Herbal Support for Horses

24/04/2023

Below is a link to one of the Equine Medicinal Forage Walks I'm doing this year. It would be lovely to see as many folk as possible there. I'm only doing a few this year as the driving is getting a bit much now that I'm officially an 'old man' - this one is 5 hours each way but I do have room for a couple more if you wish to enquire 🙂 This year all of my fees are being donated to the National Autistic Society (both of my grand children are 'on the spectrum') via the bonkers activity of The Arctic Rider. This is my son-in-law's activity to ride his motor cycle solo across each of the six land borders across the Arctic Circle. He's already done three - Sweden, Alaska, Iceland - and Finland is this year (Russia will have to wait a while !) He does this in his own time, solo and at his own cost and this year it's for The National Autistic Society so I hope to help out a bit. You can help by coming on the walk below and/or donating via his FB page 'The Arctic Rider' where you'll see a link to a Just Giving page.
I hope to see you on a forage walk. I do try to make them both entertaining and informative and not too 'sciencey'. Most of all they're relevant to horse owners and those who ask the question, "Why is my horse eating that and what is it ?". Shares to this post would be welcome ....

https://behorself.co.uk/foragingwalk10june/?fbclid=IwAR3pcxaS9YH1wW_s1-n8h_0P7uuP27liWdlknelKqoWm_5F_0QmdMteeqDw

Come along for a fun and inspiring foraging walk led by Stuart Attwood, ‘Planty Man’, expert in zoopharmacognosy methodology, to learn identification of plants of direct benefit to horses but also humans.

03/01/2023

27/10/2022

"Goodnight Little Weeeed": I have to admit that I'm not a fan of this time of the year. To me it's the prelude to 'real' winter and as I've grown older it's lost it's appeal to me. It's also close to my birthday and Christmas which have also lost their appeal in late years. Many of the planty things in, and around the track, have also said, "Goodnight", until the warmer weather returns. However, Chiron Horse is still happy to browse on what he could find this morning like Hawthorn, Comfrey and Willow. I've written about all of these over the last year and a bit of adding to my Herbal Support for Horses page so if you want to find out more about them - folklore, how they are beneficial to horses - then just use the search icon at the top of that page and add in your search word to see a past post.

The track is holding up well right now even though we've had lost of rain up here in The Land of the Prince Bishops and mud is only about an inch deep on some parts of the surfaced area. The school and driveway have most of the puddles and Chiron Horse always makes me smile as he tip toes around the edges of them instead of going through. He is even reluctant to go through the gate unless it's opened up wide enough as it has a puddle under the latch side - love 'im !

If there's something you'd like me to write about - planty thing or horse track - then let me know and I'll see what I can do. For now I'm just 'clinging to the wreckage' as Terry Wogan used to say. So long for now then 🙂

04/10/2022

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE - RIGHT ? I've been trying to write this post for a couple of weeks. Now, let me say at the start that "If anything I say can be taken one of two ways, and one of those ways offends you, well, I meant the other one !"

I sometimes get asked to recommend a planty remedy for a given condition - despite the pinned post to this page. I don't but I do say things in a generalised way at times. I'm not being awkward and, apart from aspects of vet law, I would like to explain a few things about planty things as I understand them.

The benefit of most planty things - Devil's Claw with it's pain relieving qualities being a possible exception - over a pharma drug is that they act in a 'shotgun' type of way. By that I mean they with benefit, and affect, a number of different body systems which may then have an effect on a range of complaints. In essence they may not immediately treat, and benefit, ABC but they may benefit, and support the whole body to then affect ABC as well as XYZ and 123. This is the reason why so many are beneficial when they are provided to/for/by the horse in an ad-lib way BEFORE an acute onset of the condition and why they may take a little time to effect that condition. With many planty things it's often about PREVENTING the condition from arising in the first place rather than treating an acute episode. Now, that's not to say they can't be used, and have an effect in an acute or chronic episode it's just that the 'shotgun' effect is best used before this stage so that the planty thing can support the whole health of the horse.

I know, and recognise, that not all owners are able - or even want to - keep their horses in a species specific way on a horse track system where they can have ad-lib access to a wide range of planty things. However, all horses can have access to a wide range of planty things in a pasture, or even provided to them by hanging things in a stable if needs be. The benefits of provided access as ad-lib, and free choice, as possible is that the horse gets to choose and it has the ability to seek things out for itself and to provide the body with as wide range of planty things as possible that will help to PREVENT conditions that may compromise its welfare and health. This page has provided a wide range of commonly found planty things - often with some folk lore to them and what they might help - over the last year and a bit. I've taken great pains not to 'sell' things to the reader as it's fort he reader to make the choices on behalf of their horse(s). Yes, I've mentioned the Herbal "Support for Horses: Laminitis" e-book a couple of times but this has been to encourage folk to seek out remedies and to plant them/make them available to their horses - the e-book is still widely available on Lulu, Apple and Amazon for just a few pounds with a fewer than a few pounds going to my Vimto and Pot Noodle fund (look under the title or my name) :-) - and it's more relevant at this time of year than most.

as horse owners we look to others to help with prevention of disease and conditions all the time - farriers/trimmers to help with foot health; osteopaths and other 'body workers' to help with musculoskeletal health and others - however, i would advocate that the owner can also be added to this list by ensuring welfare and housing conditions are high, horses are kept on a well designed track system (!) and that a wide range of planty things are made available with sugar rich grasses kept to a minimum. Maybe if that is done then acute conditions may reduce and welfare will increase. For instance below are photos of Chiron Horse's feet after a trim last week. he has free access to a wide range of planty things that he chooses to eat at different times of the year, he's taken out on in-hand walks twice/three times a week, he lives on a track system and has regular trims and attention from a well qualified barefoot trimmer. Whatever you may think of his feet the way that he is looked after is a MAJOR contributing factor.

