Garlic

SamBean

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Yes, I buy granules for them. I did check with Vet as had read somewhere it can hinder stomach problems with ulcers ( one just diagnosed) and was told it is fine. I have been told infusing garlic in feed water works just as well too.
 

molar roller

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Yes I do. Garlic is a perfect thing for immune system. The best form is granule, I agree with @SamBean. Do not try as powder, horses may refuse it cos smells too much. I know some old-school horsepeople beliving that it helps to solving hypertension problem.
 

The-Bookworm

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I have been but stopped today, not seen any benefits.
I have known people use garlic water as a spray to deter flies though.
 

molar roller

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The reason that they won't eat it if they can smell it is that they know that it is no good for them. Horses which graze freely won't seek out wild garlic.

I mean if you mix it into the feed as powder, forage smells and does not eat the whole feed. Obviously we do not expect that horses eat pure garlic from our hands.
Put some carrots on the pasture and find a horse who has never eaten carrot, trust me he does not care.
 

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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Just flagging up as it might help someone reading this thread: my old boy had sweet itch and my vet said never ever to feed garlic to a horse with sweet itch.

The problem is that it seems to sneak into every blessed "fly" supplement and an awful lot of feeds have it in now, you have to check everything you buy basically.
 

Pearlsasinger

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I mean if you mix it into the feed as powder, forage smells and does not eat the whole feed. Obviously we do not expect that horses eat pure garlic from our hands.
Put some carrots on the pasture and find a horse who has never eaten carrot, trust me he does not care.


I have no idea what you mean. Horses will eat carrots because their instinct tells them that they are safe to eat, even if they have never seen them before - they would certainly eat carrot leaves if they found them growing. They will NOT choose to eat even wild garlic leaves, when they are growing, because they instinctively know that they are not good for them. That is why if you want them to eat garlic you have to disguise it in their feed.

As a side note, horses will not eat cruciferous vegetable such as Brussels sprouts, either, they know that they are not good for them.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Frank didn't read that book, sprouts, broccoli, onions etc.
Hence I don't go with those who are keen on self-selection ;)


No, neither do I, in the main. My point was that wild horses, who are obviously masters of self-selection would not choose to eat the wild garlic that grows on their grazing. Our horses do actually self-select not to eat cruciferous veg, which the sheep will eat and enjoy. None of them get the chance to choose whether to eat garlic or not.
 

ester

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Also, just in case anyone thinks I'm feeding my horse onions that episode was after the 'big vegetable clear out' where everything gets dug up so you can select the best for the village flower show.
I let him pick from the 'remains' wheel barrow going past which had all sorts including lovely carrots etc and he grabbed and inhaled an onion instead..
 

Twohorses

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I fed powdered, PROCESSED garlic for several years when we first moved to this property, to three of my four horses.

1. processed garlic has the allicin removed which allegedly causes anemia if fed in massive doses.

2. I fed garlic seasonally as a tick repellent and it was ~80% successful.

2.1. It did NOT do one thing for flies -- any type of fly you can think of was impervious to the garlic odor.

3. I did not feed it to the fourth horse as he had a finicky digestive system -- I eat a lot of raw garlic and it can affect my digestive system, so I figure it can likely affect a horse that has a delicate digestive system and/or ulcers/hind gut issues.

4. I stopped feeding garlic when the tick population finally went down below a dull roar, as it was not cheap.

5. My horses are on 25 acres and there are raw onions everywhere. They don't pull the onions out of the ground but they eat the stems like candy. They have been for sixteen years without issue.

5.1. My grandfather's stallion's pasture (in the 1960's & 11 hours north of where I now live) had onions in it and Pepper also ate those onion stems without issue.

****

I'm not saying it's ok for others to feed or not to feed --- I'm just sayin' I fed it seasonally for a handful of years without any negative affects and it isn't worth anything as a fly deterrent.

Ticks - yes. Flies - no.
 

The-Bookworm

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Mine will want to eat anything she sees me eat. But if she doesn't like it she spits it out.
She will take a cigarette off people as well if she spots one of them!

As for disguising it she was eating a fresh clove garlic but I stopped because I didn't see a benefit. As the above poster has said doesn't do a thing for flies.
 

ownedbyaconnie

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I did and then under the advice of other posters I stopped. I have noticed her poos are firmer but I don’t know if that is due to stopping garlic or something else.
 
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