Feeding apple cider vinegar to horses

Traditional, unfiltered cider vinegar with mother has been used for the treatment of horses for many years.

Table of Contents Show

Horses have been fed cider vinegar for centuries
Improved digestion
Deterring flies
Natural detangle mains and tails!
Horse's drinking water when travelling
Top Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
The benefits of feeding your horse Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
1. Improve digestion and balance PH levels in your horse
2. Ease Arthritis symptoms & help with joint movement and muscle function
3. Natural Insect Control
4. Mane and Tail Conditioner
5. Treat Hoof Problems
6. Disguise the taste of water when travelling away from home with your horse
7. Weed Killer
8. Use as a Cleaning Agent for Stable Products
9. Treating Minor Ailments
10. Help Prevent Intestinal Stones (enteroliths)
How much apple cider vinegar should I feed my horse?
Can I give my horse apple cider vinegar?
What does apple cider vinegar do for horses hooves?
Does apple cider vinegar help with laminitis?

Horses have been fed cider vinegar for centuries

Traditionally fermented cider vinegar has been fed to equines for hundreds of years. As with people, horses can suffer from stiffness and arthritic pain and cider vinegar can help. A daily dose will work to remove toxins and balance the animal's pH as well as supplying a cocktail of minerals – all of which will help to alleviate joint pain.

Somerset Cider Vinegar is made only from pure cider apple juice. We use no sugar, concentrate, sulphites or any of the other nasties added by industrial vinegar producers.

We now know that cider apples have more powerful antioxidants than dessert or culinary apples and horses learn to love the taste of real cider vinegar. If the cider vinegar you buy doesn't state that it's made from whole cider apples - it won't be!

Improved digestion

Cider vinegar will acidify the stomach which will encourage improved digestion and absorption of minerals. This can help protect your horse against bacteria, parasites and water-borne diseases. Research has also shown that it can slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, which is helpful for ponies sensitive to sugar.

Deterring flies

Traditional cider vinegar is also good for treating swellings and bruises (but not open wounds). Soak a bandage in cider vinegar before binding the affected area and wrap with cling film. Cider vinegar can be used neat to treat fly bites (as long as they are not infected) and quickly reduces swelling. It can also be added to water for washing down or for showing. This will bring a shine to the coat and deters flies.

Natural detangle mains and tails!

Adding a cup of Cider Vinegar to the water used to rinse your horses main and tail will act like a natural hair conditioner. They will feel smooth and softer and the vinegar will help with tangles. The Cider Vinegar will also remove any build up of soap products in your animals main and tail.

Horse's drinking water when travelling

Some horses will refuse water if it doesn't taste like what they're used to. If you are showing your horse in different parts of the country the chemical make-up of the water available will change. An animal which is familiar with the taste of Cider Vinegar in its water will be less prone to these changes in its drinking water.

Apple cider vinegar has been used by people since ancient times! Most are aware of the health benefits, but not as many realize it can be useful at the barn too. Make sure to always use natural, unpasteurized cloudy vinegar like Bragg. You’ll want to stay clear of the distilled pasteurized form. Up to 1/4 cup per day is sufficient for your horse.

Top Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

It’s a natural insect repellent. It causes thiamine to be excreted through the skin, which repels mosquitoes and flies.
A spritz of diluted ACV can be applied to fungus, burns, and skin infections.
Spray it directly onto hooves with thrush or other fungal problems. Some even soak the hoof or create poultices.
You can occasionally rinse your horse mane’s mane with ACV to remove buildups of soap and dirt. It’ll leave the hair shiny and smooth.
It can be helpful with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in horses. Some horses even lose weight with two teaspoons of ACV before a meal.
ACV can be used when traveling. It can disguise the taste of unfamiliar water.

In addition to health benefits, you can use apple cider vinegar to kill weeds around the barn and to clean blankets and bandages that have soap buildup. How amazing is that!

The benefits of feeding your horse Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Have you discovered just some of the many benefits of feeding Apple Cider Vinegar? It really is one of the wonder products available to horse owners! It is very reasonably priced and is the answer to many common ailments our horses or ponies can suffer from. In addition, it is safe, easy to feed and a fool-proof way of keeping your horse in optimum health.

So why should you use Apple Cider Vinegar? Here at Greg Grant Saddlery, we’ve compiled a list of the Top Ten Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar for horses:

1. Improve digestion and balance PH levels in your horse

Apple Cider Vinegar works to acidify the horse’s stomach for better digestion, cleansing the digestic tract. It can also aid in the absorption of minerals and helps balance the acid/alkaline ratio which is essential for good health. ACV can work as a natural anti-biotic, and can discourage parasites and water-borne diseases. Apple Cider Vinegar also contains anti-oxidants, which are vital to protect the horse’s body from free radicals which can cause a lot of damage.

