Going Barefoot

Forrest, team player in the barefoot process

Three weeks ago I decided to remove the shoes of my horse to go barefoot. It was about time! Well, I've been thinking about it and talking about it for almost a year. I almost did it last summer. But because she was unbalanced and living on rocks I decided to postpone at that time. I worked with my farrier toward a better balanced feet (yes we could have done it without the shoes too) and continued my research. The more I was studying the hoof and observing horses the less I could stand shoes. But what decided me for good is when my horse told me in December, during her last shoeing, that she was done with it. She didn't want them anymore and it was clear. She wouldn't stand still when the time to nail them would come and gave me the look "What are you doing?". I thought how can I work so hard on building trust in my horsemanship when she shows me something and I don't step up for her. By the next day my decision was taken but first I had to wait for her to grow some feet again.

At that time I didn't know about the pasture. It just happened mid January and it was a blessing. Although there is still rocks in the pasture there is also lot and lots of grassy area. She just has to be aware of where she walks which is actually a good thing.

On January 21st I asked my farrier to pull the shoes off. I cannot say she felt good right away and even today she is still sore. I know it can take some time to adjust and although it can be painful to watch her walk on gravels or rocky path I know it's temporary and for the best!

So in the meanwhile I bought her boots. Not so much to ride her but for now it's to give her some relief when I take her out of the pasture and then to go back to our training (online and liberty). It's not miraculous but its helps for sure. After three weeks now she is doing better. But as Marjorie Smith said: 

"Be patient and trust the horse to heal."

 I am patient and very happy that a little bite more, I let my horse be a horse.

Renegade boots

What going or being barefoot means?

In touch with the earth has it is intend to

When a horse is barefoot, the flexing of his hoof pump an enormous amount of blood into the hoof capsule every time the hoof hits the ground; and it pushes it back up the leg when the hoof leaves the ground.

The blood circulation in the legs protects the joints, the ligaments and the tendons. It nourishes them.

When metal shoes are nailed to horse feet, it restricts the circulation because the hoof need to flex to pump blood.

Without proper circulation the nerve endings quit transmitting and the horse looses the feelings. The white line lacks nutrients and becomes weak and stretched.

Nailing metal shoes on a horse also weakens the hoof wall and it eliminates the natural shock absorption mechanism. The frog must touch the ground. It needs to be able to expend to absorb the impact.

The transition from shod to barefoot
The transition represents the time to rebuild and restore the hoof. Pulling the shoes has for direct effect improving the circulatory system and firing of the nerves.

It can take several days, weeks or a month to recover. But if the hoof are not healthy it may need months (6-8 months to a year) to grow a new hoof capsule.

Finale freshly trimmed after pulling the shoes

Interesting fact about why horses in transition are "sore on gravels":

The transition from shod to barefoot is not about "toughening up" the sole. It is not the sole that is sore, it's the corium -- a layer of living tissue on the bottom of the coffin bone that grows the sole. Iodine or other drying treatments do not speak to the actual problem. Putting gravel in the horse's turnout to "toughen the feet" will work against you; wait until after transition is completed.

When we have a stretched white line -- due to the lack of nutrition in a shod hoof, or due to the mechanical forces of a flare -- the coffin bone sinks away from the hoof wall and presses down onto the sole corium. The corium gets inflamed by the constant pressure of the bone. When the horse walks on gravel or rocks, it hurts. It's like when you have an inflamed finger; you'd rather not bump into sharp corners with it.

The horse will not go sound-on-gravel (or other hard, uneven terrain) until the white line has healed and tightened up, and the coffin bone is held firmly up inside the hoof wall. This should generally happen within a year.

Source: www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_Transition.html

Going natural

Going barefoot is more like a philosophy and lifestyle. It goes beyond pulling the shoes. The horse nutrition plays a major part. A horse needs to be able to graze full time or have hay/forage available 24 hour. Attention must be brought to the amount of sugars in the feed and to the right amount of minerals and vitamins. A poor diet will damage the white line and hoof health.

A horse also needs to be able to move. 24 hour turnout is ideal but when no choice, long turnout are necessary. Hoof need continued movement for health and healing.

