With a history of more than 2,000 years, horse milk has significantly impacted the health and well-being of many people.
The origin of horse milk goes back to the ancient Greeks. They believed that the Amazons, a legendary tribe of female warriors, feed their children with mare’s milk, among other things.
The Scythians were traveling warriors who lived in southern Siberia and depended on their horses for transportation. Researchers have found that these tribes bred horses for strength and mobility and to produce milk to feed their children.
The Egyptian queen Cleopatra bathed in sour donkey milk to reduce wrinkles and maintain her youthful beauty. The sour milk acts as a mild exfoliator, removing dead skin cells and revealing smoother, more radiant skin. Cleopatra is remembered as one of the most beautiful women of all time; her beauty ritual must have produced the desired results.
However, in Russia, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the organized production and consumption of horse milk started growing, mainly to treat tuberculosis. At that time, tuberculosis was considered one of the most feared diseases for which there was no effective treatment yet. The Russian doctors noted that some patients who drank horse milk seemed to have better resistance to the disease. This observation led to the establishment of sanatoria, a convalescent home where patients temporarily stay to recover from this condition.
In the 1990s, horse milk became more well-known in Europe, especially in countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, where horse milk dairies offered fresh or frozen horse milk to users with health problems.
In 1999, our product Equilac® got into the market; it was the first dietary supplement based on horse milk, making it accessible to everyone through pharmacies. Read more about the family story behind Equilac.
