ABNORMAL EQUINE POSTURE: how rehab can help
ESSENTIAL OILS
HEALING with HONEY
EQUINE
rehabilitation
WITH REIKI
NUTRACEUTICALS
for aging horses
Snowman’s
Story
How an $80 rescue became a show jumping champion and the hero of a new movie
Handling HORSES THAT REAR
VOLUME 11 ISSUE 4
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August/September 2016
EquineWellnessMagazine.com Equine Wellness
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Conte 18
14 FEATURES 10 POSTURAL
26 HONEY FOR EQUINE
38 PEPPER: A LAMINITIS
Understanding abnormal equine posture and how rehabilitation intervention can help.
Honey isn’t just good to eat – it has great wound-healing properties for humans and horses alike!
In the rehabilitation process from laminitis, things often seem to get worse before they get better. Let’s take a walk through Pepper’s journey from pasture ornament to competitive riding horse!
REHABILITATION
WOUND MANAGEMENT
14 HANDLING HORSES
28 BACK TO BASICS
Rearing is a very dangerous unwanted behavior in horses. Let’s take a look at why your horse might display this behavior, and how you can safely overcome it.
32 CLAYS AND EARTHS
THAT REAR
18 SNOWMAN’S STORY
How an $80 rescue horse became a show jumping champion.
22 ESSENTIAL OILS AND EQUINE PAIN RELIEF
We don’t need to rely solely on pharmaceuticals to help give our horse pain relief. Age-old remedies such as essential oils are becoming more popular, and can have gentle, effective results.
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Equine Wellness
Reconnect and build trust with Centered Riding© basics.
HELP WITH HORSE HEALING
You have likely heard of different clays and earths being used in various ways to help promote healing and wellness in horses. But what are the differences between them, and how can they be used?
36 ADOPTING A HORSE FROM A RESCUE
In an effort to help reduce the homeless horse population, the ASPCA has launched an equine adoption campaign to bring attention to equine rescue and adoption.
CASE STUDY
44 NUTRACEUTICALS
AND THE AGING HORSE
While we can’t prevent aging, you can help support your elderly horse through the senior years with these natural strategies.
48 EQUINE REHABILITATION WITH REIKI
Follow these simple Reiki steps for powerful rehabilitation results in your horse!
52 THE DONKEY
SANCTUARY OF CANADA Providing care and protection for the long-eared side of the equine family.
nts
48
COLUMNS
DEPARTMENTS
8 Neighborhood news
6 Editorial
25 Herb blurb
35 Product picks
34 B usiness profile:
41 Heads up
Horse Harmony
42 Equine Wellness resource guide
46 Holistic veterinary Q&A
57 Book review
54 To the rescue
58 Marketplace
57 Minute horsemanship
60 Events
62 Acupressure at a glance
61 Classifieds
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ESSENTIAL OILS AND EQUINE
pain relief By Susan Albright, DVM
Lavender We don’t need to rely solely on pharmaceuticals to help give our horses pain relief. Age-old remedies such as
essential oils are becoming more
popular, and can have gentle, effective results.
Before the germ theory or the development of the microscope, man used nature’s offerings to achieve and maintain good health. The plant world provided plentiful and abundant opportunities to treat different conditions or ailments for man and animal. Hundreds of Biblical references refer to plants and their essential oils as medicine; for example, Revelations 22:2 states, “The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.” Communities revered the men and women who knew which plant or herb, or combinations thereof, could be used to treat different complaints or illnesses. The knowledge these “medicine men” possessed varied geographically and was passed down to only a select few.
beta caryophyllene, alpha humulene, and carvacrol have been studied for their analgesic and pain-relieving properties. You can find many of these studies at pubmed.gov.
Something old is now “new” again as essential oils have reappeared in healthcare. Today, we can dissect these oils to understand their chemical composition and how they work in the body – both human and animal. Essential oils are comprised primarily of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, some nitrogen and sulfur. Human and animal bodies are largely made up of these same elements, setting the stage for their compatibility. Much research has been devoted to understanding the different chemical constituents of essential oils and how they work for various conditions. Particularly, components such as eugenol,
Clove (Syzguim aromaticum) contains a high level of eugenol. Studies that look at relieving the symptoms of arthritis suggest this oil supports normal joint function and a normal inflammatory response in the body. The eugenol content causes
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Equine Wellness
TOP ESSENTIAL OILS FOR PAIN RELIEF A number of essential oils can be used effectively for pain relief. Lavender has been shown to reduce pain through inhalation as well as topical application. In 1910, the French chemist ReneMaurice Gattefosse discovered lavender to be effective for burns when he used it after sustaining a severe burn. His pain was relieved, and he experienced rapid healing with minimal scarring.
Cloves
clove oil to be considered “hot”, meaning it can be irritating when used full strength. Dilute the oil with a carrier oil for topical use. When you apply clove topically and follow it with peppermint or wintergreen oil, you create a warming, then cooling sensation. You can achieve the same effect by substituting oregano (Origanum vulgare) for the clove oil. Oregano is high in carvacrol, though, so it too is considered a “hot” oil. Oregano has also been studied for its pain-relieving properties.
Peppermint
Peppermint oil can be used topically, orally, or even through inhalation to ease abdominal discomfort, headaches and muscle soreness. It should be used cautiously around the face, eyes, and other sensitive mucus membrane areas due to the volatile menthol constituents in the oil. Keep a carrier oil such as olive, coconut or jojoba oil at hand to dilute the peppermint if it causes discomfort. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) has been used historically for arthritis, tendonitis, cramps, headaches and gout. The primary constituent responsible for the oil’s effects, methyl salicylate, produces salicylic acid when metabolized. This is the same metabolite that comes from acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin. The essential oil contains up to 98% methyl salicylate, and there are many warnings about overdosing when taking this oil orally. As with all essential oils, you must be cautious about consuming wintergreen indiscriminately. Used topically, wintergreen gives a cooling and soothing effect on muscles and is often combined with other essential oils. Continued on page 24.
Wintergreen Quality matters
The quality of an essential oil determines its effects. Some producers add synthetic components or remove other components to enhance scent or increase a particular level of a constituent, which adulterates the oil and compromises its desired effects. For example, lavender oil (Lavandula agustafolia) has a rich history of use on burns to alleviate pain and speed healing. However, applying a “lavender” oil primarily composed of lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) can have disastrous results because it has naturally higher camphor levels or other synthetic chemicals. When choosing an essential oil for health applications, you must know and trust the source, time of harvest, distillation process, and laboratory testing used by the company producing it.
Equine Wellness
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