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.