Another Silver Bullet - the reply I didn't post

In early May, I was introduced by a Veterinarian to Steadfast, by Arenus. He offered me a 30 day money back guarantee to try it on my horse's DSLD. It costs about $2. per day.

My horse started Steadfast on May 25. I was told, if there is no improvement within 25 days, I could notify the company for a full refund. I thought it was worth a try since I don't think my horse is a responder to the AAKG/J protocol (although I am using it on him) since it can't hurt.

When I saw this on the DSLD group, my immediate reaction was "another magic supplement". I don't get to that group often enough and don't want Bunny and Terry to kick me off so I felt I should take my response off-list.

I am so tempted at times to create and sell a silver bullet supplement - I'll mix a little poly copper and poly zinc with some selenium yeast, dry and grind up some eggshells, add a little flax and yeast as a base. Maybe I'll include some "natural" herbs.

Some innovative packaging - I like the idea of single serving cups with peel off tops. I'll write and publish a few supporting articles on how copper contributes to soft tissue repair and zinc and

methionine support hoof integrity and at least one on joint health. Of course, I'll mention the importance of Omega-3 and use lots of relevant citations. Frequent references to "organic" and "natural", pictures of shiny well-bred working and free-roaming horses, and I'm in business. I won't have to reveal the active ingredients as they are "proprietary" - after I think of a catchy trademark name. Testimonials from a few horse owners - it should be easy to find a few copper-starved horses that will bloom when given this magical stuff.

When I reviewed the website for the mentioned product, it seemed to me like an expensive form of chelated minerals and known (even if they do come from a novel source) joint supporting nutrients in a pretty "this will save your horse" package.

Did this veterinarian state what the "improvements" would be? The only actual claims made on the website for Telafirm® and NEM® are reduction in arthritis-related pain - the rest is standard boilerplate related to the effects of certain minerals and nutrients in the body. Nothing is said about the amount of minerals and which ones are in the product though the implication is there that it can make up for circumstances where minerals are deficient. I even considered the possibility of Telafirm® simply being a relabeled combination of Zin-Pro minerals and selenium yeast.

You can take a look at the Arenus site and decide for yourself.

If you really have that kind of money to spend on silver bullets, why not try a mineral balanced diet based on hay analysis for a third of the cost and send the rest to your favorite equine research or rescue.

The Bigger They Are...

I was talking with Sheila, my equine management associate here at Desert Equine Balance, this morning when we got on the topic of "big" horses and some of the different management issues they have.

Draft horses generally have been bred for strength and size rather than being mainly a refined version of a more naturally evolved light horse. They were bred for heavy work on a regular basis - pulling or carrying heavy loads - and weren't really expected to jump things or carry us on adventures around the countryside.

The appeal of these large purebred drafts and draft crosses can't be denied. For the most part they seem laid back, willing to please and are beautiful to look at. As more and more draft crosses show up at rescues, more people make the decision to bring one home as their primary riding horse. I find I'm working with more and more of these horses as time goes on and some owners find themselves with big horses that just aren't doing as well as they should.

Draft and draft crosses are susceptible to a condition called EPSM - Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy, a muscle condition that causes weakness and a specific type of rhabdomyolysis - known as "Sunday Morning Disease" to working draft horse owners.

Some new large horse owners have heard that drafts may have special needs or requirements and spent time preparing for their "gentle giant". They can be prone to insulin resistance (IR) and poor performance related to stiffness and gait abnormalities related to the EPSM. Obesity is sometimes not "noticed" because of their large size. Compare the large yet fit Clydesdales above to the fat workhorse here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/78953809@N00/1688846112/.

Some draft/draft cross owners have told me "my horse doesn't have EPSM". It's possible that the question isn't "if" the horse has EPSM but "when" it might show up. But with appropriate nutrition and management, the effects of EPSM don't have to affect your large horse.

