Hair analysis is the cause of discussions from several aspects. Some have many good experiences; others do not think it works.
Harness Racing RST (RST Travsport) has talked to Elisabeth and Hans Söderström who owes and operates the companiesHomeopathic House Söderström AB in Sweden and Swedish Horse Power in the United States and their work focused on the horse’s health.
HOW DO YOU TAKE HAIR SAMPLE FROM A HORSE?
We usually say that taking a sample from a man, so much as a pencil thick and four inches long piece of hair, is sufficient for us to perform analysis on. It is not necessary to provide any information on the horse’s symptoms except for the age, sex and what form of competition the horse is involved in, because we can provide a more informative response to the customer by having that information.
HOW DO YOU PROCEED WHEN THE SAMPLE COMES TO YOU?
The test is recorded when it comes to us and we try to do them in turn. We receive many samples so it may cause some delays. With an instrument, we measure the energy of the “electric micro-circulatory system” (energy channels which runs in the body like blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves). Energy channels are in turn linked to different organ systems.
WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS POSSIBLE TO FIND FROM THE HAIR SAMPLES?
It is through this method that it is possible to see an imbalance long before the emergence of a symptom occurs and it is easier to prevent disease in the horse. For example, symptoms of stomach problems can lead to an increased risk of repetitive strain injuries in the carpal joint in young trotters. If you can correct stomach problems at an early stage, damage can be avoided by inserting a preventive treatment.
Other symptoms caused by digestive disorders can cause the horse problems in the start of a race when he starts volts if it is a trotter. He can easily gallop from the start and he hangs on the right rein and breaks with the head to the left and so on. More common symptoms of digestive disorders are perhaps poor appetite, swollen glands under the jaw bone, weight loss etc.
It may sometimes happen that the horse shows only one symptom: low HB. It has to do with the blood-forming nutrients: iron, B6 and B12, which normally must be entered in the lower part of the stomach, not taken up, that we can also see through the analysis. But what is also important to know is that feeding the horse with synthetic vitamins and metallic minerals can also cause disease symptoms, allergies, and poisoning.
WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION FROM THE HAIR SAMPLES?
By the imbalances we find when we measure the energy flow, we have learned that the body has a symptom language. The symptom language has shown us that the first sign of disturbances in the kidneys is when the horse begins to “drag” its left hind leg. Once we understand what the body is trying to say with the symptom, we can directly target the cause, in this case; the kidneys. The fact that we have learned the body’s symptoms indicates language you could say is the “secret” that is possible to deduce as much from the hair.
WHICH CONDITION IS THE MOST COMMON?
Feed hypersensitivity is the most common cause and giving many different disease symptoms in the horses. Our view is that the horse should be fed by biologist custom feed, feed that fits the horse’s digestive system since horses are grazing animals. The horses start to get the same “modern diseases” that people have today and the gastric ulcer is a very common ailment. In recent years the horses started to develop insulin resistance or the opposite, diabetes, and this is food-related diseases in horses as well as in humans. Feed does not cure any illnesses, “the scholars said, ” but clearly proven is that the wrong food cause disease in the horses.
IS IT COMMON THAT YOU GET SAMPLES FROM TROTTING HORSES?
Trotting horses belong to our largest customer circles in both Europe and North America.
DOES YOUR HAIR ANALYSIS SHOW ANY PARTICULAR SYMPTOMS AS THE MOST COMMON?
The most common problem we see is that the horse started to hang on the right rein. The reason is food related, according to my description before.
HAIR ANALYSIS HAS BEEN SISPUTED OVER THE YEARS
After thirty years in the industry Elisabeth and Hans Soderstrom never say that their service can replace veterinarians or veterinary medical treatment. Many of our clients have already sought that kind of help. The reason they turn to us is that the investigation and treatment has not produced the desired result. We have over the years developed the hair analysis to what it is today and we continue to develop this today. We have studied changes in the clinical picture of the horse, their anatomy, physiology, muscles, movement patterns, and we follow the research that is within their greatest interest.
Text: Anne Adre-Isaksson, Foto Kanal 75 www.rst-trav.com