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Holistic Care For Horses
Most horses will take herbs when mixed with molasses or honey. Many times a brew with strong tasting herbs can be disguised with black currant syrup or honey, particularly if cider vinegar has been added. Hops (Humulus lupulus) "Hop tops" young shoots given to colts to condition them. A good tonic. Flowers fed in fodder to quiet restless animals, 1 or 2 cups for young animals, 2 or 3 cups (1 cup equals 1 handful) for adults. Ivy, Common (Glechoma Hederacea) Very good for internal cleansing after birth, 1 to 2 cups chopped herb for mares immediately after giving birth. In treating retained afterbirth make a strong brew; in 1 pint of water add 1 to 2 cups of common Ivy half pint drenches approximately every 3 hours. Do not confuse with Poison Ivy please! Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) Horses like this herb so do sheep and goats. A good tonic. Parsley piert or Alchemilla arvensis is a gypsy cure for stones and a tonic after treating colic. It has been said that should man or animals take this herb on mid summers eve they could become invisible!! I have not tried that one, maybe one would have to take Woad (Ivatis tinctoria) to bring one back in sight. Of course the bluish hue might startle a few animals and people! Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) Used by gypsies as a spring tonic for horses, 1 to 2 cups of flowers cut up and mixed with mash or corn brew in 1.5 pints of water. Nettle, Common (Urtica dioica) Good forage dried for horses, rich in minerals, lime, sodium, iron, chlorine and a naturally good in protein value. Nettle juice mixed with nettle seeds is a good hair tonic: use internally 1 cup of juice in the animals mash. Use externally to wash the coat, it will give it a beautiful shine, beneficial for show or racehorses. Oak (Quercus robur) Gypsies used the ripe acorns ground and dried them and mixed them with wheat flour to make a gruel. The green cups are very astringent and made into a strong brew are used to check bleeding internally and externally, 1 to 2 oz to 1.5 pints water. Poplar, Black (Populus nigra) Buds crushed in milk, honey and wine a good tonic for horses. For sores, wounds, ulcers. Used externally too (by making an ointment with the young buds). Puffball (Fungus) Used to stem bleeding and promote healing. Crushed and then applied to wounds. Quince (Pyrus Cydonia. Hair tonic for manes and tails. The peel is made into a brew 1 cup to 1 pint. Sanicle (Sanicula europaea) Used as a talisman on banners and shields to protect war-horses and hopefully their riders. Good fodder. Effective for internal bleeding and wounds. Whole plant used make a brew or give 1 to 2 cupfuls of the herb in feed. Scabious (Scabiosa arvensis) (Gypsy Rose) Cleansing and antiseptic. A brew of the root and herb thickened with borax, removes old sores and dandruff. Mix about 2 cups herb and root to one and a half pints water. Put in 1 tablespoons of borax powder while still hot and stir well. Apply when cooled. Strawberry or Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) Leaves help prevent abortion, fruit good for nervous or slow horses. Foliage good for show and racehorses. 2 cups of leaves or leaves and root daily or handful of berries daily. Sweet Cicely (Myrrhus odorata) Horses love this herb. A good tonic. Crush some or bruise the root and hold in the hand, they will usually come to one. Native Indians used this trick to catch the wild horses. Note make sure you catch the right horse! Tea Plant (Indian tea, China tea), (Thea sinensis) Make a strong infusion, 2 parts to 1 of vinegar, (cider if possible). Soak cotton cloth when cold and apply. Very good for sun stroke, sunburn, fine burns. Dose internally: 1 dessert-spoon cider vinegar to 3 tablespoons tea mixture. Make the tea mixture with 2 tablespoons in 10 oz. hot water, add a pinch of cinnamon or 1 to 2 cloves or both. Give cold if possible. Willow,
White (Salix alba) Young shoots and foliage given by gypsies for cattle
and horses as a tonic Willow (Salix caprea) Given to goats to calm their
hot tempers and cool their blood. I am not sure whether that means they
gave it to the old goats or not. What is good for the animals is good for
man too! That's all I have space for just now. It's easy to forget that
the "beasts of the field" originally taught us much of our herb
law, (by our observations of them). They deserve more consideration than
we often care to give them nowadays. By using these simple remedies we can
do much to make their lives more comfortable and productive.
