Posts Tagged ‘herbs for horses’

Before we can truly understand how to start supplementing our horses’ diets or treating their disorders & illness with herbs, we need to understand the actions of each herbs, and in so doing we begin to learn when, where & how to use specific herbs…

It would be a good idea to print out this list and put it somewhere where you can see and read it often and soon you will suprise yourself with how quickly you learn…

Adaptogen
Herbs that normalize and restore body functions and increase the body’s nonspecific resistance to stress: ginseng, licorice, nettle and astragulus.

Alterative
Also known as blood purifiers. Herbs that gradually restore health and vitality to the body: burdock, red clover, nettle, oregon grape, alfalfa, gota kola, marshmallow, dong quai, and ginseng.

Analgesic/Anodyne
Substance that relieves pain: scullcap, valerian, passion flower, catnip and chamomile. Read the rest of this entry »

Note from Faye: This article does a great job of describing and summing up why we prefer to choose Herbal (or ‘natural’) medicine over Western (or ‘traditional’) medicine whenever possible. That is not to say Western medicine does not have it’s place, rather that we, whenever possible choose to treat our horses with natural, holistic and non-invasive methods ...

By: Zoe Dodds

Herbal Medicine uses remedies derived from plants to treat common illnesses. These herbs are dietary supplements that you can give to your horse in its raw form or dried, through teas (infusions), extracts, tinctures and oils or as part of a combined remedy. Herbal Medicine aims to not only treat the symptoms but to introduce improvements to your horse’s lifestyle and wellbeing.

Herbs have been used on people and animals for thousands of years across a range of cultures. Shamans, Medicine men and women, pharaohs, kings and field workers all knew the benefits of herbs on their people and animals. Some of the more common cultures to have used herbs on their horses were the native american indian tribes, the ancient greeks and the romany gypsies of Europe. Horses also have instinctively foraged on medicinal plants native to their grasslands gaining the necessary nutrition to heal and prevent illness.

Modern medicine is in fact foundered from the use and experimentation of thousands of years of herbal medicine knowledge. Veterinarian science and the development of pharmaceuticals has evolved directly from the accumulated wisdom of herbal history that has greatly benefited western medicine as we know it today.

So how do herbs work and how can we use them safely on our horses in the context of our modern world? Read the rest of this entry »

Most people think that herbal remedies are limited to humans alone. But horses also benefit from Naturopathy, or herbal medicine. This article specifically focuses on a range of herbal remedies for equines.

Many horse owners feel the need to resort to herbal remedies that do not hamper a horse from competing in the show ring, or being active and drug-free.

Horses have health concerns that are similar to human health issues, yet they have a different system, which requires a different approach to naturopathy than one would take with a human being. Read the rest of this entry »

A Note from Faye: Well, September is upon us…which also means that Fall is rapidly approaching! So this month we will once again focus on Holistic Horse Care & Natural & Herbal remedies for our horses. The colder weather brings with it a host of health issues, but instead of rushing out and buying a ‘traditional’ (possibly toxic!) treatment, first explore the possibility that there may be a natural remedy that will not only cure what ails your horse, but also support his immune system and treat the horse as a whole being instead of merely treating symptoms!

FOOD ALLERGIES & SENSITIVITES IN HORSES

 By: Madalyn Ward, DVM (www.holistichorsekeeping.com)

Normally when we think of allergies, symptoms like a runny nose or cough come to mind. A horse owner may more quickly think of the horrible skin itch that occurs with sweet itch, the allergy to culicoides gnats. But not all allergies have such obvious symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »

Article written by: Dr Joyce Harman

Summary
Herbal medicine is being used with increasing frequency. Many people are unaware of the best way to use herbs, or what conditions can be treated. This article is an introduction to the many aspects of the use of herbs in horses with discussion about some specific herbs useful for older horses. Over time I will publish more details about herbal medicine and individual herbs. 

An Introduction to the Use of Herbs

Horse owners are becoming increasingly interested in natural medicines and herbal medicine in particular. There is much lack of knowledge about Read the rest of this entry »

Most Horse Owners and Trainers nowadays give Vitamins and Minerals to Horses as part of their daily Program.

Since the discovery of Vitamin C and its link with the disease Scurvy explained, we are accustomed to being told by the media and by health authorities that our health will be improved if we take additional Vitamin and Mineral supplements in addition to our normal diets.

We are told that it is something about the modern lifestyle, stress and the denaturing of our soils etc. which means that our food supply is not as good as it was in the “old days”. This is of course true to some extent and we should be doing must more about the quality of our food. We should really be working much harder on Organic and Chemical Free farming than we are doing but until the market provides a greater incentive for so doing, this movement will be slow.

As usual of course, this is not the whole truth. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert McDowell

When I first studied Herbal medicine, (having come from an Engineering and Science background) I had great difficulty coming to terms with, and understanding how on earth all this knowledge was arrived at in the first place.

How many dead Herbalists did it take to decide which herbs were poisonous? And then -How many more trials did it take to find out that Dandelion was good to treat Liver conditions? Read the rest of this entry »