Lavender is the secret to keeping a horse calm, scientists find – PUT LAVENDER SPRIGS ON TRAILER FLOOR, so they will step on it and be calmed!

I found this article very interesting… and a friend told me that she cuts lavender from her garden, spreads the sprigs on the trailer floor, so that when her horse stomps or steps, he will get a whiff of lavender. She said it “really works!”. Her horse is much calmer while trailering – and she cannot believe how simple of a solution!

Click image for original article

Click for original article

Lavender is the secret to keeping a horse calm, scientists find

Lavender is the secret to keeping a horse calm, a new study by scientists have found.

Horses are constantly put through stressful events such as being moved on trailers, bathing, clipping, vet visits, hoof trims, bridling, and saddling.

But now the University of Arizona has discovered that a quick sniff of lavender can lower heart rate and keep the animal calm.

The new study, which was published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science found found significant signs of stress reduction in horses that inhaled lavender from a diffuser.

Ann Baldwin, Professor of physiology and psychology, said: “Some horses don’t like to be shod. So, when the farrier comes and starts banging around with their hooves, it would be good for that.

“You don’t need a diffuser, really. Just put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your hand and let your horse sniff.” For the study horses were startled by an air horn and then provided with humidified lavender air.

The horses’ heart rates increased in response to the air horn but returned to normal more quickly in those that inhaled lavender.

Just a sniff of lavender was enough to increase relaxation Credit: Xun Zou / EyeEm

In a second study, Prof Baldwin enlisted nine dressage horses of varying breeds and ages. Each horse was led to a small paddock and held by a volunteer while a diffuser containing lavender essential oil was held near the horse’s nose.

A monitor tracked heart rates and heart rate variability for 21 minutes total – seven minutes before the introduction of the diffuser, seven minutes with the diffuser in close proximity, and seven minutes after it was removed.

“The heart rate didn’t change; what changed is what’s called the parasympathetic component of heart rate variability,” she said.

“One of the parameters of heart rate variability is RMSSD, which is the relaxation part of the autonomic nervous system. If RMSSD goes up, that indicates the horse is relaxed. We found that when the horses were sniffing the lavender, RMSSD significantly increased compared to baseline.”

The data were supported by the horses‘ observed behavior, which often included relaxation signals such as neck lowering and licking and chewing while the lavender was being inhaled.

The experiment was repeated with water vapor and chamomile, neither of which produced a similar calming effect.

The researchers say lavender may be a better alternative to tranquilizers which have a long term effect.

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A GIANT hematoma/seroma presented by Grace Owen, DVM. (What to do when your horse has a huge swelling.)

I follow this vet, Grace Owen, DVM (Edna, Oklahoma), because she posts interesting and relevant cases. This one is about a hematoma – a giant serum filled lump – that often appear on horses’ chests and hips… places that get kicked.

Missy Miss had a huge hematoma when she first got here. Someone kicked her. I remember sending a pic to my old-tymey vet. He told me to just wait and it would drain on its own, which it did.

However, I’m not saying you should just sit one out. If I saw anything this big, I’d be calling the vet instantly. Holy moly! The below hematoma is HUGE. Scary. So, this is why I’m posting about hematoma/seroma in horses.

This is Grace Owen, DVM. Click image to go to her FB page.

FROM GRACE OWEN, DVM.

Grace Owen, DVM

This is an example of a very large hematoma/seroma. This patient likely got kicked which caused a soft, blood filled swelling. The weight of the swelling continued to stretch the tissue and create a larger swelling. After the bleeding had stopped this seroma was drained and patient was started on antibiotics. This is a fairly dramatic before and after but I’m sure the patient is feeling much better!

A very large hematoma from a suspected kick injury.

The area is left open to drain. Patient will be kept on antibiotics to help reduce the chance of infection.

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