Horses
After having such a success with my own horse (see Shannon's
After one to two years, I started to have feed back from some of our farriers:
" …much healthier feet..."
"…shoes staying on better…"
"…white line disease (seedy toe ) is disappearing…"
"… horses are quieter, easier to handle…"
One vet said that there had been an 80% reduction in foot abscesses in the area with owners using minerals. I now have testimonials from customers who have had great success using minerals to clear up and help control things such as: - warts - dandruff - mud fever
- lice - infertility - ringbone
- flighty horses - stringhalt - fungal conditions
- arthritis - rain scald - split and cracking feet
- manes and tails not growing - strange skin conditions
Minerals For Horses
-Seaweed Harvested from the West Coast of Tasmania - pollution free-Dolomite Mined on the North West Cost of Tasmania - balanced calcium and magnesium
-Sulphur
-Copper Sulphate
-Cider Vinegar For Potassium - organic, or unpasteurised
-Epsom Salts For Magnesium
-Rock Salt
Vitamins
-Vitamin C - Injectable and powdered (for feed supplementation)
-Vitamin B 12 - Injectable
-Vitamin B complex - Injectable
-Vitamin E - Injectable and powdered (for feed supplementation)
-V.A.M. - Injectable and paste
Herbs
- Herbal ointments- Garlic powder
- Brewers Yeast powder
- Wormwood (Herbal Wormer)
- Saddlery
Minerals And Pasture
Why do animals eat the bark of trees and fences? They are looking for minerals. Tree roots go deep into the soil to absorb minerals, which are then present in the bark. Have you ever seen horses eating the ground or licking you? No, they are not being affectionate - they are looking for minerals. Also, have you seen animals eating one another's tails? This is because small traces of minerals are found in the tail hair.
Minerals can be regarded as the foundation stones of a healthy metabolism. Minerals will control the body's chemical balance which is called homeostasis. Minerals are the structural framework in the body and work together in balance to provide the framework in which vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids can do their job.
For grazing animals, an important source of minerals is the pasture and grain that they are fed. Unfortunately, if the soil the pasture and grains were grown on is lacking in minerals or unbalanced, grazing animals are unable to access minerals in the correct balance to keep them healthy.
No matter how lush and green looking the grass may be, if the correct minerals are not available to the plants, then the animals grazing this land will be mineral deficient and problems will occur.
Feeding individual minerals is not usually recommended. The mineral balance in grazing animals is a very delicate affair - too much of one mineral can cause toxicity. Is there a safe method of ensuring balanced mineral intake for grazing animals? Yes … Seaweed!
Minerals in the soil are leached out by rain and water and end up in our rivers, which in turn carry them out to sea. Far out in the deep ocean grows the bull kelp which takes in the minerals and eventually is broken off and washed up on our shores. It is harvested, dried and ground into seaweed powder or granules. We feed this to our animals or put it onto our soils and thus the minerals are returned. Seaweed contains an amazing amount of trace minerals in a safe organic form and in balance - thus no toxicity can occur.
"Australia appears to be the only country in the world, with the exception of one to two localities such as the Texas Panhandle (USA) and part of Wales (UK), where there are serious inherent soil deficiencies. The minerals most usually lost from millennia of leaching, or, as has happened in Wales, from haphazard surface mining, are calcium, magnesium and sulphur. Iodine is another victim of leaching and all three are in very short supply all over Australia. "
I was first introduced to minerals about ten years ago. At the time my tale begins, I was a 23-year-old gelding who had foundered badly as a three-year-old before my current owner bought me. I had dropped soles and very boxy feet that were very straight and upright at the sides.
My owner managed to prevent me foundering, over the years, by restricting my grass intake in the spring (Bah! Humbug!). But when I turned 23, I was looking a bit thin so my owner decided to double my hours on grass. (Of course, I was very happy about this, until I foundered!)
I was promptly taken off all grass and given some hay and a little chaff and bran. I was put on butazolodin (a pain killer) by the vet. Each two weeks my owner would take me off to see how I was, but after a month I was still in a lot of pain. My owner was at her wit's end.
A neighbour brought my owner down a copy of a book called "Natural Horse Care" by Pat Coleby along with some epsom salts, dolomite and seaweed - this being in the book for treating founder. (I didn't think I'd like this treatment - but I actually enjoyed it - particularly the seaweed, which I couldn't get enough of!)
Within 48 hours I was walking and running around normally even on hard ground. My owner and I were amazed! I had had this problem for most of my life - and now such a simple, safe solution! My owner decided to keep me on the minerals and I was turned out into a paddock with dry older grass (not lush), which was hard to find at that time of year.
After six weeks my owner checked my feet, expecting to find some separation of the outer wall. She just could not believe what she saw (whilst I smugly smiled). She was looking at the healthiest well-shaped foot she had ever seen before on me. There was no separation and instead of the straight-sided foot it was growing outwards like a normal hoof.
I am now 28 years old, and I have had founder free springs for the last five years. I'm a very happy horse!
Owner's Note: Shannon lived to 28 and had normal shaped feet for the last five years of his life. I was sold on minerals and I really promoted this to my customers and hundreds of other foundered horses have responded to this founder therapy just as mine had done. For details on this and other mineral therapies, see "Natural Horse Care" by Pat Coleby.
Canker
Degla was purchased by his present owners about 2 years ago. His feet were in poor condition due to neglect of previous owner. Soon after purchase the new owners discovered a very serious case of canker in all four feet. The vet and blacksmith both advised that the horse be put down. A "can you help" notice was put on a horse site on the Internet. I saw that notice and emailed a reply suggesting the use of minerals as recommended by Pat Coleby, author of a number of books on animals. The book I recommended they purchase was "Natural Horse Care" by this author. The book was sent by airmail from Tasmania and the current owners went to great lengths to find the necessary minerals. Not only did they feed them to Degla but also to the rest of their stud horses. Degla has made great progress and now only has a small area of canker left in one front foot.
The minerals used to treat Degla (as advised by Pat Coleby) were:
small teaspoon of copper sulphate (4 grams)
1 flat tablespoon dolomite powder
1 flat tablespoon flowers of sulphur
1 rounded tablespoon Vit C powder (Ascorbic acid)
1 cup of unpasturised apple cider vinegar
Seaweed meal to eat at liberty (Must be kept dry)
all of the above are given daily.
1 tablespoon of Cod liver oil once a week only
These are usually given in the feed which should be no more than two thirds of a two gallon bucket in total. A good handful of bran should be included in feed. Mix the cider vinegar with the copper sulphate and some warm water to dampen down the feed. Good quality hay should also be available.
A solution of copper sulphate and cider vinegar can also be syringed in the hollows of the hoof help cure and dry the foot out.