Hello again. Instant gratification…. a term that is being tossed around in society with high frequency lately. For the past 2 years, we have been researching our Cur-OST product in horses for various inflammatory conditions with dramatic results in some cases. Yes, we have had some horses fail to respond to the product, but honestly, I don’t perceive it as product failure but more so failure on the owner’s end to appreciate the results gained. Our products have been available to the general public for about one year now and heavily used in our equine practice. It is interesting to get feedback from individuals that are using the product for the first time. Some are very happy with the results while others appear rather negative, noting no improvement. This gets me down, not only because we have researched and developed the product but because I have seen the difference in over 100 of our own patients. I have had owners contact us stating that their horse was on daily bute for arthritis, but they discontinued it and placed him/her on the Cur-OST, but after 2 weeks time, they do not see a difference in the lameness. When asked if the horse is still off bute, they comment, YES. When asked if the lameness is worse, they say NO, but they somehow are not making the connection that the product is taking the place of bute on a daily basis, helping to reduce inflammation and keeping the lameness under control without the use of prescription medication. This is the healthy way to go, more natural and with a reduced risk of ulcers and associated problems with daily bute usage. Nothing will make a lameness go away completely and in most cases, the lameness is mechanical due to bone spur formation so our goal is to alleviate associated pain and inflammation, but more than likely the lameness will remain to a certain extent. The same thing holds true to any chronic inflammatory condition, whether that be laminitis, arthritis or navicular syndrome. In chronic situations, bone structures shift, scar tissue forms and animals form lameness habits. These situations usually cannot be reversed but may be improved over time, certainly not overnight. Our research focused on more acute conditions, especially laminitis. Those were the horses that seemed to respond most favorably and in the shortest period of time. All inflammatory conditions have a good chance of responding to Cur-OST, but it will take time.
First, understand what your goal is with therapy for your horse, irregardless of what product you are chosing to use. If your goal is to get the horse through the next event and that is it, then there are more rapidly acting options out there. If your goal is to reduce the horse’s dependence on prescription medications and joint injections, then supplements like Cur-OST may offer some help, but change takes time, especially in chronic situations. If it takes years to develop a problem, it will at least take a few months to improve.
Thank you for following us and as usual, if there are questions or comments, feel free to drop us an email.
Tom Schell, D.V.M, DABVP
