How To Use Essential Oils For Horses

As you probably know if you're a regular reader of this blog, I love essential oils.  And not just for myself - I also love to use them on Apollo!

If you'd like to try essential oils for your horse, make sure you are only using pure, quality essential oils.  Choose brands that are recognized as safe for internal use (the brands sold at grocery stores are always labelled "not for internal use" because they often contain synthetics, traces of pesticides and heavy metals, and other unsafe contaminants).  And of course always talk to your vet first.

As with for people, horses can enjoy essential oils in three ways...

Aromatically

To safely allow horse to smell oils:
Apply to your hands and hold under his nose
Hold the bottle under his nose, with bottle top flush to hand so he can’t bite it if he likes the smell
Or apply a drop to each nostril (neat or diluted, depending on oil)
 
Benefits of Aromatic Use:
Quickly absorbed by nasal tissues – fast acting
Easy to apply at any time
Cannot overdose with this type of application
Good for addressing respiratory health and emotional issues

Topically

To safely apply oils to horses:

Some oils can be applied “neat” (undiluted)
Some oils should be diluted to avoid skin irritation
Applying in a veggie oil base allows deeper penetration and longer effect
Dilution also allows you to cover more area
Avoid getting in eyes or inner ears

Benefits of Topical Use:

Easy to apply with cotton ball, fingers, or spray bottle
Make your own fly spray!
Good for addressing soreness, wounds, skin problems
 

Internally

To safely feed oils to horses:
Not all oils – even pure ones – are recommended for internal use! Check the label.
Pull out bottom lip and drop into mouth
Or, add to feed bucket or water bucket

Benefits of Internal Use:

Easy to apply at feeding time
If a flavor they like is used in water regularly, can be used to get picky horses to drink while traveling
Good for addressing digestive issues and immune support