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SEED INC talks to Monique Creamer about her incredible work with cannabis and horses

Please tell our readers a bit about yourself, the history of Equine Health and how you began using CBD with horses?

My name is Monique, and my path with using cannabis on animals began about 5 years ago when my Daschund became really sick and I could not find any treatment for her, even after visiting seven vets and specialists around Cape Town.

It appeared that she had some neurological issue and started walking in circles, falling down, peeing herself, finding it difficult to breathe etc. The only remedy we had at the time was cortisone tablets & cortisone injections. Knowing that this was not a sustainable or even safe treatment long term, I knew I had to find a solution or risk losing her.

A friend of mine then suggested I try cannabis oil. I wasn’t all that familiar with cannabis oil – the thick dark tar which one gets from a full plant extraction. It can be immensely strong and has psychedelic properties, and I had concerns about how my 7kg dog would respond to it. On my friends recommendation however, something in me responded with a resounding ‘YES – that could work!’

After six weeks of watching my pup on the brink, I started giving her a match stick head size of the oil. Within 6 days, she made a remarkable turnaround. I continued on the oil for 3 months, weaning her off the cortisone over a couple of weeks, and making sure she got a dose of the oil first thing in the morning and last thing at night. She made a 100% recovery.

After this transformation, I started looking into it more and learned that there was a non-psychoactive option of the plant in the form of CBD. I am a huge advocate for full plant extraction when needed, as I believe there are properties in the THC that are as much important as the healing properties found in CBD, but not everyone is comfortable with medicating with the THC (psychoactive) component, although there are ways to circumvent the effects of THC and still benefit from the immense healing properties it contains. THC is sometimes needed, especially in cases where the condition is severe; however CBD is an extremely beneficial way of using the Cannabis plant in a way that is non-psychoactive and still effective, especially for animals.

News spread about the amazing results I had with using Cannabis Oil and my dog, and soon, I was sourcing CBD oil for people and their pets… Cannabits SA became a hub for all things CBD related, where I formed close connections with all my suppliers, understanding their methods of extraction and basically ‘knowing my source’. From this, I got an enquiry from a horse owner who needed to treat her horses – one with cancerous growths, and the others suffering from anxiety. We saw amazing results from this, and thus came the idea to expand the brand to horses, and Equine Health (EQH) is the result.

Has using CBD on horses become a worldwide phenomenon and what ailments are especially targeted to help horses?

The use of CBD in horses is a worldwide practice. It still has much momentum to gain but there are horses using CBD the world over. In fact, horse owners who know the benefits of plant have grown the plant in their stables, and horses intuitively have eaten it. Articles showcasing the immense benefits of CBD have come out of countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the UK, explaining and praising its effective use for a variety of treatments and conditions such as muscular aches, skin conditions and wounds, inflammation, joint pain, gastritis, anxiety et cetera. CBD can be especially effective during the transportation of horses as it relieves anxiety and stress.

I believe we still have so much scope on the subject, not only to explore but to gain in terms of research and results. It’s still an area that needs better understanding by the equine fraternity and to have some of the myths debunked around usage of the cannabis plant.

Once horses start using CBD is it a continual/on-going dosage or only until results to ailments are positive?

CBD can be used on an on-going basis as a maintenance dose which will ensure the overall well-being of any animal or human, if and when used in a consistent way. IT IS NON-INVASIVE AND NON ADDICTIVE. CBD (in horses & humans) can be used both as a maintenance option and as a recovery tonic. With that said, one would use CBD to treat a specific condition until such time as that condition is healed, so it could be used for a few weeks or a few months until it has the healing result that’s required. It is however a reliable preventative and can be used on a daily basis to ward off ailments and cancers. I would like to stress however, that due to a lack of information & education, people often only start looking at using CBD or full plant extract when everything else has failed. Results are best when caught in time or used holistically.

Those competing their horses in any way do however need to comply with the rules set out by FEI (Federal Equine Institute) which stipulates that no traces of CBD can be found in the bloodstream on testing (before / during competition stages). However, in between competitive phases, CBD is excellent for the recovery of horses, assisting with the relief of muscle and joint pain.

