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I was recently contacted by the lovely team at EquiNutritive about trying some of their products. For those of you who haven’t heard of EquiNutritive, they are an equine supplements brand who wanted to create natural supplements to help horse owners keep their horses happy! With a particular passion for gut health and the impact that can have on the overall health of the horse, all their products are also designed to help improve gut health. After having a browse of their fantastic range of products, I decided to try their Breathe-Rite respiratory supplement and their Revive N’ Shine skin and coat supplement. (Keep your eyes peeled for this review!)
Scottie’s Cough
Their respiratory supplement was an easy choice for me. Scottie has been at this yard since 2017 and since being at this yard he has had an on and off cough. It is quite a minor cough. It’s worse in the winter when they are in more and typically it’s just a case of he has a few coughs when he first starts trotting, almost like he is clearing his throat. I have tried all the normal things to improve and stop his cough.
One of my lectures stays with me when this comment was made: “If a horse coughs, there is a 70% chance their is something wrong with their respiratory system. If they don’t cough, there is a 30% chance there is something wrong.” Horses are prone to respiratory issues and a horse with a healthy respiratory system shouldn’t cough.
I have tried all the normal things for improving a horses cough. I have soaked hay, changed to dust free bedding, tried feeding hay from the floor and increasing turnout where I can. I have even tried not mucking out with him in the stable and keeping the stable as dust free as possible. But none of this has ever improved his cough.
Interestingly, over the years, Scottie has gone on mini holidays to camp. During this time he has the same hay and usually the same bedding. He doesn’t tend to cough warming up when he is staying away! All of this had made me come to the conclusion that there is probably something very specific at our yard that mildly irritates his respiratory system. My guess is the fact that our stables overlook our arena, what can be dusty.
Now I just keep an eye on him and usually give him a Horselyx respiratory lick when he gets a bad flare up, but I’m not really sure if it makes a difference or if it just makes me feel better for doing something! I don’t think I have ever tried him on a respiratory supplement, or at least not a respiratory specific one. So I was really interested to try EquiNutritive’s Breathe-Rite respiratory supplement to see if it made a difference to Scottie or not.
Breathe-Rite Respiratory Supplement Features
There are lots of things to like about supplements from EquiNutritive. These features are the same for many of the supplements but are things I really liked about their respiratory supplement.
Eco Friendly Packaging
Despite all the calls for more eco friendly packaging, most supplements still come in plastic tubs with plastic scoops which aren’t always easily recylable. But EquiNutritive’s respiratory supplement comes in eco friendly packaging as standard! The cardboard outer can go in your recycling bin when you are finished. The plastic bag is biodegradable. So it can go in with your normal rubbish and will breakdown within six months. The measuring cup is also paper!
100% Natural
I have always been a bit dubious when it comes to trying new supplements. I think so many supplements have a lot of filler and when you aren’t always 100% sure what the problem is with your horse, why would you want to add all this filler? One of the things I love about Breathe-Rite is that it is 100% natural and is essentially carefully selected herbs. There’s no power for you to wonder what is in there! For centuries humans have used the natural properties of herbs to treat various problems. In the wild horses are seen to graze on different herbs, often seeking out specific herbs when they need them. I think our modern grazing really limits our horses and love finding ways to introduce herbs back into their diet. It’s a big part of the reason I choose to feed HoneyChop Plus Herbs.
Fennel Seeds, Nettle, Marshmallow Root, Vervain, Licorice Root, Echinacea & Clivers.
7 carefully selected herbs
Easy Measuring
Before my supplements arrived, I was reading the recommended feeding rates. For Scottie I had the choice of 3/4 cup for maintainence or 1 1/4 cups for improving issues. This worried me a little bit and it can be so fiddly measuring out anything more detailed than 1 cup. I was even thinking of just feeding the 1 cup, which would put us halfway between the suggested measurements. But I was worrying needlessly! The cup had all the measurements I would possibly need marked on the side, so I wasn’t having to try and guage it all by eye.
Scottie has improved!
While all the above features are great, what you really want from a supplement is for it to work. I am pleased to have seen an improvement in Scottie since feeding Breathe-Rite. He does still have a slight cough, but it seems much better. Whereas before it would be two or three big coughs, now it feels like more of a splutter or when you clear your throat. I’m still not quite a month into using this respiratory supplement, so there is still a chance we will see more improvements.
Once I am close to finishing the box I am going to decide if I have seen enough improvement to keep him on this respiratory supplement. You use about 1kg a month feeding the maintenance level and while I don’t think it is any more expensive than other supplements on the market, I can’t decide if I have seen enough improvement yet to keep Scottie on it full time. I might just get it for times of year when he tends to get flare ups.
Not ready to take the leap?
Buying a big tub of supplement can be a big investment, especially if your horse is a fussy eater! But EquiNutritive have the perfect solution. You can buy a one-day test to check if your horse will eat it for just £2.50. You can then feel a bit more confident buying a bigger box.
EquiNutritive expect you to see an improvement after 2 weeks. If you haven’t seen an improvement after a month feeding at the recommended level, they have their Compost Heap Guarentee. This allows you to get your money back and they will also offer advice for any other products what might benefit your horse!
There’s also 10% off for new customers!
Last Updated on 07/06/2022
