The Natural Way - Lotions and Potions
I had promised I’d review the bespoke skincare products I’ve
been using – not on me, but on my horses! It sounds crazy – to pamper my horse
and ponies in this way, but it really came about by accident. Put one person
who has been searching for natural horse products in touch with a local
skincare specialist who believes in using the finest quality and ethically sourced raw botanicals, oils
and butters she can and these natural and organic horse products are the
result. I have been really impressed with Jean Glen's approach to making a product that does what it says on the tin.
Hoof Therapy Balm
Hoof care is one of the
most important aspects of quality horse management. The saying ‘No foot, no
horse’ really is true. There is no
substitute for correct hoof trimming / shoeing and good nutrition to ensure
good hoof growth. The horse is a product
of his environment although some horses genetically have better hoofs than others. When I started testing our bespoke natural
Hoof Therapy Balm, my horses were turned out during the day and stabled
overnight. This was essentially to allow
their feet to ‘dry out’ as their field has been waterlogged and boggy due to
the vast amount of rain we have had. In
the past, I have tended not to use too many hoof products because I worry about
the chemicals used in them. Our horses
are continually facing chemical exposure with fertilisers and sprays, fly
sprays, coat conditioners, wormers, vaccinations etc. It is really scary when you actually take the
time to read exactly what is in some of these products. When I rehomed both the ponies, I was facing
issues with their feet that I hadn’t had with Wolfie and I bought several
different hoof oils/ greases to try out.
In my head I knew what I was looking for and trawled the Internet. It is difficult as many sites don’t actually
tell you exactly what is in the product and it is only when you have bought it
and can read the label that you realise you wish you hadn’t bothered. Any
dressings applied to the feet which contain chemicals will damage the horn and
weaken the horse’s resistance to infection.
However, particularly here in the West of Scotland and with the way the
weather has been, we cannot always provide the optimum environment for our
horses to grow perfect feet. This results in the basic problems faced by many
owners, including myself, such as horses developing laminitis, stone bruises, feet too hard and brittle feed too soft with quarter cracks, thrush, seedy toe and white line disease.
I cleaned out the back of Wolfie’s stable today, here is a
selection of hoof oils/ greases which I have purchased in the last couple of years. Most of them have only been used a handful of
times and some of them never at all. I
keep the horses at a small livery yard.
Most of the owners apply hoof oil.
However, I don’t know of one person at the yard that consistently buys
the same product over and over again.
They tend to use something, finish it and then try something else. We
all seemed to be on an endless search for an elusive product that is both
natural and works.
Wolfie is shod all round, he generally has good feet,
although his feet have also been suffering from the wet conditions and the hoof
walls have become softer. Buttons is
bare foot and suffered from laminitis last year, however his feet have improved
greatly over the last 18 months to the point where he is comfortable walking
over stony ground. Honey is currently
undergoing a long rehabilitation process with her feet. She is also bare foot, but was rescued by the
SSPCA with feet that were so badly overgrown and twisted that she couldn’t
walk. She is growing out laminitic lines
and has separation of the white line which can allow dirt and grit to track up
into her foot. This could cause an abscess and because of the still twisted
shape of her feet, there are many areas on her soles where bacteria can become
trapped. All three are shod/trimmed
every 6 weeks.
Back to the Balm - Buttons and Wolfie had the Hoof Balm
applied to the coronet band, hoof wall and sole (including the frog and heels)
three times a week. With Honey, I need to clean her feet as well as I can daily
and scrape out any trapped dirt and small stones from the holes at her white
line. I knew I needed something which has anti fungal and anti bacterial
properties but that wouldn’t compromise the new healthy growth on the soles of
her feet. These neglected little feet of
hers still make me very sad, although we are making progress with them, but I
wanted to apply something that I knew would not be too harsh, damage the new
growth or weaken the already weak and sensitive structure of her feet. Any treatment that destroys live tissue may
contribute to any problems by creating dead tissue for pathogens to feed
on. I was advised to spray Baktokil into the
holes, but I was wary about this. When I opened the bottle, I got some on my
hand which stung like hell, so needless to say I have not put this anywhere
near her feet. I am attempting to grow
out pretty severe white line problems without the use of a chemical
application. Honey has been having our
bespoke Balm applied every second day.
