UPDATE ON VACCINES AND TITER TESTING FEEDING FOR
OPTIMAL
IMMUNE HEALTH
PREPARING FOR
TRANSITIONS IS HE NEEDLE SHY?
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Try this -STEP SOLUTION
ACUPRESSURE
FOR IMMUNITY UNDERSTANDING
EHV-1 DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 24, 2014 VOLUME 9 ISSUE 1
$5.95 USA/Canada
February/March 2014
Guy McLean GIVE YOUR HORSE YOUR BEST
EquineWellnessMagazine.com
equine wellness
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Contents 28
38
FEATURES 10 VACCINES AND TITER TESTING AN UPDATE
Which vaccinations does your horse really need, and how often?
14 ACUPRESSURE FOR STRONG IMMUNITY Try this simple session to give your horse’s immune system a leg up.
18 A NAIL IN HIS HOOF
A commonsense approach to assessing and treating hoof punctures.
22 GIVE HIM YOUR BEST
If you want the best from your horse, you have to give him your very best – every time you’re out.
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equine wellness
28 IS HE NEEDLE-SHY? Six steps to resolving your horse’s fear of needles.
32 PROTECT HIM FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASE Implement these bio-security protocols both at home and away.
35 FEEDING FOR OPTIMAL IMMUNE HEALTH Nutrient deficiencies can have an adverse effect on your horse’s immune system.
38 TRANSITIONS - IT’S ABOUT BEING PREPARED Discover how these very simple exercises can have a huge impact on your horse.
48 WILL YOUR SALE CONTRACT PROTECT YOU? When it comes time to sell a horse, a good contract is very important. Here are six key points to keep in mind.
50 HEMP OIL FOR HORSES
This nutritious oil is becoming increasingly popular for horses.
55 DEBUNKING TREELESS SADDLE MYTHS Taking a closer look at some common misconceptions of treeless saddles.
56 UNDERSTANDING EQUINE HERPES VIRUS
If the recent outbreaks of neurological EHV-1 have left you wondering how to protect your horse, here are some practical suggestions.
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22 DEPARTMENTS
COLUMNS 8 Neighborhood news
6 Editorial
27 The herb blurb
21 Heads up
31 Purica’s recovery corner
34 Product picks
42 To the rescue
40 Book review
44 Homeopathic column
45 Social media corner
52 Holistic veterinary advice
46 Equine Wellness resource guide
59 Marketplace
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Photo courtesy of Katy Driver
If you want the best from your horse, you have to give him your very best – every time you’re out. By Guy McLean
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equine wellness
or many years, I have marveled at the great horse and rider combinations throughout the world, and indeed any individual who has attained ultimate success in their chosen career. I have noticed one glowing similarity – in that special moment caught in time for all to see, they are giving “Their Very Best”.
THE TRUE GIFT This may seem like an obvious statement, and yet I believe it goes a lot deeper than those three little words. Throughout my life and professional career with horses, I have been labeled many things (“gifted”, “naturally talented”, “born to ride”). And although these statements sound nice, I have never believed them to be true, because on many occasions, I have struggled to understand the equine mind, I have fought to improve my knowledge and physical attributes to better my riding, and I have spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out how I could be the True horseman I had always dreamed of becoming. It is quite amusing to me now, that wherever I go across America, I am labeled as an “overnight success”. All I can think is: “It has been a very long night.” Looking back at the years of toil and joy, happiness and tears, that my life with horses has brought me, I now realize I do have a gift, and that gift is the burning desire to continually improve as a horseman, to glean more knowledge, gain more compassion, show more patience and grow more imagination. These tools of horsemanship, coupled with my silent creed “To give my Very Best” have enabled me to accomplish all I have. As I work with any horse, young or old, uneducated or truly finished, I make a solemn promise to give him my very best at all times, and all I ask in return is that he gives me his.
PUSH YOUR LIMITS I know in my heart that this is why, as a little boy with very little knowledge or few life skills, I could get more from a horse than an adult could. It wasn’t that I was stronger or braver or more convicted, but more because I was doing all I could to understand horses and give them a genuine reason to believe in me. Looking back now, I can see so many things I would now consider fundamentally wrong, yet those wonderful horses said to me in every movement of their bodies and minds: “You believe in me and so I believe in you.” In saying that, if I were to ride now as I did back then, it wouldn’t be enough, for my level best has risen. And a horse knows when you are giving your all or not, and will act accordingly. To give “Your Very Best” is to push the limits of what you know and are able to do, and what you are prepared to give in return. This includes sweating, struggling and striving in order equine wellness
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