After years of puzzlingover the reason why his horses lived so long and why lame or ill horses made remarkable recoveries, farmer Phil Lynott has finally solved the riddle.
While grazing on his farm in Fookburgh, Cumbria they were all drinking from a natural spring which, when analysed by scientists, was found to contain high levels of Sailicin.
Salicin is a natural form of aspirin that for years has been used to treat heart problems and arthritis, provide pain relief and reduce fever.
At first MrLynott thought the animals must be eating herbs which was resulting in their extended life span, improved health and general vitality. It wasn’t until the vet questioned the reason why two horses suffering from strangles made a remarkable recoverythat Phil decided to investigate further.
After eliminating herbs, he turned his attention to a recently turned out elderly horse.
“A friend of mine had a pony which wasn’t doing so well,” explained Phil. “I told him to turn it out in my field and see how it got on.
“Within a couple of weeks it was running around with a new lease of life so I decided to watch it and discovered it was very often stood in one place in the field.
“In the area it stood was a patch of brambles and when I cleared them I found the spring.”
He decided to have the water analysed, which is when the experts discovered that the water from Field Head Farm was naturally rich in safe levels of Salicin.
Although there is no scientific research to support the health claims of the water, Mr Lynott is confident that his own results speak for themselves. Most of his horses live well into their thirties with one Shetland making 47.
After obtaining a licence from the Environmental Agency, Phil plans to extract 100,000 million litres a year and eventually market his water worldwide.
Sold under the name Lakeland Willow, it is currently the only bottled water in the world that contains Salicin and is available in the UK and Ireland in 500ml and 1.5 litre bottles from supermarkets and healthshops.
For more information about Lakeland Willow water visit: www.lakelandwillowwater.com
