Concise Guide to Medications, Supplements and Herbs for the Horse [Paperback]

This book caught my eye as a horse owner and horse lover; I also study holistic treatment modalities and had high hopes for this book.

Written by a DVM, who obviously practices more traditional western vet care, the text is clearly written with even a tinge of humor.

Although herbal medicine is treated rather disdainfully, his articulate and concise descriptions of medications and supplements is very useful. He explains the action of the drug/supplement, product claims, precautions, and side effects. Dr. Ramey is very good at dispelling confusion about the multitude of products available for horses, while speaking in terms the average layman can understand.

Though not quite what I was after, all in all, a good book that I will not part with; another reference book I recommend to equine professionals and/or hobbyists.

Think of it as a horse owner's version of a Physician's Desk Reference.

This book is really problematic for me due to the author's tone. It's obvious that he is against alternative medicine and any sort of herbal supplementation. My belief is he wrote this book specifically to decry any horse owner from using these forms of alternative therapy and is, in no way, an exploration of these treatments so it baffles me why he titled the book in the manner that he did.

The book is an alphabetical list of treatments/ingredients, with over 75 percent or more being man-made: Ceftiofur Sodium (Naxcel), Cyproheptadine, Doxycycline, Gentamycin Sulfate (Gentocin), Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN), is just a few of the MANY examples in this book. Actually, I would feel pretty safe in writing that there are more descriptions of pharmaceuticals then herbs or supplements in this book.

In discussing herbs or supplements, Dr. Ramey often states "this has not been proven in horses" which I respect. I do feel herbs and supplements are given too many blanket, unproven statements and are seen as a cure-all for every problem.

However, he does not give any details on why scientific studies are so lacking (even when he cites ONE study that states XYZ herb is not effective). Instead of being self-righteous, it would have been beneficial for Dr. Ramey to explain the reality of testing treatments on horses. Let me enlighten you: many experiments done on horses are funded by drug or feed companies. These corporate funded experiments (which are usually very low in the number of subjects as horses, unlike rats, costs far more to house) are short-term, and done for a self-serving purpose.

Another area where the book is lacking is any chapter by the author on how you should approach in adding and testing herbs and supplements for your specific horse. For example, when I add something new to the horses' diet, then I give it 90 days to see if it has any effect, while not making any other changes in the horses' diet or regime. I keep track of it, as well as whatever symptoms I am looking to effect (for example, with Moody Mare, that would be the PMS behavior of my filly).

What I have discovered is that while one horse may have symptoms improved by ABC product, another horse shows no improvement. It truly is a case by case call and horse owners would do themselves a huge favor if they "tested" a product for it's worth, before investing into its long term use.

The reality of Equine Medicine is that 90 percent of it is guess-work. I have over 25 years of experience with vets and horses, and half or more of the time the vet is wrong in the diagnosis. This is because horse medicine lags far behind small animal medicine and the diagnostic equipment and testing for horses is far more limited then for small animal practices. Dr. Ramey should have taken it upon himself to point this out.

The only group I know of that is doing any sort of short-term, low number of horses, trials is Horse Journal, a consumer product testing magazine. If you are truly interested in supplementation, you would be better off buying a subscription to Horse Journal then buying this book. If you want a slim volume on your shelf as a quick reference, then this book is adequate.

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