Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

Saddle fit is a huge issue for horse owners. A lot of people go and spend a whole lot of money trying to get the perfect fitting saddle.

Often, it’s not the saddle that needs changing — it’s the horse's body! I've noticed a lot of things are passed off as behavioral and training issues. When you go to put a saddle on the horse's back and they pin their ears and swish their tail, they are telling you that they know it's gonna hurt!

Put your horse on a flat hard surface, stand about 10 feet back, maybe up on a mounting block and look at your horse's butt, back, withers and shoulders. There's nothing symmetrical there; one hip will probably be higher, one side of the rib cage is higher, etc. When one shoulder is bigger, that's means that side is working harder.

The withers might also be off-center. When you put a straight-tree saddle on that and you girth them up really tight, you're forcing the horse's body to meet the underside of the saddle instead of the other way around.
 
I’ve worked on horses whose owners went out and spent $3,500 or $5,000 on custom-fit new dressage or show saddles. After a 45-minute to an hour bodywork session, they're like, “Oh, no! The horse is now straight and the saddle that I just had custom-made for his back is no longer going to fit!”

Instead of chasing saddle fit, you should look at all my free Youtube videos and look at HorseAcademy101.com so you can ride in your favorite saddle.

I rode more than 40,000 miles in endurance competition. I always did it in treeless saddles after learning all of this because your horse’s shape is going to be different every day.
My level one Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding program is now a certified modality on its own. 

So instead of chasing saddle fit, fix your horse first and you're going to have a happy healthy horse sound and rideable through their 30s

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

Many internal parasites are building up resistance to chemical paste wormers, so how can you control parasites naturally?

Remember, the paste wormers available on the market are poison!

 There are other ways to keep the horse healthy so they don't pick up parasites in the first place. I prefer the daily add to feed de-wormer, such as Dynamite Excel, which is a digestive aid but also has diatomaceous earth in it to control parasites without the poison.

Dynamite also has an immune booster. We noticed that copper-deficient horses tend to have more parasites. In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, I talk about how to tell if your horse is copper-deficient.

I feed the Dynamite liquid trace minerals to correct the copper deficiency along with other essential minerals.

Oregano oil is also a natural way to control parasites, but that does burn the lip lining of the horse's mouth so you have to mix it with something else, like molasses to syringe it to them.

For tapeworms, you still need to use an Ivermectin paste gold or similar product. However, you may not need to give one horse the whole tube for a 1,400lb horse. I do fecal counts to determine how much parasite infestation they have and then judge how much wormer they actually need. I was able to do three horses with one tube, based on their actual parasite load.

If I have to use a chemical wormer, then I will detox the horse afterward. I will also give him a probiotic for a few days since the gut flora has been destroyed by the chemical poisons.

A few times a year I do a fecal based on the schedule of the full moon as more eggs hatch on a full moon cycle. Did you know that? And that the full moon is the best time to worm to be more effective?
 

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

In this episode, we'll explore the topic of mysterious lameness in horses and how to effectively uncover and address the root cause. April Love, an expert in holistic horse care, shares her insights and techniques for identifying the true source of lameness, which is often different from the apparent location of the issue.

Key points covered in the episode include:

• Understanding how horses compensate for injuries by overworking other areas, leading to apparent lameness in different parts of the body.
• Identifying overcompensation and muscle tightness as clues to the real problem area.
• Recommended products that can help pinpoint the affected area.
• Tracing the cause of lameness back to the root problem, such as misalignment or inability of one area to perform its function.
• Uncovering and addressing multiple sources of lameness simultaneously.

Throughout the discussion, April emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to horse care and the need to understand the underlying causes of lameness, rather than just treating the symptoms. If you're struggling with mysterious lameness in your horse, this is an episode you'll want to listen to!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dynamite Release Spray: https://bit.ly/release-spray
• Dynamite Liquid Trace Minerals: https://bit.ly/hhw-dynamite-trace-minerals
• Bigeloil Oil (available at your local feed store)
• Horse 102 Book: https://amzn.to/3P40y7a
• How to Palpate for Lameness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lJKTZOAotU

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, I talk about sunburn on light-skinned horses.

Many light-colored horses and those with a lot of white on their face are prone to getting a sunburn on their noses and around the eyes.  | Sunburn is not only painful, it can lead to skin cancer.

You can’t put lotion on their noses, they will just rub it off - probably on you! Or the toxic chemical can get in the drinking water when they submerge their nose.

The best way to prevent sunburn is to prevent exposure to the sun.I have found Equivizor makes the most amazing face masks. They have ones that cover the nose. I got them because I had a black and white Pinto with a pink nose and a white Arabian with a pink nose. So I could have that Velcro piece on but if it got if they stepped on it or anything, it would just come off. 

And I could also trim it because one of my Arabians had a short little nose. 

