From our experimental results, with appropriate Gallium treatment, absolutely yes for early stages of the disease. Even the most severe and otherwise lethal case respond to gallium nitrate treatment by going sound within a few months. However, from a historical (and veterinarian perspective), it has not been. For example, steel egg bar shoes, more upright shoeing (but not too much) possibly with corrective shoeing were the best bets in the early stages, with nerving performed in the later stages. Correct farrier techniques remain indispensable. There are some who say that incorrect shoeing causes navicular disease. Although this is likely true, I think navicular disease is more of an environmental degradation problem.

However, without appropriate gallium nitrate treatment, the disease is degenerative, worsens progressively, and eventually, the navicular diseased horse becomes no longer useful, remains a cripple for the rest of its life, is nervetomized or is euthanized. Appropriate gallium nitrate treatment, as described below, is the only known means of restoring most navicular diseased horses to health. For example, after 8 years of treatment with gallium nitrate, my horse Don Dee, has responded by having no further degradation observed in 2004 than he had in 1997. See 2003 letter from his latest veterinarian here.

The navicular bone of a horse acts as a fulcrum over which flexor tendons from the back of the leg attach to the coffin bone in the foot. This fulcrum is subject to both compressive and surface shear forces, perhaps not exceeded by any other bone in the horse. That navicular disease (osteomalacia) of the navicular bone in horses starts as result of a trauma, over-exertion, malnutrition and combinations is generally accepted as causal. The navicular bone is also the least vascularized bone in the horse. Often blood thinners are given supposedly to improve circulation, however, evidence has been published that these blood thinners do little or nothing for the disease. There is often much swelling of the flexor tendon.

It is fair to question if there is only one type of navicular disease, and the evidence suggests that there is much we do not understand.

NOTE: The following text (down to FAQs) was written between 1996 and about 2002 and it mainly shows the theoretical reasons why I first tested gallium nitrate against navicular disease. It was based upon a relationship between gallium (beneficial to bone/joints) and aluminum (harmful to bone/joint). The theory was simple. Add enough gallium to displace aluminum, an effect that would occur due to their extremely close physical and chemical properties, thus if aluminum was the problem, it would be displaced and benefits would occur. In about 2002, the notion that gallium nitrate was a "bone resorption inhibitor" was added. Yet, neither of these two effects can explain the full benefits clearly observed using gallium nitrate to treat navicular disease. It was not until people convinced me in about 2003 that gallium nitrate was good for human arthritis that I made a diligent search for more reasons to explain the full spectrum of benefits of gallium nitrate for bone/joint benefit. Since navicular disease is a bone/joint problem very similar to arthritis, I believe that the benefits are the same. Actually, navicular disease is a bit more difficult to treat than arthritis. Rather than describe these benefits fully on this page, they are explained in my medical journal article on gallium and arthritis, which is located here. Veterinarians, physicians and scientists will want to examine the list of benefits and effects of gallium nitrate in the Discussion section, and see the thorough discussion of the effects of gallium by Larry Bernstein (Mechanisms of Therapeutic Activity for Gallium) in my reference number 14. Also, in the FAQs of this current article, there is a list of other benefits of gallium nitrate, which is very broad and is likely to increase much further. Briefly, gallium nitrate seems beneficial in any condition ending in "itis". We just haven't had the time to develop the list as far as it will go. The latest to be added to the list was "tunnel carpel" syndrome, even though it doesn't end in "itis". Look at other benefits here.

On the other hand, hundreds of recent reports from cancer research show that positively charged, trivalent Aluminum ions AL (III) are one important, previously unrecognized cause of bone resorption and osteomalacia (bone softening, crushing, and breaking) and in particular, it is the cause of surface bone loss. This change occurs in all mature vertebrates not associated with Vitamin D deficiency.

AL (III) in bone causes bone pain and proximal myopathy (disorders of adjoining muscles and tissues) in all vertebrate species tested. (REF. 1)

In blood chemistry experiments at Cornell Veterinary Clinic with mature ponies, a basal amount of 336 parts per million (ppm) Aluminum was naturally found in feed consisting of one third each of oats, beet pulp, and a commercial pelleted, complete horse ration. Between the basal amount of Aluminum and the diet supplemented to 1370 ppm Aluminum, there was little difference in effect on absorption, retention and pathway excretion of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper. (REF. 2)

However, the ponies fed the same diet containing 4500 ppm Aluminum were in negative phosphorus balance because phosphorus absorption was greatly suppressed. Calcium absorption was unaffected by 4500 ppm Aluminum intake from their food, but the ponies were in negative calcium balance due to the their greater urinary excretion of calcium. Presumably, calcium was excreted in urine because it was not being utilized in the formation of bone crystals because of the lack of phosphate. Plasma calcium was always elevated and plasma phosphorus was always depressed when ponies were fed the 4500 ppm Aluminum diet. Plasma hydroxyproline concentration was increased with high Aluminum intake showing bone turnover was increased due to Aluminum effects on phosphorus and calcium metabolism. Magnesium, zinc, iron and copper metabolism were unaffected by Aluminum intake. (REF. 2)

The similarities between bone disorders caused by AL (III) ion in man, laboratory animals and ponies, and navicular disease in horses sound strikingly similar, and offer for the first time ever, real hope for a either stopping the degenerative process or possibly even a cure (restoration of the navicular bone to normalcy).

Why Aluminum now? Aluminum is the third most abundant element on the surface of the Earth. It has been held captive in rock biologically unavailable for 3 billion years. Now, industrialization has resulted in acid rains that have decreased the pH of lake waters to the point where AL (III) ion is leached out of rocks and soil. AL (III) ion is so toxic that fish can live in acidic water, but not in equally acidic water with 5 micro Mol/L of Aluminum ion. (REF. 3)

All vertebrate species, including man and horses, can pick up biologically available AL (III) ion from plants and grasses contaminated with Aluminum leached from rock by acid rain. In humans, tea from plants grown in acidic soil is believed to be a prime cause of osteoporosis and dementia ranging from Parkinson's disease to Alzheimer's disease, but only when citric acid (lemon or lime juice) is added and consumed regularly over a number of years. Adding milk to tea detoxifies Aluminum. Aluminum (III) ion has no biological role in vertebrate life-forms, and is always considered to be a cytotoxin, bone toxin and a neurotoxin. Clinical signs of AL (III) ion toxicity in humans are vitamin D-resistant osteomalacia, iron adequate microcytic anemia, and dialysis dementia. (REF. 3)

In horses, a symptom of AL (III) neurotoxicity has been suggested by Henry Heymering RJF, of Cascade, MD, to be an intolerance to gentle petting, or rubbing, while tolerating well hard slaps on the neck. This symptom has been reported by others and is also my observation. I have found it to reverse after about a year of treatment with gallium nitrate. Henry has found toxic levels of Aluminum in hair samples of several navicular horses, but also in several non-navicular horses. (REF. 4) It is suggested that a finding of toxic concentration of Aluminum in hair samples taken near the base of the hair in non-navicular horses should be interpreted as a necessary pre-condition for development of Aluminum ion-induced navicular disease.

Aluminum is a group IIIa element under boron in the periodic table of the elements. In some complex boron-containing biomolecules, boron prevents bone resorption in laboratory animals, exactly the reverse of Aluminum, and similar to Gallium, although no testing has been done in treating navicular disease.

Below Aluminum in the periodic table is Gallium, a liquid metal at room temperature. Gallium, in considerable excess over Aluminum, effectively competes with Aluminum for absorption in bone and beneficially displaces Aluminum; similar to the way that immunoregulatory zinc replaces carcinogenic cadmium from tobacco smoke in lung tissue.

According to Raymond P. Warrell, Jr., M.D., previously of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, elemental Gallium and its various compounds are potent inhibitors of bone resorption that act to maintain and restore bone mass in all vertebrate species. By virtue of these biological effects, Gallium compounds (mainly gallium nitrate) are useful treatments for a variety of human diseases that are characterized by accelerated bone loss, including cancer-related hypercalcemia (including multiple myeloma, and breast cancer), bone metastases, Paget's disease, and postmenopausal osteoporosis. (REF. 5) See his 1987 online article here. A web site for nurses concerning uses of intravenous gallium nitrate (Ganite^R) administration as an antihypercalcemic agent suggests that it produces its hypocalcemic effect by inhibiting calcium resorption from bone, perhaps by reducing disease produced increased bone turnover. Information from MedLine Plus Health Service concerning gallium nitrate injectable is also available. Based upon our pioneering work with oral gallium nitrate in horses, Dr. Warrell has started an oral program of gallium nitrate (Ganite^R) for humans.

Another inhibitor of bone resorption, tiludronate has been used effectively to treat navicular disease in horses. Tiludronate is a bisphosphonate. Dr. Warrell tested another bisphosphonate, (etidronate), and found gallium nitrate superior. Consequently, there is precedent for using agents that restore calcium to bone in the treatment of navicular disease. Unfortunately, tiludronate has been reported as toxic and is administered only in a veterinary hospital, and it is less effective than gallium nitrate. Dr. Warrell also tested another bisphosphonate, pamidronate; APD, and found similar results to tiludronate.

Injected gallium nitrate in appropriate dosages is considered a safe and highly effective agent in reducing accelerated bone loss in both cancer and metabolic bone disease and in restoration of lost bone mass in humans when administered by qualified physicians, usually oncologists. gallium nitrate lowers blood hypercalcemia into the normal range, resulting in a marked reduction in urinary calcium. It causes a higher accretion rate of radio-labeled calcium into bone, showing that gallium nitrate enhances mineralization of newly forming bone rather than simply acting to decrease physiologic resorption. Gallium concentrates in the metabolically active metaphysis (bone end), and notably in the epiphyseal region of bones along with calcium, restoring bone strength. (REF. 5)

Although Dr. Warrell was unfamiliar with navicular disease in horses, he suggested to me by telephone in August of 1995, that any specie with bone calcium loss would likely benefit from 0.2-mg to 2.0-mg anhydrous gallium nitrate per pound of body weight, with the high dosage used to initiate treatment and lower dose being used for maintenance. (We use 5.0 mg per pound.)

