https://www.facebook.com/825450200909265/

Karen Perry Animal Therapy, Eastwell, Melton Mowbray (2026)

20/03/2026

Turn the sound up and listen to Peaches vocalising to her carrot! She is so funny 🥰

18/03/2026

All about jiaogulan from Dr. K's Horse Sense:

Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) is a vine in the cucumber family, native to southern China. It is nicknamed the “immortality herb” because people who regularly consume it as tea or as a vegetable are known for their longevity. It has wide-reaching effects that trace back to its ability to modulate what is perhaps the most important messenger molecule in the body – nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide, NO, is a simple gas, one nitrogen and one oxygen atom. In the horse’s body, it is produced from the amino acid arginine by three nitric oxide synthase enzymes:

eNOS: endogenous NOS, located in the lining of blood vessels (the endothelium)
nNOS: neuronal NOS, in the nervous system
iNOS: inducible NOS, activated by injury, infection or disease

The eNOS and nNOS are always active and produce low levels of NO. The iNOS is normally turned off unless a trigger is present. Once activated, iNOS produces very high levels of NO.

The active components of Jiaogulan, the gypenosides, have been shown to directly cause the release of nitric oxide from the lining of blood vessels. Nitric oxide released from the endothelium of blood vessels is a potent vasodilator, diffusing easily out of the vessel lumen, which results in relaxation of the smooth muscle. It also activates tissue growth factors in the area.

Nitric oxide is the natural antagonist to endothelin-1, the horse’s body’s most potent constrictor of blood vessels. Endothelin-1 is elevated in endocrine-related laminitis , which makes Jiaogulan a potent weapon against pasture laminitis, fall seasonal rise laminitis and winter laminitis in metabolic horses.

Nitric oxide is also involved in healing processes of tendons/ligaments and also bone . This makes Jiaogulan a valuable support for things like tendon or ligament injuries, DSLD and suspensory problems originating below the hock which are common in dressage and western performance horses.

Research now also points to a potential role for Jiaogulan in horses with osteoarthritis . It offers dual lines of support by helping maintain the positive effects of low level nitric oxide while opposing the harmful effects of activating of the inducible nitric oxide system at the same time. Activation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase enzyme is involved in the degenerative pathophysiology of osteoarthritis.

Benefits of Jiaogulan have been found in virtually every body system where it has been examined and this likely explains the general invigorating effect this herb can have. I vividly remember the owner of one aged Spanish stallion telling me excitedly, “He’s gaiting for the first time in years!”

We appreciate our ECIR Group Inc. Benefactors carrying jiaogulan:
Forageplus (UK)
Mad Barn (CA, US)
HorseTech, Inc. (US)
My Best Horse (US)

Tanner MA, Bu X, Steimle JA, Myers PR The Direct Release of Nitric Oxide by Gypenosides Derived from the Herb Gynostemma pentaphyllum Elsevier, Vol 3, Iss 5, October 1999 https://doi.org/10.1006/niox.1999.0245

Gauff F, Patan-Zugaj B, Licka TF Hyperinsulinaemia increases vascular resistance and endothelin-1 expression in the equine digit Equine Vet J 2013 Sep;45(5):613-8. doi: 10.1111/evj.12040. Epub 2013 Mar 12.

Bokhari AR, Murrell GAC, The role of nitric oxide in tendon healing. J Shoulder and Elbow Surg Volume 21, Issue 2 p238-244 February 2012

Wimalawansa, SJ Nitric oxide and bone 2010, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1749-6632.2009.05230.X

Hee-Geun Jo, Chae Yun Baek, Yeseul Hwang, Eunhye Baek, Chanyoon Park, Ho Sueb Song, Donghun Lee, Investigating the Anti-Inflammatory, Analgesic, and Chondroprotective Effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino in Osteoarthritis: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study Int J Mol Sci 2024 Sep 4;25(17):9594. doi: 10.3390/ijms25179594

Chun-Yan Shen , Jian-Guo Jiang , Man-Man Shi , Hui-Ling Yang, Hong Wei , Wei Zhu, Comparison of the Effects and Inhibitory Pathways of the Constituents from Gynostemma pentaphyllum against LPS-Induced Inflammatory Response J Agric Food Chem 2018 Oct 31;66(43):11337-11346. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b03903. Epub 2018 Oct 18.

