My Higher Power is true Love and for today, I know that I must strive to best preserve what that Source of Love hath given me. I have been reading The Blue Zones, a study of the world’s longest living peoples. I wonder what the equine blue zones might be and how to achieve that status, because I would love to have Splendid High freely moving and spritely for many a year to come, as well as myself.

The stallions at the Spanish Riding School have been known for their grace and athleticism for centuries and they are peak performers well beyond what is common in the equine world. It is said in the wild that horses live for only about 7 years, so that is not the model I am looking for, for sure. Where, then, to find or create for myself and my equine partner a blue zone of health and wellness?

I know that I am strange in that when I hear of knee replacement surgery and bypass surgery, as well as diabetes and other crises, I immediately think of how to avoid it as best I can. The same goes true for dread maladies in equines. I would far rather spend resources on preventative remedies than have to submit to the knife unless absolutely necessary.

Classical dressage seems to be the best route for suppleness for Melness even as a macrobiotic practice seems to be the most promising avenue for me. I could be wrong but I see and hear many who say that things just run in their families while in The Blue Zones, it states that heredity is only 25% of the picture and lifestyle is 75% of what makes for a long healthy life. If that is the case, what do I need to do for Mel and myself?

For one thing, we both take sea vegetation supplements from Wachter’s. I eat sea veggies and cook with them, as I have been taught by macrobiotic teachers. I have liked Wachter’s as a company for many years and have used their sea veggie blend and also fed their animal supplement, Sea Meal, to both Splendid High and River Island. I discovered sea vegatation as a supplement when as a teenager I had a young horse, Citadel, who needed to grow in his front end. I fed him Spectrum-4 and he did indeed grow. Now he may well have done so anyways but I was impressed with how he seemed to thrive on it. That fact, along with how much feeding flaxseed helped my horse Jolly Roger, when I was younger, sparked an interest in nutrition as a teenager.

Does creating a blue zone begin with these mineral-rich plants from the deep blue sea? We shall see…