immune system

The Benefits of Feeding ACV to Your Horses

Nov 12, 2025 03:55 PM Central
Marta Merrick
apple cider vinegar, bug season, essential oils, feeding horses, fly spray, gut health, holistic care, hoof care, immune system, joint care, nutrition
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As we prepare for the upcoming holiday gatherings, making our favorite foods, I want you to know that you can put those apple scraps to work for you and your horses when you're making that apple pie, apple crisp or even the Waldorf salad!

One of the things I love about fall is the variety of apples that are prevalent in our area ( there are many but Mac's are my favorite!). Apple picking has always been an activity I look forward to each year. It's safe to say that I like to use apples in any way possible from eating off a tree, to making sauce, to making pies.

When I read that it was possible to make Apple Cider Vinegar from the apple scraps, I was immediately interested in learning how! Not only do I use this for myself but ACV has been a daily nutrition piece for my horses for as long as I have included it in my own daily regimen.

Quite awhile back I changed how I was eating. I learned how to fast through the morning and break my fast somewhere between 11:00 am and noon time, sometimes later if I'm involved in a project! One of the things that I began incorporating into my morning routine was drinking a tea of ACV, a few drops of Thieves essential oil, hot water and honey. This tea, with the ACV, helped to set the stage for activating my digestive system for the day. The Thieves oil helps to support my immune system and in general keep me healthy. For both of these reasons I also give the Thieves oil to my horses intermittently.

Apple Cider Vinegar offers a variety of benefits for the body (ours and our horses)...

Internal use of Apple Cider Vinegar;

* Rids the body of toxic waste, with its "mother enzyme", by what is referred to as acetolysis. Even our horses are susceptible to toxins through their environment as well as nutritionally.

*Reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Drinking just 1 Tbsp, 2 x per day lowers the glycemic index of that meal. The acetic acid that's in ACV inhibits the enzyme that converts starch into simple sugars better managing blood glucose and improving insulin response to carbohydrate meals. (study from Johnston, C.S. , Journal of Functional Foods 2013). What a great way to help the EMS horse.

*Weight loss. The pectin in apples (ACV) helps to cleanse the digestive tract while stimulating the body to burn stored fat. Again helping the horse that is an "easy keeper" and could lose a few pounds.

*Increasing weight. For those who are under weight, often they are deficient in enzymes that are necessary to break down food to be utilized by the body. Organic apples contain these necessary enzymes. When combined with iodine ( I use J. Crow Lugol's Solution for me and Sea Life kelp for my horses) to support the thyroid and digestive enzymes (Essentialzymes, Detoxzyme, Allerzyme) food is broken down readily and utilized more efficiently. For the "hard keeper" these suggestions are a good place to start.

*Cleaning the system. ACV and water, when combined with flax acts as a lubricant for the large and small intestines. The omega 3's in flax also help remove toxins. When soaked, flax becomes gelatinous helping to move things along in the intestines. Flax also provides 700x the amount of fiber in whole grains and legumes. For horses think colic. It is imperative to keep things moving!

*Supports healthy joints. ACV removes the stony acid crystals that form and deposit in the joints and cardiovascular system. ACV washes out this waste for improved function. It also helps to soothe muscle cramps and soreness. Joint, cardiovascular and muscle support are all areas of focus when caring for our horses.

*When using ACV topically it supports healthy skin by returning ph balance. It is also beneficial for sunburns, insect bites, yeast and fungus. Adding ACV to DIY fly sprays or for hoof soaks is a great use for our horses.

Now that I've gone through all the great benefits of ACV, I think I will be adding another ACV tea to my daily routine! Especially now that I make my own with this easy apple scrap vinegar recipe...

1 # apple scraps

1 cup sugar or honey

1/2 cup raw ACV

2 quarts water

Mix ingredients together and place in a warm spot, covered with a thin cloth. Stir daily and allow to ferment.

When bubbles slow or stop, remove scraps by straining through cheesecloth. Discard the scraps.

Keep the "Mother" (the white film that develops) and return her back to the ACV.

