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Permaculture is a design philosophy based on observing nature’s patterns and putting these observations into practice. So we must first spend LOTS of time observing our horses, their herd dynamic, and all the other creatures and elements that share spaceRead more
You may have already heard how haynets can cause damage to horse’s gums, and metal grates on slow feeders can cause damage to tooth enamel. Well I’m going to share my experiments of using both over the course of 7Read 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
Last summer I dug out a waterhole for the horses in a spot that satisfied my logical, intellectual brain as the best spot for the purpose. It was up near the water troughs, so I knew the horses often wentRead 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
I have had several horses die and I wondered if I had done the right things for them. Actually I know I didn’t. In chronic illness I tend to panic and give my choices over to other people, particularly vets.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
If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I periodically write about the phenomena of Horse as Mirror. Of course this mirror function can be provided by any animals that live with us, andRead 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
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
I’d noticed a shift in Aude for about 10 days or so – she seemed more distant, more separate from the herd, and not as boisterously affectionate with me. Then I noticed the lump or growth on her chest. WhenRead 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 was introduced to horsemanship by the Parelli method – my sweet Spitfire (a 20 year old Arab/Welsh cross) was started within that framework – and yet no one can tell me why we dominate and command them, even inRead more
After doing four separate healing sessions with Cobra over his trauma with humans and brutal castration, the next message Cobra gave both Juliet and I was to stop projecting our paradigms onto him. I was waiting for him to becomeRead more
After Cobra’s last powerful healing session with Dr. Juliet, I was thrilled with how much softer he’d become. So much of his aggression had just melted away. So when Juliet was out again a month later, I asked her toRead 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
Cobra’s healing journey started in the usual way, as our attention was called to, and focused on the physical symptoms of distress or malfunction. Right from when Güliz first met him, she noticed that his hind legs were not inRead 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
My father bought me my first horse when I was 8 years old. I picked him based on how pretty he was. Within a few months I realized that was completely the wrong criteria for choosing a horse! So afterRead 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
By Mary Walby He was the first senior horse I took in 12 years ago when he was 26 years old and on his last legs. I was curious to know, if I could meet a senior horse’s needs fromRead 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
Falcon was standing alone in the field, which in itself is not a strange thing as this particular thoughtful, dreamy horse often lets the herd drift away while he occupies his own little world. What was strange was that heRead 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
One of the wild mustangs, Cobra, doesn’t want his hooves trimmed – by anyone! He has a massive crack up the middle of his right front hoof; nearly splitting it in half. And he still doesn’t want any help. He’sRead 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
In early January, my mom and I spent 3 days traveling a 5 hour round trip to spend time supporting land defenders at the police blockade on the way up to Unist’ot’en Camp, where members of our neighbouring First Nation,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
When we’re dealing with difficult situations with our horses; whether they’re health issues, behavioural issues, or environmental issues, it can be really helpful (and quick and cheap!) to use a deck of oracle cards, or medicine cards, to give usRead more
By Mary Walby Rehabilitating the senior horse is a bit of science, with a whole lot of art (and heart!) thrown in the mix. But these same protocols of training, communicating and healing, can work incredibly well with all horsesRead more
By Mary Walby I first began feeding soaked hay pellets when I received a senior horse for rehab who suffered from chronic diarrhea. The equine dentist told me that his teeth were completely worn out and incapable of chewing hay.Read more
About a month ago, at the request of several horse listeners, we started a private LTYH Facebook group. Of course, if you’re reading this blog, you are welcome to join! The thing people enjoy about the private group, is thatRead 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? I’m going to share the innovative Osteopathic VeterinarianRead more
Montaro had his first session with certified BodyTalk practitioner, Güliz Ünlü, about seven months ago. Güliz also runs animal communication workshops and is trained in Equi-Bow (the equine version of Bowen Therapy). So she tells us what’s happening in thisRead more
I have used this Colic Pump technique effectively on four different horses at various stages of colic. I first came up with this technique when my friend’s horse had a rock hard belly, no gas sounds, not eating or pooping,Read more
I love this session because it clearly demonstrates how important it is that we let our horses direct their own healing. And that we cannot possibly anticipate what they need; or how their needs may evolve over the course ofRead 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
Why must we chop the balls off all our male animals? Why is this considered normal and even necessary? Luckily I was able to take my dog Kumba across the border for a canine vasectomy. But when it came toRead 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
When my new mare arrived, some people called her “food oriented”, I called it NUTS! She used to be so crazy for treats that I was thinking about getting her a big bag of carrots and dumping them in aRead 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
Carrying on from my earlier post on herbs & medicinal plants that horses will eat, I wanted to give you some recipes for herbal blends I’ve been using with my herd. These are the herbs I get from Mountain RoseRead 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
Worming is something that every horse owner eventually has to come to grips with. But are we worming too often? And are the drugs even effective anymore? Not only that, but aren’t there natural alternatives to using worming drugs? Let’sRead 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
The more articles I read on “normal” equine dentistry like this one, the more I suspect there is as much unnecessary dental work being done on horses as humans! For example, where is our frame of reference for making allRead 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
Magnesium is another one of those minerals that is usually in crazy low amounts in horse feeds and supplements. But since magnesium is the best way to relax both the horse’s muscles and nervous system, it should absolutely be aRead more
Did you know that unless you live in the Southern USA, or some other hot, sunny locale, your horse is likely Vitamin D deficient! Yes, just like humans, horses can only make Vitamin D from the sun. Or they canRead more
I became motivated to investigate different feeding systems after I noticed how horses kept in any kind of enclosure other than pasture, became fixated on food! Even though they received the right amount of hay and/or feed for their bodyRead 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
We’ve talked about how the horse’s biology is not suited to the meal-based feeding schedules we so commonly keep them on. We’ve also explored how modern feeds and even hays are not optimal, and often harmful, for the horse’s digestiveRead more
In this series of posts, I’d like to draw your attention to what we feed our equine partners, and how we feed it. I would like to state that I am not a certified equine nutritionist, a vet, or aRead more
In the next three posts, I’d like to draw your attention to what we feed our equine partners, and how we feed it. In the first post, I will address how we feed our horses, given their eating practices whenRead more
