Showing posts with label natural health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural health. Show all posts

Saturday, May 25, 2019

More on Laminitis—The Benefits of Vigilance

By Connie Paschall, RN

We really enjoy having Connie and Dexter with us at the Farm, and appreciate her expertise as a registered nurse—she will be co-leading a first aid class in our upcoming "All About the Prep: Safety and Readiness for Rider and Horse" camp. This is a very timely and interesting article which adds another useful tool to our equine health toolkit! -MG

Author’s note: 
The Wise Horseman at Freedom Farm monthly blog posts well-researched, timely tips and tricks for the care and training of our horses. How many read and practice the wisdom sent to us for free...? Well, I do. Allow me to add my story to the thread of articles here on grass laminitis prevention [select ‘laminitis’ from among the tags at right to call up the articles - ed.] -
vig·i·lance
/ˈvijələns/
noun
  1. The action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.
I have a dream. My dream is to have my horse Dexter out in a pasture, frolicking with friends and living a horse’s full life. However...

Connie and Dexter
Dexter is fat. Everyone knows Dexter is fat. Well aware of the risks associated with such an easy keeper, I regularly monitor for cresty fat along his neck, puffy deposits at the base of his tail, and changes in his coat. He has been clear of these signs for long enough that I recently decided to let him transition into pasture with a nice group of geldings, and all seemed well. Dexter liked his new situation and showed none of the signs of imminent grass laminitis. Then one day I checked his pulses and felt a strong, bounding pulse in his right foreleg—not a good sign.

So what’s this about checking pulses? Let me digress:

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Balanced Performance—good health, versatility, and fun as a path to excellence

by Mary Gallagher

In my recent posts, I have been sharing the progress and development of a 4-year old warmblood named Zeus who is in training with me. He came into our lives thanks to Joe Wolter’s clinic here last August. Zeus’s owner, Wendy Comstock, had brought Zeus all the way from her home in Yamhill, Oregon for the clinic. Joe, as always, was incredibly wise and helpful, and Wendy and I also connected regarding Zeus’s further training. At the end of the clinic, Wendy left him with us and he has been a pretty popular guy at the Farm, with his handsome good looks, easygoing, willing personality and eagerness to learn.

Monday, October 8, 2018

Balanced Performance and the Teeth—Honoring Nature's Model

By Mary Gallagher

November Freedom Farm Newsletter readers! Our apologies, this is last month's article. The blog post you want is here. -MG

In my last post I talked about connecting to the feet in order to foster balanced performance. Taking the example of recent arrival Zeus, a  4-year old with us for training, I emphasized how important the well-balanced, healthy, unshod hoof is to our working horses, as well as training the horse to think with his feet. This time, continuing with Zeus, I want to focus on the relationship of the horse's mouth to his health, well-being, and balanced performance.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

A Visit to Freedom Farm

by Maya De Vogel
Woerden, Holland

Maya De Vogel has been visiting us since late August as part of a placement, or work experience, program at her university in Holland. A bachelors candidate in Animal Husbandry, Equine Sport & Business at Van Hall Larenstein University, she wrote the piece below as part of a longer report for her advisors. I thought it would be nice to share with our readers as a perspective on her time here. Maya has made herself a valued member of our little community over the past month or so, and we're not sure we are going to let her leave in November! -MG

Maya adds:
I contacted Freedom Farm because I was looking for something other than the ordinary, traditional stables, to learn about natural horsemanship and find out what it would mean for me. To summarize, it is not only a school placement, it is a personal adventure as well!

I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to come here to this amazing barn and to meet so many awesome people! It is my 6th week here already and I am absolutely not ready to leave.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Equestrian Lifestyle, Feet First, Part Two

by Mary Gallagher
Ben Robertson, 14,  on Joy Ride, Oregon Last of Summer Show, 2017

Our Freedom Farm Hoof Beats Horsemanship Team has competed successfully in a number of
A-rated shows around the Pacific Northwest this year. It has been a pleasure to watch these young people come into their own as competitors, and I am super proud of their horsemanship, sportsmanship, and superior talent. I've also been reflecting on the part that our horses’ herd lifestyle has played in their success.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Beauty You Can Feel: An Appreciation

By Thomas Gallagher

Freedom Farm’s environment is a reflection of the happiness of its horses and humans. It is a place where both can learn from each other and grow together in a natural setting. As one of the premiere competition stables on the Olympic Peninsula, ‘the Farm’ is known for it’s professional yet peaceful environment. Owner Mary Gallagher maintains this balance between sportsmanship and serenity as she works alongside the like-minded individuals who help shape her vision into reality. One of those folks is Fred Voorhees, a landscaping professional who takes the utmost pride in providing the ranch with its aesthetic appeal.

