Natural healing for
LYME DISEASE Iridology
What his eyes can tell you about his health
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survival tactics for camping with your horse
check out chia
for better balance
watershed woes
how to protect your water source
Horsin’ around with VOLUME 8 ISSUE 4
Display until September 30, 2013
$5.95 USA/Canada
August/September 2013
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Contents 22 26 features 10 Little seed, big benefits! Chia brings healing and balance to your horse.
14 Home on the range
Eight ways to prepare for camping with your horse.
18 Equine iridology 101 Your horse’s eyes may hold the key to detecting issues with his health.
22 “Want to go to the barn?” Horsin’ around with your dog – safely.
28 Leave Lyme behind
Taking a homeopathic approach to Lyme disease in horses.
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31 Focus on forage
46 Saddle up!
32 Watershed woes
49 Hydrotherapy and your equine athlete
Understanding what is in your horse’s hay is the key to developing a good feed program.
What you need to know to protect your farm’s streams and ponds.
37 Common ground Mustangs and veterans working together towards mutual healing.
39 Phosphatidylcholine supplementation What this important nutrient does for your horse.
40 Build it better
Selecting appropriate construction materials for trailers.
Saddle fit for the recreational horse and rider.
Understanding why and how this simple yet effective therapy works.
50 Keeping it natural
Advice from the Parellis on horsemanship and horsekeeping.
53 All tied up Is your horse really tying-up?
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18 Departments
Columns 8 Neighborhood news
6 Editorial
26 The herb blurb
21 Product picks
56 To the rescue
36 Social media corner
58 Green acres
44 Wellness resource guide 52 Heads up
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Tips, contests and more! Like us /EquineWellnessMagazine Updates, news, events! @ EquineWellnessMagazine
59 Marketplace 61 Classifieds 62 Events
Product reviews and tutorials! EquineWellnessTV
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By Juliet M. Getty, PhD
Chia
brings healing and balance to your horse.
For years, chia has been famous for its ability to sprout out of ceramic containers shaped like pets or farm animals. In mere days, the chia seeds grow and simulate a furry coat or hair. The truth is, chia seeds really are remarkable, and not just for their ability to grow quickly. Produced by the Salvia hispanica plant, these tiny seeds are low in sugar and starch, high in water-soluble fibers and quality protein, and a concentrated source of Omega-3 fatty acids. They provide multiple health benefits, and protect virtually every area of your horse’s body.
A good source of Omega-3s The perfect whole food for horses is living, healthy grass. It offers a variety of nutrients, but its fat content is especially worth noting. It contains the two necessary fatty acids – alpha linolenic acid (ALA), an Omega-3, and linoleic acid, an Omega-6 – in their proper balance, with four times more ALA than linoleic acid. Without access to fresh grass, your horse relies on supplemented fat. Unfortunately, the fat added to most feeds comes from “vegetable oil” (another term for soybean oil), which is very high in Omega-6s. Too many Omega-6s increase 10
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inflammation. The high level of Omega-3s found in chia seeds has the opposite effect – they decrease inflammation. In fact, chia seeds benefit your horse in a variety of ways by: • Lowering circulating insulin and glucose • Balancing immune function • Protecting joints and ligaments • Reducing pain • Decreasing nervousness • Improving heart and blood vessel integrity • Reducing allergic reactions to insect bites • Diminishing respiratory inflammation • Supporting normal gastrointestinal function • Maintaining hair and hoof health • Healing damaged skin • Hydrating intestinal contents
Protein and fiber Chia seeds contain approximately 20% quality protein. This boosts the amino acid variety available to your horse, allowing him to produce hundreds of proteins throughout the body such as those found in muscles, bones, joints, skin, hooves, lungs, liver, kidneys and blood, as well as those which aid in digestion, immune function, water balance and nutrient transport.
Mucilages, gums and pectin are water-soluble fibers found in chia seeds, which form a gel in water. This significantly benefits your horse in two ways:
q It lowers circulating insulin by reducing glucose absorption. w It reduces the incidence of sand colic by facilitating sand removal from the cecum.
Antioxidant action Antioxidants known as chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, myricetin and quercetin naturally occur within chia seeds to protect their fatty acids from rancidity. Inside your horse’s body, they act to neutralize damaging free radicals, thereby reducing pain, inflammation and vulnerability toward disease.
Protection against Cushing’s and insulin resistance Horses suffering from insulin resistance (metabolic syndrome) or equine Cushing’s disease (otherwise known as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction – PPID) require a diet low in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). Chia seeds support this diet. They are low in NSC (less than 5%). Even more dramatic is their ability to enhance insulin sensitivityi because of their high Omega-3 content, offering a critical component in the fight to prevent laminitis.ii PPID affects many horses as they age, and is generally due to the oxidative stress caused by exposure to mental and physical challenges, chemicals in the environment, and a diet low in antioxidants. Free radicals target dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain, leading to the onset of PPID. The Omega-3s and antioxidants offered by chia seeds reduce free radical formation, thereby counteracting the propensity toward and severity of the disease.iii
Chia vs. flax Both chia and flax are high in Omega-3 fatty acids and can be fed interchangeably for this purpose. In fact, flax has slightly more Omega-3s than chia, with an Omega-3 to 6 ratio closer to that found in pasture grasses (see table on next page). However, chia seeds do offer some benefits over flaxseeds. Chia does not require grinding and therefore has a longer shelf life (since grinding exposes the unsaturated fatty acids to oxygen). Chia, unlike flax, does not contain phytoestrogens, which can cause fertility problems as well as alter behavior. There is some concern about flax containing cyanogenic compounds, potentially leading to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas formation. However, flaxseeds are safe to feed since the acidic stomach contents destroy the enzyme necessary to produce HCN. It should be noted, however, that soaking flaxseeds can lead to HCN production since water allows the enzyme to function normally. Therefore, flaxseeds should never be soaked before feeding. Continued on page 12.
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