It is amazing how animals in the wild find ways to sooth and ease skin concerns, utilizing the gifts of nature. They are quite intelligent and creative in skin and wound care, which has been passed down to them from their ancestors. An example of this is primates and bears chewing up plants and applying it to their wounds. Even though our animals are domesticated, they still carry these blessed instincts within them. Therefore, having some remedies accessible to our fur babies is greatly beneficial for them.
Cuts And Wounds
When it comes to wound healing, we can offer our animals the following remedies:
- Lavender (essential oil or dried herb)
- English Marigold (dried herb)
- Plantain (dried herb or powder)
- German Chamomile (essential oil or dried herb)
- Yarrow (essential oil or dried herb)
It’s also nice to know that when you’re on a nature walk and you stumble upon some tree resin be it from firs or pines, these are very popular healing remedies for animals. The resin can be dried out then ground into a powder and added to your animal’s self selection garden. Or if you have the passion and time, the powder can be blended with hot water or a carrier oil and topically used as a healing antiseptic.
An ointment can also be made using the herbs mentioned above to apply on the skin to promote and speed up the healing process. You can pound fresh herbs to replicate chewing then applying it to the area. An alternative is to use dried herbs and a bit of water or aloe vera gel. This type of poultice will cool a hot and inflamed area. Aloe vera gel can also be used on its own since it has such powerful soothing and healing properties. Another option is using a healing hydrosol which can be sprayed on directly to the wound or held directly with a soaked cotton ball/clean cloth.
Red or green clays can be applied to wounds as well. When making a paste, you can use water, a herbal infusion or hydrosol.
Interestingly, sphagnum moss encourages wound healing which is a great first aid remedy. It can also absorb a lot of blood while sterilizing the wound. This is if you are lucky enough to live near this brilliant remedy.
Itchy And Infected Skin
Remedies to help alleviate the dreaded itch are:
- A chickweed infused carrier oil
- Peppermint essential oil
- Neroli essential oil
- Lavender essential oil or dried herb
- Clay
Unfortunately, some horses and ponies are no strangers to a condition known as sweet itch which is a common condition. Remedies that can help help them find some relief are:
- German Chamomile
- Peppermint
- Clay
Animals can also experience itching from insect bites. You clearly want to alleviate the itching but we also want to take care of the inflammation and prevent infection from scratching with antimicrobials.
- Citrus essential oils
- Lemongrass
- Neem
There are a number of fungal infections that can cause itchy and or irritated skin. Ringworm is one example of this issue. We would obviously want to offer our animals anti fungal herbs such as:
- Thyme as a powder, ointment, rinse or spray
- English Marigold as a powder, ointment, rinse or spray
- Clay (green clay is very soothing to the fungal infected skin and dries out fungi)
Parasite Remedies Using Zoopharmacognosy
- Clays
- Chickweed Infused Carrier Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Sunflower Oil
- Raspberry Leaf
- Meadowsweet
It is very helpful to have grasses available to your animal as this is a way they rid themselves of worms.
These are some wonderful skin remedies and natural solutions we can have available to our animals when skin concerns arise. Unless you are applying a topical remedy, remember to allow your animal to self select these helpful herbs and never use essential oils neat on an animal’s skin or body directly. All essential oils need to be diluted during application. We can simply apply a drop on a cloth or toy and place it where they can access it if they wish, in addition to their self selection garden.