Heel First Impact

I'm excited to announce that after 2 years of experimenting with my recipe, my first batch of official Sulcus Syringes are ready for sale! I can sell these locally, at our appt, or ship them straight to you! Perfect for horse owners and professionals.

These syringes are formulated specifically for the deep, painful infections in the central and collateral sulci. It is a one of a kind product, you can't find this formula anywhere else! The bentonite clay, honey and castor oil helps to draw out infections, while the lanolin and grapeseed oils help to prevent over drying of soft tissues. I chose to use pine tar in my products because it has been in use for over 2000 years! It has been shown to work as a drawing agent, reduce itching, has anti-inflammatory as well as antibacterial AND antifungal properties. Honey has also been used for thousands of years to treat wounds and prevent infection. "The physical properties of honey also expedite the healing process: its acidity increases the release of oxygen from hemoglobin thereby making the wound environment less favorable for the activity of destructive proteases, and the high osmolarity of honey draws fluid out of the wound bed to create an outflow of lymph as occurs with negative pressure wound therapy." ("Honey: A Biologic Wound Dressing" Molan, Peter PhD; Rhodes, Tanya PhD; June 2015, Volume 27, Issue 6)
My essential oil blend is also extremely antibacterial and antifungal. Although I have it advertised for the collateral grooves and central sulcus, this product can be used on other parts of the hoof as well such as the sole, hoof wall, and coronary band. It can also be used on superficial cuts and scrapes, and to treat mild pastern dermatitis (mud fever, scratches).

I also have other hoof products such as clay packing, and a cleansing spray. I'll be doing a separate post with descriptions for them. But....The hoof clay packing can be used during the preparation for glue on shoes, metal shoes with pads, casting etc. I have a couple varieties of the clay. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!

A huge issue we deal with is getting a proper diagnosis for insulin resistance (and other metabolic disorders such as PPID).
Blood should never be pulled from a horse that has been fasting, or undergone recent stress. This will impact the results hugely, and yet I still hear clients say that their vet has told them to make sure to fast their horse prior to blood being pulled. Another issue is the threshold set to consider a horse IR or PPID. What I've learned from the glorious folks at ECIR, if a horse is on a low sugar diet, and/or has been fasting, and the blood insulin levels are near or over 20uIU/mL, you have a huge issue. No sugar intake, and yet the insulin is that high? Eeek!!! And yet this threshold of 20uIU/mL remains the standard in many practices.
This study shows that when doing a fasting blood test, insulin levels for a "normal" (Not IR) horse should not be higher than 5.2uIU/mL!!!
When you interpret your results, please consider if your horse was fasting or on a low sugar diet.

Comparison of fasted basal insulin with the combined glucose-insulin test in horses and ponies with suspected insulin dysregulation Fasting horses for measurement of basal serum insulin concentration (fasting insulin; FI) has been recommended to standardise testing for insulin dysr…

Check that neck!

The cresty neck score is an independent predictor of insulin dysregulation in ponies Generalized obesity, regional adiposity, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia are all potential indicators of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). This study aimed to assess the relationship between morphometric measurements of body condition and metabolic hormone concentrations in ponies, with and...

I thought this article was very interesting! Compromised gut health impacts whole body health. Not only the absorption of nutrients, but also the creation of certain vitamins. B vitamins mainly rely on a healthy gut for production and absorption.

The Story of B Vitamins in Horse Nutrition - Kentucky Equine Research The B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins, each with its own distinct use and chemical properties, that are required by the horse for optimal health and well-being.