The Natural Therapy Centre for Animals - News Letter. February 1999 Herbal book Animals living in their natural state seek out certain plants, leaves, berries and bark, for self-healing. Domestic animals too, will use these methods, if given the opportunity. We often see the domestic cat and dog chewing on bark or couch grass for self-cleansing.
Horses are expert herbalists when provided with a natural pasture.
My mare grazed our Wormwood shrub every spring while my Border Collie relished opportunities to gingerly pluck the blackberry fruits from their branches in late summer. The animals are our teachers. History Herbalism has a time honoured reputation for maintaining and restoring well-being. Since the Egyptian civilisation of 2900 BC, herbs have been used for both human and animal healing. Natives in America, South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific though, continued to practice traditional medicine and here in Australia, early colonial Herbalism was significantly influenced by the Australian Aborigines who made great use of trees, bark, shrubs and vine.