Five Powerful Whole Food Herbs for Horses

When it comes to health in your horse, two things are very important, which are digestive health and nutrition.  These two items can go a long way in regards to healing an injury or even improving performance or immune health.  Whole foods, especially in concentrated herb form, can be a real asset to any equine feed or supplement regimen, providing not just whole food nutrients, but other beneficial properties that extend to the entire horse.  Let’s take a look at our top five whole food herbal ingredients.

Two of the key factors that I address in most of my equine consultations are digestive health and nutrition in the horse.  In most of the cases, nutrition is being delivered via a poor quality forage, combined with no pasture time and the horse is being fed a commercial vitamin-mineral supplement or ration balancer.   This is considered ‘nutrition’ by most of the owners as this is considered ‘nutrition’ by their consulting veterinarians or nutritionists.  The fact of the matter is that this is not nutrition.  Nutrition comes from food, not a synthetic based granular supplement.

Why choose whole foods for your horse?  

For starters, whole foods are vital sources of vitamins, minerals, protein, fats, and carbohydrates which are generally complex in nature and low-glycemic. This means they will not hurt but more than likely help a metabolic condition in the horse.

Additionally, these foods are full of various fibers and lignans, both soluble and insoluble, which can dramatically impact digestive health, reduce blood sugar, improve cardiovascular health, immune health, reduce inflammation, and improve insulin function.  Then, as the icing on the cake, these whole foods generally contain within them various phytochemicals which can also directly impact digestive health, inflammation, circulation, insulin function, immune health, and even cancer.

People do not recover from cardiovascular disease and diabetes by taking a tablet or capsule full of synthetic nutrients.  They recover by changing their diet to whole foods and plenty of them, along with exercise.  Comparing whole foods with a synthetic-based ration balancer or a vitamin-mineral supplement is like comparing apples to oranges, or more truthfully, like comparing an apple to a hard candy treat.

Here is an article on whole foods versus processed foods and supplements.

The Top Five Whole Food Herbs for the Horse

If I cannot convince an owner to improve the quality of the forage being fed to their horse, or they cannot afford it or cannot acquire the forage, then it is time to add in whole foods, usually in their herb or powdered form.  Even some horses that are being fed a high-quality forage such as alfalfa or an alfalfa mix can still benefit from the addition of whole food herbs for various reasons.

As a caveat, before diving into this list, most of these herbs can be supplemented at a starting dose of 2 tbsp per day, then increasing, dependent upon the effect and the desired result.  It is always wise to monitor the horse’s feces, making sure loose stools do not develop, which would be an indication that digestive health or the digestive fire could use a boost.

All of these whole foods are ‘cooling’ in nature, which means they help to quench inflammation but also cool the body down in times of excess internal or external heat.  Given they are cooling, they can be a problem for some horses with weakened digestion, so again, monitor the feces and add the appropriate digestive formula, such as Cur-OST EQ Tri-GUT or one of the Secondvet Gut Blends to the regimen.

Additionally, all of these whole foods are vital sources of nutrition, some more than others.  It is difficult to readily convey the precise nutritional value of each, as to me they are all vital sources.  From my perspective, I choose the food based on the problem being presented, so I personally look at the ‘medicinal value’ of the herbs, more so than the nutritional value.  Nutritional value is a given.

Let’s dive into them and look at each specifically.  All of these herbs are available through the Cur-OST Bulk Ingredients. 

1. Alfalfa Herb Powder – this herb is at the top of my list and in most cases I prefer that the horse consume this incredible food via the forage but when alfalfa forage is not available, we will supplement with the powder.  Alfalfa is full of nutritional value and protein, which can benefit tendons, ligaments, joints, hooves, eyes, and many other parts of the equine anatomy.  From a medicinal point of view, it can help to dry up dampness or fluid accumulations, ease loose stools, and help to detoxify the body of the horse.
2. Barley Grass Powder – this is another powerful green herb or whole food with incredible potential, packed full of nutrition, protein, and fiber.  I view this herb or whole food as being valuable when trying to heal an injury or when bad feet are present with poor growth.  It can dramatically impact digestive health, but also has benefits which can impact mood in the horse, helping to reduce anxiety through GABA like chemicals present in the food.
3. Mung Bean – another herb which is top of my list for many horses.  Mung bean supports kidney and liver function, helping to improve digestive health through inherent nutritional and fiber value, but helps to rebuild the body as well, which is related to the “yin” factor of TCM.  If a horse is already on a high-quality forage, yet demonstrates dryness in the body and feces, then I will add Mung Bean first and see how they respond.  This bean is generally well tolerated and does not normally create gassiness or digestive upset, compared to other beans.
4. Spirulina blue-green algae– this is a very interesting herb, if we want to call it that, but in truth it is a living algae which is packed full of nutrition and phytochemicals.  Spirulina compares to something like barley or green spinach in regards to nutrition, but spirulina has added benefits in regards to general detoxification of the body in the horse.  One issue with spirulina is that it is very cooling, almost cold in nature, and some horses will have digestive issues or loose stools, if this herb is not combined with others.  Spirulina is generally beneficial to those hot natured horses or some anhidrotic horses which have high internal heat and an issue sweating.
5. Green Spinach – this whole food is likely at the top of my list as it is packed full of nutrition and protein.  Additionally, green spinach is one of the highest sources of dietary nitrates, which help to support circulation, tissue health, and performance in the horse.  In fact, we combine green spinach with barley grass powder and beet root in our Cur-OST EQ Nitric Boost for this very reason.  All three are incredible sources of nitrates, not to mention nutrition.

So, there you have it!  Five incredible sources of whole food dietary nutrition for your horse.  In most instances, they can be added to any regimen or when used properly, can eliminate the need for your ration balancers or synthetic-based vitamin-mineral supplements.

Want to learn more???  Check out our book, “Herbs and Whole Foods in the Horse“.

Author:  Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN