Apple Cider Vinegar for horses?

Apple cider vinegar helps in several ways...it helps with mineral absorption and helps break down calcium deposits. It also seems to help in digestion and I know that after your horse has been on it for a while, the flies don't get so friendly with a horse that is on vinegar. I'm not talking about the kind that you get at the grocery story, I'm talking about RAW, unfiltered, unpasteurized Apple Cider vinegar that you buy at the natural foods stores, you buy it by the gallon and shake it up each time before you pour it..(has lots of settlements in the bottom that you need included in your dose). Horse's don't mind the taste at first, then they really like it. Give at least an ounce a feeding...you really can't over do it. Check this out:

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvforhorses.html

EDIT: Just because it is isn't written in a medical book or you don't learn it in NURSING SCHOOL, doesn't make it not so. It has been proven by people who are in a position most people respect that vinegar has many medicinal purposes. Some of them are:

1/ It helps to restore the body's natural pH balance (Human or animal).

2/ It aids in digestion, particularly proteins and fats

3/ Promotes the growth of healthy microflora - apple cider vinegar is a prebiotic, which feeds probiotics (the healthy microflora in your inner ecosystem

4/ It does, in fact, come out through the sweat of a horse and discourage flies from attacking.

5/ When used straight or diluted, it also repels flies.

And this is a short list, there are many more that I could list. I didn't notice anywhere in the question that that the horse's owner inferred that she did not call her vet.

Apple Cider Vinegar For Horses

Cider Vinegar For Horses

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

Apple Cider Vinegar for horses?

I was talking to a lady about my horse who has coliced 5 times in the past month and she said I should give her Apple Cider Vinegar. Has anyone ever tryed this? What kind do I get and how much should I give her? Any tips or anything would be great.

I don't know about apple cider vinegar for colic but it is safe to give and won't do any harm. Most horses like the taste. When I worked at the race track (a million years ago) we gave the horses about 1/2 cup per day in their water to help keep the flies off (it is supposed to sweat out and keep bugs away). I give it to my horses now I just pour 1/4 - 1/2 cup over the feed. Vinegar is supposed to have all kind of health benefits, I can't say any are true. What I do know is the horses like it and it is perfectly healthy for them to have. PS for the health benefits you are supposed to use the expensive unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.

Here's a website that has some of the reasons it is supposed to be good for horses.

http://www.horses-and-ponies.com/health/acv.shtml

This is not an answer to your question but I had a horse who used to colic almost weekly when I first got him with my vet's help we devised the following which got his colicing down to only a few times a year.

1) he was put on a daily wormer

2) he had a bran mash which was just plain bran and warm water am and pm (you need to talk to your vet because this changes the nutrient balance and you need to make sure that you get your horse the correct nutrients - so long ago I don't remember what the exact issue was)

3) he had oil added to his feed every day.

4) he had grass or grass hay only no alfalfa

5) he got no grain, only Gro N Win

this worked but don't do it without working with your vet.

Good luck! It is very frustrating dealing with a colic prone horse.

I am unsure of the effect Apple Cider Vinegar would have on the treatment of colic.

However, I add about 1/4 of a cup of Apple Cider Vinegar to my horses feed everyday for overall health.

Apple Cider Vinegar can be used for treating fungal infections on the skin also by applying with a cotton swab to affected areas, and it is great for us too!

in honesty any type of vinegar would work. Apple Cider just has the best flavor but I would suggest adding a little to the water any way.

It helps with colic and gets the flies to stay off. Add a little at a time till it is half and half then leave it there.

You must stay steady with it though. Do NOT skip at shows or trail rides. The vinegar water will help more at those times especailly off property to comfort the horses

Apple cider vinegar has not been proven to prevent colic. And, by believing it will, you may be ignoring actual changes in your horse's management that could prevent it. The claims made in prior posts are completely unproven in horses, and require further research to determine whether or not there is any benefit or harm to feeding apple cider vinegar.

Any horse that has colicked 5 times in one month needs evaluation by an equine vet asap, and not by "a lady" who thinks she knows what she is doing (NOT). Colic is a very serious issue and is life threatening. It is either caused by issues of how the horse is managed, or by a number of possible medical issues.

You should contact an equine veterinarian to come and examine your horse, and go from there.

I would not just start feeding anything because some lady told you to do it.

If apple cider vinegar actually could prevent the number one killer of horses, don't you think the veterinary community might have heard about it by now and be prescribing it as standard treatment??? And surely someone would be getting rich marketing it, don't you think???

EDIT....Anyone who can provide one legitimate scientific study that has shown apple cider vinegar's efficacy and safety in preventing colic, and explain by what mechanism that function is manifested, and what types of colic are being prevented, and I'll change my statement. But until that proof exists, using it in place of accessing veterinary intervention when a horse is repeatedly colicking should not be being recommended. Furthermore, no unproven product should be fed to a colicking animal under any circumstance if there is any chance that it could do more harm than good.

Here is an article you may want to read........................

http://jdc325.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/apple-cider...

I'm glad to hear that you have a vet managing this. I would ask the vet what he/she thinks about using vinegar as a preventive for colic.

Apple Cider Vinegar Truth - http://applecidervinegar.siopu.com/?mEo

Yes this is very good for colicky horses and it can also help prevent horses from colicing