More to follow plus a study on Bears by Sarah Kinson

Feline case study - a broken leg by Diane Budd

 Introduction

Charlie is a domestic liquorice all sorts cat then 2 months old. His owner described how one day they noticed that his left back leg just wasn’t quite right and that he could not jump or walk like he normally would. He also started meowng a lot to get their attention.

They took him of to the vet who did X-rays which showed that the inner leg was bruised but the leg was actually broken. His leg was strapped, put on painkillers and sent home. His owners contacted me to find out how it had happened and also to see what more they could do for him healing wise, so we did a session.

Offered the following

Arnica oil	No interest
German Chamomile	No interest
Eucalyptus	No interest
Peppermint	No interest
St Johns wort	No interest
Yarrow	Very slight interest. Then turns away
Devils claw m/oil	No interest
Hemp seed	No interest
Comfrey m/oil	He literally tried to climb inside the bottle as soon as I opened it. He sniffed and licked like no tomorrow. He could’t get enough of it and really battled to limit it to 3ml. He could have taken as much as he needed; some cats have taken up to 30ml in a day. Guidelines in the book are only there for the untrained.

Outcome

I left the bottle with the owner who told me that every time she appeared with the bottle he would make a run for it and literally “attack” it to get to the oil. This carried on for 8 days after which when offered the bottle and the oil he totally ignored it.  

Charlie went back to the vet a week earlier than he should have as it seemed he was getting frustrated with his bandaged leg and was meowing in frustration.  The vet was astonished at the rapid improvement and could not believe how well and quickly he had healed. X-rays showed all was fine. He now walks with a very slight limp but its hardly noticeable and loves to jump and climb like he used to.

My lesson with Charlie was the simplicity of what he selected – he needed just one thing, which I learnt to honour and respect.

Cats and Primates to follow

Hopefully next weekend I will be posting some informative cat case studies recently submitted by students that I think readers will find very helpful.

I will also be posting my visit to a monkey sanctuary.

Last weeks courses

As always I had such an inspirational week teaching and meeting old and new faces. 

We started off with the two day canine course at Tilley farm, where we witnessed some very positive changes in the dogs that we worked with. The anxious ones left very relaxed and did not seemed phased by anything that had previously upset them. Then there was Hen, a young lab with possible teething problems, she was totally focused on spirulina, followed by arnica powder mixed with rice bran. Interestingly she did not select any arnica macerate, nor was she interested in bees wax or vegetable oils. This perfectly demonstrated that a lab will select only the remedies from our kit that are needed and not be drawn to fatty oils if they are not needed. "It was an absolute pleasure for Hen and I to spend such a time with you.  We love what you are sharing with the world and are enthralled to be a part of that, helping others to help them selves in such a natural, instinctive way. Thank you again Caroline for an amazing six days, I had the best time, and the best little cottage too, a real treat for me.  I also enjoyed Toms lectures please say thank you to him' Tracy.

The next two days were followed by pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, which to some at first seemed quite challenging, however,  Tom (who has since received many emails thanking him for his work in this field) brought the subject to life and showed how its application made sense in our work.'Thanks Caroline - doing the science has actually given me a real sense of confidence when out in the field. When you can tell someone why a particular oil works and is chosen it gives it all so much more credibility' Carly.    "I did enjoy the science  tutorial with Tom, definitely makes it easier to understand than just  reading it from a book! Susan H"

The last two days were spent at Horse World where we worked with some incredible horse personalities. One being a retired Police horse of 17hh who appeared quite unresponsive to begin with, however, once I followed the subtle signs that he gave, it led me to continue with a particular selection of oils. He then became engaged in the whole process, lowering his head, almost to my knees so that I could apply certain oils to his poll, while he closed his eyes. 

