Interesting Posts about Aromatherapy
Now you wanted an idea of essential oils and how to use with your horse if I
remember rightly .. and say a basic range of 6 or so ... so lets go ...
Aromatherapy is using pure essential oils, pure plant extracts to work on
phisiological processes in the body - either by entering the bloodstream via
skin applications where they can permeate the skin via hair follicles or by
triggering the release of neurochemicals by their scent hitting receptors in
the olfactory system in the nose .. whacking the limbic system (the old
brain responsible for feelings and flight/fight response) ...
Now you do have to be careful with essential oils.. they are intense .. some
up to 70 times stronger in their action than if you used the fresh herb ...
thats why you never need to use a lot ..
you really need to buy the pure essential oils .. some people think fragrant
oils will do the trick.. but they wont ... and you need a good source as
well..some like to extend essential oils with adulterants .. there are a few
and I might let Lisa (bride of mongo) get technical for me
now because the oils are so concentrated you dont need to use them full
strength on your horse ... i usually use a 2 - 5% dilution .. so we are
talking like one or two drops of essential oil to one millilitre of base
oil... I spoke earlier of horses skin and sensitivity so wont do again ...
oh yes you need a carrier oil to hold the essential oil to the body so they
dont evaporate off before being able to get on and thru the skin... this is
best as a cold pressed vegetable oil... or jojoba oil (though expensive) ...
dont use mineral or baby oil..it actually acts as a barrier and has an
osmotic action on the skin, drawing out water .. will not help you at all
only hinder ...
oh and if your horse gets irritated by an essential oil.. if its still on
the skin .. DO NOT try and wash off with water ... water can increase the
irritability of essential oils on the skin .. grab your milk and dilute with
that (preferably a fatty one .... ) or your unused base oil...
now those are just some precautions .. there are probably heaps more but i
am just going off my memory (too tired to drag out texts lol) ..just take
care with their use ..they are not lolly treats kiddies
Now lets look at some oils that are relatively ok ... for our four hoofed
mates ...Now I have a range of about 60 ... so will try and decide on 6 nice all
round ones ... and all applications i refer to unless stated are in dilution...
Lavender .. will take the heat out of any situation, be it physical or
emotional... I use lavender a lot - I like it in a first visit .. calms a
nervous horse ..it is also useful if I have worked a muscle deeply and
released heat .. also great combined with tea tree for rainscald .... or
fungal skin infections .. Lavender is also good at drawing bruising to the
surface ...
Basil .. is great for muscle spasms ..those ones that feel stuck and take
forever to release .. the ones that have sat there for eons ... its also
handy in a blend if you suspect your horse has a tummy ache .. but yep you
guessed i am colic paranoid .. any suspected colic demands a vet .... Basil
is also good to help focus the mind .. a must when trying to remember a
dressage test and staying focused ...
Geranium ... is a mild analgesic .. I love using this on mares .. it
balances ... moods and hormones .. and a muscle spasm in a mare seems to
respond to geranium well (though that is a purely subjective opinion) ...
geranium is also a great mediator .. helps bring resolutions in arguments or
negotiations ... Wear it if you want to contest a result
Mandarin (or Tangerine depending on which continent you are on) .. again
great with muscle tightness ... its a happy go lucky oil and uplifts
depressed moods.... and a citrus oil always seems to lighten the heavy
smells of other oils .. making the blend more acceptable to the nose ... BUT
.. have to be careful.. the pretty orange colour of this oil can worry the
owner of a grey horse .... and some citrus oils are photosenitive (remember
the 70's and sunbaking with 4711 perfume .. well one ingredient is
bergamot - another citrus oil - but wow did some people get some nasty
staining on their skin)
Tea Tree (or if Michelle is around she will tell us all about NZ's Manuka
oil) ... this is a must in all tack rooms .. first aid in a bottle .. any
sort of cut, lesion, healing wound .. and guaranteed to take the itch out of
anything ... no great mind effect .. but great for cleansing the air ... the
list of its properties is endless... lets just say a few ..antifungal,
antiviral, antibiotic, antipuritic, .... oopss my memory cells are draining
fast ...
hmmmmmmmm I think that will do for now... i have tried to keep this light
... I could go and get all technical .. but I am not here to provide a text
book lesson .. what I wanted to show was how you might apply the oils ...
but they are strong substances and should be used with respect ..
You dont need to do a full body massage on your horse covering him poll to
tail with oil...
But there are a lot of ways to incorporate aromatherapy into your masage or
grooming of your horse .. what i do is just one example ...
Soapy as I have typed this I realised how hard it is to explain in one
simple email .. if we have a history or archive somewhere on the list I did
post some goodies early in the lists life ..and Robyn posted a great one on
how to use with meridians ...
Catherine Bird, Equine Aromatherapist. Sydney, Australia
Aromatherapy for Equine Massage Therapists
The use of essential oils adds a wonderful dimension to massage therapy with
your horses.
Remember your horses skin is sensitive to topical applications, and never
apply more than what is recommended for humans. If it irritates your skin,
it will irritate your horse’s skin. Never apply essential oils undiluted to
your horse.
I find the best way to massage a horse, is to work his muscles top to tail
with oil-free hands. I have certain routines I follow, determined by what
the horse needs. For example, I may use sports massage or lymphaticdrainage.
Once I have worked the problem to a point I am happy - I then decide on my
essential oils for the massage blend to applied to the body areas that
needed extra attention. I don’t massage the horse all over with an
aromatherapy blend. I apply the aromatherapy blend to the tightest muscle
spasms, bruising or injury.
Old chronic muscle spasms respond to roman chamomile diluted in massage oil
during a treatment and then in daily applications. With responsive spasms
use basil or geranium to ease them away. The application of the essential
oils reinforces the instructions from our hands. These essential oils are
invaluable as a following treatment to myofascial release techniques.
With inflamed muscles, apply lavender to aid the healing process. Lavender
will draw out bruising and applied in a massage oil, {you don’t need to rub
into a bruise), let the massage oil be the carrier to hold the lavender to
the body until its is carried through the skin to the bruising. Mary
Schreiber’s de-swelling technique combines with the lavender application for
bruising or swellings.
If the horse’s muscle problems are due to a toxic build up of waste products
or you have released stagnant wastes from a spasm, apply juniper or
grapefruit in the massage oil to help the horse eliminate these wastes
quickly and encourage movement with lymphatic drainage.
Leaving these oils on the horse for a minimum of four hours ensure the
maximum benefit.
The final result being a relaxed horse with oil applied to his back,
shoulder or rump.
Catherine Bird, Equine Aromatherapist. Sydney, Australia
