“I use a barefoot farrier and my horses feet have never looked so good and I also use natural horsemanship to train my 4 year old. I have another horse that I sent away for training and she came back worse than when she left, we figure she was drugged every time we went to see her. I started natural horsemanship training with her and she is now a different girl, and I have really not done a lot with her, but I now have her respect. I am always willing to learn more and I think it is important to keep an open mind when venturing into new waters. Do you really want to make your horse do something, anybody can do that the art is getting your horse to WANT to do it and when that happens it will blow your mind!
Debbie”
“So i’m not trying to be a “know it all” but I have 5 horses that don’t have shoes and are just FINE. Believe me I do pamper my horses but not in that way. Have you ever seen wild horses??? Their usually the healthiest creatures around and they NEVER have ANYTHING “unnatural” done. And I agree with you with the bridal deal. I use both(whatever they respond better to) and I have one horse that i used to use a hackamore and she hated it. It bugged her and so i used a bit bridal and she responded wonderful. And does to this day.
And FYI I wouldn’t ever try to do anything to hurt my horses. I’m NOT a cheap skate when it comes to things I love. Just because I do things the “old fashioned” way doesn’t mean i hurt them. Its better for them actually. The reason some horses “need” some things is because of a fault the breeder/owner/trainer did. And to fix it you’ll just have to start over. Thanks for reading.
Tink”
“The best way to break your ankle is riding in sneakers! Not to mention breaking a toe when your horse “accidentally” steps on you. Talking from 43 years of experience here
Tina”
“This herb has amazing healing qualities and a wonderful additive to most diets. However, as with everything, a little goes a long way and there are times you must be cautious with the ingestion of garlic.
Garlic is universal in all streams of herbalism
Traditional indications for garlic in Western herbalism as an expectorant and for worm infestation. In addition to these garlic has been used in Chinese medicine for indigestion and in Ayurvedic for fevers and debilitated conditions.
It is commonly used to repel flies and insects as it promotes sweating and in doing so is excreted through skin to repel these bugs.
This makes this herb a valuable additive all year round, providing you vary from it occasionally to give your horse’s gut a rest now and then. Overall it can be a very special tonic to help tune up many of your horse’s body systems.
Now for the Cautions
Firstly, if you need to have your veterinarian assist your horse after an injury, to investigate a loss of condition, any vascular issues or skin problems, gestation, or perform surgery (and there are possibly other conditions I may not have thought of), please be responsible and inform them that you supplement garlic. It is now in common use so it has been investigated more than most herbs so your veterinarian does have access to information that it is documented in trials in peer journals they can reference if there is a possibility that garlic could be a contributing factor to the clinical signs they are assisting you with, or if it is contraindicated for your horse.
Key Information for All Horse Owners:
If you who are giving garlic daily be aware of its antiplatelet activity and that it is very important to discontinue the use of garlic 10 days before surgery.
With pregnant mares consider the allicin-releasing action and its altering of the amniotic fluid, this suggests garlic should not be given during pregnancy.
There are many common pharmaceutical drugs that garlic is not to be given at the same time. If your veterinarian prescribes any medication please remove garlic from your horse’s feed.
General Awareness
Garlic is not suited to every horse, and some may have their own quirky sensitivities so the following warnings are more for your awareness. You do not need to get paranoid with your use of garlic, but if one of your horses is sensitive to this herb, it may be worth ceasing giving it to your horse for 3 to 6 weeks to assess if it is contributing to any low grade irritating conditions like inflamed skin or puffy legs.
Garlic overdoses can inflame kidneys and in some cases damage kidneys, so if your horse has a kidney imbalance or being treated by your veterinarian for issues relating back to the kidneys or on drugs that have an action on the kidneys and related body processes, he must be informed about any historical or current long term garlic use.
If you have a new horse and are having trouble getting condition on him, consider addressing the health of his gut before adding garlic to his diet. This is important with horses that stress easily, once the gut is balanced it can then make the most of this herb without fear of irritation.
