Hedgewitch Essentials

13/09/2024

Thrushy feet (NB. the photo used is a stock image from iStock if anyone is looking to provide advice)

Each and every horse owner will probably have to deal with thrush at some point. It has nothing to do with improper horse care or unhygienic living conditions (although these undoubtedly exacerbate the problem). This autumn, with its damp, dewy mornings is proving to be a very thrushy one!

Thrush is a bacterial and fungal infection that can eat away at the tissue of the frog in the hoof. These fungi and bacteria are more common in damp environments and prefer moist soil, and in these conditions mud packs into the hoof sealing off the air and giving them the anaerobic conditions they thrive in – this is why picking out feet is so important. Even so, the bugs causing thrush can still cause issues in dry weather, especially if horses are living with sheep because the main bacteria causing thrush is prolific in the guts of ruminants (and in their poo).

The area near the back of the frog, known as the central sulcus, is a tiny indent in a healthy hoof, but in the damaged hoof, it is a profound crack. Thrush typically begins to affect this area initially and starts to eat away at the healthy tissue, making a home for itself in the frog's sulcus. For the thrush to flourish and consume more healthy tissue, a deep sulcus provides a great hiding place – it’s difficult to get at.

So what makes thrush a problem? Early identification is key. It’s relatively simple to get on top of minor surface thrush. Daily use of Frog & Sole Saviour after picking out the feet will sort out any bugs taking advantage of ragged tags on frogs as well as minor infections of the central sulcus. More severe cases of thrush may take weeks or even months to resolve, especially where heels have contracted and sheared. As it reaches this advanced state, it can be quite difficult to break the vicious cycle.

If thrush goes untreated and eats deeply into the frog tissues, your horse may have sensitivity when loading the rear of their hoof. This altered movement pattern causes compensations elsewhere and the digital cushion will slowly degenerate as the heel area isn’t working as it should, allowing the heels to contract further, and so on. It becomes a vicious cycle. Ultimately infection of the deeper tissues is extremely painful, and you have a lame horse.

Proper hoof care is an essential part of dealing with these more chronic cases, and breaking the cycle isn’t easy – bringing the back of the foot back into function and undoing the contraction while keeping your horse comfortable. Frog & Sole, and I often recommend adding additional oils in chronic cases which are sore, is helpful as it has the ability to pe*****te the frog tissues more deeply than most topically applied products. But it won’t uncontract the heels, the shape of the hoof capsule has to be helped as well to regain a healthy, functioning foot..

21/08/2024

Joining the dots
I don't know about you, but my social media feeds are full of the apparent disconnect between humans and the horses we ride - with the emphasis at the moment being on equestrian sport. I don't want to delve into that because there are plenty of posts discussing just that. But with such a focus on the negative, how about looking at how we can each make a difference to the lives of the horses in our care. We all know about the advocacy for the three Fs - Friends, Forage & Freedom - but for me there are other things that we can consider everyday. I have a healthy obsession with posture - where does my horses place her their legs at rest, why and how can improve it to create a healthier posture at rest and in motion. How does your horse feel in their body, where are the restrictions and what's causing them? It has taking many years to find the right team of people to begin to unravel some of these things. Like many people, this journey of discovery began with a horse with training issues that I felt ill equiped to help. Infact they weren't training issues, they were body issues. As well as my horses' posture, I'm working on my own. Then there's tack. What's your horse telling you about that? Saddle fit has been a bain for me. Bridle fit is as important. How can I work to restore good body function and not reinforce bad? These are questions we can ask ourselves that will create positive change and looking at them isn't always easy. In fact, it's always far from easy! Our greatest tool is to learn to see and feel - to quietly observe, to softly touch, to feel their wellbeing and to spend time without 'doing'. And it's that last thing that is my homework - so often in a rush to fit everything in that I realise that when I spend time with the horses I'm just feeding, poo picking, turning in or turniing out, picking out feet, taking into the school, tacking up etc. Change happens at home and it's for every one of us to consider what we could do better. What's your homework with your horse?

