Herbs for Horses

Sue Weaver

Andrea rounded the corner into the barn aisle and stopped short. Lezuit was secured in the cross ties, his owner, Susan, squatting beside him. Susan was pressing a greeny-gooey, damp, steaming towel around Lezuit's skinned, swollen knee.

"What are you doing now?," Andrea asked.

Susan rocked back on her heels and grinned up at her friend. "I'm doctoring Zu's bad knee with a comfrey poultice. I want to ride in that schooling show next week, this should do the trick."

Andrea stifled a snicker. Comfrey? That big hairy weed growing over by the barn? I don't think so!

Susan must have read Andrea's face. "Doctor Kryszka told me to do it," she said. "Lots of people use herbs to heal their horses. Doctor Kryszka approves. She says scientists have proven allantoin-that's the healing component in comfrey-encourages the growth of new connective tissue, bone, and cartilage and it's easily absorbed through the skin." Susan unwrapped the towel and peeked at the big gelding's knee. Then she patted it back in place. "It breaks down red blood cells too, so it heals bruises. That's why I'm poulticing Zu. And you can't beat the priceIt's free; I made this gunk myself. Doctor Kryszka told me how. When she visited her grandmother in Poland last year, she learned Polish vets prescribe herbal treatments all the time. Now she does, too."

Susan and Dr. Kryszka are not alone. All across America, horsefolk are augmenting standard veterinary treatments with herbal preventions and curesoften with the blessings of their vets. Why? Because holistic is 'in.' Chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, flower essences, aromatherapyand especially herbsfolks are seeking a more natural way of life and they want it for their companion animals, too.

Holistic veterinarians insist (and many allopathic vets agree): properly diagnosed and administered, herbs heal horses as effectively as do pharmaceutical drugs, at much less cost, and with infinitely fewer side effects. And using herbs, owners like Susan can often doctor minor ills and injuries by themselves.

The easiest way to ease into herbs is to purchase ready-made products for horses. Nowadays most any horse care item you'll need for your animals is available enhanced by herbs: shampoos, rinses and hair oils, sheath cleaners, hoof conditioners, eye drops, liniments, insect repellants, and more. Furthermore, individual over-the-counter herbal feed supplements are specially formulated to enhance immune systems, shine coats, boost energy, soothe itches and allergies, ease coughs, relieve pain, balance hormones, and calm the savage beast. Many products are manufactured abroad, where doctoring horses with herbs is a cherished tradition, but some are American made, too.

The advantage to using commercial products is obvious: the correct herbs have been processed in the manner most likely to preserve their potency, formulations are precise, and they come packed with explicit instructions. Their primary drawback, especially for budget-conscious horsekeepers: some are prohibitively expensive.

Because all of the herbs in commercial blends can be purchased in bulk at natural foods co-ops, many budget-wise horse herbalists research proportions and dosages, buy herbs piecemeal, and duplicate commercial mixes themselves.

And some of us start from scratch (see next month's article on preparing herbs). However, creating herbal treatments and cures requires long and arduous study. The wrong plantespecially ingestedadministered in the wrong amount or at the wrong time can easily spell 'dead horse.' Yet, if they wish, even grass-green horse herbalists can doctor minor problems using herbs. How?

By using only safe, everyday, easy-to-recognize pasture herbsand until they've gained experience, for external applications only. Let's consider six of those plants right now:

Burdock: Cocklebur, beggars buttons, sticktight, call it what you will, this huge, hardy, rhubarb-looking pest plant thrives in every corner of America except arrid deserts. And every place it grows, burdock's velcro-toothed, dried burrs get matted in horses' manes and tails.

So what's good about burdock? A lot. Internally it's a peerless blood tonic. Externally, a poultice of burdock's crushed leaves eases joint aches, eye irritations, skin disorders, sprains, bruises, burns, wounds, and sores.

Yarrow: Yarrow's Latin name is Achillea MillefoliumAchillea because the Greek hero-general AchiIles supposedly used it to heal his injured warriors' wounds. And it probably did. Scientists have identified over 100 active healing components in lowly yarrow. It's a medicine chest in just one plant!

Salves or oils made of yarrow flowers and leaves mend slow-healing sores, wounds, and skin rashes. So will a yarrow poultice. In an emergency, dried or fresh yarrow leaves crammed into a wound quickly staunch bleeding.

Dandelion: Though most of dandelion's many therapeutic uses are internal, beginners can coat a stubborn wart with its sticky sap several times a day; in a few weeks, voila, the wart is gone!

Wild Red Raspberry: Revered throughout the ages and the world as a peerless uterine tonic for pregnant females, brewed into strong tea, then dabbed on sores, wounds, and skin irritations, wild red raspberry boasts external restorative powers as well.

Yellow (Curly) Dock: Yellow dock oil or salve works wonders applied to itchy, weepy sores, and scabby eruptionsand dock species flourish the world around.

Mullein: Most everyone recognizes mullein's fuzzy, donkey ear-shaped leaves and flower spike that shoots high as the sky. Crush or chew mullein's hairy leaves and dab the pulp on insect bites-even painful hornet stings-to quickly alleviate pain. Or coat warts with the same pulp to help them resolve themselves quicker. Soothe bruises, especially on sensitive body parts, with mullein flower oil. Or treat wounds and sores with mullein leaf poultices or with salves and oils made mullein leaves.

And There Are More: Other horse herbs that flourish in Northwestern fence rows, meadows, and woodlots include nettles, red clover, comfrey, fireweed, hawthorn, mint, golden rod, silverweed, plantain, cinquefoil, milkweed, shepherd's purse, wild daisies, chickweed, evening primrose, white sage (and other artemisia species), mallow, cleavers, rose hips- the list goes on and on. Intrigued? To learn more, including how to dose your horse with herbs internally, investigate these resources: