Five-Element Feeding:
The Five Flavors Feed your horse according to his personality type? Yes! by Madalyn Ward
ost people think of food only in terms of its nutritional value, which many consider to be the
same for every horse. However, when viewed energetically, the same food can have varying effects on different horses, depending on a horse’s Five-Element personality type. In addition to choosing foods suitable to each personality type we should also consider whether to feed our horses differently during each of the four seasons.
A particular flavor is associated with each horse personality type. If a horse becomes unbalanced physically, mentally, or emotionally, the flavor associated with this type can often be used to bring him back into balance. Te same horse may need a different flavor to help him balance during seasonal changes.
BITTER•FIRE Horses who have excessive energy and impulsive behavior benefit from bitter foods because they have a centering effect and bring the energy deeper into the body. Bitter is also good for slow-moving, lethargic horses who have damp conditions such as stocking up, or are just generally overfed and under-exercised.
Dandelion and Yarrow are among the Bitter flavors
Increase bitter foods throughout the fall and winter to pull in energy to protect the body from cold external temperatures. Bitter foods also help in any seasons when heat symptoms appear.
Cautions: Horses who are weak, thin, nervous, and dehydrated should be given bitter foods sparingly.
Bitter herbs include dandelion leaf or root, burdock leaf or root, yarrow, chamomile, hops, valerian, chaparral, Echinacea, and pau d’arco. Alfalfa is a strictly bitter food, while celery and papaya are bitter and sweet, citrus peel is bitter and pungent, and vinegar is bitter and sour. Blue-green algae is a highly-concentrated bitter food you can easily add to your horse’s feed. Oats are primarily sweet but also slightly bitter.
Want more info? Uses, Organ Functions and in-depth Properties of the Five- Element Flavors are included in the Web version of this article. Search “five flavors” at
HolisticHorse.com
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www.holistichorse.com
SWEET•EARTH While most of us have been indoctrinated against feeding our horses sweet feed, the sweet flavor does have its place in the nutritional program of certain horses. Sweet is a flavor that can be important in feed for horses if it is not overdone. Te full sweet flavor found in most grains can strengthen tissues, and the empty sweet found more in fruits has a cleansing and cooling effect. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, sweet is a harmonizing flavor that helps slow and relax the body.
Carrots and corn are among the sweet flavors. Apples can be both sour and sweet.
Te sweet flavor is good for any season and helps the body transition from one season to another.
Cautions: Avoid giving foods with the sweet flavor to overweight, sluggish horses, or any horse with excessive mucus or dampness (since Yin herbs can cause dampness if fed in excess).
Several sweet foods that can be fed to horses include apples, papaya, carrots, celery, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, molasses, and grains such as oats, barley, and corn.
continued on p. 14 Holistic Horse™ • October/November 2010 • Vol.16, Issue 69
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