Native Americans used horsetail as a poultice to promote wound healing. The Thompson tribe in British Columbia applied the ashes of horsetail fern stems to burns. The herb's high silica content makes it abrasive, and in the past it was used to polish metal and wood. Its common name, bottlebrush, indicates another of its uses. Horsetail was also tied to the tails of livestock to help them ward off flies. It was long considered a wound-healing herb.
 Ingredients
Horsetail contains large amounts of silicic acid and silicates (about 15%), flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids (including nicotine), and sterols. Much of the therapeutic effectiveness of this herb is the due to its high silica content, a large proportion of which is soluble and can be absorbed. Silica supports the regeneration of connective tissue.
 Suggested Use
The German Commission E Monograph suggests up to six grams of the herb daily for internal use. This should be divided into two or three doses. A tincture may also be used at 2 - 6 ml three times per day. To use as a poultice in relieving joint pain, soak a cotton towel in a hot horsetail infusion and place on the inflamed area.
 Warning
This plant is toxic in excesses. Children have been poisoned by using the stems as blowguns or whistles. In animals, symptoms of overdose include muscle weakness, ataxia, weight loss, abnormal pulse rate, cold extremities, and fever. Do not use horsetail for more than six weeks except under professional supervision since the herb may cause irritation to the digestive tract. Do not confuse horsetail with the marsh horsetail, a similar but much larger plant containing toxic alkaloids. Horsetail interacts negatively with digitalis and its cardiac glycosides; it may also cause a breakdown of thiamin. For children due to high inorganic silica content of powdered herb and toxicity reported from chewing the stems (empirical)150.
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