Horse Myths & Legends

[stano40]

I don't know if this topic has ever been asked and I thought it would be interesting to find out some old time methods of caring for horses.

A few years ago I talked with a woman who told me her grandfather in Texas used to give her horse a cigarette once a month to deworm him. She told him about the new medications on the market to deworm him but he just said Nope.

Anybody else know of any tips, myths or legends that were once used in horse care?

bob

 

[paintponylvr]

I don't know about them being a myth or old wives' tale, but I have several that I use for wounds that work as good and sometime better than products purchased at a feed store or special horse store. Most folk actually have these on hand!

On leg wounds and body wounds - when they first happen and have been washed - you can pack it with plain old table sugar. The serum from the wound reacts w/ the sugar and will actually repel flies while healing. Hair seems to grow back faster, too, once the wound is closed.

on lower leg wounds - to help faster healing and prevent proud flesh - we would scrub the wound with a brush, scrubby or even a new toilet brush (the vet clinic I worked at kept them on hand). Then they would be packed inside w/ meat tenderizer (be prepared - it HURTS - and some will raise leg sharply or they will kick out hard) and then put Preperation H around the outside perimeter of the wound (promotes "shrinkage" and helps the edges come together much faster - also preventing proud flesh from forming).

I was told, as a kid, to use plain bacon grease on wounds or scrapes to promote hair growth. Our family kept bacon grease separate from other fats/greases and we cooked bacon every weekend so we always had a supply of "clean" bacon grease. It was messy but it seemed to work. Now, with my family, I don't have a tendency to do as much bacon and we don't keep it separate either so we don't use it.

The over the counter horse coat product MTG smells somewhat like bacon grease/barbque but i understand the scent is from sulfur not grease. It is greasy like bacon grease though.

During the winter, in CO, when riding we usually packed our horses' hooves with lard. We kept a tub in our outdoor fridge (kept temps more even then out on the shelf in the freezing weather in the tack room) and used it before taking horses out in the snow once saddled. If we noticed hooves "balling up" on pasture horses, we'd pull them in and pack their hooves as well. Funny - haven't used it here where lard is much more plentiful - but then it doesn't so much "ball up" as just freezes solid here...

Either olive oil or even WD-40 sprayed/combed thru the tail/mane to remove cockle burrs.

I know of others... cant' think of them right now.

 

[amysue]

My father in law is in his late 70's and he always shares hid old-time wisdom with us. He has even shared his old (100+ y/o) horse care books with us filled with old remedies. He still puts diesel on ringworm. He will tie a horse out in the brook to let the water run over the hooves if he suspects founder. He keeps a can of bacon grease in the fridge for wounds too. He has all sorts of recipes for linements and embrocations that he swears by (most contain witch hazel or menthol alcohol). His methods may be old fashioned, but many people in our community still call him up for help with a problem they cant solve or if conventional methods haven't worked. I am certainly grateful to have him around for help even if there are more modern ways to do things.

 

[MindyLee]

Used motor oil on dried hooves to soften them.

Shot of Hard whiskey to calm a bouncy stud

Or a shot to settle in upset belly or ease pain for a mare right after giving birth.

 

[paintponylvr]

OOOOO - some neat ideas there!

Interesting that the bacon grease was used in a different part of the country! Here in NC, I haven't had the running water available - but often have filled water tanks where they aren't on straight sand and have the horses/ponies stand in a "hoof bath". We also used the running water idea in CO on horses with injured tendons/ligaments. I've often dreamed of having some type of water pool to walk, drive or swim our ponies thru here in NC - but can't come up with a good idea that would work and be affordable for us... Several of our ponies will cross water obstacles and/or swim in a pond or the Cape Fear River.

I'd forgotten about the used motor oil - we used that almost exclusively when I was growing up and always had good conditioned hooves. I wonder now - but 1 -we don't change the oil/keep it ourselves anymore and 2 - I've been told that the metal fragments in the oil would be bad (don't remember that being an issue when we were kids?)...

Does the shot of whiskey really make a difference - in either case?

AmySue - do you have a way to copy or scan some of those books so that treatments are kept/carried forward into future years?

I also still keep Vicks in my grooming supplies and will use it when working with stallions around mares when NOT breeding.

 

[amysue]

Let me see if I can upload photos or scans of the pages.

 

[bevann]

My dad used embalming fluid or horses feet for thrush I think. Had to get it from local undertaker.Now I think it is a controlled item.Asked my boarder who is a mortician and he said it is restricted.

 

[Minimor]

Used motor oil is a carcinogen so not something I would use no matter how well it seems to work.

 

[Tony]

When I was a kid, my dad fed our horses chewing tobacco as a wormer. He never chewed, but bought it for the horses. I never used "modern" wormer until after I was married.

 

[amysue]

Speaking of motor oil...a friend of mine in college used to swear by it as a tanning lotion!!! We used to tell her "you're going to have cancer, like, tonight". Plus she smelled like a grease monkey whenever we went to the beach. I like to use our waste cooking oil on hooves since we save it for a friend who runs bio oil. It has always worked for me. We burn waste oil from all of the trucks and tractors in a waste oil burner to heat the tractor garage/shop. I think that some old-time remedies are awesome, but some others are not safe by todays standards...I think that if it worked they stuck with it without knowing about side effects or long term risks.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

A friend always gave whiskey to a colicky horse. It worked! She was in her 70s, I believe, when I met her.

