Rafalet: Using homeopathic remedies

BASIC HOLISTIC FIRST AID KIT
FOR HORSES

A few comments about homeopathic remedies:

Please remember these are suggestions only, your veterinarian should still be consulted, and it is recommended that you educate yourself in the correct application of homeopathic remedies before using them unsupervised.

Homeopathy is NOT the same as herbal treatments or drugs. It is commonly confused with"holistic," "herbal "and many other "naturopathic" therapies. While homeopathy certainly is considered holistic, "holistic" isn't necessarily homeopathic. Homeopathy is an approach to healing that is different and separate from any other modality. 30C potencies are so dilute that tested samples reveal no evidence of molecules of the original substance. There are many references to homeopathy on the Internet, I do recommend you consult some of them if you are confused about the differences.

Choosing a homeopathic remedy for non-first-aid situations can be very complex. Because homeopaths prescribe for the entire symptom picture (mental, emotional and physical symptoms), not for the diagnosed illness, there are many different remedies which might be used for one ilness. The choice of the remedy depends upon the characteristics of the unique individual, not upon the name of the illness. However, homeopathic remedies for first aid purposes are quite straightforward to select and are very safe.

While giving the wrong remedy usually will do no harm, continuing to give the wrong remedy, or overdosing with the right remedy, can cause some problems. As a rule of thumb, if you see any change at all, whether for better or worse, stop administering the remedy and re-evaluate. If the change is for the better, the remedy is doing its job and doesn't need more help, unless the patient starts to regress again, or the patient now needs a different remedy. If the change is for the worse, either you're overdosing or it's the wrong remedy, and in either case the solution is to stop giving the remedy. However, in basic first aid situations this is less likely to apply.

It is preferable to give the remedies without food, but with some horses it's easier to disguise it in a piece of apple or carrot. Don't just put it in the horse's feed. My own horses readily take the remedies straight, my young stallion stands there like an enthusiastic gaping crocodile as soon as I stand beside him and shake the vial, waiting for me to tip the granules into his mouth, altho I have to grind them up for my old gelding, he prefers pellets in a piece of carrot, or as powder on the tongue, and he also opens his mouth readily.

This latter technique is a method of application I've used frequently with success. Some people feel the plastic baggie could neutralize the remedy but I can't say I've had any problems with effectiveness. I wouldn't store the remedy in the baggie, however. To grind the pellets, place 3-6 glass-pinhead-sized granules in a sandwich baggie , wrap the plastic around them a bit and crush them (if using the grain of sand sized granules, use about 10 - the quantity isn't really important, you just want to make sure a couple of them are ingested. If using the smaller granules, crushing is unnecessary), then straighten out the baggie carefully, nudging the powdered granules into an undamaged area of the bag (they will probably cut the bag slightly during crushing), grasp the powder through the bag in your fingertips, invert the bag over your hand so that if you open your fingers slightly the powder is exposed, slip your closed fingers into the side of the horse's mouth and release the powder from the bag onto the horse's tongue, allowing him to move the tongue back and forth to lick the bag. It tastes like sugar and most horses will readily allow you to do this without problem once you've done it a couple of times. Dosage is the same for a mouse or an elephant. Technically, the tiniest amount will be sufficient since this is an energetic remedy as opposed to a chemical one. Quickest absorption takes place in the mouth, but it will still work via the intestinal tract.

Many drugstores and healthfood stores only carry the X remedies. But you should be able to get 30C potencies of the most commonly used remedies at the better healthfood stores, I get my remedies from a drugstore that specializes in herbal and natural approaches to health. Otherwise you will have to do mailorder - there are several places on the Web, altho I've never used them, you could do a Web search.

The dose of a homeopathic remedy is not dependent on the number of pellets given but on the potency. One pill of 30C is as potent as 10 or 20 pills and the dosage remains the same whether for a mouse, a human or an elephant. However, a rule of thumb some people use is to increase the number of pellets according to the size of the mouth. For horses, about 6 to 10 is a good number, however I generally only use 3 because my administration technique almost assures that at least a couple of the pellets will not be spit back out. (It's important not to think of homeopathic remedies in the same terms as conventional drugs because they do not work in the same manner.)

Do not use or store homeopathic remedies anywhere there are are strong smells such as coffee, peppermint, liniments, etc., which can neutralize the effectiveness of the remedies.

Do not handle the remedies directly, and do not replace them once they have been removed from the vial, as this too can neutralize their effectiveness, and replacing them into the vial can contaminate the remaining contents as well.

For more information about homeopathic remedies, please refer to more in-depth sources.

Return to Holistic First Aid page

Email : rafalet2ride@yahoo.ca

Last updated December 22, 2000