The Herbal Horse

27/08/2024

How our Calm mix works.
More info here: https://bit.ly/47zXA1g

27/08/2024

How our Calm mix works.

27/08/2024

Sound familiar?

20/08/2024

Do you have an itchy scratchy horse?
Itch mix works as an immune modulator, decreasing allergic reactions.
More info here: https://bit.ly/3HfjE66

20/08/2024

A while ago, we had to change the formulation of our Calm mix. For a while, I was flummoxed. Then...this happened:

18/08/2024

Ultimate mix is the ultimate all round supplement.

Read why here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/ultimate-mix/.

13/08/2024

Just saying....
https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/ultimate-mix/

03/08/2024

More information here: https://bit.ly/47zXA1g.

26/07/2024

Although far less research is done into natural products than is done into synthetic patentable medications, there is a lot of good work being done. Because I am a complete nerd and read scientific papers for fun, I keep up with the latest papers. And new things are being discovered all of the time.

What surprises me a lot is how few companies actually do this. Even in the field of human natural remedies, companies tend to stick to the latest fads – giving customers what they want to buy rather than questioning the latest fashion or Facebook phenomenon and producing cutting edge products.

Each of my products has been updated as I discover more information. I want them to get better and better. And some of the ingredients you find in the herbal horse products aren’t found in any others. Because I use science as my starting point.

Then there is the safety aspect. With a superficial googling of a particular herbal remedy, one could be assured that it is natural and ergo must be safe. Although in most cases, this is true, sometimes it isn’t. Or perhaps there is an interaction between your herbal remedy and another unrelated medication that you (or your horse) might be taking.

As a result I am a bit pedantic about listing any possible side effects or drug interactions on my packaging. It might put some people off, but at least you are aware of what you are buying.

So, if you are bothered by my use of certain ingredients and my rejection of others, speak to me. I’d love to have that discussion with you.

16/07/2024

This is my thinking on Mare mix:

Us girls are not illogical or moody or insane. We just have hormones that are difficult to deal with at times. In addition to the hormonal issues, we also deal with pain and depression AT THE SAME TIME.

Mares are the same.

So, in formulating Mare mix, I’ve tried to take three things into consideration:
1. Pain
2. Mood
3. Hormones

Pain:
A recent study in humans found a strong link between inflammation (measured using the serum inflammation marker CRP) and pms symptoms. Horses also have CRP and it is very likely to be the same in their bodies. They are not naughty, they are sore.

This is the reason we have put the very effective, yet FEI legal, herbal anti-inflammatory Boswellia into mare mix. Many of the mare-ish symptoms are relieved simply by fixing the inflammation and pain.

Although bloating isn’t usually described as pain, it is a common female symptom. Dandelion is a gentle herbal diuretic and can help to alleviate this.

Mood:
Tryptophan is an ingredient I’ve written about previously. Sometimes controversial, it has been called ineffective as a calmer after a shockingly badly designed study on horses was published. My opinion is that it is very effective in most horses (not all), especially when combined with Vitamin D3 and B6 (as in mare mix), which increase the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin (the calm, happy neurotransmitter).

In addition, we add Magnesium. Now this is a mineral where I believe the horse RDA (recommended daily allowance) to be far too low. The number of horses I have seen that become dramatically calmer after magnesium supplementation is huge. This, plus its enzyme, muscle and nervous system effects are why we added it to mare mix.

Hormones:
Agnus castus (chasteberry) is the go-to herb for moody mares. It works by affecting the Oestrogen receptors.
Omega 3 fatty acids have also been shown to decrease the severity of symptoms.

Ginkgo biloba:
I’m putting this herb as its own heading, because when I first started researching Mare mix, I couldn’t believe the complete lack of supplements using this herb for PMS. There are multiple strong papers showing it is effective in all of the above symptoms – psychological, physical and hormonal. To date, I think Mare mix is the only mare supplement which contains this herb.

More information here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/mare-mix/.:

14/07/2024

Vitamin A for horses is essential. But too much can be dangerous. In this article we explain how to easily work out how much is too much.
https://www.horseandpethealth.com/vitamin-a-for-horses/

14/07/2024

12/07/2024

We got this AMAZING testimonial for Stamina mix from a customer . This is worth a watch if yur horse suffers from COPD, asthma or just general fatigue.

More info on Stamina mix here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product-category/the-herbal-horse/

11/07/2024

Every mom's favourite horse supplement.
More info here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/calm-mix-uk/.

