 Polly has always been slightly twisted as is noticed by the way she hold her tail in a particularly high carriage. It is also often held to the left as she walks. She has tension in her shoulders and muscle along the topline undeveloped. We asked our Team Vet Annett who is also a Chiropractic Practitioner to take a look at her. Polly really is a very sensitive horse and can get anxious sometimes but Annett is a very gentle and so she relaxed into it quickly. During the session resistance was felt at Polly's rump and so we offered her Arnica cO2 (often selected for emotional and physical trauma/bruising) which she liked and worked with - indicated by inhaling and chewing. So as a chosen oil (she had turned her nose up at others), we put some on Annett's fingers and she continued to work. Annett noted an instant 'relaxation and give' in the back end, enabling her to work deeper and with more effect. Polly is on livery with us from the My Lovely Horse Rescue organisation that do sterling work in the Dublin area. Polly was rescued under traumatic circumstances during which she fell into the canal which involved significant effort by many to help her to safety. She lost her foal in the process. She has come on in leaps and bounds since she has been with us - so much so, that the lady that instigated her journey here didnt recognise her and asked us who she was!
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 CUSHINGS CASE STUDY: LORRAINE from My Lovely Horse Rescue, Dublin, Ireland. Lorraine has been with us from April 2019 and diagnosed with Cushings in 2017 by University College Dublin vets verified by ACTH levels of 163. When she came to us under a convalescence livery package, as well as having Cushings (prescribed Prascend) she had a history of issues about interacting with other horses although came with Polly who was the only one she would tolerate. Today, after a combination of Chiropractic and Zoopharmacognosy work she is now officially Cushings free with two subsequent tests showing ACTH levels under 50 (considered normal levels). All blood tests were done at the same official lab - Irish Equine Centre. MLHR decided to go the Whitethorn Approach (Zoocog & Shamanism), when Lorraine was refusing to take the Prascend tablet. It came to the point that she would run when she saw anyone entering the field with a scoop/container etc. Quite extraordinary case, I think you will agree. Having spoken to a few vets about this, words like, unbelievable, miracle etc have been used. I choose to believe that a miracle is just something we don't have the science to explain yet. And maybe we never will in my lifetime. But at the end of the day, Lorraine isn't interested in the science, just the relief of pain and suffering. And as a bonus, she will happily interact with other horses now and that anger that she arrived with has reduced significantly. Well done Lorraine, keep it up! And massive Shout Out to MLHR and the fantastic unwavering support they give to horses like Lorraine and Polly. And of course the public that give so generously to keep the MLHR doing what they do best❤️ Team Effort guys!
Rocket is a 15yr old gelded NZ Quarter horse. 🚀 Rocket really enjoys and excels at mounted games with Ian. Pre-Zoopharmacognosy session, Rocket presented with excessive frequent urination with minimal flow; skin extremely itchy resulting in multiple scabs;poor coat with minimal hair growth in winter, no mane, poor tail; detached, no interaction with horses or people - consequently very difficult to catch; unable to maintain condition. During his session (lasting 2 hours) Rocket selected extracts for emotional issues (those that are often selected for grief, trauma, fear and shock) as well as herbs that have antibacterial properties (Burdock) as well as herbs to support the immune system (nettles, hawthorn flowers, cleavers) 🌿Post-Zoopharmacognosy session (plus dedicated follow up offering by Ian for 3wks), Rocket's urinary flow is normal; skin is normal, no longer itchy, scabs gone; hair growth normal (needed to clip this winter!); interacts with people and easy to catch; 50% reduction in hard feed to maintain condition. Well done Team Hyland, great work! 👏👏👏   On my soapbox ! 2017 was an incredible year - and to say the least, a very busy year with plenty of learning and fun with lively Equine & Canine workshops here in Sligo, as well as traveling the length and breadth of the country to help bring wild 'medicine' into stables and homes. As always there were challenging cases (trauma from a cliff fall), heart warming moments (customs dog discovering it was ok to clock off and play), extraordinary cases (speedy infected fetlock wound recovery) and times in stables when I thought I was moments away from frost bite and hypothermia!  Jasper selecting at the Canine Wksp Whilst every case is as unique as the animal itself, one aspect that always stays constant is the accuracy with which a horse or dog selects from the kit. I appreciate that this takes quite a leap of faith for those new to this concept and I applaud those newcomers to Zoopharmacognosy for taking the plunge and trusting - even for myself it wasn't until I had seen quite a few animals select that I could actually believe that they were differentiating between the extracts. I was a real 'doubting Tomas' for quite a while! This method of telling us what they need often gives us insight in to what sometimes we cannot see or know. It is well known that animals often hide pain so as not to appear vulnerable (which could be fatal in the wild) so in these instances Zoocog is invaluable.  Annett the Vet So what of 2018 ? - Equine First Aid Workshops, more Equine & Canine Zoopharmacognosy Workshops, demo's and talks! We are delighted that Vet Annett Siggins is coming on board to help us with Equine First Aid workshops - contents will include such topics as 'What to do whilst waiting for the vet' for emergencies such as fractures, colic, choke etc. Vital signs vs abnormal signs, wound care, bandaging etc.. Annett is not only a very experienced vet but a qualified Equine Chiropractor and has also recently trained in Equine Kinesiology Taping. She also has a wonderful smile and a beautifully gentle way about her that animals respond to very positively. We also welcome Georgina Izatt to the Team - she will take care of our social media as well as helping out at demo's, workshops etc. She comes with buckets of energy and enthusiasm and runs rings around the rest of us! A 'Plant Extracts for Conditions' reference book for the stable is also in the pipeline. And of course, we intend to keep supplying premium quality plant extracts through our online shop whitethornherbals.com So - a busy year ahead! I would like to finish by saying a big Thank You to all of you that connected with us during 2017 and played your part in making 2017 the success that it was.