Pure (anhydrous) gallium nitrate is an oxidizer and corrosive and like potassium nitrate could be used as an oxidizer in making an expensive gunpowder. Even so, I have soaked cotton rags in strong gallium nitrate aqueous solutions and found that either wet or dry, the rags were no more combustible than untreated rags. Since pure gallium nitrate is an oxidizer (like Potassium nitrate), it is unlikely that gallium nitrate can be successfully and safely added to commercial feeds and stored for long periods of time. I have placed a few crystals of pure gallium nitrate in nitric acid in an aluminum foil container, and they promptly melted a hole in the aluminum and fell through. The crystals are hazardous to both people, animals, plants and aluminum metal.

Extending human and laboratory animal findings to horses is a significant step. No horse, to my knowledge - other than my 14-year old, dearly loved 17-hand thoroughbred gelding, Don Dee, (severe navicular disease with lollipops and cones in left front foot and other changes, and the beginning of navicular changes in the right front foot) had previously been treated with gallium nitrate for navicular disease. Starting May 15, 1997, he was treated for one year with improvement in bone density on X-ray examination in the first year. He became increasingly sound after the first few weeks of treatment, and was fully sound in a few months. In the Fall of 2004, he remains sound. However, over the past 7 years there have been several relapses, which vanished using a standard dose for two weeks and no further treatment of any kind other than proper shoeing. He always becomes lame when farriers fit him with Aluminum shoes. Many owners of navicular horses report to me that their horses became lame when fitted with aluminum shoes. In our previous 7 years experience with gallium nitrate, no horse has gone sound until the aluminum shoes had been removed for 3 to 6 weeks.

Using the oral route, very little Gallium shows up in urine according to scientists using Gallium maltolate to study several cancers in humans by Titan Pharmaceuticals. According to Titan, most if not all is excreted via the feces, thus avoiding to a great extent any possible kidney damage. Gallium preferentially settles in inflamed tissues that we want to treat with Gallium and not in healthy tissues, and our pilot study results do not show a significant lessening of effect during the 14 days off treatment.

X-ray exams of the navicular bone in all navicular horses were suggested to be performed before beginning treatment to provide a base line point. Again X-rays at day 365 days of treatment were suggested, with the objective of determining increases in bone density not repair of diseased navicular bone, which may occur later as in the observed case of a filled-in cyst. However, recent observations by veterinarians show that if the injury is not old and consolidated, bone restoration is occurring. Even so, the navicular bone is similar to human skull bone, and neither mends like leg bones. On the other hand, early navicular bone changes usually disappear completely after three-month therapy with gallium nitrate. This response might not be explained by repair of bones by gallium nitrate, and is most likely explained by an anti-inflammatory effect of gallium nitrate on flexor tendons under and around the navicular bone and in the navicular bursa, reducing injury to bone and allowing bone to heal.

Remember: "AL (III) in bone causes bone pain and proximal myopathy (disorders of adjoining muscles and tissues) in all vertebrate species tested. (REF. 1)"

Experience over the last 10 years confirms that lameness disappears much sooner than complete bone recalcification (as per the human model), consequently, training and work should be limited until the horse has been sound for a few months. Experience with Don Dee suggested that dressage work while on gallium nitrate is not injurious. Other riders have jumped their gallium nitrate-treated navicular horses four-foot six-inches in professional jumper contests after a few months of treatment with no lameness being observed before, during or after the jumping. However, I consider that risky!

Considering the encouraging human clinical, in vitro, laboratory animal, and pony evidence, the big question now is: Will gallium nitrate stop the progression of navicular disease? Yes, of this I am absolutely certain.. I am certain it is by far the best bet ever, or I would not have tried it on my own beloved horse, Don Dee, first. Gallium nitrate seems to work as hypothesized for navicular problems without apparent side effects. It seems to prevent and reverse (in early stage navicular syndrome) this miserable and devastating affliction. Not everything is understood about this disease or gallium nitrate treatment. Some horses have, for many years, had horrible navicular X-rays and remained completely sound with no treatment. Others show navicular lameness with no observable changes on X-ray. Gallium nitrate does not within a year, and perhaps not within two years repair well established, old navicular bone lesions. Regardless, gallium nitrate may increase navicular bone density, has eliminated early on-set navicular changes, and has terminated lameness in most cases observed to date when properly used. In one case a cyst completely disappeared.

It is emotionally and financially attractive to stop treatment once the horse goes sound. If this results in a mistake, and lameness reoccurs, starting full dose gallium nitrate treatment for three months followed by half-dose daily gallium nitrate for many months or years usually is sufficient to terminate - again - the lameness.

As previously stated, gallium nitrate treatment in early navicular syndrome appears usually curative, reversing the early changes seen on X-ray. With advanced navicular bone disease, there may be no cure, but complete relief from lameness and life extension and normalized utility is usually possible with gallium nitrate treatment given for many years.

Gallium III ions, from gallium nitrate, at sufficiently high dosage appear to be extremely powerful anti-inflammatory agents having many uses beyond elimination of toxic Aluminum ions. It may be the most anti-inflammatory substance ever tested. Radioactive Gallium citrate has been used to locate malignant tumors and inflamed tissues for over 25 years in nuclear medicine. It preferentially accumulates and remains for a long time in those tissues. Gallium ions are also known to affect some T-cell lymphocyte subpopulations and the cytokines released during inflammation. However, the exact mechanism of its anti-inflammatory effects in horses remains the subject of laboratory research. When used in much higher doses than the tiny microgram amounts used in nuclear medicine for diagnostic purposes, Gallium ions appear to have an extremely strong anti-inflammatory action. An inflamed tendon beneath the navicular bone has been shown to be reduced very rapidly by gallium nitrate treatment of navicular disease. The anti-inflammatory effect and long residence time in inflamed tissues are very useful in treating most, but not all, inflammatory disorders in animals and humans. Doses identical to those used to treat navicular disease have also been useful in treating laminitis, coffin bone separation and founder in several cases each. Additionally, fourteen percent gallium nitrate solutions as a topical rub have been used to reduce both equine and human leg inflammation (tendonitis) due to impact injury by about 80% within 30 to 45 minutes. With four additional 30 minute gallium nitrate rubs, all visible tendonitis swelling was eliminated within several days.

One may wonder if Aluminum horse shoes contribute to navicular disease. The answer is unknown, and is a question that only research will be able to answer. However, if the horse with Aluminum shoes stands in water with a pH of less than 6, (a clearly possible mildly acidic pH for ground and lake water as well as urine-soaked stall floors), AL (III) ions can form and will be harmful. Considering the evidence, even though it is strictly a matter of conjecture, I decided to neither shoe my horses with Aluminum shoes nor knowingly permit Aluminum contamination of the ground they walk on, or use Aluminum feed or water containers. It occurs to me that steel horseshoe nails in contact with Aluminum shoes creates an Aluminum-Iron battery creating an electrical field capable of moving AL (III) into the foot. This is conjecture, but the biophysics is sound and absolutely correct.

We do know from our trial results that navicular horses shod with aluminum shoes did not become sound until 3 to 6 weeks after the aluminum shoes were removed.

Since Don Dee has lived his last 9 years in the alkaline (pH 9+) soils of the Texas hill country and he is not exposed to wet stall conditions, formation of Aluminum ion in his feet is considered unlikely. Consequently, I foolishly elected in 2003 to use Aluminum wedge shoes to improve hoof angles on the strong advice of Don Dee's highly experienced farrier. Don Dee became moderately lame after several weeks, and I replaced the Aluminum wedge shoes with flat steel shoes at the next shoeing. Lameness disappeared within 3 weeks of gallium nitrate treatment, even though the steel shoes are flat and do not have the optimal angle theoretically needed by Don Dee. My gut feeling is that some horses with navicular disease, but without symptoms, are hypersensitive to Aluminum, and they develop navicular disease pain. In my opinion, Aluminum shoes should never be used in a navicular diseased horse, whether or not the horse has foot pain. If wedge shoes are needed, I recommend finding a farrier that will custom make steel wedge shoes, and not use Aluminum shoes.

My main concern with shoes is that the horse not land toe-first. Toe-first landing can be evidenced by watching for dirt being kicked up. Horses that land toe-first will develop foot problems. These problems must be addressed by your farrier.

Feeds based primarily upon oat and wheat bran can result in calcium deficiencies and a loss of bone mass, particularly in young horses. A number of bone disorders result, as well as tendon contraction. Why? Each contains contain phytate or phytic acid which bind calcium and some other minerals, thus making many ingested minerals biologically unavailable. Consequently, the calcium/phosphate balance is damaged and bone diseases develop. (6) In areas where adequate calcium can be obtained from soils such as limestone, the problem should not be as severe or may not occur. The British Horse Society book warns: "Oats have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio so, if fed alone, it must be supplemented by ground limestone to balance the minerals". (7) Leslie Law, a top British horse trials competitor writes in the book CROSS-COUNTRY MASTERCLASS compiled by journalist and event rider Debby Sly concerning feeding, "All of the horses in our yard have certain supplements in their evening feed, namely a half teaspoon of limestone flower, ..." My attitude about feeding horses a diet primarily of oats is clear and simple. DON'T DO IT.

The best soils for horses' feet are limestone soils such as those found in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, the hill country of Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ireland and other places where these ancient sea beds are now exposed. Limestone is a sedimentary rock that consists primarily of calcium carbonate from the exoskeletons, skeletons, and shells of ancient sea-life. Also, caliche is an accumulation of soft calcium carbonate in dust to gravel size at or near the soil surface. It also may contain dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) and other minerals (especially magnesium) in trace to low amounts. Recovery from navicular disease requires (in addition to gallium nitrate) an adequate supply of these vital skeleton forming minerals (especially balanced amounts of calcium and magnesium).

Incidentally, I have experimented with another horse with zinc dietary supplements to treat anorexia (no appetite to the extent of loosing significant weight), and magnesium for emotional instability. Don Dee never had these problems, but his full brother Sharpe did. Update, the anorexia was vanquished using 120 mg zinc daily from zinc gluconate. Recently, we started to supplement our horses' diets with flaxseed, which greatly increased their appetites. The health benefits of flaxseed are known to be enormous, and apparently the horse recognizes flaxseed as important due to their ravenous appetite for it.