When CBD is ingested, it interacts with receptors in the brain (same as humans) to provide a therapeutic effect. Horse owners can administer a CBD supplement, like Equine Health CBD Oil, either on a small piece of food, or directly into the mouth by way of a syringe, to support the horse’s natural response to inflammation and to address any discomfort from muscular pain as well as the effects of aging. It’s known to have a calming effect in horses that experience stress and anxiety, and so CBD can be used on an on-going basis to ease these types of conditions. Unlike harsh anti-inflammatory drugs that often cause stomach ulcers, bleeding and a multitude of other problems, CBD does not.

What do you see the benefits of legalization being for the South African economy?

Off the bat, the South African Government could save millions that are being spent trying to clamp down and stamp out the growing and trading of Cannabis. Resources in the police force and the courts can be directed elsewhere to more relevant and important matters. Legalising the growing and trading of marijuana will boost the agricultural economy, create jobs, create export opportunities and last but not least open up affordable medicinal and healing opportunities to people far and wide. The benefits would be enormous.

What is next on the cards for Equine Health?

Equine Health is relatively new in its inception, although we (Cannabits SA) together with various local suppliers, have been working with CBD oil for pets for several years. We realised that there was a need for higher potency horse oil that could help with a variety of issues, and together with one of our Cape Town based suppliers, Lekker Stuff, set out to produce a product that will be more efficient for the use of CBD in large animals such as horses. We have over the last 9 months been testing and refining our dosage/potency and we are ready to take our product to market. We will be asking our customers to give us feedback as this will assist us in debunking the myths and recording data around CBD.

A potent strength CBD means less mls per dose, which means less oil per dose for the horse; the CBD lasts longer and can be used every day over a longer period of time. Horses weighing 300kg’s and more can have a daily dose of up to 50 – 60mg of CBD. With Equine Health’s potent strength options (available in 50ml and 100ml bottles as well as a handy 30ml sample bottle for testing purposes) a horse can be administered its recommended daily dose of CBD in just 1 to 2mls or less, daily. This means that one does not have to give horses vast amounts of oil to reach the daily recommended doses. Equine Health is currently working on educating those in the equine world, as handlers, vets and riders, to understand the extremely beneficial attributes of CBD and how it can be used as a natural substitute to pharmaceutical drugs, and have a far wider influence over your horse’s health.

In closing, as we call it at SEED INC, you are a Cannapreneur, and forging ahead with Equine Health and the cannabis boom, what advice can you share with SEED INC readers on how they can achieve their goals?

There is no doubt that they are many factors contributing to CBD and cannabis products being a difficult entrepreneurial path to take at this point in our country. There are many legislations and laws standing in the way of being able to trade freely. Legislations are constantly changing, there isn’t absolute clarity from regulators on what is and isn’t required for a meaningful period of time, and there is a lot of ‘red tape’ so to speak, which makes being a ‘Cannapreneur’ a challenge from the onset.

Another challenge is that CBD cannot be advertised on many social media platforms and this includes Facebook, Google and Instagram. This makes it extremely difficult to advertise ones’ brand and get word out there of the incredibly beneficial effects of CBD oil, besides by word of mouth, which in the end, is really the best way to go. The results speak for themselves.

My advice on achieving your goals in the Cannabis Industry is to believe in your product, to believe in its efficacy, to believe that we have the right to use this plant medicine for ourselves, the people around us and for our animals, and to know that this is an extremely beneficial natural alternative that has the capacity to save lives and create a better quality of life for those who take it. The only way to push through and to forge ahead is to keep your head above the noise, stay focused on the results; record those results in the way of testimonials, get the word out there, and do your part in fighting the good fight to have access to one of nature’s greatest miracles…

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!!

We are offering a free sample of our 30ml Equine Health CBD oil (900mg) to any one of our readers who are horse owners / handlers and would be willing to participate in our Equine Health case study competition (T&C’s apply). In return, we ask for a full review of our product, which includes before and after photos / descriptions of the condition being treated and a testimonial which will be included on our website.

All lucky Seed Inc readers will get 10% off their Equine Health CBD Oil online purchase when applying the ‘SeedInc10’ code at checkout. www.equinehealth.co.za

For more info go check out:

www.equinehealth.co.za