quarantine

With the current swine flu pandemic, it reminds many horse people in Australia of the equine flu outbreak. This story is how we approached the problem and there may be some ideas you can transfer across to yourself if you find yourself house bound.

During the outbreak of equine influenza, it has been a very stressful time for owners, workers in the industry as well as our poor horses.

We used aromatherapy to help us cope with our emotions and also lift the spirits of our stable buddies. Our sense of smell triggers many emotional responses from the limbic system in the brain and many believe if we can stay in a happy mood our bodies are able to stay healthier.

One of the initial emotions we all experienced was fear. Fear of the unknown and fear for our horses. To help clear this energy we used frankincense essential oil. It was used in times past to drive away evil spirits, and fear itself can create so much negativity. Frankincense can also open up and clear the airways, so when our horses were coughing, we could place a few drops in the palm of our hands, warm them, and then cup our hands under their noses. We helped our feelings of helplessness and gave our horses some relief.

If you horse has some of the symptoms we have all been told to look out for, you can offer bergamot or eucalyptus to the horse. If he shows an interest in either of these two, likelihood of him having a virus is higher than if not, so definitely time to call out the vet to have them tested.

Once the shock of the experience had settled many of us began to experience anger and frustration. Mandarin essential oil helps dispel frustration. It is a light happy scent and helped us refocus on the horses and not get bogged down with the political bantering going on outside the gates.

If horses start to develop secondary conditions, maybe colic or other respiratory issues. One of my clients got herself some eucalyptus and made up a spray so she could spray her horse's stable each visit. It helped to clear away some of the virus hanging around, as well as creating a 'natural' bush scent. Eucalyptus can be uplifting to the spirit when restricted and unable to get out and experience nature. It also help make her feel her area was cleaner and kept her from being so sad about the situation.

My friend's horses were retested to see if they were still contagious, and some still were. To help with the boredom are now coming for aromatherapy sessions for themselves.

Lavender has been a popular selection in their massage blends. It disperses feelings of frazzlement (my word for a mixture of frustration and confusion). Just driving along any main road in Sydney you see signs telling us horse transport is prohibited. You hear an update on every television news program, and we log onto the internet and our favourite forums have the location of the latest outbreak or what show, competition or activity has been cancelled.

They would also use basil essential oil to help bring clarity to their thoughts, many are now looking at how they can find alternate work outside the industry as this could go on much longer than we first thought.

Juniper helps clear the negative thoughts we have all generated, either towards those breaking the no horse transporting rules or towards those lucky enough to be an area that was not infected. Also too the negative thoughts projected towards those who contract the disease from those who fear it.

My favourite scent at this time has been Sweet Orange. No matter the circumstance each friend has been experiencing, it gives a comforting motherly hug and helps us all feel that “this too shall pass”and we will all be a little wiser and aware when it comes to the importance of our horses' health and wellbeing.

The thing with aromatherapy is that it is so individual. All of the essential oils to some degree are antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-bug. So if you only have a couple of essential oils on hand and are 'locked' in, just offer them to your horse and if he like the smell you know he will be getting some benefit. No need to apply it directly, the limbic system will chat the hypothalamus system once it has registered the scent, and then the hypothalamus gland will instruct the endocrine system to 'tune' up and it will be ready and happier to meet the challenge of the equine flu.

Easily obtained essential oils that you can use to strengthen the immune system are:

Lavender
Lemon
Juniper
Bergamot
Eucalyptus
Tea Tree

Then we can look at supporting the adrenals and stimulating the lymphatic system with:

Geranium
Palmarosa
Rosemary
Black Pepper (more specific to the spleen)

Others I can look up later that could be handy would include
Cajeput
Niaouli
Sandalwood

Most Australian Native essential oils have a very strong antiviral and anti microbial actions.

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