17/08/2024

Does an insect repellent repel all flies? Not necessarily.
Our aim has always been to help customers make the best choices and when it comes to nuisance flies (sucking feeders rather than biters), we openly say that icaridin can be variable. We've consistently found it depends on the fly species and its effect is often short-lived compared with protection from biting flies or none whatsoever. And whichever species of flies arrives in August and into autumn, these can be problematic. My go-to for annoying flies in the stable is Horse Oil with sweet orange & peppermint. and my top tip for helping with nuisance flies if you're applying primarily for horse flies and midges is to add some horse oil to it or, alternatively, sweet orange essential oil.
All repellents have strengths and weaknesses and it really helps to understand exactly what they are.

14/08/2024

Sometimes the best way to know that something works is to not apply it. Every year I start to apply Healthy Hooves oil to my horses feet as soon as it begins to dry up, usually in April, as our heavy clay ground dries like concrete and it's tough on hooves in summer. This year I haven't taken my own advice. It was damp on and off for the first part of summer and I just never got around to adding it into my daily routine. Fast forward to August and I have chipped hooves for the first time in years - and we've had harder ground and drier summers than this one! So now I'm appreciating that Healthy Hooves really does add something to the party that I was becoming complacent about. I won't make that mistake again!

08/08/2024

Canker progress
Anyone who had struggled with canker knows how difficult it is to manage. I'll leave this with the photos from a customer using our special order Frog & Sole Extra. First photo is 16 July and the second one 6 August. Incredible progress.

05/08/2024

Shiny, hardy healthy hooves!
It's been a tough year on feet - a wet winter followed by a wet, dry, wet, dry summer. For 100% natural support without sealing the hoof like other hoof oil products, Healthy Hooves helps maintain optimum flex and prevent cracking, chipping and raising clenches for horses with shoes on.
The combination of grapeseed oil, high quality carrot seed, eucalytpus, bay laurel and oregano essential oils work together to create a hoof oil like no other. With absolutely no fillers, no animal- or petroleum-derived ingredients and no additives, Healthy Hooves is naturally antibacterial and easily absorbable, plasticising the keratin to maintain flex under dry conditions while allowing the hoof to 'breathe' and giving a healthy shine that lasts all day. When applied to the coronet band, it also stimulates hoof growth.
A month or so of application and your farrier will ask what you've done to make the feet so good! It's the plant 🌱 magic 🪄 inside.

31/07/2024

So who's going to be our 1000th Instagram follower? We'll be celebrating with a Hedgewitch giveaway 🙂

16/07/2024

How to adjust your trigger spray...

10/07/2024

Horse fly bites
Horse fly bites are nasty and painful. Unfortunately, by the time you notice a horse fly is making a meal of you, the damage is already done. This is where the combination of essential oils in our Bite & Sting gel quickly takes the anger, swelling and painfulness out of a bite. The photos below were sent in by a customer and show the horse fly bite on day 0, day 1, and day 2. Usually within 24 hours you can no longer feel it!

26/06/2024

Donatienne Poitrat thank you for posting this. Coverage is the key!

Horsey friends, I have just gone out on a VERY hot and sweaty hack with Bubble, while my son was riding his bike. Our woods are horsefly heaven at the moment. Having re-read Hedgewitch Essentials recommendation for full coverage I made sure pony and humans were well covered. Not a single horsefly bothered us ! As a matter of fact, not a single bug bothered us, and we could see them fly all around. First time in weeks not coming in with multiple bites. And Bubble was absolutely not bothered for a full 1h30. This product actually works. As stated in the copied post, FULL COVERAGE is necessary, but it works !

