Friday September 19th....... continuing a typical day!

ace-egypt closes at 5pm, usually by that time all Animals have been able to select oils they need and any needed daily have been bottled up and left in a cool place for staff to use in between visits. Kim gives staff a lift home, on the way back to Luxor we see many Horses and Donkeys working, sometimes we will find an Animal being beaten or overloaded. Kim will stop and ask for compassionate treatment. Drivers and local Egyptians who know her and have learned such compassion will wave and look proud of their well treated Animals.

If not needing food or a drink then I will be dropped off not far from home, as I have my kit with me, Horses or Donkeys on the way back can receive help, perhaps a chain nose band is needing padding or maybe a leg wound will need covering in gel. On the corner of the street where I live, many drivers congregate, giving me an opportunity to see all their Animals in one session.

When I need to get home first, having had dinner, I can then put together a small kit of Aloe Spray & Gel, some cotton wool, bandages and tape and head out ready to help Horses and Donkeys I come across. Carrying ace-egypt and Brooke Hospital leaflets proves useful where Animals are clearly in need of diagnosis and conventional treatment, drivers can take one and then will easily be directed to either place or the ferry clinic. Although most are illiterate, the information can be read by others who will tell them where they need to reach.

Much life happens at night, when the temperature drops slightly in the summer evenings it is a good time for shopping, meeting friends or simply sitting near to the Nile or a temple to enjoy the view. Carrying a small kit ensures that Animals may be treated wherever I land. There are so many of them, it would not be possible to walk anywhere without seeing them and around 2 in 5 need something.

All of the work at ace and on the streets is funded by kind donors, my lovely Donkey loving Mum - thanks so much Mum! and myself. I provide all the Essential, Herbal and Vegetable oils, next2nature.co.uk provide all the Aloe Vera and recently Jane from creaturecomforters.co.uk has generously donated Flower Essence Blends for Animals. Homeopathic Remedies have been kindly donated by Carol Carless, my UK Homeopathic practitioner. Heartfirst gratitude to all who enable working Animals to receive such valuable support :)

Today is a Friday, ace is closed giving the Animals a day off from tourist visits. Luxor is also quiet on Fridays, it is Holy day, many businesses are closed and hustle and bustle on the streets a minimum, though of course for the Animals, the work goes on and on and on!

Egypt has poverty on a scale that is completely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't visited and even Tourists do not generally get to see the ordinary daily life for people here. You only really see it if you spend periods of time here or live here. The World Bank figures show that more than 50% of the population cannot sufficiently meet their own food or housing needs. Some 65 million of 85 million population qualify to buy subsidised basic foods. In such circumstances it is easy to understand why Animal care is not on the agenda, moreover, as basic Animal care is one of the many subjects not yet taught in Schools it is obvious why it continues to be greatly in need of practical support and funding.

A Horse showing an urgent need for an edible Plant Oil

photo by helen bailey taken @ ace-egypt

Plant products used in all this work are of a specific quality - internal medicinal use - they are a specialist product and have nothing to do with so called "aromatherapy" oils.

The information in this blog relates only to the uses of such products by trained and qualified practitioners.

In the first instance, Animals tend to select Essential oils that address their greatest imbalance. In common with all dynamic living beings, their return to total health requires at least Physical, Psychological & Emotional balance. Trauma, Shock and Distress resonate through all their systems, compromising their ability to correctly function & actively repair & heal and so maintain the systemic balance needed for complete recovery.

Luckily, their innate sensing guides them to select the correct plants needed, whether as an Essential Oil/Fresh or Dried Herb/Vegetable, Seed, Fruit or Nut Oil. In the Animal Kingdom, this highly evolved & in-built sense of Plants & Minerals is known as Zoopharmacognosy. Meaning loosely, Animal Cognition of Medicinal food Plants & Minerals.

At ace-egypt Animals have come for Veterinary Treatment, often injuries are severe and serious. The first approach with Oils is about offering soothing comfort, plants with properties known to strengthen emotionally and psychologically. This is normally the greatest initial balancing, it also supports forming a bond of trust. Many Horses and Donkeys are "hand shy" in a country where their handling is ill informed. I learned from Monty Roberts that it is good to ignore Horses & Donkeys when first coming across them, they much prefer to instigate contact and are naturally curious of anyone who turns their back on them. If they are extremely traumatised, I will open a bottle of oil and hold it near to my shoulder, a vibrant alive oil gives off aroma molecules easily detected by Horses and other Animals at quite a distance. It doesn't take long for a Horse to put his head over my shoulder to get a better smell!

