The "Garlic Issue" :-)

In connection with my post about the West-Nile Virus my statement in regards to feeding garlic to horses on a regular basis caused some wild discussions...

I was in complete shock, my friends !

Some of you actually managed to scare me, somewhat :-)

We have been feeding our horses fresh garlic for years now. One might call it a "traditional thing" to do, based on knowledge passed on to us by former generations who did not have the luxury of calling a vet and buying expensive medicines. Now I received e-mails with warnings!

Heinz Body Anaemia caused by feeding garlic to horses ???

After doing some research and talking to my business-partner, friend and professional member of the NZ Association of Medical Herbalists, Mr. James Hart, I am now able to provide all "green equestrians" with a proper feedback on the "Garlic-Issue" in order to stop the "HEINZ BODY HOO HA" haunting our community.

First of all a very basic description of Heinz Body Anaemia:A condition known as Heinz body anaemia or hemolytic anaemia (most commonly seen in cats and dogs). In this condition, the red blood cells are damaged and they are removed from the body faster than they can be replaced, resulting in anaemia.

Secondly the source of information:About two years ago some reputable gentlemen and women from the Departments of Animal and Poultry Science (Pearson, McBride), Biomedical Sciences (Boermans), and Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences (Bettger, Lindinger), University of Guelph, Guelph in Canada published the results of their research supported by the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food,and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada." Association of maximum voluntary dietary intake of freeze-dried garlic with Heinz body anemia in horses"In this study, horses were fed an increasing dose of freeze dried garlic to a maximum of 0.25gm/kg twice daily, and then continued at this dose for 71 days. This translates to a dose of 250gm a day for a 500kg horse – hugely more than one would normally give. No work has yet been done on the safe dose, but the horses recovered from the anaemia within five weeks of the end of the excessive supplementation.

And all good things are THREE:

Horses will voluntarily consume sufficient quantities of garlic to cause Heinz body anemia. The potential for garlic toxicosis exists when horses are chronically fed garlic. Further study is required to determine the safe dietary dose of garlic in horses.

Finally to quote James :

"In the meantime, we continue to give our horses and ourselves garlic on a regular basis, as the benefits at the lower dose levels far outweigh any observable negatives. Recommendations on how much to give vary depending on your source, but we have found that about a dessertspoonful, 15gm, of powder twice a day or half a fresh head daily is a good dose for an average-sized horse. If you are treating an infection, increase the dose to at least twice that, and try to use fresh garlic.Many herbalists believe that Chinese garlic is the best available. For the dried garlic we find that the imported product is fine, but we prefer to source locally-grown fresh garlic."

The use of garlic for its medicinal properties has been documented as far back as Ancient Egypt. Codex Ebers a 35 century old document cites the plant as being useful in the treatment of heart disease, tumours, worms, bites and other ailments. Today garlic is well recognised by humans for its ability to help with heart disease, but it is also effective in the treatment of fungal, bacterial and viral infections. Along with Echinacea, Garlic must be one of the most studied herbs.

So we will keep feeding garlic in winter to our horses in order to keep them healthy and prepare them for "The Bite-Patrole" in summer.