23/06/2024

Fabulous review for Icaridin today, being used to keep the ferocious Scottish midges at bay…
End of first week using this stuff 🦟🪰 AMAZINGLY NO BITES 👍
I have a large burn running down one side if my garden 🦟 and woods down the other. So all the bugs that bite 🦟 meet in my garden. I’m just AMAZED 🦟🎉

16/06/2024

How does a horse fly hunt?
Those big eyes are a bit of a giveaway! Horse flies are attracted by movement and locate their prey using their site. But when a horse fly gets close to its prey, other cues become important like body heat and carbon dioxide.
It's these cues that are disrupted by icaridin insect repellent, making it difficult for the horse fly to land accurately. This creates what we call 'approach and go' behaviour as the horsefly tries to land but eventually gives up to find an easier food source. Occasionally they will land and immediately fly off as they are repelled by the taste of the icaridin.
I'm always banging on about how important coverage is since the effect of icaridin is very local - if you miss a bit then they will find it. And that's precisely what happened to me today - I missed the chin and got nailed!
Other things that will reduce the effectivesness are sweat as it eventually dilutes the repellent, and increased body heat as this is one of the cues that attracts horse flies. So increased levels of exercise means more body heat, sweat and higher respiration rate - ie more carbon dioxide and these can override the effects of the repellent unless you reapply.
To get the best out of any repellent, it's important to understand how it's working and what can influence so you have realistic expectations. :)
So

16/06/2024

11/06/2024

Canker
Canker is a condition that we're often asked about and I usually suggest using Frog & Sole (extra) with the addition of a couple of essential oils. Recently, I undertook a review of the scientific literature to refine our approach even more by finding essential oils with the most activity on the canker pathogen.
One of our customers has trialled the outcome on her horse, who has suffered from canker intermittently for the past five years. As soon as all medications and steroids stopped, the canker came back. As well as trialling the canker formulation of Frog & Sole, she has made small tweaks to her horse's diet and is supplementing it with vitamin E to support her immune system.
The top picture was taken on 22nd April and the bottom picture on 6 June and we were thrilled to hear 'her feet have never been better'.

08/06/2024

When bites happen... fast-acting natural relief
With insects, it's always a numbers game. Even the best insect repellents don't give 100% protection against midges and horseflies after a while but those that have or are going through the registration process for use as an insect repellent must demonstrate at 80% repellency for the duration of their label claim in replicated field trials. For icaridin this is 8 hours. Only icaridin, DEET, IR35 and possibly citropel (extract of lemon eucalypytus but hasn't yet been fully assessed as meeting the new standards) are capable of achieving this level of protection, which is why other ingredients are not recognised by regulatory authorities.
But when bites do happen, Hedgewitch Bite & Sting provides fast-acting natural relief that will amaze you.

29/05/2024

Has anyone spotted a horse fly yet?
This is the week we expect them to appear in Herefordshire but the cooler, wet weather may have delayed them. We'd be interested to hear if there are any about yet; we're expecting a bumper crop, unfortunately, so please post in the comments if they've arrived with you and whereabouts in the country you are 😯

14/05/2024

Last week Becky Gerrard shared this video of her son Finley and pony Cuckoo, which Finley has given permission for me to share with you. The relationship between the two of them is just lovely as he applies the Healthy Hooves Becky won in our Easter giveaway and reminds us what its all about. I hope it makes you smile too!

10/05/2024

Reducing waste
Did you know our trigger spray is so robust that it should last at least a season? We had one go for three years, using on eight horses! Not only is it adjustable, it has a filter on the bottom of the dip tube and the nozzle itself can be unscrewed and flushed with water to remove any bits of debris that may get in the bottle on refilling.
We take sustainability really seriously and try and reduce waste to landfill so please hold on to your trusty trigger spray, it will do you proud 🙂.
Adjusdting the nozzle to obtain a fine mist is easy, just close fully by turning clockwise and then open by approximately a quarter of a turn.

