Academia Liberti

HORSE MEDITATIONS

2018-01-28T01:18:00.000-08:00

A day with Tina and her herd.

The participants will be introduced to a meditative way of being with horses. This may open new doors into spending peaceful time with horses in general, without bringing any agenda to your equine friends. Your perception abilities will be strengthened. You might experience a new way of observing the herd and different horse personalities. The meditations will be guided while sitting, standing or walking. The horses always have the first choice if they want to participate and connect. Usually they love to spend time with human beings in presence and silence. The meditations will happen in the field, in the woods, in wilderness with the herd. We focus on perceiving the world around through the horses’ senses - sight, touch, smell and listening. How do horses breath, and how can we connect with them by our own breathing? How can sounds help us to be more present? What occurs if we join these animals without wanting anything from them? We may discover a stillness filled with inner joy. When we awaken nature awakens and opens its magic for us.

HIKING WITH THE FREE HERD

In Dreamvalley we have developed a praxis of regular free walks with our 9 headed herd out in the wild. We seldom need to lead a horse on a rope during these free walks. However sometimes we need to intervene in order to provide safety for the horses - or the neighbors property. We give the horses a lot of choices such as:

Where to go? Which direction? At which pace? Where to stop? Where to graze or pick herbs?

We accompany the herd and become part of it. We become attuned with nature. We arrive in a special down-to-earth quality of stillness.

Depending on the seasons the walks are very different. During wintertime the horses love to dig after living hay under the snow, and sometimes they love to run and play. During spring they are very keen on fresh grass, and may stay on good spots for a long time. Then we collect herbs, take a sketchbook or something else we like to do out in nature. During summertime they may prefer to go up to the mountain farms or the big lake. If it is hot and there are insects they might prefer to stay at home in their outdoor stable and sleep. During autumn the walks can be quite energetic and we may go for longer distances. A free herd walk is very stimulating for both people and horses.

The excursions are a co-creative collaboration between us and the herd. We need to develop our listening skills. When we truly respect their yes and their no they usually are very willing to go into a dialogue with us. This is not a training where we teach the horses to become obedient, this is rather an act of communication.

You are welcome to join us for such an excursion and experience this special connection. Take good shoes, some food for lunch which we usually eat by a camp fire in the woods or mountains. We will cook tea and coffee there.

As this is a collaborative event we can’t guarantee if the horses want to take part in a herd walk that specific day. If that should be the case there is other great stuff we can improvise.

Come, join and experience a freedom with horses unknown to most!

DREAM VALLEY LIFE

In the following I want to highlight what Dreamvalley is offering for people who would like to visit us and spend some time with the herd and the people who form the ‘Dreamvalley family’ including a dog and two cats. This is a great way of spending holidays in wilderness, surrounded by a relaxed herd of horses, in a social, artistic and down-to earth environment.

You are welcome to take part in life just as it is in Dreamvalley from moment to moment, from day to day, from season to season. You are free to participate or to retreat, maybe concentrate on your own work such as writing, painting, reading. In wintertime a ski track passes right behind the farm. Rondane Nationalpark is situated close by, the area is perfect for hiking. The herd is the circular turning point of our daily rhythms – herd observations and regular excursions, creativity, a vegan lifestyle and contemporary art are recurring themes in our discussions and activities. Also the inner focus with the help of mindfulness, meditation and yoga is a continual praxis. The daily work (depending on seasons) consists of feeding, mucking, chopping wood or building fences, building up the farm and fertilizing the earth. We usually cook together around a campfire in the summer, on the wood stove during wintertime.
Your will live in a basic style, in a mongolian tent or a simple cottage. The farm has one outdoor toilet and one little shower as well as a washing machine for laundry. And if you wish a complete retreat you are welcome to stay at the mountain farm situated 4 km further up the hills close to the lake Finnsjøen and enjoy complete time off. You may experience how little a person needs when connected to nature.

Tina Mareen Buddeberg
tina@dreamvalley.no
www.dreamvalley.no
Telephones:
004762464055
004799483557
Adress:
Finnstadveien 492
2477 Sollia

Feeding horses according to the barnmanagement of Academia Liberti - my experience

2017-02-24T04:17:00.003-08:00

by Lisa Spitzer

certified horse groom and AL Coach

In all this time, that I spend with horses, I have only really experienced in the last three years, what it means to provide a species appropriate life for a horse. All those years before I was influenced by the things that I have learned and how it is common nowadays, in my apprenticeship to become a fully certified groom, in the locations of my practical experience and in the stables that I have worked in. How does it happen, that we do things wrong, for such a long period of time and we do not see that we are wrong? This is relatively easy to answer for me: You do, what everybody does. You do the things like everyone else around you, how you ultimately learned it. If you are always floating with the current, if you are never bothering about making your own thoughts and your own experiences, if you believe in what is told you -then you, for sure, make it really easy for yourself on the one hand. On the other hand, you are maybe not ready yet, to see the things and to make changes, since change is always a step into uncertainty and you need trust. But one day comes a point in life, where you think outside the box and you start to do things differently, you gain own experience and you start to listen to the animals around you, who will show it to you, when you are ready for it.

After I restricted my mare in food for almost six years, because I learned it that way and I was told and advised to restrict my pony in food, since she would be to fat, would get to fat and sick, I made a decision. This decision was easy, after I made it. It took a while, since we had, in the old stable, no opportunity to implement it a 100%. But shortly after that came the opportunity in the shape of our own stable. Then the time had come. Our horses, in this case Pandora and Charly got a keeping, which was close to the life of their wild living relatives. Of course not entirely and on a smaller area, but as far as it was possible.

Pandora had been developing some illnesses due to her previous keeping conditions. Her metabolism is overloaded and she has water accumulation in certain tissues. Now she has the opportunity to heal these illnesses. And what does their diet look like? You will maybe ask. They have 24 hours hay at free disposal all year round and 24 hours pasture on seven hectare, which they are inhibiting together with five other horses. In addition they have a natural mineral station after Academia Liberti and they are getting herbs daily, for example dandylion, goldenrod, yarrow, spear mint and many more to choose from and a little bit of oats. With that, if wanted, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, black (cumin) seeds, flax seeds and marianthistle seeds.

Pandora was before, when she was restricted in food, like a vacuum cleaner, no leave, no blade, no seed was save from her. Her thoughts were always circling around, where she could find more to eat to ease her hunger and the pain in her stomach. She had a lot of stress because of that and even though she was restricted, she was still seen as too fat by everyone. It stressed me, that everybody thought, that my pony was too fat. For me she was only she. I had to fight for a long time with, what was said about her, this is however, over now, because she is perfect the way she is. And most of all, she healed already good but she is not perfect healthy yet. I am looking forward to observe her further healing and how her body is convalescing.

With the first day, here on our ranch, her eating behavior has changed. Now she selects very carefully, searches aimed for specific grasses or the best spots and is the one out of all horses, who takes the least from the offered seeds. The herbs she chooses aimed and what she took yesterday she will not take again today, but therefore two days later again. It is very interesting to observe this.

As well, regarding her eating behavior of hay and in the pasture, many people would not believe me. She is occasionally the fewest of all on the hay and takes many breaks. But like this it is the most natural, how her wild relatives are setting an example for us. They are moving slowly grazing and that over many hours a day and are ingesting very little amounts, since their stomach is very small in proportion to their body. It is made to digest small amounts, without eating breaks.

Which leads me to the question: Who are we, that we are just like that deciding what our horse has to eat, when it has to eat and how much? Where from do we know, what the ideal weight for our animal is? Where from do we know, what exactly it needs? We ourselves have lost our eating instincts mostly and are nourishing unhealthy food, even though we know, that it is not good for our body. Where from should we then know, what our horse needs? Only the horse himself is able to do that, and it will, when it is given the opportunity to do so.

My observations show me, that I am right to trust the horses. All seven horses are taking different herbs at different times and have all a good rhythm. It is never happening that all horses are eating at the same time. One is resting and relaxing, the other one has laid down, the other one is looking for a special grass and the other one goes drinking and this way it is spread over the whole day.

With regard to the body shapes of the horses, every horse is, in this point as well, individual. And as well the seasons have a big impact on that, respectively they should. If we are restricting the horses in food, they do not have the opportunity to follow this rhythm of nature. But this is, as well, an important component of their organism.

My pony, of course, did gain weight, when she changed from restricted feeding to 24 hour food. That is normal. But now she has all the important substances, which her body needs to heal. And after a year, was visible already, how her body has changed slowly, how the water accumulation in the tissue became slowly less and how her body followed the rhythm of the seasons,. And after another year, lots has changed and her body is still changing. This is a process and in some cases the healing goes quicker and with others it takes a little longer. If I consider, how long she was restricted before, then she can, by all means, have the time now, that she needs, to get the body that she needs.

To the physical healing adds, that she can heal on the psychical level as well. Restrictions of the food, which have impact on the mind as well, are gone and her thoughts are free to address other things. There is no reason anymore to look for food all the time, since it is there. There is no reason to absorb everything, since there is no pain through hunger anymore.

Earlier I had no chance that she would come to me, when I came into the pasture, since she was busy to eat as much food as possible in the restricted time in the pasture. Today she comes every day and every time she sees me, to me. And we are enjoying each others company.

And something else good, brought the decision to give her such a life, since I not only changed her diet, she also taught me to reconsider and change my eating behavior and therefore become more healthy as well.

Workshops at "Little Paradise Ranch"

Relevant Articles:

Pasture and Grazing - the main source of food for hoses

Dominant lead mare - first training Video

2016-11-21T01:59:00.001-08:00

Dominant lead mare - first training Video

Maksida Vogt:

"I work with the free horses and I prefer a pure communication with one horse without any means of control on her body. Best is woking with the horse on the wide space or meadows, where the horse can go away any time she likes it. I do not even like a halter on the horse's head. In this case the owner insisted that the horse should wear it all the time. She was very dominant lead mare, jumped over fences and ran away and she was often unpredictable. She stayed some time at Akazienhof and in this time nothing was asked from her. This was the first training on the base of free will. To meet the horse at eye level, to treat her with respect and love will always unleash the wish from the horse to respond the same way."

www.maksidavogt.com

Youtube Channel

Wild stallion protects his band - photo story

Connenction between hoof form and whole organism

Why do veterinarians not apply available knowledge?

A Little Paradise Ranch, Academia Liberti Centre Austria - Photo story

2016-10-08T23:14:00.002-07:00

by Maksida Vogt

What our centres should show?
They should show, what the horses need to be healthy. They should show the healing of the horses who are finaly allowed to live the way the nature intended for them. They should be a place where the people experience inner healing - through healthy and free horses who are respected, who are free to choose. They should be a meeting place for all those who are are not satisfied with the average - those who want to learn and know more. They should be an alternative to the usual riding stables, a place where one really get to know horses. Learn to appreciate them. And with that learn to appreciate oneself also. You will be surprized what your horse is telling you. :)

An idyllic world – welcome to the Centres of Academia Liberti.

A Little Paradise Ranch, Academia Liberti Centre Austria - Photo story

2016-10-08T23:14:00.001-07:00

by Maksida Vogt

What our centres should show?
They should show, what the horses needs to be healthy. They should show the healing of the horses who are finaly allowed to live the way the nature intended for them. They should be a place where the people experience inner healing - through healthy and free horses who are respected, who are free to choose. They should be a meeting place for all those who are are not satisfied with the average - those who want to learn and know more. They should be an alternative to the usual riding stables, a place where one really get to know horses. Learn to appreciate them. And with that learn to appreciate oneself also. You will be surprized what your horse is telling you. :)

An idyllic world – welcome to the Centres of Academia Liberti.

Gentle and untamed soul

2016-09-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

by Christiane Elser

Experiencing wild and free horses in their natural environment, watching them, and sensing their energy. Maybe even feeling like a little piece of their totality … this is a dream that had been lying dormant inside of me for quite a while. It has always been there, just the weight of it has been different. Sometimes I felt it strongly, sometimes not so much.

What I know for sure is that dreams are meant to be fulfilled. So I set out for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of September 2016.This is where a herd of approximately 400 wild horses dwells in many sub-formations in the mountains of Livno. Nature, in many places, is still totally unspoiled there.

What I did not know when I set off, is that it would be a journey that I would touch me in a way I would not have thought possible. You ponder and ask yourself many questions … will they accept me, tolerate me being close to them … will I – and I do not even dare hope - maybe even have a really special encounter with one of them?

The thought of it is exciting, but you resolve to just let things happen. After all, this is what you want: Rid yourself of all control, allow yourself to just drift along, feel and absorb some of this wild and untamed energy. Try to understand, or at least have a presentiment of it …

We had not been out in the mountains for long, when we spotted the herd on the horizon. A sight, which was impressive like no other in a long time, which even made my heart beat faster.

And suddenly you are right in the middle, as our arrival had captured their collective attention. They eye us with curiosity, draw in and process our scents. The first impression I perceived of the wild horses was one of friendliness and curiosity. The shyer ones kept themselves in the background. But none of them escaped. You start to feel comfortable, to blend in. You dare step a little closer, and you try to comprehend their social structures.

Some of the horses have fresh or healing wounds. Many of them have scars. And you try to divine how they got them. There are stallions whose coat is covered with so many scars that the stories appear automatically in front of your inner eye … the fights for mares, and for their places in the herd. Their fights with wolves and bears. And you feel reverent gazing at those strong, massive, and impressive creatures. And at the same time, you almost cannot believe the gentleness in their eyes.

And this brings me to the point where I would like to tell you about my very special encounter with one of the wild horses. I had sat down on a rock, it was some time after sunrise, and the herd was gradually heading towards a pond some kilometers away. And I positioned myself and my camera to capture a family that was lead by a compact light stallion up the hill towards where I sat. I felt that big smile of anticipation beautiful pictures within myself, as this grouping was nicely illuminated by beautiful morning light. Those horses gave me the most emotional moment during my journey, and I will try to find words to describe it. I recall hearing their breathing, and their content, low snorting. I heard their steady steps, the sound of them absorbed by the soft ground. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathed in the fresh morning air, and suddenly felt absolutely peaceful and safe, which was such a wonderful feeling. Right before the horses reached my location, the stallion left the trail that would have lead them past me, and headed straight and without hesitation towards me. I looked him in the eyes for a short moment, and then waited for him to arrive at where I sat. His eyes emanated so much gentleness, and this was enough for me to just sit there completely relaxed and trusting, while I felt an incredible feeling of joy starting to spread within me. The stallion stopped right in front of me, and first approached my camera with his nostrils. He inhaled my scent on my arm, and then I felt his warm breath in my face. And back he went to his position in front of his family. And I got up with a lump in my throat and with tears in my eyes, and tried to understand how those few seconds could possible stir me up such a way. Why that moment ? After all it was not the only horse that approached me, and not the only moment that I considered beautiful.

It may have been, on the one hand, the encounter with this untamed, but gentle soul who deviated from the path because of my energy, in order to explore it for a short moment. Thinking of how I got to be assigned some kind of importance in the life of this wild creature, if only for a few seconds. But it might have been, on the other hand, that intense feeling of peacefulness and happiness that had come over me right before this moment happened. The feeling of completely and intensely living in the here and now, and the feeling of irrelevance of vanities.The perfect moment, the theoretical approach of how I attempt to live my life, and what I sometimes do not succeed at. The wild horses showed me how easy it actually is.

Priceless, and absolutely indescribable.

Che Photography Facebook
ChePhotography Instagram

Visit Wild Horses

Wild stallion protects his band - Photostory

My experience with the wild horses and its impact on my life

Laminitis

Wild stallion protects his band - photo story

2016-08-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

by Maksida Vogt

One wild horses band follows the herd. Suddenly there is a bachelor, who wants to challenge the band stallion.

The band stallion turns to the bachelor. He is calm and interested. The lead mare is getting faster and leads the foal away.The rest of the family is waiting. They are acting as a unity, everyone knows his place and his task. The bachelor looks back challenging.

The band stallion is selfconfident and comes closer to the bachelor, who is tensed waiting.

First they are checking the strength of eachother - how strong is the other one, how confident, how stout, how serious. But it is only one bachelor and the band stallion is very confident and calm.

The bachelor does not wimp out. He wants to try, so the band stallion has to show his power ...

and he attacks very quickly. With an amazing lightness he lifts his body, mighty muscles collect for attack. With the same lightness the bachelor ducks.

But the band stallion has him already. He is stronger and has much more experience. The bachelor will have one more scar, but he has tried one more time and he has learned once more. One day he will have his own family, then he is very resolute and fearless.

The band stallion chases him away.

The bachelor runs away and the band stallion follows closely to shield his family from behind.

Just a normal day with wild horses.

Internship at the Akazienhof - Knowledge & Healing

My experience with the wild horses and its impact on my life

Wild Horses Workshop with Maksida Vogt

Internship at the Akazienhof - Knowledge & Healing

2015-12-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

by Marie Strübe
prospective Academia Liberti Coach

It's six month ago since I visited the Akazienhof in Hungary for my internship. The experiece lasts. Three weeks full of wonders and signs christoph and I spend at hungarian Puszta. We learned about horses, cats, dogs, hoofs, the universe, nourishment, nature, humans, hungary and first of all about our selfs. As part of the Education of Fun Fitness and Spiritual Work with Horses, wich I get startet in january 2015 at Academia Liberti, Maksida Vogt invited me to her farm. She is living there for four years, and with her 2 dogs, 8 cats and 6 mares. The horses are living at a few hectars country, very close to natural conditions.

The sun welcomes us and was not meant to leave us for the next three weeks. Our first impression of the rural circuitousness raised anticipation, being able to look up to the horizon is amazing. In the city this is very rare.

Via Kescemet we finally reached Fisherbocsa, a little valley with one church and a few farms. Maksida and her dogs welcomed us and we felt well immediatly. We visited the horses at their huge area wich is given to them. At first Marina and Pastorella came and met us, the two Lippizaner mares. They where never ridden or used. They came with such curiosity and easygoingness I thought it was magical, they seemed so pure and wise. It was the first time I found myself in front of horses wich get satisfied their natural demands. These includes (approximately) unrestricted movement, unrestricted feeding, minerals and herbs at free disposal plus hoof treatment wich keep hoff mechanism healthy. Both mares captured my imagination immediatly. They seemed to me like two wise magicians. Pastorella is the boss mare of the heard. Three mares who previously had to work as sport horses and Maksidas mare Hera built the rest of the heard.

