When horses roamed in the wild they had access to a varied diet which included many plants and herbs, nowadays they dont usually get the chance to forage useful plants for themselves.  Supplimenting your horses diet with herbs can help your horses  behaviour, digestion, breathing, skin, joints, muscles, tendons and hooves.   Heres a brief explaination of some useful herbs for your horse.  If you are gathering herbs yourself, make sure they arent contaminated with pesticides.  If you can't gather them yourself, they can be bought online from sites such as ebay, or from your tackshop.

Cleavers-  This is the plant you used to find "sticky buds" on growing in the hedge.  It has those little sticky balls on that cling to everything.  This plant is a good source of calcium, copper, iron,silicon and sodium.  It cleanses the blood and is a mild diuretic which helps to flush toxins out from the kidneys.  It also helps the coat to shine.

Comfrey- good source of calcium, iron, magnesium. It contains an alkaloid which according to some modern scientific research can cause liver damage, but this would only happen if fed extreme amounts of the root for long periods of time. The leaves are the normal part of the plant to be fed.  It is wonderful for coughs, soothing and healing the inflamed tissue, and is well known for healing bone, cartilage and soft tissue.  It can also be used in a poultice to help injuries.

Dandelions-  You all know what this looks like! he Dandelion actually has a strong diuretic action and is rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium. Vitamins A, B, C and D.  The whole plant, if possible, should be pulled and fed. The rootscleanse the liver. They are bitter, so also work to promote appetite and digestion. The leaves are the diuretic, flushing and toning the kidneys, hence the French name for them ‘pis en lit’ or ‘pee the bed’!

Hawthorn_If you have hawthorn hedges I'm sure to have seen the horses nibbling away at certain times. Although it is  prickly they do love it, and this is a very valuable asset to any field. It is a powerful tonic to the heart, dilating the coronary artery,enhancing blood flow to the heart muscle. it is also good for circulation, feeding to the nerves and kidneys.

Meadowsweet. The herbal aspirin. Good for gastric ulcers and will protect the digestive tract and reduce excess acid.  Also ideal for fevers and rheumatic pain.

Chickweed Chickweed contains vitamins C, D, B6, B12, beta carotene, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus,. Your horse may be attracted to chickweed if he has a skin condition. 

Milk Thistle
This herb is very valuable in the treatment of any liver disorder.  Milk Thistle has been traditionally used to support, maintain and protect the liver functions. It improves liver function and speeds up regeneration of liver cells. Can be used where liver damage is due to excess worm burden.

Parsley
Parsley is high in vitamins A and B and C, contains copper, manganese, magnesium and potassium. . It works on the adrenal glands, is powerful therapeutic for the optic nerves, the brain nerves and the whole sympathetic nervous system and it is an excellent tonic for blood vessels

Mint- (The plant not the polo mint!)  This is good for digestion and may help your horse if he is prone to colic. This will also tempt fussy feeders.

Marigold- Particularly helpful for the liver and digestive system.  It is also believed to help with wound healing.

Seaweed- Seaweed or kelp has a very high vitamin and mineral content.  It is very beneficial to horses with respiritory problems.  It is an anti-imflammatory, antibiotic,antirheumatic and can aid horses prone to ulcers.  It has a high iodine content and may lead to iodine toxicity if overfed.  Horses requie 2mg of iodine a day, if fed over 40mg/day toxicity will occur.  Check the iodine content of your horses feed/diet before supplimenting with seaweed/kelp.

Nettle- Im sure you are familiar with the common stinging nettle!  Horses will only eat this when it is dead, otherwise they will get stung.  Nettles accumulate large quantities of nitrogen, calcium, silica, iron, phosphates and vitamins B, C & K. The presence of vitamin K gives nettles anti-haemorrhagic qualities. Nettles also stimulate circulation which is useful in cases of laminitis, rheumatism and arthritis. Nettles are a  diuretic, so will help flush out the kidneys. The sting in the leaves is due to histamine that can be easily destroyed with drying. Nettles can be cut, spread out on a baking tray and dried in the oven at 70 0 C for an hour or so. Keep the dried nettles in an airtight tin and add to your horse’s feed. I cut them on a hot summers day and leave them to dry in the sun.  Also believed to improve coat and skin condition.


Garlic-Galic is a widely used herb for horses, believed to be good for the heart,skin, respiritory organs and to keep flies away.  However, this is toxic to horses in large doses as it can make them aneamic.  Studies done on horses show that the safe short term use of up to 20mg/kg body weight (4 cups per day of freeze dried garlic)twice daily is ok, but anything more than that produces anemia. So think carefully before you use garlic, and if you do decide to, keep it at a safe dose.  1 cup or less per day is the usual dose.


Rosehips- These are a good tonic for the liver and are very useful for horses with joint conditions.  It  helps grow healthy hoves,skin and coat.  Also helps remove toxins from the liver.  Rosehips are very high in vitamins, minerals such as vitamins C, A, B1, B2, B3 and K, bioflavonoids (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory), carotenoids, tannins, calcium, magnesium, silica, phosphorous and copper. Rosehips can also help alleviate gastric inflammation and diarrhoea.