To eliminate ammonia from urine soaked stall bedding use sodium bicarbonate sprinkled over the bedding (baking soda) - never use lime. Lime is extremely caustic and useful mainly to dissolve flesh from bone in rendering plants, and to disinfect outhouse waste. Limed stall floors will cause injury to the horse's feet. Long term use of sodium bicarbonate on stall floors usually results in stalls that have no (zero) foul odor.

Dr. Raymond Warrell has published many medical journal articles on gallium nitrate and bone. Access PubMed (a library retrieval service of the National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health) here, Search for "gallium nitrate" and "Warrell" for his published articles.

Selected medical journal articles about gallium nitrate:

• Gallium-for-Treatment-of-Bone-Diseases
• Therapeutic uses of gallium nitrate: past, present, and future
• gallium nitrate suppresses the production of nitric oxide and liver damage in a murine model of LPS-induced septic shock
• gallium nitrate accelerates partial thickness wound repair and alters keratinocyte integrin expression to favor a motile phenotype
• Modulation of in vitro and in vivo T-cell responses by transferrin-Gallium and gallium nitrate
• The effect of free Gallium and Gallium in liposomes on cytokine and nitric oxide secretion from macrophage-like cells in vitro
• Differential effects of gallium nitrate on T lymphocyte and endothelial cell activation
• The effect of gallium nitrate on synoviocyte MMP activity - arthritis
• Mechanisms of Therapeutic Activity for Gallium
• Gallium - a review

Selected patents on Gallium and healing, bones and arthritis etc.

US Pat. No. 6,287,606 Methods of enhancing wound healing and tissue repair

US Pat. No. 6,165,514 Methods of enhancing repair, healing and augmentation of tissues and organs

US Pat. No. 5,556,645 Methods of enhancing wound healing and tissue repair

US Pat. No. 4,704,277 Methods of treating bone disorders

US Pat. No. 4,686,104 Methods of treating bone disorders

US Pat. No. 4,529,593 Use of gallium salts to treat disorders of calcium homeostasis

US Pat. No. 5,175,006 Method of treating arthritis using gallium compounds

First of all, I finally evaluated all of the data for the first month of treatment, and I have prepared a report for publication. The whole article as it was submitted to the journal is located at http://naviculardisease.com In this report I evaluated the effect of gallium nitrate on 100 horses and found the following responses to treatment during the first 14 days of a month, and also noted the residual effect in the following two weeks while off treatment. Clearly, treatment produces a good response and it lasts, and horses become sound at a steady rate and have less lameness. Over about 6 months, over 90 percent of all horses treated with gallium nitrate for navicular disease and related conditions go sound. However, I was not able to evaluate any data statistically after the first month, since so many horses had become sound and they dropped out.

Figure 1. Effect of gallium nitrate treatment on mean pain scores with treatment given only during the first 14 days

Figure 2. Number of horses sound on each day after initiation of gallium nitrate treatment for 14 days

Article Abstract

Navicular disease, also known as caudal heel syndrome and related foot conditions in horses cause much misery, pain and lameness. Classical treatments often do not provide satisfactory results and the horse remains lame and occasionally the horse must be euthanized. It was hypothesized that gallium nitrate, a compound reported to have anti-aluminum, anti-iron, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-hypercalcemic and anti-bone-resorptive activity, would be a safe and effective treatment for navicular disease. Horses diagnosed with navicular disease and non-responsive to classical treatments were treated orally with 500 cc of a one percent gallium nitrate aqueous solution in a two-week on and two-week off protocol. Treatment reduced mean pain scores fifty percent within 14 days, as measured using a five point scale of observed lameness. Mean pain scores for the second two-week period were statistically lower than the mean pain scores of the first two-week period (p < 0.0001). Complete soundness was achieved in 33 out of 83 horses in less than 28 days, with 24 out of the remaining 50 horses showing improvement in that period, for a total of 57 (69%) horses becoming better. None were worsened and none were euthanized. Most horses remained sound long after treatment was terminated. No side effects, toxicity or sequela were reported. Additional observations revealed that continuous daily gallium nitrate treatment, rather than treatment during alternate two week periods, was more effective. Oral gallium nitrate in the dosages and solution strengths used in this trial appeared safe and effective in the treatment of navicular disease and related conditions and treatment appears curative. Oral gallium nitrate is an alternative treatment for navicular disease that appears much more effective than classical treatments, and it may, upon favorable replication of these results, become a first-line treatment for navicular disease and related conditions with an expectation of curative effects. Placebo controlled, blinded trials demonstrating effects of daily oral gallium treatment for a minimum of 3 months are needed to confirm and extend these preliminary observations.

Since I started using gallium nitrate in 1996, about 50,000 daily doses of 1% gallium nitrate have been administered to horses for navicular disease, with no reports of toxicity. These are historic and important results, not only in the treatment of navicular disease in horses, but also because they are also the first results of administering ORAL Gallium to horses for any condition, and have the potential to open Gallium treatments of many inflammatory diseases in all vertebrate species including man as shown in this arthritis treatment article. Here are Don Dee's and his full brother Sharpe's blood tests. They have both been on gallium nitrate for years following this protocol, with no health issues.

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QUESTION: How do I administer gallium nitrate to my horse to treat his navicular disease?

First, I believe that the 14 day on and 14 day off protocol used in the research trial was insufficient, and that an EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH on gallium treatment for three to six months, with an every other day follow on or maintenance program after the first three months would be vastly preferred. I.E.: Give gallium nitrate daily for 3 to 6 months then consider reducing dosage.

• Here is the exact research label that we used in the research trial.
• Pour the 14% or 42% concentrates into a plastic water bucket and add drinking water to make a one percent solution. Stir and rebottle into 500 cc (500 ML or one pint) bottles. Use drinking water bottles found at grocery stores.
• Label each bottle with the words: "1.0% GALLIUM NITRATE – NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION", or affix these one percent labels to the bottles.
• Stir one bottle of the one percent gallium mineral water into the horse's feed (in plastic feed bucket). Give once per day. Do not add solution to hay or drinking water since it is likely to be lost and not consumed.
• Reduce dosage proportionately for ponies, and increase proportionately for draft horses.
• This is the Research Trial Report that I used in the trial.

QUESTION: What other results from the research trial can you report at this time?

ANSWER: There are several other findings.

1. First, aluminum shoes prevent these horses from becoming and remaining sound. They seem hypersensitive to Aluminum III ions. This is explained in the Discussion section of my article on treating arthritis with gallium. NOTE: Aluminum shoes probably do not cause navicular disease, but they certainly prevent gallium from working.
2. Second, nearly all horses become sound using gallium nitrate over a few months, not overnight (as all of us want)! Some horses need gallium nitrate for only a few months and do not relapse for many months. Others, perhaps the more seriously diseased, need to stay on a gallium nitrate maintenance protocol to remain sound.
3. Third, no toxicity or adverse side effects have been reported. See blood tests for Don Dee and full brother Sharpe.
4. Fourth, gallium nitrate appears to have utility in treating other horse disorders including founder, leg impact injuries, foot abscesses, arthritis and skin infections, all of which are benefited by the anti-inflammatory properties of gallium nitrate. See this internal link for much more information.
5. Gallium nitrate does not appear effective for spurs on navicular bones (it probably does not and will not remove them), but it does seem to resolve pain.

QUESTION: What about topical application to the sole and frog?

I think the only time that a topical treatment will work is in the case of bacterial navicular disease. This is a disease where the bursa is bloody and infected with bacteria. In that case, topical gallium nitrate should work very well and very rapidly, perhaps producing total soundness in just a few days.

Topical treatment was also suggested from the astonishingly fast results that I personally had in treating my own "frozen shoulder" condition with a 40-50% topical gallium nitrate solution. These extremely strong gallium nitrate solutions become so viscous that they become "oily", and have a very definite oily feel on skin. Rather than suffer pain [feels like broken glass with much popping (crepitus) in shoulder joint] for several years as is the normal progression of "frozen shoulder", I was essentially free of the pain and crepitus in about a week, but the concentrated gallium nitrate did sting my skin a bit. Ever try to sleep in a bed full of broken glass? That is what sleeping with "frozen shoulder" feels like.

Really good news! Diane S. in California reported on May 10, 2005 that her horse, who had been lame for 4 years with navicular disease, went completely sound in 4 days using topical gallium nitrate! She said that she soaked a rag in 14% gallium nitrate solution and put it next to the sole and frog under the foot (no shoe) and then attached and covered the rag up and over the hoof with lots of duct tape to hold the rag in place. FOUR DAYS! A medicine boot like this one should do the same thing, but I don't know if the results would be more beneficial, and long-term contact with concentrated gallium nitrate may cause skin (sole and frog) pain. However, at this time I have no evidence either way.

Good News! Veronique M. in Lockhart, TX found she could terminate nearly immediately the pain associated with thrush by painting her horse's feet with 14% gallium nitrate, working it well into infected tissue. She said the thrush went away fairly quickly. She says that gallium nitrate topically applied is the cure for thrush in horses' feet. She also treats laminitis the same way in her miniture horses. I have two minis with green grass (spring)-induced laminitis and am treating them by painting their feet with the 42% solution. It seems to greatly reduce pain.

QUESTION: How is Don Dee today?

ANSWER: He is totally sound and a really nice horse, but without his gallium nitrate he usually goes lame within 6 months. Here is a late 2006 picture of him galloping off after being let loose into his pasture. He scared me recently when he and his full brother, Sharpe, escaped their pasture and galloped off down the highway pounding the pavement for over a mile. They sent sparks flying from all eight steel shoes, and sent automobiles off the highway. About a mile down the highway, we caught them and brought them home. Don Dee was a touch gimpy after that, so I doubled his Gallium dose that evening and there was no further lameness the following morning. This anecdote serves to show how an extra dose of gallium nitrate can be helpful to prevent over work or abuse from causing a lameness issue.