As we approach winter in the UK now is the time to think about how you can provide ad-lib, free access planty things to help PREVENT acute conditions in the future. Seeds are available in hedgerows, many on-line nurseries have end of season sales for hedging and other things of interest to horses you might also consider contacting me for an Equine Medicinal Forage Walk with a group of friends for Spring of next year to help learn more and ID planty things that will help your horse(s). The addition of just some will help your horse and if you need some inspiration then the e-book is there as well as past posts to this page. Thank you.

22/09/2022

ARE YOU SITTING COMFREY ? THEN I'LL BEGIN .... : Once upon a time there was a planty thing so powerful in its effectiveness that it is said it could mend broken bones. The villagers called it 'knit bone' or 'Knitback' or 'Boneset'. However, what this name failed to recognise was how effective the planty thing could be against all manner of pulmonary conditions - coughs, whooping cough, lung conditions etc. Just like many other planty things it was also effective against a wide range of conditions - cuts and wounds, ulcerated parts of the body, sprains, strains, bruising, arthritis, injuries to all sorts of connective tissue, inflammation and bleeding in the lungs and stomach and the general relief of pain. It was applied topically by the villagers as a poultice and in the form of a tea for internal conditions and the villagers were mightily impressed with the results.

What the villagers didn't know is that a form of the planty thing, that has deep blue flowers, was introduced to this country in 1811 from the Caucasus - Sympytum asperimum - and was grown by many as a forage crop for animals due to its much larger size - up to 5 feet in height and rich, verdant leaves. However, whilst some animals ate the crop - and it was said to be very good for them - most didn't if there was an alternative available. It was mostly the pigs that were left with it and it fell out of favour as a crop but this did mean that it was 'out there' in the countryside now and the villagers had to distinguish which Comfrey they chose, the original Symphytum officianale, with the purple flowers or even the variety that is most common in Wales, the North of England and Scotland - S. turberosum which has a creamy yellow flowers and more of a tuber root structure.

The villagers soon learnt that the Comfrey varieties had quite a prickly stem and leaf which set it apart from similar looking planty things like Foxglove and slightly differently shaped leaves - a bit more pointy. It was easy to propagate and in all cases just a small part of root stock would suffice to grow it on but all of the them spread like Billy-O so they had to be careful where it was planted ! However, insects of all sorts love the flowers and they do add a great deal of biodiversity to an area.

Now the warning bit ! Please do take care about topical application of a comfrey poultice to broken bones that have not been professionally set as the effects are speedy and long lasting. The same goes for open wounds. There have also been concerns by some about the planty thing containing the compound pyrrolizidine alkaloid which is also found in Ragwort. Whilst Comfrey does contain this it is a fairly common protector from aphids etc that many plants employ and it is found in far lower levels in Comfrey than Ragwort and any adverse reactions have only ever been found in lab conditions where large doses have been administered. It is also lower in the Common British variety than it's Russian counterpart.

Well, I hope you found my post interesting and please do comment or share for others to read. Thank you. The images below are taken from around our Horse Track System and there is evidence that the horses have been 'self selecting' on the plants they can get free access to ....

07/09/2022

"THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE, BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD TASTE AS SWEET". Okay, so I altered the quote just a little but then Bill Shake-a-speare didn't have a Chiron Horse and he 'borrowed' enough from others so I feel okay about it ! Yes, his real surname was 'Shake-a-speare' but he had to shorten it as there wasn't enough room on the marriage document when he quickly spirited dear old Ann off to Worcester to get wed because she was up the duff (as they said in Medieval England at the time). So, this post is about roses and for the purposes of it we'll lump together the five types of wild rose found in the UK with Rosa Rugosa (the Japanese rose). It's also posted at a time when the rose hips are out in abundance and your horse (like mine) will love them even if they don't fully realise the medicinal benefits of them.

The five types of wild rose found in the UK (Rosa Canina - Dog Rose, Rosa Arvensis - Field Rose, Rosa Rubiginosa - Sweet Briar, Rosa Spinosissima - Burnet Rose, Rosa Villosa - Downey Rose) are similar to each other but may have slightly different flower colours and planty thing habits, however, we'll treat them in a similar way as far as our horses are concerned (at this point 'real' botanists shriek in horror !). The Rosa Rugosa arrived in Europe from China in the 19th Century and is the one that has fuller flowers than our natives along with a more spiny stem and denser leaves with a hip that is about the size of a 50p piece and rounder than the more oval hips of the other five. Oh just while we're on the 'hips' these are not the fruit of the planty thing but more growths on the end of stems and the real fruit is the hairy seed within them.