Finale with her pretty boots:)

Fun at the pasture

I think I am having as much fun and good time at the pasture as my horse! And for a change I wanted to share pictures.

Pretty bushes.

I've been working on a place to go back to our training. First step is to remove the rocks and make it comfy for the feet. One rock at a time ... I will get there!

This will be my Parelli playground#1

More flower here and there.

Happy herd.

 Happy Finale.

Well this one we don't want to keep it. It's what we call here fireweek aka Madagascar Ragwort. It's considered invasive and toxic to horses.
Important fact:

• Each flower can produce 150 seeds, each plant can produce 30,000 seeds per year that spread by wind, hiking boots, vehicles or by animals when moved from infested to non-infested areas. As you can imagine it's hard to control!
• Toxic to livestock when eaten, it causes slow growth, illness, liver-malfunction and even death in severe cases. Very scary. The good thing is that horses won't eat it but still not very reassuring to know it's there so little by little I help my friend to "clean" the pasture. 

One bag at a time ...

 Love the peace of being a horse gazing on the slope of Maui.

New Pasture

Finale with her new herd

Last week my mare changed home. From a dirt paddock she went to a 18 acres pasture with lots of grass, trees and other horses. Before the move I was very worried. Scared of the separation from her herd, scared of the trip even if it was only a mile, scared of the integration to the new herd.

But everything went really well and smooth. She was ready and deep inside I knew it. 

Enjoying plenty of grass

It's been a week now and I love this place. I feel so grateful that my friend offered me to put her with his horses. She is thrilling over there. 

The pasture has the shape of a horse shoe:) with different elevation, different terrain. There is flat part but also hills and rocks to make it more fun. There is different type of grass (don't know them all yet), bushes and trees. It's beautiful and very peaceful. 

She has been integrated to the herd. She made friend with the gelding and her best friend seems to be Emma the mule.

Finale and her new boyfriend Ehu:)

My Parelli coach came to check it out and she said it was a great place to play with a horse. There is endless possibilities. Level 2, here I come:)

Yes Finale, all this space for you!

But what I like about this week is that I could witness my mare being a horse: choosing carefully which grass to it, testing with her lips, being very careful where she was walking, measuring every steps, communicate with her peers to find her place, following her new friends to discover the area, figuring out where the new noises were coming from, analyzing the environment. I could see her thinking. It was very moving to me and I wish every horse could get that. 

Psyllium and sand colic

Psyllium has been on my mind again. My mare lives in a rocky sandy paddock. She eats hay from the ground and although hay is fed in feeders it always ends up in the dirt where she will try to grab every possible crumbs. I am very concern about her ingesting sand and eventually developping sand colic so I've been thinking of doing a psyllium seven days treatment and then the monthly routine.

Psyllium is a natural source of fiber. It acts as a bulk laxative. It's helpful to clean sand from the intestinal tract. We find it in two forms: pellets and powder. The pellets are more palatable for the horse as flavor is added.
It is important to note that psyllium shouldn't be mixed with water when fed. It will turn into a sticky gel mixture and will present a choking risk for the horse. Also psyllium does not work as well when wet (we want it to get sticky in the gut to trap the sand). For that reason pellets can represent to best form to feed.

Studies have also shown that psyllium fed along  with probiotics improves the sand clearance. Therefore it appears to be a good idea to add some probiotics to the diet during the treatment.

What Ayurveda says:
Psyllium is a bulk laxative, demulcent, anti-inflammatory. It helps to absorb mucous and bacteria in inflammatory intestinal conditions. It drags toxins and worms out of alimentary canal.
Interesting fact:

• Prolonged use of psyllium reduces fertility.
• Psyllium may slow the absorption of other medication. It's better to take it two hours after medication (allopathic or herbal)

Source: Ayurvedic Medicine, Sebastian Pole

Now the best way to avoid sand colic is by prevention. Feeding in a clean area, having rubber mats under feeder and hay net is a solution. Or as Dr Juliet M. Getty wrote in her book "Feed your horse like a horse": "Best way to prevent sand colic is to provide forage -lots of it- all day long.".

