Skode's Low Sugar Horse Treats

The Power of Projection

Exhausted, I forgot last night, that my young mare, Raya, is so shy and skittish. I walked straight into her space and swung my arms around her neck to give her a hug. Too tired to remember to moderate my motions, the flannel shirt that I had been holding flopped wildly around her neck.

My previously spooky mare simply melted into my embrace, flannel shirt and all.

We hugged under the moon and I kissed her on the check. 

"I love you Raya," I said as I walked away.

Then I remembered. Raya doesn't like to hug that close! Raya doesn't really like to hug at all! 

The entire episode has me wondering: How often do our projections of how we think our horses will act, effect our behavior and then their behavior? Vashka doesn't like to be scratched around his face-- unless a stranger who doesn't know this scratches his nose. Then Vashka bends his face in the middle of my admonition: "Oh, he doesn't really like that."

Horses are so unpredictable. At least, that's what we're told. 

Just maybe, though, it us who predict their behavior with our unpredictable projections. Maybe I should be too tired to project my thoughts around my horses more often!

 

Lori -- aka -- "SKODE"
www.skodeshorsetreats.com 
"It's About a Lifestyle"

Skode's - The Real Deal!

At Skode's Horse Treats, we work inside Skode's cottage, which she has turned into a bakery. Southern Oregon is famous for its cottage industry.  But it is my opinion that we have taken the term to a whole new level :).

At Skode's cottage, Skode's horses, Vashka and Raya, interrupt every work day on a regular basis to ring the doorbell for their cookies! We oblige, even when we at our busiest -- and we are nearly always busy!

Raya, ringing the bell for her cookies!

 

Skode and her bakers mix, form and create treats fit for the fanciest, hard working or simply the most beloved horses on the planet.  One baker's six-hour day in Skode's bakery yields 24 to 26 pounds of cookies and fills three, industrial size dehydrators. Each oven slow bakes your horses cookies for as many as 32 hours. We does this to retain the real-food vitamins and minerals in the foods we use.

 

We are a small company working very hard to grow. But we do not envision being a huge corporation run by machines -- we like giving you and your horses a deeply personal touch through our creations. We like spreading the apple pieces on top of your horses' apple cookies :)

 

And we will NEVER compromise on our quality. Everything we create is from a pure, whole food -- Organic if we can get it. Nothing we offer is "fortified" with vitamins and minerals.  If it has Skode's on it, we made it by hand and we made it from real food. 

 

Lori

 

Lori Yearwood

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle" 

 

 

 

Meet Sadie and Chip -- "The Cinnamon Man"

 

June and Sadie and  Chip --  "The Cinnamon Man" -- have been together a little over a year.  Chip is 21.  Until he came to live with June he has spent his life living through a series of abusive homes.  He  almost died in the last one.

"They had to scrape him off the floor in a corner of a dark stall." June says.

You can see in this photo that Chip "The Cinnamon Man"  is a bit wide- eyed.   

 

But even at the time of this photo, his face is a lot softer than the totally buggy-eyed look he once had when he came to live with June Nishi in Oregon.

Look again and you may also notice the lighter color hair around Chip's nose.

"Previously, a halter was placed on him and never taken off so the the halter cut into his skin," June wrote me. 

So Chip is understandably leery of halters. He has a lot of other scars on his body, too.

"But I think he is adorable," June says. Thus, her nickname for him: "The Cinnamon Man."

These days, Chip the Cinnamon Man, and Sadie, another beautiful rescue pony, are Skode's customers. These horses have experienced the worst in life. Now they are experiencing the best.

"He's the sweetest little mini you'd want to meet," she says. "He is just so gentle and kind even though he has his fear issues.  You can tell that he just so wants to bond with you if he can get over his fear issues and when he is in the present he literally will latch onto me like velcro."

Sometimes The Cinnamon Man likes to get a hug. Other times the demons inside his head get the better of him and he bolts at the thought of human touch.

 Sadie, his friend,  is bold and confident and funny even though she, too was once a rescue mini.

"She really takes care of Chip," June says. "She tries to help him out of his shell, particularly when stuff from the past crops up all of a sudden here."

The flashbacks can be so frustrating. 

