[naters]

Has anyone tried MUSHROOM MATRIX for their horses?

How does it work / why does it work as a calming supplement?

[ThoroughbredFancy]

The last thing I need is an OTTB tripping on shrooms.











Hehe, sorry. I couldn't help myself.

[deltawave]

Good lord, I almost hate to ask. Is there no end?

[naters]

The last thing I need is an OTTB tripping on shrooms.











Hehe, sorry. I couldn't help myself.

My thoughts exactly! Saw it on another thread and had never heard of it, but I was envisioning my gelding going "hey mannnnn, what's up" in a really, laid back kind of voice





.

[naters]

Good lord, I almost hate to ask. Is there no end?

Yeah, me too, but I had to ask.... trying to envision my horse on shrooms

[JB]

Not all mushrooms are hallucinogens

There is SOME valid evidence of certain mushrooms having some healing properties. I couldn't tell you what amount it takes for a human, much less a horse.

[CosMonster]

I first read the title as "Mushroom Magic" and that really brought up the 'shrooms connection. I should stop making these types of posts, though, or you guys will start thinking I'm some kind of dirty hippie.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'd feed a horse mushrooms...doesn't seem like something they eat too much on their own and while I like mushrooms quite a bit myself (the non-magic kind ), it just doesn't seem like it would be worth spending money on. I could be wrong, though. That's just my gut reaction.

[naters]

Just wondering what it is supposed to do exactly!

[Melyni]

Just wondering what it is supposed to do exactly!

what does the package say? What do they claim?
MW

[Melyni]

Good lord, I almost hate to ask. Is there no end?

But it's one of the joys of a free market.
ANd in the end it all settles down to the ones that work anyway.

AS long as it does not actively harm any horses.

MW

[deltawave]

AS long as it does not actively harm any horses.

But passively harming them is OK?

Only partially kidding--no offense, but I think there is a "down side" to the current mindset that "there is a supplement for everything, and every horse (or human) needs supplements" that is being promulgated by the industry.

[naters]

what does the package say? What do they claim?
MW

basically "overall health and wellness".

[Melyni]

basically "overall health and wellness".

I mean you could make this claim about just about any feedstuff that isn't toxic!

But you had originally asked about how did it work as a calmative, and I wasn't aware that they had any calmative claims on their literature.


I've seen the booth at various expos, and I did once glance over their handout, nothing jumped out at me except a few medical claims which the FDA would make short work of as soon as they see it.


It's a free market, up to a point!

These folk are often spinning off from the human market and tend not to realize that DSHEA does not apply to animals.

Yours
MW

[naters]

I was just relaying the general message of the label, when asked. "overall health and wellness".

The question is why would it work as a calming supplement (as claimed by another poster in another thread).

Two different issues. I am not buying it or trying it. Was just curious, what about it would make it a calming supplement.

(well, except for the shroom factor)

[Melyni]

I was just relaying the general message of the label, when asked. "overall health and wellness".

The question is why would it work as a calming supplement (as claimed by another poster in another thread).

Two different issues. I am not buying it or trying it. Was just curious, what about it would make it a calming supplement.

(well, except for the shroom factor)

if anything. Though the shroom effect might be interesting, maybe I should take some and see what it does!

I don't think that it has any actual effect calming or otherwise.
MW

[atr]

A bunch of ladies at a barn I used to board at got sucked in by this at a show by some celebrity endorser who ought to know better and all came back with hugely expensive pots of this stuff.

They claimed, I believe, that it helped calm and focus the horse.

I smiled and nodded and carried on with my life.

[deltawave]

For all the "calming and focusing" products that are out there, I sure see a heck of a lot of frazzled, distracted horses. Generally being ridden by riders that fit the same description.

[Auventera Two]

Only partially kidding--no offense, but I think there is a "down side" to the current mindset that "there is a supplement for everything, and every horse (or human) needs supplements" that is being promulgated by the industry.

You're right that the stream of supplements to cure what ails is seemingly endless. But keep in mind that the wild (or feral) horse will eat many different foods that they aren't allowed to eat in captivity.....tree bark, sticks, thorns, berries, flowers, fruits, weeds, seed heads, nuts, vines, a variety of grasses, and even dirt or clay. The horse will eat a variety of foods, depending on the geographic area in which the herd roams, and what is available.

