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Quick Links
RECAP: Our workshop for our Winter
Semester NHC101 Course was great! Jack Scott, Founder of Blessings Farm in Charlton, MA was
the most excellent host - his indoor arena complete with observation lounge,
sound system and kitchen amenities made the day most comfortable for all! 
The first horse, "Cowboy" was not at all enthusiastic about his
role in being brought into the arena without his buddy. After prancing and
jigging and trumpeting about Gwen was able to demonstrate just what to do with a
nervous horse who need his hooves trimmed! Within minutes, Cowboy was very
willing to stand quietly and allow students to look at and trim his feet. 
Cowboy continued to stand - for the entire workshop! Snoozing a
bit, nuzzling his trimmers and being the most awesome horse, he made the
trimming practice look easy! His hooves looked BEAUTIFUL when finished:
Little
Miniature World Champion Horses need their hooves trimmed, too! What a
contrast in size!
Full of vim and vinegar, this little girl proved to be a challenge
to trim - not only is it harder to get down to the hoof level, her attitude was
a whole lot larger than her size! But in the end she stood acceptably and
sported perfect, perky little hooves:
Now, stupidly I scheduled
our Spring Semester Course workshop for June 21st - happens to be Father's Day!
So, will be rescheduling that one to the 28th of June.
If you are interested in LEARNING TO TRIM YOUR
HORSE'S HOOVES -- simply email to: caballus@charter.net
You can arrange for PRIVATE TRIM INSTRUCTION
following completion of NHC101 online course or you can arrange for a 2 day
clinic/workshop in your neck of the woods!
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ABOUT HEAVES
from Dr. Barney Fleming, DVM |
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"Heaves" is a layman's term for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), an equine lung disease. Other terms used for the disease include "broken
wind" and "hay sickness." COPD is a naturally occurring respiratory disease
similar to bronchial asthma in humans. An affected horse will have constricted
airways. It'll be harder for him to get air out of his lungs than to get it into
his lungs. Thus, he'll "heave" or expel air from his lungs with his abdominal
muscles. Attacks are followed by periods of remission. This effort creates
muscles in the rib cage, commonly called a "heave line." Several things are
attributed to the cause of heaves, but they're not well-documented. Many
consider the cause to be a hypersensitivity to inhaled dust and molds commonly
found in poorly cured hay and straw, hence the term "hay sickness." Of course,
if you confine your horse to a stall, you'll increase his exposure to irritants.
Horses kept outdoors rarely develop the disease. Properly ventilated stalls, as
well as mold-free, clean hay and straw, decrease the risk of a horse developing
the disease. Once a horse starts showing signs of COPD, the disease can be
controlled only by alleviating the cause. Available medications are used to
treat the symptoms, not cure the disease. An affected horse will show signs of
improvement within a few days after being moved outside into the fresh
air. [If you] stall your horse for the winter, give him plenty of exercise,
provide adequate ventilation, and avoid dusty, moldy feed and bedding. Feed hay
pellets rather than flakes, and avoid straw bedding. [NOTE from Gwen]Many
times horses develop heaves during the springtime - usually due to allergies to
the pollens or molds in the pasture. There is a wild weed that is a
natural anti-histimine and I've had tremendous success feeding this - just a
couple of leaves in the am and the pm with a horse who was so inflicted with
heaves that at one point he was hemorraging from his bronchial tubes and his
lungs. After rounds of steroids, albuterol, Trihist and other commercial
products I found this to not only relieve and prevent the heave symptoms but
also prevent the hives my horse would get every spring and summer. This weed
is virulent in New England and many other areas. BROADLEAF PLANTAIN
Keeping your horse out 24/7 and soaking your hay
prior to feeding also helps the condition of Heaves.
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Nature's Dewormers
A list
that may be helpful to some who wish to get away from the chemicals ...
suggested to be used in combination for 5 days a month during a full moon cycle.
Exemplary husbandry practices such as stall/shed/paddock maintenance daily and
rotation of pastures is strongly recommended to accompany natural deworming
practices. DISCLAIMER: This information is not to prescribe nor take the place
of your regular veterinary practices.