A yearling that we also worked with had been neglected and starved. The first day he chose oils to help him relax, which resulted in him finishing the session laying down fast asleep. This was the first time this had been witnessed by any of the staff. When we followed up with him the next day he seemed very calm and relaxed and did not want any behavioural oils. Instead he was very particular in only selecting nettle leaf, dandelion root. His droppings were foul smelling and I was surprised he did not want any bacterial oils such as garlic and thyme. Knowing that bitter almond has killed various strains of ecoli in the lab, I thought I would offer it to him. On this second session, this was the first oil he was interested in, however when I presented clove bud oil to him, he pushed into me eagerly trying to lick the oil from my hand, so I offered it to him and then consumed approximately 0.5ml of the oil. This was followed by lots of yawning and closing of eyes. I since let the yard know of his selection.  "Thank you for a brilliant couple of days last week and especially for taking  the time to look at me too! I'm really pleased to say that I haven't had any  of the reactions I would normally expect - migraine, severe fatigue both  physical and mental - which is just amazing. I can feel when I'm running out of the liquorice root and start to crave it! I'm now having about a teaspoon every other day. The 5 drops of carrot seed I had at Horseworld seems to be  all I needed. I tried it the next day and couldn't believe I ever found it  tasted nice....Lucy"

Tom's Pharmacology tutorial
Photo by Martin Stubbs

Police horse: Imperial
Photo by Jane Satchwell

Pony at Horse World selecting Barley Grass
Photo by Jane Satchwell

Zoopharmacognosy BSc (Hons)

We are getting closer to our goal of getting zoopharmacognosy recognised as an important part of animal welfare and  are excited to let you know that we have been asked to advise on the development of a new undergraduate degree course: The current idea is to incorporate Zoopharmacognosy into one of the 2nd year modules:  Equine Sport, Therapy & Rehabilitation (BSc), which will be jointly offered by the University of Greenwich and Hadlow College (the word is that it will be taking students in September 2013). Not yet a full degree course, but close. We will keep you updated.

Next step Oxbridge! Tom

Botanica 2012

 My friend and colleague is holding a clinical essential oil conference in Dublin.

Rhiannon Harris, organiser of botanica 2012

 Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, September 7^th-10^th 2012        www.botanica2012.com

COWS - PINK EYE

On the topic of farm animals, I think some readers will find benefit from the study below.

Ingraham Academy Graduate: Cath Taylor

We take 20 cows from Skye back to our farm near Elgin on NE coast of Scotland, during the winter for calving and extra feed.  As usual one or two of the first lot began to develop pink eye fairly soon on coming inside and we duly got the vet out.  They had to be crated and have antibiotic ointment plastered around the eye which is always stressful for them.  So I decided to try oils.  With Caroline's help it was decided to try  bergamot and sandalwood oils, red clay and dried bladderwrack seaweed. 10 drops of each oil was added per bucket of water, a handful of bladderack and  about a tblspoon of red clay per bucket.

The buckets were filled if needed usually morning and night. The cows just took whatever they needed when they needed.  Some buckets would disappear immediately, others would last a day or two.  Sometimes it would be one remedy they would chose sometimes another.  The empty buckets would often land up in the cattle court so we then made concrete partitions in the tough and filled these with water giving the same amount of remedies, at a much lower concentration as the individual partitions must have held maybe 3 bucketfuls.  We then found that one cow had developed quite bad pink eye so we were much more meticulous about filling the partitions as soon as they emptied, again, there didn't seem to be a pattern about which remedy went (however I suspect there was if you monitored it more carefully).  Her pink eye cleared up completely within a week.

Now we start the remedies as soon as there is any evidence of watering eyes and just keep using them then until the cows go back to Skye at the end of May (they come the beginning of December.)  It may sound expensive but I think it would turn out a lot cheaper than getting the vet out even a couple of times, and there are periods when the remedies are only taken up very slowly.