Once Kim has filled me in on any new arrivals and progress of regulars, it is time to visit the stable block. usually ace Vets are about to give more information on some Animals. Yet, the Art of supporting Animals in this way, is to have no preconceptions, just to look, observe, take some account of the individual Animal and it's stage on the healing journey at ace. Animals like to be able to quietly meet the oils offered, they enjoy inhaling the aroma, sometimes standing back, allowing themselves to absorb the smell, they may come straight back for more, perhaps pushing to lick towards the bottle or more inhaling. Emotional reactions may happen, the body may react, muscles ripple, yawning and stretching can be observed. It is as if they can work with the effects in their own time.

Where an oil brings immediate relief, Horses and all Animals can be very clear demanding more! They will inhale or ingest the oil until satisfied and balance is restoring. yet they are not known to take something they don't need nor too much of something they do.

It may take just a few minutes to offer the correct oil and satisfy the need of an Animal or it could be a process taking a hour or more. All depends on the individual animal and the enviroment on the day. Muscle testing brings more information about the particular imbalances and the greatest strengths or weakness they have. Testing may be done with the Animal or a sample of it's Hair/Fur. Testing the sample Hair/Fur in between visits is a great way to monitor their progress, though the phenomenom is not yet understood it is reliable.

Many people ask " what is a typical day like?", in Egypt there isn't any such thing!
Every single day is completely different, it's entirely possible to wake up to no running
water or perhaps a power cut, at least once a week. Morning routine is a challenge in
adapting to what is available.
As for many here, my clinical work is usually in the afternoons and evenings. Mornings are
for e mails, writing up case histories, formulating products alongside a breakfast of tasty fruit in season, Mango at the moment. Delicious.
In an afternoon, I take a car to ace-egypt, a UK charity Animal Hospital. Ace is outside of Luxor town; across the railway line and through the narrow back streets of tiny villages and higgly-piggley houses. After a mile or two, a crossroads, often full of motorbikes and riders taking their bike tests, suddenly the road opens into fields of swaying crops, Sugar cane, Maize, Sesame & Alfalfa. A quick right turn and we are on the driveway to ace, alongside a canal full of Reeds and wild birds including Warblers, Bitterns and the odd Bee Eater flashing green brilliance in the glorious sunshine.
In a beautiful and peaceful setting, Animals arrive some needing treatment by vets, some stay for full time veterinary care and many arrive for a much needed cooling and cleansing shower in the purpose built Animal wash.
Although Ace houses any Animal, working Horses & Donkeys are in the majority. Injuries vary from broken bones, malnourishment, skin wounds, burns from being caught in fires or set fire to. Animals are sometimes targeted in disputes suffering horrific injuries. All working are on busy roads & narrow streets with some cars and lorries, road accidents are common. Many Animals do not survive but those that do require long term support before they can return to work if at all able.
Kim and I meet for a catch up about the Animals in her office. more on this tomorrow......

Hi and a warm heart first welcome to my blog!

I live and work in Luxor, Egypt, helping the hard working Horses
& Donkeys using Holistic Therapies. I also give practical help such
as padding over rusty chain straps on bridles, these tend to weaken
the skin and eventually cut into the Animals Noses causing painful and
infected wounds.


At ace-egypt.org.uk a local Animal hospital I am a volunteer using my skills
in Holistic Therapies to give Animals help with their health issues.



When I go out and about around Luxor, it is easy to see plenty of Horses &
Donkeys pulling carts over-laden with Building materials, Furniture, well almost
anything that is traded. Animals are the main form of transport here. Horses are also
worked as carriage Animals, pulling carriages also known as caleches, tourists use them to travel
around the many tourist sites and the town of Luxor.



Many of the Animals have wounds, some will receive care and medical attention at the
new Animals hospital http://www.ace-egypt.org.uk/, others may get to see the Vets at The Brooke Horse hospital, some receive treatment at the Ferry port where the vets regularly attend any Animal that turns up.

Others need care on the spot, minor wounds neglected quickly become large ones. Ill fitting or
chain or wire saddlery and bridles need padding to prevent injury.

Mostly in the evenings around Luxor I carry a small kit of Aloe Gel, Spray Aloe for minor wounds & ace-egypt donate cotton wool and bandages to pad Bridles and Saddles and harnesses.

During the daytimes, I support Animals at ace offering Essential Oils, Herbs and Touch techniques. All of the Animals are able to make their needs clearly known & they receive whatever they need to soothe and balance their recovery.

Vets at Ace use Aloe Vera as gel and spray to help treat deep wounds and
This is all possible with support from helpful UK companies who donate products, A huge

Thanks to Jo Adams at http://www.next2nature.co.uk/ without her, none of this could have
happened. Jo supplies products made from the best organic Aloe Vera on the Planet.
I used the products for almost 10yrs in the UK & for the past year in Egypt, many Animals
with horrific burns and wounds have benefited from her marvellous Organic Aloe gel.