If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

When it comes to holistic horse health care, as an old adage goes: “nothing can’t be healed.” Whether, it is lack of energy, a puny stomach, or poor posture, there is no condition that can not be made better. But of course, it takes a lot of active participation on the part of the pony owner. An equestrian ought to know better than merely give up without exhausting all possible treatments, both conventional and alternative.

Regularly horses with a deteriorating condition are left that way by an ignorant owner. For instance, a colt with a very bad back due to a hump on his lumbar regions, if sufficiently unlucky to have an owner ignorant of how to treat him, would only get worse. Sooner or later—and much to the relief of the pony, the owner would sell or refer him to a better equestrian or an expert.

There are a few paths to alleviate our colt’s condition: Bowen type bodywork, network chiropractic exercises, acupressure, and even daily passive stretches. Done with efficiency on a consistent basis, in about three weeks the body structure of the poor colt would have improved. Not straight away obvious, in fact the hump on his back will continue to be gruesomely visible, but there’d be results already. The he would be more relaxed and more physically proportionate than when he was suffering from the advanced stages of his state where he’d have looked hunched with a beer gut. Given enough treatment, riding him will become possible again.

This is not to promote a specific sort of bodywork or another “do it yourself” or “how to” piece on curing a certain ailment. The point here is that there’s still hope that your horse can improve whatever its present condition or infirmity may be. Not all horses are made well-rounded and perfect, with a nicely built stature, powerful limbs, and equipped with tricks that may win a dressage competition. But their quality of life—and what they can do—can always be made better. And the horse owners have a huge role to play to bring this about.

More than learning and training for horse riding, owners should also learn and be an active participant in their equine partner’s medical care. Learn how to do your mare’s bodywork, even just the basics. Trim your own mare’s nails. If you can do a dental check, then that is better. You may have other things worth doing and thus lack ample time to devote to learning each routine that is a component of holistic care, but learning even just some of them can make a major difference. Those other stuff you can’t do, ask someone else to—someone trained to accomplish the job. What’s vital is that your pony gets the medical care it merits.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she
enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Tags: Horses