Equine Nutrition #2: Composition of the food

In this post I will give an overview of the composition of the feedstuff. As you can see in the following diagram, there are two main components in food: water and dry matter. The nutrients are found in the dry matter fraction. This is where we find the minerals, the vitamins, the carbohydrates, the fats and the proteins. (click on diagram to enlarge)

Water

Water is an essential component of the horse's diet. Water is required for transporting nutrients in the body. It's involved in the thermal regulation. It's essential for the excretion of the waste products but also for the gut function.

Carbohydrate (CHO)

The carbohydrate falls into two categories:

- Structural CHO

It's the fibrous fraction of the food. The digestion of structural CHO takes place in the large intestine by microbial fermentation. It produces volatile fatty acids. It's the main energy source for most horses. It's a slow release energy but more steady and constant.

- Non-structural CHO

Non-strucutral CHO are in the cell content and they constitute the storage carbohydrate of the plant (energy source for the plant). We find here the starch, fructan and simple sugar. The digestion of starch and simple sugar takes place in small intestine by enzyme. It's a rapid source of energy.The fructans cannot be digested in small intestine and so travel through the large intestine where they are fermented by the microbial population. 

!!! If non-structural CHO are present in too big quantity the small intestine cannot digest them and the remaining undigested starch and sugar will end up in large intestine. The product of microbial fermentation will be lactic acid that can alter the gut environment. That is why we want to feed small amount of starch and sugar.

Oil and Fat

The fats that are present in forage are simple in structure. Fats added to the diet are mostly triacyglycerols. Horses don't require high level of fat. Fat is added to the diet to increase the energy content as it is a concentrated source of energy (2x energy content of cereals). The digestion takes place in the small intestine.

We are seeing an increase interest in the two essential fatty acids, Omega 3 and Omega 6, in terms of potential health benefits but more studies need to be done.

Protein

Proteins are required for structural purpose (muscle, skin, hair), formation of enzyme, hormones and immune system. 

There are two categories of protein: essential and non-essential amino acids. Essential has to be supplied in diet and non-essential are synthesized by the animal.

Lysine is an essential amino acid.

Protein requirement will increase with work, growth, pregnancy, recovery from injury, muscle loss, surgery, etc.

!!!! Too much protein will damage liver and kidney and create mineral imbalance!

Minerals

Minerals are required for growth, transport of energy, co-factors of enzyme, etc. They are mainly absorbed in small intestine. There are two categories: macro minerals and trace minerals.

Macro minerals are required in large quantities (Calcium, Phosphorus, Chloride, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Sulphur). Trace minerals or micro minerals are needed in very small quantities (Cobalt, Copper, Molybdenum, Zunc, Manganese, Iron, Floride, Iodine, Selenium, Chromium).

!!!! Ratio between some minerals is very important like Ca:P 2:1 Calcium has to be twice as Phosphorus. Calcium has a good ration in forage but poor in cereals grains.

Another important ration is the Cu:Zn 3-4:1

Vitamins

Vitamins are required in small amounts but they are vital for many bodily functions like vision, immunity, growth, bone development, etc.

There are two categories of vitamins: fat soluble (A, E, D, K) and water soluble (C and B Complex).

The water soluble are not stored but are produced or synthesized by the organs.

A little walk outside the comfort zone.

I took my mare for a walk outside our usual path today. Fifi is a Right Brain Introvert in the Parelli language. In other word, she tends to be more on the fearful and nervous side, can be reactive, spooky and very emotional. Everything new or just different is a challenge in itself. Even going from working in the round pen to the arena made her nervous!

I love the look on her face saying something like "Are you really sure you want to go that way? I think I see something over there.... maybe we should go back".
It's not too bad on the photo. A few minutes later she got actually scared of the "something over there" that was actually a horse grazing and did a little dance on the spot. The good thing is that after that it only take her a minute or so to relax and chew and lick (secretly of course).
But at least we can go now. Before she wouldn't even want to walk there.
Love my Fifi:)

Rainy day, cookie day

Thanks to the weather, I had some time today at home to be able to cook some horse cookies.

All very good ingredients, organic, no sugar or molasses, herbs to improve joint health.

It smelled so good and they taste really good too.

