Moving Made Easy

On Sunday I moved my horses to their new stable, an hour away from where they were. The last time my mare was loaded, she freaked out - even though her friends were already on board - and eventually was intimidated into getting on the trailer. That took an hour, and I ended up with a frustrated neighbor (who was doing me a favor by hauling her) and a frightened horse.
So I was dreading having to load her again.
As soon as the trailer pulled up, her eyes got big and the whites showed. As a Quarter Horse, this is her version of being really, really alarmed. First we loaded the mule, who is the boss of my little herd. Then we turned to the mare.
I let her sniff some Lavender and Peace and Calming, two essential oils from Young Living. My friend massaged her neck and shoulders.
The hauler put a Parelli halter on her, and longed her once in each direction.
And she walked onto the trailer.
Non-event. Took five minutes.
I'm never moving a horse without essential oils again! In fact, I'm not going out to the barn without them!

The Magic of Probiotics

I'm reading "The Consumer's Guide to Probiotics" by S.K. Dash, PhD. Apparently there has been a ton of research done on probiotics! They can replace antibiotics...if you choose the right ones. This is why I think the best idea is using a probiotic with multiple strains of bacteria and a high CFU (colony-forming-units) count - that basically tells you how many bacteria per serving.

So isn't it interesting that in our society we're so fascinated with antibiotics (which means "against life") that we take them for the slightest excuse - a minor infection or wound, a cold, whatever - and yet we are slow to use probiotics ("for life")! So slow, in fact, that many people have not even heard of them! But we've all heard of antibiotics.

Probiotics help support the body in performing its normal functions and allow it to successfully heal itself. Antibiotics kill bacteria indiscriminately. Unfortunately, we need some of those bacteria. They keep out worse bacteria, keep yeast in check, and synthesize nutrients that our bodies need from the stuff we eat.

I was in a grocery store and the woman in line in front of me wiped the little credit-device stylus with an antibacterial wipe before she left. She said to me, "I'm doing this for you." I smiled at her and replied, "That's okay, I love bacteria. They're my friends." And indeed they are.