Last week I talked about the most important essential oil to keep at your barn.

This week we’re going to talk about what your horse thinks is the most important essential oil to keep at the barn. You likely won’t be surprised to learn that it’s Peppermint.

Go to any tack store and you’re sure to find Peppermint flavored horse treats. The cat is out of the bag - horses love Peppermint!

Peppermint Vitality (approved for internal use) is great to add to drinking water for you AND your horse! Trust me, your horse will thank you.

I recently had a vet appointment for my horse Gracie and she needed to be given a pill orally. The vet suggested I get special treats to put them in because horses won’t eat the pill out of your hand. While he was standing there, I put a drop of Peppermint Vitality on the pill and my horse - you guessed it - ate it right out of my hand.

Peppermint isn’t just for treats. My horse Seven is black and during hot summer days he loves to be sprayed with the “Keep Me Cool” spray recipe found in my book. I’ve been known to spray myself with that mixture or sometimes I just put a drop of Peppermint on the back of my neck and I immediately feel cooler.

Trying to learn a new Dressage test? Studies have shown that inhaling Peppermint essential oil improves memory and increases alertness.

From a safety standpoint, avoid using Peppermint around animals that have epilepsy.

With all the benefits of Peppermint essential oil and Peppermint Vitality, it’s no wonder your horse thinks it’s the most important essential oil to have at the barn!

How do you use Peppermint around your horse?

If you keep only one essential oil at the barn, let it be Lavender.

A study has shown that Lavender improves recovery time in acute-stressed horses.

Need a calm horse for a vet appointment? Rub 1-2 drops of Lavender in your palms and invite your horse to smell your hands. Watch for signs of release from your horse, like licking and chewing. It’s a sign that it’s working!

Wear a few drops on a diffuser necklace when you’re at the barn so your horse comes to associate feelings of relaxation with you. This is great to do for new-to-you horses and rescued horses.

Flies HATE Lavender. One day, I forgot fly spray so in a pinch I rubbed Lavender down my horse’s legs. Not only did the flies leave him alone, but he was the most relaxed he’d ever been!

Lavender is great to use in DIY mane & tail detangler. I have a recipe in my book, and the detangler is not just for horses - you can use it, too!

Lavender is not just for horses. I once packed a kit of essential oils to keep at the barn. That same day I got rope burn from doing groundwork with an exuberant horse. I put a few drops of Lavender on my palm and it felt better in no time!

A word of caution regarding Lavender. More Lavender is sold every year than is actually grown. Some companies put synthetic ingredients in their Lavender oil which can be dangerous to use topically on you or your horse. This is why I only use Lavender essential oil from Young Living.

Every Wednesday I’ll be sharing tips on using essential oils with your horses. Connect with me on social media and let me know what you think! I’m on Facebook and Instagram.

I never really considered my horse Gracie high maintenance. She’s boarded at a really nice barn where many of the boarders compete in Dressage. In the spring, summer and fall, many of their horses are covered head to toe in fly sheets. And in the winter, they are covered in blankets. Gracie, and the other hand, is naked as a jay bird all year round. Well, there is one exception. As a gray horse if it rains and then gets really cold, she has a hard time warming up and drying off. So she wears a rain sheet on days like that.

Food wise, she is the very definition of an easy keeper. So easy, in fact, that she has started wearing a grazing muzzle to help her maintain her girlish (mare-ish?) figure.

Emotionally, though, I would say Gracie is high maintenance. If I am consistent in getting out to the barn and working with her, she stays connected to me. But if I go out to the barn only sporadically, she gets pretty buddy sour. I can usually tell the state of our relationship by whether she comes to me when I call her name or whether she walks away at the first sight of me.

I consider myself a pretty low maintenance person. When it comes to my friendships, I can go months and even years without seeing a friend (or talking on the phone…who DOES that any more?) but when we’re with each other we pick up right where we left off. I’ve probably been projecting this quality on to my horse, because every time I see her, I feel the same way about her. Nothing has changed for me no matter how much time has passed since I last saw her. “There’s my beautiful horse. I’m so happy to see her. Let’s go have fun together!”

Being a good human to a horse, though, means treating them as the individuals they are with their own wants and needs. Gracie needs more of my time and attention to maintain our relationship. That’s a good reminder at this time of year for a Minnesotan like me who tends to hibernate during the long winter. Luckily there’s a lovely heated arena where she is boarded.

If your horse is emotionally high maintenance, be sure to commit (or re-commit) to getting out to the barn regularly - it will be good for your relationship. If your horse is not emotionally high maintenance, still go out to the barn regularly - it will be good for your soul.