How To Help Your Competition Horse With Natural Therapies
Keeping your competition horse in the best possible health can be a challenge.
Whether you're doing dressage, showjumping, eventing, racing or another equestrian sport. There's going to be challenges to your horse. With different disciplines placing a variety of demands on the muscles, ligaments. General fitness is a challenge too.
So what can you do? If you go to many saddleries or tack shops, you'll find a wide range of products to help. From supplements to equipment. All designed to help keep your horse in tip top condition.
There's no one therapy or product that will make definite improvement to your horse. Of course you may want to maintain your horse's existing good health, and think you need support to do that. Whether you're looking to make improvements or maintain what's working. You'll find lots of therapy and supplement choices.
Of course, good routines and high stable management standards can go a long way too!
There are so many possible therapies to help your horse. Many of which you can find online here in my Taranet Knowledge Hub (click here).
Below you can find a selection of some therapies that prove popular. Don't forget to visit the site map for the full list of therapy pages. And if you'd like help finding an equine therapist or holistic veterinary surgeon. Then please email me at info@taranet.co.uk
Below you can find a selection of some therapies that prove popular. Don't forget to visit the site map for the full list of therapy pages. And if you'd like help finding an equine therapist or holistic veterinary surgeon. Then please email me at info@taranet.co.uk
How to help your horse not to get overwhelmed
Your horse is in great shape but finds going to an event overwhelming. This is common. But there are therapies that you can use to help.
Homeopathy. This is a vast range of natural remedies. Not only useful for different ailments. But also there are some, like "Scutellaria" which are great for helping with excitability. How Will it Help Your Horse? If your horse gets very excited, then using the best remedy for a short time (1/2 hour to a few hours) beforehand can really help.
Read more about Homeopathy for animals here.
Radionics. This is a form of energy, or vibrational therapy. Radionic Practitioners identify and treat the imbalances in the patient’s energy field which lie behind the physical or psychological symptoms. How Will It Help Your Horse? If your horse gets nervous or tense in the dressage test, travelling to shows, finds it hard to concentrate in the warm-up or in the ring. Radionics may help.
Read more in the Taranet Knowledge Hub here.
Reiki. Reiki is an energy therapy, that has been used for many years to help animals. How Will It Help Your Horse? If your horse gets nervous at shows, then it can be used to help promote relaxation.
Read more in the Taranet Knowledge Hub here.
How To Help Your Horse Feel Happy To Compete
Your horse needs to feel good to compete at his (or her best). There are many therapies and supplements that you can use. Here are some of the common ones.
Physiotherapy. This is often thought of as being helpful after injury. But your horse can have physiotherapy on a routine basis. This will help avoid injuries occurring in the first place.
Read more in the Taranet Knowledge Hub here.
Equine Manual Lymph Drainage Therapy (EMLD). This therapy can be used after your horse has competed. It's useful to help after strenuous exertion. So is ideal after a competition or event.
Read more here
Hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy can help with your horse getting fit. Or as part of rehabilitation. Your horse can swim. Or go on the aqua treadmill. There are many equine hydrotherapy centres around the UK and world.
Get more information here.
How To Get The Best Supplement For Your Horse
As you'll know from looking at any equine product store, there are lots of supplements. You can find supplements for general health, hooves, respiratory, skin health and lots of other reasons too. Often they can suggest that they'll help your horse perform better. Of course without proper research no claims should be made.
But even if no claims can be made. Do supplements make a difference? If your horse is eating a good balanced diet, with great grazing and/or hay plus a good feed. Then it maybe unnecessary to supplement your horse. Even if you're competing.
It's true though that when taken for a long period of time, many horse owners to say they notice a benefit. This may correspond though with an increase in exercise/fitness (for both horse and rider), and just generally better practice, with more schooling or competing. So it's not necessarily clear cut.
If you want to use a supplement for your horse what should you look for?
- Organic ingredients. It may not be easy, but choosing a supplement that is high quality and pure is best.
- Natural - GM free. If you can't get organic, then make it easier for your horse to digest any supplement, by having natural ingredients.
- Purity. Buy a supplement without lots of additives. If you want a herbal supplement, then it should be as pure as possible only containing the necessary herbs and any oils needed to help the herbs work. Check the ingredients list, if it seems long, question why. And compare brands.
- If you compete under FEI or some national equestrian body rules, then you should check it's ok to use. And doesn't contain any ingredients that could fail a test for prohibited substances. Remember that some natural ingredients can fail a drugs test! So do check if this is essential for you.
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