WHY I DEVELOPED
Pro-Dosa BOOST?
By explaining why I developed Pro-Dosa BOOST, I am hoping to give you a better idea of how it might be used in your stable. I started off in equine veterinary practice in Canada in 1994. The typical pre-race treatment that all racetrack veterinarians used to administer, me included, was a loaded amino acid jug. It was an amino acid and electrolyte solution (an Amino Plus or Duphalyte), into which we would add multiple vitamin and mineral injections, usually Caco Copper, Hemo 15, Hippiron, B vitamins, and vitamin C. We would run that mixture in IV and then give folic acid in the muscle.
I developed Pro-Dosa BOOST to replace that treatment. When I moved to New Zealand, I found that pharmaceuticals were very expensive compared to North America, and horses were stabled all
around the countryside, unlike Canadian racehorses that, especially in winter, are nearly all at the racetrack.
In Canada, I had been able to charge $35 for that treatment, but in New Zealand, with travel included, I was having to charge $125 for the same thing. I didn’t think it was worth what I had to charge or worth my time. It wasn’t really complete and balanced, and it was invasive. So instead, I told my clients that I would look for a paste, I could recommend, that they could give themselves.
Unfortunately, when I looked at the products that were already available on the market, I found that they weren’t very complete or balanced and that the doses of nutrients included often didn’t meet the requirements of a horse under stress or in intense work. Sometimes there would be a nutrient or two provided in an appropriate dose, but the cofactors required for absorption and function weren’t present. I couldn’t really recommend anything, so I ended up making Pro-Dosa BOOST.
FINDING A SAFE, EFFICIENT & EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH, PERFORMANCE & RECOVERY
Why I Developed Pro-Dosa BOOST
Dr. Corinne Hills explains why Pro-Dosa BOOST was developed.
Dear Trainer,
Pro-Dosa BOOST is a comprehensive, balanced, bioavailable multi-nutrient paste formulated to replace essential nutrients lost at times of training, racing, transport, or stress. It is a cost effective, simple to use supplement that will complement your management system, helping your horse to achieve optimal race performance, recovery and health.
Traditionally, racehorse trainers have administered electrolytes by stomach tube along with various amino acid, vitamin, trace mineral, and iron solutions by injection. These practices are relatively expensive for the horse owner and can be stressful for the horse. Additionally, administration of individual nutrients may result in imbalances that impair their absorption and usefulness.
As a veterinarian in racetrack practice for over 20 years, I was frequently asked to provide pre-race and recovery treatment. I wanted to be able to offer my clients a better alternative to their traditional practices, but I could not find any product in the world marketplace that met their needs for complete, balanced, bioavailable nutrient replacement. As a result, I began to develop Pro-Dosa BOOST.
About twenty years ago, I offered my clients this product on a trial basis. To begin with, they were reluctant to change systems that seemed to be working for them. Quickly though, all of the trainers that tested Pro-Dosa BOOST in the occasional horse began asking for enough for their whole team. It is a real testament to the practicality and effectiveness of Pro-Dosa BOOST that all of the horsemen involved in the product trials are now such firm believers in it.
Now, successful trainers across New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East use Pro-Dosa BOOST regularly pre-race, between races for post-training recovery, and for travel. They also use it more frequently in individuals requiring more support to maintain normal health, appetite, or metabolism.
For the best result in racehorses, give one full tube 4 – 12 hours before racing or a couple of hours before loading them on the truck to travel to the races. You may also give half to one tube immediately after each gallop to ensure optimal recovery. For horses that require additional nutritional support, give half a tube every second day for 2 weeks. You may start with one full tube. Pro-Dosa BOOST can be top-dressed on feed. Be sure to consider the rules of competition that apply in your sport before administering Pro-Dosa BOOST as directed!
For more information about how Pro-Dosa BOOST can be fed in your stable, especially if you are from a country in which the rules of racing do not allow race-day administration of even nutritional products, please read my blog article on “Alternate Ways to use Pro-Dosa BOOST”.
