Non-aggression with a Tumor

"Breath of Snow" (Snookie) was my Appaloosa Eventer given to me by my father in 1973 as the colt was weaned. I raised him, started him under saddle, competed him all over the Southwest and adored him for almost 30 years. In his early 20's he developed a raw tumor on his sheath that grew to the size of a softball. I had it surgically removed. It returned shortly after. Excised it again. It started growing back. My Veterinarian warned me that she could only remove it once more because the scar tissue beneath it was extensive...

I decided to work on a gentler way of addressing it before it got huge again (see first photo). I'm an herbalist. Trained by my grandmother and many other practitioners, I'm not certified, but I'm experienced. With guidance from Spirit, I took chamomile blossoms (they draw things to the surface), juniper berries (they cleanse the blood) and red wine (it preserves, suspends and amplifies properties) and created a skin tonic that actually drew out, reduced and finally eliminated the tumor. (see second photo)

A riding student's gelding who had a huge tumor inside his sheath used my remedy to save his life. I taught how to make it at my animal healing classes at the College and a lady in Mesilla actually started selling the ingredients with directions for making the tonic! A friend with a kennel was making it when I met her!! I have sold it to Veterinarians (the ones who knew the riding student's horse!) and taught hundreds of people how to make it.

This experience has a thread of compassion that runs through it. The remedy did not attack the tumors. The surgeries that were so aggressive did not solve the problems. Perhaps surgeries followed by use of the skin tonic prevented reoccurring tumors - but the drawing and detoxing affect of this simple little remedy brought real improvement in all the cases I'm familiar with to date.

I'm not saying this will cure cancers or even remove tumors. I'm saying I have seen it happen and I have lots of people who have seen it, too. Some humans like to see the ugliness disappear immediately. Some humans need a team of doctors to explore every allopathic avenue. Everyone must follow their own path. I offer my story here because of the non-aggressive, very effective outcome it produced (and continues to produce for others).

The recipe is: one big handful of chamomile, one big handful of juniper berries simmered for 20 minutes in a bottle of red wine (covered, non-metal pot), then left to sit overnight. Strain it well and apply to the area with cotton, a sponge or from a spray bottle. I applied it 4 times daily to Snookie's sheath.

Peace ~ Katharine

Spiral Exercises for Horses

Spiral Exercises – support balance & suppleness in the horse

The Spiral Exercise, done correctly on the longe line or under saddle, has the potential to teach softness and create better balance in the horse. It must be built up in intensity over a gradual period since the movement itself requires strength and lateral stepping that is both tiring and stretches the musculature deeply.

On the longe, your horse needs to have the basic discipline of circling you at even paces, remaining at a set distance from you on a consistently round circle. To spiral in, you drive for a bit more energy by stepping slightly toward his haunches as you shorten the line just a bit – asking him to make a smaller, concentric circle just inside the base circle by stepping half his energy forward, half his energy sideways.

Do this in stages at first, maintaining the next size circle once around, then ask for a bit smaller bend – until you have brought the horse to a smaller, but not tight circle (the tighter the circle, the more stress there is on joints, especially the stifle – so build up gradually to condition the horse). Then spiral out by feeding a little line as you lean toward his middle to encourage the horse’s whole body to step outward, creating the next concentric circle, and so on…

For the longe work, you can place cones to mark the circles (small, medium, large circles) that you direct the horse through by placing him between cones that establish the desired size circle.

These exercises (on the longe and when ridden) should be schooled well at the walk before trot and schooled well at the trot before canter.

To spiral under saddle, establish your base circle at the walk. Ask the horse to move in gradually with your weight on your inside sitting bone, active outside leg pressure just behind the girth (to maintain bend and keep the haunches from swinging) and an active, spongy inside rein; stretched, supporting outside rein. Your horse should “half-pass” in – maintaining the inside bend that increases as the circle becomes smaller. Driving aids are needed (encouragement!) because the tighter bends require more energy. Think of half his energy going forward, half his energy going sideways. Imagine that a man is standing at the center of your circle with a rope tied around your waist and is slowly pulling you and your horse inward from your center.

Spiral out by shifting your weight to the outside sitting bone, inside leg becomes active, inside rein actively maintains bend and the outside rein is stretched to regulate the horse’s forward motion. You do a “leg yield” out. Imagine the man in the center of your circle now has a pole and he is pushing you and the horse outward from your hip.

Do these exercises equally in each direction (to the left and to the right on the circle), even if your horse is stiff to one side. Doing them equally each way really will even him up over time because the exercise stretches the outside of his body, contracts the inside of his body and weights the “power leg” (the inside hind leg) and doing this evenly will help his stiff side. Working a stiff side “extra” to develop it can actually make the horse even more stiff in that direction.

A great spiral exercise to use after the horse is going well and he seems supple and content is to spiral in at the trot to a medium size circle (15 meters or about 45 feet diameter), ask for a canter depart and then spiral out at canter; return to trot on the large, base circle.

When you feel that your horse understands the spiraling and he is enjoying the process, you can move on to other lateral exercises and his balance will be really great!

We recommend longeing with a Boundary Halter – its ability to squeeze the horse’s head if he pulls or bolts; but release the moment he yields can help you stay at the center of the circle without being jerked or pulled around.

Finding Strength

When I was 13 years old I fell through a plate glass window beside the glass doors at the entrance of my grandfather's home. This severed every nerve, tendon and blood vessel at my wrist and cracked the bones. They had to reach to my elbow to retrieve the tendons to reattach them and I lost so much blood I had to be transfused for hours before my surgery. Surgeons did an amazing job reconnecting things and, in time, my arm healed and my hand started working - little by little. But it was never totally strong or agile again. My other hand (the right one) had to do double duty and it stayed strained and often cramped just like the left hand.
I was a rider. Horses were my life. As a competitor, I struggled to keep horses even. They always knew one hand was very weak - but often, they worked to help me! As a trainer, I had much frustration trying to hold onto young horses that were simply fresh or got spooked. Chains were awkward and inappropriate; ordinary rope halters didn't work; longeing in a bridle put pressure on young mouths... I was desperate for a way to enhance my strength without hurting the horses. I started trying different techniques of using a smooth, soft rope like a "war bridle" but without anything in the mouth. I created a "Peace Bridle" and later, the "Boundary halter". It is simple (we like simple!) and it gave me the leverage I needed in many situations.
This halter helped many clients keep hold of their horses at times when a loose horse could have meant tragedy. It wasn't meant to be left on a loose horses nor for tying - but as a training tool for in-hand work, it finally helped me become "stronger" and no longer were my hands aching at night, swollen and twisted by a simple jerk from the horse on a line!
The photo is of a horse being longed in the simple Boundary Halter.