HERBS FOR YOUR HORSE, hip & HEALTHY!
More and more horse owners feed their horses or ponies loose herbs or herb mixes. You must have seen something about it lately ...? Herbs nowadays no longer just belong to wizards, witches, druids and herbal women, the use of herbs is super hip and healthy! One herbal mix a day, keeps the vet away!
Why are herbs gaining ground so quickly in the horse world. And how can your horse benefit from it?
First some explanation about herbs ...
The term "herbs" in this article is a collective name for a particularly wide range of plants. Herbs are not only often irresistibly tasty, but can also contribute to a huge improvement in your own and in your horse`s health ... Dried or fresh herbs, for example, can strengthen the immune system, support digestion and help remove waste. Herbs contain, among other things, vitamins and minerals. Much more than in grass, because herbs grow more slowly and root deeper and therefore extract more nutrients from the soil. Herbs also add much needed variation to the ration.
Both fresh and dried herbs are eaten by horses. However, fresh herbs are not available all year round. Fortunately, fresh herbs can be dried well and can therefore be stored for longer. This way your horse benefits from the health benefits of herbs throughout the year. It is best to offer your horse a mix of different herbs, because each type of herb has its own advantages, but also work together with the effects of other herbs.
Dried versus fresh herbs
Fresh herbs contain more water than dried herbs. Of all ways to preserve plants, drying is the oldest way. Drying herbs also has a minimal effect on nutritional values.
The volume of dried herbs is therefore considerably less than fresh herbs. Therefore you will need fewer dried herbs than when you use fresh herbs.
Fresh but also dried herbs can also have medicinal effects, depending on the quality and type of plant, the method of drying and how long it has been stored. In general, dried herbs work just as well as fresh ones. A little bit of the ingredients do get lost, but there is little known aboutt how much and which
Quality of dried herbs
The content of active ingredients or constituents of a plant species can vary. Various factors are of influence:
· How rich or poor the soil is on which the plant grows
· The climate in which the plant grows
· The harvest moment
· The way of drying
· The way of storage
In our next blog we will discuss the quality and the ways of drying and storing herbs.
Why should I give herbs to my horse?
In addition to grazers, horses are also collectors and their natural ration consists of various types of grass from plants (herbs), shrubs, leaves, branches, tree bark, roots, vegetables and much more.
In the past the horse had a choice of more than 60 different types of plants / herbs. All of this green contains many different ingredients and / or nutrients that a horse needs at certain times to stay healthy.
This can be different every day, month, season due to all the constantly changing factors such as condition, weather, viruses, aging or just growing, degree of training, but also whether you are a gelding, mare or stallion and if they are a thoroughbred or a sober breed.
For example, if he wants to increase his resistance, he could eat willow branches and leaves, or when having diarrhea he could eat plantago.
We realize more and more that the way we feed the horse has little to no variation and that means that the individual needs of the horse are not met, and physical and mental problems arise. The horse can no longer look for what it actually needs, as it would have done in nature. By offering different herbs, the horse can meet its own needs again.
Herbs keep your horse healthy!
You can use herbs to supplement the vitamins and minerals in your horse's ration and thus guarantee health. We prefer to give herbs to horses that have no problem, so we can keep them problem-free. Herbs also have a very wide spectrum of functions and can support and help the horse in several ways when it has a problem. By getting an examination done by a veterinarian, holistic doctor, practitioner or nutrition specialist, or by looking at the indications that the horse gives, you can decide which herbs or herb mixes would suit to solve this problem. You can also have it measured. The horse can then indicate from a wide choice of herbs which herbs he needs, and this can be countless.
You can support your horse or help with:
· The functions of the liver, kidneys and spleen
· Digestion, stomach, intestines, colics, diarrhea
· Skin, hooves, fur, eczema, mud fever
· Detoxing, draining, lymph flow, drifting of moisture, removing waste, deacidifying
· Joint problems, muscle problems, stiff, pain relief, osteoarthritis
· Cushing (PPID), lame, insulin resistance, PSSM
· Mental problems, stress, tension, grounding, to calm down
If you want to change something in your current feed management, consider using herbs instead of (extra) concentrates, muesli or a supplement. Also don't wait until your horse actually has a problem and you have to solve it. Give herbs to ensure health and to prevent diseases or problems.
Authors: Jente Driessen from HorseComplete & Diana Dam from De Origin
With big thanks to Diana Dam of De Oorsprong for her research, photos and texts!
www.deoorsprong.eu
Sources:
· Inquiry with the Louis Bolk Institute in Bunnik, Dr. MJ Groot, veterinarian and chairman of the Animal and Herb study group of the Dutch Society for Phytotherapy.
· Publication: Sprengen Institute - Wageningen 1973 by Ir. JC Mettivier Meijer
· Weckonline
· The green woman
· Herbasanitas
· BHZNet