Today, June 29, 2005, Don Dee is a really sad sight. We put our two American miniature horses in with him and his brother for about 30 minutes last night. Those minis darn near killed my two big seventeen-handers! They ran them into the ground. The big guys were making huge laps around the pasture at full speed, while the minis were making little laps nearer the center of the pasture, producing the appearance that the minis were staying on the same lap as the big guys. Don Dee was really tired and totally exhausted from running around like a chicken with its head cut off, and he poked around all day today like he was sore, not lame, but really sore from being out of shape. The minis just did their thing and wore out my big guys, with no wear and tear on them! You never know how things will work out!

Also, see my two 17-hand thoroughbreds playing in the snow! If you have a high speed connection this is a wonderful 9.3 mb movie of Don Dee (without star) and his full brother Sharpe (with star) cavorting in the first snow that they had ever seen. The last time it snowed around Austin, Texas was in 1984, before they were born. This movie was shot Valentine's morning 2004.

QUESTION: Mr. Eby, how long have you been using gallium nitrate to treat navicular disease?

ANSWER: According to this 1997 posting on the Archive.Org WayBack Machine, I started Don Dee's treatment May 15, 1997. The first archived posting of this page was the November 1, 1996 version. You can see many of the various versions of this page from November 1, 1996 to now on the WayBack Machine of the Internet Archive here.

QUESTION: Mr. Eby, I have two horses on gallium nitrate for navicular disease. They both had identical diagnoses with exactly the same radiographs. The gelding responded perfectly in the first two weeks, but the second did not respond at all until the fourth month. How can that be? Why did my mare respond so very slowly? I was about to give up on her, but now... I am so happy!

ANSWER: That is the 64,000 question. It is not a sex issue. I have seen this on various occasions, and I can only guess. Here are the facts. Gallium goes to three types of tissues. First, cancerous tissue, second bacterially infected tissue, and third inflamed tissue. I don't know why, but that is the nature of Gallium according to the scientists that have studied these questions. I suppose that if a horse had multiple problems, perhaps inflamed intestines or another organ, and/or a severe bacterial infection and/or even a cancerous mass, then the Gallium would end up in those tissues, thus being diluted, resulting in very little or none getting into the navicular tissues. Consequently, if there is little or no improvement in lameness, the Gallium may be working in some other tissues. I suspect that a radioactive-Gallium scan would show the tissues that Gallium is migrating to, as shown in this graphic of a human. You might contact a university affiliated large-animal veterinary hospital to see if they do radioactive Gallium-scans and see if your horse has other hidden inflammatory issues. This question could be answered, if you have enough money for that kind of testing. On the other hand, this is why I recommend treating for at least 6 months; certainly there is benefit from gallium nitrate treatment somewhere!

QUESTION: Mr. Eby, I read in the November 1, 1996 Internet Archive posting that you "lost Don Dee to navicular disease". What do you mean "lost him"?

ANSWER: Here is his story. He had already had one short-lived career as a race horse before I met him. I bought Don Dee from a woman in 1995 as a six-year old registered thoroughbred. He had been abused by her. She used an axe handle over his head to get him to obey, and he had taken revenge on her. He had picked her up with his mouth and tossed her across the barn isle into another stall. His price at that time was 1/10th what she had paid for him a few months previous. Actually, she was demanding that her partner have him put down. I bought him on the spot, hauled him out of that dreadful place, and treated him nicely afterward. He never gave us any discipline problems after that, but he was, and still is, a "handful" for us to ride. He was soon diagnosed with navicular disease. I had become ill at the time, and didn't have the energy or heart to see Don Dee go down hill due to his diagnosis. Therefore in early 1995, I sold Don Dee (meaning that I "lost him"). I sold him before I came up with the gallium nitrate for navicular disease idea, which I posted on the Internet on November 1, 1996. I had great difficulty buying Don Dee back, because the lady to whom I sold him had quickly resold him due to his navicular disease issue. She was very angry with me, and she would not tell me to whom she sold Don Dee. Finally and months latter, I paid her twice the price I had sold him to her just for information! It was clearly robbery. He was in a pasture 100 miles Northwest of Austin. When I found him, he was a bag of bones and extremely lame. I had to pay that next owner twice what she had paid for Don Dee. More robbery -- for a lame horse! I bought him back specifically to do gallium nitrate research and hopefully to save a very nice and absolutely gorgeous horse. All I had at that time was a theory, and I had no idea if gallium nitrate would work for navicular disease or not. Perhaps the main reason that I bought him back was because, when I took the right amount of gallium nitrate orally, all of my severe bone/joint pains went away (according to my May 15, 1997 Internet Archive posting). Even though my personal experience was not evidence that gallium nitrate would work in Don Dee, I bought him to give him gallium nitrate in the hope that it would make him feel better, and perhaps fix his navicular disease problem. Little did I know how good he would feel on gallium nitrate, but I was very, very, very pleased as I reported here on May 15, 1997. That comment was the first incident of the main side effect of gallium nitrate treatment for navicular disease, "over-exuberance".

QUESTION: My horse went sound after two 2-week treatments. How do I know when I no longer need to give gallium nitrate?

ANSWER: Two 2-week treatments often causes horses to go sound, but we all should have been using a 28 day on with zero days off protocol for a stronger and longer lasting remission. All that has happened is the inflammation that was causing the pain has been temporarily terminated. Gallium has a long residency in inflamed tissues and the pain-relief benefit will last two weeks and longer, sometimes much longer (but not longer than one year - so far). There is no way to a priori determine how long the horse will remain sound. Consequently, the most economical plan is to keep a spare bottle (a 2-week supply) ready to use as soon as the horse relapses. Ideally, treatment at the full strength dosage should continue for 3 to 4 months, followed by a daily half strength dosage, or an every other day or every other week protocol (but not the 2 week on and 2 week off protocol). Extended treatment allows time for any bone repair that might occur, perhaps resulting in permanent recovery. The general idea is to treat the horse as needed.

In the closed trial, we gave gallium nitrate for two weeks followed by a 2 week off period. That was to determine the results of giving gallium nitrate and the results of NOT giving it too, so as to avoid using placebos in the research trial. See the results of this technique graphically here. From those results, I suggest that gallium nitrate should be given every day for at least 3 months. We give both of our horses (one with navicular disease and the other having never had it) gallium nitrate for their bone and joint health, and to prevent Don Dee's navicular disease from returning.

QUESTION: "Can concentrated 14% gallium nitrate solutions be dangerous to me or my horse?"

ANSWER: Do not allow the concentrated gallium nitrate solution to contact eyes. In case of eye contact, wash eyes with clean water for a fifteen minutes. The tiny bit of free nitric acid in the product will cause the eyes to have pain, but will not permanently injure them if promptly removed by washing.

Once the concentrated gallium nitrate has been diluted as directed, the 1.0% gallium nitrate solutions are not harmful. If 1.0% gallium nitrate gets in eyes, immediately wash eyes for a few minutes to remove the gallium nitrate.

Remember that gallium nitrate is a solution of a metal-ligand complex that is highly reactive with other metals. The only metal that Gallium does not appear to chemically react with is stainless steel. It will rust iron and chemically react with most metals and must never be allowed to contact metals other than stainless steel. This is why I suggest using plastic (high density polyethylene) buckets. I have placed a few crystals of gallium nitrate on aluminum foil, and found that the crystals melt through the aluminum foil overnight.

The kidney injury issue found in humans from hospital IV administration of gallium nitrate with cancer chemotherapy for lymphoma does not occur using the oral or topical route of administration in either human or animals and is not, from all the evidence observed so far, an issue or concern in the treatment of navicular disease in horses with gallium nitrate. Since gallium nitrate is highly ionizable (positively charged), its beneficial effects probably occurs extracellularly or in the cell membrane, but not intracellularly.

Interestingly, gallium nitrate has been found to be protective of the liver in experimental sepsis research .

QUESTION: Due to the high cost of gallium nitrate, how can treatment of navicular disease be justified?

Gallium metal is expensive to begin with, and processing costs must also be considered. Pure metallic Gallium is over $40 per ounce, making it more than four times as expensive as pure metallic silver. It is a bit less than one-tenth the cost of pure gold. Gallium nitrate's high cost was more than offset in our horses and many others because special shoes, bute, isoxsuprine, and related veterinary treatments such as de-nerving were not required. Veterinary and farrier expenses plummeted. For example, our horses (both are on gallium nitrate) have not had any illnesses in many years, nor have they needed any veterinary treatment except their annual shots and Coggins tests. Also, horses rapidly became useful with much less lost riding and competition time and they regain many years longer useful and healthy working career.

