Horse Health

One of our horse listeners wrote in for help with two rescue horses with EPM and Lyme. Your first question might be: What’s EPM? Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a parasitic infection. It is not transmitted horse-to-horse, but rather, theRead more

I received an email from a reader who was very puzzled about her horse’s death from colic. Unfortunately, she only found my colic treatment protocols after he had died, when she went looking for answers. Her horse had received standardRead more

I love to hear stories from other horse listeners about their horse’s healing, growth, or transformation. Johnny’s owner, Tina, first contacted me with questions about one of the supplements in our shop. She proceeded slowly, adding one supplement at aRead more

With a herd of 11 horses, there have been more than a few instances where I’ve noticed a horse is not eating or moving normally. Or their belly is swollen, hardened in some areas, spasming etc. Usually I notice signsRead more

I talked to a horse listener who’s been following the herd for years and she had no idea we had an LTYH Shoppe with the best natural supplements for equines, in both Canada and the U.S., so obviously I haven’tRead more

I can’t remember where I first heard or read about using Neem Leaf as an anti-parasitic, or natural worming agent, but I ordered a giant bag of it to test with the horses. As you know, I am always onRead more

When I received this email from one of our horse listeners, Andrea Dekker, I immediately asked to share it with y’all. Not just because it’s so FABULOUS that this poor, tortured horse gained complete relief from his severe itching andRead more

Wild oregano oil (Origanum vulgare) is a broad-spectrum anti-pathogen – that means it kills bacteria, viruses, fungi and some parasites. Although it presents as the hottest chili pepper (for 2 minutes then the heat disappears), it’s action is actually anti-inflammatory.Read more

What if you don’t have time to let each of your horses individually select their herbs? You can either use one of these Herb Blends, according to the season, or each horse’s needs. Or, you can use your own intuitionRead more

Cobra has asked for herbs to help with his metabolism – let’s see which herbs he chooses and how much… Allowing our horses to self-medicate, according to their body wisdom, is hugely empowering for both us and our horses. ItRead more

Did you know that the ingredients contained in your horse’s multivitamin/nutrient blend should be determined by whether your horse eats grass/hay OR is fed a lot of grain and legumes? And how do you feed your horse in a wayRead more

Acupressure tapping (a mind/body/spirit integrated therapy) is very helpful for horses with complex, multi-layered issues, like laminitis. This is because physical malfunction, or dis-ease, is rarely just about the physical body. As I say in my book, Listen To YourRead more

As I wrote in my earlier post, my Belgian mare, Audelina developed a raised growth or lump on her chest, about the diameter of a nickel. My friend, Dr. Juliet, felt it was viral, or tumor-like in origin. When IRead more

Why have I linked together inflammation, laminitis, immune support, respiratory issues and allergies? Well if you think about it, you’ll realize that all of these involve the circulatory, endocrine and immune system – which in fact are interlinked and interdependentRead more

I received a question from a reader struggling with itchy, flaky skin on her horse. The vet has been out and prescribed shampoos and other medicines which haven’t worked. So she was wondering if treating with herbs like calendula, nettle,Read more

Organic, cold-pressed flax oil is simply FABULOUS. Many of my horses will slurp it up straight from a feed dish – just liquid flax oil, nothing else added. Here are the ways I feed flax oil to my herd ofRead more

I received this excellent question from a reader: “I am enjoying your website and all the information so much. I had thought that my reluctance to ride, train my horses was a defect of mine, but I am seeing itRead more

Did you know that Spring and Winter are the most common times for horses to get lice? Montaro got a lice infestation in his forelock and mane a couple years ago – then passed some of them to Jax andRead more

Big Mama Aude can barely put weight on her front left hoof. Her heel is HOT to the touch and it is probably an infection/abscess in the hoof. But is illness, injury, or disease JUST a physical phenomena? And ifRead more

My equine chiropractor/bodyworker Ainsley Beauchamp (who has owned 21 geldings) came out to show me a super easy, no-water-needed way to clean my geldings’ sheaths and remove the hardened smegma bean (which can press against the urethra). BUT keep reading,Read more

The largest non-human genome project has just been completed and guess which other earthling species they focused on? Horses! My brother is a medical geneticist so he shot me this study the moment it crossed his desk. He titled hisRead more

If you live in a rainy climate, then you already know how horses’ hooves can get infected with thrush. Parts of the frog can appear mushy, very soft, with a dark discharge, and just flake off with very little pressure.Read more

By Ainsley Beauchamp The first recorded chiropractic manipulation was in 2650 BC, in China. I only mention it because contrary to some beliefs, chiropractic care is not a new age, new fangled, placebo-esque treatment. Recently a LTYH reader wrote onRead more