In whatever capacity it might have been - whether it was attending a demo/talk, a workshop or simply making an enquiry that gave us the opportunity to learn how to, quite simply, do better at what we do, so thank you! Carly and the Whitethorn Team  This is Pablo – a 22yr old Cob gelding from a treking centre. He came to us in September of last year because the owner of the treking centre said he had had a hard year and infact he did look pretty tired and shut down when he arrived. He wouldn't interact with any of the other horses and just ate and stood away from the others. He also had a history of Urinary problems. His presenting symptom’s included pain over the kidney area and wouldn't tolerate any pressure (noted when grooming) and very thick yellow custardy-type urine. Sometimes he would strain to pee and always made an awkward skewered type of stance to facilitate stalling. And with the winter that we had there was significant rain scald to tackle thrown in for good measure -again particularly over the kidney area.
 Topper and his Barley Grass smile ! We were happy to have Topper, a 26yr old gelded cob from Island View riding stables to stay over winter. Topper spent his working life giving Tourists rides on the beach in Blackpool promenade and is now in retirement. His passion for Barley Grass was only equaled by his passion for banging his legs on the ground to relieve his itchy legs......  Whitethorn Farm at the base of Knocknashee Last weekend we held the first Equine Zoopharmacognosy Workshop at Whitethorn Farm. It was an absolute resounding success, with participants from a wide range of the equestrian world – including veterinary, supplement manufacturers and medicinal herbalists.
Participants journeyed from as far as Wexford and Cork to spend two days learning the theory and practice of Applied Zoopharmacognosy. The first day kicked off with a presentation giving an insight as to how and why and on why horses self-medicate. This was followed by a demonstration with a mare Tizzy, that we have worked with previously. She selected mostly supporting constitutional herbs.  Had an interesting result with calming essential oils this morning. Although the story started three days ago when I long-reined a feisty mare along the lanes that was spooked by a scattering flock of sheep. To cut a long story short this culminated in an unplanned pirouette that Camilla Speirs would be proud of, followed by me water-skiing along behind for 10m's, an equine equivalent of a hand-break turn, and then a U turn to finally examine the 'woolly monsters' that were disappearing over the hill at a brake-neck speed. We recovered well and returned home. Today, whilst tacking up I could see the anxiety levels rising, so I offered Frankincence (for fear), Jasmine (for comfort), Valerian (for calming) and Violet leaf (for anticipated fear). After inhaling and injesting in varying combinations, she plodded out onto the lanes like an old granny, not once suspecting the sheep of ambushing us - she was an absolute paragon of virtue and a delight to work with! TEAM SHEEP-BUSTER !
Warning to competitors: Valerian is on the anti-doping list for performance horses and is considered a controlled substance
The approach of Carly Hillier and Whitethorn Equine Health really help my 7 year old jumping mare. "Lux Easy" injured her suspensory ligament on her left front leg about 12 months ago. After a resting period of 9 month I took her back into work. Even though the ligament was fully healed, the two front fetlock joints started to swell up all the time but mostly after hard training or a jumping show. I brought her to different Vets and got her joints injected. Despite all efforts the swelling never went down fully. As a last resort I called Carly and her legs improved nearly instantly. Now about 8 weeks later Luxy and I are back jumping 1.20m classes:-) So thank you very much Carly!!!  |
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July 2020
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