Robert McDowell's Herbal Treatments
20 April 2003
First Aid and Rehabilitation Advice for Horses affected by Bush Fires
Over the past few months I have had numerous clients contact me regarding the steps they can take to heal the various problems they have been experiencing with their horses as a result of the bush fires. Especially perhaps in the case of the fires in and around Canberra as this one caught everyone by surprise.
The very first advice I give is to treat the horses for shock:
Bear in mind that your horse is a herd animal and he is a flight animal. All his instincts and behaviours revolve around this simple fact. We train him by utilising his tendency to move away and by becoming his herd boss, so that he will follow our lead.
His instincts however, in the case of a bushfire are very strong and very clear, and they are to flee. Without human domestication and fencing and all the rest, he would really be in little danger. He would respond to fire by following his herd leader, who would have probably had experience with fires before, and they would run like hell and get away from the danger. Even in the event that the herd leader was not about or injured, your horse would have an overwhelming instinctual urge to flee and he would do so, alone if necessary.
We have all experienced horses going through fences or otherwise injuring themselves seriously in situations where they are attempting to get away from something or other.
The homeopathic preparation Rescue Remedy is therefore your immediate first aid. This comes in liquid form and should form the most important part of your first aid kit. A small amount should be introduced preferably directly into the mouth at regular intervals from the first signs of agitation and repeated frequently. In the sort of situation faced by those managing their stock for a period of threatened fire I recommend making up a diluted solution of rescue remedy in plain water and carrying this around with you in a pump spray. In this way you are able to simply squirt a spray at the mouth and nose of your horse regularly and this is perfectly satisfactory.
Rescue Remedy will settle the spiral of panic energy, which wells up in all of us in the face of danger and is especially severe in the case of your animal if he is locked up or confined in the presence of a danger, which he knows he should be running away from.
You should know that an experience like this could affect your horse's nervous system and physical health forever and more profoundly that it would affect your own.
In any case of present bushfire threat and, if there were any chance at all of moving your horses to another safer place, this should be your first response.
Physical wounds and damage through smoke inhalation will all heal. However your horse's nervous system and behaviours or a situation where he suffers from a severe stress colic induced by panic may well compromise your horses health, wellbeing and performance for many years.
Don't leave home without your Rescue Remedy.
First Aid for Wounds:
Nowadays I am recommending that Wheat Grass spray to which you have added a few drops of Rescue Remedy is the best immediate first aid for a wound. This is the other thing you can carry around with you as your visit your stock while you have them locked up in the event of a fire in the area.
Cuts, abrasions and puncture wounds will all respond well to a squirt of the Wheat Grass spray in the first instance while you assess the condition and before doing anything else.
There you are then, with a pump spray in each hand, spraying Rescue Remedy in the mouths or noses of all your horses every half hour or less and squirting Wheat Grass into any wound as you come across it.
Deep cuts or wounds of course need further attention and I usually recommend a combination of Yarrow and Calendula (or a similar Antiseptic/ Styptic preparation) to prevent sepsis and to assist in sealing off blood vessels leaking into a wound. A squirt directly from an eyedropper into such a wound and then leave it for a while, is the best and least intrusive approach upon first finding your horse in this condition.
Of course, when I am making up my Antiseptic/ Styptic preparations I include a few drops of Rescue Remedy in the mixture as a matter of course.
Rescue Remedy:
I know I am rather labouring the point here about Shock treatment but I don't want to assume that everyone out in the general public is aware of this amazing treatment.
Certainly members of the medical public are not routinely using Rescue Remedy in their surgeries and rescue units and operating theatres although the treatment has been well known and well proven since the 1930's.
This amazes me, as this simple safe treatment will improve the outcome of every medical emergency involving shock. This covers the whole spectrum all the way from heart attacks and strokes, motor vehicle accidents, panic due to fear or shock or your child running into the corner of the kitchen bench.
Smoke Inhalation Damage or resultant Cough:
Smoke inhalation can set up an irritation which can result in a persistent cough which is really a sign that your horses system is trying to clear an over production of mucous in the lungs or bronchiales or hardened scabs forming over areas of irritation.
To prevent any long-term problems it is also important to soothe and to support the healing or damage to all the sensitive tissues involved in the upper respiratory system.
All well formulated herbal treatments for coughs or colds involve the use of astringent herbs to thin and break up thickened mucus such as Yarrow or Lemon and mucilaginous herbs to soften and loosen such scabs or debris left in the bronchial tubes such as Kelp, Liquorice or Marshmallow for example.
I would recommend either making up something simple in the way of a herbal effusion containing Kelp, Lemon, Rosehips and Garlic for example and adding this to feed.
