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!