Homeopathic treatments - do they work?

I was at my wits end last autumn (fall) when my normally clam horse was like a crazy horse! He was delusional and running around the paddocks - quickly turning them into mud. He was only happy while tied up with me standing next to him. He was not even calm in a yard.

I tried all the usual stuff - toxin binder, magnesium, valerian... but they didn't even touch the sides as far as making him calmer. He was always sweating and never eating so losing weight quickly - clearly this was not a healthy way for him to be in.

I finally found a book on Homeopathic Treatments for horses and called the author and described his symptoms to her. She sent me two bottles of clear liquid with instructions.

Two days later he was calm and out eating with the others.!!

I just got the news letter in the mail and wanted to share some of their remedies with you;

Rye Grass Staggers - GS node, then Minerals and Stramonium for delusional symptoms like my boy had.
Facial Eczema; FE node, Minerals, Hypericum, and Chelidonium

For us
Arnica for injuries and exhaustion
Apis for bee stings
Vespa  - wasp stings
Belladonna - sunburn
Sol - prevenative for sunburn - horses and humans

For more information go to www.farmsupport.co.nz 

Mycotoxins in grasses - how it effects horses

From time to time you may notice behavioural changes in your horse, for no obvious reason. If these changes include more than a few of the following symptoms, your horse may be suffering from the effects of grass mycotoxins.

• General grumpiness
• An unwillingness to be touched or tensing up and reacting when touched, especially around chest and thorax
• Appears somewhat 'stiff', stepping short behind.
• Cinchiness/girthiness, not standing for saddling/mounting,
• General grumpiness when ridden (e.g. pinning ears, swishing tail, etc),
• Tightness, tenseness, impulsiveness, wanting to run off,
• Can't use your legs,
• Reaching around to bite the girth when ridden.
• Seems to be stiff especially in the hindquarters
• Uncomfortable to ride, bunny-hops at the canter
• Crossfires
• Touchy around ears, difficulty with bridling,
• Jumps away suddenly when attempting to halter 
• Sore across the loins
• Excessive aggressiveness towards you or other horses 
• Excessive herd bound behaviour (irrationally attached to another horse). 
• Bucking (quite violent and 'out of the blue'),
• Galloping off in short bursts,
• 'Nutty' or 'ballistic' behaviour.
• Excessive spookiness/alertness,
• Shies away when approached, hard to catch,
• 'Spaced out', 'wired', 'not there', hallucinating,
• Eyesight seems to be affected, can't judge jumps,
• Overly claustrophobic, extremely sensitive to noise (reluctant to ride close to the arena wall, rushes off the float, etc).

Staggers related:

• Heavy on the forehand, stumbling over nothing
• Standing 'base-wide'
• Difficulty backing up, out of floats, etc
• Discomfort walking downhill
• Slightly drunk or 'spaced out' looking
• Uncoordinated movement, staggering
• Laying down a lot in the paddock
• Dragging back feet, reluctant to go forward
• Reluctant to canter, won't canter.

and Heat Stress related

• Quickly overheats when you put covers on,
• Running madly around paddock for no reason (while other horses aren't),
• Slamming into fences/gates
• Excessive sweating, white sweat
• smelly sweats
• Sweating in unusual places (e.g. on top of rump, patches on upper neck),
• General agitation
• Fence walking

All of these symptoms can be attributed to mycotoxins in the grasses. Mycotoxins means Fungal Poisons. I found with my horses the Ergot Fungus in paspalum created a hallucinogenic type symptom as well in my horse.

It's very scary because your horse is no longer the horse you know and love - they seem bi-polar and crazy.

Treatment

• Add salt to the diet - most diets are short on salt and high in potassium which cannot be excreted through urine without enough salt. Initially for a full size horse 2 tablespoons a day increasing to 3-4.
• Get a good toxin binder - for example Mycosorb.
• Add Magnesium Oxide to the feed - 2 Tablespoons per day at least. Dolomite is not as readily bio-available.
• Get a Homeopathic remedy 'Stramonium' 30c and give 5mls twice a day in the mouth
• Remove from grass until symptoms subside.