These horse angel resources are a comprehensive list of horse and rider health and happiness, tack and training advice and practical assistance – lots of free stuff, some at great value for money, with access to some great people for help. So read on!
Click here for my thankyous and deepest appreciation to the very important people and horses who have contributed to these cards., specially the beautiful music from Moosehorn Music in Alaska.
Click here to get the completely free lessons The 9 Keys to Happiness with Your Horse and for an extra lesson to help you to listen deeply to your horse, click here for the free lesson Breathing exercise for a Quiet Mind. This is Lesson 2 from the on line lesson program From Your Horse’s Heart.
Alternative health care professionals are a great resource for help with some of the issues that may be brought to your attention by the cards. Have a look at the World Wide List of Alternative Therapists specialising in horses and riders,that is being developed on this website and if you know someone who should be on this list, then let them know, it’s a freebie.
The on line lesson program Fast Track to Brilliant Riding that you can join in and start any time, is a unique mix of confidence for horse and rider, world class feel, a centaur like riding seat and simple practical techniques. And all of this is wrapped up in a philosophy that focuses on happiness for you and your horse. This course has truly been driven by the horse angels.
The book and audio lesson set Zen Connection with Horses introduced a new way of understanding our horses and very importantly showed us how to understand the process of manifesting what we want with our horse. So if you aren’t sure how you can hold to your dream more easily, then you will enjoy this book. All Jenny’s books come with a “love this book or get your money back” guarantee.
Bobby’s Diaries – Straight From the Horse’s Mouth to You was Bobby’s roadmap to an improved relationship.
Get my blog straight into your inbox – it’s full of horse and people health tips and a very satisfying approach to horses in general. Register for that in the orange and white box at the right side of this page.
There is a ground swell of great teachers out there who have an understanding of the workings of both the horse and human body and who understand the way a horse thinks and who work WITH the horse instead of forcing them. Use your instincts and listen to your horse. Notice how your horse is going. If they improve, you are in the right place at the moment. And if they don’t improve – it’s not rocket science – move on.
For some great information about the role that minerals can play in the physical and emotional health of the horse, Pat Colby’s book “Natural Horse Care” about natural horse health, land care, mineral balance and feeding to achieve that is an excellent resource. Google it.
I spend my life working with sick horses. There are seven basic reasons for the illnesses that most horses come to me with:
Emotional interaction with their rider. The effect of the rider relationship on horse health has been dramatically underestimated in the past. The brain, the emotions and the organs and the muscles and the bones are ALL tied in together, ALL have effects on each other. Emotions have a HUGE effect on the muscular system of a horse. And emotions also have a HUGE effect on the organs as well, either causing illness or making it worse. Those free lesson The Six Keys to Happiness with Your Horse will be a good start with this one. That big yellow box to the right here will get those for you.
Food – too much, not enough, wrong sort, too high in protein, not enough roughage, missing vitamins or minerals, missing pasture, not eating ALL day as nature designed their stomachs to do. Nervous, flighty horses, even aggressive horses can be food related. The illnesses that are food related are too many to discuss here – it’s a huge subject and many people on your World wide list of alternative therapists who specialise in horses and riders will be able to help with this one. See the tab at the top of the page.
Feet – when trimmed or shod NOT in the shape that nature intended for THIS horse, then it puts enormous stresses on the legs and then on into the upper body, the shoulders, back and hindquarters. Conditions ranging from just a sore horse to strained muscles to arthritis to collapse of tendons to bones out of place, to total breakdown can result. Do your research, make yourself knowledgeable. Hop on the web, there’s some great information out there. I barefoot the horses that I can. The barefoot angles are useful even for those with shoes on and, although they are no longer my choice, there are shoes that do their best to mimic the barefoot.
Teeth. Horses suffering pain cope in different ways just like people do. Some have short fuses and fly off the handle easily, others switch off and go inside themselves. Pain from sharp teeth grinding and cutting into the gums when they try and eat can affect not only their weight, but also the way they carry themselves, which will eventually affect the muscles in that area as well. The way they hold their bit is also affected by sharp teeth. And believe it or not, a teeth problem can sometimes be seen in the feet.
Saddle fit. Click here for a great article on saddle fit on this website – the reasons for good saddle fit simply explained – with more lessons about this coming soon. Areas that don’t get sweaty when you ride and horror of horrors, white hairs under the saddle area – these all tell you there is a problem with saddle fit. The white hairs suggest that the horse has been in agony at least once. Some of the milder problems can be helped with good padding, with a thick saddle blanket or with a specialist back protector, some can only be fixed with a saddle change. We can only imagine how difficult it is, physically and emotionally, to be a well behaved horse when someone is sitting a heavy weight on a saddle that is already painful.
Improper warming up and cooling down. When the muscles are literally not warm enough for the work, they are easily strained. And muscles full of lactic acid are a problem too. Lactic acid is a by-product of work faster than an easy trot and it disperses with proper cooling down at a fast walk or very slow trot. A build up of lactic acid is toxic. It is also a problem when a horse is left standing in the cold – chilled from not cooling down slowly at all.
As a muscle therapist, leg stretching for settling the girth is one of my pet hates. You have to be incredibly sensitive and connected to the horse to do this without any risk. Cold muscles are easily strained. Walking and trotting your horse for a few steps, even over a ground cavaletti if you need to, will stretch the horse’s leg fine.
Improper preparation for the task. Health and emotional problems result from a horse who is not fit enough for what you’re asking. For example, a horse who is only ridden once a month for a whole day’s pony club including vigorous athletic games and jumping could have a lot of trouble coping – both physically and emotionally. Or when a horse is taken on what should have been a lovely 30 kilometre trail ride through the mountains, without any fitness preparation – so that they get tired, then sore, then start misusing their muscles and having “accidents”.
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