Barnyard Animals Used as Homeopathic Medicines: Lac Equinum

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Nov, 2001  by Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman,  Robert Ullman

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In our last column we discussed the characteristics of those needing homeopathic medicines made from animals, then elaborated on Lac caninum (dog's milk) and Lyssin (rabies). We promised to continue our three-part series this month focusing on what we will very loosely call "barnyard medicine." Homeopathic medicines made from the horse include Lac equinum (mare's milk), to which we will devote the majority of this article, Castor equi (the rudimentary thumbnail of the horse), Hippamanes (colt meconium), and Pilus equinus (horse hair). Other medicines made from farm animals include Lac caprinum (goat's milk), Fel tauri (ox gall), Lac vaccinum (cow's milk), Lac defloratum (skimmed cow's milk), Ovi gallinae pellicula (membrane of eggshell), Lac ovis (sheep's milk), and various obscure pig-derived medicines including Lac suilinum (house pig's milk), and Hepar suis (pig's liver). Rats can be prolific in agricultural environments. Two rat medicines have been proven recently: Rattus rattus (Bombay street rat) and So urcis sanguis (Norwegian pet rat). Another widely known and marketed homeopathic animal medicine is Oscillococcinum, found in studies to be quite effective for influenza, which is made from duck liver and heart.

Lac equinum, lac caprinum Rattus rattus have all been proved for the first time during the past several years. Oscillococcinum has proved effective in the initial stages of influenza. Lac defloratum and Hippomanes are well documented in the homeopathic materia medica. The main themes elicited in the Lac caprinum proving were shameless sexuality, nervous, frightened children clinging to their mothers, and individuals in high social position who hide sexual indiscretions and are subject to scandal and disgrace. In Rattus we find an indifference to the suffering of others, lack of sexual inhibition, and a profound feeling of dirtiness or disgust. Lac defloratum is best known for debilitating headaches, complications of pregnancy, intolerance of or aversion to milk, and a strong feeling of being forsaken and rejected by the community. Those needing Hippomanes may have a sensation of icy coldness in the stomach, of the wrist being sprained, and a tendency towards an isolative despondency or brooding.

Lac Equinum Themes

One medicine, out of the list above, which we have had the most clinical success with is Lac equinum. The proving conducted by Nancy Herrick, PA is discussed in-depth in her book Animal Mind, Human Voices. Jessica Jackson, LAc gave a wonderful presentation on her several cases of this medicine at the 1999 conference of the National Center for Homeopathy (NCH), for which an audiotape is available. We have prescribed Lac equinum with considerable benefit for several adults and one child. One of the main keys for us to prescribing this medicine, though it need not necessarily be present, is a great interest, fondness, and often, passion for horses. This was confirmed in Ms. Jackson's NCH presentation. A second theme is a feeling of having one's wild spirit or nature beaten out - of being tamed into submission. This was expressed in the proving as the frustration resulting from a large, wild animal having been subjugated, domesticated, selectively bred, and, too often, mistreated by humans. Think for a moment of the battles in which horses were sacrificed, of rodeos and racetracks, slaughter houses, and overburdened pack horses. The term "breaking," used commmonly among horse trainers, as Ms. Herrick points out, is very telling. Our patients needing Lac equinum have recounted dreams of galloping through the plains feeling wonderfully alive and free. Invariably when we have asked them to describe what it is they love about horses, they mention the animal's free spirit. Of course they may also mention other qualities such as beauty, grandeur, and specific traits.

Themes drawn from Ms. Herrick's provings were apathy and ennui (in fact she concluded that horses in general were extremely unhappy and dissatisfied), difficult and frustrating encounters, a tendency towards confrontation, mistakes and errors (such as reversing letters which we saw in one of our cases), impatience, irritability, and violence. She concludes that this Lac equinum is likely to belong to the tubercular miasm because of the discontentment, restlessness, constriction, and desire to break free, as well as the strong desire for bacon in the proving subjects (also highly characteristic of Tuberculinum and other tubercular remedies such as Calcarea phosphorica). This makes sense to us.

One last element emphasized in Ms. Jackson's cases was a tendency to give generously of oneself, sometimes to excess. We have noticed this characteristic in a couple of our cases as well.

Lac Equinum Case

We began to treat Ginny, age ten, six months ago. Normally we do not present cases unless they have a minimum of one year's treatment but we are making an exception here because the improvement has been clear and dramatic from the beginning. A robust infant, Ginny began to gag frequently beginning at nine months of age. She talked easily, seemed normal in every way, and showed signs of precocity, similar to her older brother who was in a gifted program. The first grade teacher alerted Ginny's parents of her difficulty with handwriting. The disparity between her IQ (at the level of a 12th grader) and her hand motor coordination (that of a five year-old) was marked. By the time Ginny reached second grade, she remarked at times about being stupid due to her challenge with handwriting. Over time Ginny lost interest in academics entirely [remember the apathy and ennui in the Lac equinum proving].