I can’t remember a time when horses weren’t at center stage in my life. I got my first horse at age two when my parents bought me a Shetland pony, inappropriately named Honey. She was not always sweet, but she was the start of a lifelong obsession.
As a toddler, I wasn’t fazed by our lack of a horse trailer and it seemed completely normal to load Honey into the back of the pickup camper to head off to the county fair. That was the start of many years of showing horses in 4-H, which I continued to do all the way into high school. It was during high school that I happily discovered the sport of barrel racing, and I’ve been an active competitor and member of the barrel racing community ever since.
In my adult life I had the opportunity to share my love and knowledge of horses when I landed a job as a county extension agent. I directed our county 4-H program and I served an an agricultural agent, providing education in the areas of livestock health, pasture management, cropping systems, and horticulture. With a solid background in plant physiology and livestock nutrition, I went from telling people how to eradicate weeds in their pastures to utilizing some of those same plants for improving animal health. Although I still advocate for healthy plant communities for grazing, I have learned to utilize those invasive plants rather than just cursing their existence.
I read a lot about the use of herbs in horses, and I had a lot of interest in it, but my opening into herbology developed out of personal necessity. I had an aging barrel horse that suffered from arthritis, and I had adopted an older mare that had significant joint problems. I didn’t want them to be on Bute for an extended period, so I started them on an herbal blend. I saw a noticeable improvement in their mobility, which led me to start researching more on the specifics of herbs and their uses. This evolved into my enrollment in a course on herbology, and I studied all the research I could find on the therapeutic use of herbs in horses and animals.
With my acquired knowledge of plant energetics and herbal formulations, I created a formula for my two geriatric horses and I tweaked it until I got the results I was looking for. Both horses were soon moving better, were obviously more comfortable, and their coats and general conditions were remarkably improved. Plus, they loved the blend and were licking the feed buckets clean.
Some of my friends saw the improvement in my horses and asked to use the blend on their own horses and, in one case, dogs. Eventually word spread and I started getting requests for other blends. So far I’ve developed and tested 17 different herbal blends that support the major systems in both horses and dogs. My interest in herbs has grown into an obsession, and I am always thrilled when I see and hear about the outcomes it has on my other obsession, horses.
One of the first requests I had was from a friend that had a quarter horse with Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH). The horse, Taretto, was a barrel horse and would bleed after any hard use and at the end of every run. My friend was reluctant to use Lasix on the horse due to its side effects, and she was contemplating retirement for him rather than allowing him to worsen. I developed a blend to target Taretto’s respiratory, pulmonary, and gastric systems, and within three weeks he stopped bleeding. I named the blend after him, and he continues to run barrels and chase roping steers symptom free. (You can find the blend on my website here.)
Requests became so frequent that I eventually decided to start a company. It seemed like an ideal way to marry my interest in herbology to my love of horses. The meaning of life is to have a purpose that is bigger than yourself, and I feel that contributing to the health, wellbeing, and longevity of God’s creatures is one of the greatest missions I could be handed.
I started Spirit Canyon Herbals with the intention of getting the blends I developed out where they would be the most beneficial. It is a small company, and we do all of our own formulation, testing, and manufacturing. We also make custom blends for individual horses and dogs upon request. We are on a mission to improve the lives of our animal companions with products that are pure, safe, affordable, and effective. We use only high-quality organic ingredients and no fillers.
I am always looking for feedback, so please feel free to call or e-mail with any comments or questions. I know that a lot of folks are interested in using herbs, but that it can also be confusing. Some may have even used herbal blends before with little to no effect. Often times, that can be attributed to improper dosages or the wrong combination of herbs for a particular animal. I’m working on the educational aspect of my website to try and help navigate some of the confusion, but in the meantime please feel free to contact me directly for help.