Flora helping Fauna

20/03/2024

Check out the latest blog.
https://florahelpingfauna.co.uk/spring-the-season-of-renewal-growth-cleansing-and-the-wood-element/

16/03/2024

Check out the latest blog

This week we said goodbye to Bramble, our older and last dog coming in at 13 ½ yrs old. She was the ultimate ratter, cat chaser and fox hound everything a Jack Russel Terrier is known for.

05/02/2024

HOW TO MAKE GOOD DRY FOOD AT HOME...
We posted this morning how you might make treats at home for your pet using Power Paste.

The ingredients were simple:

👩‍🍳 1kg of his favourite fatty meat mince (fatty meats make better treats)
👩‍🍳 1 400g tray of raw Power Paste
👩‍🍳 1kg of your fave carb flour for binder (oats or coconut, no wheat gluten)
👩‍🍳 maybe a couple of eggs, if I can spare them!

Mash it up, spread on trays, sprinkle with salt, bake low and slow in the oven. Done.

But let's say you wanted to turn the above mix into magic complete dry food for the holidays?!

No problem.

OK, here's the science.....are you sitting down?......add in the eggshells you just threw in the bin.

Whaaat?! Wait, hang on, surely there's more to it?

Nope, a teaspoon of ground eggshells to that mix and it's missing nothing. It would be complete to AAFCO standards. In fact, considering the ingredients and power additions, it would be far, far, far superior than most dry foods on the market!

Power Paste could very nearly be sold as a "complete", if you believe in all that, except it's just a touch shy in calcium. However, I don't want to fix this and advertise it as a complete as folk will use too much of it, and it's rocket fuel.

Apres moi, la deluge...

15/01/2024

Did you know – today is Brew Monday ☕️.

Also known as Blue Monday, it comes round on the third Monday of the year, and – cue sad face – it’s said to be the most miserable day of the year 😔. So, its name got switched to Brew Monday, to encourage people to get cheery with others over a cuppa.

But - instead we’re going to brew away those Monday blues with a touch of herbal brewing wizardry ... 🧙‍♂️✨

Let’s delve into the realm of tinctures 💙

If you’ve ever considered what the advantages of tinctures versus dried herbs is, here’s a concise comparison for you.

Ultimately, you come to us looking to invest in the highest quality, organic phytonutrients to support your horse, so naturally you want to maximize the absorption of those valuable benefits. However, several factors can affect absorption rates, i.e. poor digestion/gut disruption, and even certain minerals that may block absorption uptake.

So, which is the better choice for you and your horse?

💫 BIOAVAILABILITY 💫

💧 TINCTURES
No question - tinctures give you the best bioavailability for the medicinal benefits to reach the bloodstream, with fresh plant tinctures having a more complete and consistent absorption rate. The body utilises up to 98% of a plant’s chemical compounds through the mucous membranes in the cheeks, tongue, oesophagus and stomach, rapidly entering the bloodstream by bypassing the digestive process.

There's no denying that a tincture gives you a pretty immediate, ready-to-absorb, potent source of phytonutrients for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.

This means that if you're looking for swift alleviation of, say, stress or pain, a tincture will hit the mark sooner.

🌱 DRIED HERBS
Now we come to actual 'food’, and it's well known that horses are excellent self-medicators; watch any horse browse a hedgerow and enjoy selecting what they want or need. And if your horse is anything like mine, they love their herbs in dried form in their feedbowl.

That said, from a bioavailable standpoint they're not as immediately effective as tinctures. As a food they have to permeate the GI tract for absorption, potentially resulting in a lesser percentage of nutrients being available.

However, if you're feeding for maintenance support of an ongoing condition, i.e. EMS/IR or arthritic joints, dried herbs are an ideal medicinal food.

🔍 CAPTURING CONSTITUENTS 🔍

💧 TINCTURES
Best full spectrum. Alcohol-based tinctures can extract all compounds and active ingredients, including those not water-soluble, i.e. resins. The small dose of alcohol is naturally occurring and easily metabolised by the liver.

🌱 DRIED HERBS
Not always full spectrum. There may be oxidation of important phytochemical compounds, such as antioxidants. When soaking dried botanicals for a tea or decoction, be aware that only the water-soluble parts of the plant will emerge so there's a risk of diminished medicinal value.

🥄 HOW MUCH TO FEED 🥄

💧 TINCTURES
Less is more, with dosages generally very small, i.e 15-20ml/pony and 30-40ml/horse.

🌱 DRIED HERBS
You'll need to feed more of the dried herb to see the benefits, at around 5g/100kg bodyweight.

🕰️ SHELF LIFE 🕰️

💧 TINCTURES
7+ years if stored away from sunlight, in a cool, dry environment.

🌱 DRIED HERBS
2 years maximum if stored away from sunlight, in a cool, dry environment.

*********************

At the end of the day, no one knows your horse better than you, especially when it comes to their eating habits. However, if you're looking for fast and effective, tinctures are the preferred choice. For maintenance support, flavour, texture, and a more species-appropriate approach, dried herbs may be a better fit. However, always trust your gut and your relationship with beloved Ned. 🌿💚

12/01/2024