• We have successfully used 14 percent gallium nitrate topically applied by hand rubbing to grossly swollen lower legs of horses that have injured their tendons by an impact injury (striking fence rails). Near total elimination of swelling has been achieved by rubbing the leg with this solution of gallium nitrate for about 45 minutes. All swelling was eliminated by similarly treating the leg every 4 hours for the following 24 hours. As horse owners know, this kind of impact injury usually takes 6 weeks to 6 months to heal (if it ever heals) without gallium nitrate treatment.
• We have treated human legs swollen from impact (trauma) with identical results.
• In horses, oral doses identical to the doses used to treat navicular disease also appear effective in terminating the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis, although I have not collected data or documented this effect. Usually a 2-week course prevents evident pain for several weeks to several months. Infectious arthritis (caused by bacteria) is most likely the kind of arthritis cured by Gallium, since it is very strongly anti-bacterial.
• Founder, even with rotation as high as 16 degrees, appears reversible with gallium nitrate treatment. The oral dosage used was identical to the dosage used to treat navicular disease. Treatment was given for several months. One horse with a detached coffin bone recovered completely and had a healthy foal within a year of recovery. Laminitis is clearly benefitted by gallium nitrate treatment.
• Founder, laminitis, in two minis and a full size horse was easily and rapidly controlled with topical 42% gallium nitrate. The treatment consisted of painting the 42% gallium nitrate onto the hoof walls, coronary band and bottoms of feet (frogs and soles) with a paint brush. These horses were not given oral gallium nitrate. Their pain and lameness disappeared after a few days treatment, not months as was previously required using oral gallium nitrate. One of these cases was so severe that the horse was scheduled for euthanization, and was eventually given to Veronique Mathews of "Hearts and Hooves who treated it with gallium nitrate. That horse quickly made a 100% recovery and has not been lame since treatment ended over a year ago. The two minis (Smokey and Bandit) are mine, and I will watch them very carefully for any future relapse. I am not suggesting that the laminitic changes revert to normal.
• We do not yet know what happens to bone spurs, but doubt any efficacy. I do not know its effect on broken navicular bones, but Dr. Warrell used gallium nitrate to effectively repair broken bones that would not otherwise heal by sprinkling pure citrated gallium nitrate powder directly into the breaks of broken bones. In my earliest research I assumed that there would be no benefit for six months for the effect of gallium nitrate to occur. I assume that cracked or broken navicular bones would require at least 6 months of oral gallium nitrate treatment to heal.
• We have also used topical gallium nitrate up to 70% to directly treat miscellaneous skin problems on both horses and humans. Application to cuts and scratches helps accelerate healing, but it does sting like alcohol in cuts and scratches. The stronger the concentration, the better the therapeutic results. (The 42% concentration is the strongest concentration I offer for sale for United States Department of Transportation regulatory reasons.)
• Application of 14% gallium nitrate to abscesses in soles and frogs of horses terminated pain (and infection) rapidly, but required once daily treatment for a while.
• I used it orally to terminate my severe bone/joint pains (probably hypercalcemia) as early as 1996. See my 1996 archived report here.
• Application of 14% gallium nitrate to acne, pimples, boils, carbuncles, folliculitis cured them overnight. (A physician in New York told me that he gave 10 drops of the 14% concentrate in a full glass of water to overnight cure pimples.)
• Application of 14% gallium nitrate to mosquito bites, chigger bites and rashes stopped the itching and they cured overnight.
• Generally, application of 14% gallium nitrate to any skin inflammation cured it.
• An aluminum mill worker found that 14% gallium nitrate applied to his aluminum-induced dermatitis cured it.
• Generally, application of 14% gallium nitrate to any sore or skin infection cured it completely overnight.
• One or two 30-minute soakings of arthritic hands in a 7 to 14% gallium nitrate solution terminated the pain of arthritis for over a year. It appears to be a cure for some kinds of arthritis, even when the arthritis is cripplingly severe. The mechanism of action is reported here. However, infectious (septic) arthritis which is caused by bacteria is most likely the kind of arthritis so easily cured by gallium, since it is very strongly anti-bacterial. This was patented by Ohio State University in 1992. Without any doubt, Gallium is the cure for many cases of arthritis.
• I used frequent (several times daily) topical 42% gallium nitrate on my left shoulder to treat successfully "frozen shoulder", a joint condition that feels like the shoulder joint is packed with broken glass. This is a mobility limiting condition, which is supposed to take several years to naturally resolve - if it ever resolves. Medical treatment is usually repeated steroid injections into the joint. Gallium nitrate shortened the recovery period to several weeks, rather than several years. The cause of frozen shoulder is unknown, but it usually affects people between age 40 and 60. It is a bursal inflammation issue, not unlike navicular disease.
• Although I have not used gallium nitrate to treat cancer, there are applications (research and clinical trials) that use gallium nitrate and other compounds of Gallium in effectively treating a few cancers. See this article Gallium in Cancer Treatment. This article also has some really good information on dosages used in various clinical trials.
• Problems and pain from bursitis, tendonitis, edema all seem to vanish when concentrated (42 percent) topical rubs are used.
• Application of a 14% concentrate of gallium nitrate solution topically to treat carpal tunnel syndrome is a perfect treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. It is simply rubbed over the wrist, lower arm and palm for about an hour. After about an hour of topical treatment with gallium nitrate to treat carpal tunnel, the pain and symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome disappear and do not return - at least for 6 months. Apparently, gallium nitrate greatly benefits carpal tunnel release and terminates the swelling of the nerve sheath. This is a vastly better treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome than surgery.
• Application of topical 42% gallium nitrate very greatly helped plantar fasciitis (a human foot disorder - inflammation of connective tissue in bottom of foot) also called heal spur and heal pain. My wife had plantar fasciitis, and she said that topical 42% gallium nitrate simply painted on the bottom of her foot eliminated her foot pain overnight. Pain from plantar fasciitis, which normally occurs during the first few minutes of walking after arising in the morning, simply was not there, and it did not return for months.
• Generally, any disease or condition ending in the term "itis", which means inflammation, should respond to gallium nitrate.
• I twice used a few drops of a 1% gallium nitrate in isotonic salt eye drops to cure a treatment-resistant bacterial eye infection. It was not a pleanant experience, as it burned a bit.
• We have a 90 pound dog that had nearly lethal chronic bronchitis. His coughing and gagging was nearly 24/7 and he was miserable. Our veterinarian felt that he was so miserable (and he was making us so miserable) that perhaps we needed to consider having him put down. Desperation is the mother of invention so we tried gallium nitrate. We gave him 1/10th the horse dose (he weighed about 1/10 that of a horse), and that dose of gallium nitrate had no effect on his coughing. Desperation suggested doubling the dose and his coughing disappeared and has been under near complete control for several months as of 4/12/2005. Dogs and people (omnivores) have higher metabolic rates than horses (herbivores), thus the dosage rates are different. gallium nitrate seems to be an effective cure for chronic bronchitis in dogs. However, his dosage may need to be increased a bit, since he still has a few coughs. Will it work in people?
• Since I had not tried oral gallium nitrate on myself since 1996, and because I know of no one else that had tried it on themselves, I decided "for no particularly good reason" (as Forest Gump would say) other than being curious that I would try oral gallium nitrate for 2 weeks. I figured that I, also an omnivore, like my dog, would need a double whammy to be equivalent to the horse-dose. I weigh 180 pounds and somehow I figured out that an equivalent dose would be 7 milliliters of the 14 percent concentrate daily. One drop of that stuff on my tongue taught me to never do that again. It did not taste bad, but it was horribly astringent and drying, and it completely stripped away all of the oral mucoproteins and left the mouth totally dry and producing mouthfuls of saliva. After that, I added one milliliter to each of 7 glasses of water, and it was "sort of" tolerable, but it was still slightly drying. Even at that dose, it was sufficiently drying that I could not wash down food or pills due to the lack of oral lubrication. What did it do for me? I didn't notice any immediate improvement for my frozen shoulder, which was kind of a surprise, but it changed my bowels for the better. Also, it did not kill me! However, after longer oral gallium nitrate (2 weeks), I realized that the pain from my version of frozen shoulder is less frequent and much milder. I suspect that if I were as diligent on taking gallium nitrate as I hope are others, I would not have any pain. But, I forget to take it!!! Shame on me!
• I was able to get a medical journal article published concerning gallium and treatment of arthritis, a disease that I think navicular disease is highly related to. See the article here. I could have repeated the science shown in the article in this page, but felt that it would be better to keep the article intact and in one place. The article is a"mini" article, meant only to interest others in the concept, and not prove that gallium is the cure for arthritis.
• In April of 2006, Mesanika P., while taking oral gallium nitrate, experienced "white", "thick" urine after taking gallium nitrate for a few days. She believes now that her kidney stones are missing! She no longer is passing them daily, her routinely bloody urine has cleared, and she no longer experiences daily severe pain from passing kidney stones. Stay tuned as we uncover more about this mystery! What do I think? I have no idea.

Some of these conditions required only one treatment (with the exception of chronic bronchitis and frozen shoulder, which required several daily treatments for several weeks). The idea was to saturate the skin in the general area and allow the gallium nitrate to soak into skin. The amount soaked into skin is directly related to the concentration and time of contact. In other words, the stronger the concentration, and the longer the gallium nitrate is in contact with skin, the greater the amount absorbed. The gallium nitrate was not washed off or removed unless stinging or skin side effects (burning, redness, swelling, inflammation) were too intense (very rare). Stinging seems no worse than the sting of rubbing alcohol in a scratch. You can not imagine how offensive (drying) the 14% gallium nitrate concentrate tastes! Be warned!

Here is a really new, and unexpected possible use. EPM! EPM stands for EQUINE PROTOZOAL MYELOENCEPHALITIS, a bug they get from eating or exposure to opossum's feces. From the Bayer site: Signs may include: Ataxia (incoordination), Spasticity (stiff, stilted movements), abnormal gait or lameness, Incoordination and weakness which worsens when going up or down slopes or when head is elevated, Muscle atrophy, most noticeable along the topline or in the large muscles of the hindquarters, but can sometimes involve the muscles of the face or front limbs, paralysis of muscles of the eyes, face or mouth, evident by drooping eyes, ears or lips, Difficulty swallowing, Seizures or collapse, Abnormal sweating, Loss of sensation along the face, neck or body, and Head tilt with poor balance; horse may assume a splay-footed stance or lean against stall walls for support.

Well, it was unexpected to me that gallium nitrate would treat EPM, but Mauri L. saw my comment above related to "diseases ending with "itis" and realized that gallium nitrate might cure EPM. I personally have no experience with EPM, so lets see what Mauri L has to say. This is from a longer email to me dated 9/26/05.

"George, Then I got the old mare. She is an EPM survivor. Had her on GN, and started riding her for the first time in 8 years. She was amazing even after a month on it! Stupidly, for financial reasons, I took her off early in August to see if she would hold. Gradually, I've noticed her go down hill, poor old girl--dragging her hind end, swollen ankles behind, and overall, just a dull attitude, so I am anxious to put her back on the stuff. She was on it daily, and I think that's what I'll do again til she's where she was, and then see if I can do a reduced amount and maintain enough soundness just to keep pleasure riding her. (She loves to have a job again)"

I wrote her back asking: "Mauri, are you saying gallium nitrate is good for EPM? Did it cure EPM?"

Mauri came back: "well, its good for whatever residual damage it did to her, which has been explained to me to be irreversible destruction of nerve and muscle cells. What you see is a dullness in the eyes, and dragging of the legs behind, and some varying degrees of ataxia, or incoordination. On the gallium though, she was brighter and I'd say about 85-95% sound, much snappier behind and more coordinated. I'm not expecting an instant bounce back, but maybe in about a month, she'll be back to where she was. I'll let you know."

