Herbs for horses

[Sandstone1]

Im thinking of growing some horse friendly herbs, anyone know what the best ones are for horses? Im thinking of mint so far.

 

[Sandstone1]

Anyone?

 

[kayt]

Good to hear of another horsey gardener I let nettles grow as much as they like around the edge of the paddock, late in the year I pick them and allow them to dry off, use the dried nettles and stalks in feeds or just as they come in bunches, you can hang them up in the stable for fun. Mint is good garlic comfrey fennell, lots of stuff. Have a google search and you will get lots more info than I can give you

 

[Jess Hoss]

parsley is good for them too - esp lactating mares for some reason

 

[barehoofhannah]

Rosehips? It's self selection so what ever the horse fancies at the time. They like those sticky leaved plants. I did a great course with Dena Scwartz(?) she writes an article in each Horsemanship Magazine talking about particular essential oils and herbs. I've got a couple of books I keep looking through on this to pick up my knowledge; would love to hear what you do as right up my street. I'm hoping to move yards to a field that backs onto some woods and was hoping may plant the odd bit in the hedgerow/wood/scrub border. Please keep us updated, Hannah

 

[Nocturnal]

They like those sticky leaved plants.

Cleavers/clivers . My horses love them. They're apparantly a good detoxing type plant - good for the lymphatic system.

 

[Sandstone1]

Thanks I wonder if I could get seeds for clivers?

 

[little_critter]

I'm sure if you look in hedgerows you'd be able to find clevers and get the seeds from them

 

[barehoofhannah]

Can never remember their name! I saw Marjike or Riva's Remidies a Canadian lady in the USA last year, if you search her website she main mention diff herbs in the products you could consider planting. Be great if you could web-cam it and monitor what they took! Ok - sure that's not feasible, but interesting! Maybe some for anxiety, some stuff that's antibacterial, some for pain relief etc.. 'for the love of the horse' is another USA one that may mention bits of interest. Sorry it's all USA, I go out for training and meeting more alternative people in USA than I typically come in contact with locally to me.

Best wishes
Hannah

 

[dilbert]

There's a good book called a modern horse herbal. I've been buying seeds on eBay I think I've bought so far.....meadowsweet, milk thistle, marshmallow, calendula, sage and maybe a few others.....my cob also loves cleavers, nettles and hawthorn.

 

[Horseyjen!]

Hi a bit late I know but I am doing a herb strip so was researching and found this post - incase anyone is still looking I have this list from a horse health book

Wild Garlic
Comfrey
Burnet
Chicory
Yarrow
Dandelion!!
Narrow Leaved plantain
Sheeps Parsley

 

[77rach]

One you can definitely grow without trying is nettles. My horse loves them
Also if you have any dandelions in your lawn (if you have a garden), they love the long root as well as the plant on top and it's very good for them. You can also go around the countryside and collect rose hips from bushes (rose bushes are prickly though so be careful) and are great for horses hooves! You can also leave them to dry out and blend them up into a powder and put it into your horse's food or feed them by hand as a 'self selection' choice.
You can also grow chamomile which my horse loves!
The other herbs that I can't grow I go to my favourite site because they do the organic range too... www.naturallyanimals.co.uk
The lady who owns the company is amazing and can advise on 'self slection' and helped my horse when the vets couldn't. Amazing!!!