Examples of Case Studies where the Bach Flowers/Oils have been used:

 

Jet 

Jet is an 18 year old male black cat suffering from Alzheimer’s and deafness. When I first met him, his coat was in poor condition. He spent long periods of time crying and yelling, indicating that he was looking for reassurance. As he had Alzheimer’s, I felt that he was sometimes fearful and disorientated. Over a period of four months, I used a combination of remedies including Mimulus, Aspen, Clematis, Walnut, Star of Bethlehem and Heather with amazing results. He became calmer and his coat greatly improved. His yelling reduced considerably. The staff at Remus commented on his newfound composure. 

 

Lucky is a 34 year old mare who suffered a traumatic accident last year. She lost an eye on a fence post. This was a horrific accident which really knocked her confidence. When I met Lucky she was very fearful and insecure; however she had formed a wondrous pair bond with a horse called Bonnie, who has become her eyes. Lucky follows Bonnie everywhere and neighs to her if Bonnie moves away. I have treated Lucky for four months with a combination of remedies which included Star of Bethlehem, Walnut, Mimulus, Larch, Honeysuckle and Sweet Chestnut. Lucky is a beautiful horse, now full of confidence. She is not fearful of people anymore and approaches life with true bravery.

 

 Arnie

Arnie is a 7 year old cat. Arnie and his sister were obtained from a lady who had rescued them from their semi-feral mum. She believed that their mother would reject them. This was at around 4 weeks of age. Arnie and his sister were re-homed at around 6 weeks of age.  Not long after bringing Arnie home, the family had gone on holiday. On collecting him, the cattery said that he had spent all of his time under a blanket.  Arnie had also suffered from severe cystitis and had been hospitalised on numerous occasions, which had been both stressful for him and also for Arnie's owner. During the consultation it also transpired that a neighbours Tom cat had been able to access the conservatory at night, (although this had stopped), this they think, had been going on for a while. This would also have contributed to Arnie feeling stressed, his place of security and safety had been breached.  Arnie would also yell and scream for long periods and continually try to wee in his litter tray. (This was a very anxious cat!) This cat had serious behavioural issues resulting from chronic stress. This was a very complex case and took 5 months of different remedy combinations including Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Walnut, Heather, Chicory, Sweet Chestnut, Rock Water, and Honeysuckle. There has been a transformation in Arnie, he is noticeably calmer and has a more confident approach to life.  Arnie's owner is delighted with Arnie’s more relaxed nature.

 

 

Rhani is a 34 year old horse with chronic arthritis and cushings.  When I first met Rhani she had been repetively licking the walls in her stable. This showed  clear signs of anxiety.  Her stable is right next to the Donkeys stable, she truly loves them all.  She has formed a strong bond with them.  Whenever  she was seperated from her beloved Donkeys she would  become extremely sressed.  I have been treating her for 4 months with a combination of Star of Bethlehem, Olive, Walnut, Cherry Plum and Sweet Chestnut.  The results are amazing she has stopped licking, she is at 'peace' with herself and is now so very 'chilled'!

 

Sammy is a beautiful cat who found moving to a new home to be quite challenging  for him.  His owners found that he was unable to feel settled and was quite stressed when being faced with the new outside world his new home.  He used to live in the city and had been relocated to the lovely countryside.  All Sammy needed was to feel confident in his new enviroment.  I treated him with a combination of Honeysuckle, Mimulus, Larch and Walnut. As you can imagine Sammy is now a cat of full of adventure and confidence. 

 

Apollo is a grey thoroughbred mare, who came to Remus Horse Sanctuary in 2007. A few months before arriving, she had suffered from an accident. This had involved a Farrier’s tripod.  While she was being shoed, the tripod had gone into her face, causing one of her eyes to hang out. Obviously, her eye sight since then has not been good. It is thought that approximately one in every twenty thoroughbreds is a weaver, a sterio typical behaviour. (Weaving is the name given to the side to side rocking of the head shoulders and sometimes the whole body, when I had first met Apollo she had rubbed the front of her neck raw!) What is of more concern is that weaving signals that the weaver is currently suffering or has underwent some sort of mental discomfort. I felt that the incident with the tripod, which had taken place in a stable, would have only intensified her anxiety and could have been the start of her weaving. What is known is that her weaving on arriving at Remus was very bad. Also about 6 months ago she had an incident with another horse where she was badly injured. During this time she had to be stabled for a long time.  Clearly she hated being confined. I have been treating Apollo for about a year and a half, initially noticing that her neck was not rubbed raw, to a very noticeable calmness in her stable. I have used combinations of Bach Flower essences over that time, depending on her state of mind. These have included remedies such as Crab apple, Honeysuckle, Star of Bethlehem, White Chestnut and at one point Sweet Chestnut. The result has been that her Weaving has improved by 75%. Sterio typical behaviour is very difficult to treat; I think the learning point from this case study is not to give up!