Mauri added, "Then, my old mare got kicked in the gluteal (butt), resulting in a huge hematoma on her hamstring, which made her really sore. After a few days of it still being swollen and red hot, I rubbed gallium nitrate on it. The first couple of days, I rubbed in 7% for like 30-45 minutes at a time. It seemed to get a bit smaller. I then put on 14% and only rubbed it a few minutes. Swelling came down a bit more. I know it must of kind of felt strange to her (I got it all over my hands and it definitely felt weird) but she stood still for her "massage" in the field, without even a halter on, like she knew it was helping her! But by the 4th application, she had had enough of it, so I stopped. Shortly thereafter, she was sound again. I can't say for sure whether the swelling would have come down at that time on its own but it sure seems like the GN at the very least took out the heat and calmed it down.

Mauri! Keep us posted!

Sharon R. wrote: "I'm sorry to say that the gallium nitrate soakings of my hands and feet didn't do the trick to fix my diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Thought I should let you know for your ongoing research into the possibilities. All the best to you, nonetheless, Sharon R."

Trudy A. in Greer, South Carolina wrote: "I wanted to share with you some recent success that I had with Gallium Nitrate on ringworm that I had on my back. I had tried some antifungal products but nothing was helping this spot heal and dry up over a two week period. It was also very itchy and annoying. I decided to apply the Gallium Nitrate to this area and in 3 days it was drying up and no longer was itchy or red."

"I also was picking up branches on my farm this week-end and got bitten by several fire ants on my hand. I react very strongly to insect bites with swelling and itching usually for several days even with Benadryl. I applied some Gallium Nitrate immediately because I had a small amount left from the ringworm I was treating. The Gallium Nitrate stopped the itching and there wasn't as much swelling and within 24 hours there was no swelling. I applied the Gallium Nitrate the next day and the bites were drying up and there wasn't any more swelling or itching."

"I have also had great success with my Hanoverian mare who had injured her hind suspensory this Spring. She seemed to be doing well after 4-1/2 months of recovery and then re-injured it. There was swelling in that area and she was in pain and discomfort from the swelling. She didn't even want to walk far when being hand walked. Prior to this I had been able to ride her at a walk and a trot before she re-injured the leg. I tried liniments and wrapping her at night to give her support but the swelling wasn't changing much. I also had been doing cold hose therapy everyday. I began giving her Gallium Nitrate 500 cc of the 1% solution twice a day about a week ago (double normal dosing). After 3 days the leg was back to normal with no swelling. She has a better range of motion and walks without showing any discomfort. She is carrying her tail out when she walks which means she is relaxed through her back. This relaxation through the back is only possible if both hind legs were comfortable. I have continued the twice a day amount for a week and am planning to continue this for 10 days total. I will then reduce the dose and begin to bring her back slowly with the riding so there isn't another re-injury. I have never seen anything work this quickly. Bute doesn't get these results and it is so hard on their digestion. I am pleased with the success I have seen on the Gallium Nitrate and plan to keep her on it for a while. I will keep you updated on her recovery. Thanks so much for telling me about Gallium Nitrate. It will always be in my medicine cabinet for myself and my horses."

Trudy later remarked about zinc and mare's menstrual cycles:

After reading your article regarding Zinc and how it can eliminate menstrual cramps in women, I decided to try this with my horses. I have 8 mares on my breeding farm and they all live together quite well. Some experienced irritability around their cycle so I decided to put all of the mares on 100 mg of Zinc (two small tablets) a day that I bought at the grocery store inexpensively. They have been on this dose for about 6 weeks and I have noticed a difference in all of the horses' mental attitudes. One of the mares that I show had trouble keeping her attention when riding her and wasn't relaxed. She has been more focused and not as nervous as she had been previously since she has been on the Zinc tablets. Another mare that I show also would sometimes tighten her back and buck when she was cycling (not good at all in the Show ring). She has also been more relaxed especially through her back since she has been taking the Zinc. During the Spring, I may increase the amount I am giving the younger mares when the heat cycles are more intense but will continue the horses on this maintenance dose year round since Zinc is helping them cope with everyday stress much better. Just thought I would share this with other horse owners as this is a safer way to help your horse deal with stress simply by feeding a necessary mineral.

Great job Trudy!

In women, 30 mg of zinc given once to three times a day for the four days immediately prior to the onset of menses will completely eliminate all menstrual cramping and bloating. This effect is so strong that the only side effect is anxiety from believing they are pregnant, only to start their cycle on time. I like the way Trudy thinks, and her mares are much happier too! In addition, I think mares will benefit from even more zinc, perhaps as much as 300 mg per day. That dosage would be consistent with the amount needed by women to avoid cramps and bloating on a per pound basis. Guys, geldings and stallions will not benefit, except if they are having pains like angina pectoris or Raynaud's disease. In that case, zinc will cure those disorders according to my research article published in 2006. Of course, zinc will cure these disorders in women too, and maybe horses too!

Gallium-responsive diseases and disorders according to this 2007-dated patent application wherein gallium compounds are mixed with a thickening agent include:

• cancer, to include breast cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, cancers of the bone, lymphomas, leukemias, multiple myeloma, cancers of the brain, cancers of the throat, pancreatic cancer, neck cancers, gastric cancers, intestinal cancers, colon cancers, rectal cancers, testicular cancers, bladder cancers, ovarian cancers, cervical cancers, uterine cancers, skin cancers, melanoma, ocular cancers, mouth cancers, tongue cancers, metastatic cancers, and other cancers;
• conditions of excessive bone resorption and/or disorders of calcium homeostasis, including osteoporosis, Paget's disease, metastatic bone disease, hyperparathyroidism, hypercalcemia, osteonecrosis;
• laminitis, and navicular disorders;
• inflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory arthritis, psoriasis and related dermatoses, multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, uveitis, asthma, Type 1 diabetes, Graves' disease, autoimmune Addison's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, central nervous system vasculitis, spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, colitis, celiac disease, myasthenia gravis, inflammatory myopathies, scleroderma, alopecia areata, and septicemia;
• infectious diseases, including intracellular pathogenic diseases such as tuberculosis, Johne's disease, leprosy, listeriosis, brucellosis, typhoid fever, legionnaire's disease, Rhodococcus infections (including those caused by Rhodococcus equi), plague, typhus, chlamydia, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, and malaria; Pseudomonas infections; biofilm-forming infections;
• neuropathies including painful peripheral neuropathies;
• adverse conditions of the liver, including hepatitis, hepatomegaly, and cirrhosis;
• and
• splenomegaly

Also, JT Stapleton et al. reported in 1999 CV that gallium nitrate was a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 infection in vitro, and that the concentration of gallium nitrate to be anti HIV was achivable in humans. Notice that there has been little or no commercial follow up on this important discovery. Why? I suspect that gallium is too expensive.

Radioactive Gallium-67 salts are commonly used in locating cancers, inflammation and bacterial infections. The image to the right is a radioactive Gallium scan to assess the size and location of lymphoma in a human. The intense chest activity (dark area) is the cancer. Consequently, it is fair to say that if we used radioactive Gallium in a navicular disease experiment, one would find that Gallium uptake is primarily in the inflamed navicular bone/joint, and that such would show up in a Gallium-scan.

The best light-weight shoes are the Sigafoos glue-on horse shoe. They are aluminum shoes, but there is no direct contact between aluminum and the foot. They make a variety of shoes in all sizes for all types of uses in either the Series I or Series II shoes. No nails are used, thus there is no iron-aluminum battery, and they will not cause an aluminum ion contamination problem in the navicular diseased horse's foot. Shock is also greatly reduced (about 40% peak on hard surfaces) by the neoprene rim-pad. The shoe stays on, where pads under a nailed-on shoe can contribute to shoe failure due to movement. The Sigafoos glue-on shoes and pads do not take on a set, and they retain 100% of their shock attenuation property. The fabric glue-on cuff attaches to the hoof wall and it greatly reinforces the hoof-wall and greatly increases foot comfort. The glue can be pigmented to be the same color as the hoof and can be very attractive, a definite requirement for hunters. You may need to learn how to put those shoes on yourself if you can't get a farrier to install them. Installation is fairly simple for the Sigafoos Series I shoe (even I can do it). All you need is to have her farrier trim her hooves, and you can install the glue-on shoes yourself. Your farrier will likely install them once he see that you are going to put them on, and after he has read the instructions. There really is nothing to it, and they take about 30 minutes to install per pair. The Sigafoos Series II glue-on shoes are more versatile than the Series I glue-on shoe, but they are sold disassembled to provide a wide range of custom designs and applications. The Series II Sigafoos shoes will require the services of a farrier experienced with their installation due to extra equipment (hydraulic press and heater) needed for their assembly. Watch the two movies from the Soundhorse web site to see how these shoes are installed.

QUESTION: "If gallium nitrate is so effective in treating navicular disease, why don't veterinarians use it?"

ANSWER: Some do. I have sold it to veterinarians, but confidentially. Gallium nitrate solutions have not been approved through FDA New Drug Application, which are relied upon by veterinarians, although our product is regulated under Dietary Health and Safety Act of 1994 as it has been applied to horses. However, most veterinarians are conservative in their nature and will not try products unless they are marketed by pharmaceutical companies. However, with publication of my veterinary journal article in 2007, there may be a some movement among veterinarians to use gallium compounds for a number of equine-related disorders. See my new journal article here. Unfortunately, veterinary journals demand that a veterinarian be an arthor (there were none) and that there be a public university affiliation (there were none), consequently this article will not appear in a veterinary journal, but it will appear in a medical science journal.

QUESTION: "What is your position on shoes?"

ANSWER: I am essentially neutral on shoes, except for having a strong anti-aluminum bias for navicular diseased horses. However, I suspect that if your horse could go barefoot that such would be preferable to shoes of any kind. Barefoot horses survived and flourished for millions of years without human involvement, and certainly not with shoes. However, even horses millions of years ago had navicular disease (see these two reports), so modern interventions, like shoes, do not seem to be the cause of navicular disease. Do shoes worsen symptoms of navicular disease? Yes, I suspect they do in some cases, but in others they improve the horse's comfort. There are many advocates of going barefoot, and there are many more advocates of shoes. I generally defer to your farrier on this matter. However, if your farrier insists on aluminum shoes, other than the Sigafoos glue-on shoes or other aluminum shoes that are not held in place with steel nails, I would get another farrier. Think of nailed-on shoes as an artifact from another time (century), then ask yourself if they are really needed. Recognize however that the answer will often, and legitimately, be yes.

