The Natural Vet Magalog From Dr. Dan Moore

Allergies, Itchy Skin and Other “Icky Stuff”

Nutrition: Critical

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

S u m m e r i s h e r e !

And so are those wonderful flies, mosquitoes and, for many horse owners, those awful allergy problems. Veterinarians call them dermatitis. Those that have affected horses call it a nightmare. Often hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, have been spent doing blood tests on affected horses. These usually come back telling you nothing can be done. And they frequently say your horses are allergic to items that you couldn’t possibly keep them away from, like flies, certain hays, and dust!

Desensitization with allergy shots is usually recommended. However, allergy shots are expensive. What’s worse is they only work about 50% of the time! Other alternatives, such as steroids and antihistamines are becoming less and less popular too; it appears they only make matters worse. Yes, allergy problems in horses are a nightmare! Allergies are becoming more and more prevalent. Yet hopefully, with the knowledge I am about to give you, you will never have to experience them with your horse!

What are the symptoms?

that causes EPM)? Horses have lived with opossums for millions of years!

What has changed? Why are our horses more susceptible to illness such as allergies from flies, and West Nile from mosquitoes? Aren’t mosquitoes and flies normal insects for horses to be exposed to while in the wild? Today, unlike when I graduated from Vet School in 1980, just 25 years ago, things seem worse. Our horses appear to be weaker today as opposed to yesteryears.

It is similar for humans. Can you imagine a Native American stalking upon his prey, crawling through bushes full of pollen and all of a sudden, sneezing? In man, allergies were never even heard of until the industrial revolution. In fact, the first mention of allergies was in highly polluted industrial areas of England. At first they were called Rose Fever, later simply allergies.

“Can you imagine a Native American stalking upon his prey....and all of a sudden, sneezing?”

The obvious symptom of allergies is itching. This is often accompanied by hives, which are little raised bumps, similar to what a bee sting would make. In severe cases, hives are so numerous they gather together, causing what are called welts. In extremely severe cases, the horse itches so bad it rubs and bites its skin until it is raw and/ or bleeding! Horse owners feel helpless! Fly sprays, lotions, etc. help somewhat. Yet, for the most part, these simply make the owner feel better - not necessarily their horse.

The cause is not what the horses are exposed to! Flies, mosquitoes, and bug bites in general are “trigger” that make things worse, but they are NOT the cause of allergies. The cause is from “within”. Think about that for a moment. Why are some horses allergic to flies, hay, dust, etc. - items that are normal for them to be around? Why do horses today have problems when exposed to opossum manure (the source of the organism

Man and horse are worse today because we have bombarded them with so many vaccines, chemicals, pollutants and toxins. The consequence for man and beast, is an immune system that is critically out of balance. It simply is in “hyper” mode - not really knowing anymore to what it should react...so it simply starts reacting to everything - all those things you couldn’t possibly keep a horse away from!

Another example of an over-reactive immune system is “Heaves,” or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Essentially this is an allergy in the lungs. Autoimmune diseases (where the body reacts to itself) are also related. The bottom line is that the immune system is being overworked!

What a mess we have!

We have ruined our soils with salt fertilizers, overvaccinated, over-medicated, over or incorrectly supplemented, and over-sugared so much that a horses’s body does not know which way to turn. When was the last time YOU were vaccinated? Probably not long ago! When

was the last time you vaccinated your horse? Probably last week! For instance, vaccinations are often filled with preservatives like mercury and foreign protein. Ask yourself, “Are all of these vaccinations really needed year after year?”

Let me assure you, everything, including vaccinations, has a consequence. If you have an allergy horse, please look at this issue carefully. Continually “sensitizing” with foreign tissue via vaccines, is a big part of the allergy syndrome. Copious vaccinations are not natural! The vaccines that your state requires are the only ones your horse should have.

By the way, most will agree that allergies start in the spring. Nearly all horses are vaccinated every spring. Let me know if you see a relationship between allergies and vaccinations. I would appreciate the email!

Nutrition is critical!

The best way to prevent or treat any disease, not just allergies, is to look at what the horse’s body is getting too much or not enough of! We have discussed vaccines and chemicals already. Vitamins, minerals and salt are equally important. Minerals are often full of heavy metals like aluminum and lead. Studies at the University of Kentucky show that Lead and Cadmium are often contaminants in minerals. Even salt is chemically made for other industries, not for horses. The horse’s body has to handle all of this extra “junk” in one way or another.

Basic #1 More Fat, Less Sugar

Basic #2 With allergy horses, especially, NEVER rely on complete feeds.

A “complete feed” or even oats alone simply cannot provide what an allergy horse needs. For example, take two 1000 lb. horses - one horse that eats ten (10) pounds per day of a complete feed or oats - the other eats only 3 pounds. The latter will get far less vitamins and minerals than the horse that eats 10 pounds per day - right? These “easy keepers” often get far less of what they need with regards to vitamins and minerals.

This perpetuates the problem even more. The horses’ whole metabolism is adversely affected! They are stressed metabolically and they eventually wind up as insulin resistant, hypothyroid, laminitic, or cushinoid, and in some cases have such a messed up immune system, they “develop” allergies - all because they were not getting enough vitamins or minerals.

“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t try their very best to get their horses what they need...What do you feed? What do you supplement?” (See article on page 26.)

Personally, I don’t think there is such a thing as a complete feed! There are just too many variables. Each horse should be supplemented individually - especially the allergy horse! Our soils and the foods grown on them simply can’t provide a balanced diet today. Remember though, many minerals and vitamins however, are man made. Even worse, many of them are another industry’s “leftovers.”

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t try their very best to get their horses what they need. BUT it can be so confusing! What do you feed? What do you supplement? The list of questions goes on. Do you feel that you need a Ph.D. in Nutrition? Are you considering going to vet school just so you will know how to take care of your horse’s needs properly? You don’t need either degree. Truly it is not that difficult! Keep in mind the basics...and leave the rest to nature!

For instance, horses, in general, don’t get enough fat and get far too much sugar from sweet feed and corn. The essential fatty acids are a must in allergy horses. In order to deliver these, along with more fat, the best source, in my opinion, is coconut oil. We add crude, unrefined soybean oil to this to keep it liquid so you can pour it because coconut is a solid at room temperature. Also coconut oil is stable, and much less likely to go rancid, than flax or rice bran sources. Vegetable oil and corn oil are practically useless except for calories, of which most horses get way too much of anyway.

Health Check gets rid of the "junk” . Antioxidant effects: Each scoop would require eating 11 buckets of carrots and apples to compare. Laboratory tested!

Basic #3 All allergy horses must be supplemented with vitamins and minerals.

Basic #4 Allergy horses need plenty of anti-oxidants. It only makes sense to help the body in every way possible to get rid of the “junk” that it is exposed to day in and day out. Anti-oxidants do just that! The best analogy I’ve heard is that the foreign substances to which the body is exposed day in and day out cause the body to “rust” - and anti-oxidants prevent the rusting. The beneficial effects of anti-oxidants are not often seen immediately in a relatively healthy horse or person but are often immediate in allergy horses, especially when really good anti-oxidants are used.

No doubt about it - anti-oxidants add years to ones’ life; but when severe allergy cases can be reversed with their use - that impresses me. For instance, my first experience with antioxidants in horses overwhelmed me. I had a patient with Heaves that was really about ready to die, and because I had seen tremendously beneficial lung changes in people from using grape seed in such cases, I decided to try it.

I fed this horse $300 worth of Grape Seed capsules in one month. I must have broken open 1000 capsules, but the horse improved - became well enough to go home! This showed me that anti-oxidants are a lot more than just a little vitamin A, C and E as so many products tout.

Needless to say, we used a lot more anti-oxidants in the future - in fact, today we have a specific anti-oxidant product for allergies - much improved over our capsule experience! ALL of our horses, everyday, are supplemented with anti-oxidants. We want them around a long time.

Finally, Basic #5 Don’t short the salt. Horses are not lickers!

THE major factor in allergies, or any illness of “unknown” cause, is the misuse of salt and mineral blocks. Free choice, natural sources of salt and minerals will help your horse’s allergies improve drastically. Horses are not lickers: they can’t get what they need from salt or mineral blocks quickly enough to get what they need! Horses needs change whenever the barometer changes because the grasses that they eat have changed.

The chemical composition of grass actually changes with the weather. Also our “salt based” fertilizers used today often confuse the horse. The potassium contained within them literally tricks the horse into thinking he has plenty of salt already because the potassium ion is so similar to sodium. When this happens, they quit eating salt or if they only have access to blocks, they can’t even get as much of what they need. This situation is a major metabolic stress on the system. Many problems can result.

The obvious ones are “tying up” and what we generally think of as electrolyte problems. The least obvious, but the most dangerous, is the massive change in gut bacteria, which sometimes can be life threatening. Examples are laminitis, abortion, and allergies. Even free choice minerals can be a problem! That’s because man only has a vague idea of what our horses need. Every year new minerals and vitamins are being discovered - so how can we put them in a bag?

When man makes a mineral mix, he is simply guessing. Even with a free choice mix that just has massive amounts of this and that, horses simply over-consume what they don’t need, while trying to get what they do need and quite honestly what they do need might not even be in the mix to begin with! I assure you; man-made blocks and mixes are missing critical elements!

Many of the tiny micronutrients, or elements, like rubidium, molybdenum, palladium, cesium, and strontium, are critical for problems like allergies, COPD and even cancer. When I take away typical “man-made” salt and mineral blocks, and replace them with natural sources, many allergies and other problems go away! It is amazing what nature provides! I really hope you have stuck with me long enough to read this single point. The most important thing you can do for your horse’s health is to provide a natural source of salt and minerals.

Although we are still learning about allergies, a few things are very important. Certainly keeping flies and pests away is critical, but don’t overuse the chemicals or you could be adding fuel to the fire. The cause of an allergy must be addressed rather than just treating the symptoms. Nutrition is critical. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids should not be overlooked as part of the treatment.

Less sugar in the diet is always best. Feeding oats rather than “complete” feed, supplemented with NATURAL sources of vitamins and minerals - top dressed and based on the needs of each individual horse is also best. And instead of salt and mineral blocks, natural “free choice” supplements are better and may even contain beneficial ingredients we don’t even know about yet. Finally, in my humble opinion, you should only vaccinate for what you absolutely think is necessary. If we provide the body what it needs, it will heal itself!

“The most important thing you can do for your horse’s health is to provide a natural source of salt and minerals.”

Consider Our RED CAL Today!

THE HEALTH AND HARM OF FATS...

Truly Your Best Friends And Worst Enemies!

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Oneof the most misunderstood yet most important aspects of health, is fat! Quite honestly, many health care practitioners don’t even understand just how important fats are.

For instance, would you agree that most people have and ARE being told daily that fats are bad for you? Most doctors, the media, the advertisements and pretty much ALL, suggest a low fat diet. I am here to tell you, in my not so humble opinion, that NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! Fats are critical to your health and your animal’s health. You need them and you need lots of them, you just need the right kinds!

Stroke, heart attack, and cardiovascular patients are all too familiar fat related problems, but as I will explain, these are just the tip of the iceberg! For instance, anyone who is autistic, has Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Optic Neuritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromialgia, Alzheimers, Parkinsens Disease, ALS, depression (manic or otherwise), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – ANY neurodegenerative disorder is most likely lacking good fats and overloaded with bad fats. Liver disease, gallbladder, adrenal disease, heavy metals, any infection (chronic or otherwise), and especially Lymes are ultimately a fat problem!

As I continue my search, I am quickly coming to realize that even “aging” itself is DIRECTLY related! In horses, my personal opinion is that EPM, Infertility, Botulism, heavy metal toxicosis, Cushing’s Disease, and certainly the obvious - hypothyroidism, metabolic disorders and insulin resistance are all FAT balance related (certainly the same for pets, too).