We were agreed that this would be a woderful experience!

Our days began with the every morning walk with the horses to one of the nearby pastures where they graze until midday. During this time i wrote an article about damages on horses caused by dressage and translated other articles for the AL website. After lunch we took the horses back to the main pasture and they hooked in the cold stable. When the huge midday heat was gone Maksida showed me how she works at the mares hoofs. During the three weeks we worked at al four hoofs of every mare and I learned a lot. Certainly I had some knowledge about hoofs before I came there because we learned about it in the Fun-Fitness lessons, but there is a difference between learning and experience & observe. Therefore I recogniced how important the rinse of hoofs is. Because of the missing rain hoofs where very dry and hard, treatment seemed impossible. It was only after we put horses in a big mud for 20 minutes so that we could treat their hoofs. Even this lasts not very long, so inside the trim they went completely dry. In this situation it is important to make sure that horses have occasion to come in water.

The mare Donna is a special issue. She came with a dramatic laminitis at maksidas farm and her owner already wants to euthanizes her. But Maksida befriended her and during a few trims she reached that the coffin bone fiexed itself.

I read the book about laminitis from Dr. Strasser. It seemed so absurd to me wich techniques humans make use of trying to heal laminitis. They only fighting the symptoms and make matters worse, incurable. Instead of putting the coffin bone into a bottom parallel position, like Dr. Strasser does through her hoof treatment, the hoof is brought into a steeper position with the aid of orthopaedic horseshoeing. This causes necrotization of the nervs an the hoof goes deaf. In Australia the debate about a vaccination! It is like vaccinate against bone fractures!

I think it is brutal what farriers appeal to horses through their ignorance.

Movement is healing!

A really important insight wich I made. In the evening I visited the horses often for spending some special time and wander with them. Their bodies where very warm because of the natural movement with the herd. It reminds me of that it is saying in riders cycles „the horse is ridden warm“. That is what the six mares are along the whole day instead of a few hours on midday when they doze in the stable. The metabolism is activ and that is how healing can happen. Human jail horses in boxes, thus they get ill because metabolism can't work. Then they take the horses to a hall and set themself to move and train the horse. Through riding and the unnatural movements the horse suffers pain and damage. There you have horses with a damaged matabolism and maltreated bodies. And humans? Proud of what he reached „together“ with his „partner“. He refuses natural movement to his horse, namely at least 15 kilometers a day, wich damages the horse and he replaces it with something wich bring more and more damage to the horse. The horses at this place look great, even fantastic! Every drassage rider would be proud of such a trained horse, and the most superb of them, Pastorelle, was nerver get ridden!

Enough said about the insight: Horses with the possibility of natural movement are warm.

Healing and insight - those energies accompanded me during the whole time in hungary. Maksida, Christoph and me discussed about everything wich was coming through our minds, and I think eyeryone of us won insight and healing from this time. But I do not want to mesure the healing ernegy from the animals with any discussion. The dogs, cats and horses at Maksidas are given a life of them own free will- cats going in and out like they want to, dogs living free and horses have enough country to express themselves in a free, natural way. Whereas the animals are free and balanced they can deal with the humans out of their deep confidence, in spite of animals in captivity. They are looking for propinquity and contact, not as a act of necessity. This experience I wish for everyone!

There also where days I find me a little bit melancholy and thoughtful, every day brings its own quality and it matters for me to indulge in it, I don't want to force a mood or feelings.

That was when I seeked the herd an sat down besinde them. Marina and Hera are so nosy and

naturally, I had never met those mares before. They fondled my back, dressed my hair and blowed their warm breath into my ears.

They keep the winds ease, the suns rays, the waters clarity and the earth's wisdom in their souls.

The knowledge about good things

Because probably there is no good or bad. Just different. A differnt way, a different level, a different energy, a different expression of creation. Only different, no better or worse. Surely in the sentiment of one or another person there is a positve or negative valuation of this expression, but overall this only shows the reality of one single an his judgement. The expression itself is universal. At times the creation express itself superlative fascinating, you can wonder. But go further then wondering, an asessment or judgement, is like building up an obstacle on your own way.

How beautiful life is, in this easiness of being.

I am so glad to be a part of the awakening, smoothing the way for all of them who leave the painful traditional dealing with horses and discover the way of friendship, humanity an free will.

Perhaps you want too read these articles too:

A short review after the first 4 months of the AL Education

My experience with the wild horses and its impact on my life

Connections between Hoof Form and the whole Organism

What do you want?

2015-11-03T06:44:00.001-08:00

by Katarina Miljkovic

Hypothetically speaking what would you do if, from one day to the other, you could not ride your horse anymore? In order to ever ride again you would have to give your horse away and get a new one. Think about it. What would you do? Would you still keep your horse or would you replace it with a new rideable horse? What is it that you want from your horse? I am pretty sure most people say they love their horses, how far does this love go? And where does it end?

It’s been almost a year now that I have not been riding a horse. As most horse people and riders I loved riding, especially dressage and trail rides. It filled my whole being with joy and gave me a feeling of freedom, I could clear my mind, let go of the world around me, let go of my current problems. There was just one part missing in my perception of this…the opinion and feeling of the horses I was riding. To be honest back then it never crossed my mind that maybe, perhaps the horses don’t want to be ridden. I knew their back was not made for carrying weight but somehow this is what we always did with horses, we rode them. Why question something so traditional, old and something that is so much fun?

It is very difficult to find the right living conditions for horses where I live. The pasture size is very limited, there are still a lot of stables who keep their horses in boxes and only get out for some hours a day. For now I am glad to have found a place where Ari can be out 24/7 deciding for herself if she is staying in the paddock or grazing in pasture. She settled in quite fast, made a good friend and seems happy, as we humans would say. It’s far from what I want for her, but we’re working on things such as the quality and availability of hey for example. Until I find my own place with a couple of hectares I will have to do some sacrifices. But for now I’ll try to make the best of what I have. I like to come to the stable and I get along with all the other horse owners and even made friends.I accept and respect each one of them even if we don’t share the same opinion. However, most of them do not really know how I really feel. So far, people did not really show much interest in what I am doing with Ari. Of course, horse people tend to be affected by results and progress the horse is doing and since I am not a professional horse trainer, I guess I am just the girl who goes for walks or running with her horse and is just being silly doing some liberty stuff, playing, meditating and occasionally have some, not really serious, training sessions.

However, when it comes to the riding part people do start to ask what my plan is. Depending on how I feel in that moment, my answer is: well I will wait until her bones are fully developed, which can take up to the seventh year. But, the more I start to gain confidence I also mention that I don’t think that horses want to be ridden at all and there are studies and scientific proof of the damage done to the horse through riding. The studies I found made absolutely sense to me and also shocked me. I heard of this at the time I was still riding, but I guess I was too ignorant to believe it. And of course people tend to be personally attacked when I say I think riding is doing more harm than not riding. I felt the same way because it triggered a feeling of doing something wrong to the being I love. It’s a horrible thing to even think of, so better just forget about it and don’t question it. However, this is what I believe and this is how I am now with my horse, no riding.

So, the next question people ask me is why do I keep a horse then? Is it not too expensive to keep a horse that I don’t ride. Yes, it is expensive, but this is not the point, I don’t keep her for my pleasure only anymore, I keep her to give her an appropriate life where she can be just a horse and not a “machine like being” who has to fulfill my wishes and needs and amusement whenever I want to. Of course, I cannot just let her be by herself, the pasture she is living in is not as attractive as it should be for a horse. I have to make sure she gets at least some change of scenery and a little bit of exercise, which sometimes is not so easy when going a path where the horse has equal rights and has an opinion that is respected. Sometimes I also have to make the decision on my own to go for walks or do some training in the arena, if she wants to or not, but it’s still not happening with force or punishment and I always try to make it fun for both of us. As long as I can’t provide her a space as natural and big as possible, where she is moving herself constantly, I have to give her that exercise in order to keep her healthy. Once, I find this place there is no need for me to do that anymore, because she will be able to keep herself healthy. She will be able to strengthen her muscles in the most natural way, without anyone interfering in her movement.

I truly believe that when we give our horses this freedom, and this is not just a physical freedom it’s also a psychological freedom, they are very willing and like to be with us, learn and have fun, show us their beauty and pride in the most magnificent natural movements. This is what freedom really looks like to me, a wild free horse. Not a horse that is caged in boxes, taken out for our pleasure, kept under control with metal in the mouth, spurs, whips or any of the other thousands of equipment you can buy nowadays.

Ari and I are building very slowly a connection based on trust and friendship, this doesn’t happen from one day to the other. Of course sometimes I just wish that our connection would already be so deep that she would willingly follow me everywhere, this was just my EGO talking now by the way. But, the trust first needs to be built, on both sides. How can Ari trust me, if I don’t fully trust her…it’s like in any other relationship, trust is building up in small steps, and sometimes the trust can be broken and has to be re-built again. Mistakes happen and I also fall back into old patterns, but the great thing is that horses are so incredible forgiving that we can always start over and do it better.

I don’t care about the progress Ari is doing because she doesn’t have to progress in anything, she is a horse and as a horse she is always right and knows best how to move, provided that she is living in the right conditions. I mean seriously, have you ever seen a horse in pasture jumping obstacles over and over again or piaffing around for a longer period of time just for fun? I haven’t.

What I care about is our connection, the aspect of doing something, training, riding, grooming, whatever it is that I did with horses has changed completely, I am looking for a connection with my horse on a much deeper level, on a different level of consciousness that we share together, where we grow together, where healing is taking place and it doesn’t include riding anymore.And this connection is only my very own perception. This connection between horse and human I am talking about is very difficult to explain in words. It’s being in a balanced flow of energy, connecting to, not only the horse, to nature, the planet, the universe. Because, in the end everything is connected, right. Maybe you have seen the movie Avatar. This is what I mean with connection, a non-spoken communication between nature and human, totally in balance, everything pulsating with energy. Respect, trust, compassion and ultimately love brings us to this connection, which for me in the end is the purpose of existence, the deeper meaning of life. But we humans got so conditioned and cut off from the natural flow of energy, that we first must find our way back. This is the connection I am seeking with Ari, this is the connection I am seeking with humans too, it is just much more difficult than with animals who anyways already live in this balanced flow and can help us finding our way back too, if we are willing to take this step which includes working on ourselves constantly.

My biggest dream still is to gallop over a field without saddle, without bridle, without any tack, just being connected to Ari, melting into one. I know it will happen one day but first I have to get rid of my ego and live the connection I am talking about. I have to live this connection not only when being with horses but also outside of this sacred place. It’s our mindset that keeps us from even thinking that far, shutting us down from endless possibilities.

I fell off my horse three times before I started to listen to her. It was obvious that she didn’t felt comfortable, maybe she was even in pain having me on her back. It doesn’t matter anymore. I will not get on her back until the connection between the two of us has reached the level I am talking about. Ari is right…it’s much nicer to walk with a friend on eye level than being above someone.

What do you want?

Dressage harms horses

2015-07-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

by Marie Strübe
Prospective Academia Liberti Coach

Preface

I believed in what I was taught about the wolrd order of human and animals for a long time, but I could not really get it.

I could not feel it, because that are convictions, born out of the human arrogance, wich are catered to one goal: to enrich oneself. Weather in school, in the university or at the horse stable, all this areas of life seemed to operate in this order. This one Order, in wich humans put themselves abouve all around them and for whos world a life without money seems to be impossible. Don´t tell me it isn´t arrogant when a whole species upgrades themselves and the weird ideas of the bankers abouve the natural laws of the earth and the welfare of all living beings?

I decided not to use the horses for my own enrichment anymore. My horse should make his own decisions and live according to his free will, he should decide by his own weather he like to do something or not. This is exactly what I want for him, and what I wish my own life to be like. Even for your life!

But it isn´t that easy, they say... You have to go to work, they say... Earn money... They say my horse have to be ridden for being healthy. He don`t have to!

Horses must get ridden because humans want to ride, and the conditions under wich the horses live to perform sicken them.

You tell me, how could I fight for your and my freedom and free way of life and strike for that, when I stole the freedom of a living being?

How could I force a horse to carry my load on its back or cycling around me without breaking its will? It isn`t possible!

This is the reason my horse trusts me. He have an character and signalizes me weather he want to do something or not. This amazing horse is worth to walk beside him for 500 miles or longer, if he want me to, futher me.

◊ ◊ ◊

The following article shows the demage on the horses body through dressage and the dedicated keeping. Trough the article I want people to overthink the dressage sport ciritical. I am aware of the fact that it is a debate on pricipals wich scrutinizes the relationship between human and animals. A new consciousness awakes and let us see, how deep the damage on animals and our social competences goes.

◊ ◊ ◊

Currently Situation of dressage Horses relating to usage and keeping

In present times, it is April in 2015, a discussion about the usage of horses invades in the mind of horse keepers. The question if riding is actually suitable splits the riding scene into two stocks. The othe primernes who assert riding insisting on the old masters and the others who refer to the academic researchs proving the damage caused by riding.

Dressage riders find themselves in the discussion on side of the advocates, in their eyes the primary function of riding is the health maintenance of the horse.

The tutorials should be a gymnastic training for the horse. The trainers want the horses joints to get strong and movable. But nobody knows: that is what the training NOT effects. Quite the opposite, they do sustainable harm to the mind and the body of the horses.

The German equestrian federation (FN) drafted a educational scale for sport riders who train their horses according to this guideline. Tact, suppleness, support, momentum, straightness and collection should be a guarantee for safety for horse and rider and make the horse lightness. The support should be marked asspecially as cruel because it drives the the human to ignore their feelings. Everyone how starts riding feels the pain the horse has when the bit touches his mouth, but the trainers tell their students to go over that and suppress this feelings. This is what the FN scala depends on. And rides trust them and adhere to the educational plans, the riders interpret their feelings are wrong.

The FN scale whrere developed from the military service regulation of 1912, a detailed education plan wich should prepare the horses for the usage in cavallerie units. But this military regulation includes more then the scale of FN. For example riding without reins for eight weeks wich is a big quest for the rider and requires a good relationship between them and their horses.The claims to the riders where much bigger than you can see in the new scale.

So why where all this things banned from the new scale? Its all about money! If the FN whould make such demands only a small fraction of riders whould achieve the goals and the competition sides would stay empty. If the education whould be based on trust and love it would be a hard bit of work on themselve for the rider to satisfy the sensitive and demanding character of the horses. Therefore the FN broke the scale down to the aspect everybody can reach with force and pressure.

But as a result they refuse even those a good relationship to their horses who whould be able to base it on trust and love.

As a foundation fpr the scale the FN named informality. But why must we taught something to horses – and to instill something to the horses is the goal of every dressage rider- what it has given by nature?How can informality be understooden if the horses are forced to do something in pain what a free wild horse would do with lightness and natural charm? Why are the rider so arrogant to be on the mission to educate the horse, make them more beautiful and form them beyond the nature?

One reason for that lies in the keeping of the horses. For the first days of a foals life the body forms herselve. I speak about a foal born in free nature. She runs with the herd and pratctices looking around for potencial enemies. The natural crookedness, wich every foal has at her birth from lying in her mothers tummy, regulates itself naturally. Her hoofs are very soft and get fomed by the movement, the whole body get flooded with oxygen.

But how is it like in the riding sport area? Trough fear for the safety of the newborn and her mother they mostly spend their time in the box. Here is no opportunity for the foal to form her body. Pathologies appear and escort the foal her whole life and let her live in pain. She will held her natural crookedness und this will deform her hoofs (consequences are for instance club feets)

And now the humas comes and get on the mission to reverse all these pathologies and damages caused by the wrong keeping throug „gymnasticating“ the horse. Horses who dare to show their pain and fight against it, because the sattle and the bit suffer them pain, will be broken and bring to heel.

The natural needs of the horses are suppressed and are not allowed to them. Most dressage horses deadlines their lifes in narrowly boxes without contact to other horses and they are wrong feeded. For example they have to stay without food for long terms.

In „Leitlinien zur Beurteilung von Pferdehaltung unter Tierschutzgesichtpunkten“ published by the Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz you can read:

„Even the horses where domnesticated for over 5000 year their typal habits and the resulting needs are still the same.“

Hereafter you can read wich conditions satifies this needs. According to this guideline a box with 12 m^2 is enough for a mare and her foal. How is this possible? Who would maintain that a flat with 12 m^2 is enough for a mother and her baby? All of this guidelines contradict the natural need of horses in every way and it is scandalous that it even exsits and want to give a example fpr horse owners how they have to treat their animals."

Further the guideline says:

„Everybody who look after a animal must not restrict the possibility for typal movement, so that it suffers from pain or damages.(...)“

Who assess pain? Horses only show pain if they can not withstand it anymore, that is their natural instinct. In nature predators capture the weakest link of a herd, so every horse will avoid is to show weakness. They suffering quitly.

In the article „Einfluss des Haltungssystems auf die Bewegungsaktivität und Stressbelastung bei Pferden in Auslaufhaltungssystemen“ from G. Hoffmann, F.-J. Bockisch and P. Kreimeier / Landbauforschung - vTI Agriculture and Forestry Research of the year 2009 are written interesting conclusions regarding the parameters herd and feeding.

„The measured parameters where horses movement activity and stress level. The movement activity was determined with pedometers fixed at the horses hind leg. Every horse lived in single keeping and in a group for each three month. Afterwards they changed for examining the difference influence of the two keeping systems.

The highest average stress level where determined for the grup keeping with ungrassed pastures, also in the single and group keeping without extern movement offerings.

They concluded a lower risc of injuries in a group keeping than the rics of damages, injuries, conduct disorders and illness resulting from the isulated box keeping of horses.“

What can all this teach us? The keeping systems, wich „organize“ the horses and dont leave them a choice are very stressful for them. Dressage horses often spend long terms in the box, usually the wohle winter months, only come out for training. They have no contact to other horses and their feed intake is managed by humans. His is unnatural and ends in illness and conduct disorders. It is argued that nobody is such devoted as the horse keepers when its about doing everything for their animals and investing money and time for feeding, keeping and verterinarian. That is self-made sorrow, because without this synthetically and untypal keeping situations most problems and diseases would not appear. On a pasture with serveral hectars you don't need daily muck out and feeding and it is proofed that the horses are more healthy.

