Comfrey – Improvements to damaged ligaments and horses with joint and arthritic problems is the reason for feeing this herb 5 Please note that there is conflicting advice on whether comfrey has negative effects on the liver and kidneys 16 Spearmint – For both the respiratory and digestive systems. It also disguises the taste of less palatable additions to your horses feed 18

Valerian combines extremely well with other relaxing herbs, such as chamomile and hops, to make a general calming blend, and can be helpful in settling the digestive system. Rosemary: There are a lot of benefits to rosemary for humans, and at least two of them can apply to horses as well. One is that of an antimicrobial. This helps to prevent wounds such as fly bites from becoming infected as well as helping to deal with an infection.Garlic also cleanses the blood and so provides another excellent choice to prevent laminitis and sweet itch. It is a natural insect repellent and so could help ward off flies and offers antihistamine properties. Garlic is an expectorant and so can help to clear the lungs of mucous and infection. The juice from garlic bulbs can be utilised to clean bites, stings and cuts. Kelp

If you are unsure about giving any supplement (not just herbs) to your horse, either consult a registered equine nutritionist, or your local equine veterinarian. Conclusion There are caveats, both to the use of aspirin or meadowsweet. While it is often used to counteract the pain that comes from age or injury, it should not be used in horses with bleeding problems, digestive issues or with kidney or liver problems. It may cause some bleeding in the intestinal tract. Large amounts are toxic. Horses usually relish the taste of this versatile herb. Comfreyhas a reputation for healing bone damage, such as sore shins, chipped knees, stress fractures (about 40 leaves of white comfrey and at least one cleaned root a day is recommended) and arthritis (three large leaves of pink comfrey a day), as wellas tendon strains. Recently, there has been a suggestion that it can produce liver damage if large quantities are fed over long periods. All of the herbs listed below olive oil we used topically. The following herbs will be listed with how to use them.What has worked for my herd is to give them dried herbs sprinkled on their feed, or offered singly. I sometimes buy the Respiration, De-Tox and Stop Itch blends from Wendals– and I don’t necessarily use them for the purpose their name suggests! For example, the Stop Itch is actually an excellent immune booster blend. My horses would also eat these right out of the tub if I let them (yes, I’ve tested this! Except for the Stop Itch blend, which they like the least, but they will still eat grudgingly).

The second is something anyone who works around horses can appreciate… it’s insecticidal. That can help prevent further fly bites in the area it is applied. Another great way to offer free-choice, fresh herbs to your horses is to plant them in old tires with upturned hanging baskets over top. The basket protects the plant so the horses cannot decimate it; but they can nibble off leaves as the plant gets big enough to poke through the mesh of the basket. I hope the following links are useful. The first list is for seeds that you can plant yourself, the second is for ready mixed supplements: Controlled grazing can come in many forms. E.g. electric tape that is removed when needed to allow the horses to graze on the herbs for a limited time or permanent fences that the horses can reach through to access the herbs. There are numerous designs. Here are a few design ideas.Having said that, a friend of mine noticed that when she moved her domestic horses to a wild, unmanaged chunk of land, her horses gradually became bolder and consumed a larger variety of plants as the months went on – even thistles! So it’s very encouraging to know that horses can re-wild themselves when given the chance. Dr. Michael noticed the same thing with domestic horses in the UK when they were turned out into larger, wilder fields and given the chance to forage.