For the most part, I believe that the equine field is slightly ahead of human medicine in getting the word out to the public about the need for fats. But unfortunately, I am certain that most high fat diets in horses are only going to contribute more to the overall problem – because as in people, we are feeding our horses the “wrong” fats.

Neither Low Fat nor High Fat for people or animals is correct --- the RIGHT fat is the answer!

My mission in this article to explain why fats and how fats are so important. For the fish oil and flax eaters, I will offer this preliminary advice though: fish oil and/or flax are not enough! How do we know which fats to use?

For a better understanding let’s look at the body itself. The brain is 60% fat – (17-20% omega 3, and about 12% omega 6). The cell membranes that surround blood cells, liver cells are roughly half fat. (The other half is protein by the way!) Neurons, dendrites, synapses – the nerve connections themselves, are fat! Myelin, which insulates nerve fibers, is 76% fat!

The obvious question from me is: How can reducing fat in the diet be good for these? It can’t! The need for a good brain I would think is fairly obvious. Cell membranes are vital because they separate the zillions of cells in the body from the outside world and allow for the exchange of all the bad and good “stuff.” Personally, I want my membranes in tip top shape!

Because I know there is a lot of “bad stuff ” to keep out as well as “good stuff ” to get in! Nerve connections, that don’t work, such as the dendrites, neurons, and synapses would pretty much be like having a dead battery in your car…you ain’t going nowhere!

One final example: it is in the development of myelin that surrounds the nerves. Myelin development is what babies need before they can start to walk. Now if myelin is 76% fat, is it not obvious that fat is critical? Only if one wants to walk!!! Dah…Here’s your sign if you think otherwise!! (Sorry – couldn’t resist.) But, if such vital structures as these are mainly composed of fat, does it not make sense that the fats need replenishing?

“Most doctors... suggest a low fat diet. I am here to tell you, in my not so humble opinion, that NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!”

Next, to further understand which fats we need, let’s look at the actual membranes which surround each and every cell in the body. The principle fat in membranes is called a phospholipid. Literally each membrane is made up of millions of phospholipids all lined up. Each has a head and two tails. One tail is a saturated fat (straight tail), the other is an unsaturated fat (a crooked tail). Wedged in between is cholesterol. Also, a part of each membrane is a glycolipid. Glycolipids are tiny sugar molecules that protect, insulate, and again, exchange nutrients. Let’s take a closer look at each of these components and see how each relates.

Cholesterol varies with the type of membrane. For instance, plasma membranes have essentially one cholesterol per phospholipid molecule. Some membranes that need more support may need more, BUT ALL membranes need cholesterol. Cholesterol actually gives the membrane structure, plus it allows certain things to pass and others not to pass.

The problem SOMETIMES with cholesterol is when it “overflows” into the blood stream...but even in the blood stream, it is sort of like a beneficial band aid FIXING potential leaks in the cell walls of the vessels – putting back the structure to a bad wall. If it breaks loose and causes a clot – yes, that is bad (stroke or heart attack)… but saying that high cholesterol is the cause of heart disease is like saying that a lot of police in a high crime district is the cause of the crime… You must have cholesterol! Who said cholesterol is bad for you? What IS actually bad for you are the bad fats – cholesterol is not the bad fat!

You see it takes both kinds of fats – both saturated and unsaturated to compose the properly maintain structure of the chief component of cell membranes (phospholipids). JUST NOT EATING FAT can lead to problems. I mentioned this concept to a friend just the other day. Her comments were that in the office where she worked 7 of the 9 women went on a “low fat craze” several years ago - all seven now have MS! Wow!

Now let’s look at one more aspect of fats and membranes, probably the most important! RENEGADE fats, perhaps not a good medical term, but none the less, a word I like to use because it describes these types of fats perfectly. Why? Because they are bad news to the bone! These are man-made fats or particles of fats or mutated fats or jumbled up fats, trans fats, etc. etc.. THESE, my friends, are the killers and these are what we are eating in the typical American diet (especially prevalent in horse and pet foods, too).

fats... are the killers and these are what we are eating in the typical American diet (especially prevalent in horse and pet foods too).”

These RENEGADE FATS can displace the good fats we just discussed. They make the membrane absolutely solid – they don’t move, vibrate, transmit or anything – they just prevent the good from getting in and the bad from getting out! These essentially clog up all membranes and are a major factor in causing disease – essentially any disease! In slight defense of the “low fat craze,” a low fat diet would reduce these renegades, because these are typically what almost all Americans eat – but if the right fats are not added back, then it is certainly a Catch 22 situation - too much bad and not enough good.

As I said, the main component of each and every membrane in the body is phospholipids. Let’s break down the phospholipid molecule and look at it a little closer. The phospolipid molecule looks like a fish with two tails. It acts kind of like a magnet – the head having one charge and the tails having the opposite. This magnet-like component attracts and repels, thus allowing “stuff,” both good and bad, in and out through the membrane. One side of the tail, the unsaturated one, actually vibrates moving particles in and out! The saturated tail part is rigid and solid and hardly moves. It is the balance of these two tails that is the most critical to understand.

According to my sources, which are not your typical medical media propaganda, almost all degenerative neurological situations are fat related! AND, almost all of the diseases mentioned thus far can be helped by burning the bad fats and flooding the body with the good fats – including phospholipids. This knowledge is not new, ladies and gentlemen – I found books from back in the 70’s discussing this very issue – not in quite so much depth, but the CONCEPT of good and bad fats has been around a long time.

The difficulty is that the American Food Industry processes almost all of the foods we eat. PROCESSED FATS AND OILS ARE DEADLY. This includes most

“RENEGADE

bread, most crackers, cookies, margarine, cooking oils, etc. –If it says hydrogenated, refined or processed on the label –don’t eat it!

My Grandmother ate bacon, eggs, real butter and whole milk every day. Most likely so did yours, (but not processed, refined fats and oils) and she lived well into her 80’s. I believe we can, too. Science has not really discovered yet the correct balance of these Omega Fatty Acids (essential fatty acids or EFA’s). Most doctors so far are just suggesting fish oil and/or flax (omega 3) – which are helpful – but I believe we are forgetting the other omegas - even omega 6 and especially omega 9. AND I know most have totally forgotten or are not yet aware of the phospholipids – which are absolutely critical. By the way, one of the best sources of phospholipids and Omega Fatty Acids are CRUDE UNREFINED soybeans. Coconut is a great source of Omega 9 – and coconut even contains high amounts of Lauric acid – shown to be both antibacterial and antiviral!

One quick note on horse and pet feed is the difficulty in preserving fats in the feed – which is often why so many feeds contain these renegade processed fats – they withstand heat that feeds are exposed to better, but honestly are like feeding plastic to your horse! Typical vegetable and corn oil sources are refined, processed and just plain bad for you, your pet, or your horse!

Thus far we have discussed cholesterol, phospholipids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and briefly discussed omega fatty acids but have yet to mention the glycolypids present in cell membranes. Essentially these are very simple sugars and though they are being studied extensively, little is known about them except that they protect, insulate and help exchange nutrients. Some studies are already showing that they may actually help modulate or regulate the immune system. Examples of such glycolipids are mannins such as mannose, oligosaccarides, agrabinogalactan. I have no doubt that they are extremely important because I am seeing the clinical results in both animals and man by using them. Some examples of potential benefits thus far seen are help with gut problems, such as chronic or acute diarrhea, and even allergies. Major universities have even demonstrated by experimentation an increase in Natural Killer Cells, which help fight cancer cells, and activation of what is called the compliment system, which is what is activated when foreign substances invade the body –thus making them essentially antiviral and antibacterial. One lab demonstrated Arabinogalactan (which comes from the Western Larch Tree) to be even more beneficial than Echinacea and especially better with long-term usage.

Finally it is hard to discuss fats without at least mentioning anti-oxidants. THEY are critical, too, for many reasons but especially important regarding fats. When fats rot or go rancid they are essentially worse than anything. The reason the food industry even processes fats and oils to begin with is so that they are more stable and less likely to go rancid – we now know this is not good, right? But as we use more good fats (less processed as I suggest) there is a greater chance of rancidity – because they are less stable (perhaps I should say LESS LIKE PLASTIC). These must be counterbalanced with antioxidants. THE PRIMARY ROLE OF ANTI-OXIDANTS IN THE BODY IS TO STABILIZE FATS! Oxidation could be described as rusting. Anti “Oxidation” is to help prevent the rusting within the body. Every animal, including man, needs anti-oxidants daily. Just like a piece of metal left in the environment will rust, so will our bodies if they are not protected. Anti-oxidants are like “Rustoleum” for the body –critical for long term protection.

I hope it is becoming more and more clear that simply eating “low fat” and less cholesterol (much less cholesterol lowering drugs) is just not the answer. Essential fatty acids, phospholipids, glycolipids and anti-oxidants are a critical parts of anyone’s (or animal’s) health plan. I wish I had the TOTAL answer for you and I do certainly promise to keep searching. In the mean time, avoid processed food (renegade fats, hydrogenated, refined) as much as possible. Do consider an essential fatty acid supplement (but not just fish oil or flax). Always take anti-oxidants yourself and give your pets and horses anti-oxidant supplements, too. Start each and every day with 25 grams or so of high quality protein (a whole other nutrition lesson!) and consider a phospholipid supplement as well.

The Benefits of Organic Selenium

In Horses and Humans

By Stephanie Moore

Organic Selenium (Se) is a necessity for horses and humans. We must be careful to utilize Organic Selenium and not Inorganic Selenium. It is impossible to get an adequate amount of Selenium (Se) from the food that we consume; therefore we must supplement our diets. Organic Se is very helpful to athletes, both horse and human.

Organic Selenium is vital to the body of both humans and horses. Selenium is a key element in antioxidant defense. Therefore, it is important to every cell in the body. It boosts immunity. Growth, disease, and reproduction are basic systems that need Selenium to function properly. Se activates the thyroid hormone; this is proved by the healthiness of foals that have been supplemented with Se, and the lack of health in the Se deficient foals.

It is very important to take Organic Selenium instead of Inorganic Selenium. Organic Selenium is from yeast. Yeast forms the same kind of Selenium that plants produce. That means that humans and horses are able to ingest this healthily, since we have lived on this type of Se for as long as we have been on the earth. Inorganic Selenium is a by-product of copper mining; that is definitely not the thing that should be put into our bodies. Birth, growth, immunity, and performance are all negatively affected when selenium is not in the natural organic form.

In actuality, Selenium content in grains varies among regions of our country. There are only a few areas in the Great Plains that still have enough Se in their crops. Crops in the Eastern (that’s us) and Northwest United States have very low levels of natural Se. So, it is impossible in our area of the country to get enough Se in our diets without supplementation.

Athletes, whether horse or human, need Se in their diets. Exercise increases the metabolism via oxygen, which in turn means that more Se (stored in the tissue) is moved to meet the greater antioxidant demand. There was an experiment done with racing Thoroughbreds. They were given Organic Selenium or Inorganic Selenium. Those who were given Organic Se were better able to cope with the levels of training, and recover better from stressful events with less damage from the stress of performance. There is also less chance of disease from all of the stress. Therefore, humans and horses that engage in aerobic activity would benefit themselves greatly if they took Organic Se.

In summary, Selenium is a vital part of nutrition in humans and horses. It benefits all body functions. One must be certain to ingest the Organic form of Selenium, and not in Inorganic form. Organic Se should be supplemented into the horse and human diet, since the soil of most of the US is Selenium depleted. Athletes, especially, would benefit.

Perfect Pastures

Access to Needed Nutrients

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Grass Muzzles for pasture horses - that’s crazy!

Or is it? Grass muzzles are a hot item these days. I see them at almost every equine event I attend. Truthfully, I almost laughed the first time I saw one. Then I thought to myself “that is a great idea,” many horse owners today really need them. But why?

For thousands of years wild horses have lived on grass alone and typically they ate all they wanted. There was no one to stop them, turn them out for only a few hours at a time or worse yet MUZZLE them. Today, colic, allergies, metabolic issues, laminitis, hoof and other health issues are often associated with eating too much grass.

