Natural remedies are big business in the human world. As we become less confident about the sources and outcomes of traditional pharmaceutical and medical treatments, so more and more of us are taking the natural route to health.

The same is true in the equine world, and visitors to the Midlands Equine Fair at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern, on 8 and 9 March will be able to see a range of natural remedies, solutions and treatments at first hand.

Margrit Coates ~ Animal Healer

Margrit Coates is the UK's leading animal healer who specialises in horses, and she will be discussing hands on healing for horses and answering questions in the Fair's 'Meet the Experts' section. According to Margrit, this sort of healing is something that all horses need and which anyone can do with the right training. Healing is a therapy that is non-invasive and works on emotional and mental levels as well as at a horse's physical level. Margrit works with homeopathic vet Cheryl Sears and well-known veterinary physiotherapist Amanda Sutton. Her work has recently been featured on TV's 'Animal Allies' when she was filmed demonstrating healing on a horse and a god at Carla Lane's animal sanctuary in Sussex. Margrit lectures on equine healing all round the world and is the equine healing tutor for the NFSH, the UK's leading healing organisation.

Lucinda McAlpine, the renowned owner of Brackenhill Stud, will also be at the Midlands Equine Fair discussing her approach to the natural rearing of horses. Over the last five years she has developed a system of stress-free horse management.

Lucinda's passion for her own horses made her determined that they would not join the growing statistics of over-stressed competition animals. As a result of increasing contact with holistic and alternative veterinary practitioners, she has developed her present system of keeping horses in as natural a state as possible. As a consequence of the success of her work, she has extended into the fields of diet, fitness, injuries and rehabilitation.

The horses at Brackenhill all live outside, in herds, without shoes. The paddocks have been reseeded with a herb mixture and both have field shelters and natural shelter provided by woodland. Lucinda has built a list of contacts in the fields of alternative veterinary medicine including chiropractors, aromatherapists, acupuncturists, distant healers, Reiki master, sports massage therapists and teachers of awareness techniques.

Rosewell Equine Shiatsu

Sue Hix of the Rosewell Shiatsu Centre will also be on hand to explain how shiatsu can help horses. Shiatsu has been proved to be very a very effective alternative therapy solution to equine ailments. Said Sue: "One case that is particularly interesting was that of a dressage horse that developed a mysterious lameness and had been unsound for two years. All veterinary checks were clear and the horse did have physiotherapy but remained unsound. The horses needed and received regular work on his back to rebalance the energy of the kidneys and bladder and after a few months the horse is now sound and back in full work. "Another young horse came to me as a last ditch attempt, being described as a 'wobbler' by one vet. Shiatsu strengthened him. He had been regularly wormed but I decided to repeat the worming, with his new energy he threw out more worms than I have seen for a very long time and since then he has grown and strengthened."

As well as including tips and advice from these experts, the Midlands equine Fair 'Meet the Experts' area will also include the Society of Master Saddlers, Tricia Nassau Williams who will be available to discuss matters relating to lorinery (bits and bitting), Kate Lugsden from Baileys Horse Feeds who will concentrate on nutrition, Adrienne Vaughan from the Fizz Coaching Clinic, and Wayne Preece, expert on laminitis.

Tickets for the Midlands Equine Fair are available in advance from Contour Exhibitions & Events by calling 08700 115007 and advance booking discounts are available. Further information and leaflets are available by calling 01884 841644, or by logging on at www.contour.uk.net.

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