The hips are slightly acidic and astringent and considered a tonic herb. They can benefit respiratory conditions as well as kidney conditions - by extension things that benefit the kidneys may also benefit the urinary system as a whole. In zoopharmacognosy the essential oil of roses is one of the most popularly sought and has links to emotions and memory of them. The petals may help with cases of diarrhoea if a tea is made of them, to stop the spread of infected wounds and to ease burns as well as itchy skin. The planty thing as a whole instills feelings of love - hence the Romeo and Julliet quote and why we buy them for those we love. The hips have a huge amount of Vitamin C in them (50 x that of oranges) and in 1943 during WWII over 500 tons (yes, an Imperial 'ton' !) of them were collected to make 2 1/2 million bottles of National Rose Hip Syrup to help keep the nation healthy in times of shortages. The body uses Vit C as an anti-oxidant which helps other minerals to be absorbed as well as to 'hunt' down, and eliminate, free radicals which are the product of incomplete metabolism as well as release from fat cells when they burst and then go on to damage bodily systems which may affect laminitic prone horses and help the immune system to function well. The name 'Dog Rose' is thought to derive from the Olde English word 'Dag', meaning dagger, which is a reference to its curved thorns which are very sharp so care needs to be taken when collecting the hips/leaves.

Apart from the horse use of these planty things many recipes can be made from the hips including Rose Hip Syrup (esp good on rice pudding and ice cream), Rose Hip Cordial, jams and preserves and many recipes can be found on You Tube.

Chiron Horse will happily eat the stems and leaves of Rosa Rugosa this time of the year as well as the hips of this rose, however, he's less keen on the same from the Wild Roses due to the thorns he encounters - he will eat the hips if I lacerate my hands getting them though ! It's really easy to dry these hips for the winter use (colds, flu, respiratory issues and Vit C needs) or they can be purchased on-line in a dried form.

I planted Rosa Canina and Rosa Rugosa along the horse track edge three years ago as part of a mixed hedge arrangement with Hawthorn, Dogwood and Willows and this year is the first year we'll really get flowers on them. They're now about 4' high and branching out to form a dense hedge. I cut them back by about a third each year since planting to encourage growth and will do so a bit more than that this year to control them a little. I've also under planted with many other planty things like borage, comfrey, lung wort, horse radish, hedge wound wort, berberis and fennel since. Collected muck from the track surface is used to help them grow and rots down nicely. Image 1 shows the hips from Rosa Canina (Dog/Wild Rose) and 2 show the hips from Rosa Rugosa and the Image 3 in Comments (FB wouldn't let me add it to the post !) is the reason it's all done as Chiron Horse chomps his way through all of it when he wants to - and today is one of those days !

Thanks for reading and share, comment as always as you feel you wish to ....

31/08/2022

BEWARE THE WITCH - BUT WHICH WITCH IS WHYTCH ? This post is going to take a bit of a diversion from horsey related planty things to one that benefits hoomans and esp as we head into the winter months.

Right now the Elder berry harvest is there for us all to benefit from. It won't last too long as the birds love to eat them - and then often target parked cars with the end results ! Elder has been a medicinally beneficial tree thing for over 4000 years. It has been found in Neolithic graves as a food or medicine and it provides remedies for many common ailments. This is mainly as a cold cure or expectorant but it's also a diuretic (like I need that !!), a cooling herb that can reduce inflammation, lowers fevers and anti-catarrhal, aids rheumatic complaints, arthritis, constipation (!) and externally can help minor burns and sore eyes. The leaves are antiseptic and insecticidal (see, there is a horsey bit as it puts flies off !), however, they do contain a toxin called cyangenic glycoside so should not be eaten and nor should the berries without cooking first.

The tree has the power of 'good and evil' in that it is supposed to be the tree that the cross was made of and that Judas hanged himself on. Witches are thought to live in the branches - as well as those of Hawthorn - and thought to turn themselves into the tree with anyone sleeping under one running the risk of being poisoned and never wake up ! Burning the wood can raise the Devil and it should never be brought into the house - no furniture is made from Elder - . However, if you are a bit concerned about Witches then growing one by your door will offer protection against them. It's not hard to understand this folk lore when one understands about the toxic leaves and their effect is it ....

Now, Witchcraft aside, I've made some Elder berry syrup this week to 'ward off' the effects of colds etc over the coming months and I certainly needed it this morning as I got pretty wet in heavy 'drizzle' showers cutting back the hedges on the track - all finished now which will help them grow bushier and I had a cuppa afterwards to warm me up (oh, and a bacon and egg bap !!)

Elder berry syrup is easy to make - albeit a bit messy the way I did it ! - and it will keep for ages in a dark cupboard. This video explains how to do it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8MFnbLLl4A&t=1008s - This couple make some great little informational videos though I have to admit they do weird me out a bit !

So, that's Elder and Elder berries in particular. have a go at making some and keep free of colds this winter :-) Thanks for reading, comment, like, share as you feel you want to ....