Raw garlic can irritant the mucosal layers and many garlic powders are not pure garlic. The garlic granules sold by Country Park Animal Herbs (Australian Company) but I am sure if u r overseas you can hunt down an appropriate garlic granule) are the best to work with when you choose to give garlic to your horse.
How Much?
There is a lot of discussion about how much garlic to give your horses. The amount often depends on the reason you are giving garlic, but generally I find the least amount of adverse reactions while consistently achieving desired results is one tablespoon of GRANULES every SECOND day. If you have a condition you wish to address with garlic, please consult a herbalist to help you determine the best dose size and length of use.
Marg”
That’s all for today folks!
Here’s some more really useful stuff
Best
Al & Claire
🙂 🙂 Glad to see that you are still
“on air”, I was wondering why the silence days,
communication is golden! Thanks for all the tips,
I enjoy reading them ( owned horses for over 60 years, but one never stops learning about the
marvellous creatures.)
I feed my mare on a herbal diet, part of the ingredients she gets garlic, it is 13 grams. This mix is fed at 1/2cup once a day, so her intake is quite small. This mix is sold by a herbalist.
Hello;
For everyone who prefers not to shoe their horses.
Some horses have hooves that need shoes because their hooves split, crack or chip easily.
Question- Is there something to put on their hooves to strengthen them?
Thanks,
Ed
If your horse’s hoofs are cracking and splitting, it is because they are not balanced and pressure is causing the hoof to break off at the pressure point. A blacksmith/farrier should not be doing a barefoot trim. You need a professional natural trimmer who has been certified in the natural trimmer. A blacksmith trims the hoof as if he were going to shoe it, but then just leaves the shoe off. Chips, cracks and splits are just the horse’s way of trying to “self-trim.”
My vet told to get some kind of (looks like black tar) sorry forgot name. But you can buy it at tractor supply its for their hoofs.because we had a dry summer,works great!!! My farrier said that my boy did not need shoes and he had great looking feet. Hope that helps.
If the hooves are trimmed and finished with a “mustang roll” on the finish file, they will not chip. Can go to ehow.com for a great video on how to do this. Hope that helps.
I went to Farrier school and my instructor said that the best thing to strenghthen hooves was to feed a supplement like Farrier Formula to the horse, along with a good diet. The barefoot people maintain that a horses circulation is impeded by shoes, there fore the hoof horn will grow healthier when trimmed properly, but it may take time. An application of a hoof dressing can keep water out of the horn…if there is too much water in your horses environment, softening it, that may be helpful.
One of my friends now is recommending Biotin in the feed, to grow strong feet and good hair coat.
😀 am happy to say my horses go bare footed. Until they show any sign of being tender footed will stay that way. Yes here in AZ I do use water to soak their feet at times. I think anyone showing up at any barn without boots on should be asked to leave. Even at our own barn we wear boots and “any” guests will be given a pair if they wish to see the horses. I use break away stir-ups – but I was taught as a child the Proper way to dress at any barn.
that’s so tru the only way a horse can trust and depend on you is if you discipline, correct, and show them the right thing to do
Long before “barefoot trimming” was common, I had a half Arab/half Mustang that had horrible feet in regards to chipping out. I kept shoes on him “to hold his feet together”. At age 30,placed him on Arthroflex for arthritis in lower back. Besides greatly improving the arthritis, he had the best feet he had ever had and was able to go barefoot. Used to have to get it from a vet but believe now available online. Biotin did not help.
Keratex Hoof Hardener or 7% Tincture of Iodine on the soles will harden them. Iodine can be used every other day but only works in dry weather. The Keratex requires clean dry hooves for effective application.
I have always used stockholm tar over the winter period on there feet & fat or neatsfoot oil mix over the summer to keep there feet in good condition. victoria australia
Keratex. Hooves like marble.