Page 56 - Barrel Stallion Register 2016

“I applaud horsemen who are trying to take care of the problems their horse has, but the question is whether these breathing aids are actually taking care of their specific problem.”
Ron Martin gives breathing treatments to horses at Los Alamitos racetrack using colloidal silver. “We’ve had incredible success,” says Martin. Many owners and trainers ask him to treat their horses. “This seems to be very effec- tive,” he says.
“After a race, these horses recover nicely. I think the benefits from treatment are subtle, but that little bit can be a big thing for a racehorse or a barrel horse. If you are running barrels or run- ning a race, the difference between placings may be a thousandth of a second and that can amount to several thousand dollars,” says Martin. You want the horse to be able to run his very best.
“It’s not a cure-all and not guaranteed to keep a horse from bleeding, but it certainly helps,” he says. It can help horses perform at optimum ability, rather than being impaired by a respiratory issue.
“Under the best of circumstances, especially at the racetrack, there are things that compro- mise these horses. They live in a stall with horses coming and going from these barns. There are risks for respiratory infections. I was a skeptic in the beginning regarding how effective it would be, but one thing that caused me to believe in it is how much the horses really like it,” says Martin.
It must make them feel more comfortable. “Once I start treating a horse, they are very willing. I’ve had some that did not want me to put that mask on, but after a couple treatments I never have to go into a stall to catch that horse; these horses meet me at the door and are eager for the treatment,” he explains.
“The silver treatment is a great alter- native for these horses because we are no longer allowed to use clenbuterol, and use of antibiotics is also limited at the racetrack and at Quarter Horse shows. In California, you can’t race a horse for 6 months after you use some of these drugs, so you need to have an alternative,” he says.
“I used to own a barrel horse that was a 4-time AQHA World Champion and won the NFR. He had respiratory problems during his entire career. We were giving him a lot of things to help him breathe that today would not be allowed. A horse like that would have really ben- efited from this kind of treatment. Many people today are using the silver treatments because it’s something they can legally use.”
Martin says a person will know if their horse is going to benefit. “The horse will really like it and will be waiting for the next treat- ment. They seem to feel better. I always treat a horse the morning after it races. In my opinion, that’s when the lungs are the most raw,” he says.
Tonda Collins (in Oklahoma), who has been part of the barrel racing world for a
long time, also markets a nebulizer and uses Equi-Silver as part of the treatment. “The Equi-Silver has been around for 11 years. It was developed by Dr. Michael Cavey, a veterinarian in Lexington, Kentucky,” she says.
“I was 15 years with Medline Industries (one of the largest manufacturers and distributers
of medical products in the world), 12 years on the hospital side, and the last 3 years as VP of Animal Health. Because of my experience within the medical side, it gave me a better understand- ing of how a nebulizer should work for a horse.”
“So, I designed and have patent pending on a mask that has been working very well for what we are doing. Then, we developed a new piece of equipment that is a nebulizer for horses,” says Collins.
“Last month I went to Hagyard, one of the oldest vet clinics in the country, and had Dr. Nathan Slovis do a nuclear scintigraphy study to see how well these units work to actually get the medication down into the lungs of a horse. He was so impressed with the equipment that he is now using it on horses. I’ve worked with him a lot on wound care and various things and that’s why I wanted to have him do the studies, because of his reputation.”
Nebulizers and respiratory aids have been in use for a while in treating horses with respiratory diseases, heaves, etc., but now horse owners are finding that these aids can be useful in treating seemingly healthy horses that have less obvious problems. “In the barrel racing world, for instance, a lot of times when horses act up in the alleyway, rearing, etc. before going into the arena, the first thing most people do is put a harsher bit on them or think they might have ulcers. But, often this bad behavior is due to the fact that the horse can’t breathe adequately when exerting. These horses are anticipating the discomfort of not being able to get enough air when they are running,” she explains.
“When we started doing treatments at some of the larger barrel racing events, people could see what came out of their horses’ noses, and it was taking a half second off their times when they ran. Our customers are enthusiastic. We’ve helped horses get off of Lasix (horses that were bleeding in spite of the Lasix) and off Ventipulmin and dexamethasone. Horses with severe allergies and heaves benefit from using this,” she says.
Many horses have compromised lung func- tion of various degrees. “Even if they just have allergies and are at one of the big barrel racing events, the dust and dirty air that they are constantly breathing affects their ability to run.
Tonda Collins has been part of barrel racing for a long time and also worked in the medical world.
The nice thing about chelated silver is that it works in a nebulizer. The chelated silver works well in the cells as an antimicrobial that deters bacteria, viruses and fungi, and this is why it works so well in the lungs,” she says.
“Silver has been used for years and years
in wound care. Dr. Cavey developed this patented process, which makes the particles smaller so they can be nebulized,” says Collins.
“People are just starting to realize how much their horses need to have their lungs clean and clear when competing. Many people don’t under- stand that when you are feeding a horse with his head up or tying a horse in a trailer, this is an unnatural position and they can’t get rid of the foreign particles in the airways. People leave a big barrel racing event and tie their horses in a trailer and they can’t get their heads down to drain or cough out the debris. People are creating prob- lems for their horses and don’t realize it. Now, we’ve been able to help them get that stuff out of their airways and keep it out,” she explains. “The results we’ve seen have been phenomenal.”
A nuclear scintigraphy study was recently done at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, showing how well nebulizer units work to get medication down into the lungs of a horse.
54 SPEEDHORSE
EQUINE HEALTH