Cranberry is a natural urinary acidifier that aids in the prevention of alkaline urinary calculi. Cranberry is well known as a preventative for urinary tract infections for animals and people.

Cranberry has natural anti-bacterial properties and is useful in supporting the urinary system. It is high in vitamin C as well as containing other nutrients and vitamins.

• Maintains proper urinary pH
• Supports urinary tract health
• 
Bacterial anti-adhesion properties
• 
Powerful antioxidant

Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla – These little flowers pack a whole lot of medicine into their delicious little blossoms.  High in phosphorus and calcium, they strengthen and regulate the parasympathetic nervous system.  Chamomile is one of nature’s most gentle sedatives, and it can be used in all cases of anxiety, sleep issues, and hyperactivity.   Additionally, it is often used to treat allergic reactions, both externally and internally, and I’ve had great success using it to treat hives.   Chamomile also supports the digestive system as a carminative, and is included in many of my anti-inflammatory blends.   Its general health promoting properties make it an excellent addition to a daily herbal supplement and its best given about ¼ cup at a time mixed with a little water.

Rosehips – Rosa canina – The hips (fruit) of the dog rose are a source of readily assimilated forms of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, including – vitamins C, A, B1, B2, B3  and K, bioflavonoids (including rutin), carotenoids, tannins, calcium, magnesium, silica, phosphorous and copper.

As well as being considered a herb dietary supplement, rosehips are often fed to horses recuperating from illness or injury as they help to restore the immune system and aid tissue repair.  Feeding Rosehips as part of the daily diet is beneficial for preventing illness. The vitamin C in rosehips acts as a natural antihistamine, which can assist the allergy-prone horse.

Bioflavonoids, as well as having potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, enhance vitamin C’s ability to strengthen blood vessel walls, and this effect contributes to rosehips’ reputation for encouraging healthy hoof growth.  Rosehips can also help alleviate gastric inflammation and diarrhoea.

Peppermint – the reason peppermint is such a valuable herb for the digestive system is because of this oil. It has a carminative action, helping to relax sphincters and the smooth muscles of the digestive system, assist in the expulsion of intestinal gas, tone mucous membrane surfaces and increase peristalsis. Peppermint oil is sometimes administered to people in capsules for irritable bowel syndrome.

The oil has a cooling, soothing and anesthetic effect on the smooth muscles of the stomach and intestines, which makes it one of the key herbs to choose when dealing with horses prone to colic, gastric or duodenal ulceration, smooth muscle spasm, trapped gas, digestive cramping or poor appetite.

Peppermint contains a bitter quality that increases bile secretion and helps stimulate the appetite as well as tannins, which can help with horses who suffer from loose droppings or bouts of diarrhea.

Nettles – Urtica dioca – Nettles are one of nature’s richest sources of iron, which can often be a mineral lacking in an equine diet.  Nettles also contain histamine, serotonin, potassium, silica, vitamins A and C, and a whole host of other minerals.

Nettles support the immune, respiratory, urinary and reproductive systems, and can help the body fight allergic responses.  Additionally, nettles will strengthen hoof and coat health.

Gogjiberries are packed with many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They’re associated with many health benefits. Beta-carotene , Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1 and B2, B6, Amino acids, Trace minerals.

They are anti-bacterial and a powerful antioxidant. It helps support a healthy urinary tract and immune system.

• Beta-carotene – an antioxidant nutrient that is converted to vitamin A. Horses utilize vitamin A for bone and muscle growth, reproduction, and to regenerate skin.  It is also critical for vision epically night vision.
• Vitamin E – another antioxidant thatprotects the body’s tissues from free radicals created during exercise.  Muscle and other tissues consume vitamin E during increased physical activity, making vitamin E beneficial for protection against exercise-induced free radical damage and reducing muscle inflammation and soreness.
• Vitamin C is essential for creating and maintaining bone and cartilage tissue.
• Vitamin B1 and B2 – enables metabolization of carbohydrates, which allows the horse to process energy from feed.  They are also critical to the function of the nervous system.  

Vitamin B6 is critical to the formation of red blood cells; the body also uses Vitamin B6 to create the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline).
• Amino acids – Amino acids form proteins, which are the building blocks of the body and are the bases for every cell and tissue.
• Gou Qi Zi contains 18 kinds of amino acids, eight of which are essential. 

Trace minerals – are chemical elements that are needed in minute quantities for the proper growth and development. Gou qi zi contains twenty-one trace.

Fennel is a wonderful digestive herb.

Its taste is that of a slight anise, licorice taste. It is a member of the parsley family. It looks very much like dill.

It is a superb stomach and intestinal remedy used in cases of flatulence and colic and gastric upset. It acts similarly on the digestive tract as catnip. It is classified as a carminative aromatic and anti-spasmodic.

It is very rich in vitamin C, A, calcium, iron and potassium. “It can help to increase appetite and reduce bad breath by minimizing belching and acting as an antibacterial in the mouth. Traditionally, fennel is fed to increase milk flow in nursing mothers.”