Life and its coincidences, eh?

You probably know that I’m an avid follower of The Institute of Functional Medicine, which underpins much of the EquiNatural ethos. It’s where I continue to learn and stay tuned into the latest medical thinking – through seminars, training, and yes, plenty of podcasts!

Now cut to yesterday in the office, where Sarah (one of our lovely Customer Support team) and I were putting the horse-world to rights – chatting about those lovely owners who sense something’s not quite right with their horse and have the wisdom to stop what they're doing.

Sarah told me about a friend who took her mare to a hunter trial. Just as they were about to start, she suddenly felt her mare just wasn’t right, so she pulled her up – and just as well. The mare was starting to colic. and they had to wait a few hours before the vet gave her the all clear to travel home. Imagine if she’d pushed on, focused more on the ribbon than her horse’s wellbeing.

And then, as life would have it, when I got home there was a new IFM podcast waiting for me, featuring guest speaker Dr. Martin Picard – a Columbia University scientist exploring how energy flows through the body and what that flow means for how we think, feel, and age.

He spoke about reframing how we understand our own energy, and how our daily choices shape it over time (a key EquiNatural mantra!) – and of course, as is my way, I heard that “blog” voice nagging at me.

Here at EquiNatural, we often hear from clients who tell us their horses have lost their spark – they feel tired, flat, or shut down, despite being well fed and having normal blood results. And yet, something’s still off. The podcast really resonated with me, especially following Jane’s story earlier in the day.

Dr. Picard reminded me that energy itself may be the missing dimension. He explored how energy – not disease – is the true foundation of health, and that energy isn’t simply about ATP or fuel efficiency – it’s about how life itself flows through the body. I know, it sounds a bit woo... but when you look at it properly, it has perfect parallels in our beloved horses, so let's blog!

When everything looks normal – yet feels wrong

We all know that feeling: the vet says everything’s fine, the diet is balanced, yet the horse still feels… dull. It’s the equine version of a human whose lab tests are normal but whose energy is tanked.

Picard explained that you can have perfect lab numbers and still have energy that isn’t flowing. Mitochondria – those tiny energy hubs inside every cell – do much more than make ATP; they communicate. They sense stress, emotion, toxins, nutrients, and even light. When they’re disrupted, they can change how we (and our horses) think, feel, move, and heal.

So when a horse seems detached, tense, or unable to focus, we’re not looking at bad behaviour – we could be looking at altered energy flow through the body.

Picard put it beautifully: the difference between a cadaver and a living, breathing being isn’t the molecules – it’s the flow of energy. When energy moves, there’s life.

The same holds true for horses. That bright-eyed look, that soft curiosity, that willingness to connect – that’s the essence of healthy energy flow. But when the system becomes jammed with stress hormones, inflammatory signals, or poor-quality nutrition, the energy stops moving freely. The result? Fatigue, reactivity, dull coats, poor digestion – or simply that sense that your horse has gone quiet inside.

Stress, rest, and the Goldilocks principle

Picard’s most powerful idea was the Energy Resistance Principle. Energy needs resistance – but not too much. Just like a muscle strengthens through challenge, the mitochondria thrive when they experience the right dose of stress, then recovery.

The idea comes from the old Goldilocks tale – finding the balance that’s “not too hot, not too cold, but just right.” In the same way, our horses need the right amount of challenge and rest for their energy to flow freely.

In people, that’s exercise followed by rest, work balanced with sleep. In horses, it’s movement balanced with safety:

• Turnout that allows natural movement and grazing, not confinement.
• Mental stimulation – variety, companionship, gentle training – but not pressure or overwork.
• Space to rest, digest, and feel secure.

Too much stress (hard training, competition burnout, isolation, chronic fear) raises energy resistance – the system has to push too hard to function. Over time, the mitochondria tire, metabolism slows, and the horse shuts down.

Too little challenge (endless stabling, boredom, lack of movement) does the same, but in reverse: energy stagnates. The goal is balance – the Goldilocks zone of energy flow.

Everyday choices shape cellular energy

Energy isn’t something we have – it’s something we do. It’s a process, shaped by thousands of tiny choices. The same is true for our horses. Every day, we either build or drain their metabolic resilience through simple things, such as:

🌿 Feed quality – clean, unprocessed, filler-free grass forage, alongside natural browsing diversity, feed the mitochondria just as clean food fuels ours.

🌿 Movement – free, rhythmic, daily movement oxygenates tissues, supports lymph flow, and enhances mitochondrial efficiency.

🌿 Rest – deep rest allows the body to repair and build new mitochondria – just as athletes build fitness not during training, but recovery.

🌿 Emotional safety – fear, isolation, and lack of trust drain energy as surely as physical exhaustion. Calm companionship rebuilds it.

🌿 Connection to nature – sunlight, fresh air, and the changing seasons - all feed the equine ‘energy budget’.

Each of these either helps energy flow freely through the body – or creates resistance.

Why energy is the foundation of health

Health isn’t a fixed thing – it’s a dynamic process. That’s why at EquiNatural we talk about nurturing vitality, not “fixing problems.” When we help a horse’s energy flow freely – through nutrition, herbal support, rest, and reconnection to their natural rhythms – the body knows how to heal itself.

You can’t supplement health into being – you create the conditions for it to re-emerge.

The EquiNatural philosophy

To quote Dr Picard, “You’re not a machine to be fixed. You’re energy flowing through form.” That could be written across every stable door.

Every horse is a living field of energy – physical, emotional, biochemical, and electrical – constantly adjusting to its environment. When that field is balanced, they shine: coat glowing, eyes bright, movement free, mind engaged.

Our job isn’t to push more power into the system. It’s to remove what blocks it – stress, imbalance, inflammation – and let nature do the rest.

Final thought

Whether human or horse, energy is the quiet current that fuels curiosity, recovery, and resilience. When that current flows, everything else follows.

At the end of the day, energy is health. Our role – as horse owners and carers, is simply to keep that energy flowing, naturally.

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