Let's see tomorrow what Finale has to say about that:)

Ouch! Finale has a cut.

A few days ago I found my mare with a cut on her front leg. The cut didn't look too bad and the swelling was really mild so I didn't even mind cold hosing it and just cleaned the cut.

Second Day

The following day as you can see the swelling was more serious. It was pretty close to the cut. This time I used cold water for 10 minutes although I don't believe in icing when it's not right after it happens. Swelling is a natural reaction, it's there for something and I think we shouldn't always interfere with the body natural healing process. I cleaned the wound with Betadine and used Sore No-More on the swelling. Third day was pretty much the same with the swelling going down and being around the knee. It was huge. I let her out to graze and walk.

Fourth Day

This is the Fourth day and already better. I cleaned the leg with Castile soap and water, Sore No-More around the knee and a long walk with snack break.
Today it was very clean with no more swelling. All back to normal:)

I really like Sore No-More. It's a natural herbal liniment with cooling properties. It contains arnica, rosemary, lavender. It's very good on sore muscles, it reduces pain and inflammation, stimulates blood flow, loosens muscle and tendon. I even use it on myself sometimes, that's how much I like it:) I use the gelotion. I love the smell and the feeling. A must have in every grooming kit or even every bathroom;)

Joint Support Supplement

Joint Support by Christelle, Equine Ayurveda.

EA Joint Support is a herbal supplement that supports a healthy function of the joints and muscles.

Properties: detoxifies, lubricates and soothes the joint tissues. It has nourishing and anti-inflammatory properties.
Indication: arthritis, sprain and strain, bone fracture.

Main ingredients:
Boswellia (Indian Frankincense): It relieves pain from arthritis or post trauma. It has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used instead of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Used to speed the healing of wounds, broken bones and bruises via its blood circulatory action.
Turmeric: It treats inflammation in the joints, alleviates pain and strengthens the joints and tendons.
(Turmeric is also considered a blood "purifier" and it benefits the skin, the heart but also the digestive system.)

Formula can be adapted to specific condition (arthritis, bone fracture, etc...) and/or to specific constitution.
Other ingredients that can be added: Guggulu, Ginger, Ashwangandha, Black Pepper.

Essential Oil doTERRA

It's not often (and actually almost never) that i am talking about a specific brand but I have to make an exception for this amazing brand of essential oil: doTERRA.

I've been using essential oil for a while now. I've been using them mainly topically for massage or pressure point or in my product too like the skin balm. But this brand got me back to work with essential oils even more and I know I will be able to reach a whole new level in therapy. I hope to be able to do a clinic in the future to introduce the use of essential oils with horses. That's another project!

For now I have a lot of fun bringing the oils to my mare and see what she thinks. I have an anxious mare and I started to use the doTERRA blend Serenity. I rub a few drops into my hands and apply it on her chest, knees, poll and ears. It seems to really calm her and she loves the smell.

I love how her eyes soften.

If you don't have doTERRA , well first I can always sell some to you :) or for a calming effect you can use the following essential oils in the same way: lavender, chamomille, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot.

Herbal Soothing Skin Balm

Herbal Soothing Skin Balm by Christelle, Equine Ayurveda.

The soothing balm is made out of herbal oil and essential oils. It promotes a healthy skin. It has cooling properties. It soothes the tissues and supports the rejuvenation process. The lavender and  citronella essential oils act also as a natural repellent.

Properties: anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal, antiseptic, anti-bacterial, analgesic, anti-scarring.

Indication: Fly bites, skin irritations, skin allergies, scratches.

Ask for a sample!!!

Some of the ingredients and their properties:

Brahmi Oil: Cooling and calming. It promotes hair growth, cellular regeneration. It soothes irritated skin.

Castor Oil: antimicrobial, anti-fungal, anti-itch and pain-relieving. It nourishes the tissues.

Neem Oil: Anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial. It reduces inflammation and relieves dry and itchy skin.

Lavender essential oil: anti-fungal, analgesic, antiseptic, It has a calming, relaxing and balancing effect. It promotes tissue regeneration and reduces scarring. It is a natural fly repellent.

