Vitex (Chaste Berry) POWDER
Vitex (Chaste Berry) POWDER (Vitex Agnus Castus)
HORMONES/DIGESTION
- very beneficial for PPID horses (Cushings) and is in our Cushings Calm blend
- to bring on menstruation and lactation
- In modern herbal medicine, the herb is mainly used to treat hormone imbalance and pain caused by excessive secretion of the hormone prolactin during PMS
- Has been used to relieve water weight, headache, and fatigue.
- constipation, gas, bloating
Vitex is used in both our Too Much Mare (available in POWDERED and EASY FEED) and Too Manly (available in POWDERED and EASY FEED) recipes.
VITEX ALONE WILL NOT ADDRESS CUSHING'S ISSUES! While you may see "some" improvement using Vitex with a horse with Cushing's Syndrome or Disease, it does not address all areas of issues for these horses.
Our Cushing's Calm is formulated to address all issues (hormone, thyroid, cortisol levels etc) for the Cushing's (PPID) positive horse.
WARNING: SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY MEN OR DURING PREGNANCY, though it is commonly chosen by geldings to help rebalance hormone levels.
DOSING SINGLE HERBS-the "Four Herb" rule.
We apologize for the inconvenience but we do not give dosages for using one herb alone. The reason behind this is it is far easier to overdose using a single herb, than a combination of herbs. We would need a complete health history, complete feed breakdown and even with all the information, it can still be a risk to suggest dosage on single herbs. Therefore, our solution is to recommend the dosage for a minimum "four herb" combination. As herbs work synergistically (supporting each other) it is best to use herbs in combination, rather than alone. If you are wanting to target an herb (say Milk Thistle for the liver) it is very easy to do a simple online search, like “herbs for liver” and come up with several suggestions…milk thistle, marshmallow, ginger, and burdock are a few that pop up that would combine well to enhance liver function. Once you combine these minimum four types of herbs, feed in the following manner…
900-1400lb horse 1-2 tablespoons mixed POWDERED herbs AND/OR ¼ cup mixed chopped herbs
Over 1400lbs 2-3 tablespoons mixed powdered herbs AND/OR 1/3 cup mixed chopped herbs
400-900lbs ½ to 1 tablespoon mixed powdered herbs AND/OR ¼ cup mixed chopped herbs
Under 400lbs 1-2 teaspoons mixed powdered herbs AND/OR 1 tablespoon mixed chopped herbs
Start with minimal dosage. If no changes seen within 2-4 weeks, increase by half dose.
We continuously update information on our herbs for relevant information but as information on herbs is rather endless, please conduct your own searches as new information is constantly being uploaded on the internet.
As with all herbs, please confirm if it is safe for pregnant or lactating mares before use.