Equitatio

16/01/2026

Herb focus Friday

🌿 Mallow Root for Horses & Dogs — Gentle Support from Nature 🐴🐶

Mallow (Malva sylvestris) is a charming herb with soft, round leaves and delicate purple-pink flowers. While the blooms catch the eye, it’s the root that has been treasured in herbal tradition for its soothing and protective qualities.

🌱 Benefits for Equines & Canines

Digestive & Gut Comfort
• The root is rich in mucilage, which coats and soothes the digestive tract
• Helps ease mild stomach upset, irritation, and bloating

Respiratory Support
• Gentle support for airways and throat
• Traditionally used for coughs and irritation

Skin & Coat Care
• Can be used externally in mild baths or compresses for soothing inflamed skin
• Supports natural healing for minor irritations

🧴 Essential Oil & 💧 Hydrosol

Essential Oil
• Rarely distilled
• Can support relaxation and gentle environmental enrichment

Hydrosol
• Mild and safe for spritzing or compress use
• Can soothe skin, respiratory passages, or create a calming atmosphere
• Excellent for sensitive animals

🏺 UK & Isle of Man Folklore

🇬🇧 UK Tradition
• Mallow was known as a protective herb, often planted near stables
• Believed to help guard livestock against illness and support vitality

🇮🇲 Isle of Man Lore
• Mallow roots were carried to ward off spirits that might trouble animals
• Used in charms for healthy, strong horses
• Its soft, calming properties symbolized protection and gentle healing

✨ Mallow Root reminds us that the gentlest herbs often bring the deepest comfort.

Always introduce herbal support gradually, allow animals to self-select, and consult a qualified animal herbalist or aromatherapist.

Buy yours here: https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=87&id_product_attribute=122&rewrite=marshmallow-root-cut&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

Picture credit: Me, from my herb garden, no root pictures as its still growing

09/01/2026

Herb Focus Friday is back

This weeks herb is Liquorice root.

🌿 Liquorice Root for Horses & Dogs — Sweet Strength from the Earth 🐴🐶
Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a deep-rooted perennial with soft green leaves and pale violet flowers, but its true power lies underground. The long, golden-brown roots hold a naturally sweet flavour—up to 50 times sweeter than sugar—and have been treasured in herbal traditions for thousands of years.

🌱 Benefits for Equines & Canines

Used thoughtfully and in appropriate forms, liquorice root has long been valued for its supportive properties:

✨ Respiratory Support
• Traditionally used to soothe the throat and airways
• Supports comfort during coughing or irritation

✨ Digestive & Gut Support
• Helps coat and soothe the digestive tract
• Often associated with easing gastric discomfort

✨ Inflammatory Balance
• Traditionally used to support the body’s natural response to inflammation
• Valued for overall resilience during stress

🧴 Liquorice Essential Oil

💡 True liquorice essential oil is rare and not commonly distilled.

• Most “liquorice-scented” oils are actually anise or fennel, which share a similar aroma
• If available, liquorice CO₂ extracts may be used aromatically only, under professional guidance
• Never apply topically or internally to animals

💧 Liquorice Hydrosol

Also rare, but when available:

• Used gently for environmental support rather than direct animal application
• May support calm, soothing atmospheres—particularly for respiratory comfort
• Always offer via choice-based exposure

🏺 UK & Isle of Man Folklore

Liquorice has long been associated with protection and endurance in British and Manx tradition:

🇬🇧 UK Herbal Lore
• Liquorice root was carried to protect the voice and breath, especially by travellers and animal handlers
• In rural folk practice, it was believed to help animals “keep their strength” during long journeys or illness

🇮🇲 Isle of Man Tradition
• Sweet roots were thought to appease spirits of land and water, ensuring livestock health
• Liquorice was sometimes included in charm bundles to protect horses from wasting ailments
• Its sweetness symbolised harmony, balance, and restoration

🌟 Liquorice root teaches us that sweetness can be powerful—and strength can be gentle.
Always introduce herbs with care, respect traditional wisdom, and work with qualified animal herbal practitioners.

Buy yours here: https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=84&id_product_attribute=116&rewrite=liquorice-root-cut&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

Picture credit: me, from my herb garden.

28/12/2025

Always worth a share.

Equitatio is a holistic, accredited consuiltancy for all your equine and canine requirements.

