@GraceLikeRain this is fascinating. What dosage are you using and is it effective?
Thanks for bumping this up. I literally had no recollection of the entire thread until I was half way through!
I ended up working with a larger hospital and putting the horse in question on Prozac. It was not a magic fix but I do feel like addressing some underlying health issues plus Prozac has really made a big difference.
I’m glad for this coming back up because I am curious to revisit this topic with my vet in the near future. Sorry that I couldn’t be more help.
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@GraceLikeRain
Glad you’re working through some issues. Please update if your vet has any advise. I do know one person who is using Caesin, the exact product that you provided a link to and she was able to take her mare off of regumate !!!
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@amtabj I’d love to hear more about your friend who uses the Casein powder for her horse. Is she still using it, and how much? It works for calming? I’ve had great success with Stressless for calming my OTTB, but it is $$$$ and I’ve wondered about buying pure Casein powder…not sure how much if a human dose on the Bulk supplements is 30 grams. HAs anyone else tried this? Thanks!
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On another note, I’ve also had success with Nice n Eze, by Cox Vet Labs (see link below) which also contains Hydrolized Milk Protein (Bovine). It claims 4000mg which looks like is twice what Zylkene contains). For comparison, I needed 1.5 to 2 packets of this for a 1200 lb TB, which equals 6000 - 8000 mg of Hydrolized Milk protein??. For Stressless I need 3 scoops (their serving size is 2 scoops). Each scoop contains 800mg of Hydrolized Casein Powder. So that would be 2400 mg to work for my horse.
So is Hydrolized Milk Protein (Bovine) the same as Hydrolized Casein?
I buy it here: (https://www.bigdweb.com/product/cox+vet+labs+nice+n+eze+packets.do?sortby=bestSellers&refType=&from=Search&ecList=6&ecCategory=)
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@cabbie19
My friend ( and I) did a consult with Rivas Remedies. They are based in western Canada. British Columbia I think. So for less than $200 US they will go over all of your horses feeds and supplements and lifestyle etc and then recommend a program for you. Because they’re in Canada they will try to work with you on getting products in the US. I did have to order a couple things from them. But they are not necessarily meant for long term use. Just certain things to get your horse healthier and on a good plan going forward. It’s basically nutrition therapy. My horse is doing so well now. For stress I think the biggest thing for my mayor was vitamin B 12 and taking her Off pre mixed commercial feeds.
I don’t know the exact amount of casein but I know it was quite a small amount. I believe Rivas Remedies worked with her on the dosage.
I have just started doing some research on Casein, and have consulted a friend who is a vet. The two equine brands which are prominent seem to be Zylkene and Stressless. When you compare by mg’s, Stressless is less than half the cost of Zylkene, so that is the one I have ordered to try. I am going to start my 1200 lb OTTB on 3000 mg daily, which means the $150 tub will last 1 month, so about $5/day. If I were to give the same dose of Zylkene, it would cost $15/day (1.5 packets 1xdaily). From what I can see, the ingredients are identical. I was very tempted to try the human (body builder) version of Casein (as it is WAY less expensive), but they all appear to be micellar, and the equine versions are hydrolyzed. In researching this, the micellar version forms into a ball in the stomach, and releases very slowly. The issue with this in horses, is that most of the releasing ends up being done in the hindgut, which is not the part of the digestive tract which absorbs best. The hydrolyzed product, absorbs quickly, which means the action will take place in the foregut, which should yield better results. I am super interested in seeling how this works on my sensitive and reactive OTTB!
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do you have a link describing how/why this is, so I can read more?
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Oh wow!! I have only just heard of Zylkene, I bit the bullet and bought a box last month to try in anticipation of taking my two green horses out to a lesson where I would be leaving them in stalls (away from their buddy aka left for death… with hay and water) when not in the lesson. I gave my big boy (~1500 lbs) 2 packets for three days in advance and my mare (~1000 lbs) 1 packet for three days. Both horses were SUPER, minimal if any screaming at all. Attentive. Not sedated. Interesting anecdote to add - I did not realize that my big boy was dealing with neurological Lyme just yet, and he was quite sound during that ride. Very glad that you have done the research and wrote about Stressless, I will have to check it out for future big and exciting events. Let us know how it goes for your TB.
Human grade Casein didn’t do a single thing for my mare unfortunately after doing a 4 month trial. Hopefully you will have better luck!
Just came upon your comment, though its been a couple of months! How has your reactive guy been on the Stressless? I am also still using this for my OTTB who gets anxious for no reason. It’s just so expensive so I’ve dropped his dose, but really only works for him at 3-4 scoops. Thank you for the research about the hydrolyzed vs. micellar. Makes so much sense. Are you still using it and have you found any less costly options?
Hey I don’t normally post on here, but wanted to share a Canadian company that sells hydrolyzed caesin, both in trial packs (although there is more in the packet than the Zyklene dose, so will have to measure) and 1kg packs.
I just got 10 trial packs for $20 delivered to Michigan
How did that end up turning out for you?
Out of curiosity, I was poking around and came across this product:
The major warning about bitter taste is a little off putting but man the price is phenomenal. Maybe one of our nutritional gurus will weigh in on whether this looks like the same product. It would be less than $40/month compared to $150+.