Attention should be paid to the fact, that veterinarians carry out studies by examining ill horses. Their conclusions are based on false assumptions, particularly that a horse who lives in a box can be healthy. The ill horses built the base for their studies and the scientist come a idea how healthy horses have to look like, but this idea is wrong. Hardly any of the veterinarians had ever seen a healthy horse!

Roughly more than 1,2 million horses live in germany. 12.600 horses lives end in the slaughterhouses per year. About 200.000 horses are used in sports. Breeding and freetime horses get inserted from the age of 4 until they get 18/20, sport horses only until the reach the age of 8/9. From then on they are unusable for sport. The average useful life of a sport horse is restricted by the age.

An analysis of the useful life of riding horses.

The Institut für Tierzucht und Haustiergenetik from Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen analysis the useful life of show horses and find out that the average useful life only is about 3,4 years. Dressage horses average 5 month or shorter in use. 41 % of dressage horses only get used 1 year, only 11% get used 5 to 6 years.

The oldest known horse was 62 years old.

Why get dressage horses passed out so early from the power range?

One reason are the numerous health problems of dressage horses caused by the wrong keeping and the unnatural usage.

In the first instance the movements the horse get forced to perform under the sattle pose

a enormously burden for horses joints and bones. In consequence the horses suffer from arthrosis, spavin, and poly arthrosis. Most spreaded problem from ridden horses is the kissing spine syndrom (KSS). The riders weight is said to be the trigger for spinous process began to touch each other and cause pain in the saddle area of the horses back.

Pursuing informations about damages on horses body caused by riding can be found in the articles written by Maksida Vogt.

Many people out there truly belief that it is healthy for their horses to be ridden. This is scientifically disproved. EVERY time a horse is ridden without a natural collection longer than 15 minutes a day it suffers pain. Most people can feel that, those who dont feel it need studies to believe it. Even the fact that riding a horse long-and-low damages him is scientific proofed. At this point the articles from Maksida Vogt supply more informations too.

So, riding a horse means pain and irreversible damages for her, but this is not all the dressage riders do. Economical interests and high price pools drive people to exploit their horses for their own enrichment.

There is a lot of criticism dealed out on the method of rollkur, also named hyperflexion. It means intended drawn of horses head with help of reins towards the horses breast.

The riders argue that its a further development of classical dressage riding. According to them deep setting of the horse helps gymnastication, refering to a studie from the netherlands (2006) wich want to proof the harmlessness of hyperflexion. Newly studies from sweden and canada disproof it. Furthermore a studie from denmark (2012) prooves that hyperflexion lasting longer than 10 minutes produces a high stress level. Motion sequences, keeping, breathing, blood flow, cervical vertabra and orientation get influenced and disturbed. It makes no difference weather the horse gets in this position by herself or is forced to hold it, it is harmful for ALL horses.

The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) distinguishes between hyperflexion and "Low, Deep and Round" (LDR). According to the FEI LDR is executed without aggression and is tolerated on the warm-in tournaments up to 10 minutes. But it should be emphasized that both LDR and the Hyerflexion get reached by force, they describe the same thing, there is no difference! This rule is so outrageous as a law which forbids to beat someone, but for 10 minutes it's okay. This also shows the pursuit of money and power, which determines the equestrian and makes the horses into slaves. This LDR regulation is pretty much a slave control. It is focused on individual aspects and created an apparent alleviation of problems, but the sight of the big picture of grief in competitions remains clouded and is trivialized.

The transport and the stay on the show-grounds represent a stressful situation for the animals.

To participate in a tournament, horse and rider go often on a journey for several hours, where the horse stands in a small space in a trailer. For international tournaments many horses even travel by plane. In the trailer the horses often spend a lot of time during the tournament when the rider starts for example with several horses.

I think it is very important to know about issues such as hyperflexion, but this is just another symptom of the sick and twisted world in wich sports riders live and think. It is an outgrowth of a much larger cause that is not eliminated by regulations and mitigations.

There are approaches on several levels that will allow the horses a more pleasant tournament life, but this is comparable to receptions that one makes a slave. Unltimatly the horses remain slaves if they are ridden with teeth, spurs and whip, to work with a collar or in the round pen. Man stands over the horse and want to dominate it, and this is the cause of all evil. He does not admit the horse to develop his own being and to live for what it was born. For the freedom. Why is it so difficult to understand for many people that there is this freedom?

Because they are deprived of their own souls, because they deprive themselves of freedom.

When a man comes to his horse after 10 hours of work in the office, it appears to him as "justice" that the horse has to do his work. The suffering and the pain of the horse reflects the pain and suffering of our society, as every horse reflects its owner. And as long as we do not get our own freedom back, we can not liberate the horses. Ask yourself what makes your life worth living and feel into yourself, doing what feelings arise in you. And we consider each person can make his own decisions and take responsibility, there is no excuse for breaking a horse.

What is to do? Enlightenment is necessary! It is important to spread this knowledge, because most people keep their horse with the claim that the horse is well and remains healthy and they get dished up falsehoods from veterinarians and horsemen associations. We consider, everything in terms of financial enrichment of individuals.

Furthermore, legal regulations are necessary, because as long as it is admitted that the horses will suffer from poor posture, feeding and usage, the realization that this is immoral won't tourn out.

A ban of bits and spurs and animal tormenting rituals like the bars, LDR and Unmounting.

Although this is only the beginning, but in my eyes a total ban on riding as required by the animal rights organization PETA would not cause any rethinking and evoke defiance. And tantrums are known to rarely make use of common sense.

I look confidently to the future of the equestrian world and see that already happening healing. Healing of our mind and of the sick idea to exploit animals for our selfish machinations and reach a natural level at which man and horse at eye level meet.

Text references:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Reiterliche_Vereinigung
http://www.pferderecht-wissen.de/pferdebegutachtung/das-alter-des-pferdes-der-begutachtung/
G. Hoffmann, F.-J. Bockisch, P. Kreimeier / Landbauforschung - vTI Agriculture and Forestry Research 2 2009 / „Einfluss des Haltungssystems auf die Bewegungsaktivität und Stressbelastung bei
Pferden in Auslaufhaltungssystemen“
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollkur
http://www.academialiberti.de/de/artikel-und-forschung
http://www.peta.de/faktenpferdesport#.VT44pSHtmko

Photo references:

Academia Liberti science experience - directly implementing

2015-05-15T08:17:00.002-07:00

Sometimes we are confrontated with the argument that its hard to implement academia libertis kind of horse keeping. Our standards for the surface wich is meant to get used by the horses would be to high. It would not be possible to let the horses graze as they want to. The would be the danger of colic, overweight and laminitis. Horses in captivitiy would have lost their natural instincts. The meadows would not be siutable, the gras would be to agressiv and many other reasons are named.

Are these in the horse world spread misbeliefs and wrong doctrines the reason for the mental barrage, wich hinder people from realizing that the problems of their horses reasoned by the wrong keeping, usage and hoof treatment and not by gras, oat, carrots or some of the named reasons?

The wonderful example of Rosemarie Reinhold shows that there is another way if you racognize the coherances. In an minimum of time disputing with the topics of Academia Liberti she managed the „impossible“. She found a piece of paradise for her horses. I defiance of the circumstances wich already seemed to capsize the project sh made her dream become reality. In the space of a few days the grasland get fenced and a beautiful open stable arose. She got rid of the dependence on the first stable where dissatisfaction received. Further she freed the horses from a keeping wich wasn´t satisfying for her. Here is her story.

New stable and the freedom

by Rosemarie Reihnold

„Since one week John(15), Tristan(25) and Peter(30) live in our own stable. Even tough the surface is far from species-appropirate I recognize mainly differences in their habits. In contrast to previously they have more hay, surface, herbs, wood and minerals freely available. They are not restricted in their opportunities to move or to eat.

At the first day they graze very greedy. Peter, who lived in a 2,50 x 2,50 m box with limited hay until this day, slings so fast that he was choking a few times. From the second day I noticed that they graze more calm and with interruptions. From the third day John and Tristan dont touch their oat. Even tough I leave the bucket on the pasture they dont eat it.

After actually one week the horses rotate between grazing, searching minerals, mutual coat care, eating breaks and walkung tours around the trail. Peter mostly eats yarrow, John eats ribwort and Tristan is looking for camomile, whitethorn and stinging nettle. The three horses love it to gnaw on a freshly felled meadow. The herd found their rythm wich i never noticed before. The have regular resting times and they graze at special times on special places. They spend the nights at the parture, not in the stable, between trees and plants. There are significant lying marks.

John: His position as the herd boss is not called into question. He takes his rank very seriously and is souvereign. None of the younger horses wants to measure its strength with him. There where no battles for dominance and no bite wounds. He shines like a pork rind and his musceles get trained well from the walks up and down the slope. I don't see any signs of stress.

Tristan: In the past he often seemed to be very apathic. Now he is awake and clear and not this kind of introverted anymore. If he is stressed he smacks with his lower lip. I did not notice this anymore. Previously his body was a little bit inflated, mostly caudes by eating straw. Now he looks strong/muscular and he moves a lot, even faster, what is a new habit.

His condition gets better. Normally he sweats even afer 30 sec gallop, now the sweating starts after 10 minutes! After galloping he don't even cough. Also his tolerance to flies and mosquitoes is higher, in the past he escaped to the stable, now he accept the flies and stays out on the pasture.

Peter: He enjoys his life. His coat begins to shine. Physical and mental he still finds himself in a desolate stadium. We feel like he increases slowly. Even he don't loose weight anymore. Sometimes he shows a short gallop. The facial expressions is still concerned, but he is more awake and shows what he like and dislike. In spite of his lost cheek theeth he impoves a technique fpr eating grass. Due the fist days he spat bis grass clumps while eating, now I rarer notice these clumps.In spite of the fact that he is full integrated in the grou he loves it to go alone for a walk and sleeping under big trees.

None of the horses has a „pasture belly“. None of the horses gets ridden or trained by humans.

Even the contact to us changed. In the old stable Tristan and John „besets“ us to open the door so they can go outside, an follow us when we clean up the pasture. Now they dont even take notice when we appear on the pasture. Surely, they welcome us with a look or a neigh, but than follow doing what they did. They do not come directly to meet us, neither when we clean up the pasture. John aksing for cuddles very often ( before it was unthinkable). For me this is a sign for everything is alright and they feel comfortable with the new stable and felt uncomfortable in the old stable, there we only was a welcome variety, food spener or door opener.

I feel very satisfied by seeing them so happy. I feel like I notive them for the first time as what they really are: horses. I feel their love for us every day.

All three horses seem to be very happy and they harmonising. They are so relaxed, that most photos I take are not g-rated. Sybille and me begin seriously thinking about not to include a 4. horse. We wanted to, because then it would be a herd, but meanwhile we are concerned if a 4. horse whould mean to much trouble for the other three. Even there are so many interest we don`t found a siutable candidate. We will wait and trust our intuition.

Photos copyright by Rosemarie Reinhold

Gallop Horses

2015-05-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

by Lisa Spitzer, prospective Academia Liberti Coach, first study year

Horses are so wonderful, mystical and powerful animals. For centuries humans have been fascinated by them. They accompany us on our way through the whole history. We use ther bodies and let them work for our benefits. In front of a carriage, a plough, for riding and as a partner in sport and leisure. Those times when we needed horses as plodders are over in most areas, nevertheless we continue to utilize them in recent ranges like dressage, showjumping, vaulting and so on. Many people amire the horses and have a vision of partnership with them, but mostly without a realisation how the animals feel about that.

One of the oldest of these sports are the horseraces.

Most people associate horseraces with glamour, nice heats, gallant ladies and social meeting points plus the attraction and thrill of it. They hope to back the right horse and to win something. But for horses it is totally different. People make decisions about the body of the horse and force them to run the races.

The thoroughbred was bred for horse racing. They are considered to be the fastest race horses in the world and achieve top prizes at the annual auctions. Currently the breeding happens with 200,000 mares, 2000 of them in Germany. English thoroughbreds are supposedly early developers, but also in this breed the growth plates in the spine will not close until 5.5-7 years of age. Physical damages are inevitable and mentally, horses are very underdeveloped at the age at which they are started for racing.

Horse Racing lead -in spite of its elitist image - to considerable suffering for the horses.

The foals get very early separated from their mothers and presented at yearling sales and offered for sale. They will learn the foal ABC, have guide training to learn proper appearence and their fitness is trained with walks on the lunge or on the treadmill. During this period they are also shod for the first time.

The first race in the career of a racehorse is intended for 2 year of age, the preparations take out 4-6 months.

The racehorses are kept in indoor stalls, very rarely in paddocks. They get to the pasture rarely up to never, and if only alone.

The feeding in terms of roughage is very sparse, most get very little hay, but at the same time very much oats and other high-energy feed. Due to the species-inappropriate feeding and stress 93% of all race horses suffer from stomach ulcers.

The horses get cleaned and prepared in the box, because there they are quiet. The first time to saddle and bridle happens in the box. The first time to take a seat on the horses back happens in the box also. The breaking in is taken from light jockeys and usually lasts 3 weeks. With an experienced accompanying horse they get took to the trot ring and from there to the track for the first canter work.

The training consists mainly of fitness and desired building of the body. The speed can not get trained to them. The training begins by walk in the group. The riders are lifted onto the solid steping horse, the horse dont learn to stand still. Then they work for 20 to 30 minutes in the trot-ring.

The real gallop training is completed quickly or slowly, depending on the instructions of the coach over a distance of 1800 meters.

The seat of the jokey allows little room for the use of aids. The acceleration and deceleration is performed with the voice, the reins and the whip.

The shorter the reins, the higher is the pace. Also the waving with the whip should provide faster pace. In the race are up to 3 strokes with the whip allowed!

Before a race, there is the so-called trial galopp, where the vet checks the horses and their movements. Then the animals are free to start.An active racehorse runs average one race per month. In winter the horses are moved only in the hall.

According to statistics of the Directorate for thoroughbred breeding and racing only 10% of all horses at the racetrack are older than 8 years. According to the statistics of Duke Lindner only 10% were older than 4 years. The vast majority of horses are appointed at the age of 2 - 4 years.

Common causes of death are severe fractures caused by falls, heart/circulatory failure, aorta avulsion and breaks (stress) colic. Very often it happens in the racing thet the horses lungs bleed, because they are driven beyond its borders. Horses that do not bring the expected performance and dont withstand the pressure get sorted out.

Here is a link where you can track the number of dead racehorses:

www.horsedeathwatch.com

The young race horses get shod very early, between 1.5 and 2 years. Because the movements in racing gallop (Hyperextension- this means that the joints are hyperextended) are very extreme and the horses usually run only on very soft ground (grass, sand) they made sure that the iron shoes are not to heavy as usual. It is made of steel iron with smooth fittings and without studs.

The shoing interval is between 3 and 4 weeks. The cold shoing is applied.

Here is a list of frequently occurring diseases and injuries which afflict the race horses through this training and the physical stress.

- Diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs such the lung bleeding (due the strain of so-called flood radius of the lung is exceeded and it can damage the lung tissue )

- Due to the hyperextension the fetlock and carpal often suffered fractures, mostly chip fractures but also comminuted fractures. By hyperextension also arises Traumatic arthritis (traumatic arthritis is inflammation of a joint caused by trauma, i.e.an injury). Furthermore diseases of the suspensory ligament are very common.

- Tendinitis (tendonitis) and tenosynovitis (tendon sheath effusion) are caused by physical stress. Lack of fitness and fatigue at the end of the race favor this.

- At the stage of one leg galloping it comes to microtrauma and inflammation in the muscle suspensory ligament (hoof bulb ), in the worst case it breaks, this can be a reason for the collapse during the race.

- Often there is inflammation of the muscle suspensory ligament, this is where often a periostitis (inflammation of the periosteum) and sesamoid bone and/or splint bone fractures occur.

Due to the stress on the racetrack it comes to bursitis and by the fast pace and the hard turf it comes to the navicular syndrome.

- A more frequent violation of race horses are tethered leg fissures (hairline cracks in the phalanx).

- Also ganglions (to be referred all bone bony enlargements) are commonplace.

- These animals also have great back problems, but there are more often soft tissue damages (include muscle strains, ligament sprains, diseases of the intervertebral discs and skin injuries caused by saddle pressure or nodules in the saddle area ) at the withers and loin area.

- With insufficient warm up it comes to muscle strains and the tearing of the muscle.

- Vertebral fractures, especially in the neck caused by falls is also not uncommon.

- The high speed and the load of the internal organs especially the lungs diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs occur. This may appear by nosebleed.

- These are the damage to the horse's body, but also the horse psyche suffers greatly.

- By keeping them in boxes for hours without social contact behavioral disorders such as Koppen (will open with the base of the neck muscles of the pharynx by pulling down the larynx as to inflow of air into the esophagus), weaving (the rhythmic forced movement of the head and neck) and Headshaking will appear.

Due to stress and also by long eating pauses occur stomach ulcers (inflammatory gastric mucosal injury).

Conclusion

The horse racings are a very popular national sport, which is also economically very interesting for breeders, trainers, owners and viewers. High cash prizes attract particular kind of people, but the high pressure requires also many victims.

We speak here about horses in such young age, colts and fillies. People use ther still growing bodies to get more fame, more money, prestige and respect.

The bodies of these horses show illnesses and injuries. As soon as they can no longer yielding the desired performance, they are discarded. If they are lucky they can find a new owner who is trying to give them a better life and to heal their injuries. Often, however, it ends with the death on the track or at the slaughterhouse.

In the earlier centuries only horses wich are 6 years or older come to the races started and were thus already fully grown. This would be a possible consideration to minimizing the damage of the growing horse's body. Furthermore, an adaptation of the training would be demanded. Many horses are overstraind, it is too much for them. An oversight by an independent institution would be a good measure. We have to improve and adjust the feeding and keeping of the horse.

But the real question is rather:

Why do we do this to the horses? We can see how many of them hurt themselves, how many are sick and even how many die. Their whole life they are locked most of the day in dark stables. In this type of insulation they can not express species-typical behaviors and the living out of touch with their own kind is denied. For a herd animal this is not welfare.

Is it the greed for money, for fame and recognition wich makes people to use these graceful animals and abuse their bodies and their minds? Are the scenes of torn tendons, broken legs and fatal crashes so worth seeing? Is this sufferings just accepted because it „just happens like that“?