Equine Nutrition #1: The Equine Gastro Intestinal Tract

A few months later ... I now have a certification in Equine Nutrition and can't wait to learn more! This is a fascinating subject and there is so much to learn and share. So I am going to start a series of post related to Equine Nutrition with this first one about the Gastro Intestinal Tract.

This is very basic information as my goal is not to reproduce my training or a book.

Equine Nutrition #1: The Equine Gastro Intestinal Tract (GIT)

The GIT begins at lips and ends at anus. It consists of three functional regions: stomach, small intestine and large intestine.
Mouth: the digestion begins in the mouth with the mastication of the food and production of the saliva.
Stomach: the stomach is small and inelastic (reason we feed little and often). Only little food digestion happens there.
Small Intestine: the small intestine has three parts: Duodenum, Jejenum, Ileum. This is where we find the digestion of starches, sugars, fat and proteins but also minerals. It uses an enzymatic digestion method.
*note: any constituents not digested in Small Intestine will pass to Large Intestine

Large intestine or hindgut: The large intestine has three parts: the Caecum, the large colon and the small colon. This is where the degradation of fibers takes place. This is where the horse gets its energy. There is no digestive enzymes. The method of digestion is microbial fermentation (bacteria, fungi, protozoa). The health of the large intestine is very important and it is designed to process fibers! Problems occur when low fibers diets are fed. Also any sudden change in the diet will affect the microbial population and can lead to health issues.

Important facts:

• Good teeth are major in the digestive process as they reduce the food into particles sizes. This reduction will allow the enzymes to access the constituents of the food.
• The horse's stomach produces acid continuously regardless of whether it contains food or not! Saliva has a balancing role on the gastric environment BUT  saliva is only produced in response to mastication. This is one of the reason why chewing is essential for horses.
• The intestinal system is designed to process high level of low nutritional quality forage on almost continual basis. Therefor the principle diet for a horse should be forage and this around the clock. If concentrates has to be given, it should be given in small amounts and throughout the day.

Equine Nutrition Course

I am starting a 5 weeks online course on Equine Nutrition (and so excited about it). It's time for me to go further on the subject as I want to understand and I want what is best for my horses. In Ayurveda, food plays an important role in promoting health and is therefore considered medicine. I read somewhere Let Your Food Be Your Medicine and I will even say Let Your Food Be Your Medicine And Not The Problem. Today people feeds grains, molasses, all kind of unnatural things for horses. Why? What are the other options for a complete and balance diet? I am not sure this course will bring me answers but at least it will make me think and research.

Course Summary
This course will cover many aspects of equine nutrition ranging from anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract to dietary management of horses/ponies affected with nutrition-related disorders. This course is designed to provide knowledge of equine digestion and nutrition for those with an interest in this area. The anatomy and physiology of the equine alimentary canal will be studied to provide students with a detailed understanding of the equine digestive system. Nutrient sources for horses will be discussed, with emphasis placed on the health and welfare issues surrounding the inclusion of various types of feedstuffs in equine diets. Students will also discuss recommendations on rations for horses and ponies performing various activities and will be able to make recommendations on rations for horses and ponies in health and disease.

Parelli Horsenality and Ayurvedic constitution

Could Parelli actually have an ayurvedic approach to training? Well, I was surprised (and happy) to see that they use something very close to what we know in Ayurveda as the constitution or prakriti [See post to come on Ayurvedic constitution].

"In the Parelli program, we use four core horse personality (or Horsenality) types to categorize horses. Horsenality helps us understand our horses' innate characteristics and what motivates them so that we can create customized training plans for each horse!" Read more here.
And here is how the classification goes.
The four Horsenality types are:

• Left-Brain Extrovert - dominant, likes to move his feet. If he could talk, he'd say, "You're not the boss of me! Play with me!"
• Left-Brain Introvert - dominant, calm doesn't like to move his feet. If he could talk, he'd say, "I'm ignoring you... What's in it for me?"
• Right-Brain Introvert - unconfident, doesn't like to move his feet. If he could talk, he'd say, "Don't rush me. Be gentle with me."
• Right-Brain Extrovert - unconfident, fearful, likes to move his feet. If he could talk, he'd say, "The sky is falling... focus me!"

