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Herbs, Preventive Natural Medicine What Are Probiotics and How Can They Help My Horse Intro To Equine Alternative Healing & Herbs The Energy of Communication back to top Communication with our equine friends happens in many ways and on many levels. Mirroring is one of the ways that we communicate and therefore affect each other. Mirroring is the reflection of our body language, our thoughts and feelings, to our horse and theirs back to us. We all have realized that the way we physically approach our animals with our eyes, hands, and body as a whole will elicited a certain response. Now, add our minds and what we are thinking and feeling. This transfers into our physical posturing and creates our energy. (This is the electromagnetic field that surrounds all of us here on earth.) What we think creates our electromagnetic field and don’t think any horse cannot sum you up at any moment given the “space” you are in. They are much better at it than you or I, since that sensitivity is linked to survival for them. This is why it is vitally important to walk into their area calm and collected and totally present in the moment. Here is an exercise to do to get a feel for that energy field. Try taking a deep breath before approach. This relaxes your body and sends that message to the horse. Now, approach from 30 feet or more and stop when you get a response from the horse. Mark the spot. Continue until there is another response and mark the spot. Measure how far these two marks are from your horse. This will tell you your horse’s initial energy field and then their comfort zone. Do this with a friend to find yours, and you will see that the horse has a much larger field. That means that he senses farther than you do. Try this with just approaching and feeling for the field just before they react. You will feel just the slightest shift in your feet as you walk closer. If you practice, you will be able to stop just before the horse reacts and then move closer and closer. You are actually feeling his field of energy. This is communication and it is more powerful than any words you will ever use since the language of energy is universal. Now think of your own body and how it feels to you. Do you even know your body? Are you aware of all of the unbalances of the skeletal, muscular and respiratory system? Have you had an injury, surgery, and do you breathe in full breaths? This is the energy you are carrying with you. All of your body’s unbalances transfer into your horse on the ground and especially when riding. I once took a workshop with a famous tracker who could tell everything about that person just by the footprint. You see, when you breath different ways it changes your print. Point being, that energy is readable, and getting to know yours and your horses is important. I believe that horses heal us. If you pay attention and really key into what they are saying to you on the ground or riding you will be able to see your imbalance. When I started riding the first thing I noticed was how grounded I needed to be to really be in my seat. This means that I needed my lower body to be energized and present. I thought I was! Found out I wasn’t really. I worked on it for my riding and it transferred over into being healthier in general. Horses and humans are mirrors for each other and this is how we communicate through our bodies, our minds and our hearts and it is all about energy.
Equine Wellness back to top Lets talk about equine wellness and what this means for our horses and ourselves. Wellness is a concept that has to do with creating a state of homeostasis or well being for all of the body systems on a physical, mental and spiritual level. Maintaining a state of health requires that you as the owner and caretaker take certain steps to provide your “friend” with what is necessary to be disease free and live a long, healthy, productive life Here are some important requirements. Clean water in a container that is scrubbed and kept free from organisms. Especially in the warmer months. Adequate space, a place where your horse can exercise, run, play and get some cardiovascular workout. If you want performance you must provide the athlete with a place to build muscles, get the heart rate up, and experience what being a horse is all about! This also speaks of mental wellness and wellness of spirit. Shelter, a place to get out of severe elements. Nutrition and adequate amounts of food, are necessary for building muscle, bone, cell replacement, healing, and digestion. The fuel that runs the machine must be of the right kind for that animal. Today our pastures are no longer filled with the varieties of plants that horses had when roaming and so they are not getting all of the enzymes, minerals and vitamins that they need. Your breed may have certain needs and the type of work your horse does also dictates this. This brings us to supplements. Sit down and write out what your horses needs based on his/her circumstances. I can’t tell you how many times I go to see a horse and the water is filthy, they are in mud with no shelter and no place to exercise. The food is all wrong and the owner is at a loss as to why this animal is not well. To be healthy there must be a balance physically, mentally and for the spirit of the horse. Consult your vet and call a holistic practitioner and ask questions. Massage therapy, Reiki, acupressure are some holistic modalities that will assist in wellness as well as healing .Get involved and most of all have a plan. Your horse will thank you for it and their performance will reward you for it! Invest in wellness not dis-ease. Herbal hint* Hilton Herbs Garlic and rosehips formula is great for immune system, changes in season, digestive imbalance, and insect relief and more! General Herb* multi-vitamin and mineral mix. Regulate* for mares that exhibit irritability, stiffness in back area, shortness in strides irregular cycles or mood changes.
