Feeding Garlic Conflicting Advice??

Garlic is believed to strengthen the immune system which is why some don't recommend it is fed to sweet itch horses. I don't feed it myself, mainly because the rest of the allium family is toxic to horses and I have trouble getting my head round why garlic is ok. In addition, I can't say I have ever noticed a benefit from feeding it (in the days when I did!)
 
There's apparently a school of thought that it isn't so great for the digestive system ? I'm not entirely sure - but I've stopped using it for a while - however the flies are sooooo bad this year that I'm going back to feeding it cos the fly sprays don't seem to be doing the job enough! I'd just stick a fly mask on with a fly rug - but with a muzzle as well there'd be not much to recognise that it's a horse under all that gear! :(
 
I wont feed garlic anymore

it affects behaviour and can be poisonous as onions are .

Garlic

Are you poisoning your horse with garlic? Research has shown that horses will voluntarily consume enough garlic to cause toxic effects.

Garlic is commonly used as a food supplement for horses. It is credited with antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal and cancer-fighting properties; it also has the ability to lower blood cholesterol.

Because it is a natural product, it is often considered safe. However, that is not necessarily the case as too much garlic damages the reb blood cell (RBC) membranes. It is known that horses have been poisoned by wild onions, which are closely related to garlic and there are confirmed reports of garlic poisoning in dogs and sheep.

Owners routinely add garlic to their horses' diets as a "preventive measure" against opportunistic infections and also as is it believed to be a good insect repellant.

Studies have been carried out in the US by Wendy Pearson, under the direction of Dr. Michael Lindinger, at the University of Guelph looking at whether horses would eat enough food containing [freeze-dried] garlic to cause poisoning, to find out the maximum amount of garlic the horses would voluntarily consume and to establish whether that maximum amount would produce any abnormalities over a period of time such as Heinz body anaemia.

The four horses in the study were fed a balanced diet, designed to meet their nutritional requirements. In addition, two were given freeze-dried garlic and molasses mixed with their concentrate food for ten weeks. The other two horses were given molasses but no garlic. Blood samples were collected before, during and after the garlic administration to monitor changes in blood and bodyweight monitored.

When the garlic was originally added to the food at a rate of 0.1g/kg the horses refused to eat it. So the researchers reintroduced the garlic at a lower rate and gradually increased.the amount fed. Once the horses had become accustomed to the garlic the researchers found that horses would tolerate higher levels. The dose was increased to a maximum of 0.25g/kg.

The researchers concluded that eating too much garlic does produce a specific type of anaemia associated with the presence of "Heinz bodies" in the red blood cells (RBCs). Heinz bodies are caused by oxidative damage to the haemoglobin. The denatured haemoglobin precipitates to form Heinz bodies, which appear as spherical refractile masses attached to the cell membrane. Damaged cells either break down in the circulation or are removed in the spleen, leading to anaemia. Heinz bodies are rare in healthy horses.

The team first noticed toxic effects within four days of increasing the dose of freeze-dried garlic to 0.2g/kg twice daily. The toxic effects were reversible. After the garlic administration finished, the anaemia resolved over a five-week follow-up period. The haemoglobin concentration in the blood returned to pre-supplementation levels within three weeks, and the red blood cell count recovered within a month. Heinz bodies were still present five weeks after the horses had finished receiving garlic.

Dr Lindinger and his colleagues conclude that garlic poisoning may occur in horses fed even a lose dosage of garlic over a long term period but point out that more work is necessary to decide the safe dietary dose of garlic.
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MY gelding gets affected by flies really badly kicks stamps bucks , I now use global fly free supplement with much better results
 
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I think you need to take note that the amount of garlic fed in the research trial was so great that they had to disguise it in molasses to get the horses to eat it. I don't think many people would be feeding that amount of garlic to their horse.

Generally it is around 30 grams a day that is the recommended feeding amount. Probably about one tenth of what the trial was administering.

Until there is a better trial to prove otherwise I will continue feeding garlic to my horses. My pony that was on it most of his life to aid his respiration lived well into his 30s with no problems from eating garlic.

