Everything You Need To Know About Horses

Herbal First Aid For Horse and Rider

Armed with some good advice, it is easy to administer inexpensive and effective first aid for yourself and your horse, which will prevent mirror injuries from becoming complicated and painful.

A basic kit for home and stable should contain Arnica Ointment, Calendula Ointment, and Chamomile Tea. Most of these are readily available from your health food store and you can find Witch Hazel in Woollies !

Calendula

Calendula is highly antiseptic and very soothing. It will help prevent scarring and is very effective if there is minor blistering or abrasions as it draws the fluid back into the tissues. It can be used for things like rubs, sores, blisters, cuts, grazes, itches, rain scald, mud fever, bridle injuries, girth galls, saddle rubs and more. Take care to remedy the underlying cause of any sore or injury. In the case of rain scald and mud fever, first of all wash the area carefully with a medicinal shampoo and dry off well before applying the ointment.

Comfrey

Comfrey has extraordinary healing ability, this is due to its allation content which promotes the replacement of the relevant cells at a much more rapid rate than usual. There is a caution with this, however, healing can be so rapid that infection can be trapped in deep wounds, so first treat antiseptically with Calendula, for at least three days, then follow up with Comfrey. You can also purchase the plant from the nursery, and use the leaves to make a poultice if you wish. In winter there are no leaves, so ointment should be kept on hand. To bake a poultice, boil a generous handful of leaves, squeeze out the excess water, spread the mush over a piece of cotton wool or gamgee, and bandage in place. Some sensitive skinned horses, especially chestnuts, should have the poultice removed for a few hours each day, and a fresh poultice put on.

Arnica

Arnica improves the cirulation and is therefore excellent for both soft and hard tissue bruising. If you can get Arnica ointment on 10 seconds after an injury like jamming a finger in a door or hitting a thumb with a hammer, a bruise will come up and be gone within an hour. More importantly, bone bruises will heal completely and not become sites for arthritis or worse years later. In cases of horses, the normal 5 per cent Arnice ointment will not work very well on all soft tissue bruising and on the hoof itself. However it can be too strong for injuries in the lower limbs where it can cause fluid to pool because the circulation system cannot cope with all the extra fluid brought into the area by Arnica. Therefore a more dilute ointment is needed for lower limbs. Herbalists can provide special forulations which contain other ingredients to stimulate the healing process, reduce inflammation and drive the Arnica deeper into the site of the bruising.

Witch Hazel Lotion

Instead use Witch Hazel Lotion which should be held or bandaged onto the area with a piece of cotton wool or gamgee. Witch Hazel has similar properties to Arnica but is safe to use on broken skin and also on the lower limbs of horses. It is very good to use under bandages on a horse which has minor heat and or soreness in the legs, as well as for minor sprains.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is one of the oldest and most universally used herbal teas for humas. It is excellent for relaxing everyone from babies to old people, or anyone suffering from the stresses of modern life. For the same reasons it is marvelous for horses. It can be added to their feed and is useful for nervous horses either as a pre-competition measure or simply to nourish or improve the nervous system so the horse is more relaxed in his work. The tea can be purchased in bags in the supermarket or in bulk at the health food store. Horses can be given one large coffee mug daily, or twice daily for more highly strung horses (two tea bags or equivalent to the mug). It can also be used externally to soothe bites and stings. Sponge the cooled and diluted tea over the affected area. Chamomile Tea might be all that you and your horse need. If so, it is very easy and economical remedy.

Rescue Remedy

Everyone should have Rescue Remedy on hand to treat shock resulting from minor and major physical or emotional trauma. Treating a horse for shock minimises the recovery time from the accident or injury and prevents that experience having repercussions on future health or nervous system problems. Take some yourself at the same time. Rescue Remedy is also excellent for horses that tend to panic, even if it is a long standing pattern, for example floating, going to shows and so on. It can be useful when combined with Chamomile Tea. It contains five Bach Flower Essences, which work homeopathically. It is available from health food stores and specialty shops.