Herbs, Preventive Natural Medicine back to top This is the time of the year when our horses face all kinds of seasonal allergies and other health problems. Allergies can cause everything from hair loss, sores and coughing to, other immune system problems. Here is a great all purpose herbal mix that has a wide spectrum of prevention and healing. It is Garlic and Rosehips. Garlic that is cultivated throughout the world is an antiseptic, antibiotic, antimicrobial, expectorant, anti-diabetic and diaphoretic. It is great for respiratory problems encouraging the expulsion of mucus, and will help with the infection. It is rich in sulphur which is excreted through the pores of the skin and will deter bugs and worm infestation. Care should be taken when feeding nursing mothers as it will come through the milk and it is too much for the digestive system of a young foal. As for Rosehips they are high in vitamin C as well as vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin K. The high C helps fight infection a restore defenses. Another boon is strong hoofs due to the biotin content. I give this formula year round to my horses and have seen the many benefits. Hilton Herbs makes the mix and you just measure out a small amount daily. Try this and you will see the difference! Always consult your veterinarian
Ancient Healing Method for Equines back to top by M. Carter BA,MT Acupressure which is older than acupuncture is an ancient Chinese method of healing that is now more widely used for horses. Holistically speaking it approaches the healing process from not only the body, but the mind and the spirit. It is noninvasive and stimulates energy pathways or meridians that nurture each organ. In western medicine we work on the central nervous system that is our brain stem and spinal chord. This runs the whole body system. Now, think of another kind of energy pathway that rum through the body in addition to the CNS that can be registered and felt by the acupressure practitioner. These pathways carry CHI or life force energy and in Chinese medicine this CHI is what keeps the body running. There are a series of acupoints that run along these pathways and are responsible for regulating the flow that runs in them. Acupressure releases endorphins that reduce pain, relieve muscle spasms, assist in removing toxins, enhance mental clarity, reduces swelling and help build the body's immune system, just to mention a few. There are points for colic, founder, back problems, circulatory and heart ailments, calming, hormone imbalances etc. Virtually anything that effects the body, mind, spirit of your horse. Acupressure sessions can be used to maintain wellness, increase performance, assist the body in healing disease and injury, and emotional problems. Used in combination with western veterinary medicine acupressure compliments the treatment and speeds up healing. I have used it successfully in many of these situations and had wonderful results! It really works! M.Carter BA,MT is an Equine Holistic Practitioner who uses acupressure, massage therapy, cranio-sacral therapy and Reiki on horses for wellness and healing. Sessions are available upon request for more information at www.hearttohearthorseranch.com M J.will be writing a column and taking question on Holistic Methods of Healing for Horses. Please e-mail your questions to mj@hearttohearthorseranch.com or write to Happy Trails
August 2004 back to top Balance Yourself, Balance Your Horse by M. Carter BA,MT A Holistic look at Horsemanship Most people who have time, money and emotions tied up in our horses we all want to see them healthy, strong and mentally focused. Most horse people spend a lot of time learning new methods, training, feeding just the right food and buying just the right gear. All of this does pay off and you can see how. There is a holistic concept that says.. "honor and see the whole being, the body, the mind, and the spirit." So, lets apply this to our horse. Now, put the human in the equation. Your horse does not ride by himself, or show by himself or make decisions for himself most of the time that is. You do all of that for and with your animal. You are part of the equation. You and the horse are partners in both of each other's lives as long as you two are interacting in living and working and enjoying one another. What your body does directly affects your horse. He/she is trained to take cues from you to carry out a certain result. If your body is out of alignment or in pain or unbalanced in some way then this will affect your horse. Lets say that you have low back pain and you favor your right side because your left hip and leg is tense and in pain. See how sitting in the saddle in this physical discomfort will change the way you are postured and the way you hold your hands and the way you breathe. So now be