Since time immemorial, man has turned to the plants in his environment, for medicine.  The tradition of herbal medicine (herbalism) predates history.  All human civilisations depended upon it, subject to availability, of course (deserts and ice caps present problems!).  Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine are based on herbal medicines. The Indian sub-continent brings us Indian herbs,, which are now marketed in the West. Even modern medicine is a direct descendant from this vast natural and instinctive medical practice (a large and surprising proportion of modern drugs have been derived, more or less remotely, from plant material.  These have been modified by chemists and patented to provide the great commercial gains intrinsic to modern medicine.  At the same time as providing profit, sadly this method of adapting plant materials to create powerful modern drugs takes them out of their holistic context and brings to the fore the spectre of side effects).

Many readers will have heard that even horses are able to practise their own instinctive and effective form of herbal medicine (zoopharmacognosy) but only if given a sufficient roaming range over a natural environment, populated with a proper variety of herbs.  Such a ‘perfect’ environment would be their natural prairie homes of North America.  Native ponies on the moors or in such islands as the Shetlands are able to roam and select their ‘medicines’ as they go, even taking seaweed when it suits them.  However, such natural habitats are being spoiled and polluted by modern man and the natural balance is in danger of being lost, worldwide. For this reason, some supplementation may be advisable, even in so-say healthy horses but become essential when dietary balance is upset.

Dogs, cats and other species also respond well to veterinary herbal medicine (veterinary herbalism). At the AVMC, we even had a terrier patient who would insist on 'grazing' pellitory-of-the-wall in our front wall, when she visited us on hot days. Pellitory is a 'cooling' herb!

Herbs provide us with a vast variety of pharmacological capabilities; demulcents, calmatives, laxatives, purgatives, vulneraries (treating wounds and injuries), stimulants, febrifuges and astringents to mention a few.  Different herbs can be mixed together to produce a balanced effect, suited to the patient in question.  Some herbs are not compatible with others and should not be mixed; some are unsuitable for long-term usage. The AVMC does not support the modern trend of extracting supposed 'active ingredients' and marketing them as enhanced medicines. The whole science of pharmacognosy is questionable, since herbs act differently in the whole (holistic) form than do individual ingredients.

Herbs are best prepared freshly (or bought dry) and tailored to the individual patient and its own special requirements, not made into off-the-shelf products to be sold as a ‘cure all’ by unqualified commercial organisations.