The Role of Herbalism in Equine Health

The benefits of phytonutrients

When we think of 'food' we probably think of protein, carbs, fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

However, it could be that the most important foods are the thousands of medicinal compounds embedded in plants that regulate, modulate, and influence the billions of chemical reactions that occur in the body every second. These compounds? Phytonutrients. Which is why herbs are amazing nutrient-rich, functional plant foods, and one of the most important aspects of nutrition. 😉

The number of distinct botanical species recorded in the world is impressive. 500 species of conifers, 12,000 species of ferns, 14,000 species of mosses, and a staggering 300,000+ different species of flowering plants. Through evolution, humans and animals have digested the molecular magic embedded in foods and plants for centuries to supercharge our biology. We also need to get many of these constituents directly from nature as our bodies are unable to manufacture certain nutrients, i.e. omega-3 fats and vitamin E.

There are over 25,000 phytochemicals in the plant kingdom identified to date, and they’ve only recently been deemed critical for health. While a deficiency of these phytochemicals may not necessarily result in an acute disease or malnutrition, it can lead to well-known labels that we're only too familiar of, certainly in human health, i.e. heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dementia, depression and more.

The only way to take advantage of these disease-fighting compounds is to focus on quality. Plant foods grown without the use of agri-chemicals are abundant in those compounds that protect the body’s cells and fight off toxic invaders. With every bite, we literally program the body’s biology, right down at genome/DNA level, for health or disease. Eating healthy, species-appropriate 'food' is literally eating medicine.

The key to wellness? Simple - remove the bad, add in the good

And would you believe, the body’s natural intelligence and healing mechanisms do the rest! We start by removing the cause (or causes) and then replacing what the body needs to thrive. ⁣⁣

Almost all diseases (other than dominant inherited genetic conditions) have the same few causes:

• Toxins - both internal and external, such as pesticides, herbicides, plastics, heavy metals, etc.
• Allergens - environmental and food intolerances.
• Microbes - imbalances in bacteria, especially in the microbiome, as well as viruses, parasites, worms, ticks etc.
• Poor diet - because how we feed our horses really matters, more than we can imagine.
• Stress - physical, psychological, or environmental.

These triggers of disease interact with the body's genes and all the basic biological networks — gut, immune system, hormones, brain chemistry. Then there's the body's natural (and very sophisticated) detoxification system, specifically the liver, kidneys and lymph nodes, or as I like to call them, the 3-Amigos. Plus there's energy production, circulation, and even the body’s structure (cells, membranes, muscles, bones). ⁣⁣

While most vets and doctors haven't seen the power of food, simply because they're not trained in using food as medicine, with my EquiNatural hat on I've seen astonishing results over the last decade-plus. I've seen autoimmune syndromes disappear, shut-down horses reawaken, foundering horses gallop again, red-zone horses turn into cuddly marshmallows, and metabolic syndromes controlled and even reversed, where previous grass-intolerant horses can graze again, and yes, I count my own horses here, i.e. Murf, Cookie and MacAttack. These are not anomalies or spontaneous remissions but reproducible results based on applying food as medicine. ⁣⁣

The role of herbalism in equine health

Herbalism, aka Herbal Science/Herbology, is the cornerstone of any restorative approach. Over millions of years of evolution, plants have developed an impressive array of protective phytochemicals that offer very sophisticated biochemical solutions to the same stress factors that threaten health and wellness, including every variety of microbe, free radicals, toxins and radiation, as well as physical and emotional stress.

Medicinal herbs are plants that mesh particularly well with mammalian biochemistry. Evidence supporting herbalism includes historical information from traditional use by just about every culture on earth, population studies of current use, lab-based studies, animal studies, and human studies. Put together, we know more about medicinal herbs than any other modality currently available.

Generally, herbs fall into 5 categories (Maurer, S. (2013) 'Sacred Plant Medicine' apprenticeship class handouts, Gaia School of Healing and Earth Education):

• Nutritive herbs - food-like herbs with no known side effects, and can be used daily, i.e milky oats, sativa, chickweed, dandelion leaf, nettle.

• Nourishing tonics - gentle herbs that help to nourish and 'normalise' an organ or body system over time; can be used daily over a long period of time, i.e. ashwagandha, burdock, hawthorn, marshmallow, mullein, plantain, rosemary.

• Stimulating tonics - stronger tonic herbs that are more stimulating to an organ or body system (not the same as CNS stimulants), i.e. astragalus, dandelion root, echinacea, ginger, ginkgo, liquorice, tulsi.

