A CalmSolution

ASHWAGANDA    (Withania somnifera)
Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; SERENITY, SERENE, TRANQUILITY & ATTITUDE
It is a valued herb of the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine. This is an adaptogenic herb, meaning that it adapts to the horse’s experience and balances the mood. It serves as an anti-depressant and has been used extensively in humans and animals. While we typically do not talk about depression in horses, it can occur more often than we realize. Ashwaganda is truly extraordinary It can alleviate the impact of a stressful lifestyle including habits such as cribbing and weaving. It may even reduce effect of tension that horses experience from intense activity by increasing physical endurance and stamina, while at the same time, reducing the cortisol response. Interestingly, this herb also reduces pain which can be a significant stressor for horses recovering from athletic injuries or suffering progressively worsening aging-related arthritis.  By offering Ashwagandha, you may be able to ease your horse’s distress as well as improve recovery time from injury or surgery.

 
LEMON BALM  (also known as Bee Balm and Melissa)
Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; SERENITY, SERENE, & TRANQUILITY 
It can help address all states of anxiety. It is especially beneficial to horses that are learning to cope with training, competition and new environments as it has a soothing effect on the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract.  Also helpful for those that have suffered spasmodic colic as Lemon Balm has the added effect of anti-spasmodic properties helping to reduce muscle pain, cramping and twitching. Lemon Balm is a hardy perennial and a member of the mint family, which grows in dense clumps to a metre heigh. It is shallow-rooted with creeping rhizomes, which gives rise to upright square stems bearing ovate leaves, toothed and crinkled. Small white hooded flowers appear mid-summer. The whole plant releases a delicious lemony scent when bruised.


CHAMOMILE  Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; SERENITY, SERENE & ATTITUDE.
It is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind. It is a member of Asteraceae/Compositae family and represented by two common varieties viz. German Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) and Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). The dried flowers of chamomile contain many terpenoids and flavonoids contributing to its medicinal properties. A pretty plant with white flowers and feathery leaves, it is also beneficial for animal health too. It has the same relaxing properties for animals as it does a human, soothing both the nervous and digestive systems. This is particularly relevant for animals who are of an anxious nature and/or produce loose droppings.


VALERIAN Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; SERENITY & SERENE
It has been used as a medicinal herb since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. It is a tall flowering grassland herb but it is the root that is used for its calming properties. this is a plant that's native to Europe but also grows in North America and parts of Asia It can be a popular choice for helping animals who are stressed. It has a characteristic pungent odour not unlike smelly feet. It helps to calm the excitable and over-active mind as well as relaxing muscle spasms. In addition to its proven ability to quiet the central nervous system it can relieve anxiety and excitability without reducing the animals mental faculties or their physical ability to
perform.
 

VERVAIN  Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; TRANQUILITY, SERENITY & ATTITUDE
It has a long history as a medicinal herb across many different cultures. It is a perennial plant with delicate jagged leaves and small, pale lilac five-petaled flowers on shoots. The vervain flower can bloom light blue to purple flowers, but some vervain will bloom with pink or white flowers. Although pretty, vervain flowers have no fragrance. During the Middle Ages, vervain was often used in magicians’ and witches’ potions. In folk medicine, vervain was used for protection. Vervain has tonic, nerve restoring and “lifting” qualities which, combined with its ability to improve liver and digestive function, makes it well-suited to those animals who are convalescing from chronic illness. As a nervine relaxant and antispasmodic it can assist animals who are tense and sensitive by relaxing the gut, peripheral nerves and muscles, allowing them to perform without “burning up” their energy through anxiety.


HOPS Is found within our CalmSolution supplements; SERENITY & TRANQUILITY The ancient Romans grew hops as a garden plant and ate the young spring shoots which are reminiscent in taste of asparagus. English country folk and gypsies in the following centuries would continue to partake of hops in this manner and, as is so often the case, hops made its way into the herbalist’s repetoire via the kitchen – its medicinal value being discovered through noting the effects on people when the plant was eaten as a vegetable. Hops is a close relative of both stinging nettle and the Cannabis genus, and is native to North America, Europe, and Asia. It is distinguished by its vine-like leaves and unusual, green-yellow, scaly buds. The female flowers, called ‘strobiles’, are the parts now used medicinally and in the production of beer. Hops have always been used to soothe and settle – by calming and toning the nerves in cases of anxiety, insomnia, tension and restlessness. For animals hops effects are valuable when help is needed to re-model old habits and nervous attitudes.


CHASTETREE BERRY (Vitex agnus-castus) Is found within our CalmSolution supplement; ATTITUDE    The plant is a shrub that grows in the Mediterranean and parts of Asia. The fruits and leaves contain active ingredients that can influence hormonal balance. This herb is purported to support hypothalamus and pituitary function. The pituitary gland uses hormones to control bodily functions, and PPID causes this gland to work overtime, which can lead to a variety of problems, such as abnormal fat deposits or unexplained laminitis. However, dysfunction of the pituitary gland is connected not only with PPID, but also insulin resistance and hypothyroidism. Chaste tree berry supports normal functioning of the pituitary gland by naturally balancing and maintaining dopamine levels produced by the gland. It also balances out progesterone levels, making it a good option for ‘moody’ mares. And because of its hormone-balancing effects, it can aid in calming overly-aggressive stallions or geldings as well.