"He goes along well --  and then boom..out of the clear blue...it's like he has a psychotic attack," June says.

June  works with a woman who trained in Linda -Tellington Joan's T-Touch. The trainer is an animal commmunicator and while she and June and Chip have made a lot of progress the trainer admits that Chip is one of the most difficult horses with whom she has ever worked.

"She tells me never to give up though because even though it seems like Chip is regressing at times, he loves it here and does not want to leave."

Luckily, June works from home so she is able to spend a lot of time with her Chip and Sadie. 

"All I want is to give him peace and some happiness for the remaining years of his life and to have him experience joy," June says.

To do the things she wants to do -- like take him for long walks in the forest and clean his feet for the farrier, June needs to be able to halter Chip. Given all the The Cinnamon Man has been through with halters, the task can be challenging.

"But truly," June wrote to me,  "Your cookies are doing wonders.  He LOVES them. He is calm and lets me put his halter on in the pasture.  That may seem like a little thing but it is HUGE for him and for me.  I am so proud of him and he seems very calm nowadays ever since the cookies!" 

Sadie, of course,  gets Skode's cookies, too.  She gets them for being good.  She gets them for helping June out with Chip.  And she gets them during a game June has created for all of them.

"She watches me work with him --  and when he does something good, we walk over to her and she gets a cookie too so she is cheering him on!"

This way she is not left out.  After their workout sessions the human/equine herd runs around in the pasture together, chasing each other and laughing and having a good time.

  

June is very careful not to run out of cookies...

"I am trying to portion out what I have left so as not to run out...I am getting a bit paranoid about the cookies but not only do they love it but they are so good for them beside being low in sugar and I don't think I really have to worry about them gaining weight either."

 

A few days ago June thanked me for doing what I do for horses -- "especially for the special ones who really need that something extra like Chip and for Sadie," she wrote in a beautiful email.

But when I read June's letter it is I who felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I am very proud to be part of Chip and Sadie and June's lives. It means everything to me to help horses heal through the joy of a treat.

"SKODE" 

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

 

 

How my Animals are Teaching me to Care for Myself

Luna, my Beagle, had surgery yesterday on her back leg. Somehow, the ALC ligament, tore. It needed to replaced. She has gone through surgeries before but never like this. So the level of pain she is experiencing afterward scares me a lot.

She cries, I rush to her side. She looks at me with a certain look in her eyes and I am down on my knees, offering her water, grilled sirlon , grilled cod -- Luna, honey, how can I help? When it comes to my animals, I am a woman of action.

It doesn't matter what else is going on. If Vashka and Raya need blankets or special herbs or more hay -- whatever it is -- I produce. I'm not bragging. I know everyone reading this does the same for their animal family. Whatever it is our animals need, we find a way to make it happen.

You may have read Thursday's post from the woman who gets up every morning at 4 a.m. so she can ride her horse, who needs the exercise to ward off his Insulin Resistance. I know of another customer who has two jobs -- one as a teacher and another as a grocery store clerk -- so she can take care of her horses in the manner to which they are accustomed.

I know I am far from alone in my devotion to my animals. The question that occurs to me though, is this: Why don't I care for myself like I care for my animals? "If you loved yourself the way you love your horses you would rise to a whole new level in your life" my friend Delia told me. We were talking about self-care. Ah, self care.

For me it can be a gigantic step to simply buy myself a pair of socks without guilt. (The other day I bought some Alpca wool socks. But before I shelled out the $24 for them,I had to pray and ask if it really was okay to splurge like that. Yes, Lori, I heard. YES. Well, alright, I thought, and tentatively bought something luxurious for myself).

But Vashka? Raya? Luna? "Whatever it takes, I don't care how much it costs," I heard myself saying when I found out Luna now needs some joint supplement, probably for the rest of her life. When it comes to my babies, money manifestation is not a problem.

Not so long ago, I was a HUGE leap of faith for me to pay for the care of my animals. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have had maybe $14 in the bank and the horses needed hay. A ton of hay in Oregon costs $255. What to do? What should I do?

Not very long after that, it was as a set of instructions were dowloaded into my brain. I followed instructions -- introduce an autoship program. I sent the newsletter. And within an hour I had three or four autoships on which I could depend. That was three years ago and I have never stopped feeling the impact of that experience.