Kind Regards,
Corinne Hills, DVM
Dear Endurance Competitor,
I am pleased to have this opportunity to tell you about Pro-Dosa BOOST, a comprehensive, balanced, bioavailable, multi-nutrient paste I formulated to replace essential nutrients lost in training, racing, transport, or stress.
I am an equine veterinarian, who has spent more than 20 years focusing on the diagnosis and management of lameness, nutrition, and performance problems in competitive horses. About 18 years ago I began thinking about the pitfalls associated with common treatments used in the pre-, mid-, and post- competition management of racehorses, equestrian sport horses, and endurance horses. Horsemen travelling and competing at an elite level are generally very conscientious about preparing their horses for the stresses they will encounter. They routinely administer electrolytes by stomach tube, along with various amino acid, vitamin, trace mineral, and iron solutions by injection. These practices, however, are relatively expensive and can themselves be stressful for horses. Additionally, supplementation with individual nutrients often results in imbalances that impair their absorption and usefulness. Endurance competitors have traditionally given similar pre-travel or pre-race treatments but have also given additional electrolytes in feed offered during holds between race loops. This often results in lower feed consumption and uncertain electrolyte intake which, in turn, adversely affects performance, gut motility, and metabolic parameters later in races.
I wanted to find a safe, efficient, effective, and inexpensive alternative that would better support optimal health, performance, and recovery. I began considering the idea of a scientifically formulated, complete, balanced, rapidly absorbable, and bioavailable nutrient paste that horsemen could administer themselves, with minimal stress for the horse and cost for the owner. As nothing was available internationally that met these requirements, I developed Pro-Dosa BOOST.
For more than twenty years, Pro-Dosa BOOST has been used effectively in all types of horses, competing in a wide variety of sports including dressage, show jumping, eventing, polo, mounted games, flat, nation hunt, harness, and endurance racing. Horsemen and veterinarians have found it to be useful in supporting normal appetite, thirst, muscle and nerve cell function, red blood cell production, performance, and recovery.
While each endurance stable adjusts the protocol to suit their own horses and race conditions, most give a full or half tube after their last long training ride before a race to support their horses to recover well from training. Then, they give a full tube prior to travelling to the race or 4-8 hours before their start time. Depending on the level of competition, the climate, and the horse, most horsemen give a half or a full tube of Pro-Dosa BOOST between each loop in the race while using no other electrolytes, small amounts of table salt, or reduced doses of their normal electrolytes.
Pro-Dosa BOOST contains no banned substances and requires no withholding time for drug testing.
Please feel free to contact me with any further questions or feedback.
Kind Regards,
Dr Corinne Hills
Pro-Dosa BOOST frequently asked questions.
Are you looking for some more information on Pro-Dosa BOOST?
We have answered some of the more frequently asked questions we receive from our clients below.
If you still have a query or question you would like answered, please do contact us via email: info@pro-dosa.com
How much Pro-Dosa BOOST paste do I give my horse and when do I give it?
We recommend the following directions for use of Pro-Dosa BOOST:
Transportation: Feed one tube four to twelve hours prior to travel and one tube on arrival after a long trip or in extreme heat.
Racing: Feed one tube four to twelve hours prior to racing, give a half tube after each hard workout
Competition / Polo: Feed one tube four to twelve hours prior to event. If competing over multiple days feed one tube at the completion of each day, or apply on the tongue for horses that aren’t eating well.
Endurance: Give one tube four to twelve hours prior to ride and ½ tube at the completion of each loop.
Health Tonic: Give one tube of Pro-Dosa BOOST initially, then half a tube every second day for two weeks.
Ensure your horse has access to clean, fresh water at all times.
Please remember to refer to the rules of competition that apply to you prior to following our directions as written.
Pro-Dosa BOOST is only for race horses, isn’t it?
