The Whole Horse Podcast with Alexa Linton Alexa Linton

This episode with holistic practitioner and classically trained homeopath Julie Anne Lee is absolutely jam packed with digestible, insightful information about the often-mysterious practice of homeopathy and some super helpful facts about remedy usage. 
 Additionally, we chat about feeding medicinal mushrooms to horses, and how the wisdom of mushrooms matches up beautifully with horses, and Julie shares the intention behind her signature equine-specific probiotic, one of my personal favourtie products. 
Whether you’ve dabbled in using homeopathic remedies with your horses or have never ventured into this healing method, I can guarantee you’ll walk away from this discussion with an improved understanding as to how this medicine functions as well as tips for using it effectively. I'm so grateful for Julie's perspective, and to be a proud representative of her brand! 
Julie Anne Lee, DCH, RCSHom, has been the owner and practitioner of some of the busiest and long-standing holistic veterinary hospitals and clinics in North America. Graduating from the Vancouver Academy of Homeopathy’s 4 year Homeopathic Medicine Program, she has studied with some of the world's leading veterinary homeopaths, including UK veterinarians, Dr. Sue Armstrong, Dr. Mark Elliot, Dr. Peter Gregory and Dr. John Saxton. She then completed a four year program with the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons, BAHVS, where she is now an Associate Member. She also co-founded and taught a three-year post-graduate program to veterinarians in Canada with Dr Sue Armstrong to help bridge the gap between human and animal homeopathic medicine.
Julie is now the founder and co-owner of the Adored Beast Apothecary, where she formulates holistic pet care products. She is also a pioneer in studying the animal microbiome and developing protocols for optimizing gut health - all part of a rapidly expanding picture and understanding of the crucial role the microbiome plays in the health of all our animals and ourselves. She's also part of a research and development team examining, producing, and formulating unique, first-in-the-industry species-specific probiotics and functional prebiotics for animals.
Currently, Julie is in her fifth year of an extensive research project on canine cancer at Dalhousie University. The research has already led to the filing of a patent on a new manufacturing process and formulation and the publication of two peer-reviewed original research articles. Julie is also doing research and development within her medical mushroom forest, Myco-Biome, in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Julie lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, on her rescue farm, Joseph's Field.
Learn more about Julie Anne and order her products at https://www.adoredbeast.ca (and Alexa is now a distributor for anyone living on Vancouver Island!). 
 
 

In this moving episode I am joined by horse trainer Diana Waters of Responsive Equine. We begin with an overview of some of Diana's formative equestrian experiences, including her passion for training at the walk and its many benefits to the equine-human partnership, and then head into a vulnerable conversation about her journey rescuing a horse whom she diligently and compassionately attempted to rehabilitate, only to ultimately make the incredibly difficult choice to end his life. 
I am very grateful for Diana’s courage to share the story of her time with this young gelding, Forrest, and for all the moments of wisdom and humanity throughout our discussion. Choosing to lay our animals to rest, especially when they are young and/or struggling with mysterious ailments is often the hardest, most fraught time in our shared lives, and I hope this episode serves as a portal to navigating those spaces with increased self trust and grace. 
Diana Waters is a qualified riding coach, ethics teacher and equine-assisted psychotherapist. She is passionate about the benefits of walk work with horses, finding a magical place where deep connection and profound changes happen. Inspired by her experiences with the French classical technique of 'School Walk', and after witnessing the incredible benefits of walk work on her own horses, Diana recently created the live online course, The Power of Walk, which builds on a foundation of deep connection with gentle classical exercises, utilising the regulated nervous system to bring about long term change. Diana also facilitates a course for other equine-assisted psychotherapists, where they explore how they can further enhance horse-human relationships in their practice. Diana would like to live in a world where horses and humans connect authentically and find joy together. She is on a lifelong journey of learning from the horse and is always looking for ways to better the lives of domesticated horses and to enrich the horse-human relationship. She currently lives in NSW Australia, but dreams of returning to the UK for a simple life of long trail rides in the beautiful countryside.
You can visit Diana's website https://www.thepowerofwalk.com to learn more about her work.