Otherwise secure a professionally made mix in a glycerine, alcohol or cider vinegar base, which will include a more comprehensive range of herbs and give your horse a course of this extending over 4 to 6 weeks, or at least 3 weeks longer than it takes to clear the cough symptoms.
The inclusion of Rosehips and Garlic in such a mix is to ensure that the immune system and adrenal reserves receive a boost and that any opportunistic infection taking advantage of the situation is thwarted.
Burns First Aid and Treatment
Aloe Vera Gel is the simplest, most soothing and most effective method of sealing an area of burned tissue from the air to prevent oxidation and serum loss and to support the early stages of healing. It is best not to treat a burn with the Wheat Grass Spray in the first instance but to cover the area with Aloe Vera Gel, which can be prepared at home by simply mashing a fresh leaf of Aloes under your heel if necessary, and getting the gluey liquid onto the burn.
Remember speed is important, so don't worry about the niceties of juicing or straining your Aloes, mash it up as quickly and effectively as you can, and get it onto the wound.
Commercial preparations of Aloes in Gel or Juice form store for long periods in your refrigerator and you should always have some on hand as part of your first aid kit if you are not growing the herb yourself.
Rescue Remedy in the mouth, Aloes on the burn and then have some Rescue Remedy yourself. Then sit down and allow your horse to calm down as well so you can assess the situation for a while before you do anything else at all.
A panicky owner ramming a panicked horse into a float and speeding off down the road in search of a Vet, is not a good idea.
The Aloes is as good or better first aid as your Vet can provide and there are very good reasons not to introduce a whole lot more stress at this particular moment, into your own and your horse's life.
Burned Hooves:
Horses can't rest their feet for long and so they have to keep using them even if they are burned or otherwise damaged. This along with the lack of circulation to the hoof, can cause a relatively minor condition to develop into a more severe condition like founder or pedal osteosis in those cases where a severe breakdown of the hoof occurs.
In other words, you should always actively treat any hoof injury because it does have the potential to escalate into more serious problems.
First aid treatment for all cases of burned hooves is to smear them all over with Aloes and keep it up with repeated applications as far as practicable for the first few hours.
You should then identify the areas, which are actually tender or appear to be burned. Normally the burns will be on the frog but there could be burns on the coronet or above. After a few hours it would be wise to begin treating those areas of the hoof not affected with specially formulated oil containing healing herbs and circulatory tonics to support the additional circulation required for healing.
In the early stages chemical painkillers such as "Bute" may be used, but they should quickly be replaced or supported by herbal anti-inflammatory internal treatment, with a view of weaning the horse away from the drugs, which can have severe side effects after even a short time.
Your horse should still be able to feel some pain so he can choose which legs to favour and how much movement is enough without overdoing it. This is another disadvantage of orthodox drugs and they are able to mask pain to such an extent as you horse can do itself further harm and may have to be locked up to prevent this happening. Such confinement can be to the detriment of healing, as a horse must be encouraged to move about as much as it is able to in order that the circulation through the injured tissue is maximised.
I would recommend a small yard with soft and suitable surface or a small grassed paddock is probably ideal. (Maybe even the front lawn of your home with suitable temporary fencing).
Continue with Aloes over the burned areas and maybe the hoof wall and parts of the frog which are not burned treated with the oil mentioned above, two or three times daily for the first few days, and then once per day afterward as the pain begins to reduce.
Stress Induced Colic:
Your horse's digestive system can suffer a stressed induced colic, which is really nothing more than a muscular spasm-causing blockage, which can result in a twisted bowel or worse, and can be life threatening.
If your horse has been in a state of panic for some time there is a very real danger of colic developing. It is therefore imperative to try and reduce and dissipate the panic as soon as possible.
This is one of the most important reasons for repeated doses of Rescue Remedy. You can also further relax the digestive system by giving doses of cold Chamomile Tea either via a drench if this can be done without further stressing the animal or by dampening down all feed with cold Chamomile Tea.
Once again, if your horse has been prepared for the taste of Chamomile by previous exposure, it will not be difficult to add the tea to his water and feed without risking rejection or further stress.
I know that the bush fires have abated for the season in most places. However there is no harm in picking up parts of the program recommended above to deal with remaining problems and administering a few doses of Rescue Remedy even long after a shock, is still valuable in allowing all systems to return to normal.
All the treatment approaches above apply for longer standing conditions as well as for the first aid treatment.
If for example your horse's respiratory system was affected leaving a persistent cough you can still treat that cough with the same program and expect your horse to recover.
The case of Codi, a riding school horse in Canberra, whose system was weakened by the bushfires the previous year is a good example of what can be done.
Robert McDowell
Equine Herbalist.
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