This question everybody can answer for themselves.

And the people who see the suffering of horses, feel it and perceive it shall show it to the people who dont see that. So that we can reduce the suffering of horses together.

The organization PETA calls for a ban of horse racing in Germany.

Credentials:

"Erkrankungen am Bewegungsapparat bei Leistungspferden" - Manuela Sann
PETA - "Pferderennen sind Tierquälerei"
http://www.peta.de/Pferderennen#.VUe4svntlBd
AnimalEquality - "Pferderennen"
http://www.animalequality.de/unterhaltung/pferderennen
German Racing
"Finger in die Wunde" - Gerd Heuschmann
PETA - "Pferdesport - Das stille Leiden der Pferde"
http://www.peta.de/faktenpferdesport#.VUe2lPntlBd

A short review after the first 4 months of the AL Education

2015-04-14T09:12:00.002-07:00

Student of the AL Fun Fitness and spiritual work with the horse

- Once the last days:

I had the privilege this week for the first time really playing with Lina in the pasture. She was funny as a young little kid, I thought about nothing but just played wit her. She ran up to me, when I took arms up, squealed with delight, jumped after me again. The great thing at this experience was, that I was not concerned or scared- even when I was at the downslope slightly below her and she rose above me, I had full confidence.

When I stopped to take a breath and stretched my arms, she immediately came slowly to me. When I left the pasture, she would still like to continue playing, it needed only a single still: "No" and she listened to me.

For Milo I feel that I have achieved an important point with his hooves. Almost as if I had done the first (large) hurdle. When I made the fine work on hooves yesterday, I was really anxious - but what I could find was, that I became aware of it and thus I was able to banish the danger that this unrest otherwise would bring. I was able to perceive that I am jittery today and not to get upset about it, not having tried to transform this state into something else. It was very liberating.

Today while walking - we were on the river - I could notice that something apparently changed already in my unconscious handling of Milo. He jumped shortly two or three times because the ducks flew up. Earlier (probably not so long ago!), I would have immediately pulled the rope "to slow / stop", but I just have let the rope and remained quiet. It was completely ok, I had confidence that he comes to rest, that he orientates on me and it seems to have gone into my subconscious that I, if a corresponding situation arise, could not hold him, when he does not orientates on me.

At home I have then asked myself: Yes Horses are prey animals, but what I often observe in horses in pastures, is that they only make one, two jumps when they are frightened from something unknown / unusual / unexpected, then they turn and face the "danger" and consider for a moment - how to create enough distance and to have the right perspective.

If so, it's absolutely fatal in the first moment in which the horse makes a jump to "slow down", because this pressure is released and in turn it creates stress and makes the horse to come more in fear.

- For the past few months:

I experienced a lot of great moments with my ponies. I have learned a lot about horse nutrition / keeping and hooves.

With regard to the change in the relationship with my ponies: do I understand them better? Well, at any rate, Lina dares to tell me her wishes - if need, then just something emphatically. :)

I often see riders and I feel no envy that they sit on the horse. I see the hooves and think to immediately recognize how they are looking from the sole and what is happening inside.

The other day I was walking with some uneasiness with Milo and I have crossed 3 riders: The first was a young rider on a young horse, which clearly showed fear, because of a noise - at the beginning of my observation they had the reins loose, long, then the horse began to push forward and the riders whole seat changed, she yanked the reins back and turned the horse in hard way from the road. The horse slided with his shoed hooves on the asphalt

Milo and I stopped (to make no more trouble) - she turned to me and said, "it's not because of you." We still stopped. She let her horse go forward and I heard her saying to the horse: " You dare to jump!".

I heard the fear in her voice, felt the pain in me that she was trapped in her fear so, that she was not able to speak to the horse calmly and lovingly - it made me so very clear that there no mutual trust exists betwen them and I felt a lack of understanding / compassion rose within me, why anyone is doing this to himself (and to the horse).

A little later I wondered if I was formerly in such situations too, if I so clearly recognized this feeling by the rider, because I know it?! And yes, I think there were these moments when I threatened someone out of fear rather than persuade him well and to take away the fear - to have to admit this to oneself is very unpleasant.

I am incredibly glad that I now can see the horses (and all animals) as an autonomous, self-determining beings. That I do not need to think of them acting out of stupidity / unpredictability or that I ascribe the amount they may eat or that I treat them with hardness just to hide my own fears of loosing the control.

When I look at the Meditatio lessons of Academia Liberti- hm, there's still work. Nevertheless, I was able to experience from all lessons something, I could learn it "works" at the right moments. They both show me that they still do not trust me in everything, but this is hardly possible, since I myself do not always trust myself nor I am always aware of everything. But awareness is becomming more - and acceptance, not judging my particular condition, seems also to get better.

My experience with the wild horses and its impact on my life

2015-03-05T06:49:00.001-08:00

by Mareike

I had always the dream to feel the freedom with the horses. For years I dreamed of a ranch vacations in the USA. Endless space, explore galloping on horseback. Experiencing the pure freedom. This holiday I had almost booked but it has never worked.

Just a short time later I realized what riding really means and that the horses are not so happy. So I can feel no freedom at the end when I'm sitting on a horse that can not be free, but in that moment she must obey and has pain. No matter how beautiful the scenery is around it.

So I gave up my dream and were looking for something new, where I can experience the freedom.

I read the book „Befreie dein Pferde, befreie dich selbst“ and was fully confirmed in my way.

At facebook I saw the announcement of the wild horses workshop and had no hesitation. I need to get there!

I was quite clear that this is the experience I'm looking for a long time.

My friend let me do it, but in our relationship it was not everything good before my departure, although I've always tried to keep the relationship together. So he die not even wished a good flight to me or a great holiday or something like that. I flew with mixed feelings to Split.

Arrived in Split I met a wonderful nice group of people. I immediately felt accepted and in a great spontaneous action we have adopted a puppy from the street. The days with the wild horses were very overwhelming for me. I have observed them from a distance. You could tell precisely which horses are a family band and how they treat each other. There was one black stallion with only one mare and she was always so close to him. He was very lovingly with her. The small families with their foals and yearlings. And yet all were under the protection of the large group.

It was just great to roam with the horses. This silence, the vastness, the mountains and nature. The horses, peaceful and curious, open to us. They sometimes allowed to touch them even and once they surrounded our cars.

I took the flight back home with many impressions and when I got home I told my friends about the great experience. Only my friend had not even asked how it was for me.Two days later I realized it can not go any further. I ended the relationship.

The wild horses have shown me a lot.

The stallion takes care of his family and fights when necessary for it. There is a clannishness and togetherness between horses, as I did not feel for long time in my relationship.But that's my biggest wish. Horses have reminded me of that.

One mare will stay together with her stallion as long he cares for herand protects her. Otherwise she will join another stallion. And if her stallion does not take care of her, he runs the risk of losing her to another stallion. That is the nature.

A very valuable insight for me and now a few months later I am emotionally strong again and full of energy. It was the right decision.

Is clear to me, I'll come back to Bosnia and to the wild horses!

Wildhorses workshops with Academia Liberti HERE

Connections between Hoof Form and the whole Organism

2015-02-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

by Dr.med.vet. Hiltrud Strasser

The hoof form which we see in equines today has developed over many millions of years and has obviously proven itself. We must thus assume that there is no better possible shape for this organ.

Once we accept this, we must try to understand this organ in all its details, since it (like all components of an organism) is in turn connected to the other organs and functions. Therefore, if something changes in the hoof, this influences and affects the entire organism.

Unfortunately, this fact is often forgotten. Organ problems are considered isolated from the rest of the organism, which leads to inadequate diagnoses and even more unsatisfactory treatment results.

We must show interest in the various ways in which the hooves are connected to the rest of the body.

1. The mechanical connection: the hoof is connected to the body via the skeleton, ligaments, tendons, joints, and muscles.

2. The blood vessels and the blood also constitute an intense connection.

3. Nerves connect the hooves with the central nervous system.

4. Energy pathways called meridians integrate the hooves into the energy system of the body.

With changes in the hooves, we must therefore assume disruptions in the normal, physiological functions of these systems. From the outside, optimal hoof form can be recognized by the physiological angles of coronet and toe contour.

1. Mechanical connection
The coffin bone with its pyramidal form is designed for a ground parallel position. For this, a balance in the flexor and extensor tendon systems is in place. The horse at rest can, as is known, stand without muscle action, only via the tension in the tendons and joints.

In this physiological situation, the coronet and laminar corium lamellae are equally weighted everywhere.

As soon as the hoof form is changed and the coffin bone is no longer ground-parallel, this balance is lost. Either the horse falls down, or it uses its muscles (which are only meant for moving the body) in order to stay standing. This, however, requires constantly greater contraction of the muscle cells. It is well known that such a situation leads to painful cramping of the muscles, which cannot always release again by themselves.

A non-ground parallel coffin bone thus means: cramped muscles - pain - altered body posture - altered movement.

Added to this is pain in the hooves, which arises out of the fact that with a non-ground parallel coffin bone, the suspension in the frontal region of the laminar corium is over-stressed. This leads to unequal horn production and incorrect lever actions in the hoof capsule. The results of this are: pain - alteration in posture - muscle cramps - changes in movement…

The following muscle groups are especially affected: muscles of the arm and forearm, the triceps between elbow and shoulder blade, the neck parts of the m. serratus and rhomboid muscle. These are the muscles which must be active with movement of the front limbs.

One can tell from a distance whether a horse is standing in a relaxed manner or whether muscles which should be relaxed while standing are active.

We do not have the option of palpating, or feeling, the muscles of a horse right here and now; however, next time you have the chance, you will see that such markedly raised muscles are considerably harder than relaxed muscles.

It is also clearly noticeable whether the shoulder blade is steeper than is physiologically correct or not: the highest point of the withers should be so far back that a vertical line does not touch the elbow; ideally, it should be one hand’s width behind the elbow. Also, a not-rounded croup points to muscle deficit (see photo right).

During activity, muscles need nutrients. Horses which live with constant muscle tensions have far greater energy consumption than horses which use every moment of not moving for relaxing.

When such horses are not fed with more than normal rations (i.e. more feed than a healthy horse), they lose weight and suffer from metabolic problems.

As we know from our own experiences, muscle cramps are especially painful when such muscles are supposed to work or receive pressure. This particularly affects saddle horses which are supposed to move during a riding lesson (with cramped muscles), and on top of that are expected to carry a rider and saddle placed on the cramped, painful back musculature. Possible reactions are refusal, bolting, throwing off the weight (i.e. the rider).

When the cramped musculature changes the bone alignment in the hoof, i.e., pulls the coffin bone into a steeper than normal alignment, then too much pressure comes down on the tip of the coffin bone and the bone is destroyed in this region.

When the hooves are compressed due to unphysiological lengths between between the various parts of the hoof capsule, the horse feels pain in the rear part of the hoof. As a result, it puts more weight onto the toe region, and "stands on the tip of the coffin bone."

Compression in a longitudinal direction, which causes an upward curve in the coronet, also levers the coffin bone with the solar vault upward and places it too vertically.

An excessively vaulted sole always places the coffin bone onto its tip and at the same time puts pressure against the navicular region. However, the problems resulting from this will not be addressed further in this presentation.

2. Blood supply

A) Metabolism
A constant exchange of blood contents establishes an intense connection between the hooves and the rest of the body. Hooves are—as cutaneous appendages—of importance for the excretion of products which the body can no longer use. Thus the horn production is not only important as a"constantly growing shoe" for the foot of the horse, but also for waste product removal from the body. When too little horn is formed, too much waste remains in the blood. This overstresses the other excretory organs (skin and kidneys), and also the liver, which absorbs all waste products from the blood and converts them into excretable form. After a while, all organs and blood fluids are enriched with waste products (as if, in a major city, the garbage trucks go on strike). This causes disruptions in all metabolic processes; we call this poisoning.

B) Cardiac Support
Furthermore, the regular pumping activity of the hooves is important for the circulatory system and the activity of the heart. The heart alone is not able to keep the blood circulating in the horse for a long time without support from the hooves.

3. Nerve Connection
The importance of a nerve connection is mostly in reporting any damage to the hoof to the central nervous system. From there, reflexes over other nerves steer muscle reactions to any painful damage.

Nerve function is, however, dependent upon circulation in the hoof: only when the tissue cells in the hoof are continuously supplied with oxygen and blood sugars can the nerves "fire" if necessary.

4. Energy Pathways
For thousands of years, it has been known—at least in eastern Asia—that inside the body and on its surface run streams of energy. In certain places, these energy streams can be affected through pressure. On the coronet of the horse’s hoof are the stimulating points for all important meridians. Physiologically, with constant forward movement in the search for food, these points receive alternating pressure and stimulation.

When the angle of the coronet deviates from normal, or when the hooves of the animal do not move enough (in other words, when the weight shift from bulb to side to toe takes place too infrequently), the stimulation of these points which has been going on for millions of years is lacking.

Conclusions:
The hooves are closely linked with the entire organism in several ways:

1. Mechanically, via the skeleton
2. Through metabolism and the circulatory system
3. Through nerves
4. Via energy pathways (meridians)

Through each of these connections, the entire organism can be influenced by hoof form. Vice versa, too, the hooves can also be affected in their form and ability to function properly.

Trush

2015-01-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

(from Anja Makarczuk, translated by Mag. Kathrin Scheidl)

If the frog produces smelly grease in a long period of time it is called thrush.

The question is, why the horse has for example thrush just in the front hooves, if it stands with all four hoofs on the same ground?

In the middle of the frog is a sweat gland. This ensures an acidic environment in the frog horn. Is the blood flow restricted, the sweat gland cannot produce an acidic environment any more, so bacteria and fungi can multiply unhindered.

Most of the fluids, which are recommended to treat trush in hooves, only kill the bacteria and fungi. That helps for the moment if we see it superficially, but only until the preparations runs out. This is just a symptom treatment and therefore only a short-term “success”. Resistant germs don’t even respond to the treatment.

If we now take care that the hoofmechanism is activated and the blood circulation returns into the hoof so the sweat gland can work again, then the hoof can deal on itself with the germs. If the hoof functions like it should then only as much horn is decomposed as it is needed.

Bacteria which decompose the horn are always present in the hoof in its natural state.

How it can be that too much horn is decomposed?

Here we can focus on the unnatural keeping of the horses and on the wrong trimming. Horses which live in boxes are always in touch with the ammoniac from their own excreta. This dissolves the protein compound of the horn and makes it unsound and rough. Bacteria decompose the horn faster and due to a lack of the movement, less horn is built. S o the thrush can get pathology.

Not too much horn gets decomposed, but too little new horn is built.

The restorations of a natural hoof form and improvement of the living conditions lead to a restoration of the natural balance in the hoof.

If there is good blood circulation in the hoof but the abrasion is too little the bacteria begin to decompose overgrown horn. The nature trims the hoof automatically. This occurs in horses that live on too soft ground. Here we do not have enough of natural trimming through the hard ground.

If the intervals of the hoof trim are too long, the horn will get decomposed on the sole side. Bacteria will decompose first the soft horn, means the frog, white line and the bar white line. The sole horn will be less decomposed until some more horn is built, which breaks away. In this natural trimming process are sharp edges built, which gives the horses support against sliding on the soft ground. The hoofs now don’t look nice, but they are functional and mostly the horses move on the soft ground without any problems.

Sometimes the grease contains the puss which comes from the inner and has nothing to do with thrush. This is a process of regeneration in which the hoof rejects pollutants or renews the corium.

I have never observed real trush in my practice till now.

Following some pictures of the hooves of which the people thought they would have trush.

The frog seems to be cracked and rotten.

After trimming to the correct extent, you can see that only the surface was affected. The bacteria tried to decompose the excess horn.

The frog shows after the first trimming just a small dark point. After further trimming you see a hole, which is filled with black smelly grease. This is a abscess, not thrush.

The frog of this young mare (about 4 years) is cracked. The hoof gets wider, which is absolute normal for horses at this age. This mare lived wild in Bosnia in freedom and had no negative influence of the unnatural keeping of domestic horses.

Abscesses which break out on the bulbs are often confused with thrush.

After laminitis in the process of the detoxification the frog was fallen of the body. The owner thought it was thrush. On the first picture you can see the frog, the rest could be removed with two cuts. Under the old frog a new one was grown.

Frodur

2014-11-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

by Gwenda

When I met my dreamhorse for the first time, he was 3 ½ years old and looked like a yearling. I was 25 and just had my first riding lessons a few months ago. I was so excited to be allowed to take care of him. The mere riding on the training horses didn’t meet my desire for the close contact to those wonderful animals at all. With the young gelding, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to…and so we slowly and carefully got to know each other on the ground.

I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement when I received the offer to buy him a few months later…I wanted to do everything right. With him and for him. And the desire to ride my own horse was getting bigger. And so my teacher and me started to break him in. He still seemed very small and slim to me, and everytime I mounted, I had a bad feeling. My gut instinct did notice that the riding wasn’t good for him…but the urge to ride, to get carried, was stronger.

It took two years until I realized that I was hurting him. In those two years, we tried reams of trainers and training methods. We only spent time riding outside in the nature for a while, and even stopped to ride for a while. I was looking desperately for a trainer and a training method which he might like…but he would refuse all of them. He was unhappy, he didn’t understand all this pressure and the urge to ride. And I was sad. I didn’t want to hurt my beloved horse. Our reality didn’t look at all like my former dream of getting carried through the nature, my horse and me in pure harmony. I realized that I needed to review this picture.

When doing things together on the ground, he seemed interested and happy. Except for the times when I put too much pressure on him, tried to get my way and ignored his needs. So I started to look for new trainers, for horse whisperers, who could teach me a friendly way of ground work with my horse. I was looking for a way to learn to communicate with my horse. But most times I only found new ways to break him in and make him usable. Until one day, when I found a new way of being together with horses. It was all about sense and communication with the horse. And it really opened my eyes for a new world, a new way of being with my horse. I started to see him the way he really was – not the picture which I painted of him in my mind. I was – and still am – so proud of him! He never gave up trying to tell me what was going wrong, and although I didn’t – I couldn’t – see it for a long time, I do understand it now. I realized that I needed to restrain my personal egoistic desires and ambitions, if I wanted to earn his honest affection and friendship. He was really cautious at the beginning. But after a few days, he flourished. And I began to see more, and to understand more. I noticed that his living conditions weren’t good for him, so we moved to a wonderful meadow. I understood and realized that riding harmed and hurt him. I saw that each form of pressure I put on him was making him unhappy. I found people whose ideas about the contact with horses matched exactly with my new wishes and feeling. And finally I was able to grant him something which should be naturally for everyone: The right to determine and decide about his own body.