You may have noticed that a month after you put on a new fly mask, it will have little holes over the eyes. It's because people aren't trimming those very long brow lashes that come down when they put the fly masks on. 

Then the fly mask bends that around and jabs him in the eye all day or is tickling your eyelashes. So if you notice that when you take off the fly mask, those long lashes are bending down into their eyes.

You can take a pair of scissors and just trim them short if they're going to have fly masks on every day. You always have to be careful about what you put near your horse’s eyes. When the horse starts to sweat, whatever ointment you use will get into their eyes and you’ll have constant eye issues.
 

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, I talk about horses that stumble.

When horses have issues with stumbling, most people would guess that the problem is in the feet. right? You have been told your horses' toes are too long and the farrier needs to cut them back. 

But 4 weeks later it is happening all over again!

How the horse stands on the hoof 24 hours a day and how they load the hoof is how the hoof is going to grow. So when they're stumbling, they're going to have a low heel and a long toe. That's like you having a size 8 foot and wearing size 12 shoes. You're going to have to really pick the joints up higher to not trip on your own toes right?

The farrier can cut into the toe and set the shoe back, but it's still not changing the body issues that are creating the long toes in the first place. I always talk about the first rib misalignment. When the rib is misaligned, it makes it harder for the horse to pick up the shoulder and move it through. With all the compensations going on in the body your horse will develop low heel and ling toe syndrome.

The rider will think the horse is heavy on the forehand, or they need to do exercises with the horse walking over poles to get them to pick up their knees. It doesn’t help because it’s the shoulder not moving correctly, because it can't get around the first rib.

Until you change how the body is standing on that hoof 24 hours a day, shoeing is not going to solve the problem long-term. 

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

Does your horse feel sluggish to you? Many riders may think the horse is just being stubborn, but it’s more likely the horse is unable to move freely, rather than choose not to.

Recently at a barn, while I was working on horses I looked up and noticed there was a big tall thoroughbred in the arena who just didn't want to go and I could tell his hips and neck, and the rest of his body was out of alignment making proper movement possible. The rider was whipping him, and forcing the horse to do the move again and again in the heat, trying to get him to do the move correctly, and I had to turn away. The horse was not physically able to do what the rider wanted because it caused him pain to do so.

This hurts my heart when I see this again and again and the horse is mislabeled lazy or stubborn. How would you feel if someone says, ‘Hey, let's go for a run or a bike ride.’ And you're like, “Yeah, I really don't want to.” Then they whip you and make you do it anyway.

But if you do my bodywork program, and you do the horse yoga, your horse will be light and free. I used to do 50-mile endurance rides. Other riders noticed that I never needed to kick my horses to get them moving.

So when they're sluggish and lethargic, and heavy in the hind, and heavy on the forehand, you need to look into the body issues of why.
 
In summer, it may also be electrolytes out of balance. Giving a horse too many electrolytes will cause diarrhea. If you work them really hard, just give them electrolytes a little the night before and later that day. I prefer the Dynamite Dyna Spark which is in a liquid electrolyte in an organic molasses base and the horses just love it!

Also, do the horse yoga to make sure everything's working well. And then look into how much they're eating and drinking. Because when you d

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, I talk about itchy horses

It’s summertime and many horse owners are noticing their horses rubbing their tails or their faces, even to the point of rubbing themselves raw. They're very sensitive to flies and other things in their environment. The issue may be an autoimmune disorder or allergies. It can be environmental but it may also be a cranial sacral problem.

Click here to see my page about autoimmune issues in horses caused by a past pull back when tied trauma - causing future health issues.

You can start by trying to control the fly population using Diatomaceous Earth in the pasture on the fresh poop piles, and within 21 days, you'll have fewer flies.

You may notice that some horses have a lot more flies than others. This horse has a lower immune system and is probably mineral deficient. Low copper can lead to having a higher parasite load. I add the Dynamite liquid trace minerals to their feed 2 FULL dropper full for 10 days and this usually clears up and may help some horses that do a lot of head tossing when being ridden.

For itchy skin, rubbing out mane, threadworms in the neck area, I use DoTERRA essential oils such as tea tree oil or melaleuca, and lavender. Fill a 32-ounce spray bottle with water, and put about 15 or 20 drops of each oil. And you can spray it on the horse, rub it in and let it dry. It's very good for sunburn, or bugs, and for helping s

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

If you can't get someone to come out to do bodywork on your horse, you can learn how to do it yourself at home or a clinic.

Live help is so challenging to find these days. Some clinicians want you to buy their DVD or package and then — Good luck! I can help you through all the steps and you can send me a picture of your horse for a recheck to make sure you got everything correctly.

How did I develop this program? I used to sell treeless saddles. The clients were sending me pictures of their horses. I noticed the ewe necks the roach backs, and the feet that were off angles. The owners thought they needed a treeless saddle to fit their crooked horse.

