February 2021
Holistic Horsekeeping
How to have a healthy happy horse.
Volume 26, Number 2
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In This Issue:
1. Holistic Horse Health: The miserable merry go round of horse ulcers
2. Holistic Horsekeeping Resources
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1. Holistic Horse Health: The miserable merry go round of horse ulcers
First you have stress, then you have ulcers, then pain causing more stress. Or you have pain, then ulcers and then more pain and stress or you have ulcers, then stress… See how horse ulcers can become a miserable, never ending merry go round for the horse and owner.
What to do and where to start? You have to look at the whole picture.
- Stress – Just like your life, your horse’s life will never be perfect. Some horses handle stress well and others fold under pressure. The sensitive horses easily get stuck in the sympathetic side of the autonomic nervous system. In the sympathetic, fight or flight, state these horses are unable to relax enough to digest food properly causing a constant indigestion.
To help support the sensitive horses I use a hemp formula called Focus . This product contains high levels of CBG which helps your horse reset his system once the stress has passed or cope with it while it is happening. The CBG also helps the nervous system release patterns of past trauma or fear. As few as 1 to 2 drops a day can help your horse cope with long term stress by balancing his endocannabinoid system.
For show horses that can’t receive hemp during an event I use a mushroom formula also called Focus. The combination of mushrooms, magnesium and probiotics helps relax your horse but not sedate him. Focus can be given to effect if your horse is nervous and not eating well. By addressing the digestive and nervous system you allow the horse to shift into the parasympathetic, rest and relax, state. From this place proper digestion can resume so indigestion and subsequent ulcers are avoided.
- Ulcers – Digestive aids such as algae with probiotics, GastroPlus Pro, Ulcer Answer Plus and Aloe/slippery elm all support digestion and healing of horse ulcers. You can read about all of these in the digestive support section of the website. Finding the right one or combination is worth the effort to give your horse relief.
- All the above products help heal the digestive system and this will help with pain. Making sure that tack fits, teeth are floated and horses are fit for the tasks requested keeps training pain to a minimum. Joint supplements such as Joint and Recovery, Summit, SteadFast, and Joint Plus are useful as well. Body work helps with pain and stress.
- Last, but not least, is you. What kind of stress are you under? How are you handling it? Are you suppressing emotions that your horse is picking up on? Do you have pain that is being transferred to your horse? Are you getting enough sleep?
It is so beneficial when you have a stressed horses that you also take Focus or Calm hemp oil at the same time you are giving it to your horse. With this, you can be in a supportive emotional state for each other. Only a few drops 1 to 3 times a day are needed to help address emotional balance.
I have seen success with many cases of horse ulcers when all these aspects are taken care of. Miss part of the picture and you will get dizzy chasing symptoms.
Photo credit:
Merry Go Round2 by Ariane Hunter (copyright – some rights reserved)2. Holistic Horsekeeping Resources
Make this the year you commit to deepening your understanding of your horse and his/her needs according to temperament type and through the use of a holistic approach. You will find lots of temperament typing information on the Horse Temperament website, including an online course, help from temperament consultants, balancing formulas, and books/audios. Then check out the “5 Element Personality” sections of articles on our blog and the Intro to 5 horse types and temperaments on Holistic Horsekeeping. If you are struggling with a horse in chronic pain, you may find a Homeopathic Consult with Dr. Ward helpful or learn more about homeopathics yourself through the Mentoring Program. Be sure to take a look too at these webinars with Dr. Ward and Kim Bauer:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6wSLQ_ka0&feature=youtu.be
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv4xzOqZnH8&feature=youtu.be
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yDkmozqhNU&feature=youtu.be
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