On Saturday Migs & I attended the BHS’s (British Horse Society) “What’s the ALternative Show” at Shuttleworth’s equine unit, in Bedfordshire, UK.

This was the second year it was run & Jasper’s Shiatsu therapist Louise Ledwith was exhibiting, as were the feed system we use, Simple Systems.

We thought it would be a great chance to learn a bit more about the other alternative therapies available to horses, meet some of our local therapists & see some of the demonstrations. Mig’s is particularly interested in essential oils as she has used them on both herself & her pets for many years.

There were some really interesting therapists, who were all keen to share their passion for both horses & a alternative, holistic approach to their care & management.

I had a great chat with a remedial saddle fitter called Lavinia Mitchell, who is actually a good friend of Louise’s. It was truly inspiring to see some of her pictures & case studies. I had always known that a good fitting saddle was important, but it was shocking to see how much of an impact even a slightly mis-fitted saddle can have on a horse overall. Not just the obvious back pain & muscle problems, but reduced muscle across the quarters & through the chest, even causing high head carriage, angling the shoulders more & a shortened stride. I will definitely be keeping her card for future use.

A particular favourite of mine was Dena Schwartz, who we were able to see do a demonstration, she offers both herbal & essential oils to horses, allowing them to self-select their treatments & the dosages required. She had 2 lovely equine assistants, who happily demonstrated that whilst one animal might require one treatment it would be turned down by the other, depending on the individual needs of the horses, she even had everyone in the audience trying the herbs (well the dried rosehips at least, which I thought tasted like sundried tomato).

I had been hoping that I would find someone who could help me further with Jasper, as although Carole at Heathy Beast has been fantastic, Jasper has completely gone off the oils she has recommended & I want to have someone who is local enough that they can come visit Jasper & we can offer him a range of options, so that we are able to keep moving forward with the progress we have made. So I’ve booked an appointment with Dena & she will be coming out to see both Jasper & Dexter next week, so fingers crossed.

There were many other interesting therapists there, demonstrating both therapies I was familiar with, like equine body work, mctimoney & tellington touch & others like Iridology, which I had never heard of but found completely fascinating.

I hope that they hold another event next year as I would definitely be keen to go again & see some more of the demonstrations & chat to some of the other exhibitors who I didn’t have time for this year. It was a really interesting day & I congratulate the organisers & BHS for recognising the important part these therapist can play in helping to both heal & maintain your horses in their optimal health without having to resort to drugs, unless absolutely necessary.

Next week I’ll let you know how we got on with Dena’s visit. Until then.

With Love

Fiona & Jasper