Homeopathic/Natural Remedies?

My new horse has an old foot injury that causes his some discomfort occasionally. he is sound about 80-90% of the time. If he plays too hard or gets ridden too hard (he cant handle much more than a walk/trot ride) then he gets sore on his right front hoof.

He landed wrong one day off a jump. They spent thousands on vet bills. They never did figure out exactly what happened. No fractures, no chips, no torn muscles or tendons. Really no idea what is actually wrong. Hes been on pasture rest for 3 years now.

I dont expect there to be some magical cure that will make him sound, but I am curious to know what is out there as far as feed supplements that I could give him either as a preventative, or as a treatment when hes sore.

We are looking at getting him a cortizol shot in his fetlock. The vet feels that may make a huge difference. may make him sound, as it is baisicly a long acting anti-inflammatory. I have nothing against this, other than its pricey. So any ideas are greatly appreciated!

I am also looking into EVA (Elk velvet antler) as a long term feed supplement. If anyone has used this for anything, Id like your opinions on it. My neighbour (about 3 of them) raise elk for this, so I do have a pretty direct source for it. Still could get pricey though. From what Ive read, it sounds like it would help.

The views expressed in this post are purely those of the Voodoo Princess who practices homeopathic wizardry and cannot be held against her in a court of law. Having got that disclaimer out of the way...

When he is lame do you notice any swelling? Is there heat in the area or maybe it's more cool? A rapid pulse? Do some weather conditions make it worse than others, say hot weather bothers him more? A 'classic' homeopath would ask these questions as it helps narrow down the best remedies for your horse.

I am more 'the kitchen sink' kind f homeopath and try the most obvious remedy, often because there are no outstanding markers to go by and I only have a limited number of remedies on hand. So I will tell you what little I know that might be applicable.

For soft tissue damage, ARNICA is the go to remedy. IT is also an excellent remedy for shock (not electrical, but after a trauma). ARNICA is most effective when given immediately and this sounds like an old injury. But giving a few doses will do no harm.

If you feel this is a bone issue, CALC PHOS (calcarea phosphorica) can aid in healing and supports old injuries that are prone to re-injury.

If when the horse is lame, gentle walking seems to unstiffen him, then try RHUS TOXICODENDRON. BUt if when he is lame, gentle walking makes it worse or shows no ease in symptoms, do NOT use this remedy.

YOu can also try RUTA GRAVEOLENS which has an affinity with tendons, joints, cartilage and the periosteum.

All these remedies are simple to find at a local health food store. THey will likely be little tablets, sugar based pills (pure sugar pills to the non-believers). You can toss 4 or 5 tablets of each into some beet pulp/ supplement, or jam them in a hole you drilled in a carrot. You do not have to use one remedy at a time, but give him 2 or 3 that you think might help. This is not classic homeopathy, but what I call the 'cocktail' approach. A little of this, a little of that, soemthing's got to work.

If it were my horse I'd give him a cocktail morning and night for 4 days then leave it a week. Then dose him for 4 more days and leave it be. Then just dose when you see it get bad. You can even repeat this 3 times, just to tweak his system and stimulate what healing you can.

It seems odd that me, big skeptic, would believe in homeopathy, and yet I have stories....? Good luck. None of this will harm him in any way. I use all these remedies on my own animals and Hubby and kid and self.

My old broodmare has a degenerative ligament disease. Her pasterns angle has changed and her fetlocks are lowering. Thankfully she has been lucky and it has pretty much stopped. Because of the changes it has put a lot of strain on the joints higher up which has caused a lot of arthritis in her hips and hocks. Some days are better then others for her but she does lie down her fair share and is pretty sore and stiff when she gets up. But she can be seen bolting around the field on occasion!

Anyways.... I use a few things to avoid the heavy duty drugs on a daily basis. My main supplement i use is equine recovery. It's fantastic both as maintenance or in acute pain. You can play with the dose to find a maintenance that works then up it of you need more. Google the site for specific info as they will do a better job explaining the ingredients! I also have used it as a preventative for ny hard working performance horses so I am a deep believer in the product!

The other company that has sone great products is herbs for horses. I am currently using nasparin which is a liquid supplement. She has done really well with it. I have also used their mobility when she was 1st really sore but then I had trouble finding it. I believe you can order from their website now.

Another good site is Rivas remedies. She makes products specific for horses and you might be able to find some interesting stuff there.

I still give her some bute on occasion but try to avoid it regularly.

Good luck!

Anne

I agree with fuzzylittlefriend. I use both recovery (extra strength) and nasprin on our cutting horses with great success. Both worth some investigation on whether they may work for your horse.

Equine recovery, thats made by the same company as farriers formula I beleive? I think so. Oh I forgot about Rivas remedies, I knew there was something... ill look into that.

Uno, this one soudns the most right 'You can also try RUTA GRAVEOLENS which has an affinity with tendons, joints, cartilage and the periosteum.' I'll def. look into that!

thanks guys, keep it comming! I just dont want to be forced to feed him some synthetic/man made chemical supplement. The more natural the better.

Recovery gets my vote, too. Works wonders on arthritic dogs! Be sure to introduce it slowly, as it can give ya the trots......... So I'm told. I know a lady who has Rheumatoid Arthritis and she SWEARS by recovery. She takes the horsey formula, it's non-flavoured which - i'm told - is better then the doggy 'liver flavour' formula.