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Centuries ago, villages often had a local "wise woman"
who was the community’s source of healing information and care.
Often these women had been trained by their mothers and grandmothers
in the cultivation, use and care of herbs but the core of their
knowledge came from experience—from watching and learning. Long
before there were doctors or veterinarians, these women passed down
useful remedies and simple herbals to enhance the health of the
community. Surely Pat Coleby is the wise woman for our modern times.
For
more than 70 years, Coleby has been watching and learning about
the domestic animals in her care. From puppies and kittens to goats
and horses, she has looked after them all. As a child her dream
was to become a veterinarian. That dream went unfulfilled, but Coleby’s
desire to heal animals remained. By dint of hard work and study
Coleby developed her knowledge of animal care. As an adult, she
has raised stock on her farm in Australia, and successfully cared
for her own animals while also acting as a resource on animal care
for farmers all over Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Beginning
her observation of animals in their natural environment in the early
1930s, long before harsh, toxic chemicals were used on our soils
and our animals, Coleby’s experience has given her a rich understanding
of the complex connections between the soil quality, food and the
health of animals. In "Natural Horse Care" she brings us her encyclopedic
knowledge of horses and their health care needs. Through the use
of vitamins and herbs, she teaches us how to prevent, and if it
is too late for prevention, then how to treat any number of ailments
that afflict the equine population. Coleby’s prescribed treatments
for the following "Top Ten" horse ailments are just an example of
the depth and breadth of her understanding of the needs and requirements
of the horse world.
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Pat
Coleby’s Natural Treatments
for the Top-Ten Horse Ailments
My
association with horses goes well back over seventy years—before
the days of chemical farming and the drug approach so widely used
today. Many of the troubles we have now were unheard of in those
days. In racing stables, the staple diet was enough to keep horses
in optimum health. The trainer I worked for in the United Kingdom
topped the trainers’ list again and again because our horses were
so healthy which, in turn, lead to optimum performance.
As
the land continues to degenerate due to improper care and toxic
chemicals, I find the need for supplementary minerals grows more,
not less. I hope that my book, "Natural Horse Care", will show trainers,
breeders and horse keepers of all kinds the consequences when horses
fail to obtain the required minerals and vitamins and the almost
unbelievable improvement when they do. Often problems that were
considered hopeless by veterinarians and owners are rectified. I
have been fortunate to know many vets and horse masters of great
wisdom, and I owe them an incalculable debt of gratitude for sharing
their knowledge so freely with me.
Below
is a list of ailments and the conditions that are caused by deficiencies,
provided to help horse keepers pinpoint the cause of illness in
their animals. A great many conditions regarded as ailments are
often the result of mineral and vitamin deficiencies or the ill-advised
use of certain drugs. Even the so-called infectious diseases can
be warded off or largely minimized if the horse’s mineral (and therefore
vitamin) status is correct.
Colic
Colic
is usually caused by bad feed or an imbalance of some sort in the
diet, including illegal binges from the feed bin. Make up a drench
of four tablespoons of vitamin C and give immediately. Give 25 cc
vitamin C by injection straight into the muscle as well. It is not
often necessary to repeat the treatment, but it can be given every
half hour if necessary. Keep the patient warm and quiet and remove
the cause of the trouble. Occasionally colic can be caused by impaction
(constipation), and a drench of a pint of warm cooking oil is worth
trying as well as the vitamin C.
If
the colic is caused by moldy hay, an injection of vitamin B1 should
be given as well. Vitamin B1, like most B injections, is water soluble.
This means that any excess is eliminated by the body, and there
is not the danger of overdosing as there could be with an oil-based
injection. The dose recommended for this condition is approximately
eight mg of injectable vitamin B1 (obtainable from any vet or feed
store) per kilogram of bodyweight intra-muscularly every six hours
until the signs disappear. One milliliter of injectable vitamin
B1 should contain 126 mg—consult the bottle. Whatever the cause,
colic should be treated as fast as possible, the next stage can
be peritonitis and/or twisted gut, both often fatal.
I
was rung early one morning about an aged thoroughbred with bad colic.
I asked the owner to ring me once the horse had stabilized (following
the above treatment) as I wished to know what had caused it. I discovered
that the rented paddock in which the horse lived had been top dressed
with superphosphate four days previously; when I told her that the
superphosphate was the cause she was most indignant and rang the
Department of Agriculture to check. They confirmed what I had said.
It could just as well have been too high amounts of lime; horses
should not be left in paddocks that are to be conventionally top
dressed, or have more than a ton to the acre of lime put on — trouble
could follow.