That was the turn, the start of a new being-together with him. We’re only at the beginning right now, but each and every moment is so wonderful, unique and precious. I obtained a new point of view, and now I’m able to see so much more! And he shows his whole being so proud and fondly, and every moment with him is an honest, close and affectionate contact. This is the way of being with horses which I always longed for.

It surely needs courage to be and to act different than everyone else…but this way is so much more precious. Every look at the content face of my horse makes me feel happy.

I am curious how everything will develop further. I have the feeling it all will be good.

Equine aromatherapy

2014-11-04T04:16:00.000-08:00

by Marija Djidara,

Equine Aromatherapy practitioner

When you hear word „aromatherapy“ you probably connect it with something nice and smelling good in your head. Something comforting for our sense for smell. And if you do, you aren't so far from what it really is. Aromatherapy is a term made by René-Maurice Gattefossé, who was experimenting with essential oils during first half of 20'th century. He discovered that essential oils can be beneficial to us in many ways, not only that they smell good.

Essential oils are volatile substances extracted from plants and resins. They can be applied on few ways to the body and can help in many ailments and problems, physical or psychological. There must always be caution with using essential oils, as they are even 200 times stronger than plant from which they are extracted. So they should be always applied in dilution.

When it's about horses, aromatherapy can be applied as well as with people, maybe even on more subtle way due to horse's isconic sense for what is good for them and to choose their remedies by instinct. Horses are great at choosing what's best for them. When I work with horses, I always ask for permision of a horse to apply some blend on him. His consent has the crucial role in whole this process. They choose by themselves if possible and aproove chosen.

The most important thing is to work with 100% clear essential oils from the reliable sources. That means that I always choose those oils which are high at it's quality and 100% pure. There are few such brands on our market and I keep them as my source of this beautifull substances. Oshadhi is one of them and I prefer it most. When it's about essential oil, it should have clearly written it's chemical compound, latin name, way of extraction, parts of plant used and origin. That means, if you buy an essential oil that says it's 100% pure, an maybe has it's latin name (which often isn't correct on such oils) written, without chemical compounds, you are probably buying a forgery or an oil from questionable origin. Most of oils selling in a local drugstore are fine smelling (if even this) substances, but not intended for use on the body or for consumation, but only for aroma lamps. Sometimes during the treatment it's enough for a horse to only inhale some essential oil once to help him with his problem. And sometimes it needs more than one oil applied directly on the body in dilution of some base oil. Horses are very subtle when it's about this. They often show you where to apply certain oil and where the problem is if it's physical. When a scent is inhaled in the nose, it sends message to the brain via neurochemicals. When a scent is applied in on skin, it penetrates skin layers and enters the blood stream. That's how it operates through the body.

Offering an essential oil to the horse in my closed fist, making sure horse won't ingest any of oil, which can be fatal with some oils.

Horse showing high interest in aroma of essential oil on my palm, which makes him follow my hand and trying to get closer to it, even using his mouth to bring it closer. Caution is always present, and oil is always diluted and kept uningested by horse.

This kind of therapy can be great help along with therapy of your veterinarian, or as a therapy alone. As a aromatherapist I cannot diagnose. Sometimes a diagnose of some alternative practitioner is needed, as from a hoof trimming professional, or equine dentist. Aromatherapy can be applied also as one of the therapies to enhance the quality of your horse's life. It's important to use services from certified equine aromatherapists ensuring that person you have engaged has basic knowled about this and knows what he is doing when he approaches your horse.

One of the good examples of how aromatheraphy works is a horse on a photo above. This is young gelding named Asdin, who appeared to have problems with his skin recently. His skin was flaky, itchy and bruised for unknown reason. Owner suspected on insects or allergy. I have offered few oils and quickly he showed us what he wants and what he don't want. He went crazy about german chamomile, which is best oil for sooting inflamations, swellings, allergies and nervousness. Second oil of his choice was citronella which is known as repelent and light antimycotic. After two days of application of a blend containing this two oils, he refused it. We have offered oils again and checked what he needs now. German chamomile stayed in a blend, but citronella was replaced with atlas cedar, which is known to help in problems with skin. After a week of aplication of blend horse stopped with scratching, his skin stopped flaking and bruises wanished. Swelling from affected area disappeared. They have continued to use blend until last of the simptoms were gone.

Sometimes one treatment is quite enough for your horse to help him cope with his problems, and sometimes it needs more, depending on a case. In my work with them I often use my intuition as a tool to understand and help, and to get needed informations. It's important to feel the animal.

The Horse – your Friend: loved, used and misunderstood

2014-10-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

by Mag. Kathrin Scheidl

The title is quite provocative, and at least it provokes an aspect of me. Since more than 20 years horses are by my side, and the last 14 years my soul horse. I would have and will still do everything for him, and nevertheless I loved to participate at dressage tournaments – because we had fun and we were pretty good. But three years ago, everything changes. Actually it starts a while before, but so subtle, that I didn’t recognise it. Until the day three years ago, where I suddenly woke up and asked myself– is a horse made for riding?The question is quite complex, and maybe can’t be answered for everybody within this article. Especially it comes to how far I look and how far I can feel. Am I ready to look into my horses eyes and recognize myself?

Horses reflect us in an absolutely clearly and genuine way, that it can be sometimes difficult to look and to feel at. If your spirit calms down, like the surface of a silent lake in the early morning, so then you are ready to recognize yourself in the eyes of your horse. The seminar with the wild horses in Bosnia and Herzegovina in autumn 2014 showed me a total new perspective. Touching moments with horses, which were so free and inquisitive, and had peace and tranquillity in their souls. And one question that arises inevitably: how much freedom can we give our domestic horses?

Does he exist at all? The horse friend, which would say, that he doesn’t love his horse and would not do everything for him? … No, and if, he wouldn’t be a welcome guest in the equestrian scene. Everybody loves his horse – they strongly emphasize and look very exact at the health of their sport- and leisure partner.

It starts with boxes and hourly paddock, mostly alone. The risk of injury is much too big, and finally you like to have a nice and carefree time with your partner. The boxes are usually high barred, with rubber mats and reminds somehow on today banned psychiatric hospitals. But it is for the safety of the horse. There are also bandages, and in bad or cold weather one to several blankets. That this affects the thermoregulation of the horse, does not matter, because the blanket keeps them anyway warm. Not to forget the horseshoes, which protect against above-average attrition and correct misalignment.

But not all of the loving horse friends are the same. The horse people exist, who love their horses and do not ask for quid pro quo just because the horses are here. Even humans, who are ready to forget own comfort, or to see their horses every day, just so the horse has a beautiful and species-appropriate home. And there are also many people, who reflect their own behaviour, and deal with uncomfortable questions and master the oblique views of colleagues sovereign.

But what is species-appropriate? Can our domestic horses live species-appropriate? And the next question is, whether the diverse civilization disease comes from non-species-appropriate living?

Let’s take arthritis for example. For every equestrian it is a horrible diagnosis. Where does it come from? Short summarized it is an expected consumption of the joints, due to incorrect or over average load. When does incorrect load happen? If the cold horse runs on the paddock? No. Unnatural load arises already through the body weight of the rider and because it has to balance a foreign body on his back. Mostly the riders are in Disbalance too, which makes it more difficult for the horse. Every human is skew, that begins with the fact of left or right handed. Accordingly one side of the body is stronger. This skew works like a lever at the back. Consequential damages are back pain, hoof pain and incorrect load of different joints. The thought, to make the horse straight is really noble, but you should start with yourself. But which trainer told you that? Haven’t we ever done it the same way? And if (some) horses get olden than 30 years, could it be the wrong method? Horses have an extreme asset of compensation, so that the horses shows symptoms only when there is no more compensation possible. In many cases that means an advanced stage of pain. Many studies of the lifetime led to the result that the average age of horses are 8 years. Well, we would like to learn and develop, and just because we have done it always the same way, doesn’t mean that we couldn’t change.

Ok, so you had the insight to work first on your own balance, before you will ride your horse. So you had to train your body image and body control. But what to do with your horse in the meantime? She is so happy, if I get him into the stable? She neighs to me, when he sees the saddle?Is the horse really looking forward to riding? Therefore let us consider the basic needs: herd, space to move, feed and water. Many horses live without a herd and then the human is the substitute family. How many movement incentives have the horse? Is it really marching 16 kilometres without the human? If not, I have to move the horse to keep it healthy.

The whole physiology is designed for permanent movement, so that the joints, digestion, muscles etc. function well. So the horse mostly looks forward to the movement. And the other question, why is my horse so lucky to go into the box? Is there a hay or grass on the paddock? In most cases horses just have a small paddock without friends, movement incentives and without feeding. So we are playing with the basic needs of the horse, and are so lucky if the horse neighs to us. But what does this tell us? … Get me out of here!

And then another question: what can I do with my horse, if not riding? There are so many possibilities to spend time with your friend and still to do something for the health. These things are unfortunately not always included in riding schools, so the children can’t learn which possibilities there are. Many riding schools recognized these deficits and do more groundwork, walks and so on. Nevertheless it is still much to do.

It is the time to listen exactly, to swim against the mainstream and to open his heart. Why do I have a horse? What do I expect from my horse and is she really my friend if I demand a quid pro quo from her? What can I do for my horse, so she is really happy?

And the last question, which can not be ignored: how much of the human needs the horse at all?

WHY DO VETERINARIANS NOT APPLY AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE?

2014-08-26T04:45:00.000-07:00

by Dr. Robert Cook, Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Cummings School of Veterinary Medizine, Tufts University, USA
from the Book "Befreie dein Pferd, befreie dich selbst", Maksida Vogt, 2013, Cadmos

In the last 12 years, countless thousands of riders have learned that shoeing and bitting are bad for horses and have switched to barefoot management and bitless bridles. Iron-free, humane horsemanship is now a well-established, worldwide movement. And yet the veterinary profession as a body seems not to have noticed this most fundamental of welfare advances. For the first time in 5000 years, a radical reform has taken place in man’s relationship with the horse.

What is the reason, that veterinarians do not apply available knowledge?

It is not possible to compare the actual percentages of riders and veterinarians who now support what has come to be called the natural horsemanship movement. But the distinct impression is that veterinarians are lagging behind on both topics and some are actively resistant. This is strange because individual veterinarians have been pioneers in both fields. With many books, Dr. Hiltrud Strasser has led the veterinary charge against the shoe and, with one book and many articles, I seem to have done the same against the bit. Yet, in any particular part of the world, if a horse owner looks for support and advice on this movement, it is unlikely that their local veterinarian is the person to whom they will turn. Maksida Vogt has invited me to discuss the anomaly and gave me the title for this chapter.

If the premise is true and veterinarians really are failing to apply available knowledge, which appears to be the case, the phenomenon is not exclusive to the veterinary profession. It is familiar in the medical profession and, indeed, in every walk of life. Man’s evolution has developed in us a natural inclination to resist change and new ideas. The fork may have been invented in the time of Ancient Greece or even earlier but did not come into common usage in Northern Europe until the 18^th century and another hundred years passed before it was a commonplace in North America. There is always a lag time between research being published - the evidence being scrutinized by others - experiments being repeated to see if the same results are obtained - and research being applied.

It is necessary that scientists should subject all new ideas to a healthy skepticism. This is good for science, it winnows out weak spots in any work and researchers themselves should be grateful that their brain child is vigorously questioned. There is nothing more useful to a researcher than being required to provide valid answers to searching criticism. Science progresses by a process of disagreement. Failure to falsify a hypothesis is the acid test of its validity. So, yes, some lag time is acceptable. Research completed by an individual is not the same as “available knowledge” for a profession. The question remains, how long should the scrutiny take?

All evidence on the shoe and bit is published more than a decade ago!

More than a decade has passed since the incriminating evidence on the shoe and bit was first published. There has been ample time for veterinarians to publish refutations but none have appeared. Specialists on the hoof may try to excuse themselves on the grounds that Strasser’s research has not been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Yet Strasser has made her work abundantly available for study in other ways so this excuse is not acceptable. If owners of horses can read her work, understand its principles and successfully apply it in practice, this should have aroused intense curiosity from every professional in the field. Sadly, it would be more correct to say that Strasser’s work has been deliberately overlooked in the mainstream literature on the hoof and is rarely cited. Being unable to refute her work, it seems that it has been easier to pretend it did not exist. Strasser’s inconvenient findings require other researchers to abandon many long-cherished beliefs. The resistance to change of researchers who are reluctant to relinquish a favourite hypothesis they have invested years in following is a well-recognized situation. It is known as the sunk-cost fallacy.

No comments on the published eveidence, no change in the practice by veterinarians.

My bit research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and elsewhere. It too has been received with a majestic silence by those who are researching the many diseases and behavioural problems that I now maintain the bit causes. Once again, the veterinary profession has been left behind when riders in most disciplines have had no difficulty in applying and testing the information.

It would be easier to understand veterinarians’ resistance to the fact that shoes and bits are unhealthy for the horse, if acceptable alternatives were not available. If this were so, it would be possible for equine practitioners to repeat the old familiar mantra of traditional horsemanship that shoes and bits are ‘a necessary evil.’ But barefoot management is infinitely preferable to the damage that shoes inflict on the hoof and the whole of the horse. Hovering over every shod and stabled horse are the twin spectres of navicular disease and laminitis, two causes of premature retirement and death that, thanks to Strasser’s work, can now be largely avoided.

Equally, the crossunder bitless bridle is infinitely preferable to the damage that the bit inflicts on the mouth and nearly every bodily system. It provides a humane, physiologically compatible, effective and safer alternative to the bitted bridle. It is applicable to all types and ages of horse, riders of every range of experience, and all disciplines. One might have expected equine practitioners to welcome simpler equipment that solves over 100 behavioural problems and cures over 40 diseases. It is especially puzzling when so many of the diseases are classified – in mainstream literature - as being of unknown cause.

As removal of the cause is a fundamental requirement of all treatment, it is not surprising that these diseases are notoriously resistant to all the so-called treatments. How could it be otherwise when the cause is unrecognized and cannot, therefore, be removed. Included in the list, are the common and recalcitrant scourges of trigeminal neuralgia (the headshaking syndrome), dorsal displacement of the soft palate, and pulmonary bleeding.

A partial explanation for the failure to apply available knowledge in the case of dorsal displacement of the soft palate and pulmonary bleeding in racehorses is that, currently, the crossunder bitless bridle is not approved for racing and, therefore, the appropriate treatment cannot be applied and tested. The rules of a discipline can both cause and perpetuate diseases. The administrators of these sports are responsible.

It is not profitalbe to let people know, that the diseases of the domestic horses can be easily cured by natural keeping.

But there is plenty of blame to go round and it is not just administrators who are guilty. If I review the diseases of the domestic horse and seek their root cause, the answer I am obliged to confront is a humbling one - most diseases are ultimately caused by departures from a horse’s natural environment and breeding. Expressed in another way, domestication causes diseases. Expressed even more bluntly, the root cause is mismanagement and we, Homo sapiens, are the managers. While many diseases are caused by shoes and bits, nearly every disease is caused by man. The less our management departs from the wild model, the healthier our horses will be.

I hope I am wrong but, to my knowledge, there is not a veterinary school in the world in which it is taught that shoes and bits are bad for horses. Why is this? Well the teachers all double as researchers and clinicians. With notable but few exceptions, veterinary schools are the only places where equine research takes place. If the researchers are not convinced that shoeing and bitting are incompatible with equine health and welfare, this is not going to be their teaching in the lecture room and neither will it be reflected in their clinical work in the equine hospital. As a result, each succeeding generation of students is still graduating without having being introduced to the renaissance in the horse world that has taken place since the year 2000.

Once graduated, practitioners are still not fully exposed to the realities of the renaissance, as conferences and continuing education programs are heavily dependent on these same researchers. A review of these programs over the last ten years would fail to reveal any perceptible shift in the content towards natural horsemanship. ‘Barefoot’ and ‘bitless’ are not words that feature in the titles of presentations.

The science nowdays is more dogma as that it would follow a true scientistic values.

As presentations feed into publications, the same is largely true of the content of equine veterinary journals, whose referees mostly consist of established but unconvinced researchers. This presents a problem in the peer-review of ‘unorthodox’ articles as the sunk-cost fallacy is a barrier to the acceptance of work that is not in line with the conventional wisdom of the time. To overcome this it has been suggested that reviewers should be required to award credit marks for the degree to which a researcher’s article disturbs conventional beliefs.

The greatest and often the only reward for a researcher is priority of attribution for discovery. Dr. Strasser has many legitimate claims to priority of attribution for recognizing the multiple diseases and defects caused by shoeing. A reluctance to cede such a cluster to ‘the competition’ could be a factor in her research colleagues’ resistance to her new ideas. From this may arise a delay in the profession’s arrival at a consensus of what constitutes ‘available knowledge’ in podiatry.

There has been a paradigm shift in thinking among owners about shoeing and bitting over the last 12 years but the veterinary ‘establishment’ has not yet changed its direction. Shoeing has been ‘standard practice’ for about a thousand years and bitting for 5000 years. Veterinary schools are ‘big ships’ and they take time to change course. “If you are teaching today what you were teaching five years ago” writes Noam Chomsky “either the field is dead or you are.” Sadly, the teaching on shoeing has not fundamentally changed in 12 years and there has never been much on bitting.

Persistent skepticism of the benefits of iron-free horsemanship could be based on the grounds that no double-blind randomly controlled experiments have been carried out to demonstrate the cure and prevention of those diseases claimed to be caused by shoes and bits. Watchers in the courts of science may say that is too early to claim victory and that ‘the jury is still out.’ On the face of it this might sound like a legitimate criticism – except for two points. First, double-blind randomly controlled experiments in horses are nigh impossible, have never been achieved for any diseases of the horse, and would – even if they were possible - be prohibitively expensive. To hide behind such a criterion would be ingenuous. Secondly, what has been achieved over the last 12 years, has been a persuasive body of clinical experience based on observation and feedback (so-called ‘natural experiments’), supported by arguments founded on the basic sciences of anatomy and physiology and the evolving science of animal behavior.