As with anything it is best in moderation. If you overfeed anything it will be bad for them.
 
I have heard from a well known nutritionist that garlic actually does very little to the horse with regards to immunity.

I feed it for respiratory reasons and i do notice a difference if i don't.

Certainly may cut down after reading that though! :eek:(not that i feed anywhere near 0.25kg though that does seem rather excessive!

Would be interested to know whether trials have been done on humans and if the same ratio of garlic was fed to people daily whether or not it would have a toxic effect on us. :confused:
 
Garlic is actually a heating substance - much like having a curry. This causes blood vessels to dillate and circulation to increase so the allergic chemicals travel further and the body is hotter which I find always makes itching worse.

Its dependant on the horse though - my girly is much worse on garlic. others it helps.

Global herbs skratch is great for keeping flies at bay... makes her smell like cat pee and is garlic free lol
 
The only difference in many cases between a medicine and a poison are quantities. The horses in the Heinz Anaemia study were fed huge quantities which to be honest, an excess of any substance could cause issues.

I don't use garlic all the time, and it makes my horse more sensitive to fly bites, but I have found it useful for coughs etc.

This article gives a fairly balanced view I think:-

http://www.herbalhorse.com/hh-vitalis/garlic-the-facts
 
I have fed garlic to a sweet-itch pony for 6 years but after reading on this forum earlier this year that it made the problem worse, I stopped using it. For the past 3 months my pony has had a cough, nothing serious that requires medication but an irritation for her. I did wonder if it was because of not feeding garlic and judging on the comments here it appears a strong possibility. Perhaps I'll start feeding it again as there doesn't seem to be an obvious improvement in the sweet-itch. Anybody have info on the science of how garlic helps coughs/breathing/respiration?
 
global herbs do not always say what they put in their supplements how do you know that the supplement does not contain garlic?

Leviathan said:
I wont feed garlic anymore

MY gelding gets affected by flies really badly kicks stamps bucks , I now use global fly free supplement with much better results
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you right they dont say .

What i mean is i wont buy a tub of garlic which i did for a while. Airways plus smells mainly of eucalyptus very strong, Helps allot with breathing.
 
Fly free does have garlic in - which is why they recommend Skratch for sweet itch as it doesn't have garlic. Fly free is meant to reduce fly irritation by making horse taste bad not support with sweet itch. The Skratch also consume anti inflammatory stuff which fly free doesn't.
 
My pone doesn't get enough of a cough to warrant buying an expensive supplement like breath easy.

I think, moderation is the key - i'm only feeding a small amount and i think horses have a way of knowing what they need and want and if it wasn't right for her she wouldn't eat it.

I think most things are poisonous in high quantities over a long period of time.

I wouldn't feed garlic for ulcers though as mentioned in the link - i had a mare prior to this one who suffered with ulcers (and cribbed) and garlic made her crib more.
 
I fed a loan pony a fair whack of garlic every day as she got little lumps from fly bites, didn't seem to bother her much but made saddling difficult. She was also hair falling out allergic to fly spray. I could probably have searched out an expensive spray that worked for her but feeding half a cup of cheap garlic supplement a day kept her from getting the bumps so either kept the flies off or reduced the irritation and I never saw any side effects temperament or otherwise.
 
Interestingly, I read an article in H&H, quite some time ago, describing a study which was undertaken to determine what flavours horses prefer. It turned out that the horses in the study preferred fenugreek and banana. Garlic was, by far, not a favoured taste. Considering how many feeds are prepared using garlic, perhaps the feed companies could make some adjustments to their products. My elderly, late Shire mare was a bit of a picky eater. When I tried powdered fenugreek in her feed, she "cleaned her plate." As a palatable and beneficial herb, fenugreek aids in weight gain, conditioning, soothing intestinal inflammation and reducing complications of gastric ulcers. It, also, stimulates milk production in lactating mares. However, fenugreek should never be fed to pregnant mares, as it stimulates the uterus.
 
Garlice definitely affects my mares immunity, if I feed it her in summer when she gets fliy bites, the reaction from the bites is worse than if she isn't on it. I personally can't see the benefit, not for my horse anyway :)
 
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