10 EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION / AE / January 2008

Review....Review....Review....Review....

VETERINARY HERBAL MEDICINE conventional biomedical medicine and all so-called complementary medicine, not merely herbalism. Interestingly, Authors: Susan Wynn and the last chapter in this section is titled ‘A Skeptical View of Barbara Fougère Herbal Medicine’ and is quite scathing in parts. This opinion is also being voiced in the scientific literature at present. The Publisher: Mosby inclusion of this chapter did surprise me and was one of the reasons I have had problems with the book. However it does RRP: £51.99 show the scientific veracity of the authors and, taken with the EVJ Price: £46.79 + p&p rest of the book, the strength of the case for herbalism. From here the book, in Part 3, actually starts to look at the plants themselves. This is in a lot of detail from growing to I have taken some time to write this review as my initial harvesting and commercial production. The origins of various opinion was not favourable. However, whilst using the book plants are covered especially with relation to endangered and as my knowledge of herbs has increased doing the species. Integrate Veterinary Herb Course with Jimmy Symonds and Finally, in Part 4, the book gets to how to use medicinal Peter Conway, my opinion has dramatically changed. plants in the veterinary field. Although this is the last section, There have been many herbal books on the market, from it comprises most of the book. I found it easier to use this part Culpeper’s to Juliette De Bairacli-Levy and hundreds of others. first and then go onto the other sections as I became more The problem with nearly all of these is that, although they may interested. be accurate, they are anecdotal. Whilst in nearly every case the There is a bias here in that cattle and horses have a chapter information contained may be useful it has not been each whereas small animals are mentioned in passing. I regret corroborated by research, at least as yet. This book’s this, as one of the major difficulties I have encountered, information is. The detail and knowledge is in depth. especially in cats, is palatability. Many herbs are unpleasant Susan Wynn and Barbara Fougère, listed as authors, are tasting and smelling. This is only mentioned in the last well versed in herbal medicine, and there are many other sentence en passant. Indeed taste is really only mentioned in contributors. These read like a Who’s Who of pharmacology TCM treatment. and herbalism, veterinary and otherwise. Regret is expressed Whilst dose rate is covered, this is from the human field so in the book that veterinary surgeons have, in the more recent may be inaccurate. However many vets have used similar past, ignored or suppressed this therapy. This is the more dosing strategies with good results. Hopefully further editions surprising as many conventional drugs have come from this will have found more like-minded vets who can give more source and, indeed, still do. information. The book is divided into 4 major parts plus appendices. I did find the paucity of illustrations somewhat limiting. The first of these is the historical relationship between plants Whilst I accept that most herbalists don’t ‘grow their own’ it and animals. Indeed, the most common way herbs are taken is useful to know what to expect when receiving a packet of by animals is self treatment or zoopharmacognosy and this is apparent weeds through the post. I also accept that tinctures where this book starts. From here it moves on to ethno- and pills can often look the same and smell does not translate veterinary medicine, which can be considered one of the from the written page. major aspects of organic living, not just farming. This, as the Similarly, if a chapter on growing herbs is included, as it is, book says, is a vast subject and the interested reader is advised I would have liked more pictorial detail. This may be a personal of how to move forward. Further chapters in this section are view as a nongardener. I did find one gem in here that lists related to the history of herbalism and also cover the some of the common medicinal plants that are poisonous in 2 foremost ways of using herbs viz. Ayurveda and traditional low dose (it is important to remember that many plants are Chinese medicine (TCM), as well as the Western viewpoint. unsafe in large quantities). The second section regards controversies in herbal Thus, having come full circle, I consider this book to be medicine. The first 2 relate to research, regulation and quality worthwhile, well constructed and written. I believe that as a control, all difficult areas. Here I met a new word (to me at starting point it is excellent and will be helpful even for the least): ‘scientism’, which roughly translates, in my mind at experienced veterinary herbalist. least, into “current scientific theory is all correct and all there Alan Slater is.” This viewpoint seems to be a major sticking point between Aurora Holistics, Providence Terrace, Swaffham, Norfolk, UK.