Founder
This
is like laminitis and is caused by an excess of phosphates without
the balancing magnesium in the diet, which has made the horse acutely
magnesium deficient. In chronic cases the horse will show large
areas of hardening round the neck, on top of the tail, and in serious
cases, down the shoulder (sometimes called shoulder founder).
This
hard tissue is not to be confused with fat which is soft. One cannot
stick one’s fingers into a foundered horse. If a depression is made,
it usually stays for a few seconds. In sudden attacks of founder,
the feet may get hot and the horse will have tremors passing down
its legs. It will be unwilling to move and tries to alleviate the
pain by standing with its feet bunched together beneath it. The
treatment is the same in all cases. The sudden attacks will respond
very quickly, but the chronic build-up of tissue may take weeks
or months to cure according to how long it took to build-up. Regular
exercise and a sensible diet will help.
For
sudden, severe attacks give two pounds of Epsom salts (magnesium
sulfate) by drench, suitably dissolved in as little water as possible.
The horse should then be made to move about for at least one or
two hours — if there is a stream or similar water in which the horse
can be walked, this gives even better relief.
For
chronic cases, give a tablespoon of Epsom salts daily for first
three or four days only, as well as a tablespoon of dolomite in
the feed. The other necessary minerals should be fed as well. The
feed should only be large enough to get all the minerals in; it
is important not to overfeed a sick horse.
In
all cases of founder it is essential to remove the cause of the
ailment, which is invariably feed too low in magnesium and/or too
high in phosphates. This has had the effect of draining the system
of magnesium. A pony in perfect health was tethered for an hour
on grass which had grown up where the superphosphate spreading trucks
were washed. It developed founder within four hours. Both front
feet were sore and hot and the front legs had tremors running down
them. Two doses of one pound of Epsom salts by drench, given an
hour apart, had it well on the road to recovery.
Breakdown
In
the severest form of breakdown the flexor tendon at the back of
the front leg, from the knee to the pastern, gives way and the pastern
rests on the ground. There is, however, nearly always prior warning
of strain with heat in the tendon or swelling. The horse must be
taken out of work immediately and the vet called. These days there
are treatments less radical than the old-fashioned firing for helping
this condition. Firing may have produced a sound horse in the end,
but their action was never the same again.
If
time is no object, even the worst breakdown will heal if the horse
is turned out for 18 months. Care must be taken that it gets at
least one small feed a day with the minerals it needs, which will
help make the repair permanent. However, not everyone can wait 18
months for their horse to be well, and nowadays there are new and
more successful treatments for breakdown. Electric therapy figures
largely and seems to be producing good results. Your vet will advise.
Injuries
All
flesh injuries should be well cleaned at once with disinfectant
and then treated with a healing ointment such as comfrey, aloe vera
or similar. Disinfectant should not be used more than once, as it
retards the healing process. If the injury is purely cosmetic, use
as mild a disinfectant as possible as this would help prevent permanent
scarring — the aim is to promote healing as fast as possible. Another
excellent remedy is to soak a pad in Flint’s oils and apply it to
the cleaned wound, keeping the pad moist with the oils at all times.
Broken knees have been healed without scarring by this method.
Any
wound that needs stitching must be attended to immediately, a few
hours later is generally too late. It is not fair to the vet to
expect a tidy result when the wound has been left several hours
and the edges have been allowed to contract and dry. In all wounds,
care should be taken to avert tetanus. If it is a puncture wound,
tetanus antitoxin should be given if the horse is not immunized.
If unavailable, give the horse about 20 grams (a tablespoon) of
vitamin C orally on a daily basis for the next two weeks. Vitamin
C (25-50 cc), should be given either intramuscularly or intravenously
on the first day.
Poisoning
Signs
of poisoning can be foaming at the mouth, a strange smell in the
mouth, and collapse. If poisoning is suspected, give the horse oral
doses of dolomite and vitamin C powder, three tablespoons of each
in as little water as possible — both of these substances have great
detoxifying powers. Call the vet as soon as possible and do not
give liquids until he gives permission, as with phosphorus poisoning
this could cause a terrible death. An intramuscular injection of
25 cc of vitamin C would also be a good idea.
If
the vet is unavailable, keep the patient quiet and continue the
treatment, adding two tablespoons of vitamin E powder, and giving
the above dose every three hours. Mix the ingredients with a little
milk or white of egg; after three doses continue with just vitamins
C and E. If the horse is going to recover, improvement will be noted
within an hour or so of starting the treatment which will, however,
have to be continued until the animal is 100 percent.
In
the absence of the vet, phosphorus poisoning has a sweet smell on
the breath (so does arsenic), but the patient will show signs of
distress and crave water — its inside is burning and will literally
do so if you let it have water. It takes about 36 hours of concentrated
nursing to bring an animal through. The treatment suggested above
has saved animals with this type of poisoning.
