Holistic Tips

Holistic Tip: Cleaning Gelding's Sheath

Written by Nan E. Martin LSH/CRP

For optimal maintenance, clean the sheath once per month. Add about a half a cap or less of Thieves essential oil household cleanser to a half gallon of warm water. Wearing surgical gloves, remove all the beans and smegma inside and out. You will know a horse bean: it’s hard accumulated debris that can block the urethra and interfere with urine flow. Rinse thoroughly with water.

Horse Health Care in Heat and Humidity

Written by Madalyn Ward, DVM

Horses have difficulty dealing with dry heat, but they have even more difficulty coping with the combination of heat and humidity. Part of the reason is that horses can cool off in dry heat through the evaporation of sweat, but in humid weather sweat just serves to insulate your horse, making him even hotter. Plus, some horses have trouble sweating (anhydrosis) during humid weather, which means they have no way to cool off at all.

Dr. Getty’s Springtime Tip: A Serving of Patience to Balance Spring Grazing

Written by Dr. Juliet Getty

“Now that spring is here, we need to take it slowly when transitioning any of our horses from hay to pasture,” says equine nutritionist Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D. “And for those of us with insulin resistant horses,” she adds, “we may also need a dose of patience.”

Holistic Tip: Honeysuckle and Lyme Link

Written by Harmany Equine

Interesting link between the invasive bush honeysuckle and deer ticks and Lyme Disease. Remove honeysuckle and deer decrease; have honeysuckle and the deer population is 5 times higher, with the nymph stage of deer ticks 10 times higher (those are the most infective stage ticks). So, to decrease the likelihood of Lyme, clear out that honeysuckle!

Source: Harmany Equine

Caution: EO and Eyes Don’t Mix

Written by Frances Fitzgerald Cleveland

When working with essential oils (EO), take great care not to get the oils in the eyes. Eyes are particularly sensitive to essential oils; if EO were to make contact, damage to the delicate tissue of the eyes could result.

If a diluted essential oil accidentally makes contact with the eyes, flush with warm water or room temperature saline solution. If a neat (undiluted) essential oil makes contact with the eyes, flush with full-fat milk followed by clean warm water or room temperature saline solution. If irritation of the eyes persists, medical attention may be necessary.

Source: Frances Fitzgerald Cleveland, www.ffrogworks.com