Does it really do everything people claim it does?
I’ve read that it’ll help skin issues & hoof problems, keep flies at bay, make coats glisten, keep buckets algae free and a myriad of other things.
True?
What are other benefits of it?/What do you use it for?
Just curious - Thanks!
I have never used it for anything horse related, but when I had ferrets I bathed them and then used apple cider vinegar mixed with water after rinsing, and it made their coats really soft.
That was really helpful, wasn’t it??:winkgrin:
Wonderful in marinades and salsas. 
It’s basically acetic acid with a little bit of minerals and other stuff. One can do quite a bit with a weak acid, and apparently a LOT more if one believes in miracles.
[QUOTE=cloudy18;5946369]
I have never used it for anything horse related, but when I had ferrets I bathed them and then used apple cider vinegar mixed with water after rinsing, and it made their coats really soft.
That was really helpful, wasn’t it??:winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
^^^ my vote for best answer of the day.
It has been used experimentally to study gastric ulcers in horses - When administered orally, it was consistent at producing ulcers.
[QUOTE=mybeau1999;5946240]
flies at bay[/QUOTE]
It does this by smelling like rotting fruit, so that when you pour out a glass of it and add a dash of liquid soap it attracts the flies to come and land & drown.
Most of the other things it does by the virtues of being an acid.
I did, in desperation, sponge diluted cider vinegar over Star’s whole body (and then rinse it) to try to stop whatever was causing him to itch. It may have helped. Or not. His itching became less violent, but that could have been just that it cooled down a bit.
[QUOTE=deltawave;5946378]
One can do quite a bit with a weak acid, and apparently a LOT more if one believes in miracles. :)[/QUOTE]
This is MY vote for best answer of the day!
fly spray
My farrier suggested it mixed with Lysol as a fly spray. I just couldn’t handle putting it on the horses, seemed very harsh. So I used it to spray down stall walls. Smelled good for a while.
I do use a glug apple cider vinegar in a bucket of warm water when I am sponging off after a ride in the winter. It does seems to help get the icky sweat out of the coat without having to soak them. I suppose rubbing alcohol does the same thing but the ACV seems to make the coat nicer rather than dry it out like the alcohol would.
I have never fed it to them, so don’t know about that. And IMHO, it does jack as a fly spray or part of a fly spray
I would suspect it would ATTRACT flies? smells like spoiled apples after all.
It does have some vitamins in it- if you fed it in large quantities to your horse it might do something beneficial (but would also produce ulcers, so you’d have to counter-balance that against the possible benefit).
As for washing things- plain white vinegar has the same acidic content that performs the washing function, and is a LOT cheaper.
Regular old vinegar is the best for skin conditions. It is the best thing ever for rain rot. Spray it on and leave it. Condition improves immediately.
I mix it with citronella and a few other things and it works well as fly spray for my horse.
[QUOTE=wendy;5947290]
As for washing things- plain white vinegar has the same acidic content that performs the washing function, and is a LOT cheaper.[/QUOTE]
yes, but I’m not quite sure how one gets past the smell of regular white vinegar:D at least the smell of the apple cider vinegar is tolerable (to me anyway lol!)
Well, I use it daily as an anti-thrush spray–I mix in some oils (tea trea, oregano, etc.) and some arnica. And if my horse has been standing out in the rain all day, I spritz him with the same spray in order to prevent rain rot. It works very well for me.
I use white vinegar as a rain rot/scratches treatment. Works miracles. Mixed it with PineSol and water as a fly spray. Stuff smelled horrid. It didn’t burn my skin though, so I used it and it seemed to work pretty well, and was a heck of a lot cheaper!
When I was a working student, we would use vinegar as part of an after workout rinse. Seemed to help cut the grime without drying as much as soaping up. Left the coats shiny, but I never liked the smell (goes away once the horse is dry, but still!).
I do like to use vinegar for stinky horse laundry, seems to help get the smell out (same goes for my hubbies stinky athletic gear).
I’ve used it for rain rot. It worked.
Enteroliths
I’ve always used it because it is supposed to be somewhat preventative vis-a-vis enteroliths. I talked to a vet, and basically, he said, essentially “There’s no proof it DOES protect, but it can’t harm, and since enterolith formation is an alkaline process, keeping the gut a little acetic can’t hurt.”
FWIW, my last horse was given a cup daily in his feed, and in 19 years he never had an episode of colic, despite being on a straight alfalfa diet (believed to contribute to stone formation) for most of those years (BOs would NOT feed oat or grass hays). They finally came around, and for the last few years leading into his retirement, he was on 50/50 grass alfalfa, but still, in all those years he never developed a stone, despite the sandy California soil and the alfalfa diet.
That’s strictly anecdotal evidence and not proof, though.
In order to get the benefits of ACV…it needs to be all natural, “with the mother.” The “mother” is the brown slime that settles at the bottom of the bottle. Apparently nothing can “live” in the mother. It is touted as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-biotic. It is considered an all around de-tox. Apparently good for arthritis too.
I have used all natural ACV for YEARS. Every horse gets 2 oz. in feed daily, up to 8 oz. a day in cases of an abcess, skin condition (which I haven’t seen in years), snotty nose (which I have not had in years), fly control (which I have never had a major fly problem.
FWIW (and this may be TMI, lol) I came up with some kind of funky fungus on my lower arms over the summer. Possibly ringworm - who knows. Anyway, I doctored it with anti-fungal cream and that made a dent in it, but I could not get it to clear up. Before calling my dermatologist, I decided to apply all natural ACV to my arms and then use a Tea Tree Oil/Olive oil mix. By god - it went away! Within days.
I always have a spray bottle of ACV/Tea Tree Oil in the barn to spray feet with when we get long periods of wet weather.
I think it is great stuff. There are several manufacturers, I usually buy Bragg’s - by the gallon.
To learn more, go to http://bragg.com/products/bragg-organic-apple-cider-vinegar-for-horses.html
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