Cover again with cloth cover and let sit on shelf (warm and dark for 2-4 weeks.

This is so easy to make and add to my horses' daily routine. I add about a 4 oz of this ACV to a 12 oz jar, fill with water and divide up between my 3 horses. But as like myself, I may just start adding it to their evening meal too!

If you're looking for more holistic ways to support your horses, join us over in our Hearts Of Horses; Empowering Through Holistic Care community on Face Book.

All the best,

Marta

Kelp...Why its great for our horses!

Jun 16, 2022 09:39 AM Central
Marta Merrick
feeding horses, immune system, minerals, nutrition, thyroid support
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Have you ever felt poorly and later discovered you were actually deficient in nutrients?

Well I had an experience like this quite a few years ago. Once I got a supply of what I was needing (iodine), I started feeling much better! Iodine is a trace element and an essential nutrient that supports healthy thyroid function. This same scenario happens for our horses if they are not getting all the minerals and trace elements to help them with healthy body functions and their ability to thrive.

Through my experience with iodine, it brought to my attention how prevalent its deficiency is in both people and horses! The experience also brought to my attention the benefit of kelp in the diet to supply iodine along with many other beneficial nutrients. Kelp are large brown algae seaweeds. They are grown in forests in shallow ocean areas. It is known for it's high growth rate, growing as much as a 2 feet a day!

⭐️ Kelp provides an array of ... trace minerals, amino acids and vitamins and also includes iodine! Some of the minerals you'll find in kelp are calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium and zinc. It also contains the vitamins Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), and Folate (B9), Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Vitamin K.

⭐️ With its generous amount of iodine, kelp supports the thyroid and healthy metabolism.

⭐️ Kelp supports healthy immune function.

⭐️ Kelp has a calming effect.

⭐️ Kelp is beneficial for skin, hair and hooves.

⭐️ Kelp supports healthy joints.

And so important...

⭐️ Kelp helps to remove heavy metals from the body.

Adding Kelp to my horses' diet has a been a daily thing for quite a few years now. I feed them about half an ounce per day in one meal. It is easily digested and utilized by the body. I have been using a brand called Sea Life out of Maine, organic kelp meal for animals. A 50# bag lasts us quite awhile and is very cost effective.

If you're looking for more helpful nutrition information, grab this free guide...foundation nutrition.

And for more holistic care information, join our community...The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care.

All the best,

Marta

Holistic Care Options for Bug Season

May 3, 2022 04:00 PM Central
Marta Merrick
bug season, fly spray, holistic care, immune system, natural horsekeeping, ticks, toxin free
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It's here! Bug season!

The noseeums are out in full force here in VT and I have stocked up with my favorite things to keep my horses protected. Having a variety of safe options for my horses is a priority for me at this time of year. There are multiple ways I attack this, let me share with you what I use to keep my horses happy and protected from a variety of pests.

One of the things I've been doing for awhile, and attacks the problem from the inside, is feeding garlic. I started feeding it seasonally but after learning all the benefits of garlic (read about that in my blog here ), I decided I to feed it daily, year round. I think it makes a huge difference in keeping the bugs from biting my horses! I like and use the SpringTime Bug Off Granules. They are freeze-dried with just garlic as the ingredient. I feed about a tablespoon per day to each horse. Because it is so strong, this is something you really need to start off with very small amounts to introduce to your horses. Gradually you can increase the amounts as they accept the garlic. Mine have no trouble with it but I also add a couple of essential oils that may help the taste as well. SpringTime even offers a great buy 2 get 1 free option, when purchasing, along with free shipping at a certain level of dollars spent.

For the face, ears, throat and undersides ( belly and back legs especially) I have had great success with using Young Living Insect Repellent. It comes in a 6 oz container. I can use it straight from the bottle as very concentrated as it is or cut it with some ACV and add it to an aerosol spray bottle. These aerosol bottles are great for putting out a fine mist that works well on their underside area.

The Insect Repellent also comes in the form of wipes. These are especially effective and easy to use on the face, ears and neck area. I also have reused the wipes by adding more of the repellent from the bottle! They are so handy to throw in a saddle bag, keep with grooming tools or toss in the Holistic Care Equine Emergency Kit.

