My horses have been enjoying an herbal tea bar for easy daily enrichment for almost a year now. I’ve trialed over 40 different horse-friendly herbs in their rotation, and they all have different preferences that change all the time!
It is just as fun for me to watch them interact with their tea bar as it is good for their minds. I’ll share some of the herbs I’ve used below, but first just a couple of concerns that have come up in conversations!
Herbs for Medicinal Reasons
Some herbs, like dandelion leaf, I will offer in larger amounts for extended periods of time for its natural detoxing benefits as well. I know one veterinarian who actually free feeds dried dandelion every year for her horses so they can do a natural, self-moderated detox. My horses seem to be drawn to dandelion at certain times, and then after they no longer need the benefits they drastically slow down to a sniff & sip level. It is very cool! If you plan on offering herbs for medicinal purposes, I recommend doing your own research and consulting with a vet or nutritionist if you’re unsure. Some herbs should not be offered in large amounts for extended periods of time, especially to horses with various medical conditions or who are pregnant for instance. If you are sticking to small amounts for enrichment sake, you are generally going to be safe to offer teas of small amounts of herbs, where the herbs change regularly or are not offered every single day. Most horses won’t chug the whole bucket anyway, so overall they’ll be consuming very little if you set yours up like mine! And if you want to offer herbs for their medicinal value, you can absolutely do that too. I just recommend researching that for yourself first!
For Horses in Competition
If you compete, offering tea bars during competitions may not be allowed! From the USEF Equine Drugs and Medications Guidlines & Rules: “…the Federation cautions against the use of herbal and natural products. The ingredients and properties of products to be classified as prohibited are included but not limited to valerian, kava kava, passionflower, skullcap, chamomile, vervain, leopard’s bane, night shade, capsaicin, comfrey, devil’s claw, hops, laurel, lavender, red poppy and rawuolfia.” I also noted that calendula was on their list. I don’t think most herbs would be a problem for a horse in competition to have at home, but you should definitely be aware and look into that on your own! In such small amounts, these are not going to have much medicinal effect, and even if they did – they are not going to stick around in their system the same way the drugs would that they are truly looking out for. Unless you’re feeding the herbs in large amounts to achieve a calming/sedative effect before an event…I wouldn’t worry too much! And if you aren’t competing, this whole paragraph does not apply.
My Horse’s Favorites
If you’re excited to try some herbal teas for your horse, but you’re unsure where to start, I’ve got a couple of resources for you. First of all, you can grab my free guide to setting up an herbal tea bar for your horse with my list of over 40 different herbs! For my fellow US residents, I also sell enrichment packs of herbs, with single serving (or two servings if you wanted to go for a lighter brew) packs of herbs! And if you want to dive right in, here are some links to herbs that my horses always enjoy, I purchase in 1 lb bags for the best value and try to get organic when I can:
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- Dandelion Leaf (a seasonal fav)
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- Raspberry Leaf (Trubee actually really loves this)
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- Peppermint (I offer this one a lot, and its generally pretty safe to offer regularly!)
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- Spearmint (similar to peppermint!)
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- Chamomile (kind of expensive, I mostly keep this for myself tbh but they all really like it)
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- Meadowsweet (generally always a fav, except when its not?)
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- Nettle (kind of like dandelion, seasonal fav)
Sharing the Tea
I still have the same bags I bought 10 months ago that I use for my horses! I’m almost out of Dandelion, which was my first purchase, but that should give you an idea of how much they actually consume. They have an herbal tea bar set up almost all the time, but there are times where I leave all the buckets as plain water just to mix things up! And because sometimes life gets busy. A key to enrichment is novelty, so it actually benefits them overall if you keep them guessing if there is something new or not!Â
OH – and the best part of this? These are herbs for human consumption. So you can keep some at home for your own use, too. I personally try to drink raspberry leaf and chamomile monthly, though I have a hard time remembering during the heat of summer. The cooler months though – I have tea all day every day! And I love being able to share with the horses.
Free Guide: How to Make A Tea Bar for Your Horse
Plus my list of 40+ horse-friendly herbs I've tried!
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