The wild-to-domestic transition
In Australia, more and more people are bringing Brumbies and station-bred Walers onto their semi-rural/suburban properties to use as riding or companion horses.
Horses that grew up in a wild/semi-wild environment may look the same as horses born into a semi-rural environment, but there will be some differences, particularly where their diet or taste pallet is concerned.
A different kind of palate
I’m fortunate enough to have a station-bred Waler mare in my care and it’s been really interesting to see how adventurous she is when it comes to trying new flavours – provided those flavours are plant based rather than ‘out of a packet’.
Although she’s by no means a picky eater, she will eat hay rather than chaff and pellets, and if left unsupervised around garden plants, she will have a crack at pretty much anything.
Herb teas as a bridge between worlds
On our property, she lives on a grass free horse track system because she has EMS which we are now manage successfully. To provide her with some variety in her diet, she gets a few different types of hay each day (in varying quantities) and several different plant-based teas to choose from each week.
Herb teas are a great way to offer different flavours to horses who are used to a varied plant-based diet like Brumbies and station-bred Walers, while also offering nutritional benefits.
My tea routine
To offer an insight into what this could look like, this is my routine each week. I created a tea schedule so that I didn’t keep giving them the same things again and again because I’ve got a terrible memory for things like this.
- Monday: Dandelion, Rosehip Seeds
- Tuesday: Camomile Flowers + 2 x Camomile Teabags, Celery Seeds
- Wednesday: Clivers, Ground Turmeric Powder
- Thursday: Vervain, Licorice Root Powder
- Friday: Fresh Mint Leaves + 2 x Mint Teabags, Beetroot Powder
- Saturday & Sunday: Nothing
Every morning I make up two buckets of tea in 26L buckets and the next morning, they are usually bone dry. So I know that the horses (1 horse and 1 large pony) drink them and enjoy them.
The practical setup
In the shed where I feed the horses, I have:
- A kettle
- 2 x 2kg yoghurt buckets
- 2 small trollies to hold separate plastic containers for each of the herbs
I label the herbs with the sticker from the original packaging and because that’s small to read, I write on each container what the recommended daily dosage is for one horse. That’s the amount that I make the tea out of, so that even if one horse drinks the whole bucket, they won’t be exceeding the recommended dose.
I put the recommended amount of herb into the yoghurt bucket and cover with boiling water. Leave to steep and then tip into a clean 26L bucket and fill up with fresh water.
I always have plenty of clean, fresh water available next to the herb teas, but the horses will usually only drink that once the herb teas are finished for the day.
Where to get herbs from
I currently only grow my own fresh mint but have plans to see what else I can grow fresh. In Western Australia we’re lucky enough to have a fabulous supplier of herbs suitable for teas, Mane Event Equestrian Supplies. I also use supermarket Camomile and Peppermint teabags to increase the strength of those teas.
Starting your own tea practice
I wrote another article titled “Culinary Courage” which has some tips on how to introduce new tastes to horses. It’s true that some horses just don’t like some tastes and no amount of coaxing will do anything to change that. For example, my horses will not touch Bentonite Clay or Spirulina, so I’ve taken those off our menu.
What started as a way to offer my EMS mare more variety on a grass-free track has become one of my favourite parts of the daily routine. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching horses who carry the memory of the bush in their bones enthusiastically drain buckets of plant-based teas.
For Brumbies and station-bred Walers transitioning to suburban life, herb teas can offer nutritional benefits, certainly, but perhaps more importantly, they honour the adventurous palate these horses developed in their early lives.
The practice doesn’t have to be complicated. A kettle, some buckets, and a selection of herbs are all you need to start. The reward is watching your wild-bred horse recognise that even in their new domestic life, plant diversity and variety still have a place.