2. Ease Arthritis symptoms & help with joint movement and muscle function

Both horses and humans have benefited from ACV to help control the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis. It can help break down acid crystals, which can build up in joints and cause your horse tissue stiffness and soreness.

3. Natural Insect Control

By feeding your horse or pony ACV daily in their feed, it causes higher levels of thiamine (vitamin B) to be excreted through their skin, which discourages biting insects such as flies and mosquitos.

You can also make your own fly repellant by mixing together 2 cups ACV, 1 cup water, 1 cup bath oil and 2 teaspoons of citronella. Simply mix well and spray over the horse’s coat for a natural fly repellent!

4. Mane and Tail Conditioner

Condition your horse’s mane and tail naturally by adding 1 cup of ACV to a bucket of water for the final rinse after washing your horse’s tail. Use a spray bottle for the mane with the same quantities of water and ACV. This will leave your horse’s mane and tail incredibly soft and smooth and will remove any soap residue.

5. Treat Hoof Problems

ACV is very effective at treating minor ailments in horse’s hooves such as seedy toe (white line disease), abscesses and thrush. Mix ¼ a cup of ACV in a bucket of water (approx. 3 litres) and if your horse is patient enough have him stand with his hoof in the bucket. If your horse doesn’t have the patience to stand still, add undiluted ACV to a spray bottle and spray the underneath of the hoof.

6. Disguise the taste of water when travelling away from home with your horse

Many horses are fussy about their water and don’t like to drink when away from home if the water tastes different to their usual supply. This is particularly the case if you have tank, dam or bore water at home and you only have access to town (mains) water when travelling. Adding some ACV to the water will disguise the taste and your horse will be more likely to drink it.

7. Weed Killer

If you have weeds in your horse’s paddock and are reluctant to spray them with a pesticide, ACV is a very useful weed killer. For best results, spray weeds in early spring or whenever the growing season starts in your area.

8. Use as a Cleaning Agent for Stable Products

ACV is excellent as a cleaning agent for Stable Products such as Saddle Pads or Saddle Blankets, Bandages, Horse Boots, Rugs etc. Adding some ACV to the rinse water will help remove soap residue and make Saddle Pads more comfortable against your horse’s skin.

9. Treating Minor Ailments

Using ACV on minor ailments such as skin infections, fungus, rain scald etc can reduce healing time by helping to keep bacteria and insects away. Make sure the ACV is diluted so as not to sting your horse or aggravate the ailment. As always, any injuries or ailments that don’t respond to treatment should be treated by a qualified veterinarian.

10. Help Prevent Intestinal Stones (enteroliths)

Intestinal Stones (enteroliths) can be very serious in horse’s resulting in colic which can lead to death. An alkaline environment in your horse’s digestive tract can cause to intestinal stones. The high levels of acidity in ACV can help to prevent Intestinal Stones, and can even help to dissolve them.

At Greg Grant Saddlery, many of our Team Members have discovered the benefits of ACV on with own horse’s. We use and recommend which is made locally in Australia by The NRG Team. Apart from our Top Ten List of Uses for ACV, it can be mixed in to your horse’s feed, or added to their drinking water. Daily dosages are 50ml per day for Adult Horses, or 100ml for Adult Horses in heavy work making it an economical supplement with many benefits.

Not all Apple Cider Vinegar products are the same! NRG Apple Cider Vinegar is Unpasteurised, Unfiltered and Naturally fermented from apples – ensuring your horse receives maximum benefit. Discover the benefits of ACV for yourself today!

How much apple cider vinegar should I feed my horse?

Daily dosages are 50ml per day for Adult Horses, or 100ml for Adult Horses in heavy work making it an economical supplement with many benefits. Not all Apple Cider Vinegar products are the same!

Can I give my horse apple cider vinegar?

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have recommended apple cider vinegar in the prevention of enteroliths in at-risk horses. Adding half a cup (0.11 liters) of cider vinegar to a horse's feed or sprinkling the liquid over a hay ration has been recommended to help combat the formation of enteroliths.

What does apple cider vinegar do for horses hooves?

Hoof and Fungus Issues: Thrush and other foot fungus infections can be greatly reduced by a regular spray or soak application of apple cider vinegar to the sole and frog of a horse's feet. By making the hoof area more acidic, fungus is no longer able to grow well there.

Does apple cider vinegar help with laminitis?

Research has also shown that it can slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, which is helpful for those founder-prone ponies/horses that are sensitive to sugar. Because of this, using apple cider vinegar for horses with laminitis can help to reduce the risk of it reoccurring, along with proper care.