24/12/2025

As I sign out for the last time in 2025 (ready for some much down time with friends and family),I look back on what has been a very busy year, one year through a 2 year diploma course and one 1 year diploma course completed.
A year of discovering herbs and starting to incorporate them into my business. I can't wait to help more animals next year.

24/12/2025

Christmas herb focus, Not on a Friday but a herb associated with Christmas.

🔥 Cinnamon for Horses & Dogs — Warming Spice, Protective Ally 🐴🐶
Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of evergreen trees in the Cinnamomum family. Once harvested, the bark naturally curls into the familiar quills we know, releasing a rich, sweet-spicy aroma that has been prized for thousands of years in both medicine and folklore.

🌿 How Cinnamon Can Support Animals

When used with care and respect, cinnamon offers supportive benefits for both equines and canines:

✨ Circulation & Warmth
• Traditionally known as a warming herb
• Supports healthy circulation, especially in cold or damp conditions

✨ Digestive Comfort
• May help ease sluggish digestion and gas
• Often associated with appetite stimulation

✨ Immune & Environmental Support
• Valued historically for its cleansing and protective qualities
• The aroma is often used to support overall resilience

🧴 Cinnamon Essential Oil

⚠️ Extremely potent — must only be used by trained practitioners.

• Used aromatically only, and always via choice-based exposure
• May support circulation and seasonal wellness
• Never apply topically to animals and avoid with sensitive, pregnant, epileptic, or very young animals
• A little goes a very long way

💧 Cinnamon Hydrosol

Rare and much gentler than the essential oil:

• Used for *environmental clearing rather than direct animal use
• May be offered as an optional scent for confident animals who seek warmth and stimulation
• Ideal for creating a cozy, grounding atmosphere in stables or rest spaces

🏺 UK & Isle of Man Folklore

Though not native, cinnamon quickly wove itself into British and Manx tradition once it arrived via trade routes:

🌬 UK Folklore
• Cinnamon was burned or carried to protect against illness and “bad airs”
• In some rural traditions, spices like cinnamon were kept near tack or kennels to guard animal health during winter

🇮🇲 Isle of Man Beliefs
• Warming spices were believed to confuse malevolent spirits during long, dark months
• Cinnamon was sometimes added to charm bags to protect horses from being “over-ridden” by fair folk at night
• Its scent symbolised strength, vitality, and safe return from journeys

Buy yours here: https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=11&id_product_attribute=7&rewrite=cinnamon-powder&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

14/12/2025

Things that should not still be controversial heading into 2026 but are:

1. Horses are social herd animals and being able to socialize with other horses is a key component for their welfare. When they are unable to do so, their welfare suffers.

2. Horses are made to be MOVING. Excessive confinement, especially when paired with isolation, is damaging. Confinement and inability to move increase colic risks, make horses more unpredictable and difficult to handle and also impact overall wellbeing. Stalling is well studied and when horses are stalled in excess, there are many physical and mental health problems associated with it.

3. Horses are trickle feeders. They’re meant to be intaking food on a near constant basis. Even with horses who have a tendency to gain weight easily, we need to find means of enabling access to forage for most of the day. This can be done with slow feed nets and other means of slowing hay intake.

Ultimately, what humans currently have access to providing for their horses does not change the facts.

I understand how helpless people can feel when navigating the boarding systems and how hard it can be to take in this information when you don’t feel you have options available to improve the care of your horse.

However, how we feel about the facts does not change the facts.

What we are able to provide for our horses does not change the findings of research that have been replicated for decades now.

The facts are:

- horses are herd animals. Socialization is a crucial component for wellbeing.

Despite this, they’re commonly isolated and kept alone. Common does not equate to normal or healthy.

- horses are commonly kept confined and their lack of ability to engage in free movement contributes to many of the common issues with see with horses.

And, lastly,

- people often use tradition, what they perceive as normal and what they feel capable of providing (or what is most convenient for them) as an excuse to reject factual information.

But, rejecting the information does not change the experience for horse.

We need to sincerely start to reflect on the ethics of much of the horse industry because despite the fact that us humans love horses and want to have them, our desire to do so should never come above meeting basic needs.

We shouldn’t be getting social animals if we cannot meet their social needs.

We shouldn’t be getting large farm animals intended to move lots if we cannot provide this.

Riding cannot and will never make up for autonomous movement and socialization.