What is different about today’s grass or perhaps what is different about the horse? Obviously a lot has changed! If we truly look at the way it was and “mimic” what’s natural, perhaps we can have healthier horses and avoid a lot of problems.

Today’s species of grasses are totally different from the past. Most horses today on pasture only have one or two varieties of grass - usually timothy, orchard grass with some degree of clover and fescue. In the wild, they had access to vast areas of grass and abundant species. Equally important was access to other plants and herbs. Today they eat what they have access to in the spaces we confine them to. Most species of grass (and even grain) today are genetically modified - a controversy and discussion all in itself. By being able to “pick and choose” what they needed, horses received a balance of nutrients.

For instance, as I am sure you know, most horses will chew on tree bark. Of course it is bad for the trees - totally inconsequential in the wilderness, but in the back yard pasture, chewed dead trees look awful! Simple sugars called polysaccharides and amino acids like methionine and perhaps tannins are probably what they are after by eating the trees. Regardless, if methionine is supplemented most horses have better hooves. Supplementing simple poly saccharide sugars (not refined complex table sugar or syrup) will often help the gut (sometimes stop cribbing and help ulcers, too) - the gut being the source of almost all problems in a horse.

One such simple sugar in particular is Arabinogalactan, obtained from the Western Larch tree. Another is Mannosefrom the Aloe plant. The Native American Indians and “grandmas” everywhere have used these substances for centuries. In other parts of the world they may have used Noni fruit or Pomegranate or whatever was native to the area - and

if the horses that were there had access to them, be assured they ate the bark, fruit (or whatever) too!

This is one of the reasons supplements are so important today - horses just can’t get all they need from the typical diets we give them, and the one or two species of grass they graze just doesn’t provide all they may need. There are most likely many ingredients or micronutrients that we have not yet discovered. I believe we will someday classify polysaccharides as “ESSENTIAL” polysaccharides, just like there are essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids now.

The need for the essential fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 and 9 are beginning to be more recognized by horse owners today. IN the wild, horses can pick and choose seeds and grass heads from various grasses and plants to get the fatty acids they need - in our care they take what we give them - unfortunately, until recently they have received very little. For the most part, they just receive sugars (like from corn and molasses), which, as we know, turns to fat but are not essential fatty acids.

Today high fat is “in” but again we must be careful. The easy thing to do is buy cheap fat like REFINED or partially hydrogenated oils (corn oil for instance). The problem with any refined oil is that all the “goody” is filtered out and sold for other purposes. Hydrogenated oils are more stable and less likely to spoils or go rancid, which is why they are used in almost every snack food, but they actually harden and damage cells within the body ad make tissue less pliable. This can actually make a situation like insulin resistance or metabolic disease (which are often the clinical problems that trigger the need for fats to be supplemented in the first place) to be even more of a problem. “Hardened” cells don’t respond to insulin and other “metabolic reactions” like more pliable cells would. Over time “hydrogenation” causes premature aging because more and more insulin must be produced and the body’s cells become more and more damaged.

One of the main purposes of insulin is to regulate sugar. The grain we feed our horses (corn, especially, and molasses) and the “richer,” single variety grasses in our pastures (and snack foods for us) also cause more and more insulin to be secreted. With time, this causes “insulin resistance” - requiring more and more insulin to get the job done. The higher the resting insulin overall, the quicker all species age and subsequently die - period! High resting insulin is rarely detected because usually just blood glucose is checked. Simply relying on blood glucose (sugar) levels alone is not enough - sugar or blood glucose can be normal but resting insulin levels can be extremely elevated - even high enough to kill you or your horse.

“By being able to pick and choose what they needed, horses received a balance of nutrients.”

Many horses (and people) are insulin resistant with high resting levels of insulin, but because the body is such a miraculous machine it is still keeping the sugar normal. Most fat and overweight “easy keepers” are insulin resistant. Certainly hypothyroid, Cushings, and chronic recurring laminitis or foundered horses fit this category as well. Lush green grass or stress (as in people) is often associated with, and generally what gets blamed for acute occurrences - but the underlying metabolic situation is usually at cause. Horses need good fats, not sugars!

By now it should be clear that except in a free wild range situation with thousands of acres, it is impossible to have a perfect pasture today - but there is a “next to perfect” answer to the perfect pasture question! A perfect pasture is one that has a bucket (free choice access) of natural salt and naturally sourced minerals hanging in it - AT ALL TIMES. And I stress NATURAL source here and at ALL times. Even white salt and most minerals are chemical, often other industry’s leftovers, full of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, mercury). And salt blocks are just simply useless because horses are not lickers - they can not get all of what they need from blocksperiod! They just can’t lick fast enough.

Once again - in the wild, horses have access to all types of salt and minerals where they can pick and choose and balance themselves as needed. Today we fortify the feeds with various minerals and fortify our pastures with fertilizer. The problem here is that we may actually be causing an imbalance of nutrition. Mineral supplements, though well intentioned, may give them too much of what they don’t need. Hoof supplements are especially bad for this - massive amounts often, chosen by man and based on an RDA (recommended daily allowance standard) that is 15 years old or more. Natural minerals and salt like colloidal minerals and sea salt (often from desert sources that used to be the ocean millions of years ago) contain other micronutrients as well, and are balanced by mother nature, not by man.

The confusing issue here is that if you compare mineral amounts to man-made products, natural sources often look like they contain very low levels. But what they do contain is so much more usable or bio-available that it packs a much greater, yet balanced punch! They literally contain every nutrient and mineral that was once in the “living oceans.” Often with manmade our horses over-consume what they don’t need while trying to get what they do need. AND, what they really need may not even be in the mix because man is not aware of itnatural is better!

Pasture horses must have access to loose salt and minerals at all times. If they don’t, they can colic, founder, abort and die

almost without warning. It all comes back to the health of the horses’s gut. Any sudden change, as we well know, can be disastrous. Obvious concerns are getting too much grain or sudden exposure to lush green grass - but a weather change without free access to loose salt and minerals can be just as deadly to a pasture horse.

Grass is a living, breathing organism (it just breathes carbon dioxide rather than oxygen) and it changes hour to hour. If the grass “thinks” it is going to die or has less chance of survival, it conserves and prepares - just like we would. Conservation of water would be a likely action. Grass does this by actually drawing potassium up from the ground, and if the soil is heavily fertilized, it can draw a lot, because a major part of fertilizer is potassium. Potassium allows the plant to attract more water. This is good for farmers who sell hay and crops by the pound but bad for the actual nutritional value because the grass, crop or whatever, is mostly just water. Devastation can occur if horses, cattle or other creatures are exposed to too much potassium at one time.

If you are a cattleman, I am sure your are familiar with Grass Tetany and Milk Fever, and the sudden death associated with its occurrence. These were once thought to be magnesium and calcium deficiencies. We now know it is from high potassium forages and grasses. Similar situations causing abortions and gut problems often occur in horses. What happens is that the potassium spikes during cool, wet conditions and especially after long droughts followed by rainfall and rapid growth. Situations like frost and freezing are especially bad - have you ever had horse colic after a frost? Probably so--the reason is a sudden mineral change in the grass, not just frozen grass! During these times sodium, calcium and magnesium decrease, while potassium increases. This spike in potassium is often deadly. A major problem like this occurred in 2001 in the Midwest where reproductive losses occurred in thousands of horses, cattle, sheep and goats. This was severe in Kentucky as well. Often cattle were found dead just a few hours after frost and freezes. Mineral blocks just cannot provide the minerals fast enough for such rapid changes in weather. Free choice, loose salt and minerals must be available to pasture horses at all times if such problems are to be prevented!

It is also important to consider that since sodium (the Na part of NaCl, or salt) is so similar to potassium, horses often think they have enough sodium (but really have too much potassium) so they stop eating salt. This is especially so in the winter when they need it most. Force-feeding salt is a viable solution particularly in pregnant mares. This should be in addition to making it readily available free choice. (Always be sure to put any salt product near readily available water).

“Free choice, loose salt and minerals must be available to pasture horses at all times if such problems are to be prevented!”

CONSIDER OUR RED CAL!

One further point is that fescue alone is usually blamed for abortions in mares when it is actually the fungus like organisms on the fescue that cause the problems. BUT again it is elevated potassium that generally makes these organisms more deadly! The bottom line here is that less fertilizer is better and fescue should be avoided for pregnant mares. It would also seem obvious to me to avoid hay that has been grown on heavily fertilized fieldsespecially for pregnant mares.

Now the big question is how can I make my field better if I can’t fertilize? The answer is to avoid the typical types of fertilizers - those that are salt based. Salt fertilizers are destroying our environment as well as our soils. Year after year of fertilizer use kills beneficial earthworms that oxygenate the soil with their tunnels. Lack of oxygen kills the soil just like it would us.

Fortunately, there are “time tested” ways to fertilize that are often even more economical and certainly more beneficial. Unfortunately because of all the “politics” involved, major universities seldom teach their use. One of the healthiest ways to make good pastures and again, often the most economical is to heavily lime your fields twice per year. Lime is Calcium Carbonate. Calcium keeps the soil basic rather than acid. Basic soil is healthy just as a more basic pH is healthier for people. Calcium in the form of lime is cheap and I promise if you have many weeds at all growing in your pasture, you need lime. Don’t expect immediate results however, because it takes time for the lime to be absorbed and utilized. But it will help tremendously over time.

While your pastures are improving, it is important to supplement the diet. Most horses I have found, at least in the eastern US, are calcium deficient. Typically, soils in the western United States contain more calcium - which is why the buffalo once flourished there and not in the east. Tremendous calcium is needed for the buffalo’s huge bones.

For many years now, ring neck pheasant have not grown in the southeastern United States either, simply because there is not enough calcium in the soil to support their egg shells. Most horses have plenty of phosphorus in their diets, so I don’t worry too much about balancing the calcium to phosphorous ratio. An exception would be older horses, which occasionally can use more phosphorus.

The answer to perfect pastures is simple - do not use fertilizer and if you do, use liquid, non-salt types, plenty of lime for the pasture and keep a bucket full of NATURAL salt and minerals readily available to your horses at all times! Consider the use of crude, unrefined, essential fatty acids because horses today just can’t get them naturally, and because they are so important to overall health.

One final suggestion: If your horse does not have access to grass, such as in the winter, or if the grass is poor, always supplement with Beta Carotene. Green grass generally provides plenty of Beta Carotene (vitamin A, by the way, is not enough) but hay provides hardly any. Beta Carotene is crucial for reproductive health, lactation, immune function and hundreds of other benefits. I believe it, too, will be considered “essential” in the future.

Tw o Gr eat Pro duc ts For Your “Less-T han-Per fec t-P astur e” H orses!

“All horses, especially those pastured horses, must have access to loose (preferably naturally sourced) salt and minerals at all times! In my humble opinion, RED CAL is the single most healthy thing you can give your horse to prevent problems. Just hang a bucket on a fence post and make sure there is always some in it.”

-Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Until you get the minerals right, nothing else matters.

-Dan Moore, DVM

NUTRIHEALTH

A Radical Solution

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

For horses, pets, and people, nutrition and preventative health has never been more important than today. Imagine 100 horses in a herd exposed to influenza, some will get sick and some won’t. Why? Imagine 100 people exposed to anthrax, some will get sick, some won’t. Why?

I know it is scary to think about either situation, but similar scenarios are actually occurring right now in each of our bodies. The battle is health versus sickness. This battle never stops. It is constantly raging and we are the effect of it. Or could we really be the cause of it? If everything were well and wonderful everyday, then I imagine we would be well and wonderful, but, I think that it goes without saying that that is impossible! Stress is a major cause of illness, but how does this relate to our horses?

than the disease, especially if the disease is very, very rare? And what if the disease were treatable anyway and what if I could prevent it with good nutrition including antioxidants? What longterm effects could these vaccinations have? I ask these seemingly ridiculous questions because I think our horses have changed for the worse since my 21 years in practice. I believe they are weaker today, less resistant than in the early 80’s and just seem to have much more cancer, colic, founder, pulmonary disease, allergies etc.

