My pony who suffers from Sweet
Itch during the hot weather was finding it a particularly bad day
and was rubbing her left shoulder very intensively against one of the
fence posts. This was a determined scratch that was done at a 45 degree
angle with one front leg crossed under the other. I moved her from the
post a couple of times but she immediately went back. The grazing
breather was put on and she returned to the post to resume her
scratching. However the remarkable thing was that she arrived at the
post (probably 10 sec after the breather was fitted) and suddenly
realised she no longer wanted to scratch. She wandered off and started
grazing. The immediate effect the breather had on her was quite
noticeable.
Her condition has improved no
end since starting the breathing and I hope that in time she won’t
feel the sunny days to be a problem as they have been in the past.
Rose, Hampshire, UK
----------------------------------
July 2008
Having
searched for years Natalie despaired of finding a way to help her horse
recover from post viral lethargy, poor immune response, over weight and
irritability. After starting Equine Breathing she emailed;
"I can’t
tell you how much you are helping me and Jack and feel that I have found
the lifeline I have been searching for...
I feel like I am
'seeing' a different horse under my very nose each time I go to the
farm.. and each new day I wonder what has in store for us both ... :-)
"
“I
use the Grazing Breather on several of my horses who were wary of human
contact around the head area. One mare in particular who has breathing
problems and head shaking during the spring and summer really
enjoys wearing the grazing breather and relaxes completely when it's on.
In fact she even walked over to the fence when I was putting it on
another pony and seemed to ask to wear it herself. I did put it on her
and she walked off and went to sleep. Her headshaking has improved
immensely as has her general demeanour around the other horses. Where
she previously had been grumpy and aggressive, she is now much
calmer and doesn't react to every situation as if it was a life
threatening situation.”
Jane,
Hampshire, UK
----------------------------------
1 March 2008
“Puzzle has recently
arrived on my yard and with more than a few issues!!! Puzzle is a
delightful 16.1 chestnut wbxtb type and he told me in no uncertain terms
from the very beginning that life made him pretty anxious. I left
him with the herd for about 2 weeks to chill and make friends and then
began very gentle groundwork with him (he has been backed but no one has
been on him for 3 years)
To begin with everything made
him scared, cross or both but we took it all slowly. We
were in the round pen and he wasn't listening and his energy levels were
sky high when I suddenly thought of you.
We quietly began 1N and after
a short while his breathing relaxed. We both stood there enjoying
our moment together and by the end of it his head was lowered and he was
the most relaxed I'd seen him.
Now we regularly have a
little bit of this special time together and I'm convinced he looks
forward to it. (I know I do :-) )
So thank you from Puzzle and
myself for showing him how to breath again.”
Trudi
decided to use Equine Breathing to help her 14 year old
Thoroughbred PJ. Trudi bought PJ (an ex racehorse) 12 weeks ago
and is very pleased with him overall but found he had one problem - separation
anxiety - as she explains below.
"The only problem I have
with him is that when I take his paddock buddy out for a ride without
him he gets very stressed. This can range from running the fence line
and just getting lathered up while neighing out loudly (think
screaming!!) to just standing at the gate and singing out a little bit.
At the moment I put him in a small yard and give him a little feed to
try to distract him but it doesn’t have the effect I would like ie:
that he puts his head down and just eats. At the moment I go out for no
more than 10 minutes and then back again, I have tried coming and going
but that just seems to escalate the situation."
..."I
did the 1N technique for the first time last night and was impressed
with the change in him just in that short time.
I
did two sessions of 5 minutes on each nostril and then when I took him
back to the paddock his buddy nickered out (Oakey doesn’t suffer from
any anxiety about being left behind and it is rare for him to even say
hello like that), normally PJ would light up a little in the sense that
his ears would come forward and he would look at Oakey but this time he
just marched along beside me with his head well below his wither height
and this lovely relaxed look in his eye.
I
also noticed that at the end of the second 10 minutes I could get him to
lower his head almost to the ground which is something that just wasn’t
possible before, he always seemed to get so far down then he would pull
his head right up as if he felt much safer with it high (which of course
he would). A pleasant result, so far. I will keep it up and look forward
to a generally more relaxed calm horse."