"Lori -- do that for yourself," my friend Delia said. But Delia, I countered, that's like telling someone who has 35 cents that they need to spend $1. Then another truth arose.

We talked a little more and I realized it's not about making money. It's about making a commitment. This time, to myself. My animal family has taught me how to do that. I know exactly how to draw the mental line in the sand.

I know how to ask for Guidance. I know how to follow through. So now it's time to do that for myself.

Maybe, just maybe, this doesn't require sacrifice. It didn't with my animal family. The whole world expands when I commit to them. We meet new people. We go new places. We have fun. The love for an animal will change everything if you let it.

I bought a nice rug to place next to my bed the other day. I have been wanting one for a long time. Now, every time I put my bare feet down on that rug on a cold morning I am grateful to myself. Not so long after I bought the rug I bought a new microwave that actually works. Every time I heat my coffee, I smile.  

Do I have this lesson down perfectly? Ha. Just a moment ago I looked at Luna, laying on her fluffy bed, healing from her surgery.  My cottage gets so cold. I don't mind being cold (translation = it's only me) . Then Luna shivered. Off I went to make that fire,  laughing at myself as I gathered the wood.

As many of you know, I work  closely with holistic equine experts.

Catherine Bird, author of A Healthy Horse the Natural Way and Equine Naturopath Dr. Cassie Schuster have both helped me help my animals. Over and over, I hear them say that animals will take on our problems to lessen our burdens and/or really get the lesson in front of us.

 Self care is my lesson. I'm starting to get it. A huge thank you to all of my animals, especially Vahska and Luna. With everything I have and all of who I am today, thank you.

 

Lori Yearwood

 

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

Anti-Fungal Salve means the end of Rain Rot scabs for Skode's Mascot

 

In Southern Oregon,  where it basically rains from November until the end of April,  Winter generally =  Rain Rot. At least that's what it has always meant for Vashka,  Skode's mascot.

Times were,  he would get scabs in a couple of places at least  three or four times a year.  Off to the feed store I would go, to try different lotions and potions and motions.  Now that I have learned more about whole food nutrition and altered Vashka's diet accordingly, these unsightly scabs have all but disappeared.  Turns out horses who are susceptible to rain rot often have compromised immune systems -- and thus increased nutritional needs that need to be addressed.  But that's another post.

This post is about a 100 percent natural, herbal-based product called The Anti-Fungal Salve. 

The Salve -- made by a company called Zephyr's Gardens in Santa Barbara, Ca., --  didn't simply heal the rain rot scab I found on Vashka.  Nor did it help the scab gradually disappear.  No, the Anti-Fungal Salve banished  the scab.  And it it performed this miracle pretty much instantly.

I know what you're thinking:  SHOW ME. 

Glad you asked! Because I have a photo I want to show you. :)

This first photo shows you Vashka's rain rot scab.  He's a grey so it's easy to see:

 

 Rain Rot Scabs embedded in Vashka's fur

 

 You can see the pink skin underneath Vashka's coat.  This is a point of infection, a point where the organism, called dermatophilus congolensis -- has taken hold.  D. congolensis is a facultative anaerobe, which is just a super complicated way of saying that it uses oxygen to produce energy when it's available, but that it's also able to switch to fermentation when necessary, which means  it can easily thrive in an oxygen-deprived environment.

 Also referred to as "rain scald" -- rain rot is very contagious. You can spread it through grooming tools, through blankets, saddle pads, etc.  However I always come back to the point of nutrition because I have two horses and my other horse,  Raya,  never ever gets rain rot.  But again, I digress. The point of this post is how to banish  the rain rot once you find it. 

Look what happened literally seconds after I applied the Zephyr Garden Anti-Fungal Salve:

 

 Rain Rot scabs easily lifted by Anti-Fungal Salve

 

Yes. The scabs literally slid off of Vashka's coat.  Some people say you need to wash the horse's coat before you try to remove the scabs. This was not my experience.  I simply dabbed on a very small amount of the Anti-Fungal Salve.

I did not rub.  I did not re-apply.  I simply dabbed.  Then, when I touched Vashka's coat,  the scabs slid off. 