You actually need to fix the crooked horse if you want them to last longer. If you get on a bucket about 10 feet behind your horse and you look at your horse's back, you'll see one hip higher, one side of the back lower one shoulder bigger. When you look at the withers, there'll be a curvature of the spine like scoliosis, and part of the mane might flip to the other side.

I had taken a course with Kelley Mills and Dr. Regan Golob. They had given us some mane hairs and a pendulum and said, to ask a whole bunch of “yes” or “no” questions about a horse. When you ask the question, the way the pendulum swings determines if the answer is yes or no. I thought it was weird, but we did it. And then we got to go out and meet the horse. The pendulum was right on! All the health issues we asked about were correctly identified.

Because people kept sending me pictures of their horses, I'd tell them to get some bodywork. And they would say, “But I'm way out in the country, and nobody will come out here!” Or “it's $300 for a horse chiropractor, and I don't have that money. How am I going to fix my own horse?”

So that's what made me put out my first video and later my home study courses.
I found that it wasn't a training or behavioral issue, it was the horse trying to say that something hurt or it was uncomfortable to move a certain way.

My whole program has grown from that. In the distance reading, you send me left- and right-side pictures of the horse after trying the methods in the video and the workbook. I can see if the horse is in alignment. If not I can tell you where work needs to be done.

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

Is your older horse showing signs of stiffness, arthritis, or even tripping more?
With some weekly preventative care, you can add years to your horse's joy and ease of movement.

The reason that they're getting arthritic ahead of time is because the joints haven't been loading correctly so let's look at that AND simple easy things you can do for them. Anytime you have joints and bones not loading correctly, it creates heat and the body sends calcium to heat. So that's how your osteoarthritis grows, which is like a coral reef. It's porous. It's sharp, it can pinch on nerves. Also, this includes issues like Sidebone, Ringbone, arthritic knees, and hocks.

No matter the age of your horse, you can start at just 5 years of age, if you follow some of these simple things this does not have to be the outcome! You can do some things to help your horse's body move with joy and ease!

Doing my daily yoga would really help, but the yoga is to show you that there is a deeper glitch somewhere.

Note: If you board your horse, and your body is not able to do the yoga, then find a teenager needing financial support for her horse or her riding lessons and pay her $20 or so to do the yoga on your horse 3-4 days a week.

This helps the whole community and helps teach the younger riders better horse care.‌I can help you figure out where the glitch is with a distance reading. Along with my videos, you can re-align the horse's body and bring it back to balance. That is going to give your horse another 5-10 useful years.

When people say, “My horse can't do this anymore,“ I will tell them that his body is not able to move that way right now, but we can change it!

The worst thing you can do is take a prized show horse and just throw him out to pasture. He’s used to being groomed, bathed, and fly sprayed. Then all of a sudden, he’s alone, not getting love, and he’s getting tick bites and flies. They really just feel like they’ve been thrown away.
It doesn't have to be that way. The younger the horse is when you start doing the bodywork, the longer they will move with joy and ease. You can start as early as just 6 months of age as most foals are already out of alignment by then and that starts the high-low hoof syndrome.| 


In this podcast, I also share tips on helpfu

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!

Colic is a major concern for any horse owner. Usually, 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 the vet arrived 2 hours later. In this picture above we are combining my horse yoga moves, the butt tuck, and belly lift, which can move the blockage around to let the gas pass. (Watch this)

In my horse emergency kit, I have DoTERRA DigestZen. It's an essential oil, it tastes like black licorice. I let them smell it and then I put the bottle in their mouth to let it come out. I then put it on my hand and I rub it all over their belly, especially on the belly button area. It's amazing for helping to relieve the pain from blockage causing bloating and gas.

As we walked the horse around, we did the Horse Yoga every 5-10 min and gave more of the DigestZen.

By the way, DigestZen also works great for people that have gas and bloating!!

When colic strikes, the horse wants to drop and roll because its stomach is bloated and hurting so much. There's some kind of blockage going in on in there. Unfortu

To keep learning about horses:
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://horseacademy101.com/
• Shop videos & courses: https://holistichorseworks.com/store/
• See the global clinic schedule: https://holistichorseworks.com/clinic-schedule/
• Visit the HHW website: https://holistichorseworks.com/

🎉📱 Now available— Holistic Horseworks Remedies! A new app for remedial horse therapy, from nose to tail, hoof to withers. This is your 24/7 horse wellness guide, loaded with everything you need to spot issues before they become big problems.

• Search by symptom and discover natural remedies, stretches, and support
• Watch videos & listen to podcasts on real-life horse health breakthroughs
• Get step-by-step help to keep your horse balanced, comfortable, and thriving
• Enjoy insider offers on Holistic Horseworks programs & products
• Save precious time and money on vet visits by catching things early
• All for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month.

📲 Plus, your first 7 days on the app are free!

Download it now: app.holistichorseworks.com