The Balm is easy to apply and absorbs into the hoof/sole. It penetrates the hoof capsule, and does not
dry out the feet like some products do, which contain tar. It looks natural and smells absolutely
devine. As it contains tea tree oil, it has anti fungal and anti bacterial
properties. It is actually a balm and
not a grease. Many products which are
petroleum based seal in or seal out moisture, applying oils to the point of
where it causes sludge build up can trap bacteria into the hoof. So far, in warm and fairly cold temperatures,
the balm has maintained its consistency.
We are still trialling, but I do think the Balm will moisturise and help
preserve a healthy foot. I am happy to
apply it (I actually enjoy applying it) and I feel confident that it is all
natural ingredients which are penetrating the hoof capsule. Honey is actually
walking better on hard ground better than she ever has! I will certainly be
continuing to use the Balm longer term.
Itch Ointment
I began using the Itch Ointment on the top of Wolfie’s tail. Like many horses, he likes a good scratch and
rubs his tail until it ends up looking like a toilet brush. The vet has always
said that it’s probably a mild form of sweet itch, but he tends to do it in the
winter as well. He has a hugely thick
tail and is very pink skinned. I have
tried various sweet itch remedies and other creams with no success. I applied the Itch Ointment once a day for a
week, to try it. After the third day, he stopped rubbing his tail and the hair
on the top of his tail is growing back in now. I’ve been applying the Ointment
twice a week now, it makes the hair on the top of Wolfie’s tail feel really
nice and he seems to enjoy having it massaged in. Wolfie is very difficult when
it comes to treating any sore areas or cuts as he hates any strong chemical
smell or antiseptic smell including that of fly sprays and creams. Recently,
and much to my despair, Wolfie developed mud fever on his back legs, for the
first time. I have been drying his legs
off, gently brushing the mud off and massaging the itch Ointment into his legs. It helped to soften the scabs, within a few
days his legs were much less hot and inflamed, the scabs came off and there was
new intact skin underneath. I was really
impressed, mud fever can be an absolute nightmare to clear up and I was
imagining that was going to be him with it all through winter. Wolfie also
stood rock still and let me massage the Ointment into him. It certainly beats the age old remedy of
washing the legs with something like Hibi Scrub and lathering Sudo Cream on. I get quite bad dermatitis on my hands from
touching hay etc and my hands were quite bad and very sore. After a few days of applying the Ointment to
Wolfie’s legs, my hands had started to heal.
I hadn’t been putting anything else on them, so it must have been the Itch
Ointment. It didn’t sting any parts of
my hands so I know that it wouldn’t have irritated Wolfie. The Ointment is
really good in the respect that when you apply it, it does absorb into the skin
and does not end up matted in the coat meaning nothing will stick to it. I have been using it as a sort of multi
purpose cream and it is certainly doing everything I want it to. It has anti bacterial properties, it soothes,
moisturises and repairs the skin. It too also smells absolutely wonderful. I
have been product testing the Hoof Therapy Balm and the Itch Ointment so have
obviously using them over anything else. However, these are now the two items
in my grooming kit that I will continue to be reaching for first.
Summary
Both the hoof therapy balm are nicely packaged in robust
containers, they have survived the Buttons test (he knocks everything
over). In terms of cost, I think they
probably work out a little more expensive than other brands available, however
taking into consideration the amount I have spent on products that I have
barely used, to me they are a much better investment. It is worth the extra to
have the peace of mind that I am applying only natural ingredients onto them
and also the added bonus of having a hand cream too! I will be continuing to
use both and will be monitoring the effects of the Balm over the next few
months to allow for more substantial amounts of growth in their feet and to see
the effects. I really don’t have anything negative to say about either product
and would recommend them to anyone who wanted to use natural products and give
their horse a little pampering. I also
think they would make lovely gifts for any horse mad people in your life,
practical as well as being a little bit special. I would certainly be delighted
if I received these for Christmas.
Do post or message if you’d like more details re ordering
etc. and we will put you in touch with our skincare specialist, Jean.