It can be a tough pill to swallow, but it’s necessary nonetheless.

12/12/2025

Friday Herb Focus

This weeks herb is Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare).

If you’ve ever brushed past a tall, feathery plant with a warm, anise-like aroma, you’ve likely met fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). With its golden umbels, delicate fronds, and sweet liquorice scent, fennel has been treasured for centuries—and not just by people.

🌱 What Fennel Offers

Both horses and dogs can benefit from fennel when used appropriately:

✨ Digestive Support
• Helps ease gas, bloating, and digestive discomfort
• Encourages a healthy appetite
• Traditionally used to support gut motility

✨ Respiratory Comfort
• The aromatic properties may support clearer airways
• Gentle expectorant actions

✨Calming & Soothing
• Mild relaxing qualities ideal for nervous or sensitive animals

🧴 Fennel Essential Oil

⚠️Potent and highly concentrated—always use with guidance from a qualified animal aromatherapist.

• Can be used via diffusion or aromatherapy choice-based methods to support digestion and breathing
• May help ease muscle tension
• Never apply neat and avoid use with pregnant animals, epileptic animals, or young puppies/foals

💧 Fennel Hydrosol

A beautiful, gentler alternative to the essential oil:

• Can be spritzed lightly in the environment or offered as a self-selection option
• Often used to support digestion, soothe mild discomfort, and promote calm
• Suitable for more sensitive animals who prefer subtle scents

🏺 Folklore from the UK & Isle of Man

Fennel has deep roots in Celtic and British folklore:

🌾UK Tradition
• Fennel was hung over stable doors and windows to ward off negativity and protect livestock
• In some regions, it was believed to keep mischievous spirits away from animals and travelers

🇮🇲 Isle of Man Lore
• Fennel was placed in bundles on doorways during Midsummer to guard animals from witchcraft
• Farmers carried fennel sprigs for good fortune and protection while working with their horses
• Its sweet scent was thought to keep fairies from leading animals astray

🌟From ancient folklore to modern animal wellness, fennel remains a gentle, wise herb with big benefits.
Always introduce botanicals slowly and safely—and let your animals guide you with their natural instincts.

Buy Yours here: https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=28&id_product_attribute=75&rewrite=fennel-seed-powder&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

Picture credit: Me, from my herb garden

05/12/2025

Herb Focus Friday

🌿✨ Turmeric for Horses & Dogs

Golden Root • Ancient Wisdom • Modern Wellness

Meet Turmeric (Curcuma longa) — the vibrant golden rhizome celebrated for centuries as a powerful ally for comfort, mobility, and whole-body vitality. For both equines and canines, turmeric offers gentle yet profound support when selected instinctively.

🐴🐕 Why Animals Choose Turmeric

Turmeric is often selected by horses and dogs experiencing:

💛 Stiffness or joint discomfort
💛 Low-grade inflammation
💛 Sluggish digestion
💛 Skin irritation
💛 Immune imbalances or recovery needs

Its natural compound curcumin works as a soothing botanical to help calm irritation, ease movement, and support overall resilience.

🌼 Plant Profile

Turmeric is a member of the ginger family, growing from knobbly, bright-orange rhizomes.
Above ground it produces lush green leaves and pale lotus-like flowers, but it’s the underground root that holds its golden medicinal magic.

Although not native to the UK, turmeric has long been traded, revered, and used in herbal apothecaries across Britain and the Isles.

🌬 Essential Oil & Hydrosol Use

Turmeric Essential Oil
• Warm, spicy, grounding aroma
• Often selected through inhalation by animals needing emotional calm or musculoskeletal ease
• Supports circulation, joint comfort, and recovery after exertion
• Horses may show soft eyes or deeper breathing during inhalation

Turmeric Hydrosol

• Gentle, subtly spicy, slightly earthy
• A supportive option for sensitive animals
• May be lapped or applied topically to soothe the skin
• Useful for digestive comfort and immune harmony

🧡 Turmeric in UK & Isle of Man Folklore

While turmeric doesn’t grow wild in the British Isles, it holds a unique place in our herbal history:

🏴 UK Herbal Tradition
• Valued by apothecaries from the 1500s onward as “Indian saffron”—a warming spice of protection and vitality
• Used historically in dyes, inks, and protective charms
• Believed to strengthen the body’s “inner fire” during cold, damp British winters

🇮🇲 Isle of Man Folklore
• Brought to the island by early traders
• Used in symbolic “warding powders” to keep mischief and illness away from livestock
• Thought to bring luck and strength when mixed with local herbs such as meadowsweet or mugwort
• Sometimes sprinkled at thresholds as a golden blessing for the home and stables

🌟 Golden Support for Body & Spirit

Whether offered as a powdered botanical, essential oil, or hydrosol, turmeric invites both horses and dogs into a state of ease, warmth, and improved mobility — always through animal-led selection.

