Anhidrosis - One AC vs. Platinum Refresh

[Renn_aissance]

My horse has been OK on One AC and a feed-through electrolyte for the last few years. By that I mean that when clipped every month, turned out after dark and kept under a stall fan during the day, his respiration was within normal range. He could tolerate 20 minutes of active exercise after the worst heat of the day had passed, and his respiration would return to normal within 5 minutes of hosing and scraping with cool water. I am in the mid-Atlantic where the humidity is god-awful and he had one episode last summer where he overheated and got colicky. He felt better after a dose of banamine, and felt much better the next day since I had the vet tube him with fluids. Someone is a mediocre drinker. :rolleyes:

I’ve had cause to re-evaluate what I’m feeding him and am reconsidering Platinum Refresh, if only because it’s cheaper to buy than One AC and his electrolyte. Has anyone who previously used One AC used Refresh? Did it work as well, not as well, better?

[khall]

I only used and had success with One AC, but if your horse is having that much issue I would highly suggest trying acupuncture.

[Renn_aissance]

He’s never been particularly responsive to acupuncture for any reason, although he enjoys it; and acupuncture for anhidrosis didn’t turn out differently. I know some people have had great luck with acupuncture points and herbal blends, but they didn’t give him any particular relief.

I should say that One AC and fed electrolyte keeps him functional and I don’t want to fix what isn’t broken, but if there’s something else worth trying, this is the time of year to try it.

[mfleming13]

I have a mare who doesn’t sweat… Well, she CAN sweat (I’m under the impression that some horses with anhidrosis cannot even sweat at all) but she certainly does not sweat enough. She is my preliminary event horse and one year just stopped sweating enough to cool herself down. I believe she was 7 or 8? Regardless, we went through a ton of different supplements for her. The one AC made her sweat for a few days and then we had nothing. We moved to platinum refresh after trying a few other things (including acupuncture) and it has helped tremendously. It gave my horse her career back. She will still have some days where she does not sweat enough, but she has never overheated and is cooling down normally. I still have to take precautions with her during the hotter months (inside with a fan during the day, riding when its coolest, not competing or competing at events where the secretary has agreed to give me an 8am dressage time and a 10am jump time etc). She has been on it for three years now and even still I’m noticing her sweating improving with every season. I think this year we are going to give her a dark beer with her grain every morning in addition to the platinum refresh and see how that works for her. We tried the beer without the refresh and it didn’t do enough on its own.

I will add that sometimes cutting out high sugar grains can help with sweating as well. Good luck!

[stb]

Have you tried Let 'M Sweat? It worked for my horse last year and I’ve just started him on it again. I ordered it from The Tackroom online and it was even on sale and had free shipping.

[Woodsperson]

I changed my horse from One AC to Platinum Refresh last year and had better results. I’ve kept him on it year round. It’s about time to start his daily Guinness also.

[Lord_Helpus]

I have heard lots of good reports on the anhydrosis patch. Here is a link to old discussions about it

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/193517-equiwinner-patch-for-anhidrosis.

I am going to order some. Evidently, you use a new one each day for 10 days and your horse is good for the rest of the summer.

Does anyone have experience with it?

[mfleming13]

@Lord Helpus

I have heard lots of good reports on the anhydrosis patch. Here is a link to old discussions about it

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/193517-equiwinner-patch-for-anhidrosis.

I am going to order some. Evidently, you use a new one each day for 10 days and your horse is good for the rest of the summer.

Does anyone have experience with it?

Tried that with my mare - didn’t do anything. They used to have a money back guarantee though, not sure if they still do. But worth a try I suppose.

[Renn_aissance]

Went ahead and got him a bucket of Platinum Refresh. Definitely not cheaper than One AC plus an electrolyte at the dose for his weight, so I’m not sure if I think it better work or if I’d be happier to keep him on One AC!

Re. the Equiwinner patch- Cushings horses are specifically excluded from the money-back guarantee and the manufacturer says that it will “probably not be very effective on those horses.” I really don’t understand the mechanism by which the manufacturer purports the patch to work in the first place.

[yaya]

@Renn/aissance

Went ahead and got him a bucket of Platinum Refresh. Definitely not cheaper than One AC plus an electrolyte at the dose for his weight, so I’m not sure if I think it better work or if I’d be happier to keep him on One AC!

Re. the Equiwinner patch- Cushings horses are specifically excluded from the money-back guarantee and the manufacturer says that it will “probably not be very effective on those horses.” I really don’t understand the mechanism by which the manufacturer purports the patch to work in the first place.

Had a Friesian who was anhydrotic for over a decade. None of the supplements really worked on her. I tried the Equiwinner patch, and while it didn’t bring her back to sweating (either because she had already been anhydrotic for so many years, or maybe due to Cushing’s), it did cause a noticeable improvement in her comfort after the first 3 days. She quit panting, she quit dunking in her water bucket, and her eyes were no longer dull. She was no longer miserable!