I emailed Georgette Topakas, the owner of Zephyr's Gardens. "I'm so excited!" I wrote.

" Salves are really amazing," Georgette wrote back. " Old as the hills, but a wonderful way to treat the skin.  Deep penetrating, a great carrier for herbs....I see no downsides except a little greasy, but for scabs, you can't beat them. " 

The Anti-Fungal Salve, voted top Product of the Year, by CA Riding Magazine, contains, among other ingredients:  Echinacea, Burdock, Goldenseal Root, Chapparal, Calendula, Sage, Tea Tree, Black Walnut Hulls and other herbs.

I didn't plan the timing of this post in any way.  It just turns out -- you are so LUCKY -- that the Anti-Fungal Salve is on sale if you decide to buy The Total Antil-Fungal Triple Pack.  I bought my salve singularly, in the 80z size.  Either way,  I highly recommend Zephyr Garden's products. 

Click Here to learn more about Gerogette's Anti-Fungal Salve and other Anti-Fungal products. 

 

 

"SKODE" and Vashka!

 

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

Hot Applesauce and Squash Soup to Hydrate Your Horse

Hydrate and nourish your horse with Applesauce/Squash Soup on cold, Winter nights/mornings.  This is a low sugar/starch, whole food recipe my horses -- even my picky mare -- slurps up with absolutely no hesitation.

I like to serve at night before I go to bed. Feeding it gives me the reassurance that my horses are drinking the water they need in this super cold weather we're experiencing in Southern Oregon.

Simply mix:

• 1 liter(about the equivalent of a standard tea kettle) hot but not scalding water.
• 1/3 cup no-sugar added apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• A dash of salt
• 1/3 cup raw yellow squash or zucchini
• Kale or Iceberg lettuce leaves
• 1 tablespoon Spirulina 
• 1 tablespoons Beet Root powder
• 1 liter(about the equivalent of a standard tea kettle) hot but not scalding water.

This recipe is a foundation recipe. You can always get even more creative by adding other foods.  The point is to encourage your horse to drink. Have fun! 

 

"Skode"

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

Overcoming Petty Differences

Vashka and his mares next door

 

We don't really get along with our neighbors, to be honest.

Our judgement against them is that they don't take care of their property, their fencing -- or their horses.  We are forever worrying about the health of one of their horses, about the holes in the fence (from their dogs), etc. However, our horses and their horses, have formed very deep bonds among each other. 

Every morning they gather at the fence line to socialize, play and groom each other.  I love to give them treats, as everyone nickers and runs to the fence line when they see me coming!

Sometimes, it looks like they hate each other -- they pin their ears back and bite at each other a lot. They definitely have their petty differences.  But no one ever gets hurt, and every evening they stand together and  bow their long necks beneath the moon to nap.

Vashka is the only male and these mares, along with his own Raya, are his family. This is his herd and they mean the world to him.  Since we moved here, I have never seen him happier.  Knowing how important these friendships are to Vashka, my mother and I do our best to get along with the neighbors. We don't want them to get mad and separate the horses. It would be easy for them to do -- they have an entire parcel of property that they could cordon off.  

So we overlook things, we forgive things, we do things we don't always want to do -- and we remind ourselves of that saying: "Live and Let Live." 

As I look out my kitchen window it occurs to me how huge this lesson is -- how many times and in how many forms it has come to me.  But I never "got it" until my horse's happiness was at its epicenter.

That's how it is with horses.  When we love them like we do, they teach us how to get along in life.

 

"Skode" -- aka -- Lori Yearwood

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

Fennel Seed for Sensitive Horses

Fennel means "little hay" in Latin.  If you look at the seed closely, it really does look like a miniature piece of hay:

A deeply aromatic little food that is actually a fruit, Fennel is a popular first choice for the treatment of infants suffering from colic. It is also known for many other actions, including with horses. Just some of these uses:

• Re-balancing the metabolism
• Reducing the appetite
• re-establishing healthy intestinal flora
• reducing flatulence
• encouraging secretion of saliva and gastric juices
• reducing stomach cramps
• helping to break up congestion caused by colds and allergies

 

"Fennel will suppress your horse's appetite and help your horse's metabolism find balance," writes Australian Herbalist Catherine Bird in her book  A Healthy Horse The Natural Way.