Herbal medicine is undoubtedly the oldest form of medicine, with thousands of years of history behind it. The discovery of medicinal plants may have occurred in a number of ways. Prehistoric people may have found therapeutic principles by trial and error, or perhaps by watching animals "treat" themselves by eating special plants when ill. In fact, "zoopharmacognosy" (the study of animal search of certain herbs to treat disease) has revealed that instinct consistently provides certain animals with therapeutic "information," allowing them to use this natural system of medicine themselves. Herbs represent one of the first pharmacologic interventions attempted by healers, and even today, 25% of our conventional drugs are plant derived. The World Health Organization states that 74% of these plant derived medicines have modern indications that correlate with their traditional, cultural (and sometimes ancient) uses. Because herbal therapeutics have proven efficacious by the standards of both history and modern medicine, plant medicines are the subject of close scrutiny by major drug companies. Why would a doctor choose to prescribe an herb, rather than a single active constituent such as those contained in a drug? Conventional doctors might argue that a single active constituent may be more precisely characterized, and that "extraneous" chemicals contained within the whole plant complicate our understanding of its action. Holistic doctors believe that presciptions of whole plants provide these advantages: (1) synergistic action and (2) safety. When the holistic doctor evaluates a patient, she/he will take into account all problems and patient idiosyncrasies, not just the "disease." One advantage in prescribing herbal medicine is that the practitioner may use combinations of herbs to treat the patient's symptoms–all of them. A combination of herbs may have 2 major advantages: the useful, therapeutic principles are concentrated by the additive effects of multiple herbs ("synergy"), and at the same time, any toxic effect in one herb is diluted by the other herbs in the combination. For these reasons, herbal combinations offer efficacy combined with safety more often than single drugs. Another advantage offered by herbal medications is in their unique actions. Until medical science can fully investigate the "miracles" attributed to herbs touted as anti-cancer and anti-viral agents, we can state with some caution that herbs are available to treat conditions against which conventional medicine is currently helpless. We have only a few safe, effective immune-stimulants in the conventional world, for example, but studies have shown that herbs such as echinacea, astragalus, ginseng, and many others have immune-stimulating effects. Unfortunately, veterinary herbal medicine has a long way to go before the doses and protocols are formalized. It is not necessarily safe to base prescriptions "proportionally" by comparison to human body weights. For instance, white willow is commonly used by human herbalists to relieve arthritic pain. White willow contains salicin, which is similar to the salicylic acid found in aspirin. Now, if one attempted to treat an arthritic cat with a smaller dose of white willow, the cat might experience a fatal reaction, since cats cannot metabolize salicylic acid. Another example of seemingly harmless herbal medication is the constant use of garlic. Garlic has been well characterized as a powerful antimicrobial, cardiac treatment, and cholesterol lowering agent. In addition, we tend to use it to repel and kill parasites in veterinary medicine. The problem is that garlic belongs to a family of plants that may cause anemia in animals if given for long periods of time. These chronic toxicity levels have not been well established, but we would do well to refrain from constant use of garlic, unless medically indicated. Other very mild herbs, such as raspberry for smooth pregnancies, milk thistle for hepatitis, and echinacea for immune stimulation, have been used without side effects for many years.
Are there diseases which seem particularly responsive to herbal
medications? As it happens, herbal medicine has a broad range of uses.
Certain plants contain antimicrobial, anti-cancer, and immune modulating
activities not found in our current drug arsenal. In addition, plants
(like fruits and vegetables) contain a variety of unexplained
nutritional factors which nourish and strengthen ("tonify")
the body. Herbal tonics, then, offer a strengthening effect which simply
isn't considered an aspect of disease treatment by modern, scientific
medicine.
Equine Massage
A
non-invasive therapy that can increase circulation, Just as the popularity of holistic approaches to health care in humans has gained in recent years, so too have these procedures and methods gained acceptance in the care of animals. In the equine world we have seen the recent advent of professions like equine chiropractor, equine physical therapist, and equine nutritionist. Every equestrian owner, trainer, show and race rider, wants thier horse to have every possible edge in competition. Massage therapy can help provide that edge. Similiarly, every owner of a pleasure horse wants to the assurance that their horse is the best it can be. Because of the health promoting qualities of the massage, as well as its curative properties, this therapy is being incorporated by knowledgeable equestrians as an integral part of their horses total and continuous health care program.
HOW CAN MY HORSE BENEFIT FROM CHIROPRACTIC CARE? Chiropractic care offers a natural, drug-free adjunct to your horse's total health care. In conjunction with regular veterinary care, chiropractic care can decrease pain, and add quality to your horse's performance, movement, and well being. Chiropractic care addresses problems stemming from imbalances in the following three systems: THE SKELETAL SYSTEM AND JOINTS OF THE BODY: Bones and joints form a flexible structure and capable of pain free movement when in normal health and alignment.. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM: Healthy muscles allow the joints to move freely. Healthy muscles are free of spasm, weakness, pain, knots, or degeneration. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: Nerves "direct" the functions of the body controlling the flow of communication between the brain and all areas of the body. When nerves are pinched, reduced performance levels and pain may result. This can eventually lead to a state of poor health. WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS RESPOND TO CHIROPRACTIC
TREATMENT, HOW MANY ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE NEEDED,
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