Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Chiming in from a veterinary herbalist's POV.

First - on the ticks bumps that look really nasty and oozy.   While in New England last month, I   attended an update talk on Lyme and WNV given by a DVM researcher from UConn (sorry - I forget her name).   Due the fact that Lyme takes about 24 hours to transfer from the tick to the horse, she said that the ones LEAST likely to get Lyme are the ones that are really allergic to the tick saliva.   They make a reaction so fast to the tick bite that they reject the ticks before they get a chance to pass the spirochete on.

Second - on using garlic to prevent bugs.   That is a bad and inappropriate use of the herb if used straight.   It is similar to the problems created with people in the use of Ephedra in diet products.   Chinese herbalists classify herbs according to their thermal natures (food is too)...cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot.   If you put all the herbs in the columns as I just gave them, it would look like a bell curve.   The herbs at the extremities   (cold and hot) are few and   they are very powerful herbs used only for specific reasons and only for short terms.   Ephedra and garlic are classified as hot herbs. If you give hot herbs to people with 'heat' problems (easily overheated, excessive water drinking, excessive sweater, chronic inflammatory problems) or during 'hot' times of the year, you are eventually going to get into trouble.   For example, ephedra is used for severe colds, is always accompanied by other herbs and used only for a short time when used according to Chinese tradition and protocols.

So, using garlic for bugs is using a 'hot' herb during the hottest time of the year.   Anemia from garlic is the least of my concerns.   Garlic can contribute to ulcers and create hives.   If garlic is used in an herbal formula accompanied by other cooling herbs, great, use it. I personally use Equilite's Garlic C   (not for flies but to boost my horse's immunity during show season) as it is a fairly neutral formula due to the other herbs that are added.   My show horse's momma, who is 27 and has periodic bouts of uveitis brought on by dust and heat, doesn't go near it in the summer.   However, in the winter, she gets it as she needs a little warming action in the worst of our cold (I have it mixed in a formula that also contains ginger...yum, yum).

Ticks, flies and mosquitoes are attracted to animals that generate carbon dioxide (as well as body heat).   If you look at the animals (and humans) that are 'magnets', there are actually other, what might look as minor, issues going on (heaves, scratches, stress diarrhea, hives, etc).   When I do a litmus paper test of saliva, many of those animals are slightly alkaline compared to normal.   Often, when those animals are put on apple cider vinegar, they stop attracting the bugs as much, and their skin, respiratory and GI tracts improve (interesting that all 3 originate from the same embryological ectodermal tissues).

So, my recommendations: use Garlic only if 'cooled' by other herbs and don't use it for fly control.

Kim Henneman, DVM, CVA, CVC
Park City   UT   USA