Vetrinarians are just passing visitors to the stables into which they are called, they have no experience on real nature of horses.

Edward Mayhew that multi-talented, advocate for the horse and courageous veterinarian, author and illustrator of ‘The Illustrated Horse Doctor’ (1860) made a shrewd observation about his colleagues in the profession when he wrote, “Veterinarians have not, as a rule, either leisure or the necessary power to observe those animals it is their province to treat; they are generally but passing visitors to the stables into which they are called.” Owners, on the other hand, are more likely to see their horses every day and have a better knowledge of their behaviour. They notice departures from normal more readily as they know the horse’s habits. Equally, they quickly become aware of improvements in behaviour when welfare advances become available. As a group, therefore, it is perhaps understandable that owners are ahead of the veterinary profession in recognizing and promoting the benefits of banishing shoes and bits. It is relevant that Dr. Strasser is both a veterinarian and an owner. The biographical section of her latest book, “Navicular No More” includes the illuminating passage, “Her interest in the matter of lameness began when her own horses, living on pasture and kept unshod ... were always sound and rideable, while her equestrian friends’ and clients’ horses, shod and living in box stalls, were frequently ill with respiratory and lameness problems.”

Another explanation for the failure of veterinarians to apply available knowledge has historical and sociological roots. The veterinary profession is an offshoot of farriery, which derives its very name from the use of iron (Latin; ferrum). Equine veterinarians have long had a bond with farriers and they are grappled together with ‘hoops of steel.’ They share an interest in the same piece of equine real estate. For an equine practitioner to question the traditional art of farriery, strikes at the very root of this bond and even the livelihood of the local farrier. A practitioner might well consider it not expedient to cross swords over such a territorial dispute. What should happen, in an ideal world, is for both parties to take heed of Shakespeare’s advice and “do as adversaries do in law, strive mightily but eat and drink as friends.” This is easier said than done when your adversary carries a hammer.

Getting active in informing about harm of bits, means in the same time getting into conflict with FEI!

In the case of bitting, there is a similar and even more deeply rooted historical problem. The art of bitting has long been considered the preserve of the horseman. Veterinarians have accepted this apportioning of responsibilities as they have also, unquestioningly, accepted the bit. Over the last 200 years, the profession has had very little to say about the bit. Most practitioners have been glad enough to leave the art of bitting to the rider. Questioning the validity of the bit would only bring them into conflict with the long-entrenched rules of the FEI and the national federations, not to mention the fiercely independent field-marshalls of Pony Clubs, Driving Associations and racing’s administrators. For a practitioner to tilt at the windmills of the equine establishment would be akin to biting the hand that feeds. Closer to home, a practitioner – even if inclined - may think twice before implying that a client doesn’t have good hands, that her horse is in pain or, heaven forbid, that she is being cruel to her horse.

On a lighter note, a gently satirical article in the British Medical Journal eight years ago provided a commentary on human nature that applies to equine practitioners just as well as physicians.^¹ It was entitled, “Easy Ways to Resist Change in Medicine.” The authors, Allen Shaugnessy and David Slawson suggested the following techniques:

Don’t pay attention – get so busy with your practice that you don’t have time to read, attend meetings, understand your own practice, or observe the practice of your colleagues.

Attack the data – when provided with new information that may require a change in practice, diss the source and question its validity. Every study contains some loophole, however small, that can be snagged and used to unravel the whole study. Use the common logical ploy that holds that if any aspect of the study is imperfect, the entire study must be wrong.

Maintain absolute confidence – everything you need to know was taught in medical school. Forget this new-fangled evidence-based medicine and stick with belief-based medicine.

Follow the pack – wait for all your colleagues to change before you (reluctantly) join them.

Defer to experts – be sure not to make any independent decisions. An expert is always available somewhere to support your death grip on the status quo.

Bring in the lawyers – assert that you will get sued if you start doing something new

Blame patients – you’d like to practice differently but patients won’t let you

Pull rank – when a patient brings in information they’ve downloaded be sure to ignore it and say, “When did you get your medical degree?”

Simply refuse – when presented with threatening information, say what was muttered after a continuing medical presentation, “I wouldn’t believe this information even if it were true.”

Total control – these techniques will allow you to practice with little thinking required and will enable you to practice without any nagging feeling that there might be a better way.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THE DELAY?

Name the brand: The terms ‘barefoot’ and ‘bitless’ describe negatives and even ‘natural’ can be questioned. Perhaps a positive term is needed such as ‘humane horsemanship.’ An appeal to the pocket might work, as shoeing and bitting savagely increase the expense of keeping a horse. How about ‘economic equitation’? Or, to denote that horses will live longer and not bankrupt their owners, what about ‘sustainable horsemanship’?

Bring in the welfare societies: Cruelty is defined as the infliction of avoidable pain. The pain of bits and shoes is now avoidable and so both practices have to be reclassified as cruel. Yet the logic of this has not yet been absorbed by veterinarians or the horse world in general.

Employ rebuttal and ridicule: “Truth travels slowly and falsehood moves fast.” In a letter to the editor of the New Scientist (22 March 2008) Carol Herzenberg used this phrase in concluding that “in the world outside science, cold facts are not enough … additional techniques must be used by scientists struggling against propaganda, and I recommend ridicule … I suggest an immediate response of publicly ridiculing the most obvious lies and propaganda, followed promptly by a detailed response that is as thorough, thoughtful and accurate as possible.” Articles that follow the traditional thinking on shoes and bit should be responded to with rebuttals and, if necessary, ridicule. That ‘truth travels slowly’ was also observed by Mark Twain, who wrote, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.’

Be patient: Perhaps we just need to allow time to pass before we can expect our present efforts to bear fruit. With the necessary education of youngsters today, perhaps the next generation of administrators will succeed in bringing in the needed changes. As this article goes to press, good news comes from a young 4H member in Arkansas who, with determination, demonstration and disqualification, has persuaded the Arkansas 4H to approve the crossunder bitless bridle for competitions in 2013. We should focus our efforts on the members of 4H and Pony Clubs. It is the “daughters of the revolution” who will finally succeed. Some of these will become veterinarians.

Talk to your veterinarian: Raise the issues. Invite him/her to give a talk to your local humane horsemanship club. Be prepared, as a group, to take up the cudgels. Focus first on cause before discussing prevention and treatment.

Work on achieving recognition for Humane Horsemanship: Perhaps Academia Liberti should consider banding together with all similar groups around the world so that a parent association could speak for you all to the veterinary profession, the FEI, national federations and so on.

Press for rule changes with your local and national groups. But don’t have unrealistic expectations. Change will not be achieved easily. Garrett Hardin, a biologist and historian of science, wrote, “We can hardly expect a committee to acquiesce in the dethronement of tradition. Only an individual can do that.”

Lobby, lobby, lobby. Write, write, write. Publish in subscription journals or, better still, in open access publishing, available and understandable to everyone. Self-publish on your website (mine offers nearly 100 articles). The power of the pen in this information age has been enhanced. Let’s use it with all our might. “There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” We are currently witnessing a high tide of concern for the welfare of animals. This is the tide on which to press the case on behalf of the horse.

1 BMJ 2004; 329: 1473-4

Laminitis

2014-07-19T06:15:00.001-07:00

by Tamlyn Labuschagne
(first published by http://www.hallo-pferd.de/news/21855)

Prevention is better than cure. In the Africa of my youth laminitis was talked about as a starvation disorder confined to neglect and rescue cases. Horses who had experienced a time of starvation were the ones likely to suffer from laminitis if any were. My area of interest with horses has long been about returning damaged sport horses to well-being and what athletic ability is available to them. In all the years and all the different places I have worked in Africa the only horses ever linked to laminitis were the severe rescues.

How interesting that, 30 years on, laminitis is so common all around the world that we find it almost in every circumstance. Why is laminitis more common now than it was 3 decades ago? Is it that diagnosis of this pathology has advanced to be wider known? No. Are there more horses now than before? No. Had laminitis been happening widely horse’s farriers and vets would certainly have been diagnosing it as the disorder was clearly known and treated in starvation/neglect cases. Was it then the circumstances in which we kept horses in Africa decades ago the factor that made laminitis so rare as to confine it to starvation cases? I think it’s a pertinent fact that for the first 30 years of my life I never knew of any horse on restricted feed intake who was also simultaneously under exercised, kept alone or in two’s and in tiny paddocks. Horses grazed all day, were fed two or three times a day, and had sufficient hay to last them the entire night if they were stabled, and had hay mangers under cover if keep out. There was no such thing as laminitis in fed and well kept horse circles not amongst the happy hacker folk I knew nor amongst the competitors nor amongst any of the breeders, our trim and shoe cycles were never longer than 4 weekly.

Why is it these days so common to hear about laminitis in direct relationship with grass in-take. Previously in my own personal experience grass intake in cared for horses was never cited as reason or feared as a trigger for laminitis, and I first heard of founder only in my 30’s when I came to live in green lush New Zealand where several things happened differently compared to my past experience with horses. In fact the only case in danger of laminitis that we ever knew of was one of the horses I rescued, the farrier mentioned that there might be a possibility of laminitis occurring but he didn’t get it – he was as advised out on long rough native meadow pasture in company and fed hard feed, had ad lib access to different kinds of hay and trimmed monthly exactly like all the other horses who incidently also never suffered any of the other metabolic syndrome diseases so common now.

When I came to live in New Zealand I experienced my first reality of horses on restricted diet who had too little exercise, and their weight was managed not by exercise but by reducing access and availability of feed. Their lifestyle confined to much smaller paddocks than I’d ever seen and their herds smaller or even single. I saw for the first time horses standing around most of the day, alone or in two’s, with no space to drift in and little reason to prompt the constant interactions I knew about. I experienced my first encounter with the concept of laminitis outside of starvation and oddly inside the belief of fat horses. I experienced my first awareness of founder. This contrasting situation between my realities of the two countries and the general world wide trends in the progress of the idea’s around best practice in horse keeping made me look at the differences in concepts surrounding “fat”, “starved”, “nutrient dense”, “nutrient poor” horses; their exercise routines, lifestyles, their cycles in hoof care and feeding, in terrain types and management. Always comparing these to my own experiences.

Photo: Maksida Vogt

My observations are increasingly supported by other people around the world who are themselves finding that return to more biologically correct lifestyle environment is simultaneously beneficial to the horse’s health and reduces the occurrence of laminitis and founder to the degree that the lifestyle details support biological needs. In many cases early correct lifestyle is proving to be a good choice in that incidences of laminitis in these conditions are significantly less frequent and in some cases simply nonexistent; routinely when modern grasses are replaced by meadow sward with various indigenous herbaceous plant species and pastures are allowed to follow their natural cycles entirely. This interestingly reflects the paddock styles known in my past.

Prevention is better than cure in every instance. If we have the means to prevent then we are in one category. For the rest face a challenge that is most commonly nightmarish. Since people became acutely aware of the sensitivity inside the hoof the paradigm of hoof care has had to change. No longer was the belief that the hoof is a lump of cold unfeeling horn the norm. Suddenly we are dealing with concepts of ingrown toenails, of horn that is separating from the bone connection because of this and that depending on who you are reading perhaps because of levers or infection or bio-chemistry where previously those details were scant. It can be confusing.

Some don’t yet recognize that with all cases excess horn is capable of damaging corium tissues and causing internal wounds. There are many perspectives. There is infighting amongst contrasting views and there are folks claiming superiority over others. To me the journey into knowledge and the practical application of what knowledge we come across is a journey of discovery. Everyone wants the best for their horse, every owner wants a well and happy horse. From this point of view the subject of laminitis becomes a vast and interesting one. What works?

Simply put, we can say that if the horn is comfortable around the hoof – the horse will be comfortable on the feet. When the horn is projected in the direction that is biologically correct and these different horn types meet their environment in the ways they are meant to, they are kept at a balance between growth and wear. They reflect the terrain upon which they are habituated to. In such horses soundness is their experience for a lifetime.

Photo: Maksida Vogt

When we have laminitis we have inflammation of the laminar corium. Inflammation in the body is a default program to healing. Inflammation occurs to heal. It switches on completes the job and is switched off. It is the body’s innate process to deal with acute wounds and also comes in times where there is no wound as such but there is incorrect function that results in the body needing to go beyond maintenance and into metabolic process repair mode. In these metabolic cases it is possible that inflammation process does not complete and therefore does not switch off.

In human medicine we have come to realize that stress is highly damaging to the chemistry of the body. Stress can cause a chronic state of inflammation. When coupled with something as common as not drinking enough pure water, to facilitate the flushing out of waste and toxins from our cells, we have patterns of disease that can be reversed and cured by very simple means, outside of the conventional medical paradigm or we have patterns that we cannot shift, horn is the same concept. Sometimes in order to heal we have to go beyond conventional paradigms.

We know in hoof care what definitely does not work. We are battling cognitive dissonance on what does work. As with everything in life hoof care can be done well and badly. There are literally thousands upon thousands of horses out there who have overcome patterns leading to laminitis and other diseases like navicular syndrome and more insidious problems like “fluid fat” horses who have become well on every level due to good changes in lifestyle and skilled hoof care. No one really rails against these cases. It is not possible to discount what works, the proof is undeniable it is there. What happens when our attempts at dealing with laminitis is not working? When it becomes obvious that the route we are on is failing? Then we must logically either change our approach or end the journey. Neither is comfortable much is said about the different approaches. It is my personal view that some damage goes beyond repair. It is logical, and it is difficult to quantify because some horses like some people have greater capacity and rate and ability to heal. We as owners and carer’s of horses have choices to make and we have to make changes; to support them through to the healed state, which is no mean feat for either the horse or the person. Healing is a process. Learning is a process. Accepting is a process.

In more than decade of personal experiences with laminitis and founder I can now comment as follows: one can change everything in the lifestyle and the diet and do a good balanced trim, but if there remain lever forces acting against the connection of the bone to its horn, if there remains imbalanced chemistry on top of this the case is non-recoverable. Not every laminitis can heal entirely and completely. We can always improve the situation for the horse with the correct trim, here I am speaking if complete healing (with no inflamations in the body) is possible from my point of view. Sometimes there is simply too much damage. Owners need to know the harsh truth that not only the flesh that creates the horn but also the bone itself is subject to wounding and necrosis from excess horn pressure being directed incorrectly back up into areas where it should have no impact. Bone and corium can die off in areas and make for an endless metabolic nightmare for the horse, which does not heal because the wound is too great.

Bone yields to pressure; it reshapes. In laminitis cases this becomes a ski tip where the shape of the bottom of the bone curves upwards. This is a problem in that the corium is not the usual membraneous periosteum of other bones, it is in fact modified skin: dermis – nerve and blood rich and this dermis under pressure behaves like any skin… it damages under pressure just like a bedsore and rots the same way. The ski tip around the distal edge of the coffin bone also moves slightly as the hoof sinks and rises in its normal action from full weight bearing through flight phases back to weight bearing. The ski tip has the potential to damage tissues in this normal movement, as it is not a physiologically correct edge to the bone. The corium not only covers the bone but grows into and out of the coffin bone, and this corium extrudes the horn types we see on the outside in a very complex biodynamic feat of engineering unlike all other mammalian bones who have an outer periosteum membrane covering their surface. When the coffin bone becomes misshapen the horns it extrudes also become misshapen. So in laminitis cases where there is a ski tip formation the sole plane will reflect this. Therefore not all sole’s should be approached in the same way. When lever forces are added the horn further deforms and deflects away from the shape the bone determines.

Any hoof that has had too high heels over a long period of time has the ability to deform the tip of the coffin bone. Horses that have high heels have also had high bars. There is a biodynamic relationship between the toe and the heels of the horses hoof. It is also possible to have low heels and high bars as bars are levered up under the navicular bone area into the dome of the hoof. Heels and bars have a relationship with the toe. A long toe, often seen in laminitis cases, is able to pull or hold the heels and or bars in an unnatural forward and under locked situation. While the high heels, and bars, aide in the tearing away of the horn from it’s coffin bone connection at the toe quite typical to laminitis. In other words heels and bars can set the stage for weakened laminar connection that will ultimately result in laminitis. Now add to this pre-existing scenario a chemical trigger from inside the body due to feed or externally lets say due to one example few people are aware of as a danger which is herbicide exposure. We have a weakened structure, the structure has lever and tearing forces active against it. Now comes a trigger and an inflammation response follows. Pressure builds up inside a weakened structure where there are spaces and gaps that are not meant to be there. If the inflammation is slight the horse will be uncomfortable but the hoof capsule will hold. If the inflammation is very strong there is a danger of the excess fluid acting hydraulically separating the horn from its connection to the bone and the hoof capsules can be lost. Mostly we don’t see lost hoof capsules in laminitis, and usually laminitis is in all four hooves. Though mechanical laminitis can be induced in only one hoof especially in supporting an injured leg.
Where laminitis is diet, lifestyle and horn related it logically involves all four hooves. Depending on the shape and form of the horn and habitual postures some hooves may be healthier than others in one horse.

From my experience and the experience of colleagues who work similarly we all know that lifestyle, diet and exercise are critical to horse health, those of us who understand the concept of horn lever forces and how to manipulate those, to allow healing, know that most all laminitic horses have horn pathology setting up the likelihood of laminitis. Most owners battling laminitis and the threat of laminitis do not know of this concept of pre-existing damage setting up the likelihood of laminitis. I think if this idea became better known owners would have a greater understanding and therefore a better experience. Most owners also don’t realize that the sole horn grows at a different rate to the wall horn, and that the bar horn reaches the ground fastest because it has least distance to travel, which in turn pushes the horn back up into the tissues of the hoof if it’s not worn off or trimmed correctly. If pre-existing damage is not too far advanced into necrosis there is hope and this hope carries the precursor requirement of change. Even horses appearing otherwise fit and healthy can be living with varying amounts of necrosis inside their hooves, these area’s begin to heal when horn levers are removed and the circulation is restored sufficiently to initiate healing.