So I question: WHAT HAS CHANGED?

“We are vaccine free for almost four generations now and we very seldom get sick horses.”

First, let’s define a working definition of stress. My way to describe stress, right or wrong, is “the effect of something or someone you feel you have no control over.” Anybody stressed lately? Unfortunately for our equine friends stress is a part of life. Showing, trailering, training, breeding, it seems there is always stress in horses’ lives. But, since they ARE affected by us it is our responsibility to keep them “less stressed” or they will get sick.

Let’s face it, though, we can’t quit showing, performing, trailing and breeding, etc. I guess some of us could just be professional petters, myself included, but these guys really prefer to work right? Probably just keeping them in a stall and not letting them to perform or work is the most major stress of all. So, with reason, let’s assume we keep going about our normal business. But are there other ways we stress our horses without knowing it? I absolutely think that we inadvertently stress our animals everyday, and the bad thing is we do so with the best of intentions.

Take vaccinations for instance, are they really that important? Most folks in the “real world” would argue YES, but I have to ask myself, could the cure be worse

A good example of this change is EPM. Why after million of years does the horse suddenly have a problem with possum manure? I don’t claim to have the answers to this but I have some theories. Certainly we do vaccinate much more than when I first started practice. We didn’t even vaccinate for rabies then, but then one or two horses came down with it and whammo … millions vaccinated. The same was true for Encephalitis and Strangles and now West Nile and even EPM, with provisional vaccines, no less, that may or may not even work when all the facts are gathered.

Have you ever vaccinated a horse for influenza and it later came down with it? How about vaccinated for Strangles and in a few short weeks it was leaking pus all over the barn? How about, heaven forbid, Rhino and the mares later aborted. I have – plenty of times. In fact, so much so that now I don’t vaccinate at all. We have about 30 Rocky Mountain Horses and we are vaccine free for almost generations now – and we very seldom get sick horses. No more abortions after horse show exposure. No more strangles, knock on wood! Our horses are just healthier!

Another thing I don’t do is deworm every 2-3 months.. Foreign substances like deworming chemicals and vaccinations just confuse the bodies’ healing mechanisms to where it has no clue what is supposed to be part of the body and what is not. It seems to just start reacting to everything. Take for instance the allergy tests on those horses with hives. Every one of them I have seen the

results on seem to come back allergic to everything. Like hay, grass, dust etc. – you know, those things you can’t keep horses away from anyway. The best you can do in most of these cases is wet the hay right? Anyone have a horse sensitive to flies? Come on, horses are supposed to live with flies, not break out in sores and hives. What has changed?

The answer to deworming, by the way, is to simply check to see if they even have worms before deworming. All horse don’t have worms – we check hundreds of samples in our office. TRUE, all horses are exposed to worms, but, guess what? SOME ARE RESISTANT, or so it seems! In my early years of practice we used to always check first with a fecal sample because we had to pass that nose tube and that was potentially risky business. That was a “known” risk, I believe an unknown risk is even worse. Could it be that overzealous use of pastes could be just as risky? Worse yet are daily dewormers! I have no doubt that some day we will have super worms that are resistant to everything! Daily dewormers are not helping. Paying for a colic surgery is a great marketing stategy, especially if it keeps you using drugs and chemicals, isn’t it?

I know I am stepping on toes here but it may be time to reevaluate. This is tough when one has blinders on and just follows the norm without question. I understand and I could be completely wrong, BUT….Understand too, that I used to make my living as a “conventional” veterinarian using vaccinations, steroids, antibiotics and other such routine stuff. How could I have made such a drastic change? Thank goodness mainstream is now changing too!

For example, small animal practitioners are being advised to no longer vaccinate just by the “calendar,” i.e., yearly, but to consider the individual needs and actual likelihood of exposure. True, this is very controversial, but a real step in the right direction. Such recommendations will be forthcoming for equines as well, but my concern is that all the fear about the “new diseases” will greatly hinder this coming. A major equine publication just last year quoted “Looming Disaster with Our Current Deworming Practices” citing such concerns as chemical toxicity and the resistance factor I already mentioned. But then another major equine magazine said garlic was potentially toxic because they didn’t know the difference between an onion and garlic! So, go figure!

Bottom line is, it is our responsibility, not the industry’s in general, to do what is right for our horse. Everybody has their own agenda. In the later Garlic article, by the way, if you questioned it, you were referred to a major university toxicology hotline. It cost $45 for a consultation. While you waited for the veterinarian, the recording attempted to sell you a book on Natural Toxins in horses. I paid the $45 for a search on garlic toxicity –never had they had a reported case, plus, with ALL their research material at hand, they could not find one substantiated reference to garlic toxicity –Onions, yes (5 pounds), Garlic, NO!

For your listening pleasure, you can hear my recorded conversation on our website at www.thenaturalhorsevet.net. The $45 was worth it and it did go to a good cause I am sure, but I didn’t buy the book. I apologize for being so sarcastic here but Horse and Rider just blew that one in my opinion. Such a shame for such a good magazine!

So we have talked about vaccinations and deworming –what about these “non toxic” chemicals? You know the kind for flies and such, that you, too, breathe each time you spray them or spot them on. Sure these substances are “nontoxic” but what about subtoxic? After all, “toxic” is the amount of the chemical or substance that is needed to kill an animal or person. What about the subtoxic effects that might increase viral and bacterial infections by weakening the immune system “function,” i.e. lowering the white blood cell count, slowing white blood cell movement, destroying the mechanisms the white blood cells use to locate and destroy virus and bacterial cells, etc.? What about lowering production of the essential immune system regulator interferon or weakening or damaging antibody production?

One such chemical on the market today is 65% permethrin. You can’t use any amount on you and you sure can’t use malathion, lindane or even furacin – that yellow stuff for wounds - but it is OK for equines! By the way, PLEASE read the label on furacin – it has carcinogenic warnings all over it. Again, I used to use it by the gallons. So please understand I am not being critical, I guess I am just trying desperately to spread the message that “if there is an alternative, find it and use it.” And if you can’t find it...Keep looking! Please...we as practitioners don’t heal anything, none of us do, the best we can do is trigger the body to heal itself. It is as simple as that!

The problem with so many drugs and chemicals is that they so badly confuse the body’s healing by taking over, leaving only another problem to deal with from the compounding effect of NEVER having been healed in the first place. I hope this makes sense and I hope you will help me keep looking.

Diets that we feed our horses are another major factor in preventative health. Our horses did not eat grain in the wild, especially so much corn. Why do we have to add so much molasses to their feeds? Perhaps because they don’t like the feed? Or is it because it is really not good for them? Corn, for instance, has the same glycemic index as sugar. In other words, a tablespoon of corn has the same effect as a tablespoon of sugar. Molasses essentially is a sugar. Just imagine the blood glucose rising after the first meal of the day. Now imagine the blood sugar crashing to a low level.

Herein lies the problem- a sugar low equals “starving” to the horses’ metabolism. The metabolic system does all it can to get the blood glucose back up. The pancreas, adrenals, thyroid, all kick in. These glands literally are worn out by the vicious cycle, day after day, of high and low sugar levels.

Imagine asking your horse to act while on a sugar low. This is probably the number one cause of moody and hyper horses. I also believe this daily metabolic stress is the reason we have so much founder and colic today. Even when a minor stress comes along they have no reserves left because of the weekened adrenals and thyroid.

in the first place. I don’t use flax oil in horses only because I find it difficult to maintain the freshness. Rancid or spoiled oil is worse. And heaven forbid if you know anyone using corn oil, alias syrup, please suggest they stop! For horses I prefer a mixture of soybean and coconut oil. Our brand is called H2Oil, Hoof and Health Oil. Despite what you read in the press, coconut is both good for both man and beast. My favorite grain to top dress it on is oats.

What else can we do to tip the scale to the side of wellness? Use antioxidants! They are the scavengers of sickness, the buzzards that clean up all the messes in our bodies; the rustoleum that prevents the rust in the first place, or better yet, that which stops the rust dead in its tracks! The rust, or oxidation, is what turns the apple brown when you cut it in half. It is oxygen gone bad, free radicals bombarding everything it finds.

Consider Bug Check Today!

Bottom line, if you want your animal friends to live longer and healthier lives, give antioxidants daily and take them yourself. It’s already been proven that antioxidants are beneficial. It has been since the 60’s. Every day our animal friends, as well as ourselves, are bombarded with pollutants. We eat them. We drink them. We breathe them.

The weak links are the gut and the feet, hence colic or founder. This same scenario even happens to dogs and cats. Have you seen the amount of corn in pet foods lately? Based on the number of doughnut shops, bagel shops, and high fructose soda pop machines around, alot of people are destroying their “stress resistance” with carbohydrates and sugar, too.

The answer for people is 25 grams of protein first thing in the morning with fresh flax oil or virgin olive oil (two tablespoons). The answer for horses is a good oil top dressed on the grain which slows the absorption on the grain and prevents the high spiking sugar levels

Even horse feed (not to mention our food) has pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, etc. in it! Water has chlorine, trihalomethanes, alum, lime, and potassium permanganates just to name a few! My goodness, just smell the air as you travel down the polluted highway. I believe you get my “drift”!

If I only had one thing that I could do to help tip the scale to wellness it would have to be to use the antioxidant and natural “antibiotic” garlic. It is an awesome antioxidant, a tremendous source of sulfur for the body and a tremendous bug powder when mixed with the a few other ingredients. Sulfur is one of the most basic substances needed to rejuvenate tissue.

Do you know that at one time garlic was used successfully to prevent polio? It was also found to be

a more potent antibiotic than penicillin, ampicillin, doxycyline, streptomycin, and cephalexin- some of the very same drugs used to treat Anthrax. It was even effective against some strains of E. coli, staph and other micro organisms [Fitoterapia Vol 5, 1984].

Other sulfur-bearing antioxidants, Alpha lipoic acid, Nacetyl Cysteine, Taurine, and Vitamin C have been shown to elevate levels of Glutathione. This, too, is a potent antioxidant and also has been shown to counter the toxicity produced by anthrax [Molecular Medicine, November 1994; Immunopharmacology, January2000; Applied Environmental Microbiology, August 1979; Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health].

And don’t forget Grapeseed Extract, one of the most potent antioxidants known to man.. Well, I guess if you are still reading this you are either ready to shoot me, you are saying, “yea,” or maybe “boy, that guy is nuts!” Regardless, I ask

you one more thing… if you are not familiar with homeopathy, I suggest you please check it out. It, in it’s truest form, is the answer to our situation today. And yes, there are even remedies for symptoms of anthrax, smallpox, radiation exposure, plague, etc. Though there are new strains now the symptoms these diseases produce are nothing new. They were here last century and often treated successfully with homeopathic remedies, even then. I for one won’t be lining up for vaccination - but I will be doing everything I can to help my body help itself.

The correctly chosen homeopathic remedy simply triggers the body to do just that - heal itself. But it goes without saying that all healing depends upon good nutrition. If the body doesn’t have the nutrition it needs, it is like a car without the gas, it simply won’t run. What do you say… let’s keep running! See you at the races! Hope this helps!

Six Great Products for the Nutritional Health of Your Horse!

GRAPE SEED EXTRACT

Its Properties and Benefits

Article Reprinted With Permission by J.E. GROGAN,

B.Ed., C.N.

Grape Seed Extract (GSE) is a rich source of biologically active compounds. Complexes of bioflavinoids including polyphenols, catechins, proanthocyanidins, gallic acid and others occur in large quantities in GSE and exert powerful biological benefits. GSE is water soluble, extremely well absorbed, well tolerated, and is free of toxicity.

