text: Flower Power - Natural Horse Magazine -Volume 8, Issue 2
  The Bach Flower Remedies are helpful for short term and stressful situations as well as to rebalance deep seated or long standing emotional dis-ease.
  Dr. Edward Bach was a physician and intuitive healer who in 1930 left conventional medical practice to discover alternative health remedies in nature. Thus the Bach flower essence line was born. 37 remedies are made from trees and flowering plants, and the 38th is made from water flowing over rocks (Rock Water). They contain the vibrational (energetic) essence of the natural substance from which they are created.
  Dr. Bach believed dis-ease of the mind/ emotions/ spirit causes physical dis-ease. Hence, treating those imbalances allows physical imbalances to repair. The remedies rebalance negative thoughts and mental, emotional, and spiritual trauma and issues, which color how attitude/ behavior is exhibited and physical illness is manifested. A few can directly affect the physical level as well (for instance, Crab Apple is used while/ after clearing parasites, infections, etc. from the body). And the frequency, duration and effects of seizures can be reduced or minimized as well.
  The remedies are not addictive or harmful in any way, and do not interact or interfere with medications or supplements. They are not drugs or herbs, they are vibrational essences. The remedies are chosen based on personality and emotional state. The remedies are useful for issues such as aggression, timidity, depression, anxiety, poor sleep, grief, irritability, fears and worries, among others, or suffering from a particular event (car accident, injury, death of a loved one, etc.).
  The remedies were first developed for people, and then successfully transitioned to animals. Following are quotes from the Bach Centre regarding the essences (www.bachcentre.com):
  "The Bach Flower Remedies work by flooding out negative feelings and emotions. Sometimes the emotions that are dealt with have been repressed for some time and in order to clear them they have to be cleansed from the system. On very rare occasions this can take the form of a rash, or unexpected feelings may be stirred up. Where such things do occur they can be disregarded and there is no reason to stop taking the remedies. . . . [One stops taking the remedies] [w]hen the problem that is being treated has gone. . . . Where things are getting worse in spite of the remedies this may mean one of two things. Either the remedies have not yet had time to work (two or more months or even years of regular dosage may be needed to deal with deep-rooted problems) or the selection was wrong."
  "In any case, the remedies will not themselves cause any symptoms or problems that are not already in you and are entirely beneficient in their effects. This means that there is no need to stop taking the remedies, and even if the wrong ones are being taken this only means that they will not improve things - they will never make them worse."
  Rescue Remedy is the special combination Dr. Bach concocted from five of the essences:
  Star of Bethlehem for shock; Rock Rose for terror and panic; Cherry Plum for hysteria or loss of control; Impatiens for impatience and agitation, something often associated with pain; and Clematis for faintness and bemused, stunned, ungrounded feelings. Rescue Remedy is indicated for shocking events, from accidents and surgery (Clematis specifically clears the mental/ emotional effects of tranquilizers and anesthesia), to traumatic experiences such as being attacked, receiving distressing news, abuse/ neglect, anxious thoughts about an examination or interview, etc.
  Rescue Remedy has been known to stop seizures in animals if administered immediately at the first sign of seizure and every five minutes thereafter until the animal is cognizant and functioning again. A Bach combination I've found extremely helpful for seizures is:
  CHERRY PLUM: Fear of insanity or the mind giving way; loss of mental control. CHESTNUT BUD: Difficulty learning; lack of awareness; absentminded or distracted behavior. CRAB APPLE: Feeling diseased or contaminated by the illness. OAK: To give strength and endurance to overcome the issue. RESCUE REMEDY: For any kind of trauma or whenever one experiences unusual stress. SCLERANTHUS: For equilibrium problems or neurological confusion such as are seen with seizures.
  Use of this blend over a period of time, at 6-8 doses per day, plus doses every 5 minutes during a seizure, can greatly lessen the severity of the seizures and often reduce the frequency as well.