the horse for a moment, and see how someone on your back who is tight and rigid on the left side will affect your body. Frequently a behavioral problem with a horse is physical in nature. The point I am trying to make here is that you and your horse mirror each other and you both have a great influence on each other's bodies, minds and spirits. If you are having a really bad day and you react to your horse in an emotional manner they will react back with a certain type of behavior. Therefore, it is really important that you take care of you! I have watched people on horses who seem as though they never breathe! Look at their horse. Tension breads tension. Watch a horse that favors one side and look at the human's body. It usually is unbalanced in some way. The next time you are upset with your horses behavior or performance try looking in the mirror. I once had a young horsewoman say to me during a massage that she would never get on this horse again because it was so difficult to work with and she could not get close to it. I responded by offering the suggestion that she and the horse had something in common and they could both teach something to each other. Months later she told me that that mare was the best horse she had ever had. Take good care of your body, mind, spirit and your horse will follow. Balanced humans create balanced horses. M.Carter BA,MT Holistic Practitioner is the owner of Heart to Heart Horse Ranch where she offers sessions for the horse and rider in balancing each other. Also Massage therapy, acupressure, Reiki, cranio-sacral therapy for humans & Horses. She has a web site with articles, information and a NEW* Healing Circle for Horses where you can put your horse in the circle for prayers/healing meditations for any type of healing, whether physical or behavioral. call 208-746-1624 or cell 208-791-0740
July 2004 The Equine Healing Technique Called Energy Work back to top There are many healing techniques used in Holistic Healing and one of the modalities is balancing your horse's energy. To Many people this seems very weird and foreign and even foolish. However, when you understand exactly what is happening when using this therapy you will begin to see the possible benefits. Horses and humans have a central nervous system that governs the body functions, the muscles and the body systems. Your vet who used western medicine approaches healing through diagnosing the problem and using physical means to assist the body to fight and heal the illness. In holistic therapies the whole horse is taken into account and that means the body, the mind and yes the spirit. We look to the vet to diagnose the physical and then we look closer to see what is going on with the animal mentally and how they feel or you might say their spirit or their life essence. Think of your horse mentally. Some days they are happy to do just what you ask and some days they are just not easily worked with. Now think of your horse's spirit. Their desire to go that extra mile for you, their desire to fight an illness and live. You can see this in abused horses. Many have lost their fight and spark. Now you have the whole picture of your horse, body, mind and spirit. From here we introduce electromagnetics. The air we breathe the nerves in our body all work with this life force of positive and negative charges. Balancing energy for a horse requires learning the technique that will focus this energy to the horse's central nervous system, the spinal column and the brain stem. Energy work gives the nervous system what is needs to heal the body, therefore the mind and the spirit. I recently was called to look at a horse that the owner was thinking of putting down. She had surgery and was suffering and was not recovering very well. I used energy work on the afflicted areas and slowly daily, there were subtle changes for the better. Now after weeks of energy balancing and consistent vet visits she is on the mend. What was it that worked? Maybe a little of both? Does it matter? Both treatments complimented each other and gave this horse what she needed to get over the crisis and begin to heal. Some call it Reiki (a Japanese discipline that I am trained in) some call it polarity and years ago we called it hands on healing. In either case they all do the same thing. Another type of healing the spirit for those of you who truly love your animals we call it love. This is the stuff that gives the horses spirit the "energy" to go on and heal. By approaching your horse as a whole entity then you will know what their needs are before illness sets in and can keep them healthy. Energy work, Reiki in most cases will improve stamina, performance and there will be fewer illnesses and accidents. If you are interested in approaching your animal through natural means this is the therapy for you.
