Herbal Horse Care

Euphrasia officinalis

Eyebright is my favourite herb when it comes to managing eye injuries in my horses. It has proven itself to me over and over again, both as an eyewash/compress, and as a feed additive to support the treatment prescribed by the vet.

Parts used:

It’s the dried aerial parts of the herb that are used for medicinal purposes.

When to use it:

Eyebright is a fantastic herb to use as it brings relieve to red eyes and swollen eyelids like in conjunctivitis and inflammation of the eyelids (blepharitis). It is also used to manage fresh eye injuries especially where there is a risk of corneal ulceration.

How to use:

Take a good tablespoon of the herb and make a tea with 500ml of water by boiling for 10 minutes (this is known as a decoction). Use this liquid undiluted as an eye compress and put any left over liquid and the dredges into the feed.

To make an eye compress you can use a clean face washer, soak it in the decoction and lightly wring it out and then place it over your horse’s sore eye. Your horse may at first be a bit fidgety about having a warm, wet ‘thing’ over his or her eye, so be gently and patient and make it a pleasant experience. Soon your horse will recognise that it will bring relieve and will hold still for you and enjoy the experience.

I always make the time of putting the ‘compress’ on a very personal time with my horse as I want it to be a pleasant experience so I am happy to hold the compress in place for about 10 minutes. I also keep have the compress very wet, near dripping to make sure the tea reaches the eye. As humans we would lie down having an eye compress on, but our horses are standing up so we have to be a bit inventive to counteract gravity.

Where to get Eyebright:

You can get eyebright herb from various suppliers but personally I like to get my herbs from:

Country Park Animal Herbs

Meadowsweet Herbs.

I found these suppliers deliver high quality herbs and have outstanding customer service.