18/03/2026

We have moaned about the weather a lot this winter. And quite justifiably. But we can’t moan about today. Sun, blue sky , birds singing, mud drying and no flies yet! Perfect! Enjoy your day!

17/03/2026

I do so love working with essential oils with animals, it is such a powerful modality.

Herb oils offer a unique, natural way of keeping our animals healthy and happy in a respectful and non invasive way.

You do need some knowledge and training in choosing the right oil, and reading the animals responses requires a trained eye and some experience.

Essential oils are highly concentrated versions of the herb, and must be used with caution, as they are extremely powerful.

The therapeutic potential of essential oil components has been the subject of medical research since the last century, and among other things, they are being investigated as a possible replacement for conventional drugs as antibiotic therapy starts to fail.

Healing is a natural art, and essential oils work at an emotional and energetic level, which may be why inhaling miniscule amounts can cause physical problems to resolve.

I have found that combining herb oils with my bodywork treatments has a profound effect on the animals emotional and physical state, and very often, the effects of the treatment last much longer.

If you would like to add oils to your bodywork treatments, you must book it in advance, as the treatment time will be longer, and I will have to run through a questionnaire first.

Alternatively, if you would like a full self selection session, which includes essential oils and herbs, but no bodywork, do get in touch. There is no better way to regulate the bodies systems and allow the animal to find their own medicinal herbs.

14/03/2026

The beautiful Harriet, recovering from surgery and learning to cope with box rest.

This gorgeous girl had to have surgery twice to remove some tricky thorns which had infiltrated some pretty deep structures in her knee.

Not a fan of being stabled at the best of times, her adoring owner has had to be pretty inventive to keep Harriet happy and settled on her enforced box rest.

A mirror has helped a lot, and she spends a lot of time checking in with herself. She can see her buddies in the field from her stable, and there is lots going on in the yard. Valarian has been a very useful herb in keeping her settled, aswell as essential oils Violet Leaf and Angelica. Today she selected Patchouli.

She has regular snacks of fresh willow, comfrey and hawthorn, and several dried herbs to keep her body comfortable and her mind calm.

It is really important, when your horse is deprived of movement, to help with circulation and lymph flow, in order for the horse to heal as efficiently as possible, and to prevent muscles from deteriorating rapidly. Regular massage/physio will enable toxins to be removed from the body via the lymphatic system, and stimulation of the circulatory system will have a direct effect on all other systems. Grooming and gentle mobilisations will all help hugely.

Its a long haul, but Harriet is going in the right direction, and is lucky to have an owner who will go the extra mile for her.

13/03/2026

When you stand back and properly see what is in front of you, it is quite alarming to see how far horses have come from how they evolved.

Wild, majestic creatures, athletic, fast and strong. Living in family groups, safe in a herd environment, protecting each other from danger. Walking miles each day as nature intended, seeking clean, unpolluted water, high fibre forage in the form of grass, trees, herbs, moss, seaweed, going further afield for the medicinal benefits they require from nature. Free, glorious and hardy.

Then you look at most modern horse sports and see that beauty and athleticism harnessed, tied down, forced into a shape, using their speed and flight instinct to earn money or rosettes. Once you have recognised frightened eyes, anxiety ridden bodies, tension, you can never unsee it.

I urge everyone to assess posture and performance, be honest about what you are seeing, what you are asking of this noble, generous creature. Learn to recognise pain signals, anxiety and fear. I don’t care what any of the armchair experts spout, you absolute can force a horse to do anything, through fear and force.

Lets go back to watching the horse in his natural environment, moving freely with his herd, lets try and replicate that.