This is very inspiring for me and I can see how the Right Brain Extrovert is close to a Vata, a Left Brain Extrovert to a Pitta and then some combination with Kapha. [See post to come about the different constitution].
Yes, yes, definitively YES for a training that respect the personality, the nature of the horse!

In the Parelli forum some people were talking about how in the fall season the Right Brain Extrovert/Introvert (Vata dominant) was showing more of the extreme behavior. It all makes sense since it's the season when Vata is aggravated.
Isn't it amazing?

Parelli Program, the first months

Why Parelli?

First of all it happens that my horse has already been through the Parelli program and that's how I met my instructor. As she knew the horse, she offered me an introductory class. But what made me choose to continue with Parelli and not another natural horsemanship school is that it talks to me. I like how the program is designed, there is steps or levels, there is goals. It's clear. I don't have a problem with the business appearance of it, of the very expensive material and all. I think it's like how you choose your yoga teacher or Yoga "style". It's personal, it's a connection.

On Thursday October the 24th 2013 I had my first Parelli training class and first Parelli experience. We did it in the backyard. I loved it right away. It was like finding what I was always looking for to BE with horses: a relation based on trust and respect. My instructor, Tricia, introduced me to the basics and the first games. I feel blessed that the horse I have has already some training and I am really able to learn from her. Very fast I realized that actually she is my teacher. The class went well. Without an hesitation I asked Tricia if she would like to give me another class and she said yes:) She gave me a DVD that would help to review what we did and to get familiar with the vocabulary and the program.

November has been a discovery month. I watched the DVD a couple of time, did some short practices from what I could remember. I felt very clumsy sometime and Finale was very patient with me. I checked the website also and by mid November I was sure it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to go through the program, getting lessons, learning, practicing Parelli. So for my birthday I ordered the educational kit and schedule my next lesson.

The second class was on November 23rd. I was so excited about it! This time we went to the arena which was way better in terms of focus. Now that I knew a little better what I was doing, Tricia showed me the games in more details. I was able to see how a deeper relationship could take place.

December is when it really started. There is no more doubts or questions about Parelli (if there ever was!). First step was about building a relation with Finale. I spent a lot of time with her, grooming, taking care, just being there for her and with her. The goal was to be committed to us, to have this special bond and to let her know that she is very special to me.

A few pointer for December:

• I received my kit with ropes, carrot stick, DVDs.
• I tried to practice in the arena 3 times a week and slowly got use to the games, the equipment, the communication.
• I realized that I have to slow down when I practice with Finale and take time to integrate.
• I have to be aware of my posture, my energy. I may not know what I do but Finale sees everything:)
• I started to have some fun in the arena. It's a new way to work with the horse or should I say play with the horse. 
• I also started to have a glimpse of a beautiful and sweet connection with Finale.
• It's very important to be consistent. I need to stick to my schedule. It reminds me the path of Yoga: Practice, discipline, commitment, detachment.

I started to practice the circling game. It went pretty well for a few sessions but I had to step back as I lost the backing up in the process. When Tricia came for my third class on December 21st it was broken and we spent the class to review the basics. After one month of progress I had to go back to the very basic and I discovered that actually it is totally fine with me. 

I spent the end of the month practicing the backward motion with the Porcupine, Driving and Yoyo game. Slowly getting it back.

The practice teaches me a lot at a personal level and I realize that the training is going to ask me to work on myself too before even asking something to my horse!

Change of weather

Two days ago a cold front was about the hit the island of Maui. On that morning, it was a beautiful sunny day with wind. Anybody who knows Maui also knows that wind is very common here. It could have been like any other day but there was something different and the horses could sense it.

Maybe the direction of the wind, the temperature, the atmospheric pressure... the horses were very nervous, especially when a lead mare was removed from her herd (for special feeding and care).
As I observed the weather I could find the Vata qualities of it: windy, dry, cool. And I could also see how a Vata imbalance was showing in the horses through nervousness and anxiety. They were agitated, irritated and impatient.
Being aware of the Vata situation, I let every horses with their buddies, gave them food and didn't bother them. I cancelled my class.

Clouds heading for East side of island.