The official formulator of Skode's Herbal Terrain Hay Mixers, Ms Bird also states that Fennel Seed is a good general tonic herb that you can add to any general tonic blend of herbs, and that the tea is good for the horse prone to or recovering from flatulent colic. Fennel is an important ingredient in the Hay Mixer "Ocean," which Ms. Bird created.

Vashka, Skode's mascot, has a tendency to be gassy during weather changes, especially severe barometric changes. I feed just a teaspoon or two of Fennel seeds to him -- either by hand or in his mashes -- and  within 5 to 10 minutes he is no longer gassy. For those of us worried about gas colic, I highly recommend keeping this herb on hand.

I buy my Fennel Seed in the Certified Organic form www.pacificbotanicals.com  The company runs its own herb farm across the street from my ranch in Southern Oregon. A frequent shopper there, I can attest to their extreme quality. 

In addition to Ms. Bird's book A Healthy Horse The Natural Way, information for this article was also culled from nutritiondata.com and mountainroseherbs.com.

"SKODE" -- aka -- Lori Yearwood'

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

 

Building Your Horse's Reserves with Superfoods -- the first in a series

As Winter begins to bear down on us, it is imperative that we prepare our horses -- especially our Sensitive Horses -- for the stresses that intense weather can bring.

Building your horse's reserves  can help prevent sickness and this approach is a lot less stressful than treating an illness.  

My company's alliance with Dr.Cassie Schuster, a nationally board certified naturopath who collaborates with Skode's,  has taught me about the powerful efficacy of whole foods --  especially  "Superfoods."   I will be addressing several of these in upcoming posts. Today's post  is devoted to Spirulina.

My horses adore Spirulina. I know, a lot of people think the blue-green algae is too pungent to be palatable.  But my horses really do enjoy it.  Raya will eat it straight out of my hand.  Vashka likes up to an ounce mixed into no-sugar-added applesauce, into his morning  feed. He also loves it in his Skode's Energy Bars , which contain a significant amount of Spirulina.

 

Spirulina Powder:

 Spirulina is a good a good source of Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium and Potassium, and a very good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Copper and Manganese, according to nutritiondata.com (as well as many other sources).

As an Insulin Resistant horse, Vashka tends to have a compromised immune system. This weakness manifested itself in mild to severe allergy symptoms.  However once I began feeding him a regular dose of Spirulina, his symptoms literally disappeared.  I like to buy the powdered form here: www.mybestequine.com

The efficacy of feeding Spirulina to my own horses has so impressed me that I have begun eating it myself (horses before humans, lol). I eat mine in the from of  a treat, too! It's a vegan bar, dipped in organic dark chocolate. You might want to check it out for yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Lous-Chocolate-Spirulina-1-41-Ounce/dp/B002C3TPKO

 

Enjoy!

 

"SKODE" -- aka Lori Yearwood

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

"It's About a Lifestyle"

Everyone and everything is Connected

Everyone and everything connected. Take a minute to read this letter I just received:

Everyone and everything is connected, even when we forget. If you have a moment, read this letter from a Skode's customer. It's a real testament to what "going natural" really means: 


Dear Lori,

I know you are busy, but I just thought I'd write to tell you thank you. I have been on this amazing journey with my mare this year and I can't really put my finger on when or how this happened, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it started with getting your treats and reading your stories. I'm lucky she doesn't have the challenges of being IR or Cushings, but none the less we have jumped onboard the whole natural thing : ) I have always been the "odd one" when it comes to how I would take care of my mare so now I have found a circle of friends that are like minded and it feels wonderful. She has been barefoot for years, but much of my journey started with a new trimmer that knows what she's doing!!! WOW what a difference it makes. Harley's story made me cry(and still does) but also made me do my homework before I selected my trimmer. 

So when I thought I was just buying a new wonderful treat I got WAY more than that!!! So thank you from the bottom of mine and my mare's heart. Keep doing what you're doing!!! You are making a difference while supplying hand held love : )

 

Jacqui

Received and re-posted by Lori Yearwood -- aka -- "SKODE"

 

Skode's Horse Treats, Inc.

www.skodeshorsetreats.com

Re-Defining the Notion of a Treat!