Case Study: Healing Acute Musculoskeletal Injury
Injuries are always scary. Fortunately though, there are many amazing herbal allies who can help us tend to our horses so they can heal quickly and optimally.
In late July of this year, I arrived at the barn after being out of town for a few days to see that my big mustang Rowan was barely able to put weight on his left front leg. It’s one of those things that horse guardians worry about nonstop the moment you have to travel - an horse emergency. Colic, lameness, oh my. There’s a whole lotta ways for horses to hurt themselves, unfortunately. And in the case of my horse Rowan, it seems he’s been especially injury- or illness-prone. As they say though, pain is a powerful teacher. The silver lining of rehabbing my horse through his list of injuries is that it’s taught me a lot about holistic remedies that are safe and effective to use in rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries.
First things first, if your horse has been injured it’s important to involve your veterinarian in your course of action. The herbal and alternative remedies I explore in this article are not substitutes for care from a licensed medical professional. That said, the remedies I cover here are amazing to use as soon as you notice the injury, and can be safely used without supervision while you wait for your vet to arrive.
Now onto what you came here to read about: my tried and true alternative remedies for treating musculoskeletal injuries and lameness.
#1 | Arnica 30c Homeopathic Remedy
Arnica Montana is an incredible herb that’s used extensively to relieve inflammation, musculoskeletal pain, bruised tissues, and even help accelerate wound healing.
Arnica Montana is currently an endangered species, therefore it is important to not buy this herb if it’s labeled “wildcrafted” - that means it’s been harvested in the wild. In order to protect the wild growing plant, it should only be sold commercially if it’s been sustainably grown and harvested. That’s a big reason I advise people to buy the homeopathic remedy instead of other preparations of the plant, as homeopathic remedies are highly diluted forms of herbal and other substances that encourage the body’s innate healing processes. Homeopathically prepared remedies are often made into little pellet-like pills which are administered orally.
To feed Arnica homeopathic remedy to your horse, you can hollow out a carrot and put the pills inside, then feed it to your horse. You can also dissolve the pellets in a syringe and then feed the mixture to your horse, or let them dissolve in their water.
The dosage for this remedy is highly individual. The human dosage is listed on the bottle. I increase the dosage by 2 for horses, and feed 2-3x a day. Frequency of dosage depends on how the horse is responding to the remedy. Oftentimes, a few days is sufficient to let this remedy kick in, and see pain being relieved. I give this remedy to my horse as soon as I notice swelling, lameness, or that they’re experiencing pain. Similarly, you can even start this remedy pre-surgery to prepare the body for the trauma and help to quicken post-op recovery.
In the case study with my injured horse back in August, I began using Arnica on day 2 of the injury (I usually keep a bottle in my purse, but I had run out as my Dad had a hip replacement surgery in July and I’d given him my travel bottle). I gave him twice daily doses for five days.
#2 | Achey Breaky Body Oil
One of my homemade remedies that’s been years in the making - years of using herbals to support many cases of fractures and breaks suffered by loved ones. I’m shameless about promoting this formula, because while I make it myself, it’s really a tried and true blend of incredible herbs which have been used for centuries to expedite healing of wounds, aches, and you guessed it, breaks.
My Achey Breaky Body Oil contains:
Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Each and every one of these herbs needs (and will one day get) their own dedicated post. But for now, let’s just say that if you only have room for a handful of herbs in your medicine cabinet, let it be these five. Chamomile addresses the nervous system and provides soothing pain relief. Comfrey (folk name “knit bone”) is a top-tier first aid herb for speedily healing wounds and fractures. Elder targets damaged tissue, bruises, musculoskeletal, and even has an affinity with the immune system. St. John’s Wort is specific for bruising, wound healing, and pain relief. And yarrow is yet another heavy hitter as a wound healer and incredible first aid herb which can be used as a styptic to stop bleeding (powdered yarrow and cayenne used in 1:1 ratio make up the traditional first aid styptic recipe).
I began using this oil formula on day 2 of my horse’s injury and generously rubbed it all over his leg twice daily for five days straight. By the third day I was noticing improvement in his ability to weight the injured leg. On the fourth day, there was greater improvement, but not significant. He was still favoring the leg and not fully weighting it during standing.
