Uddermint

 

Uddermint

There are many varieties of garden mint – apple mint, grapefruit mint, peppermint and so on, but Uddermint has nothing to do with them.

Those with a working knowledge of cows may have heard of Uddermint. It is a product that has been developed to enhance udder health. It is a soothing liniment which is rubbed into the problematic quarter/s of the udder. It is also a valuable ointment for massaging muscles and joints and is useful at calving, particularly for heifers, the bovine primigravidae. It contains 35% pure Japanese peppermint oil and smells fresh and wholesome.   

I don’t know any cows so how did I come by a tube of Uddermint? My son-in-law meets an interesting range of people in the course of his work, one of whom (actually, probably several!) was a Dorset dairy farmer. I don’t know how big his herd was or if he was still milking by hand (unlikely, I would have thought, knowing nothing whatsoever about it!)   Anyway, he had occasion to apply Uddermint to one of his cows. This poor man had arthritic joints in his hands and he noticed that they were less painful after he’d finished anointing the afflicted cow.

A while later, another cow fell victim to an unnamed complaint and the heady unguent was again employed to ease the pain. Once more, the farmer noticed the easing of aches in his hands and it seemed to him that the coincidence was remarkable, so he continued to rub the ointment into his hands, with highly satisfactory results.  

My son-in-has some problems with his hands, not least being a lack of complete fingers on one of them (but that’s a story for another day) The farmer told him his tale and gave him a tube of cream to try. Discovering how effective it was, he proceeded to carry some with him at all times, and advised others to try it for their various muscular and joint ailments, too.  

He smiled through all the jokes – ‘Holy cow!’, ‘You’re barmy (balmy) and what seems to be everybody’s favourite, ‘Pull the udder one.’

If it’s still available* and you are tempted to try it, don’t forget to read the advice on the back of the tube – ‘avoid contact with eyes and nose and keep it out of the reach of children.’   I thought it said ‘chickens’ before I put on my glasses and was imagining all sorts of poultry (or even paltry) reactions. 

It ought to be kept away from sheep, too. They don’t like mint, perhaps because they know they might soon be keeping company with it at the dinner table!     

* I've just checked and it is still  available over the counter. The packaging is different now.