Can I give my horse CBD Oil?
Monday, July 24, 2023
By Jeri Lockwood
The answer is yes! Horses, humans, dogs, cats have their own cannabis-like system naturally in our own bodies, called the endocannabinoid system or the ECS for short. ECS helps control physical, mental and emotional functions in the brain and body including body movement, pain control, anxiety, gut function and much more. ECS is all about helping maintain equilibrium or balance on every level the body and the brain. When the ECS isn’t functioning properly, adding full-spectrum CBD to a mammal’s body may help restore balance and alleviate symptoms without major side effects.
The ECS was only discovered 30 years ago and is still being studied today. When the Farm Bill passed legislation in 2018, CBD became a legal substance in most states. Since then, the CBD industry in the United States has exploded. Scientists, the medical community and the FDA are now trying to catch up with additional research and FDA guidelines. Our suspicion is that the pharmaceutical companies are not happy with an organic substance that may naturally help humans, horses and other mammals (yes, even fish) and affect their profits.
Every mammal has CBD1 and CBD2 receptors. A CBD3 receptor is now being explored. When CBD is introduced, it simply tells our own receptors in our ECS system to produce more of its own natural CBD into our body.
When looking for a CBD product for your horse, please note that the hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent THC. The manufacturer and retailer must have Certificates of Analysis aka lab reports posted on their website or available at the retail location. We highly recommend a full-spectrum CBD which are made from strains of the cannabis plant that fall into the hemp category but still contain other cannabinoids and terpenes in the full plant extract, meaning that they have at least some levels of the entourage effect. Which simply means, full-spectrum CBD works to a greater extent than an isolate CBD producing better effects at lower doses.
Dr. Dani Gordon, MD, The CBD Bible, 2020
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