GSE has potent antioxidant properties. It is about 20 times stronger than vitamin C and 50 times stronger than vitamin E in its antioxidant effect. GSE has the ability to increase vitamin C absorption and improves transport into the body’s tissues. It prevents vitamin C from being used too rapidly, thus prolonging vitamin C’s benefits.

GSE is an excellent detoxifier of highly damaging toxic free radicals. GSE can protect the cells including the allimportant genetic material from free radical induced oxidative damage. Radiation toxicity and the skin damaging effects of ultraviolet-B radiation from the sun can also be minimized by GSE. The overall antioxidant potential in the blood and tissues are improved with GSE as are the advantages of having an increased antioxidant status. GSE, because of its unique ability to improve antioxidant defenses, shows a broad range of biological benefits to a variety of cells, tissues, and organs.

1.) Connective Tissue

structures; directly preventing collagen breakdown and destruction. Strengthening the collagen fibers improves the integrity of all connective tissue. GSE also protects these tissues during periods of inflammation and infection. It prevents the release of pro-inflammatory substances that can increase or promote inflammation of the body’s tissues.

By acting as a powerful anti-inflammatory, swelling of injured tissue can be minimized reducing pain and speeding up the healing process. GSE can prevent and relieve excessive fluid build up (edema) especially in the lymph glands. This aids in clearing waste material from the site of injury or infection. GSE may also have benefit for the synovial fluid in the joints.

Seed Extract can protect the cells including the allimportant genetic material from free radical induced oxidative damage.”

2.) Cardiovascular System

GSE has multiple cardiovascular protective properties. GSE prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol – a key risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. GSE can inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which can damage blood vessel walls. GSE prevents the breakdown of the elastic fibers in the blood vessel walls. It also strengthens the capillaries.

The most abundant protein in the body is collagen, which maintains the strength and integrity of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Collagen also supports the structure of the skin, blood vessel walls, and is the “cement” that holds tissues together. GSE has the unique ability to bind to and support collagen

Platelet stickiness is reduced with GSE. It has a beneficial effect similar to aspirin, which reduces the possibility of platelet “clumping” and platelet adhesion to blood vessel walls. This prevents inappropriate clot formation – another risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

GSE can increase microcirculation in the brain and heart and increases both arterial and venous blood flow in the arms and legs. By strengthening the blood vessel walls an especially positive effect on varicose

“Grape

veins can be seen. GSE can lower high blood pressure by inhibiting an enzyme that can cause blood pressure elevations and by reducing adrenaline stress reactions that can trigger high blood pressure.

3.) Eyes

GSE can reduce glare, night blindness and improve the function and sensitivity of the retina in nearsighted people. GSE may also reduce cataract formation, the risk of macular degeneration and glaucoma. GSE can stabilize the blood vessels in the eye, prevent micro bleeding and reduce retinopathy-especially in diabetics.

4.) Anti-Allergic

GRAPE

excessive histamine release in the stomach lining. GSE protects the connective tissue of the mucous membranes. By binding to those connective tissue sites, it can increase healing in both gastric and duodenal ulcers. GSE exerts anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic effects and offers protection from cancer causing chemicals. GSE can also bind to cell membranes and prevent the attachment of cancer causing hormones to the cell. GSE stabilizes the blood brain barrier protecting the brain from toxins.

GSE has strong anti-histamine properties and as such can diminish allergic reactions. GSE can reduce the overreaction or hypersensitivity response in those who are allergic. This is done by GSE’s ability to stop or reduce the release of cellular pro-allergic and pro-inflammatory substances.

5.) Other

GSE has a strong anti-ulcer action in part by reducing

Because of its anti-inflammatory effect, GSE can reduce the pain and swelling of arthritic tissue. GSE demonstrates a large number of beneficial properties to many of the body’s tissue. The most important aspect of GSE benefits may well lie in disease prevention. The risks of degenerative disease development can drop considerably by maintaining an optimum level of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cell protecting potential. GSE can contribute significantly to maximize and maintain this health building status.

NOTE: The Natural HorseVet was the first to introduce Grape Seed to the horse supplement industry. The year was 1999.

Get past Grape Balm’s smell!! It is worth its weight in gold! I have two injury-prone horses that always have scrapes and cuts. Grape Balm handles them all. It heals wonderfully, whilst it repels flies and gnats. I even use it on myself with great results. I highly recommend Grape Balm for every horse owner. It handles all of my wound care.-

J. Palmer

My father’s dog was itching and losing her hair. I used Grape Wound Healer for three days; her hair was growing back and the itching stopped. -

M. Ikermean

SEED is an ingredient in many of The Natural Vet's products.

Mineral Wise, Salt Poor

The Need For Minerals AND Salt

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Short of water and air, there is NOTHING more important than minerals and salt for the health of your horse. Salt is a mineral too, but because it is so important and because most horses are so deficient in it, we will discuss it by itself. Even if your horse gets a “complete” feed and even if you have salt or mineral blocks in the fields - THAT IS NOT ENOUGH! Literally, every function in the body requires minerals. Even the slightest imbalance can cause severe consequences and in my opinion, humble yet outspoken as it is(!), literally every disease is either directly or indirectly caused by an imbalance thereof!

So what is the “Big Deal”? “My horses have a salt block already, I have a mineral block in the pasture and, besides, I feed a ‘complete’ feed anyway. My horses should be fine, right?” Quite honestly - almost certainly NOT! Conditions like founder, laminitis, abortion, allergies, botulism, Cushing’s, hypothyroidism, lameness, joint problems are truly the result of imbalances...Even a simple “easy keeper” in almost all cases is out of balance on the minerals and salt. “Easy Keepers” just don’t get enough - period, because they consume such little feed. When they don’t get enough minerals (which is also true for vitamins, enzymes, probiotics, etc.) their metabolism is even more negatively affected and they become even more “easy keepers”, eventually leading to such conditions as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, etc.. These are those “night mare” colic prone, laminitic prone, “just waiting to happen” horror stories!

Almost every horse in the world has a salt block. As I said, I say what I think and personally I think salt and mineral blocks should be outlawed. They are NOT your horses’ friends! A horse just can’t lick fast enough to get what he needs. If you have ever seen a horse chew at his block, chances are he is not getting what he needs. Cribbing, chewing on wood and other behavioral problems are also likely signs. To make it worse, our horses’ mineral and salt needs changed with the weatherjust like the mineral content within grass changes with the weather. I once thought grass was just grass and that there was good grass and not-so-good grass. I never really thought about the chemical composition of grass changing as the weather changed. But that is exactly what happens and this change can be deadly!

If you are a cattleman, I am sure you are familiar with Grass Tetany and Milk Fever, and the sudden death associated with its occurrence. These were once thought to be magnesium and

calcium deficiencies. We now know it is from high potassium forages and grasses. Similar situations causing abortions and gut problems often occur in horses. What happens is that the potassium spikes during cool, wet conditions and especially after long droughts followed by rainfall and rapid growth. Situations like frost and freezing are especially bad. Have you ever had horse colic after a frost? Probably so...the reason is a sudden mineral change in the grass, not just frozen grass! During these times, sodium, calcium and magnesium decrease, while potassium increases. This spike in potassium is often deadly. A major problem like this occurred in 2001 in the Midwest where reproductive losses occurred in thousands of horses, cattle, sheep and goats. This was severe in Kentucky. Often, cattle were just found dead a few hours after frost and freezes. Mineral blocks just cannot provide the minerals fast enough for such rapid changes in weather. Free choice, loose minerals are a must if such problems are to be prevented!

Excessive potassium and subsequent calcium and sodium deficiencies almost always lead to other opportunistic and even infectious diseases. Potassium promotes the overgrowth of saprotrophic (microorganisms that normally grow on dead matter), commensal (organisms that live together but don’t harm each other) and pathogenic (microbes that cause disease) microorganisms in the plant itself. These diseased plants then often produce and become the source of pathogenic bacteria (such as that which causes botulism) and also fungi - which as we all know, our horses are extremely sensitive to - especially in fescue grasses. After eating them, horses and other livestock face an overgrowth of these microorganisms, which rapidly grow and produce toxic by-products like ammonia. Excess ammonia is deadly - especially to fetuses and the immune system. Early and mid-term fetuses may abort, while those near term may suffer premature birth and/or septic weak births. By the way, this problem is not limited to grass. Hay can also be the source - especially from fields that are heavily fertilized.

An extremely beneficial solution to high potassium forage and grasses is having readily available free choice minerals AT ALL TIMES! High calcium limes will help, but it often takes years to correct severely imbalanced soils. It is also important to consider that since sodium (the Na part of NaCl or salt) is so similar to potassium, horses often think they have enough sodium (but really have too much potassium) so they stop eating salt. This is especially so in the winter when they need it most. Force-feeding salt is a viable solution particularly in pregnant

“Excessive potassium and subsequent calcium and sodium deficiencies almost always lead to other opportunistic and even infectious diseases.”

mares, which apparently never seem to get enough. This should be in addition to making it readily available free choice (always be sure to put any salt product near readily available water).

Naturally balanced sea salts are the best source of sodium salts and are excellent sources of many other essential macro and micro minerals. Man does have somewhat of an idea of what animals needs are, but truthfully there are minerals today that we did not know of 5 years ago, and there will be minerals years from now that we don’t know of today. If we don’t know they exist, how can we put them in a mix?

Personally, I prefer Mother Natures’ sources. These are also less likely to contain undesirable ingredients such as lead, aluminum, cadmium and even mercury. According to one study at a major university even dicalphosphate, which is almost always a major part of mineral mixes is often contaminated with lead and cadmium. Typical white salt used in blocks and most mixes is really made for industrial use anyway and since

our horses and live stock consume such a little amount by comparison, this industrial grade is usually what is used. Any white salt is also bleached and kiln dried - this is not a very “natural” process. Salt and mineral blocks are not enough and should be outlawed in my humble opinion.

Probably the worst problem is the excessive other minerals that are added to free choice mixes and even trace mineral blocks. This is especially a problem with many “hoof supplements.” These are usually full of minerals and will often help and they “look good” on the analysis BUT, again, in my humble opinion, they often tip the scales of balance the other way leading to excessive amounts of other problems in the future. A slower, more naturally balanced approach leads to more stable health. According to my sources and with personal experience in thousands of animals, if sodium and calcium are always readily available free choice, macro and micronutrients will more likely remain and deficiencies are less likely to occur.

RED CAL RED CAL

Same RED CAL formula but with extra magnesium. This High Mag formula is especially great for fat, overweight, "cresty neck" easy keepers but also wonderful for any horse.

Replacement for salt blocks, trace mineral blocks and other electrolytes.

BALANCED BY NATURE, NOT BY MAN

With natural sea salt, colloidal trace minerals, calcium and herbs.

• Truly the healthiest product yet!

• Feed "Free Choice" or top dress!

• Great for sheep and goats too!

Always provide a good source of water. Rain and weather does not diminish effectiveness.

Just hang a bucket on a fence post and make sure there is always some in it. It is the easiest, single most healthy thing you can do for your horse.

CONTAINS NO ADDED POTASSIUM OR COPPER.

-Dan Moore, DVM

If your Horse is Hypp positive, especially consider making RED CAL available to your horse! -Dan Moore, DVM

To Be “Dewormed” Or Not To Be “Dewormed”?

That Is The Question!

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

I’ve been told, you have been told, and we have all been told that “all horses have worms.” Likewise, we have been told that if you don’t deworm your horse(s) EVERY 2-3 months you are a “bad” horse owner, right? Well perhaps no one actually called you bad – but you WERE shown all those horrible pictures of all those horrible worms and informed of all those horrendous consequences. Eventually you believed, I believed, we all believed! Fear and guilt are incredible tactics BUT notice I used the past tense believED!

Why the change? For me it was merely a matter of just remembering the truth. I woke up from my guilt-like trance and remembered that way back when I first graduated from vet school all horses didn’t have worms. I remembered that way back before easy to use, convenient paste wormers were available, at the most, we dewormed twice a year.