Grandpap used to tease me when my horse got "plugged up", I'd have to stick my hand up there with a bar of soap to clean him out. No, Pap, that's why I have a vet....

Tobacco was a dewormer.

 

[amysue]

Okay, I found some of my old horse care books. The 1906 edition of "Diseases of the Horse" published by the US Bureau of Animal Industry has chapters on how to deal with injuries and diseases of every system within the horses body.

I FEEL COMPELLED TO MENTION THAT THESE BOOKS ARE OLD AND MOST OF THE REMEDIES OUTDATED. I DONT RECOMMEND USING THEM!! Sorry for the all caps, just want it made clear that im posting from the old books just for the purpose of sharing what used to be thought to be effective. I do not suggest using these treatments. I just enjoy reading the old books and looking at the old engravings. As I dig out more books I'll add more of the "remedies" for amusement only obviously.

Some of the treatments include: for corneal ulcer; mix sugar and lead (30 grains) with two tsp laudanum and a pint of boiled rain water soaked into a linen cloth and applied to the affected eye. To reduce eye swelling, apply two drops of silver nitrate with a hen's feather directly to the inside eyelid.

For constipation: a laxative of 1 1/2pints of raw linseed oil and 1 pint warm rainwater injected into the rectum.

For lice and mange: mix one dram carbolic acid with 2 1/2 oz water and apply to the coat.

For internal patasites: boil 1 oz tobacco witj 2 pints water and administer orally

For bots or maggots: apply a coat of oil of tar, carbolic acid and sweet oil to the skin

For fly spray: mix 1part carbolic acid, 20 parts sweet oil and glycerin, one oz baking soda in a quart of water

 

[rabbitsfizz]

There are some very dangerous suggestions on here so please do always ALWAYS check with your Vet before doing anything at all suggested. Tobacco does not work as a wormer. Diesel will cause horrendous burns and motor oil is, as has been mentioned, carcinogenic !

 

[Performancemini]

My Dad used to peel the tobacco out of a cigarette to feed to our pony occasionally (we still wormed). My sister and I were just talking about that. She had recently asked her vet about it. She said that years (years) ago when tobacco was a good fresh plant and cigarettes didn't have filters and flavors and such in them they weren't real harmful; but nowadays there would be no way you should feed the tobacco out of them to a horse.

We used "clean" (strained) bacon grease on a horse's healed over wound as a teen and the hair did come in pretty well. Don't know what the idea behind it is. I am a strong believer in Vetricyn products myself, as is my sister and the stable owner she boards with.

We used to stand our pony, who had the problem of trying to founder on us in the spring, in cold wet mud if she showed signs of it coming on (plus keeping her on a dry lot).

 

[BSharpRanch]

My second cousin used honey on all open wounds. Then used bacon grease on them as they scabbed over to keep moist. He explained that honey is a natural antibiotic and that bacon grease contained something else natural to help with skin and hair regrowth. Our vet sold us vetricin to use on our stallion's major injury. Big waste of hard earned dollars. We used scarlet oil on it and it healed amazingly!

 

[HGFarm]

The idea of using tobacco for wormer is an old remedy, long before effective wormers were created. I doubt that it actually has any benefit to doing what people think it did- or certainly wasn't like the choices we have today. But they also didnt have anything to choose from back then either! LOL

We have always used plain old vaseline on (dry) wounds after they have scabbed over and it usually heals things without a scar, or very minimal. Also, Wonder Dust mixed in with vaseline is a perfect ointment for things like wire cuts and other wounds- same thing- no proud flesh or scarring. IT WORKS.

 

[MindyLee]

When I have a colicy horses, I give it a mixture of Phillips and minieral oil and 2 baby enimas.

Dose the job every time.

 

[sfmini]

In Florida, we used burnt motor oil on fungus.

I remember the tobacco worming method from way way back.

Formaldihyde (SP?) is very effective on severe thrush but you have to be very careful and use sparingly as it will dry out the foot rock hard.

One we do pay attention to, and it does seem to be somewhat true is that mares foal on the full moon. Reminds me, have to check when the next one is, we have one mare who just hasn't "popped" yet.

 

[atotton]

On leg wounds and body wounds - when they first happen and have been washed - you can pack it with plain old table sugar. The serum from the wound reacts w/ the sugar and will actually repel flies while healing. Hair seems to grow back faster, too, once the wound is closed.

I am a vet tech and sugar and honey are often used to enhance healing and reduce scar tissue in wounds. I have only had success with using this method of wound debridement and healing. Honey has natural levels of hydrogen peroxide that aid in wound cleaning and healing. Unpasteurized honey works the best.

 

Years ago we used to use Betadine mixed with sugar as a treatment for bedsores in the hospital and nursing home. Worked like a charm every time. Just pack it in the hole, cover loosely with gauze, and it fills from the inside out with no proud flesh. I've used it here for years on the horses, dogs, and my family. I've used honey on shallow scrapes and cuts with good success also. But I still like the Betadine and sugar for deep wounds/holes that need to fill. And once the wound has healed, I still puncture a Vitamin E capsule and squeeze the oil on the wound. Usually heals without scarring and the hair grows back just fine.