Last year I discovered the following recipe from a friend and have found it very effective. I'm not sure if it's the catnip tea, the essential oils or the combination of all of the ingredients but I do like how well it works. And using the Cleaner, Dish Soap and so many oils for everyday life just makes it easy to whip this up! I make and keep plenty available so that my spray bottles never run out!

Spray Recipe from Cherie Ross

1. Steep 1/2 cup catnip in 1/2 gallon of water, cover and cool to room temp. Then strain. A coffee filters works great for final straining.

2. Add catnip tea to a jug.

3. Add 1 TBSP Thieves Household Cleaner , 1 TBSP Thieves Dish Soap , 1.5 TBSP neem oil.

4. Add 20 drops each Citronella, Lemongrass, Kunzea (known as tick bush where it grows native), Basil

5. Add 10 drops each Hinoki, Copaiba, Peppermint, R.C.

Shake to mix and shake before each use.

Pour into a 28-30 oz. spray bottle. Keep out of sun.

As needed, I also use the Animal Scents Ointment on areas of the skin that may be open but I need to keep the bugs off. A finger full of this ointment, whipped up, and it soothes the area while keeping pests away. I have even slathered it on lower legs when the bugs seemed very bad and were bothering Saxon. It was amazing how well it protected him!

Perhaps this is not what you want to hear but giving your horses a place to roll in a sandy or even muddy area allows them to get relief from the bugs as well. Having areas like this to indulge in offers them more of the natural lifestyle features that promote balanced horses. When horses are able to live like horses they tend to be happier with fewer of the problems we see in traditional horse care.

Looking for more information on holistic care for your horses? Join our community The Hearts Of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care and learn more about supporting your horse's wellness!

All the best,

Marta

Spring Cleaning For Your Horse... Inside and Out

Apr 5, 2022 09:55 AM Central
Marta Merrick
barefoot horses, calm horses, essential oils, gut health, hoof care, immune system, nutrition, toxin free
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With the passing of every winter comes the excitement and joy of spring…warmer weather, trees budding, plants coming up in their bright green colors and time spent getting our horses shed out and cleaned up. There are a few items that have made my life a heck of a lot easier and helped to improve the health of my horses! Let me share these with you…

Let’s take a look at cleaning up the outside first. Sooo much hair to remove and hooves to check…

The first item is one that I discovered while in my trimming practice. It became a staple of my business and I used it on all client’s hooves. I used it for its effectiveness at cleaning hooves and for promoting the healthy growth of the frogs. The fact that I could make up a 28 oz bottle for a little over a dollar was a big deal too! This spray is not only effective for cleaning hooves but it did wonders for the skin and coat of my horses. It is one of the main things to help my horse Calli get over her springtime itching situation that I would deal with every year when I first got her. This Thieves Household Cleaner has become a part of everything I clean in the barn and my home. It’s toxin free ingredients and ability to promote wellness make it a perfect option for those looking for holistic care.

With spring comes exuberant horses and with that comes minor injuries. This next item, while not so much on the cleaning side of things, it certainly goes hand in hand with them and does wonders on these injuries. It’s the thing that I turn to for any cuts, scrapes, nicks or dings on my horses. First they get the Thieves Cleaner spray, maybe an oil or two depending upon what has happened and then a finger full of the Animal Scents Ointment. It goes on easy, almost melts into the skin and provides a protective barrier. It contains powerful essential oils like Myrrh and Tea Tree, along with moisturizing base oils that make a dry, cracked frog feel better. I shared a great hack on making the Ointment more user friendly in my holistic care fb community,The Hearts Of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care . This is another of my must-have horse care tools and is always on hand!

With the warmer weather we can finally give a bath! While I do not go overboard on this, it is still important to me to have something that will not harm my horses’ skin and immune system, but instead supports them. I’ve been using the Animal Scents Shampoo for quite a few years now for both my horses and dog, and the occasional cat. It is a deterrent to lice, ticks and other insects so that is a big gold star in my book, especially since my horses live in the woods! This is very concentrated and only a small amount is needed. I use one of my old Thieves Dish Soap bottles and add a bit to it then fill with hot water to mix it up. This makes application and spreading it around a lot easier. Their hair comes out smelling so clean as well as looking and feeling so soft and healthy.