I believe we can enjoy horse sports successfully but with much more emphasis on the horse, how he feels, wether he has been trained with empathy and understanding, to enjoy a partnership. But we do have to be very honest, open minded, and listen when the horse says no.

Money, ego and ambition are the horses downfall.

For me, it always feels a huge honour to share space with these amazing creatures, never mind ride them. I feel that it is our duty to provide them with a life as natural and as close to their needs as is possible, particularly if we want to take from them in terms of sport.

12/03/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about rising hay prices and the impact of extreme weather on forage production.
Weather absolutely matters. Dry springs and drought can dramatically reduce yields.
But one factor is often overlooked.

Soil.

Fields with higher soil organic matter can hold dramatically more water. Even a 1% increase can store roughly 70,000 litres more water per acre (around 175,000 litres per hectare).
That water sits in the soil where plant roots can access it during dry periods.

This is why two fields exposed to the same weather can behave very differently. One burns off quickly, while the other keeps growing.
Plant diversity also plays an important role. Deeper rooting species, herbs and legumes help improve soil structure and access moisture deeper in the soil profile.

Interestingly, we are even seeing deep rooting plants like alfalfa struggle in some systems. This highlights an important point. Root depth alone is not enough if the soil cannot store water.

Healthy soils, organic matter and plant diversity all work together to build resilience.
As weather becomes more volatile, soil health will likely become one of the most important factors in securing reliable forage for horses.
Many of the management approaches that improve horse welfare also happen to be the same ones that build more resilient pasture ecosystems.

Because ultimately this is not just about feeding horses.
𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

12/03/2026

Baileys self selecting some herbs to help her through coat change season. It is a demanding metabolic process, which causes itching and low energy. Or sometimes spooking and unpredictable behaviour! Make sure you sre feeding good quality protein, either in the form of grass or legumes such as sanfoin or lucerne. Bay is working through
Burdock root- a fantastic metabolic support, aids detoxification and supports the liver.
Seaweed- provides a wide range of minerals and Vitamins such as Vit E and S and trace elements zinc, copper and selenium, essential at this time of year.
Brewers yeast- great source a B vitamins.
Barley grass powder- supports gut health and coat condition and vitality.
Don’t forget your Omega 3, in linseed or h**p seeds.

12/03/2026

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: ARE YOU ACCIDENTALLY TURNING YOUR HORSE INTO AN INDUSTRIAL GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT?

It is an Unpopular Opinion… but it’s one worth thinking about.

Many bagged horse feeds, despite the marketing, are not really designed with horse health as the first priority. They are often made using inexpensive fillers and industrial leftovers that allow companies to maximise profit and extend shelf life.

Turn the bag over and read the ingredients. You will often see things like:

Beet pulp
Soy hulls
Molasses
Grain fragments
Vegetable protein meals
Legume hulls
Grain and grain by-products
Vegetable oils
Mineral premixes
Mould inhibitors
Apple flavour

To the average horse owner this sounds technical and scientific.

But when you strip away the marketing language, many of these ingredients are simply highly processed waste by-products from other industries that have been repackaged and sold as horse feed.

For example, beet pulp is what remains after sugar has been extracted from sugar beet. Wheat middlings are the fine leftovers from flour milling once the flour has been removed for human food. Soy hulls and legume hulls are the outer shells left behind after processing beans and legumes. Vegetable protein meals are often the pressed residue left after oils have been extracted from seeds.

Many of the crops used to produce these materials are grown in large-scale agricultural systems that rely heavily on genetically modified varieties, fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. By the time these by-products reach the feed industry they have often been through multiple stages of industrial processing.

They are, in many cases, materials that need to be disposed of somewhere once the primary product has been removed.

So they are dried, processed, blended together, and repackaged with attractive marketing and technical sounding ingredient lists.

Which raises an important question for horse owners.

Just because something can be packaged and sold as horse feed… does that mean it is actually the right food for your horse?

