On The Mend: Holistic Equine Solutions and Nutrition

01/12/2023

SLOOOOOW DOWN!

SLOW your walking down to 1 step per second with and without your horse next to you.
SLOW your hand movements down as you touch or do things.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your pulls and pushes down on the leadrope.

SLOW to FLOW!

Humans are WAAAAY to fast for horses and this is one of the leading causes of reactivity and opposition reflex in horses.

Speed = stress.

Let me teach you what speed does...

When the brain perceives a threat, it causes the body to release the stress response hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels and speed go hand in hand.
Cortisol provides the body with the fuel it needs to flee a scary situation or fight against it.

The thing with the mind-body relationship is that the brain feels an emotion such as fear, which create a physical response in the body, but the body can also move at a certain speed or in a particular way and create an emotion in the brain. It can be reverse engineered.

This is how special the intimate relationship is between the brain and body.

The other thing to remember is that, collectively as a social animal, when speed is noticed by another mammal (no matter the species), it alerts the unconscious brain to threat.

Speed is an alarm system in a social system (consciously and unconsciously).

If you walked down a road and everyone started running, you'd find it hard not to run even if you didn't know what the cause was. You are noticing that others are running and in a direction, so you mirror them to increase your chances of survival. You don't need the reasoning part of your brain for this. You just activated your primal (survival) part of the brain.

One other thing to remember: HORSES CAN SMELL CORTISOL. So not only does your speed act as a visual alarm system to your horse, it also acts as an olfactory one!

Would you want to interact with someone who caused you to feel constantly on alert?

These little things are the beginnings of what ripples into chronic stress in both humans and horses.
You spend enough time around someone who is fast in their movement, your nervous system will condition itself to being on high alert.
HELLO 👋 CHRONIC STRESS!!!

Slow your movement down = slow your thoughts down.
Slow your movement down = lower your cortisol.
Slow your movement down = feel connected with yourself, the world and others in it.
Slow your movement down = slow your alarm systems down and eventually they'll turn off.

Slow down so much that it is uncomfortable. It won't be uncomfortable for long, I promise 😉

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 🙂

30/11/2023

There’s a post circulating around and bringing up quite a discussion about ECVM/cervical abnormalities. What I will say that I am learning from talking directly to the horse consciousness is horses with ECVM or abnormalities in the neck are part of what the horses are calling “the great awakening” - a move away from entitlement.

Humans have felt entitled to horses for hundreds of years. There is no need for that anymore.

First horses tried to make that shift through coming to earth with digestive systems that could kill them in an instant, humans found their way around that. Next came laminitis, but humans found their way around that. Kissing spines? Humans found a way to cut their way through the spine and persevere in their quest for what they want.

So, the horses said, if we come with missing pieces destabilizing the most mobile part of the body, maybe now they will listen…. And many are.

We are not entitled to the body or emotions of another. Learn this and you’ll be part of the shift back to the wholeness of who they came to be.

26/09/2023

‎Show Major League Eventing Podcast, Ep Conversation with 5* Eventer Ashley Adams - May 31, 2022

15/09/2023

I've talked alot about staying below the horse's bracing response, and working below threshold. But what does that look like in the horse?

1.Braced. In the Sympathetic Nervous System mode. Alert, ready to protect itself or flee from danger. Senses are high.
2.Threshold. Still. Softer, less concern, yet ready to turn back to Flight/Fight if needed.
3. Below Threshold. Parasympathetic Nervous System. Healing and resting mode. Inner Stillness. This is where the magic happens.

Learn to read your horse's behaviors, especially while training to see what level your horse's Nervous System is at.

20/06/2023

🚨🚨🚨 $10 off massages for the rest of the week including Friday or Saturday at Downeast Horse Congress Horse Show! Excited to meet new horse (and people) friends in Skowhegan this weekend! 🤗🥳 Message for what’s left of availability!

13/04/2023

🤩🤩🤩

Taylor and Sage

09/04/2023

“Trainers are supposed to be an ADVOCATE for these animals that allow us to be in this sport and make our living because of them.”

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/trainers-we-have-to-do-better-for-our-horses-and-riders/?fbclid=IwAR1lbr5qQ_io23KH2wO8wT70lsAbIdPBzw7LNTPbiUZJDwVWUHQvtA-z23g&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

After a fantastic winter circuit, I have to comment on something that I’m not completely sure how to fix, but it needs to be discussed. I don’t have clients, so I can write about this without some client feeling like I am talking about them.

01/04/2023

It feels like maybe I am being watched??? 😂

12/03/2023

🐎❤️👌🏻

06/03/2023

Fortunately I was supervised by a very skilled assistant today 🫡

05/02/2023

The sassiest wild child I know (literally bucking IN HER STALL while waiting for her turn, mad that the attention was not on her) and then the calmest for massage time. She always releases CONSTANTLY and prefers a very light touch. A bit of a sensitive flower and that is why we love her 😂

30/01/2023

I’m not convinced he’s not a dog instead of a horse 🤦‍♀️😅 Started out insisting he lead HIMSELF around and then tongue hanging out. Oh Davinci 😂

15/01/2023

I mean 💁‍♀️😂

It's almost the same!

14/01/2023

Baby Eve says “I haz good massage, good night” 😴 💤

13/01/2023

Don’t forget, naked legs whenever possible! Keep those tendons healthy 💪💪💪

A client recently asked me if they should be using boots or polos on their horse. Many horse owners have the best intention in using boots or wraps to protect their horses legs from trauma during exercise and competitions. But many don’t realize that boots can essentially insulate the distal limb and prevent heat loss during exercise leading to increased temperatures that can reach damaging levels during maximal exertion.

A study from Middle Tennessee State University measured temperature increase during a specified exercise protocol with different types of leg protection. The study found that the reduced rate of heat dissipation a boot can cause can be detrimental to the superficial digital flexor tendon. They tested six different types of boots or wraps during exercise: a traditional neoprene boot, a perforated neoprene boot, a plant-based neoprene boot made of Stomatex, a cross-country boot, an elastic track bandage, and a fleece polo wrap.

The study found that the bare limb had the lowest temperature, all treatment temperatures were greater than the bare limb across all time points. The fleece polo wrap had the highest temperature and humidity. None of the treated limbs returned to baseline temperature and humidity after the 180-minute recovery period, and all treated limbs reached temperatures that negatively affect tendon cells. The study suggests that the use of boots and wraps during exercise impairs convection cooling, causing chronic microdamage to the tendon.

Riders must weigh the pros and cons, considering boot design, application and material permeability. No matter what boot you choose, the best way to protect your horse is to remove it immediately after exercises and stand your horse in an ice bath.
Ps. (Cold hosing and ice boots aren’t even half as effective. We can chat about that about that research in a future post ;))

L. Brock, H. Spooner, 28 A comparison among equine boots and legwraps on leg surface temperature during and after exercise,
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Volume 100. 2021

12/01/2023

12/01/2023

Ted threw his neck and TMJ out during his winter antics…feeling better after some cold laser and K-Tape 🤗❄️

10/01/2023

Beach ride followed by a good roll in the (little bit of) snow…I would say we’re feeling pretty good for a January in Maine 😎