NEWS

A return to roots

Posted: Saturday, December 07, 1996

In the complex age of high-tech veterinary medicine, some horsemen are turning to herbal remedies and organic feedIN a small lounge several blocks from the motels and condominiums that line the ocean in Miami, Florida, Thoroughbred breeders and owners Loryhl and Rick Gutman are sitting in a booth discussing the usual things one discusses in a bar. You know: parsley, culpepper, beet root, garlic.
Okay, so the Gutmans do a little cooking in their spare time, right?
Well, sort of.
For the past year, the Gutmans have joined the growing ranks of those in the Thoroughbred industry that are treating horses with herbal therapies and feeding them organic feeds. In fact, the Gutmans have opened their own business, named Herbs of the World, which supplies special blends to horsemen that they say can help everything from calming the nervous system, to strengthing the immune system, to helping to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorraghing (EIPH).
Something to help treat bleeding? A miracle cure, right?
"We're not saying this is a miracle cure, and we really want to stress that," Loryhl Gutman said.
"But I guess what we're looking at is something in a horse's living conditions or diet which, even though they're tremendously powerful athletes, causes a weakness in the blood vessels of their lungs," Rick Gutman added. "Horses have been around a million years with no one taking care of them, but they developed the ability to run fast because there were predators chasing after them. But look over a racing program today, and huge numbers of horses are racing on Lasix. Now, 10,000 years ago, when a pack of wolves took off after a herd of horses, you didn't have three-quarters of the herd stopping and blowing blood."
California resident Joanne Nor, owner of Norfields Farms and owner-breeder of 1995 Breeders'Cup Sprint (G1) winner Desert Stormer, has been feeding her racehorses and broodmares organic feed for the past ten years. She firmly believes that pesticides and other chemicals sprayed on feed are one of the reasons for the high number of bleeders in California.
"A lot of chemicals outlawed for human consumption are sprayed on feed," Nor said. "My horses, with a cleaner diet, are healthier. I know when I was racing and got a new load of hay, horses who were not bleeders became bleeders overnight. I'm proud to say Desert Stormer is a sample of an organically grown and raced horse."

Dandelion root and soldier's wound
The Gutmans are from Western Canada, where they bred and raced horses in Alberta. While Loryhl was attending Dominion Herbal College in British Columbia, Rick was a zoo keeper studying evolutionary biology. After opening an herb business in Canada called Nature's Green Pasture, the two moved to South Florida with their four children to care for Rick's ailing parents and open Herbs of the World.
The Gutmans currently have approximately 20 clients in the Thoroughbred industry and an additional 80 on a mail-order list. The business has never been more popular, and the Gutmans offer more than 30 blends of herbs, each with its own name. For instance, there is Cannon Blast, used to help repair broken and bruised bones; Chill, for nervousness and mood swings; Thumper, an herbal electrolyte to help horses on Lasix recover from body fluid loss caused by hard work; Easy Rider, for optimum functioning of the nervous system and digestive system;and Mighty Mix, for lower back pain, internal organ weakness, and general systemic distress.
And for every blend they offer, Rick will gladly explain the historical significance of each herb. For instance, Rick maintains that:

• Agrimony, according to Chaucer, was used to treat wounds as well as internal hemorrhages.
  
• According to the ancient Greek author Homer, warriors fed their chariot horses parsley.
  
• Beet root, the chief ingredient of borscht, historically was used to open obstructions in the liver and spleen.
  

So how are the blends made?
"The formulation is kind of an art," Rick said, "because a lot of herbs have synergistic effects. Plus, as far as which herbs to combine with other herbs for which conditions, it's probably more of an art form than a science."
Loryhl, who mixes the herbs and tries to mix red, white, black, and green colors in each blend "to cover every organ and system in the body," uses several different herbs (and colors) in her Soldier's Wound Wort Blend, which the Gutmans claim can help bleeders. The blend includes nettle, beet root, dulse, bladder wrack, shepherd's purse, yarrow, cranesbill, dandelion root, agrimony, parsley leaf, and rose hips.
The blend of herbs, the Gutmans say, was used in ancient times to stop bleeding, which the couple believe is associated with impurities in the lungs and blood and improper functioning of the liver, spleen, and kidneys.
"They're not just herbs which are designed to prevent bleeding-it includes those-but they're also herbs which will hopefully correct weaknesses in the blood vessels," Rick said. "Loryhl believes bleeding problems are associated with the liver and spleen not working to peak conditions."
Beet root is high in iron, as is nettle, which Rick says was traditionally used in purifying the blood. Dandelion root detoxifies the liver and builds the blood, while shepherd's purse traditionally is used to stop hemorrhaging of all kinds. And in World War I, Rick says, a liquid extract of shepherd's purse was used to arrest bleeding.
Along with Soldier's Wound Wort Blend and its second generation, Bloodless Victory, another popular blend is Garlic 'N' Roses (rose hips).
"Rose hips are one of the richest sources of vitamin C," Loryhl said. "And garlic can help the immune system. It's great at stopping infections."