I also remembered that most veterinarians did a fecal check exam on horses each time before we treated them. If they didn’t have a positive test, we simply did not deworm! Exceptions were only the obvious need, like a “wormy” looking horse.

Bottom line is many horses didn’t have worms then and many horses don’t now, either! So what changed along the way? Why is their so much indiscriminate deworming today? Has the change been good or bad for our equine friends? How about those daily “preventatives,” are they really the answer?

Dewormers – The disease or the cure?

Horses that tend to have worms simply do – horses that don’t tend to have worms, simply don’t. Just like people – some people get sick all the time, some hardly ever, regardless of the exposure.

If horses do have parasites, studies have shown that actually about two out of three horses will become reinfected in eight to ten weeks after deworming. When reinfected, those that initially had high numbers of eggs will continue to have high numbers. Those that had low

numbers to begin with had low numbers later, too! So the parasites can be reduced with chemicals BUT they obviously just come back in “parasite prone” horses anyway. Could this be more of a genetictype resistance in the horse rather than effectiveness of dewormers?

In my opinion, the more you give chemicals the weaker the horse becomes, with a consequent tendency for many more problems. Have you noticed all the horses with allergies today? How about all the horses with chronic lung problems? Why all of a sudden do horses have a problem from being exposed to the opossum (EPM) when the two, horses and the opossum, have co-mingled for millions of years. Could our horses be weaker today? Noticed more laminitis lately? How about colic? There are certainly other contributing factors such as overvaccination, improper nutrition, etc., but no doubt our horses are weaker today than they used to be.

Many holistic oriented veterinarians, like myself, truly believe we are damaging our horses. As much as this absolutely makes sense to me it may still just be my opinion. But facts are facts and it is a fact that parasites are becoming resistant to dewormers. The literature actually is reporting considerable resistance to wormers. There is especially resistance to daily wormers. Notice a price drop lately in these products? This brings to my mind the question, How effective are these “daily” products if resistance is already present? The only product that doesn’t seem to have resistance problems YET in equine parasites is the “mectin” compounds.

For goats however, it is a different situation – there is a lot of resistance to such. Deworming goats these days is quite difficult. There is nothing left to use! UK called me a few months ago because they had heard our product was working in goats. Their direct quote was “if we don’t find something that works in goats, we will not have any goats soon.” This problem is coming for horses – What will we do then? What is the “cure” today may be the disease soon – especially if chemicals are weakening

our horses, too! A recent article in a major Equine health magazine stated “custom deworming programs based on consultation of a veterinarian and fecal exams of individual horses will help postpone drug abuse, and thus drug resistance by common parasites.” They went on to state a “looming disaster” if we continue deworming the way we do today. My feelings, exactly – we have a serious situation!

“As needed” deworming, the answer! Hopefully you are getting the sense that “as needed” deworming may really be the answer. The key is to determine WHEN deworming is needed! The first step is to understand that each horse is an individual – each with an individual need and circumstance. Rather than just deworming by the calendar, it is our responsibility to look at each situation. This may not be as difficult as it sounds and I assure you it will even be cheaper!

Now, I imagine I have your attention – less money! Let’s face it, saving money is important — especially when you have 30 or so horses like I do and especially when it is not much more difficult. The answer is simply to check a fecal sample first before you deworm. All it takes is a thimble full of manure. Your veterinarian can do it for you. Most usually charge $10 -$15.

Do expect a little resistance because they, too, have been exposed to the same myth that “all horses have worms” for quite some time. Most have said it so much and haven’t checked in so long they too believe it as fact. Most likely they will try to just sell you a paste wormer. Yes, it may be cheaper at the moment – but what if you did have a naturally resistant horse that simply didn’t need deworming anyway? What if you had 10 of your 30 that didn’t have worms? How about if they NEVER had eggs in the fecal material? I think you could not only save money, but also have healthier horses and definitely have fewer resistant parasites in the future.

I once stated in an article that resistant parasites would soon be wearing a coat of armor oblivious to everything! I can’t imagine trying to handle a real parasite problem under those circumstances. It is sort of like the antibiotic situation we will soon be facing

if the “modern world” doesn’t wake up. The most “modern dewormer” today, Quest, will even kill your dog if he happens to get a hold of a little. How much stronger will they become?

I want to offer another solution – if your veterinarian will not do fecals for you our lab will. It only costs $10 each. Another option is to collect “proof of purchase” stickers from our natural herbal paste, Worm Check™, and with each six, you will get one FREE fecal exam. That is putting our money where our mouth is! All it takes is a small quantity of fecal material mailed directly to our lab. You can use this free parasite exam to check either before you use the Worm Check™ paste, or any other dewormer for that matter, or to test for effectiveness afterwards. Worm Check™ is an allnatural combination of several herbs that is proving effective on all species of parasites.

Technically, however, Worm Check ™ is not a dewormer but an herbal supplement in paste form. We have not proven it effective against bots because we have to kill the horse(s) to determine this – I just can’t do that! The best time to check for effectiveness after deworming with any product is 2-3 weeks.

If you have a horse with a large number of eggs it should be checked and dewormed regularly, as needed. These “shedders” are the real problem on most farms. New horses entering your farm should ideally be isolated for several days and checked prior to putting them into the group. Any horse showing clinical signs of parasite problems, i.e. that “wormy looking” horse, should always be examined by your veterinarian. There are some stages of parasites that just don’t show up in a fecal exam, regardless.

Which horses generally need deworming and which don’t? As we have stated, those that have worms need it and those that don’t, do not, but there are a few general guidelines to follow. Young horses are more prone to problems associated with parasites, particularly roundworm impactions, whereas older horses are usually immune to round worms and other species, too, for that matter. It is extremely important to check fecals on any horse under 3 years of age often, especially yearlings –these I suggest monthly or at least every other month.

“Rather than just deworming by the calendar, it is our responsibility to look at each situation...I assure you it will even be cheaper.”

A few horses on a large pasture would seldom have a problem because horses seldom pick where they have gone to the bathroom if they have enough room. This selective grazing is why wild horses seldom have a problem with parasites. Even horses in 12 X 12 stalls would seldom have a problem if the stalls were picked daily. Get the picture? Crowding is usually the culprit, and the obvious stress associated with it. Other important factors are time of year and where you live. The climate is a major factor in whether or not parasite eggs even develop into a transmissible state. Worms would not likely be a problem in a dry, hot area whereas if the season is warm and moist you might be more concerned. A really cold winter would put a damper on the problem, too.

Another potential problem situation might be a horse that has been on a daily wormer most of his life. This horse would never have had the opportunity to develop any natural resistance. Also, it is easy to develop a false sense of security with these products and just never check them.

Don’t make that mistake – remember these classes of dewormers are the type that most parasites do develop resistance to. That is why so many of the newer “generic” ones are 2X, or twice the strength. One more note about such daily products: if you buy a new horse always ask the “daily wormer” history. Sudden exposure to a wormy environment with no resistance could be disastrous.

Our horses’ future is in our hands. I don’t expect a lot of change – old habits and old myths are hard to put to rest. I also know I am not making many friends in the “drug” world – but then again my interest is our equine friend, not to “win and influence friends.” It is up to us – you and me.

If I knew something was wrong and didn’t do anything about it, well….. that would even be a greater problem. Most people just don’t know. So…. Will you help me tell them? I do ask you to consider checking fecal exams first before you deworm. Consider too, the consequences if you deworm indiscriminately! Most importantly, start asking questions. A good question to begin with would be “is that drug or chemical really necessary?”

I never had a fecal test done before I read Dr Dan's latest informational pamphlet. My horse is a draft cross, ex Premarin foal, and I have been using Bug Check for almost all of the 4 years that I have owned him. People are always amazed at his soft and gleaming white coat. It has always been my preference to not over dose my animals with unnecessary chemicals. Our boarding barn does rotational worming, but I wanted to see what my boy's status was at this point. I am so pleased by the process that you have set up and made available to the general public. I will continue to enjoy the results of your products on my pets.

Worm Check Naturally!

Worm Check Naturally!

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This all natural herbal paste formula is tremendous — and we will prove it! Receive a FREE parasite exam with the purchase of each six tubes.

This all natural herbal paste formula is tremendous — and we will prove it! Receive a FREE parasite exam with the purchase of each six tubes.

DON’T OVER WORM!

For The Health of Horses - Feed Oats!

But That Is Not ALL!

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Has anyone ever been told to NOT feed oats? And if so, has the same person ever offered any reason other than that oats are carbs and may make your horse “hot”? Probably not! So let me preface this article by saying that, personally, I have suggested oats to thousands upon thousands of horse owners (as have many other nutrition minded educators) and not once can I remember those to whom I suggested such not loving the results. Oats work - despite the rumors! But let’s look more closely at why, and also look at why other feeds may NOT be so great. And let’s take a close look at why these commercial feeds may actually be directly related to, and in my opinion the very cause of many of our overweight, cresty necked, insulin resistant, allergic and laminitis prone horses today. In addition, we’ll consider why the idea of supplementing either commercial or individual grains, oats or otherwise, with vitamins, minerals, microbials, etc. is critical as well.

So what is bad about oats? Oats like ALL grains are mineral and vitamin deficient. Horses simply can’t get the overall nutrition that they need from any grain UNLESS they are fortified. Oats, corn, barley, etc., etc. are all are deficient. Today, what farmers essentially use to fertilize is chemical fertilizer. The 10-10-10’s or 2010-10’s are only nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus: 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorous, 10% potassium. What happened to all the other minerals on the periodic chart that we learned about in high school? To make matters worse, these fertilizers are salt based. Salt destroys the soil over time and makes it very packed, claylike and sticky – AND in doing so kills the earthworms, the soil’s true method for oxygenation.

BUT fertilizer sure does make the grass and crops grow, doesn’t it? Have you ever thought about how salt attracts water? Alright, now we have nice lush grass and crops or grain full of fertilizer and water. Doesn’t that sound nutritious? On the positive side it does weigh more, looks great and brings more dollars for the farmer despite its lack of nutrition. I don’t mean to be critical, but I assure you the ones who are really profiting here are the petrochemical companies selling this junk (not to mention the pesticides and herbicides being sold,

because our ground is so sick) and the pharmaceutical companies selling the drugs because we AND OUR HORSES become sick ... With the cost of such expensive farming it is truly a wonder ANY farms are still in business. Since I don’t work for a major university who teaches such farming practices (and receives lots of money from such megalopolies), I guess I just spilled the beans! Praise the Lord for the up and coming organic farmers – they deserve your dollar!

OK, so NOW we need to address this hot horse, high carb myth. Now don’t get me wrong, oats are carbs! BUT compared to corn which is IDENTICAL to sugar, which is worse? I know you have heard of the glycemic index by now – Sugar has a gylcemic index of 100, and corn has the same. That is, a cup of corn will have the same effect on the body as a cup of sugar. Now that sounds healthy, doesn’t it? (Oats do have a lower glycemic index.)

VERY few, if any commercial feeds that I am aware of are corn free, and most contain lots of corn at that. Now granted, corn has gone up in price lately because of the alcohol gas that is being made from it, so more than likely you will find corn being used less now than before. BUT what you are also likely to find is that more molasses and other sweetening additives will be used to cover up the other worse tasting grains (or whatever) that will be substituted.

Just so you also fully understand – molasses IS SUGAR. Both cause insulin spikes, subsequent insulin resistance from over- production by the body, hypothyroid, Cushing’s horses, etc. Sugar highs (hyperglycemia) and sugar lows (hypoglycemia) are the culprits. Feeding corn and sugar at the morning meal is like us eating donuts and candy for breakfast. These high sugar levels wear the pancreas out. The pancreas produces insulin to handle the sugar and then later in the day the sugar low causes tremendous stress on the body because the body is starving to death. This hypoglycemia also wears out the adrenals (glands that handle stress) and eventually hypothyroidism, Cushing’s (from over production of adrenal glands), and laminitis, as well as metabolic issues

of all types can result. Heck, the body is “just flat out worn out” from working too hard trying to handle the ups and down of simply living. The body’s reserves get worn out simply from living and sometimes even the slightest stress can cause havoc.