• Acute-use herbs - moderately active stimulant herbs that work to adjust a body process due to their narrower therapeutic range, best for acute use and limited to 2-weeks' use, i.e. andrographis, artemesia.

• Low-dose herbs - strong herbs with potentially dramatic effects, can be toxic if used incorrectly, i.e. arnica, belladonna, bloodroot, foxglove, lobelia, poke root. NB. We don't use any of this herb group in our blends.

Herbalism is the practice of using plants and fungi to support health, whether through offering nutrients, vitamins, minerals, or other constituents that act on body systems, organs, and/or the body as a whole. While the botanical definition is 'a plant without a woody stem', herbalism uses the leaves, flowers, buds, stems, roots, bark, berries, seeds, rhizomes - any plant or part of a plant, including mushrooms.

Our herbal supplement categories

Our range of regenerative herbal blends are primarily organised into two categories (for individual herbs see our Individual Items/Herbs Shop page).

- Our CARE Immunity (regenerative) Programme - Cleanse, Activate, Restore, Energise

Fed when either a full-body requirement or specific system needs a deep clean/reset due to a chronic, ongoing condition, to restore optimal health. To quote Juliet Getty of Getty Nutrition, "The only way to fix your horse is to help him return to his natural state." Or as a preventative, as the saying goes - "Perfect practice makes perfect prevention".

The herbs used in our CARE Programme are primarily immunostimulants, immunomodulators and immunoregulators, working synergistically with proprietary cleansing and purifiying herbs indicated for the particular system. See our Immunity page for more information.

- Our Tonic blends - tonifying maintenance nutrition

I'm often asked what a tonic herb is, so here's an explanation. While our CARE range is about strengthening/regenerating, our Tonic range 'tones' a system to function comfortably and effectively - it's more about preventative maintenance.

Here's a way to look at this. Imagine you were to lift weights with your right arm for 8-weeks but not your left. Your right arm will be more tonified. This means it’ll work more efficiently, there'll be less stress, and it won't fatigue as quickly.

This is how tonic herbs work, and how they've been used for centuries as everyday foods. They have long-term, gentle, slow-acting benefits for a wide range of supporting actions in the body, usually enhancing immune function, mental clarity or muscular strength, and with the ability to maintain consistent stamina throughout the day and promote longevity – even improving libido!

All these characteristics pulled together perform the action of tonifying - they’re gentle, they're rejuvenative, they act over a long period of time, and of course non-toxic (unlike pharma drugs) so no side effects.

Certain herbs also have an affinity for certain parts of the body - certainly in Ayurvedic and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) it’s well recognised that you can take a tonic herb on an ongoing basis which will strengthen either a particular system or the overall body.

Adaptogen herbs are an excellent example – they have gentle benefits on the endocrine and nervous system, helping the body 'normalise' it's stress response to respond more appropriately, physically and emotionally, to recover quickly and suffer less damage during the stressful event.

Then there's nutritive herbs that can have digestive system benefits due to their defined nutritive value - vitamins, minerals, special starches, sometimes protein value, to help the body assimilate nutrition.

Many herbalists describe tonic herbs "herbs for healthy people", as in, why wait for when health is broken? Tonic herbs simply sustain health on an ongoing basis.

Quality

We've taken great care over the years to source the best quality human-grade, Certified Organic, Fairwild and Wild-Harvested botanicals, in order to harvest the most nutritionally diverse and bioactive phyto-constituents that are scientifically recognised for supporting the individual biological health, and regenerative nutritional requirements, of our horses. See our Quality page for  information on quality management, certification documents, and what organic certification means, and importantly, why it matters.

Tincture v. Dried Herbs

The quick answer - tinctures give you the best bioavailability for the medicinal benefits to rapidly reach the bloodstream and then to the body’s cells.

As for dried herbs, while very lovely (full disclosure: I give my horses dried herbs), from a bioavailability standpoint they aren't as immediately effective as tinctures. Dried herbs are generally preferred for ongoing tonifying maintenance. As a 'food', dried herbs need to permeate the GI tract for absorption, with the phytonutrient uptake having to then pass through the intestinal wall before reaching the blood circulation.

In short, If you need fast and effective, in my humble opinion tinctures come out on top. Tinctures provides a more immediate, readily absorbable, and potent source of phytonutrients at the highest-strength maceration, so if you need swift alleviation of pain, stress, or chronic respiratory symptoms, a tincture will work more quickly. However, for ongoing for maintenance support to sustain ongoing health, dried herbs' flavour and texture fit this bill perfectly.

A final word

No-one knows your horse better than you, so always trust your gut and relationship with your horse when making your decisions.

*Chemical products used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides) and synthetic fertilisers.