Humans as a rule find change difficult. It’s easier to lock a horse up than to find the time to exercise properly; easier on the time constraints of the person not on the health of the horse. It is easier to call a horse fat than assume responsibility for metabolic disorders. When we return horses to a lifestyle aligned both to their biology and to their intrinsic natures, we automatically have healthier beings that are easier to nurture and to keep. It is eminently possible to circumvent all the precursors to laminitis, and by doing so, never to experience this painful and debilitating condition. A perpetually unwell horse can, with proper care, be elevated to a lifetime of disease-free soundness. The contributions made by the pioneers of "the barefoot movement" are of inestimable value to me, personally. The evolution, growth, and widespread dissemination of these original working gifts is an individual journey which each of us carries forward and enriches through personal interpretation gleaned from our practical experiences. Laminitis hoof rehabilitation is a long process: a labour of love through which both horse and human evolve to a more natural and balanced appreciation of life. For keeping and nurturing horses, though not always easy, is a journey of discovery that ultimately benefits both species alike.

***

From an “advancement of knowledge in owner hoof care” point of view we all owe much to those first authors of barefoot oriented hoof care. The two pioneers opened up a completely different reality for most of us. It is through their work that we have experienced an advanced information spread amongst the people and we have experienced it at an unprecedented rate in the history of mankind. They catalyzed a huge awakening amongst the horse fraternity and with it the uncomfortable realization that much has gone unrecognized and much has been misunderstood.

We are very fortunate to have had in our lifetime the pioneers emerge namely, Dr Strasser and Mr Jamie Jackson. We are even more fortunate that so many others have risen so quickly in their wake and taken knowledge further to the point of effectively raising the general knowledge of hoof care around the entire world. There have been so many advancements at precisely the right time.

We discover the beauty of horses new, we restore beauty

2014-06-18T08:37:00.002-07:00

by Maksida Vogt
(first published by http://www.hallo-pferd.de/news/21827)

Academia Liberti introduces itself

To the question "What is the mission of the Academia Liberti?“ this is the answer, which comes to my mind:

We discover the beauty of horses new, we restore beauty.
We enable people to get to know the horse in its true nature. Far away from all the artificial, away from the brutal traditional interaction with the horse, from what we usually can see in the riding stables and equestrian sport - back to the horse as an individual, as a friend, as a valuable companion and therefore back to ourSELVES.

The real reason for the deases of our horses

As a rider we have the horses always present in our lives, but we have superficial contact with them. The horses cannot connect to us even though they entered our lives precisely for this reason. The traditional handling of the horse includes many mistakes and errors, which have survived up to our enlightened time. Horses are treated as a commodity, they are held in the box or on small areas only to be available for the people. Such an attitude makes the horse necessarily sick. Then the usage of the horse is added. Even if we (ex) rider do not like to hear, riding adds a measurable damage to the horse's body. It starts with the bit in the sensitive horse's mouth, which should by no means be there and ends with our weight on the delicate spine of the horse. This all leads to diseases of our horses and these diseases have become normal and commonplace. People fight mud fever, laminitis, dysponea, alleged obesity (often fluid in the tissue due to metabolic disorders), lameness, colic, Cushing, EMS and other diseases, and spend lots of money for alleged horse-accessible food, powders, supplements or veterinarians and alternative horse doctors. But the real reason of these diseases is incorrect keeping and use of the horse and nothing else. Change the living conditions of your horse and quit the traditional riding - and your horse will feel better immediately and be on the path of healing. Under traditional riding I understand the following: I want to ride, so I saddle up my horse, so that it can carry me.

We have set ourselves a high goal

Academia Liberti has taken on the task to inform and educate of these contents and contexts. If we start to inform ourselves in this direction and to learn, then we can see and understand much more than before. Suddenly the diseases of my horse are no longer puzzles but are comprehensible to me. Suddenly I get a very different feedback from my horse than before, suddenly our relationship changes and things happen that I never thought possible. I discover my horse anew, I discover his, and thus my own, beauty.

The horses can heal, they can be spiritual companions - if we allow it of them and also allow it for ourselves. As a rider, I've spent the time on my horse, now I spend time WITH my horse - and my mare has so much to tell. She has taught me a lot, she has guided me and made me a better person. This happens to people when they open to the new way of handling the horse and this is our first wish. To strengthen the people, to show them new perspectives so they can go ahead enriched on their way with horses.

Relationship at a new level

The path goes on then for each person individually, each person is different, every horse is different - it is time to bring the relationship to a new level. You get to know your own horse anew, without any coercion or the pressure of your own desires and expectations.
They teach you a lot about yourself and this opens the new worlds and the new doors of life. That what I experience internally is reflected in my life again. We restore the beauty, life gains in beauty and profundity.

Three educational branches in Academia Liberti

Academia Liberti is very versatile, everything is based on a holistic approach, both for horses and for people. We have a Facebook group where you can exchange ideas. In the AL forum you can exchange on a deeper and more personal level and learn about various specialized topics. AL has a holistic education, Trifolium, which includes three disciplines:

Fun fitness and spiritual work with the horse with me as a trainer,
AL Cura for therapy work with the horse on the basis of Gestalt therapy with certified psychologist Dominique Cuyvers and
Horse-Hoof Education with Tamlyn Labuschagne as our mentor and consulting barefoot specialist.

Academia Liberti offers regular workshops through which you can deepen your knowledge. A special workshop will be held at the wild horses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a breathtaking experience that is exciting and highly inspiring for every rider, every horse person. This workshop is offered as a complete package with accommodation included. You can inform yourself, in detail, about our workshops on the AL website.

vww.academialiberti.de
https://www.facebook.com/academialiberti

Unique unto the life

2014-06-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

by Tamlyn Labuschagne

I realise that the power of the universe is far beyond our comprehension – I realise now that when you hold two dreams its not up to us to work out how they can come together and be lived as The dream. I realise now That is the work of the universe. Our job is to live life, defining what we want through what feels better to us and allowing the We must define what we want and why and align to that while allowing the co-operative components to shift, align and deliver it to us our feeling focus match-ups. I did not know that was possible at this particular stage of my young life. I thought the common thought – it’s one dream or another- you cannot have both.

When I look back on the horses in my life and their effects on my Becoming I realise the utter value of each being. Unique unto the life. A statement profound in itself in the face of eternity - we see that each specific life has absolute value. Looking at things through this lens feel an automatic rising of respect for every living being, like a cork held under water let go and automatically rising. There were 4 horses I’d like to single out in regards to this thought. One night at a riding camp in Rhodesia, as children, we were sitting around the campfire listening to ghost stories. Out of the pitch black night came this

sound that made our blood freeze. Hooves at pace and a roaring breath. I recall sitting there and internally declaring to myself that more exists in this world than we usually accept. Years later I put two and two together and wondered if it might have been Honeybee ridden near our camp for dramatic effect. Honeybee – a striking black with white thunder bolt blaze. Her nose had been broken on the racetrack, and she “roared” her wind was also “broken”. I used to gaze at her. She was so beautiful and I’d think – why would anyone use you to the point of breaking you? How could someone do

that?

Chikitita was a happy mare. Just looking at her lifted you up, put champagne in your veins and got you smiling. She loved her life and she oozed eager contentment. Whenever her owner would visit her I would ask to sit up on her back on the way back to the big paddock. This was an elation to me. It felt like everything riding could possibly offer. Not for the purpose of the person, for the horse underneath felt seamless in joy. At this riding school, during one lesson I recall having difficulty in asking for the canter transition. My tutor became annoyed and yelled at me “just kick the bloody thing”. I lost all interest then. In a single moment like a clear snap… If that is what skilful riding meant then I’d rather not ride skilfully thanks. Fight, kick, beat, saw at the bit - to make the horse do it. That is

ugly. It brings out an internal ugliness that I don’t think people see in themselves while its happening.

In those early days of lessons there was an older girl on a horse, we’d be told to look at what it should look like and then to emulate that picture. I think that was a very good idea. I still do. Being inspired to gracefulness. What I find very uncomfortable is anger. That sort of white hot flooding of energy that seems to wipe out all participation in its consumption of the situation and afterwards sets you down in new place of being. I’ve felt that anger twice in my younger life and it scared me completely. I feared any approaching of that state for lack of understanding. What I now realise is that all of anger has at its root a need that is not being met. Once I realised this anger was no longer anything to worry about because it never needs to get big or to the stage of consuming push power to

get you through feeling helpless about something to a place of feeling more

capable.

Doing what you love but doing it in a way that feels wrong and not knowing how to make it feel better. Ride horses because it feels so good and brings out the best in you see-sawing with being yelled at by impatient instructors insisting you have to perform yanking, kicking, smacking… frustration!! All the while seeing someone effortlessly ride and being told to emulate that! What a confusion – how to get there from where you are… not a word about connection or alignment or understanding in those years! Doing what you

love in the face of disapproval directed at you, leads to a very large internal battle as you sift about trying to figure out how to do what you love in a way that feels right to you…

Once you can see what it is you feel incapable of – what the cause of the frustration is then you can simply and joyfully work on feeling that desired place and exploring avenues of experiencing it. I think at this stage of realisation the subtlety of energy plays a very big part. You know what you like and you know what you don’t like about it, and now you choose more of what feels better to you or more of what feels bad to you. So the first horse who ever came to me for the specific purpose of NOT being a riding horse was Dikkop (a horrid name meaning ThickHead) we changed his name to MegaBucks instead because he went to a kid’s party – they adored him – plaiting ribbons in his hair and kissing him and they insisted on paying money for his visit! He came as a rescued companion to Cadeaux and Highflyer we didn’t like the idea of leaving one horse at home stressing while I rode out with their friend. Megabucks had been neglected badly and needed a haven. Megabucks was the horse who showed me how little riding means to

a horse.

Yes; riding means it’s outside adventures, different grazing in the rest breaks, new outlooks and it’s bonding by relying on each other and communicating. I didn’t realise back then actually the extend to which all of those can also happen with the human on the ground sans any tack or arena’s. And the value of that time is more than most riders would expect. It was the letting go of that ridiculous belief “the horse is ‘wasted’ in the

paddock doing nothing” or this one “he’s too talented to sit around grazing all day – he should be out there showing his worth”… it’s funny now a days for me to recall the guilt I felt having wonderful horses being wonderful in the face of those kinds of judgemental view points. What I realised was – horses are made for grazing they didn’t come with in built dressage or show jumping saddles to fulfil their individual purpose! Really! What a relief it was to give up the guilt over the cost of feeding and maintaining a horse and coming to the view point that the joy I experience regardless of what we do more than justifies financial outlay. Everyone has an entertainment and wellness budget and mine happens to involve horses.

Thank you Megabucks for shifting the financial justification from doing to feeling. Now when someone tells me how guilty they feel about the expense going out and not having anything to show for it I feel compassion and humour. It allows for some interesting comments to surface giving new viewpoints to ponder. Friendship. Why can’t you just enjoy the horse? Why must you get something more than enjoying the feel out of the interaction – what sort of a friendship would that be in human comparitive terms?... I am friends with you because you get me ribbons? or because you take me places and feed my ego so I can tell other people how good I am. Sorry but to me that would be a tiring friend indeed. No wonder some people have to “go catch” their horse. No wonder you see

some foals with permanent halters and catch ropes on… I wouldn’t want to spend time with you either if you treated me that way.

It’s even more so when it’s a cross species communication I think. Each has their own ways of being in the body experiencing life, more consideration is better – it can’t all happen on your human terms anymore. There must an equality of input and choices. And an allowing of the differences. My filly foal Déjà Vu broke the fear boundary in so far as evolving me to fully trusting another being to take care of itself. Déjà Vu adored Vibes (his

nickname was Rabbit because he was really so soft inside) she adored him to the extent that she could not bear him to go out-riding without her accompaniment. In the 1990’s this was not heard of. It was irresponsible; it was insane. I got into such trouble – people would admonish me regularly. Yet nothing bad ever happened. She stuck close and kept up all free and at liberty. Nowadays of course with 30 years of Dr Strassers work ‘out there’ the scientific proof shows this to the ultimate way of raising a foal, intellectual

stimulation, freedom of movement, varied footing and surfaces, long straight lines in the early years. Perfect hoof form from the beginning through proper wear.

When I was 11 something pretty profound happened to me. One day I asked my Mother – why do we accept stale smelling meusli ingredients to feed the horses when we would not accept it that way from the supermarket? My Mother said to me “I don’t know – why don’t you find out and tell me?” That lead me to research. We had a family friend who was an animal nutritionist, he gave me articles to read, directed me to different books, and I read them all. I read and researched for 5 years. When I was 16 I said to my Mom; we do it because there isn’t currently an alternative. All animals cereal´feeds at that time were created from by products of human food processing and related manufacturing, many still are. Here I will make a note on Soya. We use this far too much in the unfermented form. Traditionally it was held as toxic when unfermented. But its cheap and plentiful so we ignore that and use it for the other reasons… makes you think hopefully. Never heard of fermented soy oil in horse feeds or supplements? Did something suddenly turn it from toxic to non-toxic and safe to use unfermented? Thank you Mom for giving me reasons to think and find out for myself.

Which brings me in a round about way to number 4 Marakesh Rupert Bear, the Arab Stallion. Stallion! More bound thoughts and negative preconceptions busted. This wonderful young horse lived within his partially related and nonrelated herd. On a small holding, that was not too big. There was a little miniture horse as part of this family herd and Rupert was a loving kind Father to them all. You would never have known he was a serving stallion by his placid nature and caring interactions. I was asked to bring him on in preparation for his first show outing. He won the Championship award for this event with some other rider I never met. I’d take him out-riding up to the racecourse grounds a few

kilometres away, and we’d move along on the buckle of the reins with no mouth contact at all. I’d turn my head and he would turn his body. I’d breath out and think stop or slow down and he would naturally comply. I used to wonder why people would make difficult horses when they could experience this kind of being. That was the thing – I’d noticed in every horse I’d ever come across a desire for peaceable interactions; boundaries; and acceptance. So why create a fighting monster – much larger than you with much more

stamina. Why fight? Oh I know it’s easy to hook in emotionally to a fight and

it’s powerful – but it’s so ugly. So graceless.

Find that unmet need you need to evolve about and let the anger go. Use it for the sense of self it gives to find the determination to get to where you want to be; but move through it, through onto better feeling emotions that you’ll prefer. Most angry horses are caught in the cycles of anger unable to evolve into having their needs understood and met. One day we were out riding and I’d put thick leather tendon boots on – for no reason. I usually rode without anything. I got distracted and turned to look at something unseen and he moved with my movement slightly off the track – straight into a wire snare. It bit tight into the leather boot. I was off in an instant and so bloody angry that I managed to break the wire and get it loosened.

He was remarkable – in the face of my anger he stood shivering rooted to the spot holding his leg up for me. What an amazingly natural horse he was. He gave me a preferred platform to view stallions from. Later while studying Dr Strassers lifework orthopedic hoof care and holistic lameness rehabilitation, I realise that all of his psychological and biological and physical needs were more than adequately met so he behaved normally as a result of this. I remember when medical science was hoo hooing energy and distance

healing… well they aren’t hoo hooing it so much anymore. Those brave enough to let go and look are proving all sorts of things that were utter nonsense a few years back, you only have to take a look at the Living Matrix DVD to see a number of minds well in advance of what is currently being taught in sylibus’s around the globe. The teachings of out-dated information. A pretty world-wide phenomenon that one.

When any needs are not met, there is a wobble in the wave of being. The more important the need not being met is the worse the energy disturbance and the further from joy the being is forced to live. With humans we can go internally and purposefully move ourselves back up the emotional scale – despite our surroundings and conditions remaining as they are. That is the power we are able to harness and once we consistently feel and imagine

ourselves the way we want to be then automatically circumstances and events begin to shift and conspire to meet the improved vibrational offering we are purposefully focusing on. I’d like to know from the horses how this works for them. So many scientists try to tell us that animals do not have the power of reasoning. That their minds work in a lesser way to ours. I don’t somehow buy into that. I see they are telepathic and just because they don’t speak in words like we do doesn’t mean they have less mental capacity, we only use a fraction of ours – how much do they have access to and ability to use? If we measured them not with human brain understanding what new results would we find? It feels so

good to me that animal communication is now becoming a commonly accepted route to solving issues, and that lifestyles for horses are becoming herd and space based… so much good has come about within my lifetime.

EMS, Insulin Resistance, Cushing – Modern Civilization Diseases

2014-05-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

by Dr. Christina Fritz,

Biologist, therapist and textbook author, Berlin

(first published: http://www.artgerecht-tier.de/kategorie/pferde/beitrag/ems-insulinresistenz-cushing.html)

In recent years diseases, which were hitherto unknown, are appearing in our horses and in veterinary literature, more and more there are metabolic syndrome diseases that our horses are suffering from. Veterinary medicine speaks of a syndrome when they have visible symptoms without knowing what causes these are based upon. This includes, for example, the Equine Metabolic Syndrome EMS. That is translated simply: "Equin" means: to do with the horse, "Metabolic" means: has to do with metabolism, and "syndrome" means: we have no idea what it is. A few years ago in veterinary medicine there was the principle: Horses do not get diabetes. Then suddenly horses with "EMS" appeared, and today it is called more or less insulin resistance behind closed doors - which is nothing more than the type II diabetes in humans. But it is not quite as simple because there are horses with EMS symptoms, without insulin resistance. Conversely, there are horses with insulin resistance, but without EMS symptoms. Not all horses have typical EMS symptoms with a blood sugar problem.

Among the more frequently diagnosed diseases in addition to EMS is also Equine Cushing’s Syndrome, better known as "Cushing’s". In the older veterinary literature Cushing’s has been described as "rarely occurring disease in very old horses“. Today almost every other horse over 20 is diagnosed with Cushing’s. Veterinary medicine still believes that its cause is a tumor on the pituitary gland, called a pituitary adenoma. It is striking however, that for Cushing’s and EMS the same symptoms are described. And that the two disorders are distinguished primarily on age: Horses under 15 years are diagnosed with EMS, horses for over 16 years with Cushing’s. Also interesting is the fact that most of Cushing's horses react with a significant improvement in their symptoms, to a complete healing if you restored their metabolism. But in most Cushing's horses pituitary adenomas are unlikely to disappear due to a metabolic restoration. A much more natural statement would be that the symptoms of Cushing’s are not about the consequences of a pituitary adenoma, but of a metabolic disorder and the interplay of hormones.

