June 2005

Got Pain? Give It To The Devil

Once again, Devil’s Claw offers the most consistent herbal-based pain relief.

Devil’s Claw has proven to be an effective pain-relief ingredient in our field trials.

Drugs like phenylbutazone and flunixin (Banamine) do a great job of controlling pain. Unfortunately, these drugs come with side effects and aren’t always appropriate for long-term use in many horses. Intestinal tract ulceration, kidney damage and even interference with healing are risks of long-term use.

For long-term pain control, many people are turning to over-the-counter products with herbal or nutritionally based ingredients. We tried some of these products under a variety of conditions, from acute injuries and wounds to chronic arthritis pain, retirees to active performance horses. The test-horse candidates with chronic-pain problems were required to have a baseline level of discomfort that could be quantified on the standard lameness scale…