Holistic Horseworks Talks with April Love

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Springtime is a good time to give your horse a nice tuneup.   Start by looking at the horse's mouth. Get an equine dentist to work on the teeth. When the teeth don't line up correctly, the bit is going to be very uncomfortable for the horse. The next thing, is what to do about all that hair! Then, take a look at...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Have you ever considered rescuing a horse from a bad situation? Rescue horses often come with a low or even free price tag, but they can come with many issues that will end up costing you more in the long run. In this episode April discusses what she does when presented with a horse for retraining that has come from a negl...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! An owner that was desperate to help her horse, hosted a clinic with April Love to help her mare that had become unrideable. The mare's whole right hind leg, her hoof, her stifle, was pointed out and she couldn't back up.  The owner was frantically trying to figure out something to help her horse get better.  Firs...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! When racehorses come off the track, they will need a little help transitioning to life as pleasure horses. Off the track Thoroughbreds tend to be high-headed and hollow backed and often stronger on one side than the other.  Bodywork may help them release the diaphragm so they can lift their back and tuck their head as expe...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Since most people are right-handed, polo plays carry the mallet in their right hand.  Because the mallet is in the right hand, the rider is often leaning to the right. That leads to one side of the horse being affected by the rider's weight, more than the other. To help polo horses stay on the top of the game, yoga an...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Horses that are driven can have different soreness issues than horses that are ridden. April Love simply looked at a competitive driving horse in the stall and described the horse's issues without even seeing him move. The horse had hock issues for years and after some Holistic Horseworks bodywork, was moving much bet...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! If you live in a colder climate, it's time to think about winter care for your horses, especially the older ones. Should you blanket or not? Getting enough water in the winter is crucial to preventing impaction colic. Hear some ways to increase water consumption when it's cold. Hooves also tend to be neglected mo...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! A woman brought her horse to a Holistic Horse Works clinic to help her with contracted tendons. The horse's muscles were so tight, they felt as hard as a rock. Veterinarians suggested surgery but the owner wanted alternatives. After completing all three levels the horse was looser, softer, and more comfortable than sh...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! The standard treatment for Lyme disease in horses is antibiotics.  Many horses, though, are still not quite right even after treatment and the bloodwork reveals the infection is gone. These horses may have many problems that all need to be addressed. Bodywork is one thing, along with hot oil treatment of the spine has help...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! When a horse has surgery, they will have many issues afterward. To get the horse to the surgical table, they are usually hoisted up by their legs. They can also develop problems from lying too long on their side. Post-surgical issues need to be addressed right away. For major surgeries, it will be a six-month process to ge...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! A young horse puts his head down and when the rider tries to pull his head up the saddle slips forward and further agitates the horse. It is not a behavioral or training issue, the horse is trying to say his back hurts. Putting a straight saddle on a crooked horse is going to be uncomfortable.  This episode covers what to...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! A horse’s hooves are not as hard as you might think. When a horse has pain in their body, it will shift its weight to find some relief. After a while, the hooves bearing the extra weight will start to change shape.  If you examine your horse’s hoof from behind, does one side seem higher than the other? If you compare all f...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Does your horse have a really choppy stride. What is this caused by and what can you do to fix it? The choppy trot in the front end is because everything is just so tight and jammed up.  Leg circles can loosen everything up and make your horse lighter and springier in the front legs. #equine #bodywork #stride Support the s...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! April explains how she can provide personal one-on-one instruction via Zoom sessions.   For students who are taking the home study course, this is a great opportunity to get feedback to make sure they are doing the moves correctly. Learn more at www.holistichorseworks.com Support the show To keep learning about horses: • G...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! By the time your mare nears the end of her pregnancy, she will no doubt be feeling uncomfortable.  You can do Holistic Horseworks horse yoga. It's very gentle. Stay away from the rib lifts, but you can still do the carrot stretches. You can still do the front leg circles, you can do the tail pulls and the buttocks to...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text!  So, it's springtime. The horses are all shedding like crazy. What can you do to make sure your horse's coat is as healthy as possible? Also, that you are not taking it all home with you? Well, the first thing is to get all that awful hair off! I always had Arabians and had white hair everywhere, …….absolutely ev...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! So, I've noticed, you know, with everything going on in the planet, I mean, here on Maui, it's $400 for a horse shoeing every six to eight weeks. You're just like, oh my goodness, who can afford this?  I don't know what it is back in the states, but I know steel is going to be going up. fuel going up ag...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! As summer approaches many horsemen will supplement their horses with electrolytes. Are added electrolytes necessary?  Is it good to give electrolytes? Or is it a waste of money? What should a horse owner do? The worst thing I've seen, and I didn't know when I first got horses was that salt lick that we put out in...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Marisa Levitt, based in Australia is an IICT certified instructor for Holistic Horseworks.  While researching how to help her Arabian mare when one hoof grew larger than the other, Marisa found April Love's Youtube site. She later attended a clinic and the rest is history. Listen to Marisa explain how the Holistic Hor...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! The Level one course will provide a solid foundation on how to do bodywork on horses, whether it's your own or your client's. Layla Harris, an IICT Certified instructor for Holistic Horseworks explains what happens at a Level 1 clinic. Support the show To keep learning about horses: • Get the free Horse 101 ebook...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! After you have taken a Level 1 clinic, you have the option of taking levels 2 and 3. These clinics will delve a little deeper into the physical aspects of bodywork and specifics relating to the cranial sacral area.  Layla Harris is an IICT Certified Instructor for Holistic Horseworks.  Support the show To keep learning abo...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! Donna initially did some online searching to find out how to help her horses.  She found April's Holistic Horse Works program and then signed up for a clinic. Then COVID hit and the clinic was canceled. So Donna did the home study course. When Donna herself, got sick she found that April also had things to help humans...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! April talks with a horse owner who was at her wit's end trying to find out why her horse was on-and-off lame. After spending thousands doing diagnostic work, she was advised to put the mare on multiple medications, use special shoes, etc. The owner considered euthanasia. Instead, the owner found April's Holistic...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! An owner had a horse that was acting up and they were going to send it to a trainer. But is it really a training problem? Or is it the horse trying to tell them that they're in pain? We've been taught that if the horse doesn't want to canter to the left or the right or doesn't, want to do a certain thin...

Have a question you'd like April to answer on the show? Send us a text! What’s in the water that your horse is drinking? I've been doing distance readings. People send me in left and right picture of their horse name, age goals and any specific issues and I give them like a seven page report back on what's really going on with their horse.  Seven or eight years ago, water source was...