What Do a Horse’s Kidneys Do?

The kidneys remove excess salts, water, and waste products from the bodies of mammals. They are part of a system that includes the urinary tract and the bladder. For this system to function well, a horse must always have access to plenty of fresh water so it can drink adequately.

Keeping the Kidneys Healthy

To keep your horse’s kidneys healthy, first ensure there is always fresh drinking water available. Clean the water trough daily. Also, make sure your horse gets enough salts and electrolytes, for example, by providing a mineral buffet alongside the clean drinking water. This is particularly important when it is hot, or when your horse sweats a lot during work, as replenishing electrolytes is crucial. A horse loses relatively more salts than a human when it is hot!

Supporting Kidneys with Herbs

There are several herbs that can support your horse’s kidney function. Nettle, dandelion, or a detox are examples. A detox is not suitable for every horse, but nettle and dandelion have milder effects. Kidney function can improve thanks to dandelion.

What Does a Horse’s Liver Do?

The liver functions as a filter for contaminants and toxic substances. After food is absorbed in the intestines, it is first sent to the liver for filtering. The liver of a horse is very large and has more functions than just filtering harmful substances. Many vitamins and minerals are stored in the liver, and the horse’s liver also produces its own vitamin C. Additionally, vitamin D3 is processed in the liver. If the liver does not function properly, a vitamin deficiency can occur. The liver also plays a key role in digesting fats. Horses do not have a gallbladder like humans. The liver produces bile that helps digest fats in the diet. Lastly, the liver is also involved in protein synthesis. Proteins are crucial building blocks, especially for working horses, growing horses, or mares nursing a foal.

Keeping the Liver Healthy

It is often difficult to detect when a horse’s liver function is not optimal. Your horse might have vague symptoms like fatigue. Only when the liver is in very poor condition can signs like yellowing of the gums be observed. If you suspect that your horse needs to process many waste products, for example after illness or digestive upset, you can relieve the liver by providing additional vitamin C. This way, the liver has less work producing vitamin C. The same applies to proteins: you can feed extra essential amino acids during periods when the liver is busy with other tasks.

Supporting the Liver with Herbs

There are various herbs that can support the liver. To keep the liver clean, you might consider a mild cleanse with nettle extract or dandelion. These herbs purify the blood and are good for the immune system. Dandelion extract helps the liver cope with toxic substances better and ensures that absorbed waste products are expelled more effectively. Research also shows that dandelion can reduce liver damage. Nettle is also blood-purifying and does not place extra burden on the liver. Milk thistle is a well-known natural way to provide a thorough (heavier) detox. But be careful: never give a detox to a horse that is sick or has liver problems! Also, horses with chronic muscle problems or PSSM should not be given a detox as it could further strain the liver. An easy way to provide extra vitamin C is by adding vitamin C in the form of rosehip tincture to the feed or mineral buffet. You can also give amino acids like lysine (possibly in combination with vitamin E) over the feed.

Bronnen

Fors, Maria, 2009. Herbs for horses. First cycle, G2E. Uppsala: SLU, Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management. https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1454/7/fors_m_101007.pdf

Sheezan Rasool and Bharti Sharma. 2014. Taraxacum officinale: a high value less known medicinal plant. Centre for Biodiversity Studies, School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, BGSB University, Rajouri-185131, J & K, India. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=9d99b2bab4d413569e3b25ef565e33b07c04f7bf

Muhammad Gulfraz, Dawood Ahamd, Muhammad Sheeraz Ahmad, Rehmatullah Qureshi, Raja Tahir Mahmood, Nyla Jabeen and Kashif Sarfraz Abbasi. 2014. Effect of leaf extracts of Taraxacum officinale on CCl4 induced Hepatotoxicity in rats, in vivo study. Pak. J. Pharm. Sci., Vol.27, No.4, July 2014, pp.825-829 825. https://www.academia.edu/download/41928536/Effect_of_leaf_extracts_of_Taraxacum_off20160203-30232-17ula27.pdf

Universiteit Gent informatiepagina leveraandoeningen. https://www.ugent.be/di/laim/nl/dierenkliniek/dierenkliniekpaard/leverproblemenpaard