Trudi
Australia
update
2 weeks later;
Yesterday
(and the day before) I managed to do 30 minutes 1N with him and then
took Oakey for a little walk, PJ didn't make a sound and when I came
back I could barely wake him as he rested at the gate!! He didn't
greet Oakey as he normally does when he comes back into view or
anything. Quite amazing!
----------------------------------
Trudi and PJ
11 November 2007
Hi there,
Read your article with great interest.
Let me introduce you to our 12.2 show pony
"Fairy". She is the most beautiful little pony, everyone loves
her....BUT....she can be so much trouble we don't know where to start!
When left in her stable she rears and starts to
get very upset. She tries to barge out of the stable when we go
in and generally quite unruly. When ridden she runs away in her
paces and then when she's had enough she shakes her head so
violently that she begins to nap and nothing more can be done
with her. When I try to lead her she will throw her head at me, which if
my daughter leads her can cause a nasty head butt.
All this leads to a sad day at the stables, it
doesn't make owning a pony fun. I have owned this pony since she was two
and have always loved and cared for her, where have I gone wrong?
We have had up 4 other ponies since getting her
with no problems at all with them. Fairy is 14yrs now and after my
daughter’s disastrous ride last night and your article I thought why
not give it a go...what have we got to lose?
Can we please be involved in your trial.
We would love to record her behaviour to see if they improve. But after
12 years of silly behaviour she'll be a hard nut to crack!! Look forward
to hearing from you
Jane S, UK
Jane sent a second email a few days later:
Hi Clare,
I read (the1N participant’s info pack) with
interest and would love to give it a go.
I did try it the other day and the first 5 mins
she was trying to bite me and was trying to toss her head to move my
hand away, the second 5 mins on the other nostril was similar but then
the third 5 mins back on the first nostril was much better.
At the end of the thirty mins her head was down
by my knees!! I was nearly falling asleep with her!
Now I know it must take a good few sessions
before you notice any changes, but she was different after the first. We
walked in and out of the stable and she didn't try and barge us out of
the way....coincidence? I don't know.. because she's never done
that before!
So yes we want to give it a real go and will
start next week.
Cheers, Jane
----------------------------------
3 October 2007
Pauline and Lin started doing 1N
3 months ago with their 10 year old Connemara x TB, Sam. Three years ago
Sam was diagnosed with allergic
airway diseasefollowing a viral infection.
Despite treatment and careful management Sam continued to have breathing
difficulties (double respiratory movement and heaves) that were at times
distressing and even life threatening.
“Lin and I are extremely
happy with the results to date. We couldn’t believe how well Sam has
continued to improve. Completing endurance set speed ride in June and no
ill effects and then training days attended are things we would not have
even contemplated this time last year. Great isn’t it!
Mates at the yard can’t
believe how well he has improved both physically and mentally over the
past 3 months. We are now accompanying others out on forest rides and
hacking regularly, which we would not have done before due to Sam’s
breathing difficulties.
Its difficult to believe that
what you can see is happening and how quickly progress was made even
though Sam has had a few set backs due to outside interventions ie
annual jabs, picked up virus from field. He is still continuing to
improve and this winter will tell us more.”
Pauline and Lin, Hampshire, UK
----------------------------------
23 April 2007
Equine Breathing is an
astonishing, impressive and powerful healing method. It has certainly
done a lot for Skruven (20 year old Shetland pony).
And in a very subtle way it
also does a lot for those who use the method on their horses.
Ulrike Hermelin, SHP Sweden
----------------------------------
17 November 2006
Hallo
First of all thank you very much for your
extremely interesting lecture. It all makes so much sense to me. You
see, I have been practicing Hatha yoga since almost 20 years now, and
have also been doing pranayama - breathing techniques.
This morning I trimmed a couple of customer horses. One of them, a six
months old filly has really been a problem - very insecure,
hopping and fiddling around all the time.
After almost giving up I thought that I'll try
1N on her. And it worked! I am so impressed!
