Healthy Herbs for Horses

Herbs can be a healthy and natural supplement to add to your horses feed plan and they are a natural source of vitamins. However, in order for herbs to help to their full potential, eliminate anything in your horse’s diet that may be fighting against them first. For example, if you are feeding an herb for pain, eliminate anything in your horse’s diet that may be causing inflammation first. There are a lot of supplements on the market that have herbs in them. However, some of the inactive ingredients have the opposite affect that the herbs have. So they are fighting against each other and therefore not really doing anything to help your horse. To get the most out of your money it's best to find supplements that are pure and have no contradictory inactive ingredients.

In this article we are going to talk about some of the common herbs that are safe for horses and their benefits. If you are competing on your horse, make sure to check your associations rule book on legal and prohibited substances before adding them to your feed plan. As always, make sure to make changes to your horse’s diet slowly. Introduce new things gradually and only one new thing at a time.

Herbs for Hormones

Chaste Berry

Chaste berry is an herb for irritable mares and grumpy geldings. It helps level hormones and it can help alleviate symptoms associated with the mare's reproductive cycle. It is also helpful for horses that have Cushing's, problems with their pituitary gland, and hormonal imbalances. It should be used for three weeks and then one week off to keep its efficiency.

Red Raspberry Leaf

Red raspberry leaf is full of antioxidants and vitamins. It can help balance hormones in mares. It is also known for supporting muscle tone on the mare's uterus.

Herbs for the Digestive System

Slippery Elm

Slippery elm is known to be soothing to the digestive tract. It can be a great addition to your horse's diet to support gastro health and aid in digestion. It can also help alleviate irritation from gastric ulcers.

Marshmallow Root

Marshmallow root is another herb that is helpful in soothing irritated stomach lining and promoting digestive health in horses. It may be used in conjunction with slippery elm to help horses dealing with gastric ulcers.

Calming Herbs for Anxious Horses

Chamomile

Chamomile is known for its calming properties on the nervous system. It is used to alleviate stress and anxiety in horses. It can be particularly useful for nervous horses before competitions or in unfamiliar environments. It can also alleviate diarrhea due to nervousness.

Lemon Balm

Among the long list of lemon balms' uses, it is known to have a calming effect on anxious horses. It is also a natural vitamin and mineral source, including magnesium.

Herbs for the Respiratory System

Mullein Leaf

Mullein leaf can be beneficial for respiratory health in horses. It helps clear airways, making it helpful for horses with respiratory concerns such as heaves, allergies, and a chronic cough.

Nettle Leaf

Nettle leaf is a multi-vitamin herb that can support overall health in horses. I've listed it under respiratory herbs because it helps support the immune system and allergies, but it has many other uses. It even encourages your horse's coat to have dapples.

Anti Inflammatory Herbs to Promote Soundness

Yucca Root

Yucca root is beneficial for joints. It contains saponins which help the body to produce natural cortisone. This herb can be helpful in managing pain in horses with arthritis.

Devil's Claw

This herb is prohibited if you are showing. However, it’s a great choice to add to your feed plan for your older, retired horse who has arthritis or any kind of chronic pain.

Conclusion

I have used several of these herbs with my personal horses and have seen them make a noticeable difference in addition to my forage based feed plan. They are not meant to replace any kind of necessary medications your horse may need, but they can definitely support your horse’s ability to self heal. This article is not all inclusive of all the different herbs that are safe for horses and their uses. It’s to open the door to the conversation about using natural supplements and thinking about how the inactive ingredients in your supplement may be having the opposite affect that you are feeding it for. If you haven’t read my anti inflammatory diet article, make sure to read that next to see what inactive ingredients to avoid that may be causing your horse excess inflammation.

I am in no way affiliated with these companies but I will leave them here as a starting place for you to find supplements with no inactive ingredients.

Yucc' It Up Equine Supplements

Bulk Supplements

Silver Lining Herbs

Custom Equine Nutrition