Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Lamina Saver: A case study in irrational shopping

At my request, Bob got me a horse supplement for my birthday -- a product called Lamina Saver.TM Now I admit I contemplated this product in a wave-of-worry about Riley and his recovery. It wasn't a rational decision, and I don't recall what caused my mini-panic attack. Bob, who hates to shop, was glad to have "marching orders" for my birthday gift.

What I knew before the purchase

  • I read that Riley's lamina was traumatically injured (albeit months ago), and that Horse Journal reported “We had incredible results with LaminaSaver.”
  • I knew there were testimonials on COTH and other bulletin boards.
  • I knew it was almost $100 in cost (one month's worth).
  • I did not know what the heck was in it. Lamina Saver doesn't share its ingredients except to say it had a proprietary formulation, Restaurex.
The nutraceutical industry depends on consumer hope -- hope for a sound horse, a horse that breathes better, a horse that ages well. It's self-regulating, which means it's unregulated -- I've written about this in the past.

So after my impulse purchase, as I was spooning it into Riley's supplement baggies, I wondered what I'd actually bought -- trivial questions like what's in it, what does it actually do, what does the research say ;-). Belatedly I did the post-purchase research and got the scoop on these scoopfuls of powder.

Coming up next!


8 comments:

  1. Haven't heard of the stuff, so I will be really interested in finding out what's in it, and whether or not it is actually effective.

    How is Master Riley doing, by the way? You haven't posted much on his frolicking adventures recently.

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  2. Riley is enjoying his time outside with a buddy and his hay flakes. He remembers how to lunge but has rediscovered the "spontaneous change of direction" and cannot be dissuaded from rolling during our sessions. In the indoor, with good footing, he is sound and moving nicely.

    I think my Lamina-saver purchase was made shortly after the first turnout, I saw Riley trotting on the frozen ground. He looked gimpy, and I left the barn pretty upset. An overreaction, but this is "my boy." I need to keep reminding myself -- he's got a hospital plate; he's been on stall rest; his hooves are more mismatched than ever; and hey, we're talking frozen, rutted ground.

    That's the scoop!

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  3. Thanks, Stacey. I am very familiar with the "spontaneous reverse." It is truly amazing how agile a horse can be when he wants to.

    If it helps, my barefoot youngster was gimping along on the frozen footing himself, and even the shod guys had some issues. Fortunately, as it seems it was with Riley, it was a temporary over reaction to the hard, lumpy ground.


    Here's hoping the snowstorm has been "over hyped" and disappears from view sooner than later. *sigh*

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  4. I'm hoping for something definitive (no snow or tons of snow)--so I can either drive to work safely or stay home on a snow day. If we only get 4-5" I'll likely be slip-sliding down south mountain at 7am.

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  5. Not nice to leave us hanging like that. :p

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  6. Oh yikes - I just purchased a container of Lamina Saver as well, for my chronic laminitis mare. I did notice that there was no ingredients listing on the label anywhere. I guess that's not required? I'll be interested to see your next post!

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  7. Interesting....I'm surprised that they don't post their ingredients. You'd think that would be kind of important! Curious how well it works.

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  8. The latest product that everyone is touting is Heiro. I have friends that are buying it and reporting good things. Is it the Heiro, or is it the changes they've made to their horse's diet. Heiro ad says "get your horse back on pasture". That sounds pretty suspicious to me....someone caring for a very sensitive horse with EMS. How about an investigative article on this product Heiro? Thanks.

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