She immediately became relaxed, almost fell
asleep, and for the first time I could lift her hooves and trim them in
peace. She did not once pull them away from me.
I did it on the other horses as well, and they
reacted with lots of snorting, runny noses, yawning and, well, actually
farting :-)
I would like to learn everything about the technique, as soon as
possible. Do you give courses?
I am very much looking forward to your reply.
Kind regards
Ulrike Hermelin, SHP Sweden
----------------------------------
Mies Kloos has an event horse
that is competed internationally by her daughter Ellen. The following is
an extract from a report written up in Horse
Breather 22, September 06
...... Although Miss
Galena was in very good shape, there were still some problems that we
never could solve. Because of her
stomach and gut problems, she was a
bad eater. Furthermore she was a medium wind
sucker, always reacted very irritated when
groomed or saddled and had a permanent nose rash. Miss Galena has
a heavy working schedule so we decided to implement it on a very
extensive basis, monitoring her carefully and keeping her under close
supervision of my vet.
Within a couple of weeks we
already saw some noticeable improvements: Her fitnessimproved and she seemed happier and was more attentive at
what was going on. Her recuperation time after a heavy training was
faster and also her heart rate went down more rapidly after a cross
country. In Holland the horses heart rates are checked before and within
10 minutes after a cross country, so I was able to document this
improvement: before I started the breathing programme, she had a heart
rate of 72 to 75 beats per minute, 10 minutes after finishing a cross
country. Now she had around 60. Furthermore her nose rash
vanished, she reacted less irritated when groomed and saddled and even
her wind sucking seemed less.
After about 3 months the most
astonishing result started showing itself: her eating improved. Miss
Galena always had trouble digesting the high quality food that is ideal
for a high performance. Now slowly she started to eat more and more and
she also reacted impatiently and hungrily during feeding time.
I can fully conform that even
a strong and healthy horse can benefit from the equine breathing method
----------------------------------
June 06 Pam Eustace has made the following
observation about flies seeming to be less attracted to horses when they
are Equine Breathing. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
"Something I noticed
today which I thought was quite amazing. I put the breather on Megan
then worked on Cas cleaning her up etc and doing Equine Touch for an
hour then put the Breather on her. There were a lot of horse flies about
and she ran over to me in the field to get me to scratch her belly like
she usually does but here is the odd thing. While she had the breather
on she hardly swished her tail she did twitch her body at times but the
strangest thing was that the horse flies went for me and Megan. Only the
odd one flew round Cas and most didn’t settle on her. My conclusion is
that when we are worried about something or get stressed then we give
off some sort of scent which in turn attracts either danger or flies in
Calico’s case. mind you Megan was the same when she had it on. Not
many flies either.
best wishes Pam"
----------------------------------
Jacky has recently participated
in a 1N trial to help her horse recover from head
shaking. June 06
“Equine Breathing has
undoubtedly helped Jack.I
know the head shaking symptoms would, at times, have shown themselves in
a more severe manner if I had not been treating him. The symptoms so far
this year appear to be less severe and less frequent. When they are
present I am able to lessen them or even to stop them by doing 1N.
1N is definitely
effective. I feel this has to benefit every horse with or without
problems, the relaxation alone is great. If you can relax your own mind
it can give you a peaceful rest too.
I have no hesitation in
saying it is worth the effort. I would certainly recommend it to others,
particularly those who have tried and failed with more conventional
methods as at that time they are usually more ready to take on a larger
commitment. It makes you think it is almost too simple to be effective.
People ask - if it is
free, can it really be any good. YES it can and YES it is. But you need
patience and commitment.
(Equine Breathing is)
mystical to the non-science based average Joe! I am very happy with the
overall results at the trial end. 1N has proved to me that it does work.
My
dilemma is not whether to continue to breathe – there is absolutely no
question about my not doing so, I couldn’t allow Jack to go backwards,
but how to better manage things so that I can continue to breathe.