A simple guideline many experienced horse owners follow is this:

If it is not something a horse would naturally encounter and eat in a natural grazing environment, it is worth questioning whether it belongs in the feed bucket.

These ingredients are ground together, mixed with synthetic vitamins and minerals, and the whole mash is then cooked and pressed into pellets where often the real core of what is in them is not clearly stated.

This is a good example - apple flavouring.

Most people imagine that means a little bit of apple.

It doesn’t.

In many cases it refers to a manufactured aroma made from chemicals such as:

Hexyl acetate – used to create a green apple scent and also used as an industrial solvent
• Butyl acetate – commonly used in paints and coatings
• Ethyl acetate – used in inks and adhesives
• Isoamyl acetate – a strong artificial fruit fragrance
• Ethyl 2-methylbutyrate – used to create apple-like aromas
• Propylene glycol – used to carry and blend flavour chemic

If a company is willing to call that “apple flavour,” it raises a reasonable question.

How much trust should we place in the rest of the label?

Another thing worth paying attention to is the amount of added oils in many feeds.

Vegetable oils
Canola oil
Rice bran oil
Soy oil

Horses do not have a gallbladder and their digestive systems evolved to process fibre, not large quantities of extracted oils.

Yet these oils now appear in many feeds because they increase calorie levels and make feeds more palatable.

Over time highly processed feeds, oils and additives can contribute to chronic inflammation and metabolic stress.

The problem is rarely a single event.

It is often more like death by a thousand inflammatory cuts.

Day after day the horse’s digestive system is asked to process ingredients it was never designed to deal with in large quantities.

Over time the strain builds.

Inflammation increases
Metabolic stress increases
Digestive balance begins to struggle

Eventually owners begin to see the symptoms:

Laminitis
Metabolic issues
Digestive problems
Skin reactions
Hoof problems
Behavioural changes

We are also seeing more horses become over-reactive and difficult to settle, and while many factors influence behaviour, diet is often part of the picture.

Because I work in this field helping owners solve problems with their horses, I probably see this more than most.

Many horses arrive on ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty different feeds and supplements in an attempt to solve their health problems.

Then we simplify everything.

Very often most of those products are removed.

And the horse improves.

So what can we do instead?

Start with a species-appropriate diet.

Horses evolved to eat forage made up of:

Grass
Plants
Fibre
Small amounts throughout the day

Not bags of highly processed feeds.

FEED FORAGE FIRST: AND USE A GOOD GRASS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Grass suitable for horses
Low sugar meadow hay
Simple forage
Whole foods such as flaxseed meal

Not highly amplified ryegrass pasture designed for beef and dairy production.

Another common misconception is that feeding real, whole foods must be complicated.

People imagine standing in the feed room grinding seeds or preparing special mixtures for each horse.

That might have been the case many years ago.

It isn’t anymore.

Today you can buy flaxseed meal ready to feed from most agricultural merchants. It has a good shelf life, stores easily, and takes no longer to add to a feed than pouring a scoop of pellets.

No grinding.
No soaking.
No complicated preparation.

Just scoop, stir and feed.

Many owners simply add a small amount of flaxseed meal to a handful of low sugar chaff such as meadow or timothy and feed it that way.

Simple. Quick. Effective.

Flaxseed meal is also one of the most useful whole foods you can add to a horse’s diet because it provides a dense package of natural nutrition.

It is naturally high in digestible fibre, which supports the hindgut and microbiome.

It provides a good quality plant protein that supports muscle maintenance and tissue repair.

It is one of the richest natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support healthy inflammatory balance, skin, coat and metabolic health.

It also provides beneficial nutrients such as vitamin E and important trace minerals.

Because flaxseed meal is nutritionally dense, you do not need to feed large amounts.

Small amounts can provide significant nutritional benefits.

That means you get a lot of nutritional value for very little feed volume.

And here is something many owners don’t realise.

It often costs less to feed a horse real, healthy food than it does to buy heavily processed feeds.

