Go Cowgirl RN Blog

Guest post:  Madalyn Ward

Wood horses are high-energy individuals who love physical challenges, and must be kept active or they will develop bad habits like kicking and biting. Wood horses also tend to become unhealthy if they are not exercised enough. While the Wood horse is not a picky eater, he does have a very sensitive liver and is prone to ulcers, especially if he doesn’t get enough entertainment and exercise. Feeding the Wood horse is all about selecting horse feeds and horse supplements with few ingredients so the diet stays simple. Too many ingredients in horse feeds and supplements can be aggravating to the liver.

Wood Horse Nutritional Support
The healthy Wood horse has a high level of Qi(energy), is more Yang(high metabolism), is affected by Wind and benefits from the sour flavor. The bitter flavor is also good for the Wood horse because it helps to disperse the Qi.

Neutral to cooling foods which build Yin and contain the sour or bitter flavor should predominate in the diet of the Wood horse.

Examples of ideal foods for the Wood horse include:
•    barley
•    grass hay
•    alfalfa hay
•    wheat germ(1/4 to 1/2 cup a day)
•    wheat bran
•    rice bran( up to 1 cup a day)
•    beet pulp
•    black sesame seeds(1 to 2 TBS a day)
•    parsley
•    seaweeds
•    micro-algae, especially chlorella(1 to 2 tsp), spirulina( 1 to 2 TBS), and Omega Sun blue-green algae(4 to 8 tablets) from Simplexity.
•    citrus fruits (contain the sour flavor)
•    apple cider vinegar (contains the sour flavor)

Herbs that contain the sour or bitter flavor and help with Qi dispersal include:
•    Buck Mountain hawthorn (10 to 15cc twice a day)
•    Digestive Product milk thistle (1 to 2 TBS twice a day for a 10 to 21 day course)
•    devil’s claw(combined with Yucca in the form of Ani-Motion )
•    red clover(contained in Four Hoofs )
•    aloe vera( 1 to 2 ounces a day)
•    black cohosh(contained in RelaxHer Blend )
•    chickweed(contained in Bleeders Blend )
•    dandelion(contained in Four Hoofs )
•    hops(contained in Relax Blend )
•    licorice(contained in Digestive Product UF )

Many of these bitter herbs also have a cleansing effect on the blood which lowers the work of the liver in detoxifying the system. Burdock is considered a mucilaginous herb but it also has some bitter detoxifying action. This herb, like dandelion, often grows around barnyards and should be left for the animals to eat as they need.

Even though many horse feeds and horse supplements can be included in the diet of the Wood horse temperament, it is best to select only a few at a time and avoid horse feeds or horse supplements with many ingredients. It is best to keep the Wood horse diet simple. Madalyn

For more information about Five Element Horse Temperaments check out Horse Harmony.

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All go and no whoa…that describes my Water horse Quattro.

He is 20 years old now, and our barrel racing career would have been so much different had I known and understood TCM ( traditional Chinese medicine) and natural horsemanship when I first started him.

Typical traits of a Water horse:

*    Highly sensitive
*    Strong-willed
*    Athletic
*    Beautiful, sculpted features

Patterns when out of balance:

*    Fearful
*    Needy
*    Physically and mentally weak under pressure
*    Unpredictable when in pain
*    Prone to joint stiffness
*    Weak and sensitive teeth

These all describe Quattro perfectly.  He could run barrels with the best of them…when he was balanced and calm.  He won money for me every spring, but by summer he was fried.   He always wanted to please, and worried about it, mainly because he wasn’t sure what I wanted from him.  He didn’t trust me to keep him safe, and he desperately needed to feel safe and protected.

He was a natural at barrel racing, but he developed some nasty habits that finally ended his career.   Fear was a major player for him, as well as severe ulcers.   I couldn’t get him in the arena the last few years, and by the time he would go in we were both so frazzled that the run was awful.   He would get diarrhea just getting in the trailer…but he always got in!

I have retired him; he is now just a pasture ornament.  At first he was not happy with being retired, but he has adjusted.  I still see fear in his eyes when I have the occasion to halter him…he’s still not sure he can trust me, and he’s been turned out for 3 years.  If I had known about TCM 18 years ago, and how to handle a Water horse, our barrel racing career would have been much different.  Knowing your horse’s temperament is great, but I had to change my training techniques also.  TCM and natural horsemanship is benefiting my other horses, and Quattro is living the retired life of leisure.  Type your horse for free here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.   Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction … and you can, too!

Guest Post by Madalyn Ward, DVM

Reading The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman was a real eye opener for me.

The five love languages of people are:

Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

This book explained how good intentions do not replace giving a person what they want in relationships. This certainly helped explain to me why I am still single.

It also got me thinking about what the love language of a certain horse temperament, based on Five Element typing , would be.

Here is what I came up with:

Fire – Quality Time. The Fire horse temperament is all about relationship so spend lots of time grooming and hanging out with him.

Earth – Food. The Earth horse temperament is all about food so extra grazing time after a ride and the occasional treat will go a long way.

Metal – Respect. The Metal horse temperament wants to be respected and will not work for someone he does not respect.

Water – Safety. The Water horse temperament has to feel safe. An example of helping the Water horse to feel safe would be working at home with lots of obstacles and set up “scary” events to teach him to respond rather than react. Building his trust in you in his home area will prepare him for new environments.

Wood – A challenging job. The Wood horse temperament loves competing so give him lots of variety and difficulty in his work so he does not get bored.

So, good intentions are not the same as getting to know your horse’s love language and building a solid relationship. Madalyn

For more information about Five Element Horse Temperaments check out Horse Harmony

Guest Post by Jeannie Choate

I spent time with a friend this past Memorial Day, and heard her horrific tale of how she had to put down her long time partner because of Laminitis.

From what she related to me the horse probably developed Insulin Resistance from the sudden onset of green grass, which left untreated led to laminitis, which led to euthanasia.

She lives in eastern New Mexico where it never rains much, and her horses are in dry, sandy pens or pastures all year round and fed hay and grain daily.  Spring of 2009 it actually rained in NM, and she had lush green grass grow up in her pastures that her horses were not accustomed to.

One of her horses came up lame and she took him to her vet, expecting the best of care for him.  The care she received is standard in the veterinary world….but it ended with him being put down.

The vet had her put special shoes on the horse, which didn’t stay on, but never told her to get him off the grass or change his diet in any way.  The vet did tell her it was because of the grass, just never was able to tell her why he had problems with the grass when her other horses flourished on it.

There but for the grace of God go I, literally!  I had a horse develop Insulin Resistance last winter also, and today he is sound and barefoot, because my vet understands Insulin Resistance, Laminitis and Cushings Disease in horses.  Dietary changes and sound barefoot trimming were all he needed to return to normal health.

This summer as the mesquite beans are blooming I have loaned him to my niece to use in her summer camp for kids.  He will live in a large, dry pen with other horses on hay, grain and his Simplexity Essentials.  The Essentials provide probiotics and blue-green algae.  This gets him off the grass and mesquite beans, and gives him a daily job with lots of exercise. The exercise is as important as getting him off the grass and beans.

A diagnosis of Insulin Resistance, Laminitis or Cushings doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your horse, but it is life altering.  Dietary changes have to be made, and weekly exercise is critical.

For more info on Insulin Resistance, Cushings and Laminitis take a look at a recent post about my horse, or go to Madalyn Wards website.  Madalyn has an E-book on the subject along with dietary information.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction … and you can, too!