Imaginative Horse Care

[Shammy Davis]

Thanks Shannon.

[Shammy Davis]

http://jimmoorethego2guy.com/golf/offbe ... race-horse

[ArchDandy]

Replying to Shammy Davis:
Thought you would enjoy watching Zen enjoy a Guinness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqCrlfp_6NE

[madelyn]

I had to get creative the other day, gelding with sore, dry feet, a cut in the hoof on one heel, getting over an abscess on the heel of the OTHER front foot.. Did a bit of surfing and came up with the following:

Mix 1/2 cup lanolin with 1/4 cup jojoba oil and 2 tbsp aloe vera gel plus 2 tbsp glycerine - I used a mini hand blender and pureed this in a little plastic tub until it was the consistency of a good hand cream. I first soaked his feet a bit in Epsom salts and then scrubbed his feet thoroughly clean with a hand scrubber and then a toothbrush. I got them thoroughly dry and standing on a clean towel. I've been putting this stuff on for five days, including vigorously rubbing it into the coronary band and the difference is just amazing. Cost to make it was about $3. Incidentally, I found out that jojoba oil is a natural fungicide so I've been packing the cream up into the crevices around the frog..

[Shammy Davis]

Archdandy: Guinness is one of my favorites. In all likelihood if I bought it, it wouldn't get into the feed pale, for obvious reasons. Like Zen, most horses are said to enjoy a Guinness now in then.

Thanks, Madelyn. When your horses are not bankrolling you, maybe you should take up horse shoeing as a sideline.

[madelyn]

Shammy, I am afraid while my mind is young and active, my back is 53 years old

[Jessi P]

That sounds like an excellent recipe Madelyn. Where did you get the jojoba oil and the lanolin?

[madelyn]

Health Food Store - also the glycerine, NOW brand sold at Rainbow Blossom, Whole Foods, etc.

[kimberley mine]

For a DEET-free tick grease, mix 2 tablespoonsful of lemon eucalyptus oil (not regular eucalyptus) in to a container of vaseline. Paint it thickly on bare skin--below the tail, outside of the sheath, udders, etc. I like this a lot more than the stuff for cattle, which you cannot handle with bare hands because it is so toxic.

Honey is naturally antibacterial and makes a good dressing for big and small wounds. Put it on cuts and scrapes, or on a bigger injury under bandages. Manuka honey, made from the flowers of the tea tree plant, is strongly antibacterial. You can find it at whole foods. It's not cheap cheap, but a little goes a long way. It will crystallize more easily than clover or orange blossom honey, so it helps to warm it in the sun or the microwave before using it. Be careful not to overdo the heating--this works best as a thick paste, not runny honey.

[Shammy Davis]

Here's an old Jack Van Berg trick to keep dust and debris that is stirred up into the air from entering a mare's vagina during competition on the track or arena. Place a wide piece of adhesive tape over the upper 3/4 of the vagina. Don't seal the entire vagina as the mare must be able to urinate.

Van Berg used this method to keep mare's clean when running on particularly dry dirt track.

[Shammy Davis]

Here is a theory that cherry juice helps to prevent muscle injury.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/45846.php

[Shammy Davis]

http://ezinearticles.com/?Horse-Feed--- ... id=3456669

[Shammy Davis]

Horse feeding myths and misconceptions debunked.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department ... ll/hrs3243

[Shammy Davis]

Everything you have wanted to know about equine skin and more.

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/docs/ ... km-sec.pdf

[Derring]

I'm not sure if this counts as a home remedy but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
My mare suffered every summer with hair loss and itchiness in a few patches on her belly. She would rub on the ground trying to scratch it. The scratching and flies would cause it to bleed. I called the vet out and he just called it a 'fly allergy' and gave her a steriod shot. As you know, that's just a temporary relief. I couldn't keep doing that, I wanted to get rid of it.
I did some research on my own and read about midline dermatitis. I got a sample of Calm Coat and mixed it with a jar of vasaline. This stuff is amazing. The vasaline acts as a barrier from dirts and flies. The wound healed up, the itching went away, and the hair grew quickly back. For years, I've kept it on hand but I rarely need to use it. This has other uses--worth getting!!!