• Monitor your big horse's weight and condition frequently. http://www.draftresource.com/Draft_Wt_Tape.html has an interesting discussion on measuring for weight; useful as most weight tapes don't go around.
• Avoid grain unless your horse is working hard. Use NRC guidelines to avoid over feeding your draft horse.
• Feed low sugar/low starch hay - try to buy tested hay or learn to test it yourself. See http://desertequinebalance.blogspot.com/2006/08/analyzing-hay-and-feeds.html
• Exercise your draft horse every day. Owners on the ESPM group report seeing more symptoms when they skip exercise. "Turnout" does not have the same effect as structured exercise.
• Learn all you can about diet, EPSM and caring for draft horses.

Resources:

EPSM: List for owners of horses with EPSM, a common problem of big horses. Lots of information from owners of big horses who have or want to prevent problems.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSM/

Eleanor Kellon, VMD is a frequent visitor here and works with list members on diet and supplements. Many owners have been using a low sugar/low starch diet along with ALCAR (Acetyl L-carnitine or plain L-carnitine) and other supplements to effectively manage EPSM symptoms.

Rural Heritage Vet Clinic - Dr. Beth Valentine

http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/index.htm

Lots of background on draft horses. Dr. Valentine is an advocate of a high fat diet for draft horses.

Information on muscle biopsy to diagnose EPSM

http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsm_biopsy.htm

U of Minnesota PSSM testing information

http://www.cvm.umn.edu/umec/lab/PSSM/

Information on both genetic testing and muscle biopsy, plus a "decision tree". PSSM is similar to EPSM, seen most often in Quarter Horses but also in draft horses and other breeds.

NRC Plus - online nutrition courses by Eleanor Kellon, VMD.

http://drkellon.com/

NRC Plus is the basic and gives the framework for the advanced courses that follow.

Probiotics - Do We Need Them?

I want to know what everyone is using for probiotics - and didnt you tell me once you could just add some yogurt to their feed? Wouldnt this be a different kind of bacteria than a horse would normally get?

The following quote is from Dr. Kellon's Nutrition as Therapy course. There's an entire chapter on probiotics/prebiotics which I can't reproduce here.

"The bacteria you see in equine probiotic products are all “borrowed” from human data with no studies whatsoever to support their use in horses. Then there's the issue of dose. Dr. Scott Weese in Canada is the closest thing to an expert on veterinary probiotics there is. He has estimated it would take a minimum dose of 10 to 20 billion live organisms to have any effect in a horse. Humans taking probiotics to ward off antibiotic associated diarrhea often take a higher dose than that 4 times a day! If you read the label on probiotic products, forgetting for the moment that the bacteria they contain may well be useless, very few measure up to this potency. For a horse that might benefit from pre/probiotic support, I usually recommend:

• High potency prebiotic like Forco or Ration Plus for support of upper intestinal Lactobacilli (contains growth factors for these organisms)
• Easily fermentable prebiotic foods for the hindgut organisms, like beet pulp or psyllium.
• If populations may be low (older horses, horses with diarrhea,horses with a chronic history of bloating/hay belly) and use a high potency probiotic like Equine Generator from www.bio-vet.com, or start with a human high potency acidophilus only product (acidophilus is one species of Lactobacillus.)"

Scott Weese, DVM, is an expert in diseases of the equine GI tract. His paper on probiotics can be accessed on IVIS at http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/AAEP/2001/91010100027.pdf.

(If you're not already a member at IVIS, go ahead and join - it is free and a valuable source of international veterinary information).

Because of the paucity of actual research about probiotics, when I first read Dr. Weese's paper I checked out yogurt (yoghurt) as a possible source of microbes for our horses. The "requirement" for a manufacturer to use the "live and active cultures" logo is 100 million per gram at time of manufacture; Mountain High yoghurt, for example, promotes "An 8-ounce serving of Mountain High Yoghurt contains more than 22 billion cultures at the time of manufacture." The recommended minimum dose for horses is 10 billion CFU (cultures or "colony forming units")/day.

