Aristotle was talking about holism when he said that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts". Holistic care means that you take into account the physical, mental, and emotional well being and health when treating or preventing disease. What this looks like in practice is that you do not just try to fix individual symptoms when treating disease but instead take into account any number of factors of physical, mental, and emotional nature; its like looking at the individual trees without losing sight of the forest. For example, a horse with ulcers doesn't just need a "band-aid" for the ulcers themselves but perhaps needs to be fed more often (their gut constantly secrets acid because they were designed to forage most of the day) and/or needs to have its environment, stress load, show schedule, and training re-evaluated. The principle of holism also says, for example, that you cannot view - or treat - a horse's hooves as being separate from its body.
The short and simple definition of holistic comes from Websters:
holistic
- 1 : of or relating to
holism
2 : relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems
rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts <holistic
medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body>
Because of my experiences over the years with
my horse Sage, and various other pets, I have come to the conclusion
that when it comes to health, you really need to know at least a little bit about a lot of things - as well
as
have a team assembled of experts in their respective fields. For example, the farrier
may point out something that the veterinarian missed (and vice
versa), and some people specialize in certain areas that could be
helpful to you and your horse. I have learned that relying exclusively
on your vet, chiropractor, or farrier or anyone else for a certain problem is
usually too narrow a view or path to take. Chances are, there is something or
someone that you have not tried yet in your quest to solve a health challenge. Not every creature responds to the same medicine or the same approach, and sometimes you just need to try a few different things or
combinations of things. And just because it is holistic or natural
or alternative doesn't mean that it will necessarily be the answer
either. Once I had an acupuncture treatment done on Sage, and
she hated it and even had to be twitched - which we both really disliked (and I
regret that I did not stand up for my horse and not allow the twitch).
I cannot stress enough the importance of assembling a good team of knowledgeable, caring individuals to help you and your equine friends. To find a holistic veterinarian, check out the American Holistic Veterinarian Association AHVMA or click here to search immediately: find a holistic vet. The AHVMA site is a great resource for an overview on holistic medicine. Even if you do not have a holistic veterinarian located near you, many of them will do telephone consults as well as coordinate care with your local veterinarian. For a good overview of what integrative medicine really entails, check out Dr. Marty Goldstein - What is Integrative Medicine?
Additionally, you should read, read, read; general horse care books and horse health books by well respected holistic veterinarians and other practitioners are a good start. Arm yourself with information and learn all you can about what a horse needs and wants both physically and emotionally.
Know what a horse would do, be, eat, and have in the wild state - in nature. There are some good documentaries and videos on this topic as well as informative books. This not a horse training website, but instead a health information resource - although the two are inextricably linked since a healthy, pain-free horse will naturally perform better. Learn all that you can from studies done on wild horses and those who study them.
Horses can adapt to domesticated life, and have, but usually not without some kind of ill-effects. If you know the wild horse, and you know your horse (personality, sensitivities, conformation, etc), then it can be easier to figure out what is out of balance and try to bring it back into balance or close to it. You may not be able to give your horse a herd of horses to roam with, over miles of grazing land, but there are a lot of other things that you can do.
Finally, it is vital when coordinating care for your horse that you don't forget to give a voice to your gut instincts and that you are not intimidated by those with higher degrees or more experience; no one has the same degree of bond with your animal as you do. Not being intimidated is very often easier said than done, depending upon your personality, but you may save yourself - and your horse - a lot of heartache and disease if you do.