I
also want to start on my other cob.He is highly-strung and nervy, (the field boss!) I did a few
minutes on him at the weekend and he relaxed really well. The obvious
answer is to buy a Equine Breather"
Mike Hollingworth is a barefoot
trimmer in Yorkshire, UK with 200 horses on his books. He is
also an equine Bowen therapist
“I have just started using
the breathing technique in conjunction with my trim clients on some
horses that would rather play come dancing when they are having there
feet trimmed, I have to say that the results so far are very favourable
as I know you would expect. I would rather spend 10 minutes calming the
horses down prior to trimming than may be spend an hour or so struggling
with the horses during trimming. I will let you know how I do with this
as I work on it more, but it is looking good. I very much look forward
to meeting up with you again shortly on possibly one of your workshops.”
March 2006
Ellie has recently completed an
8 week 1N trial with her Icelandic pony Bjork.Bjork had a distressing, chronic, constant, unilateral nasal
discharge and developed hay fever,
a hay allergy and cough on exercise. Bjork
also had runny eyes and had become lethargic.
Following 8 weeks of 1N Ellie
commented;
“I noticed a profound
effect of the 1N breathing on Bjork right from day 1. She is almost over
the discharge, though not completely yet. She barely has any discharge
now when she is resting and the discharge she gets after exercise has
gone from green and frothy to a slight white discharge.
The other main difference I
saw in her was her energy level throughout the 2 month period. At
first, she was lethargic, but as her symptoms improved, she got more and
more sprightly.
Not only did 1N treat the
main physical symptoms but Bjork has become calmer, happier, less nippy
(in fact not at all, though I’d like to wait until her seasons start
again to be sure!). Bjork is in a good mood all the time now and seems
very content with life. She has had her smile back for a while now, and
that coupled with her nose pretty much better, is filling me with joy!
I have found Equine Breathing
an easy thing to do. I enjoy that quiet time spent with Bjork and
love the fact that she really seems to enjoy our sessions.
Sometimes it can be difficult to fit all the sessions in, but I have
actually welcomed the breathing as something to do on those dark nights
after work when you don’t feel like much else. It’s a great
thing for the winter as you know you’re doing something positive even
though you’re not always exercising. I am mostly able to find
the space and time to do it.”
Ellie,
Edinburgh
February
2006
----------------------------------
Ellie and Bjork
From Marjatte in Finland (December 05)
I have been using the Equine Breathers so
regularly as possible, but last week only about 60 minutes per day.
First my stallion did´nt like it, he tried to move his nostrils all the
time, but now he is standing quite quiet with it.
I have not had vet to examine after using this, but I think the
breathing of stallion is some better. Quite good it isn´t yet, but I am
planning to continue with that 60 minutes per day. Do you think it is
ok? Anyway he feels happier as earlier.
The other horse had also something in his breathing and when I began
with the Breather he was coughing out some mucus and I think he is
better now. But I can see many times that he really is overbreathing.
Thank you very much for the advices.
I have noticed that it is also a good moment to be with horses.
With best regards
Marjatta
ps. the video is very good!
----------------------------------
From Pauline who is currently doing
a Breather sarcoid trial. Her mare Sadie recently sustained an
injury which required surgery. Pauline wrote,
The vet is really "sold" on your
equine breathing now. she commented on how brilliantly sadie breathed
all through the anaesthetic, and was amazed that post -op her chest was
clear as a bell, apparently older horses (- and frequently younger ones
too) usually get a lot of fluid on the lungs.
----------------------------------
Sam is a veterinary
homeopath, classical riding instructor and dressage judge
" firstly
thank you for spending time explaining this technique to me. It was
much appreciated. Because I am always looking for ways to improve
the lives of the Animals I deal with, and your Equine Breathing
Technique seemed simple and down to earth, I was happy to put up
both your articles on the Horse website but I really did want to
test it out for myself.
As I mentioned to you I
was working on some health issues on
2 Stallions and at your suggestion, I thought I'd try the 1N
method so downloaded your PDF notes, read them and off I went.
I tried very hard to
follow each step and didn't do what you would call a 'full session'
perhaps but I did manage a few minutes on both nostrils.
The effect was stunning!
The horse just literally dropped his head and went very dopey within
minutes and last seen was hanging outside of his box, fast asleep,
bottom lip drooping totally at peace with the world and it truly was
great to see him like that.
