108. The power of Garlic

Today i decided to give Spice a day off since we had done quite a bit yesterday and her hoof is still repairing itself. I've been cleaning the exit point of the abscess up and applying some pure garlic paste to it to fend off any infection which i think has really helped, i decided to do this after speaking to my partners sister about it and then reading up more about it on the net...

Garlic has anti-septic, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic effects, reducing blood pressure, improving respiratory problems in horses and acting as a fly repellent -

Garlic is used by many horse and pony owners as a regular equine feed supplement. It contains substances with benefits of pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and reduce swelling.

It is believed that garlic is one of the most effective natural healing substances in the world. It is popularly used, in conjunction with anti-biotics to treat equine respiratory diseases and infections in the horse's lungs.

Garlic is rich in Selenium and Sulphur. Sulphur is recognised as having blood cleansing properties that are useful in treating and preventing equine disease. It is also believed to contain over 25 germ-killing compounds.

Many horse owners feed an equine garlic supplement for its insect repelling qualities - the sweat produced by a horse fed on garlic gives out an odour that keeps flies, ticks and midges away - making it a natural fly repellant.

Horse owners also find feeding garlic useful as part of their equine worming program. Regular feeding of Garlic is effective in deterring tapeworms, pinworms and roundworms - but this should not exclude the use of regular wormers.

Garlic can be used used to give relief from the symptons of coughs - it contains a substance that helps to clear mucus in the airways. This cleansing action, together with its ability to reduce inflammation, also benefits the urinary tract.

The recommended amount to feed is half an ounce to 2 ounces per day depending on the horse or pony's size. It comes in several forms for equine use - powder, freeze dried granules and some herbalists claim freshly grown garlic is the best way to feed it.

The benefits of garlic are many and if you do decide to feed a garlic supplement just be careful not to overdo it.

Spice is booked in for another trim in just under 2 weeks time so i will hopefully be able to do more with her then.

I really want to focus on building up her topline as she has definitely lost some muscle tone over the winter period so i was thinking i could lunge her twice a week with side reins and start schooling her twice a week in the arena.

On the other days i think i will do ground work and jumping at liberty and if all these things go well actually start hacking her out again for 30 mins or so but i don't want to do any of these things until i have the all clear from the barefoot trimmer as the last thing i want to do is risk getting another abscess so i am happy to wait 3 more weeks after all i've already waited 3 months.