To better understand both diseases, you have to look a little closer into the hormone system of the horse. There are various endocrine glands in the body that play together as an orchestra the system is controlled by a conductor - the pituitary gland. This controls all the other endocrine glands in the body: the thyroid gland, the adrenal gland, the gonads (ovaries and testes), the pancreas and many others. All these glands in turn control the pituitary gland - so if enough hormone is produced, then it causes inhibition of the pituitary gland and thus a reduction in hormone production. To make things even more confusing, the endocrine glands also affect each other. Thus, the thyroid controls among other things the adrenal gland and the sex glands. The sex glands control the adrenal gland and the adrenal gland controls for itself - the adrenal cortex controls the adrenal medulla and vice versa - and, among others, the kidney and the pituitary gland. This complicated system ensures that any disturbance can lead to one point of the hormonal system impacting in a very different ending than it is meant to. We’ve known for years with dogs and cats that neutering both the male and the female in most cases leads to thyroid problems, which is why the animals are frequently so fat despite normal feeding.

Hormones are substances produced by the body to regulate its own metabolism. They are effective even in the tiniest amounts and work very specifically - by binding to receptors of their target cells and only causing an effect there. Cells without the appropriate receptor do not respond to the hormone because they virtually "blind" are for this hormone. Pour in the pituitary hormones to regulate the thyroid and they react only the cells of the thyroid gland receptive to the hormone but not the muscle, connective tissue or liver cells, which do not hold receptor sites for that hormone.

In addition, the receptors are differently sensitive to the matching hormones. Each cell of the body basically has insulin receptors, however, these receptors are the most sensitive in the muscle and liver cells. These cells, muscle and liver, also have the most insulin receptors. The muscle cells because they need plenty of sugar, and the liver cells because they convert excess sugar into storable forms. Now distributes the pancreatic hormone insulin - it binds primarily to receptors in liver and muscle cells. These muscle and liver cells respond to the insulin binding on its surface so that they begin to take up sugar from the blood. Thus, the blood sugar level drops. If this insulin receptor reaction is prevented at any point, the horse cannot regulate his blood sugar level lower, since the muscle and liver cells do not absorb enough glucose from the blood. This is called insulin resistance.

Selenium

Selenium plays an important role in the reduction of blood glucose by insulin. This trace element was completely ignored 50 years ago in diagnostics. Selenium deficiency was unknown in horses, since selenium values were not determined by default. At the end of the 1980’s screenings of cattle were held that came to the conclusion that in these high performance animals selenium deficiency was very common. This was realization was followed by the addition of selenium to the feed for dairy and beef cattle. Then we also conducted screening in horses, and in most horses selenium deficiency was also diagnosed. Here, each laboratory uses its own limits just as, these values, have been determined by different authors in different studies. These values vary so strongly that a value at one laboratory which is found to be in the normal range, may be at other laboratories already outside the limits upwards as well as downwards.

Selenium levels in the blood plasma according to different authors

author limits

Ullrey (1987 ) 80-120 ug / l

Meyer ( 1990) 60-140 ug / l

Meyer ( 1990) 60-80 ug / l

Pulse (1994) 140 - 250 ug / l

Dietz and Huskamp (2006) 8-133 ug / l

Although these studies seem rather questionable because of the limit values used, in the 1990s they began to add the first selenium to the horse's food. Since the beginning of the 20^th century added selenium in horse's food is standard. They were looking for the most obvious explanation for the consistently low selenium levels in blood counts and since then it means that our soils are poor in selenium. The industry has reacted to this discovery and since 2003 selenium is added to the fertilizers to make accumulate in the soil. Thus, the selenium content in feed increases from year to year. All this has meant that the horses get fed today, in most cases, far too much selenium - in cereals, pellets, mineral food and various food supplements. Here, a variety of studies have long shown that the selenium in plasma value has nothing to do with the selenium levels in the tissue. A large number of studies conclude that the value of selenium in plasma cannot be used for the diagnosis of selenium supply, because it decreases first and increases as a last resort. The horse may be in the "deficiency" in the blood plasma long ago but in the tissues in which the selenium is needed clearly in excess. Nevertheless a selenium supplement is fed once the "selenium deficiency“ in the blood picture is diagnosed. Here, the lack of selenium in the blood picture only shows actually that something is out of whack in metabolism. Instead of looking for the cause, treatment is only focused around the symptoms.

But what makes this selenium in the body? In small amounts it is required at various points in metabolism, especially as a radical scavenger. In larger given quantities - but still below the toxic amount – it very quickly hurts the organism at many and very different places. It has long been shown in animal studies and in studies in humans that selenium interferes with insulin signaling. If selenium absorbed in the basic amount of food through the present and beyond into a longer time leads both in mice and in humans to a significantly higher risk of diabetes type II, this means that adding selenium continuously over time means to develop insulin resistance. The continuous addition of selenium in all commercially available horse food is logically associated with the appearance and increase the EMS cases in the horse.

At the same time selenium accumulates mainly in the glandular tissue. The glands include not only the liver, but also all of the hormone producing glands. And here we come to our diseases, which are due to disorders of the endocrine system: selenium accumulates particularly in the liver, thyroid, adrenal glands and reproductive organs. An excess of selenium in liver and thyroid tissue (which may present simultaneously with a selenium deficiency in the blood plasma!) leads to too much normally bound thyroid hormones being released and circulating in the body. This results in a negative feedback loop, it brakes the pituitary thyroid hormone production. The result is an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). This sub-function now leads to an up-regulation of adrenal hormones, the glucocorticoids. This body's own cortisone is responsible for ensuring that everything that is circling in the body is converted into sugar. These mainly include proteins whose deficiency is responsible for the visible symptoms such as: muscle loss, weak immune system, brittle tendons, laminitis, poor hoof horn, bad skin and hirsutism, which is often associated with Cushing’s plush fur - symptom. Simultaneously the blood sugar level rises and these large amounts of sugar cannot be utilized. This can have several effects. The pathologically elevated blood sugar levels can cause insulin resistance, which we see in the blood picture. Alternatively, the biochemical approach is taken to form fat from the excess sugar and store it, which can lead to the typical fatty deposits on the neck and on the rump. As a third possibility, the body can break down the sugar uncleanly and store this in the connective tissue. This then leads to the occurring of "fat" looking horses that have not stored fat, but large amounts water in tissue as counter-regulation of the acidity. Which of these paths is taken, is individual, so we can find so many different symptoms of the same underlying cause.

Therapy

As in my articles to kryptopyrroluria (KPU) and polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) is executed, so it is the same with EMS and Cushing’s rule for “fed diseases“. Very few horses have a genuine Cushing’s, where a pituitary adenoma is based. These horses usually show rapid deterioration of symptoms despite medical therapy and usually have to be euthanized within 2-3 years after diagnosis. The other horses with Cushing's symptoms should be referred to as pseudo-Cushing’s horses, show the Cushing's symptoms, but have a very different cause. The reason is of course again in feeding. The same is true for EMS horses aided by feeding and a useful therapy back to a normal metabolic pathway.

That the horses react with Pseudo-Cushing’s or EMS, is often due to a combination of different causes and triggers: Bad bowel movement by too little hay or Haylage feeding, whereby the intestinal flora is massively disrupted and the liver becomes overloaded. The resulting KPU with disturbances of liver detoxification and stress to the immune system, which can partly lead to considerable stress in the metabolism of the horse, and thus increase in ACTH.

Too much sugar in feeding by thermally digested cereals, generous carrots, apple, banana and treat feeding, which promotes the development of insulin resistance by high blood sugar fluctuations.

Feeding of large quantities of clover, soy (thiourea), Linseed or carrots (Nitrat!), all shown to also contribute to hypothyroidism.

Ample feeding of selenium via the commercially available “power feed” preparations or as selenium supplements from the vet.

The selenium feeding acts certainly often only as a trigger or as the straw that breaks the camel 's back. As a result, the horse owner has a horse with EMS or Cushing’s who are managed by partly strange "sugar-free" - more bad than good diet food or medicine gifts - but nevertheless still selenium enriched. This rule is again what the big Cranio-Sacral Therapist Sutherland at the time said: If you understand the mechanism, the treatment is simple. Key in these diseases is always the change to feeding on plenty of hay; pasture access according to symptoms and possibly mineral supply. Reduce power feed and prefer to give a high quality concentrated feed such as oats or Quetschgerste and only as needed. Then the colon needs to be rehabilitated, the liver needs to be supported in their detoxification and Entsäuerungsfunktion and the hormone system should be re- set to "Normal". This can be achieved with sensible food supplements and homeopathic support. Parallel to nutrition the horse can be treated with CranioSacral, a form of therapy that works very well on the autonomic nervous system, and thus also on the endocrine system. With proper feeding and meaningful therapy neither EMS nor Cushing is a death sentence, but can be set as any other metabolic imbalance again.

***

The theses from Dr. Fritz confirm the researchses and observation of Academia Liberti. Many horse owners consider their horses too thick, but in the most cases it is large amount of stored connective tissue water, as a consequence of diseased metabolism, like Dr. Fritz writes. All horses kept in boxes or small paddocks have this problem (more or less visible). Their body is programmed to be in slow, grazing movement most of the time. When the grazing time or hay is limited then this problem gets only worse, the metabolism is even more disturbed in its function and the illness is only matter of time. In the case, that these horses would come into optimal living conditinon, where they can eat and move according to their own rhythm - the body would heal and diseases would disappear. Feeding fruits and vegetables to the horses is not the problem of such diseases nor they would be boosted through it. Quite the contrary, as more vital substances we can offer to the horse, as less risk for them to get ill. Horses take the nutritional substances which they need for living. If they do not need something, they will simply stop eating. Like Dr. Fritz is describing, the artificial, industrialized food as well as lack of natural species appropriate food (pasture, hay, herbs, trees, bushes) - is one of the main causes of the diseases in our horses.

Maksida Vogt

Interview Maksida Vogt with Dr. Christina Fritz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaEECoeUuw

Blogpost: "The horses are no athletes":
http://www.maksidavogt.com/blog.php?flag=en&sectionid=0&blogid=34

Pasture and Grazing - the main source of food for horses

2014-04-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

by Maksida Vogt

There are many theories regarding proper diet for horses. Many, of these theories, are of the opinion that feeding of horses is to be designed depending on the breed and lifestyle. It is often assumed that no diet exists that is suitable for all horses. Observation of Nature teaches us something else. There is a feed regime which is equally suitable for all horses and that is primarily the landscape vegetation. The most important part of a healthy horse diet is roughage and the most important roughage is at the pasture with its edible shrubs and trees. For the most part elements that characterize a good horse pasture contains contain various grasses, herbs, shrubs and trees. This is what is meant by good pasture.

AL Center Rainbow Appaloosa, France, Summer

Especially in Germany there is the stubbornly remaining misconception that one should control horse food intake or even limit the horses to it. The Germans have a reputation for being conscientious and accurate, there are even horse owners who weigh the food following exact tables and the horses are fed according to specific calculations. This concept invented by the human is actually not beneficial for the wellbeing of the horse. The horse species, as a whole, eats the same food - particular breed is irrelevant, but the individual needs of how much of it is required in the balance of health and wellbeing, is known intimately only by the individual horse alone. If we want to know our horses are healthy, then we must orient ourselves to nature and we should make ourselves aware that the horses - if they have a the right space available to live in - live very well without us. Our task should therefore be to offer the horses a suitable habitat and to realize that the grazing with browsing is vital for horse wellbeing because this is the environmental niche for horse species.

Unrestricted access to horse appropriate pasture should be given for each horse. A species-rich horse pasture is both prophylaxis and therapy at the same time. Since the horse owners often have pastures that are already specifically planted for sheep or cattle farming, they have accompanying fear of colic, laminitis and other diseases that are mentioned in the context of overbred grass. It is important to understand that horses can also tolerate these pastures without problems if they would stay out all year and have the hay permanently available. Over time, each field can be corrected for the horses.

In a small area where nature cannot regulate itself a regular targeted seeding of the missing grasses and herbs should be made. Regular supply of humus with good compost from horse manure and the remains of the hay help the meadows to hold up well.

http://www.lecamargue.de/

If the grass is too acidic, then you can help out by spreading lime, which is alkaline and will correct the pH level. Fertilized cattle pastures should however get no further applications of any sort of nitrogen. If you cannot “read” a pasture, then a soil sample is useful however you do need to be aware of variances and fluctuations inherent in soil samples and work with these in mind. If you have enough space available then you would need to do nothing because nature would regulate the vegetation cycles. Each year then some other plants would grow which are useful for the balance of the soil. One should refrain from regular low mowing so that the meadow grasses can mature over time and become easier for the horses to digest. Only mow in the case of small areas where trampling causes plant invasion threat to gain the upper hand over mixed grasses, then the small area should be mowed in time to control the spread. It is important to understand that the plant is not a problem (nature does nothing without a reason) but it is the too small area, which is available to the horses in this case, that is the problem.

Pasture Germany, Summer

AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer

A full-fledged horse pasture should have a great bandwidth of grasses, legumes and herbs so that the horses can stay healthy and get enough nutrients. Upper grasses are strengthened by haymaking and sub grasses by grazing. You can also sow oats and alfalfa in the pasture between the grass varieties that is recommended for lawns that are intended for haymaking. This gives especially valuable hay that the horses eat with gusto. If you do not have enough space, then you can sow a herb strips next to the pasture. When the horses partly get access to them, they take the valuable nutrients and medicine substances and the herbs thrive better than in the grass on a too small area which is highly trampled.

AL Center RAinbow Appaloosa, France, Spring

Important upper grasses : orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), woolly honey grass (Holcus lanatus), timothy grass (Phleum pratense), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis), meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis).

Important sub grasses: comb grass (Cynosurus cristatus), kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), bent grass (Agrostis capillaris), red fescue (Poaceae Festuca), native ryegrass (Lolium)

Legumes : alfalfa (Medicago sativa), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) , Bastard clover (Trifolium hybidum), white clover (Trifolium repens) and red clover (Trifolium pratense).

AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer

Herbs: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), lawn daisy (Bellis perennis), comfrey (Symphytum officinalis), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), plantain (Plantago lanceolata), milk thistle (Silybum marianum), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), calendula (Calendula officinalis), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), peppermint (Mentha piperita), sage dead nettle (Lamium album), sage (Salvia officinalis), coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), chickweed (Stellaria media), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), greater burnet saxifrage (Pimpinella major), sunflower ( Helianthus spp.).

Trees: willow (Salix), birch (Betulaceae)), lime (Tilia spec), maple (Acer), alder (Alnus), sweet chestnut (Castanea saliva), ash (Fraxinus), walnut (Juglans regia), larch (Larix), poplar (Papulus spec.), wild cherry (Prunus avium), cherry (Prunus avium), plums (Prunus domestica), wild pear (Pyrus pyraster), mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), elm (Ulmus), apple (Malus), mulberry (Morus), Pear (Pyrus), apricots (Prunis armeniaca), peach (Prunus persica).

AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer

Bush /shrub: chokeberry (Aronia melonocarpa ), hazelnut (Corylus avellana), Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus), buckthorn (Frangula alnus), sea buckthorn (Hippophea rhamnoides), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Pupur willow (Salix purpurea), Currant (Ribes), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) citrus (Citrus sp).

AL Centre RAinbow Appaloosa, France, Autumn

These are some of the most important plants belonging to a horse pasture. In the wild the horses would have far more than 500 different plants are available, so it is important to understand that a small pasture with only a few different grasses can not cover even a fraction of the nutritional needs of a horse. Even the occasional poisonous plants are important because these are of value when selectively chosen, by the horses, for medicine. If we control as in shorten the horse's time to graze, then we practice direct damage to their health. The horses know that their time on the pasture is limited so they are forced to eat very quickly (because they need the nutrients and also a certain amount of grass and fresh plants) and so they take even large amounts of grass quickly for which they would normally take slowly over a longer period of time. This increases the likelihood for flatulence, colic, laminitis and other related diseases because the stomach of the horse allows only a continuous intake in small portions of food. Therefore many diseases of our domesticated horses are based on the unnatural keeping and false stall management. Man interferes with the horse in their natural and healthy food intake. If there is no pasture available for the horses and no pasture solution to arrive at, then one should consider whether to give up horse keeping for animal welfare reasons and in the interests of the animals. All horse facilities are set up and therefore all can be adapted further.

Wild Horses Bosnia and Herzegowina

Pasture also provides the hay, which is the most important forage in winter for the horse. The horse's body needs this roughage, which in their cecum (a part of the intestine) is digested and produces the heat for the horse's body. This is very important for thermoregulation. The horses burn the hay to keep warm. The alfalfa hay is slightly laxative, rich in good protein and vitamins and easy to digest. The more grasses and herbs are available in the hay, the better quality it has. The hay should be dry, delightfully fragrant and free of dust. Haylage and silage are unsuitable as primary food for horses and cows.

Just as the horse needs certain substances from the hay in the winter, they also need the spring grass and other plants on the pasture when nature puts them there. The horse should be able to eat as the grass and the plants grow. Not only do they get important nutrients from the plants but also important information for the changeover to the new season. Most of all the horses graze directly after sunrise and in the evening before sunset. In summer it is important that the horses can graze at night, they prefer the cool night air without annoying insects and the grass that is less stressed by the heat of the day.

AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Spring

The horses absolutely need to be able to graze at pasture to get the specific nutrients they otherwise never can get. Fresh grass is a source of vitamins, rich in vitamins A, E and beta -carotene. These vitamins are little or non-existent in the hay, because by drying they are lost. A vitamin A deficiency can be shown by the fact that the hoof horn is bad, the flexor tendon is sensitive or lameness occurs. Artificial vitamins are tiny isolated pieces of information missing the remaining parts to complete picture artificial vitamins cannot replace the natural ones. Horses can live without pasture too, but the effects are devastating for their body and psyche, all the more because they are not immediately visible but they show up over the years via disease.

Psychological component of grazing is to be very highly classified. The horses come to grazing in a state of deep ease. To lower the head to graze and find an abundance of food is their primary instinct. To sort the plants with the moving lips, to find and eat these they need in this moment - is an intimate connection to nature and confidence in self. To be surrounded by their herd, to feel the security of BEING, to be able to BE a horse - all this is deeply connected to the pasture and the grazing patterns and cycles. If you experience the horses by grazing, then you feel - it is their primal need. And, it is in our primary responsibility to provide them with a living space to meet their essential needs.

Edited by Tamlyn Labuschagne Ennor

Wild horses Bosnia and Herzegowina

AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Autumn