Equine wellness
Equine
Your natural resource!
wellness
IMMUNE INVASION
How to review your vaccine protocols
Dating
Getting a “FEEL” for it
Game
Learning the native language of horses
Tips on choosing the right stallion for your mare
FACE TIME
EAPD
What do swirls tell you about your horse’s personality?
Using horse sense to help you learn about yourself
PASTURES OF PLENTY
Laurel’s Story
How to boost your hay-eating horse’s immune system
What you can do in the face of serious injury
KNOW YOUR
BUDDING HEALTH
H2O
Discover the healing power of plant and tree buds
September/October 2009 Display until October 13, 2009 $5.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 5
EquineWellnessMagazine.com
equine wellness
Contents September/October 2009
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features 14 Horse sense
With the help of an equine partner, EAPD takes you on a journey of self discovery and personal improvement.
18 Pastures of plenty?
Like it or not, all hay is contaminated with manmade toxins. Acupressure can boost your horse’s immune system and enhance detoxification.
20 Immune invasion
Could the very thing that’s supposed to protect your equine friend be destroying his health? It’s time to take another look at your vaccine protocols.
26 Dating game
Selecting the right stallion for your mare involves more than basic match-making.
equine wellness
30 Getting a “feel” for it – part 1
Want a more harmonious relationship with your equine? Learn the native language of horses.
36 Laurel’s story
We can’t always prevent our horses from getting hurt. Setting up your equine partner for optimal healing helps ensure he recovers from any injuries.
41 Face time
Does your horse have one swirl or two? Are they above or below his eyes? Discover what his markings may tell you about his personality.
51 Budding health
Gemmotherapy harnesses the healing power of plant and tree buds. Learn how this unique system can help your horse recover from a range of acute and chronic conditions.
56 Know your H 2O
Where does your horse’s water come from? Make sure it’s clean, pure and palatable and you’ll help him stay hydrated and healthy.
Top Left : © Netris | Dreamstime.com (page 14) Top Right: © Lksstock | Dreamstime.com (page 26)
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Departments
Columns
10
8 Editorial
Neighborhood news
24 Holistic veterinary advice
44 Equine Wellness
34 A natural performer
55 Heads up!
48 From agony to ecstasy
61 Marketplace
60 Book reviews
64 Classifieds
64 Did you know?
65 Events calendar
Talking with Dr. Kimberly Parker
resource guide
66 Your health
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51 equine wellness
Horse sense With the help of an equine partner, EAPD takes you on a journey of self discovery and personal improvement. by Chris Irwin
M
ore and more, people are working with horses to help them with their own personal growth, healing and learning. I invite you on a brief journey down the trail less travelled, the fascinating and dare I say “miraculous” journey of Equine Assisted Personal Development, also known as EAPD.
Essence of EAPD What is EAPD? To begin with, here is a short quote from my book Horses Don’t Lie: “What horses need to hear from us is what many of us would like to hear from ourselves, and each other. They need us to have a calm, focused assurance. They need us to be consistent. They need us to be assertive yet non-threatening. They need us to be both strong and compassionate. In short, horses need us to be our best selves.” Although it’s easy to understand why people are so attracted to the power, beauty and grace of horses, the question remains: “What the heck has horsemanship got to do with personal development?” When we look at a horse, we see the flesh and blood
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equine wellness
incarnation of powerful forces bottled up within ourselves that we wish we had the guts to saddle and ride. We know those forces could take us to our dreams and turn us into our best selves. We also know they could destroy us. That’s why we bottled them up in the first place. When such hidden feelings are stirred up and explored within the paradigm of horse sense, we have the chance to work with them, and learn from them. Horses give us this opportunity. They do this whether we are aware of it or not. But what a powerful breakthrough process to be able to work with this concept consciously!
Authentic communication This may all sound too philosophical or esoteric for you. What kind of practical and realistic “life lessons” can we possibly learn from working with horses? Well, psychologists estimate that authentic communication between people does not happen with words but at least 80% body language. This fact hits home with people participating in EAPD because they learn for themselves, from firsthand experience with the horses, that “talk is cheap” and “actions speak louder then words.”
Title image: © Netris | Dreamstime.com
Through groundwork training, participants in an EAPD workshop begin learning how to communicate with horses using only their body language. This is a very powerful introduction to how developing horse sense relates to human potential. Everyone in the workshop consistently experiences an incredible “ah-hah” moment when they realize how their body language affects, for better or worse, their environment and relationships. Instead of being told by a workshop facilitator, counselor or therapist, all participants find out through the horses what they don’t know about their own body language. Because they become aware of this realization on their own while having fun with horses – instead of feeling guarded and defensive in a “self help” workshop, a corporate team building and communications retreat, or a clinical therapeutic session with a mental health worker – they are far more open and willing to allow the process of self discovery, healing and growth with the horses to begin in earnest.
integrative health
Pet Expo September 10 -11, 2009
Courtyard by Marriott - Fitchburg, MA
This two day health and wellness event includes: • Lecture Series - Lectures from leaders in integrative health care for pets • Exhibition Hall - Exhibitors from natural and healthful products companies • Resources - Non-profit organizations that support holistic animal care
Influencing others through your best self
• Silent Auction - Featuring a weath of integrative health care products
All proceeds will go to non-profit organizations
For more information visit www.ihpe.info
Typically, participants very quickly develop moment-tomoment conscious awareness of their body language. Then “miracles” happen and the horses “magically” change their behavior from bad to good, distracted to focused, excited to calm, defiant to willing and/or frightened to confident. In short, every participant in every EAPD experience, with 100% consistency, always realizes and owns for herself that as she becomes more aware of and accountable for her own behavior, she is able to lead and change her relationship with the horse for the better. In other words, EAPD can evolve beyond mere “talk is cheap” words into an actual balance of body/mind/ spirit “action speaks louder then words” experience. As Gandhi’s great quote says: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
EAPD helps us develop a connection between our heart’s intentions, our mind’s agenda and our body language communication skills. equine wellness
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