We know you'll want to rush out to the barn or the back forty to try the acupressure tips in this month's newsletter! Before you do, check out our new line of Zephyr's Garden products, handmade in small batches by one woman in love with horses and on a quest for natural remedies. After that, enjoy this brief but touching video featured on our new Equisports Massager page.
If you feel as encouraged as we do by these natural tips and products, share them with your riding buddies! Just use the forwarding controls at the bottom of this email.
Always delighted to serve you,
The Gals at Long Riders Gear
About our contributing author, Mary D. Midkiff
As the creator and founder of the Women & Horses fitness and performance program, Mary D. Midkiff is known as a pioneer in the horse industry. A lifelong horsewoman, Mary is a professional instructor, clinician, trainer, and author of She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch A Woman's Soul and Fitness, Performance and The Female Equestrian. She specializes in taking a holistic approach to conditioning and training horses, creating a deep bonding partnership between horse and human, and providing information, techniques and resources for the female equestrian. You may visit Mary's website at www.WomenAndHorses.com.
Mary with her horse, Redge.
Access the Nervous System Through Acupressure
by Mary D. Midkiff
When horses are 'out of their bodies' they can
be very dangerous. They become pushy, they forget where their
feet are and can step all over you, they throw their massive
weight around and toss and jerk their heads above or out of your
reach.
I often think how wonderful it would be if all horse people knew
a few acupressure and massage techniques to help them through
these difficult situations.
There are three acupressure spots that are the easiest and most
helpful for you to learn. First of all, if you know of someone
who practices equine acupuncture ask them to help you identify
some of these points and secondly remember you do not need a
great deal of pressure to stimulate a chemical release.
The point I find the most useful is approximately four inches
down the neck behind the poll/ear area. There are points in the
same location on both sides of the neck, so use either one or
try alternating and see how responsive your horse is to one side
or the other. Run your fingers along the neck muscles from the
poll toward the shoulder and see if you can find a "hole or
hollow" that feels the size of a quarter in between the muscles.
Again have an acupuncture specialist help you identify these
points to be sure. Using two fingers, the index and middle together, move your fingers around that 'hole' or acupressure point until your fingers find the indentation. Now press
lightly and hold. Even if the horse objects and moves around
stay with it and don't release. Hold at least 30 seconds for
the chemicals to travel throughout the system. You will do less
and less as the horse becomes accustomed to acupressure. For
instance, on my horse, I simply touch the spot and she relaxes.
Slowly release the point and walk your horse around on a long
loose lead. Let him think about what has just happened. You
should see one or all of the following: lowering of the head,
relaxation and an "inward" look to the eyes, rolling or blinking
of the eyes, relaxed ears, licking and chewing with the mouth,
snorting or sneezing, shaking the head and neck, yawning
and releasing a breath.
Once the horse is quiet and calm, try it again and see how he
responds. Use this technique anytime you are in a potentially
stressful situation or when the horse seems confused or afraid.
It can help especially with farrier and vet visits, and with
starting gate and roping chute issues. Start this technique
when your horses are very young and continue it throughout their
lives. It's always there as a ready tool for you.
Two more helpful spots or points are the hollow spaces above the
eyes, and hollow spaces in front of and behind the ears. Use
the same technique as with the upper neck.
Give these acupressure tips a try!
Natural Horse Sense Tip from Mary D. Midkiff
Instead of worming every 8 weeks or using daily wormers, why not have your horse tested?
Horsemen's Laboratory offers a service of checking your horse’s worm levels every three months. For $12 per test, the lab will send you a kit for you to take a small manure sample and mail it to them. The kit includes the baggie, a scooper, a plastic container and a postage-paid return envelope. You get the results back quickly via email or snail mail. If the horse is negative there is no need to worm. If it is positive they will tell you which worms to de-worm. I have been using this lab for many years and prefer it to giving the horse toxins when he may not need them.
www.HorsemensLab.com | 800.544.0599
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