There is no more helpless feeling being a horse owner then watching your horse in distress. Having raised a youngster born with a malformed gut, we've lived hours and days of treatment despite the best management and dietary practises. In our search to find him comfort and relief from symptoms we have tried just about every product out there from just about anywhere there is a postal service.

To say we looked long and hard to find a product that we could safely administer while waiting for the vet is an understatement. As with everything we decide to stock we wanted something that was as natural as possible with no hash chemicals or preservatives but we needed it to last long enough on our feedroom shelf and in our horsebox for it to still be useable when that crisis arrived but be easy enough to administer when hands are shaking and nerves are frayed. Most importantly it has to be something our horses would be willing to swallow and it had to offer relief in the shortest possible time.

We wanted it to be gentle enough to not harm the gut of even the youngest horse, but it had to be a product that actually did some good while waiting for the vet, and it needed to be something that would not conflict with any medication our vet may decide to prescribe.

It is for all these reason we stock and use SayWhoa! by StopsColic:

• It is an effective gentle aid for Fecal Impaction, Gas, Sand & Spasmodic Colic.
  Safe for horses of any size or weight, from lactating or in foal Mares to Performance Horses, containing no banned substances;
• Easy to administer; just squeeze into your horse’s mouth while waiting for help, an oral dosing syringe is included. Horses readily accept the taste and swallow SayWhoa without fuss;
• Fast acting it can promote the return of healthy digestive sounds within 30 minutes of administering;
• Reduces the need for stressful and potentially damaging nasal tubing;
• Has a massive temperature storage range, from -17C C to 46C (0F to 115F) meaning you can store it just about anywhere (out of direct sunlight of course). It will stay a liquid below 0C but if frozen it can be thawed out and is will still be useable;
• Has LONG shelf life, each batch as a 5 year shelf life, we buy little and often meaning you can be assured you'll get the longest shelf life possible making it a very cost effective product.

How it works:

SayWhoa! vs NSAIDs Drugs – NSAIDs drugs perform a few actions. Two of them are 1. Pain Relief and 2. To Relax Muscles. Relaxing smooth muscles cannot help with elimination. Peristalsis is slowed which is needed to move food impaction forward. SayWhoa! is not a drug. It does not contain pain reliever or muscle relaxant. It is absorbed into the blood stream and assits in bringing fluids back into the colon to assist in breaking up fecal matter and helping peristalsis. It is not a muscle relaxant, so smooth muscles can keep doing their job of allowing the normal peristalsis or bowel motility to move materials towards elimination. Gut sounds are heard, usually within 30 minutes, because peristalsis has returned. Horses will appear to be improved and appetite usually occurs within 1 – 2 hours.

All natural ingredients:

Calcium, Vit D, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Peppermint Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Purified Water, Sorbitol and Molasses for flavour.

As with all medications of any kind this product cannot work miracles, we are firm believers of the CALL YOUR VET FIRST philosophy. While we use and champion this product no product is a substitute for a qualified vet. Owners need to be aware that this product will not treat a twisted gut, torsion, knotted, ruptured, blocked by objects, excessive sand, gravel, stones or tumours, are experiencing heavy spasms or infected. The product cannot always help a horse who remains symptomatic 1-2 days after a vet diagnosed and treated them conventionally for an impaction.