Arsenic
This
poisoning usually leaves residual damage; large does of Vitamin
C and E can help, but it is usually a wasted exercise.
1080
This
is 23 ppm sodium fluoride and can only be cured in the first 20
minutes after ingestion. Few vets carry the antidote — glycerol
mono acetate — as it is difficult to get and rarely needed. The
horse will die about four hours later (inevitably) in agony, shoot
before that happens.
Organophosphate
and Chemical Poisoning
Whatever
the variety, this is very difficult to cure. Large and continuing
doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, water-based vitamin A (available
from a health shop in tablets which can be crushed) — about 60,000
units at a time — and zinc in some form, possibly seaweed meal,
may effect relief. Doctors and vets tell me it is the poisoning
they dread most as they feel so helpless.
Worms
An
alternative strategy for worms
In
the old days one knew when animals were wormy — they were scrappy
tempered, their eyes tended to run and they were picky with their
feed. When this occurred, we used to give the animal a drench. For
the last 12 years I have not used a proprietary drench on any horse,
brood mares included. When I felt the horses needed worming, I have
realized that the copper sulfate levels in their feeds were too
low and raised them accordingly. If you are in any doubt, have a
vet do a worm count. This strategy has been tried on other animals
as well with complete success.
I
was encouraged to try alternatives to drenching for several reasons
— one was a fear of the toxic after effects of many of the conventional
drenches which were, apparently, the only answer; the other was
the knowledge that horse masters of old used copper, although there
was no mention of the amounts given. The most convincing reason
was provided as I read the collected works of one of the world’s
greatest soil scientists, William A. Abrecht. Dr. Albrecht proved
that animals whose systems contained the correct amount of copper
did not suffer from interior parasites; they could eat worm eggs
in the paddock, but the worms did not stay in the animal once they
hatched if the copper intake was correct.
The
amount of copper I suggest in the rations are half a teaspoon (two
grams) per day per horse as a good base to start from — some black
or chestnut horses patently need three to four grams (a teaspoon)
a day. If a worm count is taken and it is around 150 eggs per gram
or below, this amount of copper is quite satisfactory. A friend
has a 32-year-old buckskin gelding that she looks after at an animal
aid place near Sydney, and he had a worm count of around 3,000 when
she first got him. No known drench had any effect at all, and he
did not look too good. We started him on high levels of copper (with
his other minerals of course) and he looked better and better. We
settled on two tablespoons of copper a day; he now looks marvelous,
the worms are decreasing steadily (down to 800), and he is only
getting one tablespoon now. Everyone remarks how well he looks —
so the parameters are fairly wide. They are borne out by work done
by the University of Minnesota on ponies and copper intake. They
tried to kill the first lot but failed. At the end of the experiment
they were still receiving amounts of copper that would stop most
other animals in their tracks, and they were extremely well. They
were not getting dolomite either, which acts as a brake on copper
toxicity without stopping its usefulness.
Drenches
are only a short-term answer to the worm problem; good nutrition,
healthy pastures and good farm practices are the long-term solution.
In days gone by, worms were not the problem they are now — chemical
farming has decreased the ability of the natural fauna of the paddocks
to process the manure. Also the animal’s resistance to interior
parasites has been lowered due to the lack of copper in its feed
— a result of the chemical fertilizers used in growing it.
Another
rather chilling factor has also emerged in the last year or two
— many people find it difficult to believe that the every six-week
drench is no longer necessary when they are feeding their horses
correctly, so they still continue the practice. There have been
two deaths and one near death (they called in time) after drenching
with the usual drench, whatever it was. I do not know what brand
of drenches were involved, but the people concerned used them with
their vets blessings and it took the horses four days to die — all
the vet could say apologetically was: "It happens sometimes." One
of the horses was a top performance horse — it takes a long time
to get them up there. The question is, did they die of anaphylactic
shock, the cumulative effects of the drench, or was the drench in
some way unstable. The one owner who did call in time saved their
horse with fairly large amounts of vitamin C given in a hurry.
I
was told years ago by the vets at the University of Melbourne that
you could not rid a paddock of worms, no matter how long you rested
it. Somehow I think if they never reach maturity, they will eventually
give up. Copper does not kill them, they merely will not stay in
an animal whose copper reserves are correct.
Of
the worms to which horses are prone, red worms, which are blood
suckers, are possibly the worst, and they certainly cause the most
havoc in improperly fed horses, especially young ones. Try the methods
suggested above, which are in any case only part of a healthy feeding
regime.