So what is the answer to feeding today? Our choices are countless. It is so easy to be swayed by feeds that talk about low carbs, senior feeds and even such things as beet pulp. But I keep going back to oats! All commercial feeds are produced to “hit the middle of the road” when it comes to vitamin and mineral fortification. For instance, a typical formulation might provide the correct nutrition for a 1,000 lb horse that, say, eats 10 lbs of that feed each day. That is about 1% of the body weight…. So if the horse ate 10 lbs that day he would get “everything” he needed.

Does every “typical, average” 1,000 lb horse in your barn eat 10 lbs each day? If they all did, chances are that you would have some horses that looked like the Goodyear Blimp and some that were as skinny as a rail! They all need different amounts of grain – they all have different metabolisms…. just like us. What about that easy keeper horse that only eats 5 lbs? Is he not getting only ½ of what he needs of the “extra fortification”? How about the horse that needs more? Is he not getting too much?

Let’s take this just a little further about the easy keeper, cresty necked, overweight horse, since this is one of the biggest problems I see today. If your horse fit the above description, what would be the first thing you would do? Most likely you would give him less feed, right? But if you cut back would he not be getting less of the “added” vitamins, minerals etc? Chances are, he was already the easy keeper 5- pounder- horse and now you cut him back more! Definitely the right thinking but definitely missing the very important point that he needs the vitamins and minerals regardless of how much grain he eats! If you feed less of such “premixed”, he gets less of the very nutrients that he really needs to regulate his metabolism in the first place. Such deficiencies eventually lead to hypothyroidism, laminitis prone, metabolic, Cushing’s type situations. The point is that regardless of the amount of grain you feed – you must supplement the vitamins and minerals if you have an easy keeper, otherwise you will have an even sicker easy keeper! And certainly hard keepers get out of balance, too, from getting too much.

Once again I suggest oats to handle the problem, regardless of carbs, because oats are easiest to balance – Just add a vitamin mineral supplement to whatever amount of oats that horse needs to maintain HIS proper weight. If you are already feeding commercial grain, simply gradually switch to oats over a week or so. After he has been on that same volume for awhile you can give more oats or less depending on the horse’s personal weight needs. Each day just add the vitamin, mineral supplement as a top dressing at every feeding. That way you know he’s getting the correct amount of both oats and supplement. I know this sounds elementary but it is critical, especially for easy keepers. By the way, clean, whole oats are fine. Crimped are only about 6% more efficient and once the hull is cracked they start going rancid. Flax seed is also very likely to go rancid by the way, one of the reasons I generally don’t suggest flax – it goes rancid much faster, a problem especially given the way we have to buy in bulk for our horses.

I had a person tell me the other day that horses were not likely to get oats in the wild? I wanted to say “Lady, here is your sign” but I didn’t! I reminded her that horses sure were not going to get corn, sugar, or cooked pellets in the wild and that seed heads such as oats were about as close to whatever they could get in the wild. Oats are the seed off of about the closest thing to grass I know! Horses were made to eat grass- right? I am amazed at all the info out there on grass and easy keepers. Only let them eat 1 hour here and one hour there, and only at night and not day, and soak your hay to get the sugars out and on and on and on and on. Can you imagine abiding by such recommendations? It is just not feasible – especially with the 30 or so horses we have – and ours are all easy keeper mountain horses. Oats, added supplements (vitamins, minerals and GOOD FAT), decent hay (or the grass in summer) and FREE CHOICE NATURAL SALT AND MINERALS – (see the article on laminitis) will answer your problems and prevent problems. I am telling you that thousands upon thousands of horses can’t be wrong!

Now before I close I want to discuss one more very important supplement that is needed – GOOD FAT! Now I know I am picking on commercial feeds here but in my humble opinion they need it - pretty much all commercial feeds contain JUNK FAT! AND this is probably the biggest reason we have so many overweight, insulin resistant horses today. Junk fat is in our horse feed just like it is in our food! JUNK FAT IS

KILLING US AND OUR HORSES! Processed, hydrogenated vegetable oils (flax, corn, etc.) are destroying our cells internally and even messing with our nervous systems – nerves and cells are all surrounded by fat membranes. It has the effect of making all such membranes impermeable, like plastic balls.

Today, diets are higher in fat than they were in years past, especially senior feeds and “low carbs” type diets, BUT THE PROBLEM is the type of fat they are using is awful. If your feed says only vegetable oil or doesn’t say that it is NOT HYROGENATED, chances are it is – and, again, awful for our horse.

The same goes for your food, especially snacks - read the labels and avoid these fats. BUT remember - horses do need fat. It should be a great source of omega fatty acids (they need omega 3, 6 and 9, by the way, not just 3). These fats “slow” the absorption of grain, oats or otherwisemaking the digestion process slower, and obviously will help lubricate the gut as well (great for sandy conditions,too).

In addition, these good fats are great because they nourish the cells. I prefer to use crude, cold pressed, NON hydrogenated, NON refined soybean oil. We even have a GMO free version now, as well. Have you ever heard the expression that “the only way to burn fat is with fat” –well I do believe it is true, because these fat horses (and people) do get better when the good fat is used to displace the bad. I have no doubt that cells, overall, just start to function better n conjunction with these fats because the membrane’s major function is to allow the good stuff to get in and the junk to get out.

I suggest good fats for all horses as both a preventive and a treatment. Yes, too much can make a fat horse but a couple ounces per day of good crude, unrefined, non-

hydrogenated soybean oil can make all the difference in the health of a horse. You can actually see the difference in just a few weeks. I also think that any metabolic, even EPM, neurodegenerative horses require lots of good oil. I have a sneaky suspicion that many “super bugs’ such as those that cause EPM get trapped in fats cells and good fats can flush them out, so to speak. Regardless, they are healthy – commercially used fats are generally not!

By the way, I have had many people ask about beet pulp over the last few years. Beets have essentially no nutritional value except fiber. Why pay for “extra fiber” when hay and or grass would do the same? Also, beet pulp is a by product of the beet industry and a lot of pesticides are used on beets - roots do tend to accumulate more pesticides than plants. Just food for thought!

Ok So I think by now you can see I like oats and not commercial feeds. BUT do remember that oats alone are not balanced anymore than commercial feeds are –it is just that they are easier to balance, more nutritious and as close to the “wild” as I have been able to find. They must be supplemented with fat (unprocessed oil) and vitamins and minerals, and free choice natural salt and minerals should be available at all times. If you don’t add the supplements they won’t provide all of what is needed, either ( this is especially so in young horses because they can really get out of balance quickly!)

I suggest this approach for essentially all horses instead of commercial feeds. Such customization is really rather easy - give the horse whatever amount of oats he needs, add the supplement, add the oil and check the free choice salt and mineral bucket to make sure it is available, and you have a healthy horse ( I do suggest you check out our website on the types of salt and minerals that are best).

Laminitis

A Dreaded Problem with a Simple Solution

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

All too often our equine companions develop the dreaded problem called Laminitis. Laminitis means inflammation (re. itis) of the lamina. Lamina are the major structural components of the hoof wall. When these become inflamed a structural breakdown of the hoof can occur. This may even result in that really dreaded consequence of laminitis called rotation. Rotation is a shifting of the actual bone in the foot called a phalanx , which in common terms, is the toe. In the horse it is referred to as P3 or phalanx 3 (also known as the coffin bone in both the front and hind legs, and sometimes as the pedal in the hind leg).

When P3 does not have the support of the lamina or hoof wall then P3 can actually protrude through the bottom or sole of the hoof, resulting in abscesses of the hoof. This can happen so fast that very little can be done once it begins. Heroic attempts are often made with special shoes, drugs, etc. but obviously it is always serious — very serious.

Unfortunately drugs, especially steroids or antibiotics can cause laminitis. With the over zealous use of such in today’s medicine, such use can be even worse than the consequences from what they are trying to fix in the first place. Personally, I avoid the use of steroids in my horses for fear of this possibility of laminitis (and other things) and offer antibiotics only when a LIFE THREATENING situation warrants such. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that even Barbaro’s laminitis, that ultimately caused his demise, was a result of steroids and such – and I know he received the best of care! It is sort of “damned if you do or damned if you don’t” thing. BUT quite frankly, all the more reason to have an understanding of alternative or more natural treatments.

All this being said, I am sure you will agree that the key to laminitis is to prevent it from ever occurring in the first place. When it happens .. it hurts! It is painful to the horse and to your pocket book. Can I help you ALWAYS prevent it? NO! But honestly, I think I have a pretty good handle on it. I have shared it with many of you in the past in a general sort of way, but here I am going to cut

right to the chase and tell it like it is! Of course, “telling it like it is” is my “modus operendi” anyway. Honestly though, prevention is more simple than you might think.

In my opinion man causes most laminitis! Now I know we don’t mean too, but we do. Have you ever left a feed door open and somehow that very day… that one very day out of every other day of the year… the horse gets out of the stall or breaks through the fence and eats more feed than he should? If you answer no…. you are a lucky man… or woman! I hope you have never experienced this but if you have, you probably remember the feeling well. Your heart suddenly falls into your stomach — a real pain in the gut not only for you but also the horses! I hope I haven’t brought back home some bad memories but…. Since we have the pain in the gut let’s just go ahead and talk about the gut.

Almost every major health problem in the horses starts in the gut. Horses have huge intestines and along with the skin (even larger surface area) and the liver, the intestines are the bodies first line of defense. Just imagine what a job the intestines have. The very lining of the intestines themselves are constantly deciding what is good for the body and what is bad….. Decisions, decisions, decisions, don’t you hate them? The “Good” is absorbed and utilized as fuel for the body. The “Bad” is immediately discharged through the feces or dealt with some other way. It is the “in-between” that the body must actually deal with. Sort of like life in general—the “indecision” ..that “trying to decide” part that drives us crazy. Any change to this incredibly balanced system could be life threatening.

But how can a change in gut cause a problem in the feet? A very good question indeed… and honestly man doesn’t know all the answers. One thing for sure that we do know is that when you suddenly change the bacteria in the gut all He…double hockey sticks, (LL), breaks out! We know that too much food within to short of time can cause such a change and we know that medications (the antibiotics, the steroids) can as well. (continued next page..)

What if I told you that a salt block or a mineral block could cause it? I told you I was going to tell you like it is – I know that some won’t agree, but I am telling you that in my humble opinion (or not so humble maybe) that the biggest cause of laminitis is salt and mineral blocks! Am I saying that horses do not need salt and mineral blocks? No, just the opposite. I am saying that a horse can not get what he needs from ANY block. Let alone get it fast enough for when he needs it. When he needs salt and minerals, he needs them then and he just can’t lick fast enough to get it from it a block of any kind. They are not lickers…. They are grazers!

Salt and minerals must be feed free choice to be effective but why are salt and minerals so critical anyway you might ask? Most folks just sort of take blocks for granted. They throw them in the field and they watch the rain wash them away. After about a week or month or two after they are gone they go buy another one. Right? Be honest now. Every now and then a horse will eat a whole block in a week or heaven forbid a single day.

Ah, but even then it seldom provokes a “wonder why he did that”? It is just salt! But I promise you, this later observation should have you jumping up and down –because that horse is looking for something! The worse part about it is that the horse keeps trying to get it and the block just doesn’t have it! BUT WHY DO THEY NEED IT and how does it relate to laminitis?

To answer such a question we need to look at grass, hay and even grain and see what role they play with a laminitis prone horse. By the way, all of the factors involved in both the prevention and treatment of laminitis are generally involved in insulin resistance, hypothyroid, “metabolic” and even Cushing’s horse as well. They all seem to be very closely related and one problem often leads to another if not checked.

