Re: Legal Remedies and Herbs

["B. Miskimmin/J. Curtis" <limnos@junction.net>]

Linda Flemmer wrote:
>>How about proBiotics that folks are starting to use?  Yes they are naturally
occurring in the horse (ie the gut flora) but they are given in large
quantities compared to what the horse would normally ingest.  The horse
will not die
without them, <but their performance will be enhanced>.  Are these banned?
Acceptance seems to be widespread for ProBiotics.>>>

I know a horse that often had poor gut sounds and ultimately colicked at a
ride. The horse recovered, but the implication is that it could have died
had the situation progressed too far.  Thereafter the owner started using
probiotics and absolutely swears by them. The horse now always has great
gut sounds and wins BC more times than not.  
I absolutely agree with others that electrolytes are just a concentrated
natural feed that clearly falls on the legal side. But while probiotic
ingredients are naturally occurring, we don't normally feed our horses
doses of gut flora to aid in their digestion - although such probiotics
can't be called a drug either. They certainly are performance-enhancing in
the example I give. The same could be said for for Flex-free, ProBurst,
etc. etc. I'm not trying to make a statement one way or the other for these
products, but where DO we draw the line on "natural abilities"? Are we
cheating to use products that don't test, but that enhance our horses'
natural abilities?

I think with the advent of so many new products on the market, some
clarification of the wording of what is legal is in order.
Brenda