There are a range of Benefits when feeding Turmeric for Horses – We suggest you read Why Turmeric for Animals by Dr Doug English (Vet) if you’re curious to learn more.

It’s up to you HOW you choose to feed turmeric to your horse.  Essentially you NEED to make sure you are adding the 3 Basic Ingredients to help with the absorption and allow your horse to gain some turmeric benefits

PLEASE NOTE: Commercial turmeric capsules/pills (that have high levels of curcumin- 95%) are NOT RECOMMENDED for use with animals

Feeding Turmeric for Horses (Guide only)

START SMALL … no need to rush! Feeding little and often is best if you can manage it because turmeric does not stay in the body past several hours, and it is a gentle way to introduce it and get a feel for the effects.

Observe how you or your horse responds and adjust the dose up or down accordingly.

  THERE IS NO SET DOSE!

The ratio to keep is:

• dessert spoon (10 mls) turmeric
• 5 – 10 mls oil (coconut, olive or linseed)
• 16 grinds of fresh black peppercorns

Note with OILS: You can use Micronised Linseed, BUT if using Micronised Linseed or fresh-ground linseeds, then use 3 times the amount of oil quoted. eg 10mls oil = 30 mls Micronised Linseed. Powerstance (a powdered coconut oil for horses) can also be used. Cool storage in airtight containers of linseed meal stops it from deteriorating if storing for long periods.

1. Get a measuring cup to keep in the feed shed.
2. Add a dessert spoon (to start with) of TURMERIC POWDER to your cup.
3. Add approximately 16 grinds of freshly ground cracked pepper AND some 5-10 mls of oil (coconut, olive or linseed) to your turmeric powder.
4. Add some water and blend into a paste that can be mixed through the bulk of your horses feed.

(See the end of the article for an easy measurement chart – if you double one ingredient, double all ingredients and so on).

Cooking the turmeric into a paste will help its effectiveness, BUT it is NOT a critical issue if it does not suit you. If you do use Golden Paste then you need to keep the paste in a fridge in between feeds. Mixing the dry powder with oil and ground black pepper into their regular feed is fine.

Many members of the Turmeric Life Community (don’t forget to sign up below) simply add all the ingredients to the top of their horses feed, damp it down and mix well. If your feed already contains lipids/fats as do a lot of horse feeds then you may wish to leave the oil.

Horses seem to accept the Turmeric mix better if their feed is wet…….dripping wet.

Remember – little and often is more beneficial, so split the dose and feed at least twice a day – if you can. Once a day is still helpful if that’s what you can manage.

Ideas for alternate dosing is on the Turmeric Recipes for Animals page (coming soon) BUT please do not rely solely on ‘treats’ for administering turmeric to your horse!

DOSAGE GUIDE: Most people START their horses off on 1 teaspoon of the  turmeric mixture (see above) twice a day.

After that it’s up to the owner to observe their animal and note any change. Increase the dose each week until a healthy maintenance level is found.

It doesn’t matter whether you are using the turmeric paste, or the dry mixture, the principle is the same – just start small and gradually build the dosage up to a comfortable level.

*GREAT TIP from TUG member Ellen Weaver* “I make up a big batch of the paste, then every day put a tablespoon of the paste in an old thermos, (start with a small dose first for a few days) fill it up with warm water, give it a shake, go to the paddock & just pour the mix in the feed…”

SARCOIDS

If you are treating your horse for scarcoids using turmeric you need to FEED the Turmeric mixture to your horse.

Turmeric does most of its work from the inside.

If you also wish to make a topical paste, then mix turmeric powder with any non-harmful sticking medium – coconut oil, sudocrem, zinc etc. 

You may also be interested in Doug English’s Sarcoid Trial page on Facebook.

Check out our Blog Posts on Turmeric Horses and see what results others have had feeding turmeric to their horses. AND don’t forget to sign up join our Turmeric Life community and stay up to date with our latest news and stories. 

SOME (NOT ALL) horses will develop a ‘cat pee’ smell from their skin. To combat this, add approximately 1 tablespoon of Ceylon cinnamon to 1/2 cup of turmeric. (It is not the cat’s fault after all).

Measurements - Cheat Sheet

1 teaspoon = 5 mls
1 dessertspoon = 10 mls
1 tablespoon = 20 mls (4 teaspoons) Australia
1 tablespoon = 15 mls (3 teaspoons) UK, Canada, USA …

Checklist (if you are not getting any results from adding turmeric)

Have you remembered the oil and the pepper? (Read 3 Basic Ingredients)
Are you sure of the turmeric’s quality? (Check Turmeric FAQs)
How often are you feeding it?
Have you increased the dosage, remembering also to increase the oil and pepper?
Back track and see if you can figure out why it is not working.

If you have increased the dose and offered several doses at regular intervals through the day, if you have tried using as powder mixed into food and also tried making a paste to add to feeds by boiling turmeric powder in water, if it is still not having effect then SWITCH brands.