Chris Dyer - Plants, Potions and Oils for Horses

PLANTS, POTIONS
AND OILS
FOR HORSES

PLANTS, POTIONS
AND OILS
FOR HORSES

Chris Dyer

J.A. ALLEN

First published in 2017 by
JA Allen

JA Allen is an imprint of
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2017

Chris Dyer 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 90880 959 9

Line illustrations by Carole Vincer

Disclaimer

The contents of this book are for information only, and the author and publisher accept no liability or responsibility for any damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained therein. The contents of this book are not intended to replace professional diagnosis and treatment by a qualified veterinary surgeon. Please consult your vet about any concerns you may have about animals in your care.

Contents

Acknowledgements

My old friend Roger Denton is one of the best horsemen you will find. He has always encouraged me to re-write this book with a little more of my knowledge and has very nearly worn the pages out on the original copy he has. Yet why he reads it I cannot say, for he has probably forgotten more about horses than I know! I would also like to thank the lady from either the Channel Islands, or possibly the Isle of Wight, who wrote me a lovely letter saying she was a sceptic but bought my book nonetheless and one of my potions helped her long-suffering pony with laminitis. For me this is what it is all about. If you happen to read this version, please contact me and I will send you a signed copy. The same applies to the lady with a colicky horse who gave my original version a lovely write-up on Amazon. My thanks also to the people who took the photographs and made them freely available via the internet; the pictures are lovely, and you have made this book so much better with your skill. My love and thanks also go to all of those people who have been a positive influence in my life.

Horses have played an integral part in our lives for centuries, and still do. They have certainly played a major part in mine. They are without a doubt the one stable thing (bit of a pun there, which should make you think: we even name our constants after a horses home). They have kept me sane, when all around me was in turmoil, and even now are never far from my thoughts. What a wonder they are, and if you spend just a little more time, I am certain they will teach you just as much, if not more, than you teach them. Enjoy their friendship, the smell, the touch, listen to them and remember every conversation is a two-way street! May your days be joyous, and your saddle soft!

Introduction

This is a revised edition of Plants, Potions and Oils for Horses, originally published by Compass Equestrian Ltd in 1999. It contains much more information, including a section on behaviour, a lot more oils and a few more herbs. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

We live in an age of medical miracles. Multimillion-pound pharmaceutical companies churn out pills, lotions and syrups with unpronounceable, un-spellable names and we expect them to cure not only our own ailments but those of our horses as well! We may wince as we write out the cheque to the doctor or the vet but we remain confident that all our problems will be solved. Quite often they are, and for this we must be grateful. You will find as you read through this book that I believe in both original cures and modern veterinary practice. You must, however, always work in close conjunction with your vet; this book will not give you superpowers, so dont overlook the other products that are available on the market, or for that matter the experts who are available to you. One should use this book wisely, and by that I mean not being blinkered. Use everything that is available, whether it be a readymade product, your vet or something from this book. The most important thing after all is the horse, so lets not be self-righteous or close our eyes.

I want to emphasize that the content of this book does not make you a vet, and is not a substitute for veterinary expertise. You still need a vets scientific skills of diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, particularly in prevention and prophylaxis and in containing the spread of infection. Vets are highly trained and I have great respect for the profession. There are, however, many disorders which do not need professional attention and some which seem to respond better to age-old remedies.

This book outlines a wide variety of natural remedies, which I have found to be effective time and time again. They range from herbal treatments that come as no surprise, to the most unexpected properties of such bizarre items as cobwebs and chimney soot! There is a section on aromatherapy (the use of essential oils) and a section on behaviour. As well as the original line drawings, this revised edition also includes colour photographs, which should help make the identification of plants easier.

The use of herbs and country cures has been passed down through the generations. Long before the advent of modern veterinary science, herbs and potions provided the only available treatments. The near demise of the art of herbalism has been largely due to todays veterinary advances. Yet nature has found her way to make a comeback!

Resistance to modern drugs is becoming prevalent and whilst there are (and always will be) sceptics, what are now called alternative medicines (personally I prefer traditional) have had to be taken seriously. Ironically, my grandfather looked on modern medicines with the same scepticism and thought of them as the alternatives. My old Guvnor, a brilliant and proper horseman, sadly long dead, once stood in the yard, waited for the vet to go and turned to me saying, Cant be doing with that new fangled stuff, hide that in the tack room so the boss doesnt see it and go and get me some of this. He showed me a plant, and lo and behold, after a few days the horse was fine. The boss came out in his suit and told the Guvnor he should have more faith in science. The Guvnor just smiled at me. There is a place for all sides, as I say.

More and more people are becoming interested in the use of herbs and other natural products as remedies. It is the intention of this book to give you a basic knowledge, to enable you to make use of the more common and widely available herbs (a term I shall use for all natural plant remedies). There are many remedies that are very good at alleviating pain, injuries and illness and are also invaluable for the well-being, health and fitness of your horse.

As for country cures, by which I mean those that are not herbs but are, in the main, easily available such as bicarbonate of soda or cider vinegar, both of which have been used for generations you will find them not only to be effective but also much cheaper than modern remedies. A substantial part of the book is devoted to aromatherapy, something I have found very useful. Some will disagree with my methods; some will agree, but I would recommend that you should at least give them a try before judging.