From our nutritional corner:
Most people who are familiar with Three Treasures Farms know of our great teacher, T’Pring. A former Hunter/Jumper all star, turned lesson horse, T’Pring frequently is the “Horse That Could”. When Ferronato first began her rehabilitative work on T’Pring, six years ago, many people thought Ferronato had finally bitten off more than she could chew. T’Pring’s lameness was so severe that it looked to most that there was simply no hope for the horse to live a productive and pain-free life. After two years of intensive therapy, T’Pring went from being a horse who couldn’t even trot to the left to winning in the local dressage show ring at Intro level. Not bad for a stiff old lady mare!
Ferronato attributes a great deal of T’Pring’s successful recovery to good nutrition and the excellent body work she has received. T’Pring receives several massages each week and was getting chiropractic adjustments sometimes as often as twice per month. Sadly, with Dr. Lindberg’s relocation to the Medford area, all of the Three Treasures Farms horses and ponies are missing her magical healing touch.
Given the recent financial climate, we at Three Treasures Farms have been forced to make some difficult financial choices. With T’Pring’s supplements costing more than several other horses’ put together, we have been forced to cut back on hers so that other critical bills could be paid. Over the last few months the lack of supplementation has contributed to several setbacks in her soundness.
T’Pring’s heart often over shadows the rest of her body and she has a tendency to give it her all, even when she shouldn’t, only to end up laming herself and needing to be off work for periods of time. Those periods of time were becoming longer and more frequent, causing her to lose much of her muscle tone, and creating a downward spiral. We were starting to worry that this great matron might no longer able to teach in the way she was accustomed.
At that time we had run out of her Earth Angel Herbs’ Nublada’s Formula (given to treat her melanomas) but had a tub of their Easy Stride formula donated. Ferronato elected to try the Easy Stride until funds could be raised to purchase more of the cancer treatment formula. A remarkable thing happened, though: T’Pring got her game back. She began to become more and more sound, having more and more energy and showing a high interest in teaching again.
When Working Student Alyce Miller tacked her up to do some under saddle walking, T’Pring literally pranced into the arena and has been convincing Ferronato to let her work every day since. Her soundness has improved by leaps and bounds (even jumping around when Ferronato asked her to do some free movement to assess her soundness, AFTER teaching a full hour lesson).
Although we are continuing to proceed slowly and cautiously (even if T’Pring is not) we are so amazed and excited by what we are seeing that we couldn’t wait to share the good news with everyone. The Easy Stride formula is significantly cheaper than what we had used previously for T’Pring’s joint and muscle health, which allows us to save money and provide more supplementation to our other horses in need.
For those of you wishing to contribute to T’Pring’s continued recovery, Earth Angel Herbs generously provides Three Treasures Farms with a $40 discount on the four-month-supply size of all their wonderful products, including both Easy Stride and Nublada’s Formula. They also make it very easy for Three Treasures Farms’ supporters to help us. People wishing to donate simply contact them directly: they’re on the web at www.earthangelherbs.com or toll-free at (877) 898-8098. Just let them know you wish to make a donation to us and provide your payment information; they already have all the shipping information to deliver the product directly to our door. Since we are a 501c3 non-profit, if you email us a copy of your receipt from Earth Angel Herbs, we are able in turn provide you with a donation receipt for your taxes.
We offer many thanks to everyone who has assisted with donations in the past, and to those of you who continue to support us in the present and future. Thanks to you, we can look forward to being able to share this amazing horse and teacher with many more of you in the years to come.
Equine Massage Therapy is a wonderful tool to have in your kit. It enhances performance; assists in injury prevention; can be used in some cases as first aid; and, perhaps most importantly, it deepens the relationship you have with your horse. If you become advanced enough, you can even begin to massage horses professionally, to bring in a little extra income!