09/05/2024

This is a sarcoid on the top of inside hind leg of my grey gelding. Just stsrted Sarc-gel application today 🙂

08/05/2024

At Hedgewitch, we use high quality essential oils for their therapeutic properties and have a range of natural products to help relieve the symptoms of itchy skin.
No more greasy lotions and potions, just plant magic 🪄
Need help? We are always happy to chat through your horse's management from a holistic viewpoint

02/05/2024

Are you the person biting flies love to bite?
Some people are more attractive to biting insects than others - we all know that lucky person who never gets a bite! If you're not that fortunate, then the good news is a good insect repellent will protect you. The bad news is that it may not completely protect you for as long as it suggests in the product guidelines, because it can't disrupt the insects senses for as long. It's something you'll always need to be aware of and either reapply more frequently or take additional precautions. It's exactly the same with horses, some are just more irresistible than others.
We'll be looking at how insect repellents work in the coming days and bust a few myths because it's not just a matter of smell 😯

01/05/2024

Some interesting midge facts
Midges may be small, but they pack a mighty punch. Did you know...
🦟 Midges fly faster than mosquitoes & bite with scissor jaws
🦟 Midges are related to mosquitoes? The females of both feed on blood. But midges are tiny, just 1-3mm
🦟 They keep your blood flowing by injecting an anticoagulant. It's this that causes irritation and swelling
🦟 Carbon dioxide in your breathe is what first attracts them, and then they home in on movement, odour, heat, humidity and colour
🦟 Once you've been spotted, the word sprwad to other midge girls that there's a tasty feed to be had
🦟 There are more than 150 species of biting midges in the UK, with the mighty Scottish midge the most notoriously menacing
🦟 Watch the video for more useful info
🦟 Midges don't have to ruin outdoor fun as our top-rated odourless insect repellent spray keeps them at bay

25/04/2024

It's a midge-fest today!
Midges are largely crepuscular, meaning they are most active in the period just before sunset and just after dawn. But not today! I'm not sure I can remember a spring with so many midges and they have been active all day here. As I write in early evening, the midges are absolutely menacing and very hungry for blood. That's because midges also prefer low levels of light intensity and here in Herefordshire, we have been under cloud all day. It's also a very still day - wind is the best thing to keep midges from flying around.
So, while midge activity does peak late in the evening and early in the morning, in weather like this they can be present all day. It's something to bear in mind, especially for horses that have sweet itch.
While midge activity does peak late in the evening and early morning, in weather like this, they can be present all day. It's something to bear in mind, especially for horses that are sensitive to midge bites.
And if you're out there and your midges are menacing too, don't forget a sq**rt of icaridin on your hair. I'm never sure why they go for peoples' heads!

24/04/2024

A Tale of Two Chamomiles...
Do you know your German Chamomile from English Chamomile? And why does it matter?
When used as a herb, both Chamomiles have very similar properties and usually get lumped together on product labels as Chamomile. But when it comes to the essential oil produced from these plants, it's a very different story as they have wildly different therapeutic properties. If you ever see something with Chamomile essential oil on the label there's a fair chance the formulator doesn't understand the different essential oil biochemistry/pharmacology.
So what's the difference?
English Chamomile produces a pale yellow essential oil which has anxiolytic properties. It's particularly appropriate when anxiety manifests as disorders of the gut.
German Chamomile produces a vibrant blue-coloured essential oil that is a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory. It's indicated for conditions that end in 'itis' such as laminitis, pruritis (itching), dermatitis, and colitis.
So how do you know? To have the itis-soothing properties of German Chamomile essential oil, a product will always be blue, never any other colour. It's also a more expensive oil which will be reflected in the price.

21/04/2024

From wet to dry
It's been a challenging year for feet, with soggy conditions softening soles and plenty of bacterial issues around. Thankfully, it's started to dry out - let's hope that continues - and that is always a time when the number of foot abscesses tends to increase in some horses. Frog & Sole is a useful maintenance tool, particularly where soles are thin, soft and sensitive.
For horses that have feet that tend to develop grass cracks or have clenches that often rise in the summer when conditions get properly dry, now is the time to start regular applications of Healthy Hooves oil for strong summer feet.
Both farriers and trimmers regularly notice the difference in horses' feet that have had the Hedgewitch treatment, and that's why a growing number recommend it, not because we've asked them to🙂.
We don't use any inert fillers, carriers, or animal byproducts in any of our products - it's high-quality plant oils and nothing else, which is what makes them so different from the big brands. It really is all plant magic inside.