 

Ozzie is a Miniature Dachshund who had a real phobia of the car and would shake and drool when ever he ever had to go on a car journey. His very first car journey from the breeders had been very traumatic for him - it was 110 miles long, from this first journey his phobia had started. For this case study I choose to use Aromatherapy oils. This was my first case study and I wasn't sure what to expect. Following a Kinesiology test the following oils were chosen and diluted as appropriate to the Kinesiology result. Angelica Root and Lemon were selected. Ozzie started to sniff the oils when first offered them by his owners. After a few days he became excited about the oils and would lick his owners hand. After about a week he went off the Lemon but still carried on with the Angelica for an few extra days. During the second week of using the oils, he went on a car journey. HE DID NOT SHAKE OR DROOL improving by 100%. (Aromatherapy oils should be only offered to an animal after seeing a qualified animal Aromatherapist) 

 

Finney is a 10 year old male Bichon, who is also a rescue dog. As a puppy he was thrown out of the bathroom window. He was re-homed to his current owner at the age of five. It is not known whether he had been properly toilet trained as a puppy but he would wee on everything that was put down on the floor.This included the curtains and his owners daughters bed! Following a kinesiology test the following oils were selected. Lemon, Angelica, Carrot seed  all diluted  in St Johns Wort oil, from the results of the kinesiology test. He was also given Neroli hydrolat.  During the treatment, it was his choice as to which oils he chose.  He just loved the Carrot seed. Over a period of 2-3 weeks his weeing improved by 85% and his coat improved. (Never offer concentrated oil to an animal/get advice from a qualified Animal Aromatherapist. All animals are individuals, so oils may differ for each animal, even if they have the same problem)

 

 Holly is a 3 year old Border Collie who was very afraid of Fireworks and men, especially if they were strangers. Holly barked continually when people came into her home. She would also jump up on people in a very enthusiastic way! What was interesting about this case, was that even when with her owners she would not sit still, continually jumping on all of the furniture, to the point that she had to stay in the kitchen. Thus making it difficult for Holly to be truly part of the home. Following a kinesiology test the following oils were selected; Frankincense and Valarian both being diluted in St Johns Wort oil in accordance with the kinesiology test. The results from this case study were very positive. Holly Now interacts with people in a less enthusiastic way, she barks less when strangers come into her home, but most of all she has calmed down when in the lounge, choosing to sit quietly with her owners. 

 

This is a case that I have revisited with the hope that by using Kinesiology I may get better result than last time. Grace is an 11 year old West Highland Terrier.  She was owned by a family for 7 years, due to circumstances they had to move into a flat so could no longer keep her.  The new owner has owned her since then. In her new home, she made friends with the new owner’s dog.  They formed a very strong bond. He died 3 years ago. Since then she has been licking and chewing her legs raw when stressed.  This has increased over time. She also growls and barks all the time. It is not known whether she has had puppies. She is allergic to flea bites. Her fur is very thin and she has arthritis. She was spayed in her later years. The owner’s mother had just had a baby when I first saw Grace, he is now a toddler, since his birth Grace had become more stressed. She sleeps on the owner’s bed. (This is so the owner can stop her from licking and chewing) She has been told to wear baby grows on her legs by the vet to stop her chewing.  She is stressed by the vets and does not like the snow or cold weather. Grace has very pink skin and at times she suffered from skin problems.  She also does not like meeting new dogs. As Grace is an old girl, she does not like to go for long walks as her legs hurt. I  have treated Grace with Ginger and Yarrow oils over a period of about a month. There has been a 75% improvement in that she has stopped growling and barking and is less stressed by the toddler. She has almost stopped chewing and licking her leg, so it has healed.