Later that day the clouds came in and it started to rain. Almost a relief as everything was slowly coming back to peace.
I am always amazed when witnessing the extreme sensitivity of horses, at so many levels. It was a great opportunity for me to tune with them and acknowledge our connection to Nature, to respect the moment and to act accordingly to it.

Brahmi Oil - Part 2: Study Cases

This post follows Brahmi Oil - Part 1: Presentation

Study Case #1: I used Brahmi oil on a mare that was showing a high Pitta condition (anger, irritation). She loved it at first sight (and smell). It helped her to relax toward a peaceful state.

Study Case #2: I used Brahmi oil on a daily basis on a horse with a wound on back and belly from fly bites. After one week of treatment the skin was clean and soft and we could see the beginning of hair growth. After two weeks of daily treatment it was fully recovered with no more traces of wound.

Study Case #3: I gave Brahmi oil to an owner whose horse had a fresh scar from deep cut. It required 14 stitches.

After the wound closed she started to apply the oil daily on the scar for several weeks. Today (a few months later) there is no trace of the scar. The hair grew back, the skin is soft. Of course a really good care of the wound during the healing was an important part of a clean recovery.

Adding a few drops of citronella and lavender essential oil in the Brahmi oil will also act as a repellent during the healing period.

Natural Horsemanship, a beginning.

What could be the place of Natural Horsemanship in Equine Ayurveda? I don't have the answer yet but what I know is that I've been introduced to the Parelli program and I felt in love with it. It's obvious for me that there is no equine health without a healthy relationship with the horse. Horses are sensitive creature and how we are with them or around them impact how they feel.

So I decided to go further on the path of Natural Horsemanship and become a Parelli student along with my horse that for now looks more like the Parelli instructor. I will share my experience through this blog as a part of "The Path". Hope you won't see it as a digression. And who knows maybe I will come to an Ayurvedic Horsemanship method some day :) Ayurveda is a way of life, we should never forget.

Brahmi Oil - Part 1: Presentation

Brahmi oil is an ayurvedic therapeutic herbal oil. It is a blend of Brahmi herbs in a base of sesame oil (can also be coconut oil). It is a Pitta soothing oil. It calms and clears the mind. It enhances a peaceful feeling.

Indication:
Brahmi oil is used to treat conditions as mental imbalances and problems, emotional disturbance, nervous exacerbation, insomnia but it is also beneficial  for treating skin and hair.

Benefits:
The oil has for effect to:

• relieve from tension and anxiety
• soothe the brain providing a calm state of mind
• promote alertness and awareness
• help to relax physically and mentally
• promote healthy hair (nourish, strengthen and condition)
• heal damaged skin tissue and soothe irritated skin
• promote cellular regeneration.

Application and direction:

• Massaging the pole of the horse with a few drops of oil will calm a horse and show effects on the mind.
• Massaging the navel area, using circular motion around it for about 5 minutes (nabhi marma point) with Brahmi oil will be good for Pitta caused heat and stress in belly.
• Applying oil on scar and closed wound (bites and fly bites, fresh scars, scratches, saddle sores, ...) will help the skin to heal and hair to grow back.

Update and News #1

I think the time has come to do an update on my work and project as Ayurveda and Equine Health Care is reaching a new level. I've been offered a position of ranch manager this summer at Ohana Ranch of Maui. I now have thirty two horses of all ages and sizes under my care.

The owner and I are sharing the same vision of a holistic ranch which represents a great opportunity to bring Ayurveda at every level of horse management and care. This includes not only the bodywork but nutrition, lifestyle (work, training, routines), exercises, body care, to name a few. Ayurveda has so much to offer!

I've started to introduce some of my herbs formula and oils at the ranch but there is two domains of study and application I would like to focus on. They are:

• the hormonal cycles in mares
• the appropriate nutrition and feeding routines.

Very exciting!

So as I deepen my work in Ayurveda for horses, I decided to create a Facebook page that goes with this blog where I will share anything around the subject. Follow the link to check and like!!!! https://www.facebook.com/EquineAyurveda

I also decided to turn this blog into a website (at least the address for now). The official address is now: www.equineayurveda.com.

Please visit the FB page and like it!