There is a variety of remedies that are available to help our animals in many forms. There are herbs that can be fresh or dried, essential oils, hydrosols, carrier oils and clays. These are the most common in the animal kingdom one way or another. However, it takes a professional like an animal herbalist or zoopharmacognosy practitioner to understand how each remedy can be utilized. Animals have certain sensitivities to things and some of the above can be toxic to them, especially when they are out of their natural habitat, we are recreating that environment for them as much as we can. Please do not offer any remedies to your animal if you are unsure and before you speak with a professional.
Herbs
Herbs are known as plants that have a therapeutic action, they can be fresh from the wild or even from your very own garden. It is good to know that we can plant appropriate herbs for domesticated and captive animals, whether it is our farm, garden, home or enclosures in zoos, it is optimal for their vitality. Herbs can also be offered in dried or powdered form. This can be made available to domesticated animals through a self-selection process. When you do this for your animals, you will notice they will be drawn to certain herbs which can be offered as a tea. This tea can be added to food, water or as an external spray, rinse or compress. Out of all the forms of herbs, powdered is the most user friendly and is used by Practitioners in most cases. Offering a selection of powdered herbs allows the animal to lick and taste the herbs. Not all herbs are readily available in powder form but you can easily make your own powdered herbs.
Using a coffee or spice grinder, to powder the desired herb, pass the powder through a fine strainer to smooth the powder out. Make small batches and use within a few weeks as the aromatic qualities (volatile components) that our animals may be drawn to will quickly fade as a result of powdering the herb.
Some herbs that are used by Zoopharmacognosy Practitioners are:
- Barley Grass
- Dandelion
- Licorice
- Nettle
- Devil’s Claw
- Plantain
- Rosehips
- Neem (topical use only)
- Spirulina
- Seaweed
- Slippery Elm
Carrier oils are also used to infuse herbs which is another way to get the beneficial properties of these extraordinary plants. For some, this is one of the most popular way to ingest these herbal benefits, reaping the rewards of their medicinal magic! There are a number of popular infused carrier oils, these include:
- Arnica – Heals bruises, injuries and manages inflammation.
- Calendula – Heals the skin, gut, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory.
- Chickweed – A kidney tonic, eases irritation, inflammation and itching topically.
- Comfrey – Topically only, on unbroken skin, heals musculoskeletal issues.
- Passion Flower – A nutritive, can be purgative in dogs, calming.
- St John’s Wort – Antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and an analgesic.
Just as a gentle reminder, it is important to work with your animal’s healthcare team and not to incorporate any of these remedies on your own. Even though these remedies are safe for animals, there are many factors, such as certain conditions, herb-drug interactions, dosage, allergies, and sensitivities. Unless the animal is just sniffing the herb/herbal preparation, the animal may ingest some of the remedy, even if it is only applied topically. We can clearly see here the importance that every herbal product offered to our animals, must be safe to ingest.
We can clearly see the therapeutic benefits of plants and how animals naturally use them for health and wellbeing. As an animal parent, you can feel confident with the use of animal safe herbs. Now we have an idea of how herbs can be incorporated in our animal’s lives, keeping things as close to nature as possible, what was intended for them always.