What had taken me some 35
minutes to do using Reiki on Saturday, the relaxation part, I
achieved in under 5 minutes using 1N. I know they are two different
things with different benefits, but the relaxation is so vital for
healing to work whatever you choose to do.
Most of the Staff were
watching and a couple of them showed interest in learning the
technique which I believe can be used for so many of the problems
they could run into. eg: when foals and mares are weaned; for horse
and youngsters who do not like being boxed, shod etc. for Stallions
who are getting a little above themselves; and medically. All I
can see are benefits.
The stresses these horses
go through is hard to explain but by the very fact that they don't
get too much time outside and have to cope with having mares paraded
past them, you can perhaps imagine just a little how much this
must bother them. Using this technique, properly, I am now convinced
would be just wonderful for them. It was exciting from my point
of view to be able to help in such a short time and with so little
to think about. It is without doubt something I will constantly
think about for future Consults.
It is so simplistic but
having had a night to think about it, am now even more excited
and enthusiastic to do as much of the Equine Breathing
Technique as I can and to teach it to others.
On a more personal note,
I don't sleep well. I work very hard and find it difficult to switch
off. But last night I sat and did the breathing exercises you
described to me. I was in bed and asleep by 8.00pm! that is
unheard of. So I aim to pursue the Breathing course you suggested
and I will try to remember what you taught me and again, thank you
for giving up your time.
Regards, Samantha"
update 12 September 05
"A pony stallion,
quite a handful was dragging the trainer around the arena as she
tried to get him to hold still so she could put on his roller to
lunge him. I offered to help her and just thought I'd try the 1N
again.
Yet again, within a few
minutes he had calmed down much the amazement of the handler who
said she had never seen him so quiet and submissive. All this done
with no force and it's so easy.
I can't see any reason
why people just don't try it and see the results for themselves. I
have yet to further this to getting the Breather, but what I have
seen so far on these two horses and a few others, has just given
very positive results without stressing out anyone or any animal.
What more could you want?
People are seeing the 1N
and getting interested so I carry the little book with me and also
the pages, I downloaded them off your site, so they can read exactly
what it can do if the Breathing is used.
It's like all things 'new' it seems too simple
to be true, it just takes time for people to catch on."
Sam
----------------------------------
This
is an update from Karen who’s horse, Amazon, as reported in ‘Horse
Breather’ 6 consistently coughed when being ridden, but not
when being lunged either before or after riding. Following use of 1N
before riding Amazon became cough free and gave lovely soft, relaxed
work. When Karen tried not doing 1N, Amazon coughed for the whole
ride and her work was strained.
"I wondered whether
you’d like a bit of an update on my mare Amazon after all our
correspondence before I went on holiday? I have been back now for
three weeks and after an initial couple of sessions where her cough
was still present (nowhere near as bad as it originally was!) I rode
her today and the cough has all but gone!! I have done the 1N
technique prior to every ridden session (5 minutes on each nostril)
and it really seems to be doing the trick.
I would also
endorse a couple of points you made in this month’s ezine:
- definitely do the “Perfect
Manners” exercises or similar as I am sure this has helped her to
trust me and although she was a bit wary to start she is now almost
asleep within a matter of seconds when I do the 1N on her!! I am
only able to ride 3 or 4 times a week so its not like I’m doing it
with her every day to get this benefit.
- she has most definitely
improved in her fitness over the past few weeks!! She is
rather tubby from all the rich grass coming through but her fitness
just keeps on improving! Our lessons are improving all the time with
our instructor saying that each lesson is the best she has ever seen
us work!
My next stage is to
do the 1N at my first dressage comp for quite a few months (ie this
weekend!) I have always been rather frustrated that she can give me
such great work at home then goes daft when she is out. I do now
exercise her at home before we go out which helps but I am hoping
that this will be the icing on the cake and will help us to be more
successful this season!
Thanks for your
advice (and even more thanks from Amazon!) I think we’re both a
lot happier and healthier from using this technique!! "
Karen
----------------------------------
"I
got your name throiugh a link web page.I tried it on one of my
horses yesterday and she just went to sleep it waas wonderful a
lovley feeling of peace., She has really bad arthritus will this
help?" Judith
----------------------------------
Pauline from
Liverpool is currently doing a Breather trial on her
horse's sarcoids, which is going well.