We also noticed another positive effect from the oils, since we started the oils to prevent pink eye we have had no more problems with scouring.  The cows have now been 4 years in the same court with no disinfecting although the court is completely emptied for the Summer and we have not had single case of scouring again (in fact we start the oils now if calves arrive before pink eye).There may well be a pattern to the uptake of oils but we have never monitored it exactly although it would be quite easy to just keep a record of the uptake and the appearance of watery eyes. As the calves get older they will often play with the remedies as well.  It would seem that pink eye remains latent within the herd but can be controlled with the oils. Since starting the oils we have not had to resort to any vet input for pink eye nor for scouring and I think last year I don't think we had the vet out at all.

Note: Pink-eye, or infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, is an inflammatory bacterial infection of the eye that can cause permanent blindness in severe cases. It is a contagious disease and occurs mainly in young cattle in summer and autumn.Pinkeye can affect up to 80% of a mob, with affected weaner calves losing up to 10% of their body weight. Although rare, deaths may occur when both eyes are affected, due to starvation, thirst or misadventure.

Zoopharmacognosy with Pigs & Also an update on China

I hope everyone had a good break over Christmas, I must admit I certainly did. Skiing is another love of mine and the snow in Austria over Christmas was fantastic. With few crowds at this time, we managed to find some secluded beautiful places on the mountain, as well as a hut with an open fire and great hot wine, where I was inspired with ideas for a new book! The south of France too is yet another home to me, we were lucky with the weather. On one occasion walking 14 miles along the coast of Theole Sur Mer, it was stunning.

I came home to an excited phone call from Lynn Geast, who is a dedicated and passionate student, wanting to share her experience with a couple of pigs she worked with (see below). I also came home to an email from China, outlining the seminars and workshop clinics to be held in Beijing and Hangzhou, which total 3 seminars with 50/60 delegates per seminar, and 20 delegates for each of the 3 clinic workshops (dogs & cats). I leave on March 22nd and return on April 2nd. With Zoophaarmacognosy now to be in China, it looks like it is making headway across the continents.

10th January 2012 by Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society

Registered charity number: 297893

Sanctuary rescue pigs, Dolores and Levi, have both been extremely subdued since the death of their little companion, Babe. Their whole demeanour has changed considerably – almost to the point of depression. Also, Dolores got quite badly kicked the other day by our Lily when she ventured into Lil’s paddock. Luckily, there were no broken bones, but poor old ‘Lores is certainly bruised and battered to some extent. However, I was so amazed at what I witnessed today when Lynn came in to the Sanctuary to work with our pigs, that I simply had to tell someone! 

Shortly after Lynn arrived at the Sanctuary around mid-day today, I introduced her to Levi and Dolores, who were both dozing in their stable. There was a slight air of despondency from the two of them.Lynn introduced some aromas and oils to them both, but it was Dolores who took a greater interest in the whole procedure (Levi was much more interested in having a cuddle with me and a belly tickle!) After around a 20 minute session with Lynn offering different oils, the total change in them both was clearly visible. Dolores was particularly receptive to the treatment and was soon up and about and ready to run round the yard (causing havoc and mayhem) just as she used to! Levi was more than happy to join in. 

Later, as Lynn was leaving, Levi and Dolores came rushing over to her to say goodbye – they really seemed like their old selves. Lynn will be pleased to know that within minutes of her departure, they did their usual trick of getting into the Information Centre and going down everyone’s’ bags looking for treats!

Lynn will prepare a full report in much more detail within the next few days. Lynn will be working with our horses and ponies in the future and, if the “pig trial run” is anything to go by, I am sure it will be successful.In the meantime, Lynn, it was an absolute privilege to watch you at work and thank you for coming to the aid of our naughty piggies. The most wonderful thing about today is seeing how the animals interacted with you; they know a person they can trust a mile off! If anyone would like me to put them in touch with Lynn for further details on her brilliant work, please email me at administrator@ehpps.org.uk. The process really does make a difference – and I’m one of the oldest sceptics around! 

Lynn Geast: Ingraham Academy trained Zoopharmacognist. Main oil selected was rose otto. Please contact Lynn if you would like further information LHedges05@aol.com