QUESTION: "What if my horse won't eat wet feed?"

ANSWER: Add several tablespoons of apple cider to it and he will love it.

QUESTION: "I worry so much about my horse. I check up on him every day and I can't stand to see him so lame. I give him gallium nitrate every day and I want him well NOW! I can't wait. I worry about him all the time. I am desperate. What advice do you have for me?"

ANSWER: A watched kettle won't boil. For some people the advice that I gave to keep a daily log as shown here, was the worst possible advice. For the chronic worrier, the best thing to do is to send your horse to someone that will let him just be a horse. "Green" the horse in a far-away pasture and let nature and Gallium do their jobs. You see? The key to success is to "allow" the horse to be a horse and give him time to get well UNINTERRUPTED! Stop watching the kettle! Some people insist that "if the medicine is any good, it will work quickly" and they will not give medicines for long if they do not see benefit. This is a natural feeling, but give gallium nitrate at least 6 months, and preferably 12 months. Again, let nature do its job. I have an unused 4 acre pasture, and if you want, I will take care of your horse for you until he is sound - for a fee.

QUESTION: I am a veterinarian. Can I buy gallium nitrate crystals from a manufacturer and resell it to my local horse customers as a cure for navicular disease?

ANSWER: Such would be a violation of United States law to make veterinary health or drug claims for it at this time, other than the legal pain and inflamation type claims we make for it now. If you buy crystalline gallium nitrate, it will be the hydrated form and you will need to weigh out 128 grams of the hydrated crystals (NOT 70 grams - as was used for the anhydrous material that we used in our research trial and sales products) for each 2-week supply (equivalent to 9.1 grams of the hydrated form per day). However, shipping crystalline gallium nitrate via either UPS, the U.S. Postal Service or freight requires adhering to strict federal and international laws and regulations related to shipping hazardous substances from multiple governmental and international transportation agencies, violations of which could result in a $25,000 federal fine and 10-year imprisonment. The reason for such sternness is that crystalline gallium nitrate will dissolve aluminum foil, and theoretically aluminum parts of airplanes used for its transportation if spilled. I have placed a few crystals of gallium nitrate on aluminum foil and it does make a hole through it overnight, although the concentrates did not have the same effects. These are two important reasons why I do not market the crystals. Concentrations up to and including 42% gallium nitrate are not considered hazardous under any national or international transportation rule or law, and are exempt from rules for crystals internationally.

If you need concentrated gallium nitrate, use my 42% gallium nitrate. See this internal link for sales. Stay safe, don't try to concentrate.

NOTE: We have developed in 2006 and now only market "higher pH" gallium nitrate solutions (non citrated), which are not nearly as acidic, and they are nearly the pH of a Coca Cola, consequently they are much, much milder to use than the primitive gallium nitrate solutions found otherwise on the market. High pH gallium nitrate solutions might precipitate on long term storage (over one year) to form a white cloud involving 2 to 5 percent of the gallium. This will not affect its utility when orally ingested.

QUESTION: Can I give drugs that my veterinarian prescribed, like bute and isoxsuprine?

ANSWER: Yes, but preferably not at the same time. Give other treatments at different meals or about 2 hours separate from gallium nitrate, except for vitamins and supplements. I pour gallium nitrate over my horses feed with vitamins and minerals without worrying about it. Compared with gallium nitrate, those drugs have very little effect on navicular disease pain, and unnecessarily add to the cost of treatment. Therefore, whether or not they are used did not influence our trial results. Interestingly, very few people used them in the trial.

Be aware that oral isoxsuprine has no clinical efficacy. Only I.V. administration has been reported effective. See this clinical trial report.

QUESTION: During the research trial, I bought two bottles, one for my navicular horse and the other for a client's horse with arthritis in both front knees. The arthritic horse is very happily sound again but the navicular horse is still slightly lame. What was going on here?

ANSWER: I have had others say that it was outstanding for arthritis in their horse too, but I have no personal experience with gallium nitrate for arthritis in horses. On the other hand, other people reported the same benefit that you observed. Here is what people are telling me. Fourteen percent solutions of gallium nitrate have shown immediate success in treating arthritis when used topically in people that have tried it on their arthritic hands. People that rub their arthritic hands in a 14% gallium nitrate solution for 30 to 60 minutes nearly always have nearly immediate elimination of all pain from arthritis. Interestingly, my sister-in-law had horrific, crippling arthritis, and she could not use her hands, and certainly could not drive a car. A single 1-hour rub terminated her arthritis pain for over one year and she is still pain-free! Her hands are still crippled, but they do not hurt. Like you said, I understand that this treatment works in horses, people, and rats according to this U.S. Patent. Infectious arthritis (caused by bacteria) is most likely the kind of arthritis cured by Gallium, since it is very strongly anti-bacterial. This was the subject of my gallium for arthritis medical journal article found here. I have used oral gallium nitrate in horses for ten years with no apparent toxicity and in people for several years without apparent toxicity, mainly because I do not give it intravenously.

QUESTION: You use U.S. pounds and metric system together. Why?

ANSWER: I have become accustomed to it. Sorry. A conversion table program is available here

QUESTION: "Can gallium nitrate be safely used in my navicular mare which is in foal?"

ANSWER: Gallium, like zinc, has an effect on T-cell lymphocytes, most likely on the interlukin-6 beta cytokines. Theoretically, Gallium -- in the amounts used to initiate a calcium resorption into the navicular bone and terminate inflammation -- could stimulate the uterus immune system to abort and/or re absorb the foal. I would feel much more comfortable if gallium nitrate were not used on her until she foals. I suggest instead that you determine if her intake of calcium is balanced with magnesium, and if not - supplement with the appropriate amount of magnesium carbonate. Generally, most horses get too much calcium and are in desperate need for magnesium supplements. For example, grass tetany is nearly always a magnesium deficiency. I know of an expensive warmblood mare treated with gallium nitrate for a detached coffin bone later foal with lovely results. I almost bought that foal.

Use of gallium nitrate in mares that are intended to carry a foal should be stopped several weeks before conception only because its effect in pregnancy is unknown. We now (2005) have news of a birth of a foal whose mom was on gallium nitrate from well before she conceived, while pregnant and afterward during lactation and the baby is "perfectly wonderful". After foaling, I see no reason not to give gallium nitrate for the navicular disease. Some gallium nitrate is likely to be passed on to the foal through lactation which should help produce strong bones in the foal.

QUESTION: Was any evidence that administration of 1.0% gallium nitrate might have a long term serious adverse effect?

ANSWER: As of summer of 2006 and after 10 years of experience and thousands and thousands of daily doses used, the answer continues to remain ABSOLUTELY NONE at the doses we are using. I am not aware of any long term serious adverse effects, or any side effects at all for that matter. Many human patients have been given the same maintenance dosage (on a per weight basis) by intravenous injection (IV) by prescription as we are giving Don Dee, and as is being used by many other horse owners. Oral administration is vastly safer than intravenous administration, because it does not appear to damage the kidneys when given by this route.

Although not a "long term" side effect, there is a theoretical possibility that gallium nitrate could increase the risk of bleeding. This refers to the bleeding from the lungs that sometimes is evident in the nostrils after a hard race or other very hard activity. Here is my idea on this matter. Race horses do run faster on gallium nitrate. It makes competitive horses into winners. That seems clear from a number of jockeys and owners that have used gallium nitrate in their racehorses. This is a secret that I am not supposed to tell. However, there have been two people question whether or not it worsens bleeders, and since horses run faster on gallium nitrate than without it, they are also moving more air in and out of the lungs, possibly worsening bleeding. This is MY theoretical notion only and I have no evidence to support it. Two out of thousands is not representative of the 60 to 100% of thoroughbred horses that bleed during races.

Gallium nitrate as an oral dietary supplement is authorized for humans under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) which made all minerals, vitamins, herbs and amino acids "dietary supplements". In Texas, this has been extended to companion animals not intended for food use. I think Gallium will become an essential human nutrient for survival in the 21st century to rid our bodies of toxic aluminum. The average adult human has 0.18 milligrams of Gallium in him/her from the diet, but probably had much more during the development of our genetic code millions of years ago, and gallium may be a lost or absent nutrient responsible for the outbreak of arthritis in humans that otherwise would not occur if there was more Gallium in our diets. My horse Don Dee has most likely consumed more Gallium than any living thing since the beginning of vertebrate species hundreds of millions of years ago -- with absolutely no observed side effects over a 10-year observation period -- because the administration is oral and not intravenous. I pity those poor humans exposed to the toxic effects of intravenous gallium nitrate by oncologists. If there is a demand for gallium as a human dietary supplement, I may offer it for "bone & joint support".

QUESTION: I remember you telling me over the phone that gallium nitrate could cause blindness if spilled in the eyes. Is that true?

ANSWER: I was wrong. Gallium nitrate, according to the manufacturer, has not been found to cause blindness if spilled into the eyes. Factory workers get it in their eyes fairly often. Pain? Yes! Severe burning? Sometimes! It will also dry the eyes, and it should be removed by washing the eyes. However, on December 1, 2004, I had a severe eye infection diagnosed as a bacterial infection. I had been suffering for about a week and the pharmaceutical drugs and OTC medicines were ineffective. Old George here was braver than smart, and I made an isotonic salt plus 1% gallium nitrate eye drops to take advantage of the strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect of the Gallium III ion. It hurt! I only used one drop each hour for 6 doses. However, the effect of clearing up that painful, vision impairing infection was amazing to behold. It worked! Now the vision in that eye is better than ever. One the other hand, Gallium iodate (the iodine complex of Gallium) may cause blindness if spilled into eyes. The iodine in the Gallium iodate causes blindness, not Gallium.

QUESTION: What is the difference between oral-use gallium nitrate for horses and the prescription drug called Ganite (TM), which is also gallium nitrate and is injected?

