Garlic has been used in the successful treatment of human ailments for thousands of years, but you may also be aware that this bulbous vegetable holds many health benefits for horses when given in the right form. Here’s all you need to know about feeding garlic powder to horses.

What Makes Garlic So Beneficial?

Garlic is such an ideal supplement for horses because of its many beneficial ingredients and medicinal properties.

Garlic’s antimicrobial effect is due to its concentration of allicin, which reduces inflammation and eliminates even antibiotic-resistant bacteria. That’s only the beginning, in terms of the beneficial compounds contained in each clove; garlic also contains high amounts of:

• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Amino acids
• Sulfur compounds

Together, these ingredients work together to benefit horse health in several ways, from head to hoof.

Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic’s powerful properties can help clear mucus and viruses that cause nasal congestion. It also aids in digestion, offering the food that your horse’s healthy gut bacteria need to thrive and promoting a healthy appetite.

Garlic kills health-harming parasites, supports the heart and immune system, and can also boost the effectiveness of antibiotics because garlic is, itself, a natural antibiotic.

The benefits of garlic also extend to its ability to repel flies and other insects, as well as reduce joint and respiratory inflammation, decrease blood pressure, and purify blood.

Injured horses can benefit from garlic when it’s applied to sore muscles or taken internally, as it stimulates circulation. It’s expectorant properties can help a horse more easily rid its lungs of mucus, and its ingestion can prevent many conditions, including laminitis.

How Much Garlic Is Safe to Administer?

There’s no doubt about garlic’s many health benefits to horses, but it’s because of its powerful properties that garlic must be given to your horse with much care. Garlic has been found to cause anemia in horses when fed in large amounts.

To determine the optimal dose of garlic for your horse, it’s always best to consult with your veterinarian.

Characteristics of an Effective Equine Garlic Supplement

Where it comes to garlic supplements, not all are created equally. Therefore, it’s important to ensure your horse will receive maximum benefit before giving any garlic supplement.

The best garlic supplement for horses will:

• Contain only 100% garlic
• Be sourced from only the highest-quality locations
• Produce an odor when your horse sweats, to repel biting insects
• Be prepared specifically for horses

Ensuring that a garlic supplement possesses all of the above benefits is definitely important. Just as important is ensuring that you choose the right supplement company.

Products Inspired by Passion

Equi-Herbs is an equine herbal supplement company whose passion for horses is behind the development of every product we sell. We travel the world to find and gather the all-natural ingredients that go into our supplements.

More information about our performance series, aid series, metabolic series, and individual products like garlic for horses is available at our website. You can also learn more by calling 1-800-786-0708.