• by Catherine Bird

• Author: A Healthy Horse the Natural Way

Dr Bach was once quoted to have stated “The mind being the most delicate and sensitive part of the body, shows the onset and the course of disease much more definitely than the body, so that the outlook of the mind is chosen as the guide as to which remedy or remedies are necessary.” One group of essences became a regular grouping, this was Rescue Remedy and this is the one that horse owners find useful with most issues their horse may face due to its fright or flight response.

Rescue Remedy is a combination of these five remedies –

• Star of Bethlehem (which is for shock)

• Clematis (for faintness and leaving present time when under pressure)

• Rock Rose (terror and panic)

• Cherry Plum (for when one feels a loss of self-control)

• Impatiens (when agitation and irritable)

There is no physical part of the plants in a dose of Rescue Remedy. The plants have been left in water so their “emotional and mental” qualities are transferred to the water giving the water the vibrations of the plants. Grape alcohol or brandy is added to the water to help keep it stable, but if you wish to analyse the contents of the bottle, you will not find any of the original plants. This is why they are referred to as vibrational remedies.

Rescue remedy can be thought of as a single remedy with its own indications, it can help a horse stay calm when under pressure and needs to stay calm and reassured.

There are several ways to use Rescue Remedy, and as it is what we call a vibrational remedy, it just has to come into contact with your horse’s energy field to have an effect on him. The usual recommendation is to add 10 drops into your horse’s drinking water. This can be useful with dealing with day to day general stresses, but sometimes you need a more direct application.

I like to use Rescue Remedy when I handle the horse. I place a couple of drops on the palm of my hand and wipe it along the horse’s neck. I do this in a calming and reassuring stroke so my actions as well as the application of the Rescue Remedy reinforce each other.

When a horse is sore somewhere I will use Rescue Remedy on my hands and massage it into the sore muscle or wipe it across a bruised area. You can add Rescue Remedy to water used to hose down sore legs, and you can wipe along your horse’s belly when he shows signs of colic while waiting for your veterinarian to arrive.

The key to using Rescue Remedy is to use little doses often. When the symptoms are more acute, the more often you give the dose, either into your horse’s mouth or onto any part of his body.  I find across the loins a useful area as it is one area that “fear” will lodge very quickly in the body.

Rescue Remedy can also be used to prepare a horse before a stressful situation. If your horse is nervous getting onto a float, or when the farrier visits, give your horse a couple of doses of Rescue Remedy with the last one within 20 minutes of needing to go on the float or be shod. Rescue Remedy assists to peel away past fears of these situations, however if there are many layers to these issues, be prepared to peel away the past emotions and experiences like an onion, one layer at a time.

Rescue Remedy will not replace appropriate training techniques, however it can be used to assist your horse get past what is blocking him in his learning or his ability to perform given tasks.

Rescue Remedy can be used for horses that shy, if you know your horse shies at a particular corner of your arena, or out on a trail, give him Rescue Remedy as you saddle up. It is also handy to have on hand when a horse does shy, use it as soon after the incident to help release the nervousness before it settles into the body. Again we need to incorporate the use of Rescue Remedy with training techniques, it is not to replace good training.

For horses who lead a stressful life, Rescue Remedy can be given daily to assist them to work as required, school horses especially benefit with Rescue Remedy added to their drinking water before a day of lessons or in the evening to help them clear off the stresses from that day.

If our horses do stress when out on a ride or going to competition, when you give your horse a dose of Rescue Remedy, give yourself a dose as well. Often our nerves need to be settled as well, and our horses are just reflecting what we are feeling. Rescue Remedy also helps the rider stay more present so their horse is less likely to shy because the rider is daydreaming.

Rescue Remedy is a simple, gentle and effective remedy that is also inexpensive. You can obtain a bottle from your local health food store, equine therapist, or naturopath.

• Catherine Bird ~ Author ~ A Healthy Horse the Natural Way - Visit

• Catherine will be at Country Park stand 1433 Friday 22nd at Equitana!