Below are a list of web links which horse people should find of interest in acquiring hard-to-find herbs and accessories.  Note, I am of the philosophy that in most cases (there are important exceptions),  medicinal herbs which can be harvested locally, picked fresh during the proper growth stage, and processed under proper procedures are the best and most potent to use. The herbalist is always taking large risks when he buys from the general mass health food stores, discount chains, and even many speciality herb houses. They will often obtain herbs that were not harvested properly, stored optimally, and processed correctly. Many herbs will be imported from third world countries that use huge amounts of pesticides and herbicides to grow their crops. Many of these foreign crops are not stored or shipped properly to these shores. Many herb shipments are routinely irradiated upon arrival to the USA. It is always best to do everything, one's self. Of course, in a modern society, this is often too time consuming or the herb that is needed cannot be had locally. Suppliers do offer valuable sources for medicinal herbs that cannot be easily had. Just be very careful who you buy from.

     One should be aware that many times, Herbal Medicine does not work because of low quality herbs. Dr. Schulze is known for his classic example of comparing homemade Echinacea and lobelia tinctures to that which may be purchased on the commercial markets.  A potent Lobelia inflata tincture should impart to your throat a scratchy sensation.  It is almost impossible to get this desired sensation of strength from store bought Lobelia tinctures. They are far too watered down to give therapeutic value to any treatment. Same would hold true for Echinacea, placing this potent herb in the mouth should give the taster, a numbing, tingling sensation. Try getting this proper effect from many store bought Echinacea products–few can stand up to this type of potency test. 

     The below suppliers generally seem to deal in high class herbs with perhaps the exception of Ameri-herb. I list Ameri-herb because it is an alternative to the more expensive herb houses and I have personally puchased from them, but Ameri-herb does seem to deal in cheaper third world herbal products. Just be aware that Herbal Medicine cannot heal without potent plants.

 eBay!            ......................... An excellent source for antique herbalware, books, and  lab supplies.

AmeriHerb, Inc   .........................I have puchased many of my bulk herbs from this company. For topical herbs used in liniments, poultices, etc, this may be a reasonalbe source.  An example would be:  Pau d'Arco bark at $4.30/pound,  Kava root at $13.60/pound, etc. They are not online yet, but can be reached at P.O. Box 1968, Ames, Iowa  50010-1968.  Phone orders:  1-800-267-6141.

Pacific Botanicals .................... a high class operation, delivering potent bulk herbs.

Herbal Advantage, Inc............another mail order house said to deal with excellent potent herbs.

Blessed Herbs ............................... online mailorder house.

Mountain Rose Herbs......................... appears to be a first rate herbal supplier.

Snakeroot. ............................this appears to be a good native Kansas root supplier where one can procure a fresh Echinacea Angustifolia root, though it does seem a bit pricy.

Trinity Herbs. . . . . . . . . a very high quality supplier, but they only deal wholesale to professionals and other large volume buyers. A tax number will be needed when ordering. Prices seem competitive.

Planet Herbs. . . . . . . . . . said to be another quality herb supplier with reasonable prices. They tend to buy from an extensive number of wildcrafters who gather the highest quality herbs, roots, and barks.

Old herb remedy salesmen back in days long gone.