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Wormwood: Is one of the most bitter herbs and is best
used as a part of a natural worming mixture. It is used not only against
threadworms but also round worms. Wormwood is an excellent
Anthelmintic
and also an
effective tonic for the whole digestive system.
Fennel Seed: Is a liver herb which works to help balance
horses with either poor or voracious appetites. It is historically used as a
part of an herbal worming mixture, as some parasites are known to reside in
the liver.
Cayenne: Helps to set up a hostile environment for
parasites.
Pumpkin Seeds: Are noted for expelling tapeworms from the
body. Pumpkins seeds are rich in nutrients which can assist in removing large
quantities of uric acid in the urine. They also contain an
amino acid−cucurbitin giving these seeds their
anthelmintic actions.
Garlic: Garlic is a natural antibiotic. It is
anti−microbial, anti−parasitic, anti−fungal, and anti−bacterial. Garlic is
useful against round worms, tapeworms, pinworms, and
hookworms.
Thyme: Contains anthelmintic properties and is ideal
for digestive complaints, including colic.
Hyssop: This herb's therapeutic actions are due to its
natural essential oil which has anthelmintic properties.
Blue Vervain: Is used to help strengthen and restore the
nervous system, particularly after an illness or for any liver complaints which
might be caused by parasites.
Red Clover: Red Clover is high in Copper and Cobalt and is
considered to be anti−fungal, anti−viral herb, and may have anti−parasitic
properties. It has been shown to be effective against red−worms also known as
bloodworms or large Strongyles.
Olive Leaf: Research and clinical experience to date is
showing that it may be beneficial in the treatment for conditions caused by or
associated with, a virus, retrovirus, bacterium, or protozoan (It is also a
useful herb in the treatment of
EPM).
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Life ... Fear ... Horses
Get a Handle on Fear
Kathy Pike,
www.coachingwithhorses.com
When I came back to working with horses, after
being thrown and dragged, I had a lot of inner work to do around fear. My horse
Moon helped me work through my fears while riding. I practice the Mind Body
Method (a coaching process I developed) to slow down my automatic responses and
stay present in my body. Moon helped me integrate new positive ways to be with
my fear instead of the old trauma loops and breakdowns based in
dissociation.
When
Corazon, my wild horse, came into my life the exploration of fear became
dramatically exaggerated. It seems even standing next to him my stomach would
start to flip-flop and I would get queasy. His energy was huge. When he first
arrived I made the mistake of taking off his halter and putting him into the
round pen. It took a month before I could catch him. Each time I got close to
him, he would burst into a frenzy of activity and race around and around. While
he ran around releasing his fear, my body would experience amplified fear. It
seemed the two of us were experiencing spontaneous combustion.
I got to know Corazon and observed how he
responds to all sorts of things. I learned how to work with him when he is
triggered into fear. The time we spent together during his colic last summer
also dramatically changed our relationship. He grew to trust me and at the same
time my trust in him deepened. (Corazon and Kathy are pictured above. Photo by
Alejandra Lara)
Now spontaneous
fear does not run amuck in my internal landscape while I am with Corazon. When
he reacts I stand calm and centered and completely ignore him not giving his
concerns any extra attention. The emotional resonance between us has decreased
as my leadership has increased. He notices my non-reaction and immediately
becomes calmer.
I have
experienced another layer of growth around fear. Seven years ago when the towers
in New York were bombed I witnessed many of my coaching clients going into fear.
Many of them scared for their physical safety, others for their financial
safety. The more I watched TV and read the papers the more I felt the same
way-fear crept in. Seven years later I am witnessing the same thing as our
economy is adjusting and many people are living in a great state of fear.
However, I am a different
person today than seven years ago. Today I have the inner strength to recognize
when my thoughts are based in fear. When others start to complain or worry about
the economy I stay in my center and know that I will be cared for, that there is
nothing to fear. As some freeze, unable to continue on their path of growth or
invest in their future, I become all the more invested. This is the time to grow
internally and to support people who are suffering in fear.
When Corazon first came to me I used to
subconsciously think: What is going to happen? What do I need to prepare for?