I call it the Voodoo Patch, because they won’t say what’s in it, or really how it works, but it did make my mare feel better, even if she still didn’t sweat. Used them for the last few years of her life.

Neither 1AC nor Refresh worked on my gelding, either, but Let M Sweat did seem to help last year. I may also try the Voodoo Patch on him this year if he gets bad, but he’s got Cushing’s too, so we’ll see. It does work better if used before the real heat kicks in.

[Renn_aissance]

I’m updating to say that after 2 days on Platinum Refresh my horse had foam under my leg and under the tack, and after 4 days he was positively drenched in sweat after an active ride today. Respiration was appropriate for the level of work and he was able to walk himself to a lower respiration rate, rather than having to go immediately to a cool shower to get his breathing normal.

Temperatures in the low 80s, and humid, waiting for a thunderstorm rolling in. It’s definitely a different story from what we will be experiencing in the summer, but it has been eight years since I have seen him sweat like that, and I am really encouraged.

[saitou_amaya]

@Renn/aissance

I’m updating to say that after 2 days on Platinum Refresh my horse had foam under my leg and under the tack, and after 4 days he was positively drenched in sweat after an active ride today. Respiration was appropriate for the level of work and he was able to walk himself to a lower respiration rate, rather than having to go immediately to a cool shower to get his breathing normal.

Temperatures in the low 80s, and humid, waiting for a thunderstorm rolling in. It’s definitely a different story from what we will be experiencing in the summer, but it has been eight years since I have seen him sweat like that, and I am really encouraged.

Thank you for coming back to update! Because of your thread, I went ahead and ordered the Platinum Refresh for my Friesian gelding who has not sweated in the last 4 summers. He got his first dose of it today, fingers crossed! It was in the 70s here in Missouri, but now we are back to 50s and 60s for a week. So I’m hoping maybe he will get a good bit in his system before we get heat again and see how it goes!

[mfleming13]

@Renn/aissance

I’m updating to say that after 2 days on Platinum Refresh my horse had foam under my leg and under the tack, and after 4 days he was positively drenched in sweat after an active ride today. Respiration was appropriate for the level of work and he was able to walk himself to a lower respiration rate, rather than having to go immediately to a cool shower to get his breathing normal.

Temperatures in the low 80s, and humid, waiting for a thunderstorm rolling in. It’s definitely a different story from what we will be experiencing in the summer, but it has been eight years since I have seen him sweat like that, and I am really encouraged.

How exciting! I stand by refresh 100%, as I stated above it gave my mare her career back. SO glad you are seeing results!

[stb]

Thanks for the update. I am keeping his in mind if my usual regimen doesn’t cut it this year.

[Renn_aissance]

I should say that my horse had been on One AC for a few weeks, so given that the two are chemically similar, that may have helped it kick in fast. I’m still doing all the environmental management stuff I normally do- choose riding times, fan on when warm out, etc.

Last night after getting off and seeing how sweaty he was, and how unconcerned he felt, I didn’t know what to do with myself. “Have to get him to cold shower now!” “No, he’s breathing normally and can graze while we wait for the wash rack.” I will have to remember how to take care of a horse who can thermoregulate at all!

[stb]

Well, I took my gelding out for a ride today and he hardly sweated at all. The only part of him that was wet was under his saddle pad, and the other two horses were good and sweaty. I was pretty sweaty myself. Apparently the Let M Sweat isn’t doing it for him this year. I’m so disappointed. Thanks to this thread I am going to try the Platinum Refresh. I’ll let everyone know how it goes.

[stb]

Ok, all you Platinum Refresh people - are you using just the Platinum Refresh or are you also using the Platinum Performance Wellness formula as well?

[Renn_aissance]

@stb

Ok, all you Platinum Refresh people - are you using just the Platinum Refresh or are you also using the Platinum Performance Wellness formula as well?

My horse also started on the vitamin/mineral supplement at the same time he started on Refresh. The whole reason for putting in the Platinum Performance order was to get the vitamin/mineral supplement- a couple of dietary and environmental changes over the last 6 months left us with a macronutrient problem that manifested in issues with skin and hair coat and I wanted a macronutrient supplement with flax. I saw the Refresh on their site, remembered that 5 years ago the company was touting research their reps couldn’t describe, and started this thread to see if anyone had anecdotal results comparing it with what I was already using. So it’s courtesy of the v/m that I started Refresh at all.

I’ve used their v/m supplement in the past alongside what was at the time a double dose of One AC, salt, and cinnamon.

[stb]

Thanks for the info. I placed my order today. Here’s hoping I get the same results you did. I’m really worried about my guy shutting down so early. It’s going to be a long hot summer.

[stb]

Five days in on the Platinum Refresh and we have sweat!