When you arrive at Freedom Farm you notice Fred’s handiwork immediately.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Equestrian Lifestyle at Freedom Farm: Feet First

By Jerry Schmidt and Mary Gallagher

A natural lifestyle is the foundation of our horses' health at Freedom Farm. Foundational to that is the care of their feet, which are, without exception, barefoot. It's a great first topic of this series on natural equestrian lifestyle. -MG


Our boarding and training business, dedicated to keeping horses in a more natural environment, is a huge undertaking in the horse industry today. The way our horses live – moving barefoot with a herd, enjoying access to natural grasses and hay 24/7 – is not how horses are typically cared for, especially if you have competition aspirations. Yet that is how our horses live and compete: barefoot and in a herd environment.

Magnum’s Rough Year, Part Two: Oh No! Laminitis!


Not feeling well at all!
by Mary Tulin

Mary and Magnum's story of insulin resistance continues with more hard times, dealt with effectively. A good example of proper horse management. -MG

Magnum really wasn’t feeling well.

His move to a dirt pen with old pals had seemed like the perfect situation: get him off grass, keep him in a herd with room to play. The big dirt pen by the hay barn was roomy, with his old herd right next door. Within weeks after the move, however, he got worse again. Dirt pens are great, but this one was next to pasture, grass within easy reach of questing muzzles. Magnum munched freely, and paid dearly.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Magnum's Rough Year: What I learned about insulin resistance (his) and denial (mine).

by Mary Tulin, with Kip Tulin, MD

“Is your horse insulin resistant?”

“No. Uh, what’s that?” I asked, feeling oddly defensive. I was chatting with a woman participating in a clinic at Freedom Farm last year (2015), a fellow Morgan fancier.

“It’s kind of like diabetes, “ she replied. “My horse has it, and mature Morgans are prone to get it.” Her Morgan horse, a handsome, trim gelding, stood nearby.

I quizzed her further, sure that my 15-year old gelding Magnum was perfect in every way and destined to be healthy and fit into old age.

“Well, I noticed Magnum had some little bumps,” she pointed to his side. “My guy had those, so I had a vet check him.”

Bumps? Yep, there they were. But there weren’t very many. And even though a few professionals (riding coach, saddle fitter, etc.) had pointed out Magnum’s occasional crestiness, I’d never worried. He was a lively, feisty middle-aged horse and I was sure he was fine. Perfectly normal.
Magnum and me, a few months earlier. 

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Joey's Hind Leg and What We Learned About Wound Care

by Mary Gallagher (with comments from Kip Tulin, M.D.

This is a story I've been meaning to share since it happened. Meanwhile, I've continued to use the basic approach here with success. At the time it was a bit of a science experiment, which thankfully produced positive results. I'd be interested in comments from those of you who have had success with natural remedies for wound care as well. I also invited Dr. Kip Tulin, a Freedom Farm regular and retired physician, to comment below on the basics of this art. -MG

Joey injured his left hind leg very badly in May 2012. He had kicked through and then gotten tangled in his pen's electric fence. The wound was wide open and there was no way to stitch it. We first irrigated the wound very thoroughly with cold water. It was a large, deep wound so I must have kept the hose on it for 30 minutes. We then left it un-bandaged and applied herbal products, with the result that the granulating tissue nearly covered the area, with the exception of a small area in the center that drained constantly. Then one day it just got really swollen and split down the middle. It was horrendous. Out of ideas and very worried about Joey, we took him to the veterinary hospital. 

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Springtime means sunshine, green grass, and risk of laminitis!

by Barbara Noble

With the warmer weather and another early spring, laminitis is a good topic for all horse owners to have on their mind. Our northwestern grass will soon be growing high, and also high in sugar. All horse owners could benefit from knowing about the risk of laminitis, and being proactive in preventing it, whether or not their horse is showing symptoms. Horses prone to laminitis of the most common variety are thought to be horses with an inherited gene which predisposes them to obesity (the easy keeper type) and a different metabolism of carbohydrates. Even if your horse does not have laminitis, you can be proactive and possibly avoid this condition altogether.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Transformation of Niko, Part 5

 By Michelle Grimmer

This article is the fifth in a series about Michelle’s thoroughbred Niko, whose journey to health is a study in holistic horse care and natural horsemanship. The earlier articles are highly recommended as background. You can find all Michelle’s articles by clicking on her name at right, or just start HERE, with the first installment of The Transformation of Niko (Part One).  - ed.

