Never heard of salt water in wounds that wouldn’t heal until I had a tiny wound that just kept draining - vets couldn’t figure it out.
A vet tech friend recommended ‘Curasalt’ a new saline bandage from Kendall. Wound closed in 3 days - awesome!
It is actually spiderwebs (which has vitamin K) and it works. It stopped the bleeding on a horse who had been hit by a car and had a big gash on his shoulder. When the vet arrived, following the blood trail, she was sure the horse was dead. But he stood in the barn and the bleeding had stopped. He made a full recovery.
The lady also had tons of others remedies passed down from her grandfather who was a horse dealer/trainer and she still uses many to this day. She applied honey to the wound (it was winter) http://tinyurl.com/ncs3k
She would also through the placenta of a new born foal in a stall of a barren mare… and it would bring her in heat and she would get in foal.
Formaldehyde to harden/toughen hoof soles. Forgot to mention that one.
White Gas also can be used as a foot freeze, you know, alot of these remedies are still being used… some are not the greatest.
Honey is used surprisingly often by humans who swear it helps heal surface wounds. It is certainly part of the rural first aid kit around here.
For a horse with a stuffed up nose: close half door to stall (no stall guards). Cut the end off of a bread bag so you have a tube and attach one end to the halter over the nose, forming a sort of disposable funnel. Set a bucket of steaming hot water just outside the door and hold the horse’s head over it until they get the idea. Let them steam themselves, change water as needed and as horse desires.
You guys are the best!!! Glycerine and oil of peppermint to " open up the windpipe" of anything you wanted to race; the old Argentinian grooms when I rode for Roger Gill ( God bless’im) would actually swear by painting cracked heels with urine -I know urea, a component of urine, is great for healing tissue, and it worked but I’ve never tried it myself 
. Has anyone remembered what it was you’re supposed to rub into a spint with a corncob to make the bony splint go away?? Yeah, goneriding24, that’s how I feel about this stuff. I miss these guys and really true horsemen are not that easy to find anymore.
Hey Running… I used to gallop for Roger Gill too… back in the early 80’s when he had alot of the Hobo Farm horses. Remember Ichabod Crane? Anyway, many still use peppermint and Glycirine before works and races, and it was Asthmador that was used to smoke horses heads out…
I still swear by sauerkraut juice on scratches and a bit more modern but highly effective, Listerine on itchy tails.
Acertain smile, it seems I sure should know you… That asthmadore - a lotta folks thought there was some weed smokin’ going on in the barn when we used that stuff ( ha ha). When I worked for Roger, I was his main rider for Surely Royal and his main owner was old man Dixon from DE. I think you’re after my time - I am, after all, old.
Crest Toothpaste
Had a mare develop a sarcoid inside her ear. Had it removed, but it grew back as vet siad it would likely do. Researched other therapies, and an old timers treatment was simple crest toothpaste rubbed onto sacroid as often as possible.It worked!! 6 months later when vet came for vaccinations he asked about the ear, told him what I had done, and he was speechless!Cost me all of $3.00:)
Pickling lime to dry up large wounds and help prevent proud flesh
Jello powder to help with hoof growth
Great thread…I came from the track life too, here are mine:
Meat Tenderizer and just enough water to make a paste, slather on proud flesh.
WD40 for tail knots
Spay Pam (as in the cooking grease) on hooves to keep ice off
A few drops of Blueing mixed with warm water to whiten tails and coats.
Sugar and idodine, just enough iodine to make it a paste, great for drawing out infections, absesses, etc. Really does work.
Listerine, the regular kind, not flavored, great for itch tails and manes.
This is EXCELLENT for bee stings on humans too! Even wasp and hornet stings. The quicker you get the paste on the better. Leave it on for 20-30 minutes and all the redness, swelling and itch is gone. I’ve used it on myself many many times and it works.
Back to horses - I’ve always used Preparation H on wounds. It works better than anything else I’ve ever tried.
Pine tar, cheap shortening, mineral or baby oil-
mix together (no measurements) until like thick pudding
paint all over hooves if they are excessively dry
sugar on wounds to help them dry up an heal
whole corn (shell corn) to keep teeth from developing hooks/points
For a fascinating and eye-opening historical perspective, I heartily recommend picking up a copy of “Every Horse Owners Cyclopedia” circa 1880, by Mssrs Fleming, Harvey, Walsh & Stonehenge. It’s a comprehensive book of horse keeping, breeding and training. It has a whole chapter on remedies, including all manner of paints, drenches and horse balls (stuff mixed with treacle and then fed orally.) Interspersed are plates of the super horses of the day - Goldsmith Maid, Hopeful, Gold-Dust, Flora Temple, Hambletonian.
ETA! This old book has been republished! http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=1408663724
My old trainer used a mix of bran, cheap whisky, dmso and epsom salts as a pack for a horse with an abscess. This actually works, I can’t remember exactly the amounts of the different ingredients any more though.
Pine-sol used for bathing.
And I always remember beagle oil being used for absolutely everything.
[QUOTE=Acertainsmile;5185739]
Smoking horses heads out to open up the nasel passages… remember that? I’ll have to ask the hubby what was used, but I remember the recieving barn smelling like pot…
…[/QUOTE]
ASTHAMADOR powder, it was a powdered form of belledonna, we used it to flush gutteral pouches, We would put a tablespoon in a little alluminum dish light it up blow it out and it would smoke for 15 minutes , You could buy it in a drug store up til about 15 years ago and Big D’s used to sell it, WISH we could still get it it worked great .
[QUOTE=Running Fox Farm;5194168]
You guys are the best!!! Glycerine and oil of peppermint to " open up the windpipe" of anything you wanted to race.[/QUOTE]
We used to use this remedy for chronic colic’ers Still do
Oh wow!! someone else remembers Asthamdor!!! I used to use it on one heavey horse I trained. Wasn’t available in Canada but we had a pipeline up to here with the stuff (gads, sounds like illegal drug trade!!) Used to burn it in a metal pail with a bit of kleenex as a starther, then bring the pail to the horse’s nose. Danged stuff smelled rather like marijuana when it burned.
Reagan - you can still get Beigel Oil or at least could a couple of years ago.
Now for the old standby for scratches: a pound of lard, 4 ounces of food grade sulphur, and blu-kote mixed in enough to make it deep violet in colour.
Hey Mike, where are you from on Long Island? I grew up in Islip and rode through Hecksher Park, Connetquot and all around. I also rode at Timber Point Stables. . . send me a Pm if your in the mood for reminiscing.