May 2004 back to top What Are Probiotics, and How Can They Help My Horse? The word probiotic gets thrown around a lot these days and even though they are very important for humans and horses many of us are really not certain just what they are and what they do. Pro-biotic is derived from the Greek word "pro" meaning "for" and "biosis" meaning "life." Therefore it means "for life." Probiotic supplementation is a way of encouraging the proliferation of certain good or beneficial bacteria to work to contribute to the digestive process. If you balance the beneficial bacteria and the enzymes needed for microbial balance they will flourish in the digestive system and assist the body in breaking down the foodstuff into nutrients needed to promote health and well being. Thirty years ago a horse grazing in a typical pasture would have the choice of say 30 to 40 different plants and grasses to eat. These plants brought their own natural enzymes, bacteria and nutrients creating the "balance needed for health." Today the same pasture horses are lucky to find 4 varieties to choose from and that is if they are on pasture. One of the most common sources of a digestive disturbance in horses is "stress", which is often caused by a variety of factors including sudden changes, breeding, moving, competition, traveling, training, parasites, vaccines, viruses and antibiotics, just to mention a few. The effects may not show up immediately but they will last a long time. To balance the microbes that are necessary to maintain health you can through the feed introduce beneficial bacteria into the gastrointestinal tract. And along with what they will naturally produce this will maintain the balance needed to get the most from the nutrients they eat. This is preventive therapy in most cases, and in some will actually give a horse that is low the opportunity for the body to heal itself. Probiotics frequently will limit the number of harmful bacteria, parasitic infestations and pathogens in the digestive system thereby limiting their negative effects on the horses well being. Remember that whatever nutritional potential your food has, the contents will be nonexistent if it is not absorbed properly. If the nutrients are not broken down and transferred through the intestinal mucosal cell to enter the circulation and be used by the body, it is as if it has never been eaten. Something so simple can give your horse the opportunity to have a head start on health. When looking for a probiotic make sure they have a guaranteed live microbial/bacterial count. Some like the Hilton Herb Company offer also offer herbs that sooth the digestive tract and compliment the probiotic. Hilton Herbs Restore contains slippery elm and marshmellow give a soothing effect, along with fenugreek and millions of beneficial gut bacteria. Order through us today! by M. Carter BA,MT
April 2004 back to top Introduction To Alternative Equine Healing & Herbs There are many alternative or holistic methods out there for you to choose for your horse and a few are massage therapy, reiki, acupressure, magnetic therapy, herbs and more. They all are based on treating the horse as a whole entity and looking at how all of the body systems interact with each other. Most of them have been around for centuries and have been and are used currently on humans. It is important to remember that they are not a substitute for traditional veterinary medicine in extreme cases. They work well and are very powerful modalities that promote healing and wellness and compliment western medicine when used with it. After surgery herbs, acupressure, reiki etc. will promote healing, reduce scaring and pain and assist the immune system. Massage Therapy, will for instance relax spastic muscles, help prevent the build up of metabolic wastes and lengthen connective tissue. Acupressure releases endorphins to reduce pain, enhances mental clarity and assists in building the immune system. Reiki assists the central nervous system with healing, reduces scar tissue and rejuvenates tissue. These are just a few descriptions of the results of these therapies. There is one other and that is Herbs. Herbs have been around for horses to graze on in pastures since forever. This "natures apothecary" allowed the equine to stay healthy and build a strong immune system. Today herbs come dried, organic, and wild crafted, made into tinctures, which is a liquid concentrate, or in salves, lotions and oils. You can add a particular herb to food for maintaining wellness or specifically for healing. Here are some suggestions for the equine owner to use. Herbal Tips Pick bunches of Cleavers (aka goosegrass) and feed throughout the season along with cut nettles, that have wilted and dried for a rich source of vitamin C and iron. Nettles will also bring out dapples in the coat. Marigold, Calendula officinalis was traditionally used as a blood tonic for stress and urinary and lymphatic systems. Also a common ingredient in soothing skin creams. Cider vinegar contains all the goodness of the apple and will help break down calcification in joints. An eye bath of Euphrasia and Chamomile will sooth sore and runny eyes. Here are just of a few ideas from nature's medicine cabinet. Remember you can compliment healing and promote wellness and increase stamina the natural way. So try using an alternative method with your horse and see just how effective they really are. By M. Carter BA,MT Owner Heart to Heart Horse Ranch MJ is available for consultations and sessions call 208-7461624 or e-mail at mj@hearttohearthorseranch.com I will be placing more articles on weekly so bookmark this page!
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