These fearful thoughts were present in every cell of my body. Many of you may be
experiencing these thoughts as our financial climate is
shifting.
I consciously chose to
shift the negative thought pattern I had with Corazon. Now, everyday before I
ride him I center myself, I extend my heart energy to him, and I also ask for
God and my angels to be present with us. There is no fear. It is the exact same
in my life. Before I fall asleep at night I thank God for my many blessings,
when I awake I think of all the wonderful things that lay ahead of me for the
day. Each moment I choose to experience love and inner strength. I don't let
negative group consciousness affect my inner happiness.
When fear arises you have three choices: flight,
fight or freeze. Managing fear requires developing your own responses to your
nature survival mechanism, verses allowing reactions or learned responses. It
requires that you slow down and make conscious choices to eliminate the negative
thought patterns.
Our
current economical situation is a blessing. Everyone has the opportunity to
become more responsible, conscious and empowered. Big homes, lots of money, and
high-level jobs do not create happiness. Happiness is an inside
job.
**What is your current
state of being on a day-to-day basis? Inner peace or fear?
**Do you look at your life right now and count
your blessings or are you waiting for something terrible to
happen?
**Have you put your
dreams aside and your life on hold to simply focus on surviving?
**Are you more focused on what you most fear or
what you most want to create?
**When you are with your horse are you looking
for things to be careful of and avoid, or do you walk anywhere knowing that you
and your horse feel safe and know how to respond?
You get to choose how you experience life.
Ultimately everything you create is dependent on your attitude and the power of
your mind. Claim your life, your happiness and your leadership; choose to feel
safe, loved and happy.
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PERSONAL
PONIES LTD.
We believe in
magic!
That's right. At PERSONAL PONIES, we believe in
magic-the magic that happens between a tiny pony and a child with disabilities.
Creating magic in children's lives IS our mission. It's our only mission.
On magic wands and fairy dust...
Making magic for children with special
needs doesn't happen by itself though. In the real world there are no magic
wands, no fairy dust to sprinkle. The kind of magic we make takes caring hearts
and helping hands. Lots and lots of them.
Our volunteers are our recipe for
magic. And we can only make our magic because hundreds of people throughout this
country give their time and resources to breeding, raising and training ponies,
to finding just the right match between a pony and a child, and to serving as
mentors to families in caring for their ponies. 
There are also volunteers who sponsor ponies by
maintaining them themselves so that they are available for "visiting" by
families who cannot keep a pony at their home. These children may visit several
times a week to see "their" pony and to care for their pony in all the ways they
can.
Sponsored ponies, as well as ponies placed specifically to promote PPL,
also serve the wider community by being taken to visit at convalescent homes,
day care centers, therapeutic riding centers, and treatment centers. One of our
mottos is "have pony, will travel"-our ponies go anywhere kids will benefit from
seeing and interacting with them.
How much magic can we
make?
As we said, there are no magic wands or fairy dust in real life.
Only in fairy-tales. Therefore, placing ponies with kids who want them also
depends on having ponies available in the right place at the right time. Without
breeding farms to supply ponies, and without volunteer sponsors and promoters
that place ponies and work with families, there simply may be no way to provide
a pony in a specific area. And sadly, sometimes no matter how hard we try to
fill an urgent need, kids who have asked for a pony do not get one in time.
Hundreds are waiting right now...
In other words, if we are going to make
LOTS of magic, we need LOTS of volunteers. And we also need funds to buy more UK
Shetlands so we can establish more breeding farms so we can make more magical
ponies.
Wouldn't YOU like to help? Go to http://www.personalponies.org and
find out how!
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I hope you've enjoyed this
issue of PENZANCE EQUINE SOLUTIONS Newsletter! Please don't hesitate to contact
me with any comments or questions. If there is a topic which you would like to
see addressed in a future issue, let me know! Simply send to caballus@charter.net
HAPPY
SPRING! 
Gwenyth Santagate
PENZANCE
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| If you would like more
information on any of the arranged workshops or how to arrange for your own for
your stable or organization, please email to Gwen @ caballus@charter.net or
telephone
508-476-1317. |
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