My horses scrape the algae off the water tank in the summer time. (Yes, I keep them clean, but in hot sun, algae can flourish in 48 hours.) They also stick their nose under the water and pull up long shoots of swamp grass growing out of river beds. They eat them dirt and all.

Many of these supplements are giving the horse alternatives to the same ole cultivated hay and grain preparation.

The average horse owners labors to kill all the weeds in the pastures and fence off trees so the bark isn't eaten. On trail rides, it's considered bad manners to make a grab for the blackberry leaves or other tempting green thing. The wild or feral horse would eat many of the things that we just don't let them have!

I do believe that horses (as well as most domesticated animals - and even humans) are likely deficient in certain micronutrients and I see nothing wrong with giving supplements that aims to give back a portion of what we deny the horse.

No, I don't believe that any ONE supplement is a magic potion, but I don't see anthing wrong with affording the horse a variety of foods derived from different sources. This supports good digestion, immune function, sound hooves, etc. because many diverse nutrients are required for the entire body to be well fed and healthy.

Many of the supplements we take, and give to our animals is simply adding diversity to the diet, which we would all be getting if we were feeding ourselves correctly and our horses were roaming and grazing. But thanks to fast food and domestications, things have changed for all of us. That's not a bad thing - it just is what it is.

I read an article in The Horse sometime back (I'll try to find it) showing that when horses are given a wide variety of foods, that many vices cease such as stall walking or cribbing. When the horse is fed armloads of the same hay day in and day out, they become board and the vices start up again. The horse evolved as a wanderer eating many different foods, depending on what was available. We have this idea that horses have to eat the same load of hay from the same crop from the same farmer all year long, and the same scoop of grain.

[deltawave]

I disagree that supplements necessarily add diversity. Most of them are the same 10 or 12 "special" ingredients, mixed up yet another way to keep the shtick fresh.

Feral horses may be eating bark, twigs and lichens because they're a better option than starvation, not to provide themselves with some sort of natural pharmacopoeia. A feral horse, if it found a 50 pound bag of Omolene 300, would also eat it and promptly die. I don't trust horses to know what's good for them, not in the slightest.

[Auventera Two]

Hmm, well then we just diagree I guess.

It would be interesting to talk to the owners of BLM mustangs and see if they just vaccumed up sweet feed the first time they were exposed to it or not. We've had 3 horses that never were given any sort of treats in their life and thought that a sweet red apple or a nice fresh carrot was poison. When I bought my stallion, it took probably 3 months before he would touch a sweet horse cookie, apple, or a carrot. He ate grain because he was accustomed to that. I don't think horses necessarily gravitate to what is sweet and sticky but more likely what they are accustomed to eating. Obviously though once they develop a taste for it (like us with french fries), it becomes a craved item. My mother's off track TB went years before she would touch any kind of treat. The third was a rescued Lipp mare who never did eat an apple or carrot the entire time she was here.

And sure they'd starve if they didn't eat a variety of things, but that doesn't mean that the variety is not desirable.

No different than dogs. A wild dog's natural diet is meat, bones, skin, organ tissue, and the like. When we feed domesticated dogs a diet of 80% ground yellow corn, we have nobody to blame but ourselves that they suffer the behavioral and physical issues that they do.

And your extreme disdain for the equine supplement industry is noted, but think - how many types and brands of toilet paper do we have? Single ply, double ply, biodegradeable, extra soft, double roll, triple roll, recycled materials, non-recycled materials, quilted, plush........All are designed to do the same thing right? But each has their own little marketing gimmicks and claims that they're supposedly "better." They all claim to be the softest, the strongest, the most economical. In reality, TP is TP as far as I'm concerned.

So yeah, a joint supplement is a joint supplement - but each have their own little attributes. One supplies 10,000 MSM, another only 5,000, and so forth. One has glucosamine, one doesn't. Each owner has to choose what they believe may be helpful to their individual horse. I use supplements and I'm glad they're available. I've seen GREAT results with various products. Live and let live