You are already spending the money.

The difference is simply where that money goes.

Often the biggest improvement in a horse’s health and behaviour does not come from adding more products.

Sometimes it comes from removing the things that never belonged in the diet in the first place.

Because horses were never designed to be industrial garbage disposal units.

09/03/2026

Hoorah!!! It is really starting to ramp up out there, green stuff exploding under the hedgerows ! Hawthorn buds appearing, the beautiful tones of hogweed leaves and cow parsley. Nettles and cleavers providing all you need for a blood cleansing spring tonic.

Research is showing that horses do best on a species appropriate diet of diverse forage. Most turn out paddocks are probably fairly horse sick, with little diversity. Trying to fill in the gaps with bagged feeds, often full of fillers and gm modified products, are not a successful alternative, if you value your horses microbiome and ongoing health.

What to do? Definitely look after your paddocks better, do a soil test, see what is lacking, overseed with nutrient boosting herbs and plants. Hoof and Habitat can help you with this.

In the meantime, take your horses on a hedgerow walk and let him choose what he needs to boost his health. He knows what he needs to fill those nutritional gaps.

Scared he will eat something toxic? Get educated! Come to my Spring Forage walk in May and I will teach you what is good, what to avoid and you will be amazed at how much superb medicinal herbs are out there, for free!!! All designed to keep your horses healthy! Fresh is best!!

08/03/2026

One of the most joyous parts of my job is seeing horses go through positive changes.

This little throughbred is a brilliant example. His owner purchased him directly out of racing in April 2024. He had raced over hurdles 43 times from November 2017 to March 2024. He had fell several times, his last fall just before he retired was particularly unpleasant and he walked off the course lame.

The pictures pretty much document his change, from a horse with no top line, no neck muscle, overdeveloped hamstrings and glutes, poor posture as he attempts to cope with his sore body and multiple compensations. He stood in a braced posture, with his legs at all angles, his feet were the usual flat, thin soles, under-run heels.

He was in a lot of discomfort, and I was seeing him fortnightly at one point, with the veterinary chiropractor treating him regularly also.

Just when we thought he was improving, an incident would occur ( horses are good at incidents) and he would set himself back again.

He is lucky to have an understanding owner who has experience of TB’s, and her daughter who was committed to getting him strong enough to ride.

Two years later, after much blood, sweat, tears and TLC, he was deemed strong enough to attend his first dressage competitions and won, qualifying him for the ROR winter championships!
What a journey!

He still receives six weekly treatments from myself, to keep his muscles happy in their new job, and to keep on top of his old back injury. He now stands with a leg at each corner, decent self carriage muscle and better balanced feet.

What i love about this case, is he is completely natural fed, herbs have been an important part of his recovery, and he has been worked without a single “gadget”, lots of hacking, groundwork and correct, sympathetic schooling.

He is the most loving character, everyone adores him and hopefully we will all get to support him at the winter champs! A happy story and a very special horse!

05/03/2026

**********Spring Forage Walk**********
Saturday 2nd May 2026. Harby, LE14
10am-12noon. £30 per person

Interested in improving your horse’s health? Struggling with gut issues, skin problems, respiratory malfunctions? Want to feed your horse a more natural, species appropriate diet?

Join me for a fun and educational equine centred forage walk in Leicestershire.

Out there in natures pharmacy are medicinal herbs, available to your horse for free!!

I will show you which herbs are beneficial and which are toxic. Plant identification is easy to learn and opens up a whole new world of opportunities. Your horse was designed to eat this stuff!! Horses evolved to travel many miles searching for their medicinal herbs, to self medicate. With a little bit of education, you can take the hedge to your horse!

E mail to reserve your space karenwperry@yahoo.co.uk

Karen Perry Animal Therapy

20/03/2026

18/03/2026

18/03/2026

17/03/2026

14/03/2026

13/03/2026

12/03/2026

12/03/2026

12/03/2026

09/03/2026

08/03/2026

05/03/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category