How To Help Your Animal's Skin Health Naturally

Skin conditions affect many animals at some point during their life. In fact, research suggests: "Dermatological problems are one of the most commonly reported and hardest to resolve problems encountered by veterinarians in small animal medicine" (Scott et al., 2001).

There can be lots of different causes - including:

• Food allergies
• Allergies caused by the environment (e.g. smoke, pollen, dust, etc)
• Fleas and mites
• Ticks
• Fly bites
• Hormonal imbalance
• Injuries (e.g. wounds)
• Plus many others too!

If your animal has any kind of skin complaint, then you should seek professional veterinary advice. Some conditions can be easily confused with another. So it’s always essential to know what the problem is, which a veterinary surgeon can help you with.

How Will You Know Your Animal Has a Skin Condition That Needs Treating?

There can be many symptoms, such as:

• Itching and scratching
• Licking/over-cleaning the skin
• Raw, red or sore spots.
• Flaky skin
• Bald spots
• Bumps and spots

These can all be potentially distressing for your animal. Some animals are more sensitive than others. But even what looks like a mild symptom, can develop to be more serious if not identified and treated sooner rather than later.

How To Help Your Animal With a Skin Condition Holistically?

1. Immune health
My number one tip is to ensure your animal has a healthy immune system as possible. This can be overlooked, but is a basic of good health. As I talk about in my immune health for animals advice page here, “wounds that won't heal and repeated illness. All of these can be signs of an immune system that's being challenged, and needs some support.”

2. Herbal Health - Aloe Vera
My second tip, but is linked to the first one is use Aloe Vera daily as a part of overall health. Why you might ask? Well I’ve used Aloe Vera for myself and my animals for over 20 years, both as a supplement (to help promote good immunity) and also as topical skincare. Get more information at my aloe vera for animals here. And if you’d like to buy then as I sell a large range of pure aloe vera skin and health care please email me with any queries at info at taranet.co.uk.

3. Other Herbs for Your Animal's Skin Health
There's a large range of herbs to help your animals skin health. Read about 4 popular herbs in my Natural Pet Health Blog post here.

In choosing a herbal skincare product for your animal, check the ingredients. The quantities and composition can vary a lot. Some herbs can be taken as a supplement or a topical skincare lotion, or both.

4. Veterinary Homeopathy
There are many veterinary surgeons around the world who've completed additional training in homeopathy. So either ask your own vet for their advice or ask to be referred to a specialist homeopathic vet for a consultation. You'll find many different remedies that can be used to help with skin health, the most suitable will depend on the presentation of your animal, and what symptoms he or she has.

There are some specific conditions that manifest as serious skin ailments. These include:

• Equine Sweet Itch

So How Can A Holistic Approach Help Your Horse Pony or Donkey With Sweet Itch?

This is distressing condition can affect horses, donkeys and ponies. As I mention in my summer healthcare for animals advice page “Every equine is different - some will experience sweet itch more severely than another, and some will respond to a treatment more quickly and more effectively than how another horse, pony or donkey will.” There’s a range of holistic approaches to help manage sweet itch naturally which you can learn more about here.

• Ticks

These little critters can cause severe skin irritation and even srious illness. So must be taken seriously. Get advice on how to help manage ticks for your dog holistically, with my blog post here.

• Mud Fever

This can affect all kinds of horses, ponies and donkeys and can be extremely painful and distressing. Even causing apparent lameness if the irritation and soreness is such that putting the leg to the ground hurts. Get tips on how to help manage equine mud fever holistically here.

In conclusion - there are many ways a holistic approach can help your animal have healthy skin. Hopefully this has been helpful. You can find information on a large range of complementary therapies here at Taranet.

Even modalities such as massage can help with skin health, by removing toxins from the body. So please explore this website to learn more about how a holistic approach can help your animal, large or small.


Veterinary Skin Health Research

• Scott, D. W., Miller, W. H. and Griffin, C. E. (2001). Small Animal Dermatology. (6th edn.), W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia. cited Khurana et al
• Find information on other veterinary research looking at holistic approaches here - with my research page.

Finally….Please remember that if your horse, dog or other animal is unwell. Or on any kind of medication or other supplement. Then always speak to your Veterinary Surgeon first before using any supplement or therapy. Even natural ones. To avoid any possible issues.

And do you know someone who'd find this helpful? Please share, the more we can spread awareness of the benefits of natural therapies the better! :)

Find out more about other natural animal therapies here at Taranet. Or read other articles in this Natural Pet Health Blog. Take a look at the sitemap here to explore!

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About the Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse