HOUBLON – Stress and horse irritability

Description

Hop (Humulus lupulus) is a medicinal plant known for its many beneficial properties, including soothing and aperitif effects. Used for centuries in various medicinal traditions, hops are particularly appreciated for their effectiveness in managing stress, behavioural disorders and to stimulate appetite in horses.

Hops are a medicinal plant with multiple benefits for horses, offering notable benefits for stress management, behavioural disorders and appetite stimulation. Its regular use helps improve the mental, emotional and digestive health of horses.

Benefits for Stress Management

Hops contain active compounds such as flavonoids and bitter acids that have calming properties. These substances help to reduce anxiety and stress in horses, thus promoting more calm and relaxed behaviour.

Baseline: A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior demonstrated that hop administration in stressed horses significantly reduces levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and improves calm behaviour (Garcia et al., 2017).

Behavioural disorders

The soothing properties of hops are useful for behavioural disorders in horses. Whether it is hyperactivity, aggressiveness or excessive nervousness, hops help stabilize mood and promote balanced behaviour.

Baseline: According to research conducted by the Equine Veterinary Journalhorses with problematic behaviors showed significant improvement after regular hop treatment. The study reports a decrease in aggressive behaviour and an increase in periods of calm and rest (Smith et al., 2018).

Aperitif properties

Hops are also known for their aperitif properties, helping to stimulate appetite in horses. This plant can be particularly beneficial for convalescent horses or those who have difficulty maintaining normal appetite. The anethole and other bitter compounds present in hops encourage the production of gastric juices, thereby increasing appetite and improving digestion.

Baseline: A study published in the Journal of Animal Science showed that the addition of hops to horses' diet stimulated their appetite and improved their intake, leading to better uptake of nutrients (Lee et al., 2019).

ESC Laboratoire is a pioneer company in equine herbal medicine. We specialize in the selection and use of plant active ingredients applied to equine comfort care and offer the widest range of natural products for horses on the market.