So, IMO, it would probably be sufficient to use yogurt (a quality brand like Mountain High, Dannon or a good organic or home made) for the occasional need to boost gut microbes, such as after worming or a normal course of antibiotics.

Probiotics usually shouldn't be needed on a daily basis. Once an ill horse is recovered, or a stressed horse is back to their regular routine, a few days or a week's dosing should get their gut flora going. The main exceptions would be a horse with high carbs in their diet – usually from grain or pre-mixed feeds - which spill over into their hind gut, or a horse with chronic diarrhea (and cultures should be done here to help determine the cause). Some older horses with chronic digestive problems may also benefit. Then it makes sense to use a quality probiotic for simplicity, along with a pre-biotic, which provides "food" for the gut flora. But for most healthy horses, daily probiotics are probably an unnecessary expense (which could be better spent on testing hay).

Pre-biotics: Ration Plus, Forco, beet pulp, flax, psyllium fed daily (will lose some of it's purported sand clearing ability if fed daily), yeast (Yea-Sac)

Pro-biotics: Equine Generator http://bio-vet.com/equineproducts.htm, also available at http://vetamerica.com/equine-generator-1-lb.aspx, DFM EQ from Horses Prefer http://horsesprefer.com/digsup.htm

Check labels to make sure the product is supplying at least 10 billion CFU per SERVING. Ex: the DFM EQ provides 200 billion CFU per ounce, but the serving size is 1 scoop, which is 5 grams or 1/5th ounce; this still provides 35 billion CFU per serving which is fine.

The DFM ProLactic from HorseTech is on the low side (2 billion CFU), as are most levels added to feeds or supplements. There’s a complete listing of probiotic products in Dr. Kellon’s Horse Journal Guide to Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals.

Equine Pemphigus Foliaceus

Pemph.... what?

Pemphigus foliaceus (pem-fi-gus foli-a-shus) is an auto immune disease that affects humans and dogs and, to a lesser extent, cats and horses.

In horses, it is characterized by primary lesions that often begin on the head and lower extremities; secondary lesions spread to other areas, with an exudate that dries to a crust. There may be extensive edema (swelling) in the legs and abdomen (called "ventral" edema).

Equine pemphigus foliaceus (EPF) is considered rare and signs and symptoms may resemble those of other conditions such as insect bite allergies (crusty lesions), pigeon fever (ventral edema) or other skin conditions.

The primary way to diagnose EPF is by punch biopsy of the skin which is examined by a veterinary pathologist. The pathologist looks for changes consistent with this diagnosis, while also ruling out other causes.

Horses with EPF may also have systemic signs of illness - fever, depression, loss of appetite, lethargy and weight loss. The skin may be painful to touch and swelling can make it difficult to walk or lie down.

Currently, treatment options are limited, mainly focused on corticosteroids (dexamethasone, prednisolone and prednisone) to limit inflammation; prognosis is generally guarded at best with many cases ending in euthanasia. Little is known about specific causes of EPF and what supportive treatments might be useful.

The Equine Pemphigus Foliaceus (EPF) group is hoping to change this. Two horse owners who have been looking for information and answers have recently teamed up with Eleanor Kellon, VMD to look at triggers, what's working and what's not, and how these horses can be supported to continue leading productive, comfortable lives. Dr. Kellon has a long history of developing cutting edge science-based supportive therapies for horses, with an emphasis on precise diagnostics by field veterinarians. By identifying and bringing together owners of afflicted horses, reviewing and comparing their histories, diagnostics, treatment and outcomes, and utilizing available research, a comprehensive picture of how to optimize support will emerge.

If you have a horse who has been diagnosed with EPF - currently or in the past - share your history with others by joining the EPF group. The group will provide information and support for owners, and is focused on improving science-based diagnostics, treatment protocols and outcomes for the horse.