Howdy Folks,
Casie Bazay started her love affair with horses as a very
young girl, growing up with horses and barrel racing by her fifteenth birthday.
She was also born with a love of writing. Little did she know those two loves
would combine and set a path for her to follow; helping horses everywhere using
the written word.
Life and horses seemed to guide her to creating a successful
blog and website, "The Naturally Healthy Horse," where she shares her
and others' knowledge of helping horses live healthy and naturally.
Her journey up that path began as a young girl, but received
a big push by her barrel horse, Hershey. While Casie was taking time off after
the birth of her son in 2007, Hershey became mysteriously lame. So severe was
his condition that returning to the barrel course arena was out of the
question.
Hershey was only 14 at the time, and no amount of
Veterinarian visits, consultations, or money could define the cause, much less
cure it. Desperate, and driven to find help for her long time partner, Casie
began to explore alternative treatments with Hershey,
including chiropractic, massage, and acupuncture. She purchased books on these
modalities to learn more about them herself. Particularly fascinated by
one book on equine acupressure (which is based on the same TCM principles as
acupuncture, only without needles), she decided to attend courses offered by
the authors of the book (Nancy Zidonis and Amy Snow of Tallgrass Animal
Acupressure Institute) and become certified in equine acupressure. A grant from
her Indian tribe, The Chickasaw Nation made it possible for Casie to attend the
courses.
"Attending Tallgrass was the
beginning of my journey into learning about holistic horse health. As
part of my course requirements, I also took two of Dr. Kellon’s equine
nutrition courses, and this sparked an intense interest in nutrition (my horses
and also my own.) I also met a barefoot trimmer while attending Tallgrass
(Lu Garnas from Montana), and the things she told me about led me to study
natural trimming. This became another fascination of mine and I
eventually learned to trim my own horses." Casie explained.
She used her newfound
knowledge and skills to help Hershey and her other horses. She put them on a
forage-based diet balanced in minerals, started giving them regular acupressure
sessions, and began trimming their hooves every four weeks.
Despite all her efforts, Hershey’s
condition remained the same. She came to a real turning point when she
gave up trying to ‘fix’ Hershey in order to ride or barrel race him again, and
instead decided to let him enjoy his well-earned retirement and take the best
care of him she possibly could. She began to see Hershey as her
teacher. "After all, he had inspired me to learn so much and led me
to take a path that I never dreamed I’d follow." Casie said. "I
learned that my love of horses exceeded my love of barrel racing and competing,
and I was okay with just taking care of my horses and enjoying them whether I
was riding or not."
Soon she began freelance writing
for equine publications to share a little of what she’d learned, and continues
to learn with others. Her articles in "The Horse," and other
magazines were so well received she started her blog about a year ago. The
Naturally Healthy Horse, has proven to be a valuable resource for horse owners
all over the world about equine nutrition, barefoot
hoof care, and acupressure.
"I also write about specific
equine conditions such as insulin resistance, Cushing’s, heaves, etc. so people
can be more aware of these common conditions. I never intended to portray
myself as the ‘expert’ on the blog, but my goal was to inspire people to get
educated about horse health and natural care. I do plenty of research for
each of my posts." Casie explained.
 |
| Casie and Hershey |
"My four horses, Hershey, Bob,
Lee Lee, and Kady often guide my posts. Whatever is going on with them
often becomes the topic of my next blog post. I must say that even though
the blog is a lot of work, I love doing it! If it can help even one
horse, I would say that it has been worth it."
People and Horses Helping Horses
and People is what our Coffee Clutch Feature Friday is all about, and Casie and
her horses and blog are doing just that ... Kessy and I hope you'll join, The
Naturally Healthy Horse (CLICK HERE). And feel free to send in your questions.
You can join them on Facebook HERE
Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry.
No comments:
Post a Comment