My aim here is to advice on herbs that may be beneficial to the horse to both prevent laminitis and to aid recovery. I cannot stress strongly enough that prevention is better then cure. Supplements should not be used to replace a balance diet but instead to aid it. Please seek professional advice if you are all concerned over your horses well being.
Laminitis can be caused by many different elements, the main one being the consumption of a diet to rich for the horse. Any breed can develop laminitis.
Prevention is better then cure. - Ensure you horse has a balanced diet, correct feeding is a science and a skill learned over time, each horses needs differ and you have to calculate what works for your horse. Two of the most important points to remember is keep the gut working, feeding roughage little and often and giving the horse a supplement to aid gut bacteria such as Equus Health Healthy Gut, which works on the hind gut where the absorption of fibre occurs. The Next point to consider is that the horse is receiving all the vitamins and minerals they need, especially has most horses prone to laminitis will be on restricted grazing. Equus Health Everyday Balancer is Ideal for this.
Laminitis is predominantly a reduction of blood flow to the hoof and a build up of toxins with in the body, resulting in swelling to the sensitive laminae and therefore pain
Natural supplements that can aid prevention are,
nettles, clivers, comfrey and Hawthorn leaves or berries to aid the blood circulation and the lymphatic system.
Dandelion to aid the Kidneys and liver in reducing toxins.
Cinnamon - is known to help with the breakdown of sugars within the blood
Natural supplements to feed the horse suffering from would be those above plus
Devils claw - as a natural pain relief
Burdock - encourages tissues to rid accumulated toxins, it is important to add that burdock should be fed with herbs that will support the body in ex-paling these toxins
Garlic - helps to improve circulation and clear the blood
Milk thistle - protects and supports the liver, this is more recommended for those where laminitis has been brought on by drugs.
I have included a link to Hedge Mix has this contains a lot of the ingredients listed above along with Echinacea which boosts the immune system and rosehips that are high in vitamin C.
I hope this is useful please drop me an email if you would like further advise natalie@nvequine.org
