Case: Suriya came to me tentatively asking if it was OK to give natural remedies to her horse. She had numerous problems with her horses over the past year and was unhappy with the veterinary treatment they had been given. One vet had told her there was nothing that could be done and another vet had treated her horses for more than a year with no results. In one case, the condition had even worsened.

I informed Suriya that one could treat all animals using herbal and natural methods. In fact, when animals are in the wild this is how they treat themselves. Horses that walk in grassy areas can often be seen sampling bits of herbs from here and there according to their nutritional and health needs. Natural healing can also be used on cats, dogs, rabbits and other domestic pets. In choosing a natural therapy that is right for one’s pet the choices are many. One can chose anything from herbs and homeopathy to color therapy, acupressure and sound therapy. There are even specialized schools for horse acupuncture. I have always used herbal and natural healing on all of my pets and offered my assistance to Suriya.

The first horse she presented me with had suffered from cancerous growths on his body for many years. Since cancerous growths on horses are often not deadly and removing them often results in the spreading of the growths, they are often left on the horse. However, Suriya considered the growths unsightly and some were in areas that were difficult to clean. She wanted to do something for her horse, Sandal, to minimize the growths. Sandal also had a tendency to bite and kick and she wanted to see if she could give him something to minimize his temper tantrums. We decided to use homeopathy on two of the horses as Suriya wanted to use a completely safe and easy method of healing. For this reason she did not want to invest the time to bring an acupuncturist or any other therapist to the stables. I agreed to take a case on her horses and send her to the farm with the appropriate homeopathic remedies in a water bottle. This water could then be added to the water bucket of the horse who would then consume it.

Sandal had growths on his body

I explained to Suriya that homeopathy works on an energetic level and not on a physical level so that horses, like children are especially sensitive to the effects of homeopathy. When a remedy is administered it resonates with the energy vibration of the body it is working on and promotes healing. When the correct remedy is given the vibrations are in sync and the best healing results are obtained. However, if an incorrect remedy is given there is no synchronization, and thus no healing.

We chose for Sandal the remedy Staphysagria. Staphysagria is indicated for growths, especially in the genital areas and is also indicated where emotions are often suppressed resulting in outbursts. Since Sandal was a pony that appeared gentle but tended to have emotional outbursts of stubbornness or anger, this remedy seemed to fit him well. We also gave Sandal the homeopathic remedy for cancers of all kinds, Carcinosin.

The second horse Suriya owned was named Jenna and was older than Sandal. He had suffered from years from cancer as well, but his growths were not lumpy and fleshy as Sandal’s but were open wounds that refused to heal. We started Jenna on a regimen of Calendula cream but he continually rubbed off anything we applied to his wounds. So we started putting Lanolin cream over the calendula, thus forming a second skin and preventing the calendula from being rubbed off easily. We applied this cream twice a day for two weeks and saw promising results but we wanted to assist the situation with an internal remedy. We gave Jenna Calendula Remedy by water, in the same way we had given Sandal the remedy. We also gave Jenna an internal remedy of thiosinaminum and applied external applications of this oil once a day as well. Thiosinaminum is a specific remedy for dissolving scar tissues and growths and healing wounds that will not heal.

jenna is a gentle horse

The third horse, Hunter, was the most gentle of all the horses and very patient. He seemed to deal with any situation quite well, including being moved, being examined by the vet or being surprised by a noise. He did not seem to have any personality problems. However, when he had arrived at the stables he arrived with severe hoof damage from bad hoof care, a bad shoe and laminitis. His hoof was cut back and Suriya was told that she could not ride him until the hoof grew back, which would be up to three months. She had been giving him a special dietary formula to enhance hoof growth, but she also wanted to give him a remedy to inspire more growth, a healthier hoof and perhaps a remission of the laminitis.

I instructed Suruya to add scoop of dried comfrey herb to his feed every day to help assist in the healing of the area. Comfrey is an herb that assists in healing bones, ligaments and muscle tissue as well as helping to inspire quicker growth of the hair and nails. We also administered Thuja and Calc Carb to Hunter, Thuja is good for horses that have a fat body, as Hunter does and Calc Carb is good for horses that are generally friendly but can have a slow and pushy side to them. Thuja is also good for areas of pain that are small and localized.

Suriya has reported improvement in all the horses as is looking forward to continuing the therapies and seeing more improvement. She enjoyed the ease in which she could administer the homeopathic medicines and was very happy with the results.