A
note on VAM. I have gotten in touch with Nature Vet, the firm that
make this product in Australia, and have done for many years. There
is also a paste available which would be used in the same quantities,
for example, a 10 ml injection would be equivalent to 10 ml on the
paste gun. This can be given in the mouth or on food, which is easier.
Nature
Vet is in the process of marketing VAM paste in the United States
(and New Zealand), it will be available in paste applicators or
tubs. They hope eventually to have the injections available in the
States, but in the meantime use the VAM paste just as described
in the text.
Arthritis
Arthritis
is generally due to the incorrect absorption of calcium and magnesium,
accompanied by a lack of the mineral boron and possibly copper;
these four minerals and the vitamins A and D are required for full
bone and joint health. The condition of the horse can be much improved
if the phosphate-rich grains in the diet are reduced and changed
to the following:
To
equal parts by bulk of oaten chaff, alfalfa chaff and bran; add
a tablespoon of dolomite per feed, a tablespoon of yellow dusting
sulfur per day, half a teaspoon of borax (sodium borate) a day for
nine days; and, in very severe cases, use one teaspoon of borax
for the same amount of time.
Make
up enough liquid to dampen the feed; it is easier to make a week’s
supply at a time so that each day the horse gets a cupful of unpasteurized
bulk cider vinegar and three-quarters of a teaspoonful of copper
sulfate — add rainwater to the mixture.
Give
five ml of cod liver oil a day, or put 10 ml in a syringe and put
it in the horse’s mouth every other day for the first nine days.
Arrange
to feed seaweed meal on demand, so that the horse may take as much
or little as it needs. Do the same with salt, or leave rock salt
out for the animal.
It
is preferable to have a remineralized paddock for the horse, and/or
organically grown pasture hay — no alfalfa hay.
When
making up the feeds, which should not exceed a quart measure each
time, add dolomite and sulfur to the feed and dampen with the water
that has the cider vinegar, copper sulfate and borax in it. When
the horse comes back into work, and the sooner it does light work
the better, a small amount of whole barley, soaked in the above
mixture, may be given — make up a week’s supply at a time.
Years
ago, a 20-year-old thoroughbred stallion was in such pain and so
badly crippled with arthritis that he could neither be ridden nor
serve his mares. He was treated with the above regimen (without
the borax), and improved to the point where he could do light dressage
again and serve his mares quite successfully. He lived for another
five years. At that time it was not known that a lack of boron as
well as an imbalance in the feed was the cause of arthritis and
the cure took several weeks.
More
recently a famous hurdler, Babble Boy, at 31-years-old was totally
crippled with arthritis and unable to move from his paddock shed.
He was put on the above regimen (with the borax), and in nine days
could trot to the gate to greet his owners, who brought his feed,
and started to once more enjoy life. He was still alive and well
two years later.
Arthritis
(Septic) Joint Ill, Polyarthritis
Arthritis
can sometimes be of septic (infectious) origin, and blood tests
would determine this. It can be contracted venereally, from a wound,
or, more usually from the navel cord (in foals). This kind of arthritis
is very difficult to cure, usually being caused by Corynebacteria.
Massive ongoing doses of vitamin C, at least 20 cc daily into the
vein for an adult and 15 cc for a foal, might effect a cure. It
must be pointed out that often with septic arthritis in foals, the
damage done by the organism before it becomes apparent makes treatment
a waste of time — the joints are frequently found to be permanently
damaged.
Navicular
Disease
This
is a very painful condition where the blood supply to the extremities
is inhibited, causing pain, and, if not treated, eventually total
breakdown of the foot. It appears to be similar to repetitive strain
injury (RSI) in human beings and responds to the same treatment.
First, if possible, remove the cause. In the old days this was a
disease that eventually struck down old cab horses after years on
the road — nowadays it seems mostly to afflict horses who have been
brought into concentrated work in arenas or yards without first
hardening up the legs by road work.
The
old remedy was to unnerve the horse so it could not feel the pain.
It was a dangerous practice as it meant that the lack of blood to
the foot eventually caused it to atrophy and, in extreme cases,
drop off, often with little or no warning. This happened because
the blood vessels and the nerves are so close that it was almost
impossible to cut one without the other.
Give
the horse about 8,000 mcg of vitamin B6, and about the same of potassium
phosphate tablets — both will have to be ground up and added to
the feed. Continue daily until relief has been noted. Then amend
to dosages suggested in Chapter 7, making sure that the seaweed
meal and salt are available on demand, and enough cider vinegar
(a source of natural potassium) is given daily — about quarter of
a pint. A maintenance dose of half a teaspoon of sodium borate (boron)
per week seems to be very helpful and keeps horses in action.