......The other
thing - I'm sure you've already considered the potential for
performance horses, but although I've never been remotely competitive,
I've noticed a big reduction in her recovery times after hard
work.
I should imagine that it would work wonders for endurance rider's
mounts, or the vetting gate after a cross-country phase in eventing.
I always considered Sadie to be very fit - especially for her age, but
now she seems super-fit!
----------------------------------
Nicola Bebb
Holistic Equine
Consultant writes
"I have
used Equine Breathing with some clients horses (I need to order a
Breather from you) with great results, particularly a mare that is on
long term box rest and was getting extremely upset!
The mare had
been on box rest for few weeks before I saw her,
she was used to living out and wasn't coping at all with
confinement. It was also unfortunate that she was stabled very
close to some stallions which she tried to get to when they were bought
past her box. In general she was extremely hyper and very
unsettled and sometimes too dangerous for the owner to be in the box
with her. I went and saw this lady and worked with her using a
host of techniques.
One of the
techniques I showed her was Equine Breathing, despite the initial
objections the horse really enjoyed the breathing technique and was
beautifully calm and relaxed afterwards. The owner has continued
with all the exercises that we explored on the day including Equine
Breathing and the mare although still on box rest several months
later is significantly calmer and easier to deal with. the owner has
also remarked that she has found that the exercises including Equine
Breathing have really improved the bond between them."
"Before
discussing the Equine Breathing Technique, I was beginning to despair of
ever being able to compete with Sam. Sam was a 5 year old when I bought
him, with very little experience of anything. Within 3 months he
developed a lameness that lasted over a
year. During this time, under veterinary supervision (the lameness was
pinpointed to the joint between his coffin bone and his short pastern)
he had 3 months in his box and was turned out for 9 months with no
improvement. I was faced with the vet’s advice of either a plaster
cast for 3 months, expensive exploratory surgery with no guarantee of
success or putting him to sleep!
Sam
also had an acute behavioural problem that caused hyper tension, which
meant that he could never relax fully and gave the impression that his
whole mind was elsewhere. This behaviour was particularly bad within
sight of cows.
Since
using the Equine Breathing Technique, not only has the lameness
disappeared (at the point of writing he has done 4 months of work and is
now fit enough to compete at a pre-novice event), but his ‘cow
phobia’ has also been improving day on day, to the extent that he
can go past a field of cows without a fit.
Although
clinically it is impossible to prove that the Equine Breathing Technique
has made these changes, I honestly feel that without the Equine
Breathing Technique I would still have a lame horse with an acute cow
phobia. I have a much better understanding of my horse and the things
that concern him, and a set of tools to help me manage and address these
concerns and make him more comfortable within himself". Matthew,
Oxfordshire
----------------------------------
"Following
your email in December it was a while before I could tell
my neighbour, Sarah, about your website. However, she read
your stuff avidly and told me yesterday that last week tried your
technique on a horse that was agitated and being
disruptive. Apparently the horse became placid in no time so she
is well impressed!" John, Devon
----------------------------------
Following use of the Equine Breather for sweet
itch; "I am very pleased, had tried all sorts of lotions
etc and was getting to the point where I did not want her suffering any
further so I was contemplating having her put to sleep. Now she is itch
free and she started to recover from the first day." Debbie,
Berkshire
----------------------------------
"Kingscliffe is making good progress with
his rope phobia and general wariness/spookiness.
He is now back to being a friendly, laid-back character. His
brother is regaining his coltishness and vibrancy and the quality of his
hooves has improved really well in the last month". Wendy,
Oxon
----------------------------------
Following use of the Equine Breather for chronic
cough that failed to clear up with conventional treatment;
"I genuinely believe that the Equine Breather healed my pony, when
medication was unable to help" Wendi,
Preston
The contents of this website are not a substitute
for veterinary advice. If the reader has any concerns they should
seek independent professional advice from a vet.