The Art of Natural Dressage

Donald, that is absolutly fascinating that the plant became part of you, or you it. i must admit my jaw dropped a litte reading that.

I have just stumbled across this website

http://www.herbal-treatments.com/

with some interesting articles about herbs for horses, plus apparently access to a continuously unpdated online book about herbs for horses - at a cost of course. Could be interesting. Anyone have access to it already? Is it worth the money?

This is what it says about it on the website.

i have had an idea and would like to know what you think...

How about we start a new section in the AND forum for herbs? Each herb could have it's own topic with a picture and description of what it can be used for, how to use it. We can all add our own experiences about the herb and how we use it, what we use it for, if certain things worked or didn't work for our horses etc. I am sure there is a wealth of herb information out there in the AND community.

What do you think? I think it could be an invaluable tool.

could be nice. but you need a moddy to make it ;-) so it is more easy to find for everyone.
But it have nothing to do with training and at liberty etc.. etc...So i dont know if it is logical to make such a treat.
you have to ask if enough people is interested en if it would fit in here.

I can't say if it would fit in or not, but I would love to have something to refer to like that, Heather! It would definitely make things easier to find, and I really like the idea of including a photo as well, so that we all know we're talking about the same plant.

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The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. - Khalil Gibran

Susie aka Pie Pony posted an article from TheHorse.com in the Listerine to stop itchy horses thread, and I wanted to make sure it got included in the wisdom collecting here in this thread.


More here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=960

(I just this afternoon bought flaxseed to use in our coolo new bread machine...guess I'm going to have to share!)

Cheers!

Leigh

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"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

Hi, just getting round to reading as many post as I can and doing a bit of catchup as Im a newby - good to see this topic - I am a herbalist (human) but have been using herbs on horses for years - of course as herbivours they respond so well - better than humans and much faster in most cases - but am a little concerned - nettle is a wonderful herb for all the reasons already stated but some horses have a severe reaction to them fresh or dry and has been known to be life threatning causing restricted airways, and it isnt rare so before feeding nettle test first. ivy is poisoness not life threatning unless on a horse that already has some kind of weakness but enough to cause severe pain and colic also contact irritation - dont want to send out too many warnings but it isnt true that horses always know what they can and cant eat, on a lighter note my horses love cleavers and it is very good for them. Hawthorn is a good herb for both horse and human, is known as an efficient heart regulator its the berries that are the most efficient and they have the added bonus of vit c. just as an added interest - one of the most impressive herbs I have used on horses is comfrey for wound healing it is so rapid that caution should be taken on deep wounds to make sure they are clean as the healing is so rapid.

Roa, I'm thrilled to have someone with your expertise share your knowledge!

Thank you!

Question for you: when you suggest testing first before giving a horse nettles, for example, I'm wondering how you test?

I'd love to know what your protocols are!

Best,
Leigh

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"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

This is a great topic. I suppose grass and pasture in general is basically herbal?
My horses get free choice with old meadow but I think they prefer grass and hay. I have lots of patches of stinging nettles dotted around the field, but these are only eaten when I cut them and they wilt, so I cut only a few at a time. We have numerous Hawthorn trees and Willow yet I do not see Ben the laminitic prone pony help himself, although if he is spending time in his stable, he is happy for me to collect browse. We also have Poplar, Oak, Ash, Hazel as well as a variety of rushes, sedges and mint growing around the pond. This time of year the Yarrow is flowering, and again it can be such a benefit but my horses seem to prefer the grasses and clovers. All of the horses can manage to pick blackberries but leave the wonderful rosehips.

For a few more herbs/spices/therapies I posted a link to some other treatments, often with multiple properties, curcumin/turmeric is known for digestion, skin, joints, altzeimhers, cancer among some of the research done on it's amazing chemical chains.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2907


Susie xx

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Susie xx
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piepony/

I don't know enough about herbs to go ahead and use them on my own, but I do send away for an herbal supplement that has been all premixed for me I get it from a place called Riva's Remedies (www.rivasremedies.com/), here in Canada. The staff has always been very helpful.

I also have Marijke van der Water's (the lady behind Riva's Remedies) book, "Healing Horses - Their Way!". It is VERY informative.

Hi Cyndi,

I'm in Alberta!!! Freakin' cold here...how are you faring in Ontario??

I have used Rivas on a couple of occasions. Last summer, Cisco (my older horse who has since moved to Arkansas) got a snotty nose. We couldn't pinpoint the reason (allergy, object in nose, etc) so we just supported his immune system with Rivas and kept a close eye on him. He didn't act sick at all so we opted not to use antibiotics or anything else. Riva's pulled him through just fine, naturally! I think it's a fine product! I like also that you can call them for help. I believe one of the owners is also a communicator?

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

Hi Karen!

I hate to tell you this, but I'm in Southwestern Ontario (between Toronto and Detroit) and it's quite mild outside right now We took the dogs for a walk last night and it was around zero. My husband came with me to see my horse not long ago, and although it's -5 today, it was still comfortable out because we were dressed warm.

Along with "Happy Horse", I use Riva's herbarl de-wormer, but man, I have the toughest time getting my horse to take it!! I think I'll try giving it to her dry rather than moistened with water. I'm not sure if it's the red wine vinegar (1 tablespoon) that's turning her off, or what. Today I experimented with giving her a handful of unsweetened coconut and oat bran, and she gobbled that out of my hand, but even when I mixed it with her de-wormer she refused to eat it. The other two equines with her (a horse and a mini donkey) were happy to eat what she refused.

Yes, I believe that Marijke Van Der Water is a communicator.

I would love it if there was a part of the forum dedicated to herbs and spices... I'm really getting in to that lately
if anyone would like to arrange it, I would love reading it!
wonderful wonderful

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Horseriding is an art

My horse is a beautiful living sculpture

I agree with you Barbara. I'd enjoy reading about how herbs (and other plants) benefit horses too.

I wish I knew enough and had my own barn where I could plant all sorts of herbs and plants around that the horses could nibble on when they felt like it.

I finally got my mare to take her wormer herbs, but I had to mix them with a bit of rolled oats, unsweetened coconut, and a cut up apple. Because it's so cold out, I put a bit of hot water in the mix. She gobbles it down.

I've come across another site that has a lot of herbal supplements, called Natural Horse Network (NHN). I plan to order something for my mare from there when I run out of the stuff she has right now, just to give it a try. The NHN site also has herbal wormers, both in a dry form (made by Earth Song Ranch, I believe), as well as a natural paste wormer (by Dr. Dan).

AND already has topics on herbs and alternative therapies in the health sections.

Gwen Santagate is a member of AND, also a hoof trimmer, and author of many magazine articles as well as teacher at www.thepenzancehorse.com
offering many online courses of horse management, aromatherapy, hoof trimming, clicker training (it was Gwen who taught Lesley Pavlich now author and teacher of Clicker Training Horses), homeopathy and many more subjects in depth, detail and with full assignments for research and to develop better understanding towards achieving partnership with horses.

Free place to ask questions and contact Gwen is http://thepenzancehorse.ning.com

Josepha sells herbs and spices in Belgium and posts out, Gwen sells in USA.

Check these websites
http://www.thepenzancehorse.ning.com
http://www.thepenzancehorse.com/

http://www.horsecourses.net/
http://www.barefoottrim.com/

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Susie xx
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piepony/