  It's certainly okay to give the full strength remedies (i.e., straight from the stock bottles), but this is wasteful and no more effective than if giving in the diluted form. Dilution does not affect the vibration of the essence. The rate at which that plant, flower, tree (or rocks/ water) energetically vibrates doesn't change.
  If you prefer to make a treatment bottle yourself, rather than consult with a Bach practitioner, typically up to seven remedies may be included in a treatment bottle. The Bach Centre notes that, rarely, up to nine may be included. If one of them is Rescue Remedy, which is comprised of five essences, that counts as one remedy. After determining the appropriate remedies, I ask the client to review the descriptions and confirm at an intuitive level whether the remedies "feel" right to them. I do this because they know their animal in a way I don't (although I do rely on my intuition, as well as knowledge of the remedies, in deciding which are appropriate). Each being is individual so there is no set rule on how many remedies (up to nine) can be included.
  A treatment bottle consists of one ounce (30 ml) of filtered or pure spring water placed in a dark glass dropper bottle. To that add two drops of each remedy from the stock bottles (or in the case of Rescue Remedy, four drops), plus a teaspoon of brandy as a preservative. (Avoid the brandy if you or your animal is sensitive to alcohol.) Before taking the drops from the stock bottle, gently succuss (tap) the bottle against your palm eight times to activate the essence. When the treatment bottle is ready, succuss it 100 times to thoroughly blend the essences and water. After that, succuss the treatment bottle eight times before dosing. Keep the bottle in a cool, dark place. Treatment bottles are effective for about two months. After that they may go sour and develop a film.
  Kathleen Berard and Max
  To rebalance deep seated or long standing emotional dis-ease, frequency of daily administration is important. The remedies do not build up in the body. The standard dose is four drops, four times a day from the treatment bottle. More doses can be given/ taken as needed: i.e. before you load the animal; when you arrive at the destination; before and after anesthesia or tranquilization; at the first hint of a storm; when receiving distressing news; anxiety over a situation; etc. – whatever the triggering or causative situation is for you or your animal.
  Upon the first time dosing from the treatment bottle for deep seated or long standing issues, I recommend the animal or person take four drops (a dose), three times, five minutes apart, then switch to four to six doses per day (trust your intuition here). Always administer directly from the dropper, and rinse it off if it touches skin/ mucous membranes before putting it back in the bottle. It is best to take the drops orally; or you can drip the drops on food or a snack (biscuit, treat, carrot...). If this is impossible, rub on lips, paw pads, the outside of the ears, nose, or belly, where the remedies are easily absorbed. In addition, you can add 10 drops from the stock bottle to 8 oz. of water in a small spray bottle (succuss as you would the treatment bottle) and mist the animals, their bedding, other places they lay, a room, etc.
  For short term or one-time stressful situations, such as a show or class, a trip to the vet, household guests, etc., you can administer the remedies beforehand, during and after the situation, and continue every 15-60 minutes until you notice calmness returning.
  While sometimes improvement is seen immediately (i.e. a client's dog loses his fear of storms within 24 hours; a woman noticed immediate improvement in her melancholy state), this is not always the case with long standing or deep seated issues. The remedies may need to be given for several weeks or longer, so be patient. It also may be necessary to choose new remedies as more obvious issues are resolved and deeper ones surface.
  Kat Berard is an Animal Communicator, Essences practitioner, and holistic care consultant. She has a worldwide practice and teaches worldwide as well. Kat is also a Reiki Master and a medical intuitive. Kat is listed on Penelope Smith's Directory of Animal Communicators and in Animal Wellness Magazine's Holistic Guide. She is host of the weekly internet radio show, Animal Corner, Thursdays at 9am PST at www.healthlife.net.
  210-402-1220, FAX: 210-402-0694
  For more information about Bach remedies, see the Bach Centre website, or one of several books including Bach Flower Remedies for Animals by Stefan Ball and Judy Howard (members of the Bach Centre).