Madalyn Ward, DVM shares her answers to specific holistic horse care questions from clients. To see more questions and answers on real holistic horse care situations check out the Horse Health Hotline postings and our Holistic Horsekeeping and Horse Harmony Facebook pages.
Q – I have a 17 year old Appaloosa who has a tumor in his eye that we have been keeping watch on for years. My vet says it is inoperable and if we did take it out, it would spread to his brain very quickly. He is beginning to have quite a bit of pain and I was wondering if you could direct me to a site that might offer some help for the pain. I really think it needs to be something I can put in his eye.
A – Sometimes a warm compress will relieve pain. If not, you can try an herbal anti inflammatory like Ani-Motion before resorting to drugs.
Q – I have a 4 year old thoroughbred filly that’s so tight on the back end the chiropractor can’t work on her. Equine winner patches aren’t helping fast enough. Any suggestions please?
A – Have you tried any magnesium? I use Mag Restore you can find at https://shop.performanceequinenutrition.com/magrestore-p45.aspx.
Q – I’ve got a mare that has had a hematoma on the front of her stifle for a week and four days. I called my vet here when I first saw it and they said that if it wasn’t over a certain size and she’s not lame to leave it for now instead of lancing it. I was glad of this, since I really don’t want to vaccinate this mare, and I was concerned they would want to vaccinate her, if they lanced it. However, the hematoma hasn’t gone down. It looks a little bigger than when I first noticed it. It was about the size of a top 1/4 of a grapefruit or softball. It’s a little bigger than that, now, but not much. She acts perfectly well and is not lame. She runs and trots, etc. I have not found any cuts or lacerations. Do you have any suggestions for ways I could get it to drain or do you think that I should let them lance it? Do you have any suggestions about how long it should take for this to drain and whether I should be doing anything else about this?
A – I would use the homeopathic remedy, Arnica, to help resolve the hematoma. Arnica 30c twice a day for 3 days may work, but if not, you will need to get a stronger potency. Also, keep your mare quiet in a stall or pen for a week so the bleeding vessel can heal.
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