Have you noticed changes in your horse after being gelded? Perhaps he moves differently, or urinates differently. If you ride, perhaps there are now bucking or behavioral issues that weren’t there before? Gelding Scars & Performance One of our HorseRead more

I’ve been smitten with flower essences ever since I saw my horse Audelina responding so strongly to flower essences and I have now accrued a veritable forest of flower essence sprays from Lotus Wei that sit on my nighttable andRead more

About 10 months ago, I started giving my Belgian mare Audelina some alfalfa hay each day – because she was nursing a colt. Then it became too much hassle to segregate her and ignore the pleas of the others, soRead more

By Pat Rothchild A few years ago, a fellow set loose three spent hens (hens whose egg production had dropped) in the yard where we kept our horses. Unbeknownst to us, the plan was that the local predators would dispatchRead more

What happens when we honor our horse’s body wisdom and our own intuition alongside, or even above, our vet’s instruction? Let’s go on a pictorial journey of one such incidence. Warning: blood and flesh will be shown… Then I’m goingRead more

Oh lord, I know it can be a big hassle to give feedback, however, our feedback is pretty crucial to the lives of thousands of animals. These are animals without a voice that can be heard, so if we don’tRead more

When I was fourteen and lost in my own dark mind, I found comfort in this particular paradox presented by my Buddhist father: everything is sacred and thus nothing is sacred; everything is profane and thus nothing is profane. ToRead more

Does the latest de-worming research contain anything promising? There’s a brand new video of a presentation to a group of veterinarians, given by hottie doc Nielsen, presenting his research department’s latest results. You can watch the 43-minute video on Horse.comRead more

We all have those pervasive, often toxic species of ‘weeds’ that take over our horse pastures until there’s barely any grass or edible forage left. One solution is to dump a layer of chicken manure over your pasture and justRead more

As we move into the full bloom of summer, my herd is getting attacked by horse flies, deer flies (the worst as they select a spot and concentratedly gnaw through flesh!), mosquitoes, and the West Coast version of no-see-ums. HavingRead more

If you have a horse that is fearful – or the flipside: aggressive or bullying – often the behaviour is coming from a past experience of scarcity. Not enough food, competition for resources, inadequate care or love. EFT Tapping forRead more

Great news!! Dr. Martin K. Nielsen at the University of Kentucky is well underway in his research of using crystal proteins derived from Bacillus Thuringiensis (soil bacteria) to kill parasitic worm larvae. And it is working even with drug-resistant horses.Read more

Following on from my post, Worming Horses Naturally – Is It Possible?, I received even more questions and links to anecdotal blog posts about the use of diatomaceous earth (DE) as a natural anti-helmintic treatment for horses. Blog posts likeRead more

Shortly after I rescued three semi-feral horses from slaughter, and put them in with my Andalusian mare, I collected stool samples and sent them off to the vet’s lab for Fecal Egg Count (FEC) testing. Two of my new horsesRead more

Dr. Carol Michael PhD says that, ideally, horses should eat 25 different plants per day. Keep in mind, that horses are not grazers (like cows or sheep), but rather, they are foragers. So how can we provide this kind ofRead more

I’ve written a lot about individual vitamins and minerals that horses need on this blog, and about probiotics and low-sugar hay. Lately I’ve been asked by a number of different people to pull everything together into one list – soRead more

We had our equine chiropractor out to work on our horses and she noted that the pregnant mare, Amalia, was holding her belly up tight – like she was afraid to let things go and let them stretch. So sheRead more

What’s the best way to feed your horse when you live in the Pacific Northwest, or the U.K., or anywhere else that produces rich, high-sugar grass and hay? What can you do when your horse gains weight at the dropRead more

I remember when I first started questioning the use of round pens and lungelines in horsemanship. It started by learning about the “flight zone” of the horse, the exact distance of which is debated – suffice to say that whenRead more

I was talking about my recent ponderings around the effects of chronic circular motion on the horse’s body, specifically how those effects can show in the hooves.  These thoughts were sparked by a great article I read on Facebook byRead more

Three months into my research stint into horse vitamin and mineral supplementation, I was doing some digging on Vitamin E supplementation and came across this post in a forum: “We have lovely show horses and they have been boarded whereRead more

So we were talking about thrush! Every horse person I talk to has their go-to, swear-by thrush treatment. There are specialized products, industrial and household chemicals, natural oils, snake oils, and magic beans. There are pastes, rubs, soaks, powders, andRead more

I’ve heard that thrush is a bacteria. I’ve heard it’s a yeast. I’ve heard it’s a fungus. I’ve heard it’s two or more of the above. I’ve heard it’s hard to get rid of. I’ve seen horses suffering from terribleRead more