The holiday season is a time to slow down, regroup, and relax. It's also a great time to help horses and humans suffering from burnout to recover, so they are ready to start the New Year. While some of you are still finishing up the winter show circuit, others are sliding into a more mellow state of hibernation. Regardless, here are some great tips for alleviating burnout in horses and humans. These tips will help you and your horse, whether you are still rocking along on the show circuit or already in R&R mode.
Alleviating Burnout in Horses
Burnout in horses can occur in many different ways, and often depends on the horse's temperament type. For instance, horses can suffer from burnout if they have digestive or musculo-skeletal pain, or if they are mentally exhausted. Some horses can also get burned out if their immune system becomes compromised. So what can you do about these different kinds of burnout? Check out these tips from Holistic Horsekeeping below.
Help for Digestive Pain
Almost all of the different temperament types can suffer from digestive pain, but for different reasons. The Fire horse, for instance, tends to get nervous and develop ulcers. KAM KLPP or UF can help this kind of horse. The Earth horse can have poor digestion and assimilation, and often does well with SBG Zymes. Wood horses with ulcers often do well with SUCCEED or Stomach Soother. Check out our article on ulcers as well as the Digestive Section in our store.
Help for Musculo-Skeletal Pain
Many horses suffer from burnout when they have musculo-skeletal pain. In particular, Water, Wood, and Fire horses tend to balk when in this kind of pain. Metal horses will work with pain, but tend to get burned out later from overwork. Luckily, there are many ways to alleviate musculo-skeletal pain. Recently, I've been seeing great results from feeding my horses di-magnesium-malate, which seems to alleviate many forms of physical discomfort. My Fire horse is much more relaxed, my Jue Yin mule is less herd bound, and my Yang Ming gelding is moving much more freely.
There are also other specific topical mixtures and feed supplements you can use on specific conditions. For instance, Formula 11 works well to alleviate pain in joints and tendons, especially in areas of the body with low circulation. Check out all of our joint and mobility products in our online store .
Help for Mental Exhaustion
For some horses, burnout isn't so much a matter of physical pain, but more an issue of being mentally tired. This is especially true of horses that have to "know" their jobs in order to be comfortable. Metal, Earth, Fire, and Water horses all have this need. The Wood horse is adaptable and loves variety, making him less likely to be mentally exhausted.
For the mentally exhausted horse, consider feeding Eleviv, an herbal supplement that helps alleviate mental and emotional stress. Eleviv often addresses burnout at the root of the problem. Once a horse's mental or emotional exhaustion has been addressed, his other problems, such as digestive issues, will become less pressing.
Help for Immune System Weakness
If your horse is burned out because his immune system has been weakened, now is the time to build it back up. Luckily, that can be fairly simple if you catch his condition early. I like to feed 2 packs of the Simplexity Health Essentials plus 1 to 3 ounces of XanGo mangosteen juice daily. This combination provides a large spectrum of easily-assimilated nutrients and antioxidants that really boost your horse's immune system.
Alleviating Burnout in Humans
Once you've got your horse all perky and ready to go, it's time to take a look at yourself. Do you have a hard to getting up in the morning or going to sleep at night? Are those bags under your eyes starting to double as eye-shadow? Are you just downright tired of the daily grind?
If so ... you are probably just a wee burned out as well. Most humans suffer from mental and emotional exhaustion, and I recommend a simple formula that works pretty well for just about anyone:
Eleviv (2-4 capsules daily)
Simplexity Essentials (1-2 packets daily)
Now both you and your horse are ready to mellow out, slow down, and recover from burnout. Enjoy!
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