This herb has amazing healing qualities and a wonderful additive to most
diets. However, as with everything, a little goes a long way and there
are times you must be cautious with the ingestion of garlic.
Garlic is
universal in all streams of herbalism
Traditional indications for garlic in Western herbalism as an
expectorant and for worm infestation. In addition to these garlic has
been used in Chinese medicine for indigestion and in Ayurvedic for
fevers and debilitated conditions.
It is commonly used to repel flies and insects as it promotes sweating
and in doing so is excreted through skin to repel these bugs.
This makes this herb a valuable additive all year round, providing you
vary from it occasionally to give your horse’s gut a rest now and then.
Overall it can be a very special tonic to help tune up many of your
horse’s body systems.
Now for the
Cautions
Firstly, if you need to have your veterinarian assist your horse after
an injury, to investigate a loss of condition, any vascular issues or
skin problems, gestation, or perform surgery (and there are possibly
other conditions I may not have thought of), please be responsible and
inform them that you supplement garlic. It is now in common use so it
has been investigated more than most herbs so your veterinarian does
have access to information that it is documented in trials in peer
journals they can reference if there is a possibility that garlic could
be a contributing factor to the clinical signs they are assisting you
with, or if it is contraindicated for your horse.
Key Information for
All Horse Owners:
-
If you who are
giving garlic daily be aware of its antiplatelet activity and that
it is very important to discontinue the use of garlic 10 days before
surgery.
-
With pregnant
mares consider the allicin-releasing action and its altering of the
amniotic fluid, this suggests garlic should not be given during
pregnancy.
-
There are many
common pharmaceutical drugs that garlic is not to be given at the
same time. If your veterinarian prescribes any medication please
remove garlic from your horse’s feed.
General Awareness
Garlic is not suited to every horse, and some may have their own quirky
sensitivities so the following warnings are more for your awareness. You
do not need to get paranoid with your use of garlic, but if one of your
horses is sensitive to this herb, it may be worth ceasing giving it to
your horse for 3 to 6 weeks to assess if it is contributing to any low
grade irritating conditions like inflamed skin or puffy legs.
Garlic overdoses can inflame kidneys and in some cases damage kidneys,
so if your horse has a kidney imbalance or being treated by your
veterinarian for issues relating back to the kidneys or on drugs that
have an action on the kidneys and related body processes, he must be
informed about any historical or current long term garlic use.
If you have a new horse and are having trouble getting condition on him,
consider addressing the health of his gut before adding garlic to his
diet. This is important with horses that stress easily, once the gut is
balanced it can then make the most of this herb without fear of
irritation.
Raw garlic can irritant the mucosal layers and many garlic powders are
not pure garlic. The garlic granules sold by Country Park Animal Herbs
are the best to work with when you choose to give garlic to your horse.
How Much?
There is a lot of discussion about how much garlic to give your horses.
The amount often depends on the reason you are giving garlic, but
generally I find the least amount of adverse reactions while
consistently achieving desired results is one tablespoon of granules
every second day. If you have a condition you wish to address with
garlic, please consult a herbalist to help you determine the best dose
size and length of use.
Catherine Bird |