Now let me ask you a question. Would you agree that grass, hay and grain grown by today’s agricultural practices are likely to contain fertilizer? Fertilizers such as 10-10-10 are almost always used in commercial production situations because it increases crop yield. The reason for this is that the farmer makes more money because more poundage is produced. These fertilizers definitely bring more water into the plant and generally make them nice and green but honestly may not actually make the plants more nutritious. In fact, such heavily fertilized crops could be more full of water than nutrition.

Also they can be full of highly dangerous potassium – after all one of the 10’s in the 10-10-10 is potassium. Here is the part that is really frightening – if a horse gets to much potassium in a short period of time it could be deadly to that horse. The reason is that the potassium overload could make the gut acidity change. If the gut pH or acidity changes, the bacteria changes. What generally are healthy bacteria become harmful or even harmful bacteria that have been lying dormant can explode in growth (fertilized so to speak) and wreak havoc. If the horse does not have access to a readily available source of salt and mineral then the excess potassium can be deadly. A block of any kind just can’t provide the balance fast enough because horse honestly just can’t lick fast enough to get what he needs.

Timing is everything in these over load cases. Also MANMADE free choice products of salt and mineral may give the horse too much of what he DOESN”T need while trying to get what he DOES need and what he does need may not even be in the mix because man has not even discovered it yet! An example might be the horse eating a whole salt or mineral block or a whole bucket of loose man-made minerals.

Surely you would agree that man perhaps hasn’t discovered all the minerals that exist yet? If he hasn’t yet discovered them then how can he even put them in man made mixes. This is precisely why we keep turning to Mother Nature for our products. Even a tiny mineral not present can make a huge difference health wise. (Check out our RED CAL.. it is a natural source of salt and minerals not a man made source)

Even the RDA’s (recommended daily allowances) that man uses to formulate mixes today have not been updated since 1987 – that is formulations tend to be based on info that is over 20 years old! I also hear a lot about sugar overload from grass etc. causing laminitis and I am sure it plays a factor BUT the excess potassium and missing minerals, I am certain, plays an even bigger role. Grass is a factor but fertilizer loaded hay, especially after a long winter of hay, can be just as much of an issue.

Anything that affects the pH, the bacteria within the gut or produces excess gas in the gut essentially can cause laminitis. The ultimate cause is an endotoxic shock type situation. Simply put, the body releases toxins through out the body. These toxins effect the circulation in the hooves causing the lamina to become inflamed resulting in laminitis. Many other organs can be involved as well. Since it all

starts in the gut, it is imperative that we take care of the gut. Even something as simple as deworming can trigger a problem. A simple change can make a difference—a big difference—enough to cause a life and death situation. So what is a horse care-taker to do? Not deworm, not use steroids, not use antibiotics—my, my! What else is left to use?

Well there are options and I urge you to explore them further. Doing so myself has changed my closed minded veterinarian school thought? This approach may not please the drug reps or even your veterinarian, but it may save your horses life—maybe even yours. Personally it took the loss of my father to open my eyes to “other options.”

I have gone from all drugs to all natural. Homeopathy for instance is something I urge you to explore. The results are phenominal and actually homeopathy is quite simple to use in acute situations such as over eating. No horse owner should be without at least one remedy. It is called Nux Vomica. The key note for use is overindulgence, and it is especially great for the gut or any stress. Even if you suspect a problem of over eating or or overgrazing the horse should be given Nux Vomica (30c potency) and repeated as needed until a response is noted. Another remedy we should never be without is Arnica Montana. This one is great for any trauma –emotional or physical. By the way, concussion, ie. trauma, from riding on pavement or even hard dirt tracks can cause laminitis too. Arnica would be great for such situations if the horse seems tender footed.

Belladonna is another, especially if there is sweating, apparent pain or sun sensitivity (or dilated pupils). If you are older than me you may remember an old product called Bell Drops — it was a mix of both Nux Vomica and Belladona.

These remedies are basically just tiny pellets – almost power like in size. It is quite impressive to see a tiny amount of powder make such a dramatic difference. The difference in using homeopathy versus drugs is that homeopathy triggers the body to heal itself, drugs interfere. Drugs generally may help short term but in my opinion over the long term generally result in even more issues.

Other modalities such as Chiropractic, Acupuncture, VOM (Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation), laser therapy, red light therapy, can also be beneficial to trigger the body own defense mechanisms. Of course, some reading this may well disagree, and believe me, I understand how you feel because I once didn’t understand either. But seeing was believing for me! Almost any situation can benefit from the above. And one thing for sure is that you can never hurt by trying homeopathic remedies. They can only help and never hurt!

I promised a bottom line answer: the answer is… don’t short the salt (natural salt and minerals of course) and don’t over use the drugs regardless of the situation. It is simply amazing what the body can do when allowed to respond on its own, especially if it has the nutrients to do it with.

Gain A Competitive Edge and Prevent Illness Naturally with... Grape Power

By Dan Moore, The Natural Vet®

Prescription Drugs?

Until recently most doctors and even today many veterinarians simply don’t believe that the medicines used by native American medicine men, our great grandmothers, or even our grandmothers were of any value. Designer prescription drugs in some minds are the only cure for all the ills of animal or man. Times are changing and every day it becomes more evident that most drugs only relieve symptoms and often bring terrible side effects. Today I find myself digging through ancient medical books seeking remedies that don’t have side effects and looking for answers that were long forgotten. It is amazing what I have continued to find. Some truly long forgotten others even covered up!

Pro-anthy-cya-what?

One exceptional discovery was made by a French doctor, Professor Jacques Masquelier, dean of the medical school at the University of Bordeaux in France. He had read of a story written by a famous French explorer, Jacques Cartier and his crew who had been saved from scurvy with a tea brewed by an Canadian-Indian medicine man over 450 years ago. The tea was made from the needles and bark from a special pine tree. What professor Masquelier found when he studied this tree was that it contained a very potent bioflavanoid that he called proanthocyanidin. This was the most incredible antioxidant known to date. It was fifty time more powerful than Vitamin E and twenty times stronger that Vitamin C. Today these same proanthocyanidins have also been found in grapes - a readily available, everyday food. All the components of grapes, including the skin, the seeds or extracts thereof, are potent antioxidants. Also found in grapes are polyphenols and catechins and even gallic acids, all with powerful biological benefits, easily absorbed and free of any side effects.

How can your horse benefit?

It is almost common knowledge now that free radicals are the cause of most of the ailments associated with age. Antioxidants destroy free radicals. When a horse is young, or when you are young for that matter, its body produces an enzyme called super oxide dismutase (SOD) which destroys most of the free radicals. As a horse gets older, the production of SOD slows. The older they get, the less SOD they have, the more vulnerable to damage they are.

Our horses are bombarded daily with free radicals from polluted air, fat and preservatives in feed, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones - you name it. Even water has chlorine, trihalomethanes, alum, lime, and potassium permanganate, to name a few.

Free radicals destroy cells. A war is constantly raging inside your horse’s body. Free radicals - unstable molecules - are roaming inside with one mission: to invade and attack, destroying healthy cells, making the body vulnerable to disease.

The best analogy I have heard is like bouncing a super ball in a china shop. Something, in this case a lot of cells, is bound to break. Without an antioxidant, cells oxidize - a process very similar to metal rusting. This oxidation, or rust if you prefer, blocks arteries, scars joints, and even alters DNA, making your horse more vulnerable to such maladies as cancer, fatigue, and arthritis. The malfunctions are limitless. Not good if you are planning to win a race or have your horse around for awhile.

The Solution

The solution, without a doubt, is supplementation of your horse’s diet with antioxidants. Left unchecked, free radicals will damage the basic structure of cells just like a sliced apple browns in the air - a chemical change showing decomposition - cells are oxidizing at a rapid pace in the presence of free radicals. Antioxidants slow the pace giving your horse a competitive edge and longevity needed to perfect performance.

Many herbs contain antioxidants. Our product, Health Check daily antioxidant, is a unique blend of many herbs. You may be familiar with many of them like garlic, Siberian ginseng, and yucca. Perhaps you take them yourself. I do and so do most of my friends. We have been using a comparable human product for over 6 years now and I can’t tell you the miracles we’ve seen. I was spending over 300 dollars per month using this human product on our own horse. Very few clients were willing to spend that so I had to find a way to get the same results for less expense. The answer I found was grapes. As I already explained, grapes contain the most powerful antioxidant known. It’s economical, readily accessible, and horses love it. We balance the grape with other beneficial herbs and have been overwhelmed with the results.

Grape Seed Extract

Grape seed extract has been proven to benefit many parts of the body. J.E. Grogain, B. Ed. Certified Nutritionist in an article titled Grape Seed Extract, Its Properties and Benefits, states that GSE maintains and strengthens the integrity of tendons, ligaments, muscles, as well as bones. It does this by strengthening collagen fibers, the cement that holds all tissue together even blood vessel walls, skin and lungs. He states that by preventing collagen breakdown and increasing production, GSE protects, especially

GRAPE SEED is an ingredient in many of The Natural Vet's products.

during periods of inflammation and infection. By acting as a powerful anti - inflammatory, even swelling of injured tissue can be minimized reducing pain and speeding up the healing process. Do you know any horses that could benefit? He also states that GSE can prevent and relieve excessive fluid buildup (edema) especially in the lymph glands. This aids in clearing waste material from the site injury or infection. As a big benefit, he states that GSE can benefit the synovial fluid in joints as well.

In our Joint Check we added glucosamine products (6,000 mgs per ounce) to help the joints and connective tissue even more. Although a topic for another article, these glucosamine products undisputedly help rebuild, restore and lubricate joints. Any aged arthritic or performance horse needs Joint Check. All others need Health Check.

Health Check is a great source of antioxidants.

A r e Y o u R e a d y ?

Arecent article in USA Today describes a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry. More specifically, that the focus now shifts from merely treating symptoms to actually stopping disease entirely or preventing it in the first place. Perhaps this is revolutionary to the drug industry but the complementary/alternative movement has spoken prevention and even “cure” for decades. In fact it has always been their goal.

In people the pharmaceutical method of treating only the symptoms with prescription drugs has failed against big killers such as cancer, alzheimers and heart disease. They may help alleviate the pain or relieve symptoms somewhat but they don’t fix the root of the problem. Sometimes, even toxic side effects from drugs can force a patient to discontinue medication and cause symptoms to return. Some drugs may also produce their own set of symptoms requiring more medication and higher and higher doses. Anti-inflammatories and steroids in horses are notorious for this.

On our farm we have about thirty Rocky Mountain horses. We have outside mares coming and going for breeding, we are either showing or trail riding every weekend. The point is, we have a lot of potential exposure for disease. We feed every horse Health Check or Joint Check every day. We don’t even vaccinate and we don’t have sick horses.

Dr. Richard Cutlar, former director of the government’s anti-aging research department at the National Institute of Health said, “The amount of antioxidants that you maintain in your body is directly proportional to how long you live!” Health Check retails for .66 a day. That expense is less than what a soda pop costs. I know my horse is worth it. How about yours?

In alternative medicine, addressing the cause of the problem has always been the focus. Illness suggests that the body is “out of balance”. Alternative medicine uses natural nutrients and methods and assists in healing with the idea that the body has a tendency to heal itself or self-correct. With the imbalance corrected, the symtoms will disappear on their own or give us new symptoms to gradually guide us further towards the desired state of health.

Dr. Robert Atkins points out in his book, Vita Nutrients (Simon and Schuster, 1998) drugs are “blockers” but nutrients like vitamins and herbs are “enablers”. They allow the body to funtion smoothly by easing the natural process. They work best gradually over the long-term. Knowing this, who wouldn’t choose an “enabler” (i.e. a nutrient or herb) over a “blocker” also known as a drug?

Nutrients and herbs keep us and our animal friends healthy. It goes without saying that healthy is a win-win situation. As we all know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Joint Check has the same ingredients as Health Check plus naturally supports healthy joint function, bone and connective tissue.