This next item is one that I discovered works great as a mane and tail detangler! It’s the Insect Repellent. So while I’m untangling manes and tails, my horses are getting a treatment with Vitamin E and bug (mosquito, flea and tick)repelling properties from pure essential oils like Citronella, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Geranium, Spearmint, Thyme and Clove oil. Sesame oil works on the tangles! Double duty on one product makes this one a must have with my spring readiness.

Now let’s take a look at how we can “clean up” our horses’ insides…

When we talk about cleaning up our horse’s insides, it has everything to do with their digestive system health and their nutrition. For awhile now I’ve used garlic granules for my horses. First, I began just giving it to them in their feed seasonally as a bug deterrent but after writing a blog about the benefits of garlic, I decided to feed it year round. From digestive support to fighting fungal infections to detoxifying heavy metals… garlic really helps to clean and maintain internal function.

Adding a potent probiotic will benefit the intestinal system and support proper bowel function. The bowels are so important to immune system health and without their proper function, the body is susceptible to a variety of illnesses. Probiotics are necessary to rid the body of the harmful bacteria and yeast. From personal experience with our oldest gelding Saxon, the Life 9 probiotics have been a saving grace. Saxon was experiencing very loose stools and even liquid dripping marks on his back side. Once I incorporated the Life 9 into his daily regimen, he was back on track! He gets one per day and that seems to work well for him.

The last “inside cleaning” item I will share are enzymes. Enzymes are necessary for proper digestion, nutrient utilization and waste elimination. They can help to combat such things as gas, allergies, lethargy and even behavior changes. This last thing is what caused me to try Allerzyme with Saxon. He was really acting out of sorts and being down right grumpy, which is not his usual demeanor. As soon as I started him on Allerzyme, he went back to his old, happy self. I am currently using Essentialzymes for him now with the same good results. He may even like them better as they have a peppermint coated bilayer for dual time release during digestion.

Wishing you all the best as we kick off spring!

Marta

Build Your Horse's Immune System...to get rid of the itching!

Feb 3, 2022 11:47 AM Central
Marta Merrick
essential oils, HTA, immune system, light therapy, NingXia Red, toxin free
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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

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Do you ever hit that energy slump at 2:00 or 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon? DO you lack the ambition to carry on throughout the day, like you feel there is nothing left in your tank and you're just running on fumes?

That used to be me...Every. Single. Day.

It got so frustrating not being able to get done all the things I needed to each day. It was the simple things too, like fixing supper for my family. At the time, being a farrier for horses meant heavy lifting and hard, repetitive movements hour after hour and by 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon I was feeling wiped. My arms felt heavy, I was dragging my feet and I was cranky and moody. It didn't take much for me to snap at someone who tried to talk to me.

But then, I was given the opportunity to try a special juice for a 30 day period. I purchased two bottles and proceeded to drink the juice daily. Within the first week I felt better! I had more energy, felt happier and enjoyed working into the afternoon. On really busy days (trimming 8-10 horses) I would have some juice with lunch too. I noticed it made me feel more full and focused! As I went through the month drinking the juice, I felt strong, energized, grounded and able to happily go through my day. It wasn't until the month was over, and the juice was gone, that within a couple of days I was feeling like my old, dragged out self. I knew then that I needed to add this drink to my life. Permanently!

I've since learned to use this juice, along with other strategies, to benefit the wellness of my animals. It is now my great joy in life to empower others to care for their animals in an holistic way in order to benefit them mentally, emotionally and physically.

Are you ready to live your best life with your animals?

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immune system

The Benefits of Feeding ACV to Your Horses

Kelp...Why its great for our horses!

Holistic Care Options for Bug Season

Spring Cleaning For Your Horse... Inside and Out

Build Your Horse's Immune System...to get rid of the itching!

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