Before I took my dive into the profession of hoof care I regularly bruised myself. Half the time I never realized how the heck I gave myself one but there it was in all it's multi coloured glory.
This was a kick by a very spoiled, rude paint horse. Unfortunately my Arnica was several hours away from being put on, hence the big bruise.
Now that I am underneath horses on a daily basis as a profession I seem to bruise things more often. But let me tell you, it's never the drafts or warmbloods or over sized goofy horses that bruise you; it's the mini's.
When one trims a mini one can almost guarantee to scrape a knuckle, pull off a fingernail or get thumped, bitten or tromped on. There's something about small hooves and your hand that don't mix well when stirred in a pot with rasp and hoof knife. People in our area have a hard time getting farriers to come and trim mini's so I get called. Not that I mind I just don't give discounts for "smaller" horses because they are ALWAYS more work. Hence why farriers don't come out for them.
If you remember the post about Arnicare gel that I use? The Boiron company that manufactures Arnicare gel seen that post and sent me a tube of Arnicare. The best thing about Arnicare besides it's amazing anti inflammatory properties? Well it's a homeopathic medicine, meaning it has no artificial colours, perfumes or parabens in it.
The question is, what to do with this Arnicare gel? Well I didn't have to think twice, I'm going to give it away to a lucky reader!
Here are some arnica facts!
- Arnica (Arnica montana ([Latin]), also commonly called mountain tobacco or leopard's bane, is a wildflower resembling a daisy that grows in the mountains of Europe and North America. Arnica is commonly used in topical herbal medicines to speed healing from bruises and other traumatic injuries. Arnica is thought to provide the body with pain relief as well as anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Arnica contains sesquiterpene lactones, substances that are known to reduce inflammation and decrease pain. Arnica prevents bruising by keeping stimulating the white blood cells to disperse trapped blood and fluid from the site of injury. Arnica’s effectiveness as a treatment for bruising, sports injuries, and inflammation is well established and many commercial creams used for treatment of pain, bruising, and swelling contain arnica as an active ingredient. Arnica creams are also used to treat pain and inflammation resulting from carpel tunnel syndrome and arthritis.
- Arnica can also be used externally to treat tired, overstressed muscles. One study performed in Norway showed that marathon runners who applied arnica to their skin before the event experienced less pain and stiffness afterward. Arnica is a relaxing addition to the bath, and has been shown to be particularly helpful for soaking tired, aching feet.
I can vouch for how well this works. Wile just last night I had my foot stomped on by a mare. I picked her foot up to put it on the stand and she stiff-legged and STOMPED as hard as she could on the top of my foot and just kept her hoof there until I squalled and gave her a what-for. Rubbed Arnica on it and voila, no bruise. My back was also a bit stiff this morning from fighting a mare with arthritic hocks last night and as soon as I rubbed arnica on it not 15 minutes later it had loosened up. Great stuff.
The only bad thing I found about this stuff? Well the gel has alcohol/the gel/not sure? in it. I had some on me once and spent the day in the sun and it burnt me. I don't burn easily and it was in the area I rubbed it on and nowhere else. Just cover it up I guess.
So what do you have to do to receive this amazing homeopathic remedy? Well I'll tell you.
1. You must be a follower of this blog.
2. Post here in a comment with either a story (with pics? Please if you have them) or a link to your story of a bad bruise, bump, break, crack, tumble or otherwise unplanned bodily meeting with a substance harder than yourself
3. Tell your friends! If you have a blog I would love to see a mention of this contest and how wonderful Arnica is. I love this stuff, I am sure you will too!
This contest will end next weekend! Get telling those bruise stories and please, no intentional bruising for the purpose of this contest hehe!
