As a horse owner you want the best for your horse. So do we. And honestly: when a label says "100% natural", that tends to feel like the safe choice. We used to read it that way too.
At LISS Products we genuinely believe in what nature offers. Many natural ingredients have excellent properties and, applied carefully, can contribute to a horse's health and wellbeing.
But while developing a new care product, we went deep into ingredients, skin health and the research behind both. We came out with one conclusion that has shaped how we work: what decides whether an ingredient is good for your horse is not where it came from, but how it is used.
Nature is powerful, which is exactly why it needs scrutiny
Nature offers a great deal. It also demonstrates, repeatedly, that "natural" and "safe" are not the same word.
Take ragwort. It grows wild in any Dutch pasture, and it causes serious, irreversible liver damage in horses. Drying does not neutralise it: the toxic compounds survive into hay, which is what makes it so dangerous.
Or acorns. Almost every owner clears them out of the field in autumn, because a larger intake can damage a horse's gastrointestinal tract and kidneys.
And yew. That handsome green hedge is among the most poisonous plants a horse can reach. A small quantity can be fatal.
What these examples actually show
Not that natural products are bad. That nature contains powerful compounds, and powerful compounds deserve the same critical eye as anything else we put on or near a horse.
The same logic runs the other way. An ingredient can be synthetic and entirely appropriate, or plant-derived and a poor fit. We took that apart in detail with glycerin, which is genuinely useful in human skincare and wrong for leather. Origin told you nothing. Application told you everything.
The same applies to care products
Plenty of natural ingredients can support the skin or contribute to wellbeing. Research into natural fragrances and essential oils, and their effect on relaxation and stress, is genuinely promising: several studies have measured lower stress responses in horses exposed to lavender. Aromatherapy has been used in human healthcare for years, and the equine research is still developing.
We looked at that question properly in how scent affects a horse's wellbeing, including the part most articles skip: natural does not mean permitted in competition.
But any effect depends on the formulation. Concentration, the combination of ingredients, and how the product is applied decide whether it is pleasant, safe and effective on sensitive equine skin. And equine skin is not our skin, which is a difference that catches out more owners than almost anything else. We covered why a horse's skin pH makes human products a bad fit separately.
The questions we ask instead
So we do not stop at "is it natural?". We ask:
- Why was this ingredient chosen?
- Is it safe for a horse's sensitive skin?
- Does it genuinely contribute to the horse's wellbeing?
- Is the formulation based on knowledge and research?
That last question is why our LISS Leather Cleaner is built without glycerin and uses PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil instead. Not because one ingredient is natural and the other is not, but because of how each behaves on the material it touches.
Our view
Nature has a great deal to offer, and we use natural ingredients readily where they make a proven contribution to a horse's health and wellbeing.
We also think welfare has to come before a marketing claim. So we look past terms like "100% natural" and assess every ingredient on safety, quality, efficacy, and how it works with the rest of the formula.
Because good care is not decided by a label. It is decided by considered choices, grounded in knowledge and research, and one starting point that never moves for us: the wellbeing of the horse.
Sources
- EFSA. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in feed and food.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Oak (acorn) toxicity in animals.
- Royal Veterinary College. Yew poisoning in horses.
- Effect of Lavender Aromatherapy on Acute-Stressed Horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.
- Effect of Aromatherapy on Equine Heart Rate Variability. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science (2019).
- Lavender essential oil decreases stress response of horses. Environmental Chemistry Letters.
- McBride, S. & Mills, D. S. (2012). Psychological factors affecting equine performance. BMC Veterinary Research, 8:180.
This article is for general information and does not replace veterinary advice. If you are worried about your horse, contact your vet.
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