| I've recently been writing about how to have fun with | | | | "crunchy" shoulders, proceeded to grow an inch, and |
| your horse in a cruddy economy because, well, we all | | | | develop a high hind end and jammed withers. |
| need to have fun, whether or not the checkbook looks | | | | My vet suggested I take him off all supplements for a |
| healthy. In two previous articles, I wrote about how I | | | | few weeks to allow his body to catch up with his |
| was determined to become the one-jump wonder (a | | | | healing crisis. Following her advice, I then gave him the |
| project that's bound to be cheap but very interesting) | | | | Panacur Power Pack series, and am now starting him |
| and I'm rediscovering the fun of riding in the desert. I | | | | on an herbal rebalancing product called XanGo Eleviv |
| have one more project in mind to keep this zen | | | | (formerly X51). The goal of the Eleviv is to help |
| cowgirl occupied in the coming fall, winter, and spring: | | | | Walker's system restore itself to healthy balance |
| focusing on cure for my hothouse flower, a gelding | | | | without going into a healing crisis. He is now back on |
| named Walker. | | | | the same whole food supplements, but in reduced |
| When it comes to horse health care, the idea of | | | | quantity. He also gets body work to release his withers |
| focusing on cure may not sound cheap; palliating or | | | | and spine every couple of days. |
| suppressing symptoms with bandaids sounds cheaper. | | | | The Long Road to Cure |
| In reality, it's not. Over the years of buying, starting, | | | | It's probably going to be a long road to cure for |
| training, and selling horses, I've discovered that really | | | | Walker, since his health obviously suffered from his |
| focusing on curing a horse's health problems, | | | | experiences of being grabbed, gelded, and trained. |
| permanently, is ultimately cheaper than just fixing the | | | | While I could easily palliate or suppress his symptoms |
| symptoms. Walker is a perfect example. Take a | | | | by giving him Bute, Banamine, and a host of other |
| gander at his case study and see if you agree with | | | | wonder drugs, I prefer to see Walker move into total |
| me by the end. | | | | foundational health, even if that takes another six |
| Walker -- The Hothouse Flower | | | | months to a year. |
| For the most part, I ride mustangs. I've adopted five of | | | | Walker: Not an Unusual Case |
| them over the years and still have three of them: | | | | Walker isn't by any means an unusual case, especially |
| Valentine, Samantha, and Reyacita. These three | | | | when a horse is brought from a |
| mares are as tough as nails and as versatile as the | | | | conventionally-managed environment to a |
| quintessential little black dress. | | | | holistically-managed one. That he survived being roped, |
| And then I have Walker, the only gelding of the bunch, | | | | gelded, shod in sliders, vaccinated, dewormed, and |
| a quarter horse who is a total hothouse flower. Walker | | | | trained intensively for 90 days shows that he has |
| is my sensitive child of a horse, originally bought to be a | | | | heart. Now he just needs health. |
| reiner. He may still become a reining horse one day, | | | | I am not at all surprised that Walker is going through |
| but for now Walker has a lot of health issues to | | | | such a healing crisis. The whole food nutrition and |
| overcome. | | | | herbal supplements are supporting Walker's own |
| Walker's Case History | | | | immune system, which is responding by detoxifying the |
| Walker, now four years old, remained unbroke and a | | | | effects of his mental, emotional, and physical stress. |
| stud until late in his three-year-old year. That year, his | | | | With horses like Walker, as long as we continue to |
| previous owners ran him into a trailer and dropped him | | | | support the immune system, he should eventually turn |
| off at the reining trainer's barn. There, the trainer | | | | the corner and become solidly healthy. Stay tuned for |
| proceeded to rope him, geld him, and saddle break him. | | | | more on Walker's case in the near future. |
| He was put through 90 days of intense reining training, | | | | Is Cure Really Cheaper than Fixing Symptoms? |
| in which he showed great promise as a big stopper | | | | So now that you've read Walker's case, what do you |
| and an big turner. And then I bought him. | | | | think? Is cure really cheaper? It is. Dr. Madalyn Ward, |
| A few months after I brought him home, I pulled his | | | | my veterinarian, has actually calculated the cost of |
| shoes and proceeded to put him on a natural whole | | | | managing a horse either conventionally or holistically, |
| food supplement program that included blue-green | | | | and it turns out the holistic management, which really |
| algae, mangosteen juice, enzymes, probiotics, and | | | | focuses on cure, ends up costing slightly less in dollars. |
| wheat sprouts. Walker proceeded to detoxify his | | | | The bonus is that you end up with a much healthier |
| system faster than proved good for his health. He lost | | | | horse you can ride and enjoy more of the time. Read |
| weight, developed an abscess in his right front hoof, | | | | this fascinating comparison on the Holistic |
| developed an abscess in his jaw, suffered from colic, | | | | Horsekeeping website in the articles section. |
| and generally looked pitiful. He also developed | | | | |