It was such a pleasure to have Shannon Beahen back on the show today for an impassioned discussion about our mutual interest in stewarding and cultivating relationship with land - with special attention as to how that endeavour relates to keeping horses, obviously!  
We wandered together through the topics of land having its own nervous system, what it feels like for us to be on a path of evolution as horse people, and how we can benefit from navigating our relationships with the land, our horses and ourselves through a lens of emergence, rather than one of fixed ideals and blueprints of “success”. 
If you haven’t listened to my previous recordings with Shannon, check out episodes 92 and 81 of the Whole Horse Podcast, or dive right in to today’s episode for a more conversational, but equally important interview! 
Shannon is an alternative horse trainer, online educator, academic and writer. She specializes in teaching her own “high vibration” approach to natural dressage and liberty as well as the creation of species-appropriate habitats that promote dynamic movement and sovereign equine lifestyles. She is passionate about exploring and articulating the ethics of embodied horse-human relationships. Her hope is that through teaching a deeper awareness of human-animal and human-environment relations, equestrian education ceases to be a privileged pastime; and instead may just provide some of the seeds to birth a new earth.
Learn more about Shannon and her work at www.humminghorse.com

This week on the podcast I was joined by holistic veterinarian Dr. Rachel Heart Bellini for her perspective and experience of the scope of vet med and the ways in which she’s supplemented her education over the years in order to be of better service to horses. 
We had a really interesting conversation about the gap and, at times, inconsistencies between body workers and veterinarians, and discussed possible solutions for bridging these professions in a way that optimizes care and treatment for our equines. 
Whether you’re an equine care provider or a horse owner, this episode will leave you with food for thought on the horse health and wellness industry, and hopefully some new ideas about assessing where to start when it comes to helping the horses in your life feel their best. 
Heart Equine is owned by Rachel Heart Bellini DVM CVSMT CVA CVBM. Rachel is a holistic sports medicine veterinarian who uses her broad based education, years of experience and MOST importantly a large NETWORK to provide you with the absolute best whole horse solutions available. Rachel began her career on the racetrack, travelling the country with access to the best horses, trainers and veterinarians in the industry. That was followed up by a lengthy stint doing referral sport horse medicine clinic working for an industry pioneer in imaging and treatment of the cervical spine. She had access to the most up to date conventional diagnostic and treatment resources. After hitting a plateau in what she could offer she embarked on what has now been a fifteen year deep dive into multiple non conventional modalities. She has since acquired certifications in both traditional and balance method veterinary acupuncture and veterinary spinal manipulation therapy. Other certifications and trainings include many advanced manual therapy techniques, applied kinesiology, advanced neurology, human classical homeopathy, spiritual and anthroposophical medicine, postural rehabilitation, multiple ISELP courses and canine rehabilitation. Most recently her interests have turned to training techniques doing multiple clinics with industry leaders like Manolo Mendez, Mark Rashid and Celeste Lazaris. What she brings to her clients is a melding of all things with the goal of treating each partnership where they currently are and providing the guidance, support and therapies for long term health and soundness of our equine athletes. 
Follow Rachel on her FB page, Heart Equine, and visit her website to learn more http://heartequine.com
 

I was excited to be joined by Amy Dell of Abbotts View Livery for this episode, who wrote the book Horse Track Systems and runs her own track livery in England. 
What I loved about Amy’s book is how it laid out the steps and tips for creating your own track system in a very thoughtful and practical way, and it was great to be able to go into more detail about many aspects of tracks systems within this episode. Our discussion ranged from footing, to forage, to considerations for shelter and integrating new herd members. 
It was truly inspiring to hear how successful Amy has been at providing enriching and healthy living environments to a variety of horses, and I hope our chat leaves you with lots of ideas as to how to get started on your own ideal equine environment or improve upon the one you have already built!  
Amy Dell runs Abbotts View Livery, a successful track system livery based in the south east of the UK. 
Amy started AVL in 2016 at the age of 21, after completing a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. In November of 2022, she released what would become a best selling book entitled Horse Track Systems to share her hard earned knowledge with the world and help other equestrians create amazing environments for their horses, either as a livery or for their own use. She also runs a consultancy business, and has helped many people worldwide over the phone to plan, get started, or develop their track systems. She dreams of the day when all horses get to live outside with free choice, forage and friends. 
Learn more about Amy's work and purchase her awesome book at her website: https://www.barefootandbacktonature.com/ 

This week I was joined by my long-time friend and colleague Jodine Buydens (pictured here with her mare Breeze) for a beautiful conversation on the horses who have shaped her life and given her the tools to be able to help humans receive the many teachings of their own equines, or, for some folks, encounter horse wisdom for the first time.
We talked about what it can look and feel like to have soul contracts with our horses, and how those lessons and missions differ depending on each unique horse. Jodine also shared how she’s learned to tune into and differentiate between her own nervous system and that of the horses and people she works with, and how this skill has been integral to being able to meet any situation with what it needs. 
I hope after listening to our chat that you walk away with a renewed appreciation for your equine relationships, and perhaps a fresh perspectives on the impact knowing one another has had too. 
Jodine Buydens is an Equine Behaviour Specialist, author of If Your Horse Could Talk, and Pro-EFW Dual Certified Equine Professional, Learning Professional and Mentor. A lifelong horsewoman, she has dedicated her career to empowering and improving the lives of horses and humans through education, communication, and the depth of connection found through her teachings. You can find out more here: https://www.capallcoaching.com/links