Image above: Mint leaves. Horses with digestive
upset may seek out Mint
for it and not chastised. If it makes them
sick, they needed to be.
How does it work?
Complementary therapies mainly work
by stimulating the body's immune
system to do the healing rather than
providing back-up substances to boost
its resources. Herbalism is claimed to
work in two ways. It provides substances
found in herbs that (1) stimulate the
immune system and (2) clear the body's
blocked energy channels to allow the
energy to flow freely and restore natural
homeostasis, or balance of the internal
systems of the body.
That last point is what doctors
and vets find, in some circumstances
unacceptable, partly because it has never
been proved. It probably never will be
because no one has ever discovered a
physical energy channel in a human
or animal body. There is increasing
scientific evidence of the healing
Complementary Therapies for Horse and Rider: Part 1
HERBALISM
“
F
or millions of years, humans
and animals have sought out
herbs, along with other plants,
for nutrition and medication. It is
36
commonly believed that horses have a
'nutritional intelligence' and know what
they need for a particular condition, and
although there may be some truth in
Horses with
laminitis have been
seen regularly eating
large quantities of
hawthorn leaves and
those with digestive
disturbance
similarly seek out
wild garlic and
mint, if they can find
them
“
I SHOULD start this series by giving my reasons for using complementary
or holistic therapies, and making clear my attitude towards them. I do regard
them as complementary to veterinary and medical care, and not necessarily
alternatives, although they can certainly be used alone, often very successfully.
My grandmother was a pre-legislation version of a naturopath so I was
brought up using natural remedies of various kinds. (At one time there was
little else.) There is no doubt that complementary therapies have a valued and
justified place in healing and health maintenance. This 3-part series will cover
herbalism, homeopathy and physiotherapy.
Everything Horse UK • Issue 27• December 2015
OUR WRITER
SUSAN McBANE has an
HNC in Equine Science and
Management, is a Classical
Riding Club listed trainer and
Gold Award holder, co-founder
of the Equine Behaviour Forum
and a Practitioner Member of
the International Society for
Equitation Science. Author of 44
books, she is a co-publisher and
editor of ‘Tracking-up’ magazine.
For information on lessons,
clinics and contact details, visit
www.susanmcbane.com
properties of herbs and their effects on
the immune system, however, and a few
vets are also qualified herbalists.
Herbalism is a complex subject, and
it is not as simple as just picking and
eating herbs. Different parts of a herb
may be the beneficial part – root, stem,
leaves or flowers. The time during the
24-hour cycle at which they are picked
can make a difference, as can the time
of year. Combinations of herbs can be
healing, synergistic or lethal. It takes
this, it is clearly not a foolproof instinct
otherwise they would never eat anything
toxic.
Horses with laminitis have been
seen regularly eating large quantities of
hawthorn leaves and those with digestive
disturbance similarly seek out wild garlic
and mint, if they can find them. Dogs,
too, need to eat plant material, being
quite omnivorous ('all-eating') like us
rather than purely carnivorous ('meateating'), so should be allowed to forage
Image right: Dogs should be allowed to forage for
herbs. Image credit Bryan Pye Photography
December 2015 • Issue 27 • Everything H orse UK
37