Feeding Herbs to Horses - By Wendy & Terry Jennings. Founders of Wendals Herbs Because horses are herbivores it is natural for them to eat herbs. In their natural environment horses graze and they would readily eat various herbs whilst they grow. Herbs such as Comfrey, Red Clover, and even wild Garlic will often be sought out and eaten when they are available. However, even in the 'good old days' not all useful herbs were growing in the green pastures since each require differing climates to be at their best. This has meant that traditionally herbs have been supplemented to the diet. Herbs are now in such great demand that there is a world market geared at producing them in sufficient quantity and quality for both human and animal consumption.

It is hardly practical to supply these in their fresh state and in any quantity and in most cases they are dehydrated to reduce bulk and to preserve them further. If carried out correctly this process can reduce the weight of the herb greatly because up to 90% of the fresh weight can be moisture. It can be possible to retian most of the vitamin, mineral and medicianal qualities of 10 grams of fresh herbs in as little as 1 or 2 grams of dried herbs. Dried Herbs - feeding guidelines Feeding herbs is not an exact science and there are a number of factors that can affect the quantity that you might feed to a horse:

A. Firstly, the quality of the herbs can vary like any other agricultural product. The climate and care taken during the growing, harvesting and preparation are big factors on determining the quality of the herbs, in the same way as they can be with the process of preparing hay. There are good and bad crops and the vitamin and mineral contents vary accordingly.

B. The physiological effect that herbs can have will vary in different animals, in the same way that other medicines and drugs can have varying effects in different horses. Where a horse or pony may normally have say 20 gms of a particular herb, it is not uncommon for a similar one to require twice as much of that herb to show the same benefit. Conversely, a herb can have such a dramatic effect in some cases, that only a half measure is sufficient to achieve the desired results.

Over the years that we (Wendy & Terry Jennings) have been feeding blends of dried herbs we have found that a daily feeding rate of up to 10 grams (0.35oz) per 100 kgs (220 Lbs) bodyweight is normally about the correct amount. Normally a maximum of 50 grams (1.76ozs) is sufficient for a horse of 500kgs (1100 Lbs). Where individual herbs are fed the amount required is usually less. It can take some time for the actions of the herbs to start to become apparent and where we have fed up to twice the 'normal' amount for an initial period fo a week or so until some benefit is noticeable, then reduced the amount according to bodyweight and the other factors. Even at normal rates it is not unusual to see some improvement after feeding for as little as a week, although in other cases it can take three weeks or so before the benefits become noticeable. However, even if it not apparent, the herbs may still be making some progress. As a general rule you should look at the situation further if no change is detectable after feeding herbs for a month.

"Taken from Feeding Herbs to Horses, by kind permission of Wendy and Terry Jennings. For further information please contact Wendals Herbs Ltd:tel: 01945 780880 /Fax: 01945 780880/US Freephone: 1 800 981 0320/website: www.wendals.com"