ITZ MAGIC
EXPERIENCES WITH THE USE OF ITZ MAGIC IN HORSES WITH HERPES I AND IV
THESE TWO VIRUSES ARE A MAJOR CAUSE OF POOR PERFORMANCE IN RACE AND SPORTING HORSES IN MOST COUNTRIES TODAY
HERPES I Symptoms:
Horses can appear to be fit and look well but on warming up may cough a couple of times, and/or cough once or twice after a run. Visual inspection confirms watery eyes, with pimples, absce
sses and red spots or even pin pricks on the nasal septum (nasal passage lining). This confirms infection with Herpes I virus at some earlier time – young horses, i.e. yearlings up to three year olds, generally disappear during treatment with ITZ MAGIC, but older horses generally have deeper seated infection with pimples, white patches, or pitted areas in the nasal septum. This deeper infection in older horses will not all disappear but will diminish in severity on treating with ITZ MAGIC. The important point to remember is that the viral infection is probably all removed from the body after twenty-five days of treatment for horses up to three years old and thirty-two days for older horses, but the secondary effects in older horses can remain in the nostrils but will not affect the horse’s performance. Herpes I can cause tying up in some horses and also lumps under the skin at various sites over the body. A small percentage may stagger but these side effects disappear generally on treatment. This virus tends to be regarded as a mystery because the horse looks well in general, but only performs average and on blood testing the white blood cell count can in some cases be normal. Herpes I is the easier of the two troublesome viruses to eradicate and many horses have raced successfully during treatment but unless a major event is pending it is wiser to finish the course and your horse has lost little ground because it can be light exercised during treatment. Please note the with-holding time of caffeine is 10 days so this has to be considered if racing the horse during treatment. HERPES IV Symptoms:
If a horse has white, yellow, green or brown thick mucus flowing from its nostrils stop training immediately and treat as a bad cold. These are viral symptoms, e.g. These horses tend to be lethargic and may go right off their food and must double or treble rugged in winter with wool always next to the skin and use a light wool-lined rug in summer but two rugs in autumn. Slight sweating aids in the cure because when the animal’s temperature is raised slightly, the iron level in the blood drops and infection is contained in a low iron situation. This infection is very susceptible to stressing and chilling. Keep the horse idle and warm for the whole course until the discharge has stopped for at least three or more days and then very light exercise may be started, but care must be taken to prevent chilling the horse or stressing it again. I really prefer to leave the horse idle the whole time as these horses originally can develop pneumonia and extreme care is essential at all times. An odd horse has been known to require up to three litres of ITZ MAGIC to remove all the infection but I think these ones get chilled at some stage during treatment. I find that if a horse is too sick to feed dose it with 60mls (using a small 20ml syringe) over the back of the tongue once daily until you are sure it will eat its feed.
60mls added to a small feed is just as successful as dosing, provided the horse eats the feed. Infection shows up in the nostrils similar to Herpes I. Important points to follow:
1. Keep medication in a warm place (particularly in winter) and shake well before using. If crystals appear, immerse container in very hot water for five – ten minutes and shake up and they will dissolve again.
2. Feed 60 mls once daily. Do not feed 30 mls night and morning. Recommended Guide:
Yearlings - 2 year olds : 1 Litre
3 years and up : 2 Litres
Foals : 15-10mls over tongue
3. Keep horse warm at all times and do not stress
4. Additives are not required during treatment as the horse will start to bloom on the medication. Start iron and supplements when the horse is in work again. The haemoglobin will rise again as the poisons are eliminated from the horse’s body and the white cell readings will settle back to normal levels again. One horse, “Master Musician,” was so sick with Herpes IV that his haemoglobin reading before treatment was 9.6 and at conclusion of treatment it was 14.0. Incidentally, this horse has not had a respiratory complaint in the three years since he was treated. A horse’s haemoglobin reading is subject to the amount of poison in its body and the work load it has to handle. Remove the poison with ITZ MAGIC, and the reading increases and then subsequent iron injections or oral iron will lift the level to a top level which increases the horse’s performance.
5. Horses with Herpes I are much easier to treat, and as I have suggested can be walked right through the treatment but always do not over stress or chill the animal. For best results LEAVE HORSE IDLE FOR THE FIRST ONE – TWO WEEKS of treatment.
6. Horses coming down with Herpes IV can develop pneumonia in the early stages with above normal temperatures, but treatment with ITZ MAGIC will slowly reduce the temperature daily back to normal. No antibiotics are required. I do not recommend the use of antibiotics at any stage. ANTIBIOTICS HAVE NO EFFECT ON VIRUSES. REFERENCE: NZ EQUINE RESEARCH FOUNDATION – BOOKLET ON HERPES VIRUS.
7. Withholding time for caffeine: At least 10 days.
8. There are many side effects of virus infection in horses but most of these disappear on treatment with ITZ MAGIC. Remove the cause and the problem disappears.