            One of the best things that ever happened to Niko was that I started nursing school just after I adopted him from his previous owner. While at times I felt frustrated that I could not do more with him on a daily basis to help him progress, the very thing he needed was for me to do things very slowly. In other words, less was more. The challenges present in his body and mind (which I came to think of as his ‘twistedness’) required strategic nudging and time for things to be sorted out. Niko is a tremendously talented horse who has always always been willing to try, and has always made progress, but I had a nagging sense that there was yet more inside Niko to work through, that there were still ‘stuck places’ in his body somewhere.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Healing by Secondary Intention: Bob's Story


by Kip Tulin M.D.

Bob's wound, Day One
In early December (a month before this writing) Bob, an older gelding in the Farm school program, sustained a deep laceration to the right side of his face, cause unknown. (Mary Gallagher discovered his plight in the course of a morning feeding and checked around the pen, with no luck.) As you can see from the photo, the cut went from just below his eye and way down the cheek, gaping open almost an inch. Mary examined the wound carefully, noting some places where the wound went all the way through; she could hear a sucking sound as Bob breathed.

Obviously such a deep cut needed to be stitched, right?

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

At Freedom Farm, 'Freedom' Starts With the Feet

 By Mary Gallagher

At Freedom Farm our horses are our partners. We make every effort, and feel obligated to understand who they are. In nature, horses are migrating prey animals who depend on their feet to survive. And feet are what I’d like to address in this post: specifically, why we not only advocate, but require bare feet for all our resident horses.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

The Transformation of Niko, Part 4 (Vitamin E edition…)

By Michelle Grimmer & Barbara Noble

First of all, Niko is doing GREAT! Two years after adopting him and starting down the road to
unraveling the puzzle of his various mental and
physical issues, I can finally say that he is doing well and moving soundly. Time, patience, persistence, a team of caring professionals, therapeutic exercise, hoof trimming, tack fitting, dentistry, structural integration, chiropractic adjustments, the list could go on. While we attacked things on the outside of the horse, and the inside of his brain, we have also addressed what we put into him in terms of the feed and nutrients required for healthy body building and tissue repair. A hay balancing supplement has been introduced to his feeding regimen along with magnesium, a joint supplement (makes me feel good at least, even if the jury is out on its actual benefits), and vitamin E.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

When Should I De-Worm My Horse?

By Audrey Bryant
 
Over the years, veterinarians and horse owners have gotten into the habit of deworming too frequently, without considering the negative consequences.  The chemicals are hard on your horse's gut (they damage beneficial bacteria) and their overuse has created chemically-resistant parasites. Some veterinarians call them super worms.

Dr. Dallas goes to the Trailside Pharmacy:Sow Thistle

By Marilyn Crimmel and Dallas

An interesting thing happened just after the Farm Tour, while hand walking Dallas along the bike path. This walk is always a special treat for Dallas - she enjoys watching the cows, munching on grass and alfalfa flowers, and enjoying an occasional apple along the way.

Vitamin D for Horse and Rider

By Kip Tulin, M.D.


With the days getting short and sunshine a bit more scarce, it's a good time to think about Vitamin D, our friend in good health. In preparing a talk on the subject for the monthly Working on Wellness Forum in Sequim, I have been reviewing current research and meeting with a few surprises along the way. It seems that most of us, because of lifestyle, latitude and diet  are not getting enough vitamin D, even if we pay attention to that sort of thing. On a recent afternoon at Freedom Farm I also started to wonder about horses and dogs and vitamin D, so I did a bit more research and thought I'd share.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Invisible Balance

Jerry Schmidt
Balanced Equine Services

 Horses were meant to graze 18 to 20 hrs per day. They have a highly specialized system of wear and eruption of their teeth that, if respected, will keep them alive for a very long time. They need freedom of movement in their jaw, side to side and forward and back. This free range of movement in the mouth affects the balance and movement of the entire horse.

The Sunny Side of Parasites

by Kip Tulin, M.D.

We tend to think of a parasite as:

a) a disgusting wormy-squiggly thing that inhabits our bodies and gives nothing in return, or

b) our 24 year-old nephew who is still couch surfing in our living room and continually raiding our refrigerator.

For (a) at least, the relationship might be more complicated than we think.  I'd like to take a running start at this explanation, from about 500 million years ago. Paleoparasitologists have found fossil evidence of parasites dating back to the lower Cambrian era. This means that both the host and the parasite have spent a long time climbing the evolutionary ladder together and have developed a remarkable balance. Twenty-five percent of the world's human population have parasites. In more primitive settings the percentage approaches one hundred. And, it turns out, even parasites have parasites.