reactions resulting. The fact that people do this kind of thing to animals makes me sick, but aside from that, when you feed an excess of anything…it will have negative, even life threatening effects!
Horse care takers pay special attention to feed the air-dried garlic granules. Raw garlic when crushed or chewed creates the compound allicin. This is problematic for horses causing anemic reactions. The allicin is minimized in the drying process leaving it safe for horses. So to avoid health risks, use an air dried source of garlic granules. I use the Springtime Bug Off granules.
Garlic has been in use since the beginning of recorded history. From Egypt to Greece to India applications of its use have been written about in medical journals. In Greece, garlic was given to the athletes of the early Olympics to increase muscular strength and endurance. Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" used garlic for many applications in his work. Garlic has also long been used for its insect repelling properties against bugs on listed above. Garlic also contains sulfur which is known for its support of joint, skin and hair health as well as being an insect repellent.
I’ve been using a granulated garlic that works well for all of my animals. They get a bit added to their morning meal every day. The key is to start with very small amounts and increase over time. Acquiring and accepting the taste must be done gradually for most animals. For the many benefits listed above, I now feed garlic as part of my animals’ healthy year round wellness regimen.
Some of the added health benefits your animals will experience while taking garlic daily are…
- Boosts their immune system. This is the number one thing to focus on for the health of your animals.
- Digestive support. Horses have about 100 feet of digestive system that are prone to upset. It only makes sense to give them all the extra help they need in this area!
- Combats allergies. Garlic offers antiviral and anti-inflammatory help to combat seasonal issues. Building the immune system also helps here!
- Fights fungal infections. From thrush to ringworm garlic supports the body when dealing with these types of issues.
- Improves brain function. Antioxidants in garlic boost brain health and protect the body from oxidative stress, thereby slowing the aging process.
- Detoxifies heavy metals. The sulfur compounds in garlic help to protect organs against heavy metal damage by reducing levels within the blood.
Want to learn more?
Click Here for my Free Guide about helping your animals to live a longer more vibrant life!
Click Here to join my Free Facebook group to learn more about holistic care for your horses.