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Jacqueline Brittain, a stakes-winning trainer at Calder Race Course in Miami, has been a regular user of the Gutmans' Garlic 'N' Roses, and she likes what she has seen.
"It's helped them a great deal," Brittain said of the herbs' effects on her horses. "None of my horses have had the flu or a fever. I haven't taken a temperature in I don't know how long. I've also used the Easy Rider (blend), which I believe is good for horses with intestinal problems and for horses with colic problems. I also like the fact that Loryhl helps you and knows what she's doing. And they don't try to force anything on you."
Leo Azpurua Jr., who saddled Dance for Thee for a victory in Calder's $360,000 Florida Stallion Stakes, also uses Garlic 'N' Roses, along with Soldier's Wound Wort Blend.
"I'm using it for bad bleeders," Azpurua Jr. said of the latter. "It seems to help clear the lungs. It breaks the layers internally and helps the healing process. But that doesn't mean it's helped all bleeders."
And Azpurua warns he does not use the herbs exclusively.
"I wouldn't go out on a limb and use these by themselves," he said. "I always use what the vet believes is best, and then I use these in conjuction. But, for the herbs, it's mostly trial and error."
While Garlic 'N' Roses can be used in small doses indefinitely, the Gutmans tell horsemen that the majority of their blends are not to be used continually. For instance, horses on Soldier's Wound Wort Blend ($60 for 50 ounces) are to be on the formula for 90 days.
"Then, hopefully, the horse will be given a break," Loryhl said. "If they don't get a break, it says on the label that once you get the horse where you want him, you drop off on the blend. After that, we suggest using it five days before a race and a couple days after if the horse keeps racing."
While the Gutmans believe herbs can help, they do not tell their clients to stop using veterinarians or antibiotics.
"There's definitely a place for veterinarian medicine," Rick said. "But a friend of mine once said that Western doctors are good for acute conditions but not so good for chronic conditions. That seems to maybe be true with veterinarians. If you've got an animal bleeding, or a massive infection, if you have any sense, you're going to use antibiotics. But some of these conditions are serious enough to be problems, but some vets can't do anything about them. For a lot of horses, herbs benefit these animals because herbs are much milder on the body."

But do they work?
To put things in perspective, according to Dr. Sarah Ralston of Rutgers University in New Jersey, "I know of no scientific study of herbs working."
Ralston, an associate professor in Rutgers's Department of Animal Science, does not dismiss the benefits of herbs out of hand, "but I'm not endorsing them, either."
"I'm not going to say some of the compounds might not help," Ralston said. "And I'm not going to say some herbs have medicinal effects. But I think a lot of it is what you want to believe."
Laurie Lawrence, an associate professor of Animal Science at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, believes some herbs are simply used "to enhance flavor and improve feed intake ... to disguise other things in the feed (horses) don't like."
"Everyone's going off the deep end to do alternative stuff," said Tom Newton, D.V.M., a Virginia-based equine practitioner. "But I feel that the (regular, non-organically grown) feeds are made from and formulated after well-documented studies of what horses need."
But Joanne Nor believes that food grown for animal consumption does not go through the strict guidelines human food does. Which may mean a larger amount of pesticides.
"No one is monitoring these people growing this food," said Nor, who was part of a California study five years ago which she says turned up Agent Orange on feed. "It's criminal what's going on. A circus. If you put chemicals in your gut, in your body, and eat it on a daily basis, you'll get an imbalance eventually in your metabolism."
Beverly Cox, one of 11 licensed breeders of Hanoverian horses in the United States, agrees with Nor. Cox, who has 30 Hanoverian horses on her 156-acre farm near Delray, Florida, feeds her high-performance horses her own secret blend of natural feed, which includes seven natural grains, three of which are oats, corn, and barley.
"I've been feeding my horses totally natural for the last four years, and there's a tremendous difference," Cox said. "We have no parasite infections and no incidents of colic due to grain or feed. And we don't use alfalfa, which is heavily sprayed (with pesticides)."
In Virginia, though, veterinarian Newton said, "alfalfa is sprayed one time early in the spring when it starts to flower, and that controls the alfalfa beetle. ... Most things they use against insects don't bother horses."
But in general, Newton says, "It's good to know where your hay is coming from and the management practices of the farm where you're getting the hay."
"If you buy at the end of the product line, or a cheaper brand, it likely has inferior ingredients," agreed UK's Lawrence. "You can conceivably get hay raised next to a roadside which could be contaminated by fumes from car. But I think most feeds raised for horses are relatively low in pesticides. ... or no more (contaminated) than food for humans."
Still, Nor believes "there's a missing link between nutrition and health. There needs to be a big study on this ... across the board."
But Nor acknowledges that a study on whether pesticides in feed cause bleeding is unlikely because "there would probably be no commercial backing for that." But Scott Savin, president of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and a client of the Gutmans, said he would not be opposed to helping to fund such a study sometime in the future.
"Right now we're doing work on threshold levels and things like that," Savin said. "But it's something we might look into in the future."
The Gutmans admit there are a number of skeptics out there who question remedies like dandelion root, slippery elm, and fenugreek. But Loryhl says people are starting to come around.
"We've been breeders and owners, we've taken our horses to the track and given them to trainers who, many times, have an ego problem," Loryhl said. "They'll hate my guts for saying that. But they have a set of ways for doing things, like artists. They have their own way of taking care of racing. ... of their secret combination to get to the winner's circle, and if some punk like me or my husband comes along and says, very respectfully, that we may help your horse perform better, they say, 'Who are you to come into my barn and tell me what to do with my horse?'
"But some, over time ... they'll admit that there's something to it. You know, we live in such a drug-orientated society, someone who promotes holistic methods used to be considered a flake."
But with a growing trend toward alternative treatments and holistic feeding, herbs and organics might not be just for flakes anymore.

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Dave Joseph is the South Florida correspondent for Thoroughbred Times.