We are well into summer here in Texas but other areas of the country are still in spring. Mares are starting to cycle and it seems they tend to have more issues in the first few heats of the season. Signs that a mare is uncomfortable include: Swishing her tail Reacting to touch Resisting having … Continue Reading »
I have a patient in the barn right now who has some stomach problems. His name is Bud and he would died last year except that his owner took such good care of him. Bud quit eating and was having some colic episodes. After trying several nutritional programs and remedies we finally got a response … Continue Reading »
Many people, including myself, have been bucked off by horses with what I call sticky feet. A horse with sticky feet does not move forward smoothly but instead lags back even though he has plenty of energy. Horses with sticky feet are not lazy horses and in fact can move very energetically but tend … Continue Reading »
Hering’s law of cure: Two hundred years ago homeopathic doctors did not have laboratory tests or MRI’s to diagnose and monitor patients. Homeopaths depended entirely on their powers of observation and these skills had to be well developed. Constantine Hering determined that by looking at how a patient’s symptom picture was presenting would help predict … Continue Reading »
On my last post I started talking about cure, palliation and suppression of symptoms. This post continues that post. Palliation – This is what happens most often when treating symptoms. We have been conditioned to expect this most people don’t mind giving medicines long term as long as they get rid of symptoms. Many horse … Continue Reading »
I have been approaching my practice and life from a holistic perspective for about 20 years. This has been a process. I did not wake up one morning or read a book and decide to be holistic. I did, however, grasp the concept and I have been striving to achieve it ever since. I want … Continue Reading »
Remi, my Yang Ming temperament horse, is very well behaved with one exception. At feeding time he puts his ears back and gets too much in my space. If I confront him he backs up and I insist he put his ears up before I put feed in his bucket. Lately he has been getting … Continue Reading »
My friend, Rita, has a real nice Earth temperament horse named Kate. Kate has had several health issues most of which involve excess fluid accumulation in her tissues. Over the last several years Kate has had several occasions when her udder has become swollen and sometimes Rita can milk some clear fluid from each teat. … Continue Reading »
I just finished reading the May 2009 issue of The Horse magazine. I was very interested in the article on worms in horses. This article focused on the resistance worms have developed to chemical dewormers. It seems that the conventional wisdom is coming to the same conclusions that many of us holistic types have been … Continue Reading »
I had to put Remi back in natural balance shoes yesterday. I loved the epona shoes but they did not hold up well in my rocky terrain. I feel the challenges with this shoe were more Remi and not the shoe itself. I loved that the epona shoe gave such good frog support and … Continue Reading »
Last fall one of my clients consulted with me on her Arab gelding, Bud. Bud had been losing weight for several months despite regular deworming and teeth floating. He had recently been treated for an impaction colic and although recovered from that his appetite had not picked up. Now Bud was several hundred pounds under … Continue Reading »
I have been studying some of my Traditional Chinese Medicine notes about joint stiffness and pain. I am working on getting a list of products to use for each of the Five Element types. Ever since I started looking at the Five Element horse temperaments I have wanted to find the best ways to make … Continue Reading »
After 2 years of time recovering from her last case of EPM, Cerise has the symptoms again. I noticed in Feb. that she was losing some muscle tone but I was not able to work her because I was sick so thought that was the problem. Most horses won’t lose muscle tone in only … Continue Reading »
Blue-green algae plays a very important part in my holistic healing practice for horses. The blue-green algae I have been using for the last two decades comes from Klamath Lake in Oregon. It is distributed through network marketing. It is very high in chlorophyll, beta-carotene, vitamin B-12, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. I trust this … Continue Reading »
I can’t say this strongly enough: It is critical that the status of your horse’s immune system and the risk of his exposure to diseases be carefully evaluated before any vaccines are given! To decide how to tailor your vaccination program to your horse’s needs, ask yourself the questions below: How old is your horse? … Continue Reading »
Most horses are happiest living in a pasture and most minor injuries will heal just as well with the horse turned out. Occasionally, however, serious horse injuries require stall confinement. Prolonged stall confinement can lead to stomach ulcers or vices such as cribbing or weaving. Here are 11 ways you can keep your confined horse … Continue Reading »
I have my equine dentist, Gregg Mckee, in this week and we have been busy floating horses. Gregg specializes in performance horses and horses with problem teeth and mouths. He still believes in using hand floats to do the majority of the work but have power tools for balancing molars and reducing the incisors. … Continue Reading »