No, not at all. Pro-Dosa BOOST is a fantastic supplement for all performance horses; not just racehorses. Pro-Dosa BOOST is a comprehensive, balanced, multi-nutrient paste, formulated to replace those essential nutrients required in greater amounts or lost by all horses during training, competition, transport and stress. As a result, it fits the requirements of horses used for many different disciplines including polo, polocrosse, mounted games, dressage, show-jumping, eventing, endurance, western competition, and rodeo. It is used on stud farms in broodmares, yearlings and stallions, and it is used in horse rescues in sick and debilitated horses.
Will Pro-Dosa BOOST produce a positive drug test result?
We are confident that administering Pro-Dosa BOOST following our directions will not produce a positive drug test. We do advise that you refer to any rules surrounding the administration of supplements for your discipline and jurisdiction.
There is so much controversy about Cobalt in the racing world. Does Pro-Dosa BOOST contain Cobalt?
Pro-Dosa BOOST with an expiry date after September 2019 will have been made without added cobalt. In late 2015, Dr. Corinne Hills of Pro-Dosa International Ltd. conducted a study on the urinary excretion of cobalt in horses (the link to the report is here). This study demonstrated the safety of Pro-Dosa BOOST with respect to cobalt in drug testing, but Dr Hills was equally excited about the results seen after giving the trial group the negative control treatment (Pro-Dosa BOOST made without cobalt). Horses were better able to utilize the cobalt present in the daily ration, and wastage was reduced to zero. We were confident that horses fed our new Pro-Dosa BOOST without cobalt will do as well, while causing less worry and confusion among horsemen who have been advised to avoid feeding cobalt.
Do you recommend using Pro-Dosa BOOST prior to travelling to an event or upon arrival?
We recommend giving one tube of Pro-Dosa BOOST 4 – 12 hours prior to travel. If you have a long trip planned, we do advise giving another tube on arrival. Also ensure horses have access to plenty of clean, fresh water.
My horse is not a great traveler. He goes off his feed and water. Can Pro-Dosa BOOST help?
Absolutely, Pro-Dosa BOOST will help your horse! Horses under the stress of competition, transport or illness can become dull, go off feed, or fail to drink well. Pro-Dosa BOOST contains significant doses of nutrients that help to support normal appetite, thirst, and energy levels.
What makes Pro-Dosa BOOST different from other “boost” pastes you see on the market?
Pro-Dosa BOOST is a multi-nutrient paste which provides a broad compliment of nutrients in careful balance including, 20 essential and non-essential amino acids for growth, protein metabolism and red blood cell production; trace minerals including Iron, copper and folic acid; B vitamins which are required in higher amounts in horses under stress; Electrolytes which are balanced for safety and required to maintain hydration; and vitamin C, required for the absorption of iron from the gut. It does not contain fat soluble vitamins that will bind with iron and prevent its absorption and nor does it contain selenium which can be toxic when over-supplemented.
There is no other paste on the market which provides this range of nutrients.
Why is Pro-Dosa BOOST only in a syringe?
This is a great question! – We do know there are supplements on the market that are available in multi-dose formats, in buckets and pots. We have chosen to keep Pro-Dosa BOOST in the syringe for several reasons including product security, stability, and quality. If you would like to read more about why we have chosen to keep Pro-Dosa BOOST in a single dose syringe, check out this article.
Why does Pro-Dosa BOOST cost more than other supplement pastes?
Pro-Dosa BOOST was developed by veterinarian, Dr. Corinne Hills to replace the administration of electrolytes by stomach tube along with various amino acid, vitamin, trace mineral, and iron solutions by injection. Thus, when comparing Pro-Dosa BOOST to the cost of these practices, performed by veterinarians, Pro-Dosa BOOST is very cost effective.
When compared to other pastes, Pro-Dosa BOOST often costs a bit more, but we are confident that it is a superior quality supplement, produced from human pharmaceutical grade nutrients under a GMP program. Read our article on “Reading Labels – what’s not on the label” to get a more complete understanding of quality management and why you get what you pay for.