✨ Let the instincts guide
✨ Offer without expectation
✨ Honour the wisdom of the golden root

Buy yours here - https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=77&id_product_attribute=102&rewrite=turmeric-root-powder&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

01/12/2025

If your horse is showing behaviours that feel “difficult,” it’s not because they’re being naughty - it’s because something isn’t right.

Conflict behaviours such as head tossing, biting, bucking, or plant-and-freeze responses are how horses express pain, fear, stress, or confusion. These are not “issues” that we need to suppress, but our horses communicating.

Ask:
• is the horse confused or unclear about what’s being asked?
• could something be painful?
• is the environment too challenging right now?

Horses don’t have words - but they do have behaviour and body language. When we reframe behaviour as communication, we begin to make real progress.

🐴 The Equine Method
🌍 www.TheEquineMethod.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07902920923

28/11/2025

Friday herb focus

🌿 Valerian Root for Horses & Dogs

Calm • Ground • Soothe — The Herbal Way

Meet Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) — a tall, sweet-scented plant with delicate clusters of soft pink-white flowers and a famously earthy root. Loved by herbalists for centuries, valerian remains one of the most effective botanicals for supporting the nervous system in both equines and canines.

🐴🐕 Why Animals Select Valerian Root

Valerian is commonly chosen by horses and dogs who may be experiencing:

✨ Emotional tension
✨ Stress from change or separation
✨ Nervousness around travelling, vet visits, or environmental triggers
✨ Tight muscles or physical restlessness
✨ Trouble relaxing after excitement or overstimulation

Valerian root works by helping the nervous system shift gently out of “alert mode” and into rest, digest, and recover.

🌱 Plant Spotlight

Valerian grows wild across damp meadows and hedgerows in the UK.
Its root holds the active compounds (including valerenic acid) responsible for its calming properties — and the distinctive musky scent that many animals find grounding.

🌬 Essential Oil & Hydrosol Use

Valerian Essential Oil
• Strong, earthy, and deeply sedative
• Often inhaled first, followed by topical self-selection
• Horses may rest a nostril on the open bottle; dogs often gently hover or inhale from a distance
• Especially useful for emotional release, deep-rooted tension, and muscular relaxation

Valerian Hydrosol
• Mild, gentle, and perfect for sensitive animals
• Often lapped when the body is ready for deeper rest
• Soothes the mind without overpowering the senses

🧭 Folklore from the UK & Isle of Man

Valerian has an enchanting history across the British Isles:

🏰 UK Folklore
• Once hung in homes and barns to ward off “lightning spirits” and bring calm during storms
• Carried by travellers as a charm for safe passage and restful sleep
• In some regions, it was called “All-Heal” for its believed ability to settle both mind and body

🐚 Isle of Man Traditions
• Used in old Manks herbal practice for “quieting the heart” and easing nightmares
• Folk healers burned dried valerian root in small rituals to protect livestock from fear and agitation
• Known on the island for attracting cats — and for keeping mischievous fae energies at bay!

🌿 A Gentle Path to Calm

Whether offered as root, essential oil, or hydrosol, valerian invites horses and dogs into a deeper state of peace, helping them release tension and rebuild emotional resilience — all through their own innate, instinctive choices.

Picture Credit: Me from my herb garden

Buy yours here:https://shop.equitatio.co.uk/index.php?id_product=1&id_product_attribute=1&rewrite=valerian-root-chopped&controller=product #/1-pack_weight-100g

17/11/2025

That was rather a busy weekend, taking part in a 3 day online R+ summit with 16 sessions with different trainers, lots to take it. Some are definitely going to need a re-watch.
I've also added some new products onto the shop, new herbs, new training accessories and some new items in the rumage bin too (you'll have to go and look if you want to know what they are.)