10/07/2024

These two horse nerds had a meeting this morning.
Who knows what happens next? 😉
Watch this space.

10/07/2024

Mare mix can turn your 'mean girl' into a 'lovely lass'.

09/07/2024

Two days in the life of this entrepreneur.....
(Last week we did a quick trip to Cape Town.)

06/07/2024

A horse can be allergic to absolutely anything. An allergy is his immune system mistaking something harmless for something dangerous and trying to fight it off.

So, for example, say your horse is allergic to Culicoides (midge) bites (like in Sweet Itch). When he gets bitten, his immune system recognises it as a threat and the immune cells (the main ones are called mast cells) release histamine and cytokines.

The histamine and cytokines cause the allergic symptoms. Firstly blood vessels widen, causing more blood to flow to the affected area. The blood vessels also become more permeable, allowing immune cells to leak out. Fluid also leaks out, which causes inflammation (swelling, redness, heat).

Histamine also causes smooth muscles to contract – this is what results in airways closing in respiratory allergies.

All of these things together cause the allergic response: itching, hives, nasal discharge, coughing, and respiratory distress.
If the horse is exposed again and again to the same allergen, this reaction gets faster and more intense due to the formation of memory cells. This is called Secondary Immune Response.

So, when I was designing Itch mix, it made sense to start at the very beginning of this whole reaction – the mast cells and histamine.

Bioflavonoids are molecules that are very abundant in plants. They are found in Rooibos for example. But we use bioflavonoids extracted from Citrus. These Citrus Bioflavonoids are mast cell stabilisers – they stop the mast cell’s walls from breaking open and releasing the histamine and cytokines. This stops the immune reaction before it even starts.

But, because we are The Herbal Horse, we like to address problems on multiple levels at once.

Vitamin C also acts as a mast cell stabilizer, but it also reduces inflammation and might even help to modulate the immune response by influencing white blood cells.

There is some pretty new research on spirulina, which shows that it reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines, which in turn reduces inflammation. It also contains some pretty potent anti-oxidants, which are never a bad thing. So we added spirulina too.

Echinacea modulates both inflammation (via cytokines) and immune response, making it another obvious addition to Itch mix.

This, ladies and gentleman, is how we formulated the mutilevel, completely natural but very effective Itch mix. You can read more about it here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/itch-mix/.

25/06/2024

I've been going through old records, backing up before transferring to new software. And while I was there, I saw some really really old invoices. Some of you people deserve a medal, because you were our customers then and still are now, DECADES later. Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Midfeeds, Tack Shack, Dawn Gray, Horseman's Haven, Grant Store. I truly truly appreciate your support.

19/06/2024

We've had a number of customers who have successfully used Calm mix for horses on box rest. Relax, it is possible!

Read more about Calm mix here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/calm-mix-uk/.

16/06/2024

This is the fourth in our Horses and Science series - the microbiome (everything, everything).

16/06/2024

Can what we feed our horses influence how sound they are? You'd be surprised at just how much this can be true.

A horse’s diet definitely influences his chances of staying sound. And, as in most things to do with horses, the answer to a healthy horse is a delicate balance between performance, condition and soundness.

15/06/2024

Video number 4 in my Science and Horses series (Can science make us better horse owners?): Everything, everything - your horse's microbiome.

15/06/2024

This is an old testimonial from a customer, Andrea: "Towards the end of last year, Fresco was feeling very old and sore, having undergone colic surgery at the end of 2012 and slowly coming back into work during 2013 he was feeling old, stiff and sore. In December 2013 I started him on Rejuven Mix and we have not looked back! He is a new horse, full of life and ‘jumping his socks off’! He is also looking incredible!"

More information on Rejuven mix here: https://www.horseandpethealth.com/product/rejuven-mix/.

10/06/2024

Look after the feet, always.
More information here: https://bit.ly/42kTOYl.

09/06/2024

Number 3 in my Science and Horses series (Can science make us better horse owners?): Is my horse mentally ill? Is naughtiness actually depression? And how do we fix it?

07/06/2024

Can science help us be better horse owners? Yes! Especially if we understand this thing called Umwelt.

31/05/2024

We have a new newsletter, yay!
News from The Herbal Horse - https://bit.ly/453d3GW

Ever wondered how the world looks from a horse’s point of view? Or whether its possible for a horse to be mentally ill?