The
horse should only be given light work such as quiet walking on firm
ground until the condition eases. The horse owner should review
the animal’s program to ensure that there is no recurrence of the
malady.
Note:
Many cases of navicular disease have turned out to be mild pedal
bone arthritis and have cleared up very quickly. It is quite difficult
to see a constricted blood vessel on an x-ray, especially at the
onset of the illness.
Hives
This
condition is similar to breaking out but is usually caused by an
allergy, and the vet would probably be able to tell the difference.
If it is hives, elevated doses of vitamin C may often be of help
— allergies usually mean the animal’s vitamin C and mineral reserves
are lower than they should be. Dr. William A. Albrecht said that
allergies were not due to too much of the wrong substances, but
to too little of the right minerals; I have found this to be the
case.
Poison
Bites
The
most usual poison bites are from snakes, spiders and ticks. All
three respond equally quickly to massive doses of vitamin C. The
quicker remedial action is taken the better; the longer the snake
venom is in the body the more lasting the damage that will be done.
Snakebite
Snakebite
can be detected by examining the eyes if the actual bite is not
visible (which it rarely is). The pupils of the patient’s eyes will
be fully enlarged so that the whole eye appears black. At this stage
the horse may be down, or going down.
Inject
50 cc (25 grams) of vitamin C into the muscle on each side of the
neck and repeat in an hour’s time if the animal does not show signs
of recovery. Do not try to give intravenous injections because the
veins collapse in shock after the bite; by the second injection
the vein will probably be apparent again. A friend (in the next
state) argued with me that her horse had not been bitten by a snake.
I told her to inject the animal, and she went down to the paddock
to prove me wrong by giving the vitamin C in the vein — she could
not. But she was able to use the vein for the second injection.
Many
horses have been saved using less vitamin C than this, even after
bites containing large amounts of tiger snake venom. It is safer
to give injections in cases of severe snakebite as the muscles may
be so relaxed that the horse would be unable to swallow an oral
dose properly and there would be a danger of it going down the windpipe.
Keep the patient warm and comfortable. The advantage of using vitamin
C is that the type of snake is immaterial, which is not the case
with antivenin, nor is there any danger of anaphylactic shock. A
blood test taken by the vet will reveal what type of snake has bitten
the horse if it is of concern.
Spider
Bites
Spider
bites often do not produce anything more than swellings at the site
of the bite, the locality determining the degree of danger. For
example, a bite on the throat could cause asphyxiation. Give vitamin
C by injection or mouth, if the horse can swallow, 20 grams (40
cc) should be enough; more can be given if desired. These bites
often take several days to go down, and one should continue providing
vitamin C in the feed (a tablespoon) until it does.
White-tailed
spider bite does not follow the same pattern as ordinary poison
spider bites. The bite is apparently intensely acid and often is
not visible until an enlarging necrosed area becomes apparent a
day or two after it has happened. By this stage it is extremely
painful. Make a dressing of a piece of lint or gamgee, smear it
with Vaseline or something similar, and cover with sodium ascorbate;
keep this on the bite until it clears up — usually within a few
hours. One authority says that ordinary detergent would work the
same way, I have not tried this but I have tried the vitamin C method
and found it most successful. Give extra vitamin C by mouth for
a few days.
Tick
Bites
Tick bites produce coma and death. Obviously it is desirable to
start treating the horse as soon as possible, but if it should be
found already in a coma, the same amounts of vitamin C as for snakebite
can bring it around and effect a recovery. However, it seems that
the longer the tick venom is in the body, the longer the recovery
takes. Remove the tick as soon as possible, a dab of tea-tree oil
on its rear both kills it and makes it let go I am told. One authority
says any alcohol works as well. Whatever the method, it is important
to make certain that the entire tick is removed.
Ticks
are a problem on sick, low-pH country and having the paddocks analysed
and topdressed with the required lime minerals makes a great difference.
Also, if the horse is receiving the correct diet (sulfur included
and no molasses) the chances of tick infestation will be lessened.
If
a horse is living in country prone to snakes, etc., it is wise to
keep several bottles of injectable vitamin C on hand. Store the
vitamin in a refrigerator but do not freeze. Some authorities in
the United States suggest a regular maintainance dose of a tablespoon
of vitamin C in the daily feed of horses. This strategy is suggested
by one of America’s foremost small animal vets who suggests a teaspoon
a day for dogs going to tick-infested areas. This gives one a little
more time when treating them. In all cases of poison bites, if the
bite can be found, rub sodium ascorbate powder well into the site
as it nullifies the pain, which can be considerable, in minutes.
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