Holistic information

Holistic Info

Nutrition
Nutrition is important for Horses and Humans.
Horses should be eating feeds which do not contain sugar, and which are largely (ideally completely) based on grass derived products.
Supplements for horses need to be as natural as possible too. I often recommend some Herbal additions to the diet to boost the bodies ability to heal itself. The company I normally recommend is Silver Lining Herbs. (SilverLiningHerbs.co.uk). They can be contacted on 01529 455304 to discuss your specific requirements, or drop them and email with a picture of your horse and some information to info@silverliningherbs.co.uk

Training
Check out AmandaBarton.com who can help with your training issues. Amanda frequently works with horses I am treating. She offers a range of horsemanship training and can work in conjunction with me to help the rider improve the horse's straightness as well as choosing beneficial exercises for the horse in order to improve movement and reduce the chance of repeated injury or pain.

Eventing
Check out GubbyEventing.co.uk. “Gubby” is a strong believer in ensuring the horse is in good shape for whatever stage of training it is at. He is particularly good with young horses.

EVENTING BAREFOOT

During my Equine Bowen Therapy training in 2004, I did some research work on Navicular disease for one of my assignments. By the time I had completed the assignment, I had convinced myself that the only way to deal with the root cause was to get the feet back to a correct natural state as quickly as possible and to work with the horse to re-establish the correct natural function of the hoof mechanism.

When a horse jumps over a fence*, it lands with about 2.6 times the combined weight of horse and rider on the first foot that hits the ground. Furthermore, the structures of the foot which provide the best shock absorption capabilities are the digital cushion and lateral cartilages. These structures only function correctly if the are stimulated which is not the case in most shod horses.

All of this information made me decide that if I wanted to event long term and have a sound horse I should be eventing barefoot.

In 2008, I completed my first season eventing barefoot. Rolo started her season competing at intro level. By the end of the season she was competing successfully at Pre-Novice. In 2009 we will be competing at Novice level and beyond. Rolo has done a great job competing in all conditions on all different ground conditions. This include snow at Larkhill in April !, and very wet muddy conditions at Pulborough in October. Having started the season quite tentatively, I am now convinced that eventing barefoot is easily achievable and I’m looking towards a long and sound eventing career for Rolo in the future.

The pictures show Rolo’s feet at the end of the season. I think they look great. I hope you agree.

Seven years on from my initial decision,  I now have six horses with feet in various shapes and sizes. They are all barefoot and coping well.

*This measurement was made over a 1.15m fence jumped from canter in an arena. Clearly the force will be greater for jumping Cross Country fences from gallop.