Traveling to summer shows and events can be exciting, but for our horses, it often comes with a heavy load of emotional and physical stress. Here are some key things to consider when prepping your horse for summer travel, and the strategies I’ve personally used to help mine stay healthy, limber, and ready to shine.

In this episode, our founder, April Love, shares valuable information on maintaining the well-being of older horses, focusing on a simple recipe for a vegan fat source. The discussion delves into practical tips for horses with missing teeth, difficulty gaining weight, and the importance of identifying and addressing insulin resistance.

Saddle fit isn’t just about the saddle — it’s about the ever-changing body of the horse beneath it. While it’s tempting to invest in custom saddles or quick fixes like padded inserts, lasting comfort and performance come from addressing the root of the issue: your horse’s physical balance and symmetry.

When a horse shows signs of lameness, pinpointing the exact cause can be challenging due to compensatory mechanisms. Horses often redistribute weight and movement to avoid pain, making the actual injury difficult to locate. Here’s a practical step-by-step guide to help you identify the root cause of lameness in horses.

Kissing spine sounds terrible and it can end your horse’s career by causing bucking or bolting under saddle which can be extremely dangerous to the rider. When the vertebrae’s bony parts, called the “spinous process,” are too close together, they rub against each other, causing friction and heat. This leads to calcium buildup, resulting in calcification that can almost fuse the vertebrae in some areas. The irritation a horse experiences from kissing spine would be similar to you having a back spasm or herniated disc!

Many people talk about the hyoid as the cause of an issue. The equine industry has established that the hyoid is connected not only directly to the tongue, forelimb, and poll but also indirectly to the hindquarter. However, looking at this from a holistic perspective, it is also important to consider what else the hyoid is affected by. The prominent first rib misalignment, as we talk about so often here at Holistic Horseworks, will not only impact the front end of the horse but also back to the hind end and even all the way up to the hyoid.

Every season, I hear from folks battling mosquitoes, flies, and ticks in the barn, garden, and pasture. Over the years, I’ve found a few easy tricks that make a big difference. If you’re tired of swatting bugs during barn chores or want to keep your horses happy and itch-free, these are the solutions I use myself, and they work!

Does your black horse fade to brown in the summer? In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, April discusses how the color change is likely due to a copper deficiency in the horse’s diet. She suggests feeding the horse Dynamite Liquid Trace Minerals once a week to provide the necessary copper and prevent the fading of its black coat.

As the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, it’s time to give our equine companions the extra care they need to thrive during the summer months. From hoof health to hydration and performance support, here’s a quick guide to tuning up your horse for the season ahead.

notually, it is a few HOURS before the vet can get to you, so what can you do to help your horse while waiting? Recently, I worked on some horses that were distressed with colic symptoms while I was at their farm. The first gelding, we got out of the colic by the time...