My experience with Positude

As you may know, my mare Pippi has been struggling with back pain seemingly associated with her cycles. We have seen Vets, tried a number of treatments and some have been more effective than others. Basically she has some genetic back issues, tends to have very tight muscles and, her cycles are seemingly quite painful.

Regumate -  worked great as it distrupts estrus, ie shuts down the cycles. Cumbersome as it is toxic to humans (which makes me leery of long term use for Pippi), and expensive. $224.95 for 100 days

DepoProvera shots - we did 7cc every 21 days, trying to time it right (so it hits within 2 days of the cycle). Less expensive than Regumate. Didn't have to ask Barn owners to handle like with Regumate, which was nice. It worked, but there is a quick tapering off and so she feels great, and then gradually worse until the next shot. A barn environment is not clean, so there is always a risk of infections with needles and shots. Pippi does not mind shots, as long as you don't try to sneak it by her.

Raspberry Leaves - 2/3 cup once per day pure organic leaves, I fed these for quite a while and I can't really say it helped.

Positude- 
I found out about Positude from Marcilyn,  Equine Massage Therapist, that has helped us tremendously by teaching me how to help with Pippis locked and sore muscles. She had read an article about Equine Elixirs that mentioned that they were coming out with a new product: POSITUDE!

"Positude™ is made from highly concentrated plant, berry and root extracts, while other products are made from powders. Positude™ is more effective because extracts contain only concentrated active ingredients, while powders consist of many inactive and inert elements resulting in a less effective product.

• All natural
• Contains no prohibited substances
• Safe to handle
• No injections
• Helps maintain even hormone levels via daily delivery system
• Picky eater approved"

The above is directly from their website. The ingredients in Positude are pictured on their site, and  are Chaste Tree Berry, Raspberrry leaves, and Dong Quai. Liz, the inventor also listed them during a radio interview with The Plaid Horse Podcast.

I contacted Liz, who I spoke with personally in late November 2018, and she kindly allowed me to purchase two months worth of Positude. They had yet to launch the product, but were in production.

Two bottles, just like the one pictured, arrived, and instead of doing the next shot of Depo I switched to Positude. We did 10 days of the loading dose of 1oz, and then stepped down to the maintenance dose of 1/2 oz per feeding. Pippi seemed to respond to this product very very well. Her back was less sore, she moved easier and stepped further under herself, she no longer tightened her back when I palpated it, her muscles were softer and more pliable all over, and she was less spooky and anxious. SUCCESS!! WOOHOO! End of story! Thanks for reading, that's all folks......

Only of course, it wasn't, because not long after switching to the maintenance dose, Pippi started showing signs that she was in pain ......again. She was stiff and sore, even though I had continued the muscle massages and stretches. She was ducking away from pressure on her back and she was spooking a lot more again. I contacted Liz at Equine Elixirs, who was once again very attentive and we discussed what the issue could be. Liz said that the vast majority of horses respond perfectly fine to the maintenance dose, but that a very few had to be kept at the higher daily dose in order to see results. It didn't surprise me that Pippi would be in that category as she is a very muscular and strong mare. I mean my farrier thought she was a stallion that had been gelded late, when he first saw her.  

So....... 

A 120 oz bottle of Positude costs $199.96 and I am estimating shipping around $20. So Positude would cost me $100+ per month. 

Four months of Depo Provera costs me $95, no shipping, so about $24 per month. 

SmartPak has a product called SmartMare Harmony with similar ingredients in a pellet form. I have no way of knowing the amounts contained in the Positude, but as a rule extracts are more potent as they contain no fillers. SmartMare Harmony also hasa lot more ingredients, and a lot of "Inactive Ingredients" that may water down the effectiveness. It costs $33.12 for 28 days shipped in Smartpaks. 

So, here in the real world......

 I am already at the top of my horse budget and I just can't spend $100+ every month on Positude. I'd love to, but it is just not fair to the rest of my life.... If you can afford it, I would recommend Positude. I'd love to give it a try now that heat season is coming back, but there is no need to see how much it would help as I can't afford to keep doing it. My decision to not continue with Positude has nothing to do with the product, which I had success with, and is solely based on my own finances and budget. 

For now I am trying SmartMare Harmony, and if that is a no go, we are going back to Depo and good days and bad days. And life goes on.....