ANSWER: The term "gallium nitrate" has not been used consistently to describe Ganite (TM). For example, it has been used to describe (a) chelator-free gallium nitrate solutions, employed for most of the in vitro and some of the animal studies and it is what we use for horses, and (b) gallium nitrate solutions which also contain "citrate" from citric acid as a chelator. Chelator-free gallium nitrate solutions (as we are using for horses) contain and release ionic gallium III, whereas citrate containing solutions at neutral pH contain gallium citrate. The prescription-only (Ganite TM) product contains both gallium nitrate and citrate at neutral pH, which allows essentially all the gallium to bind to citrate and not nitrate and I do not believe that it is ionic. Kind of a strange nomenclature, but I didn't invent it! I believe that the best and widest activity for our purposes occurs with the ionic form (gallium III) from gallium nitrate, not the citrate complexed form.

QUESTION: I have heard that soil is a combination of various minerals. How do different soils influence the onset and outcome of navicular disease?

ANSWER: The most harmful soil for a horse, particularly when the soil is wet, are certain types of clay. Clay by definition is plastic when moist but very hard when dry. Some clays are used to make pottery. Some people call it "gum-ball" mud for its disgusting characteristic of building up on the bottom of feet and shoes of both human and animal. Some "clay" is composed mainly of extremely fine particles of hydrous Aluminum silicates and other minerals. If the silicate from Aluminum is removed by atmospheric acidity (or acidic urine), and Al (III) ions become biologically available, such could be a major contributing factor to the development and progression of navicular disease in horses that do not have sufficient calcium, silicate and magnesium in their diets.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides nine acid rain experiments that can be used to test water and soil pH, and to buffer acidic water and soils using limestone to a neutral or even basic pH where Al (III) ions are no longer possible to form. These experiments use commonly available supplies and materials and are excellent resources for correcting the acidic environment in which a horse might live. Usually, a swimming pool pH kit is all that is needed.

I do not think a gallium deficiency is cause, since gallium is found only in tiny amounts in the soil. According to Dr. Larry Bernstein, there is clearly some gallium in common foods, so it is at least feasible for gallium to be a useful, if not essential, nutrient. The average gallium content of the earth's crust is about 17 parts per million (ppm). The mean value for soils is about the same, with a reported range of <4 to 70 ppm (Kabata-Pendias, A (2000) Trace Elements in Soils and Plants, Third Edition. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, pp 432 ). The amounts of gallium in soils are about 10 to 100 times higher than in foods, so gallium is clearly not concentrated by plants or animals. Here is a Russian report on the amount of gallium in foods, translated by Dr. Larry Bernstein.

I want to bring substantial emphasis to the likely issue of the uselessness of magnesium oxide being used in supplements and in horse feeds. Magnesium oxide appears totally useless because it too tightly bound together for the stomach acid to dissociate into a biologically useful ionic form according to the following articles. I assume this applies to horses too. This medical journal article abstract reported that "...magnesium oxide was no better than taking placebo...". This medical journal article reported "... poor bioavailability of magnesium oxide (fractional absorption 4 per cent)".... Another research reported "...The increment in urinary magnesium following magnesium citrate load (25 mMol) was significantly higher than that obtained from magnesium oxide load (during 4 hours post-load, 0.22 vs 0.006 mg/mg creatinine, p less than 0.05; during second 2 hours post-load, 0.035 vs 0.008 mg/mg creatinine, p less than 0.05). Thus, magnesium citrate was more soluble and bioavailable than magnesium oxide." This data can be interpreted to mean that magnesium oxide raised blood levels of magnesium only 1 / 37 that of magnesium citrate. Since essentially all of magnesium citrate is biologically available, and because 1/37 = 2.3%, magnesium oxide is about 2.3% biologically available from that article. Thus, these dirt cheap oxide forms of magnesium will not provide the nutritional support desired, but that is what your feed supplier is most likely to use.

Unfortunately, alfalfa is so high in protein that it causes behavior problems in some horses, especially thoroughbreds. There are two amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acid) that are necessary for growth of horses but also happen to be excitatory amino acids for their brains. Lots of alfalfa and clover seem fine (and necessary) for growing frisky ponies, but excess glutamic and/or aspartic acid in an adult horse undergoing training or involved in dressage work (particularly in the unfamiliar or alarming setting of competition) can have similar adverse effects on the horse's mind as giving too much mono-sodium-glutamate (MSG) or too much aspartame to people. It can mess up their brains and makes them hyperexcited, agitated, high or "hot".

In alfalfa (Lucerne), the content of aspartic acid was 19.20% and for glutamic acid was 9.37% (from Babinec et al.). Similarly these excitatory amino acids are also high in clover. Aspartate is converted to glutamate in the liver. Neither of these otherwise outstanding sources of amino acids should be used in horses (particularly thoroughbreds) undergoing dressage training or any training wherein the horse is expected to be extremely obedient and quiet. In human foods, MSG is used to improve flavor of foods, and a similar effect of glutamates seems to occur in horses, thus their love for alfalfa and clover. In fact, a small handful of alfalfa sprinkled over Bermuda grass or Timothy hay greatly increases the appeal of hay, but does not seem to promote hyperexcitability as long as the amount is no more than a few ounces of alfalfa.

Here is a humorous list of situations that NOT feeding high protein (high glutamate or aspartate) feeds might help. Magnesium and taurine, an amino acid, also help prevent glutamate excitotoxicity through regulation of calcium and mitochondrial energy metabolism, and may find utility in quieting horses toxic on glutamates (alfalfa and clover). This is a current research item of mine in equine nutrition. We are feeding one to five heaping tablespoons of taurine daily, and find that it gentles one of our two wilder than desired thoroughbreds into a docile dressage horse. The other we deem too smart to put up with riders and we don't ride him (Don Dee). Also, an Italian commercial preparation called RIBHORSE contains taurine and is used in the "recovery" of race horses by feeding it immediately before and after races. When routine feeding of several tablespoons of taurine per meal terminates excitotoxicity, such may mean one aspect of liver disease has been benefited. For example, several years ago, Sharpe (Don Dee's brother) was not behaving well and he had a lethal liver test report. He was dying of liver failure according to our veterinarian. We gave taurine, his liver returned, and the latest reports showed no liver problems. Weird? True too! For vastly more information on taurine and its effects on the brain, see this 135 page report.

Long-term large feedings of alfalfa to horses are also are implicated in producing enteroliths (intestinal stones) weighing many pounds which always require major surgery to remove. These stones can also cause hyperexcitability, possibly by their irritating (bouncing) effects in the horse's intestines. These stones are made of magnesium ammonium phosphate and are believed to be caused by excess ammonia as result of breakdown of alfalfa reaching the intestines. Again, serious bone disease and laminitis can be caused by too much calcium and insufficient magnesium in diet. Grass tetany is caused by magnesium deficiency.

Consequently, I believe magnesium without the production of ammonia and without excessive phosphate is vital, particularly when there is other evidence of liver disease. I was really put off recently due to a certain Austin "homeopathic" veterinarian suggesting that "too much" magnesium (by implication the amount I recommend) would cause liver damage. Nothing could be further from the truth, and such comment only shows the total lack of knowledge of the people that we pay to take care of our horses. Look up "liver damage" or "hepatitis" and "magnesium" in the National Library of Medicine's PubMed online service. You won't find anything meaningful. While you are there look up "calcium" and "liver damage" or "hepatitis" and that data will blow your mind.

Alfalfa is also high in calcium, and is now implicated as the cause of most tying up incidents. The cure for tying up? Don't supplement with calcium and never feed significant amounts of alfalfa. These ideas are new, but absolutely sound.

Therefore, I do not feed high protein feeds (namely alfalfa or clover), but I do mix into our horses' feed about 16 grams of magnesium carbonate and some taurine (a heaping tablespoon each meal) as dietary supplements with their morning and evening meals. I strongly recommend magnesium supplementation in all horses, navicular diseased or not. I have used magnesium carbonate dietary supplement products for humans available at health food stores, grocery stores and pharmacies for easy measurement, but such is expensive. Bulk sales in buckets of powdered magnesium carbonate are available over the Internet Also, check your local telephone directory for availability of magnesium carbonate and taurine, under industrial, agriculture, pharmaceutical and nutritional chemicals. Also, see this google.com search for "magnesium carbonate" "supplier". See Magnesium in Horses for more information on the role of magnesium in equine mental and bone health.

We need to study the necessity for magnesium in bone development, and the effect of magnesium deficiency in bone calcium loss. You can search PubMed, the National Library of Medicine's collection of original medical and veterinary research for "magnesium deficiency" and "bone loss", "bone", "osteoporosis", "bone degeneration", "arthritis", "tieing up" "grass tetany" and other related search terms.

Without going into complex and multifaceted reasons for my opinion, the neglect of magnesium in horse feed appears grave. Magnesium deficiency probably causes more equine health problems than any other current equine nutritional deficit. Even nations are at risk from having imbalances in the calcium to magnesium ratio in the populations's diet. The United States of America now has the worst record of heart disease in the Western world, mainly because physicians, nutritionists and dietitians, both private and government, insist on a high calcium to magnesium 3:1 ratio, when a 1:1 ratio or even a 1:2 ratio is desperately needed. For the most up to date information of magnesium and human health (applicable to horses too), read "The Magnesium Factor" by Mildred Seelig, MD, one of the world's foremost authorities on magnesium nutrition. Yes, horses have sudden death heart attacks from low magnesium - high calcium diets. If you don't mind getting your feet wet, you can start your study of magnesium and calcium imbalances here. In the following 1977 graphic from Dr. Seelig's year 2003 book, The Magnesium Factor", Finland revised its diet to include more magnesium and potassium and now has a lower incident of heart disease than Japan. Did the United States follow the lead of Finland toward the healthy heart? No. It would bankrupt many hospitals and physicians.

If the horse is nervous and does not have normal stools (formed droppings) and is considered "loose", the horse is likely deficient in probiotic intestinal bacteria such as acidophilus lactobacillus, or deficient in the amino acid taurine. Magnesium absorption and resultant behavior and bone protection is always severely and adversely impacted when loose stools occur. Taurine is necessary for bile production and metabolism of fats and has many other necessary roles that are only in the last few years becoming evident. Loose stools demand life and sanity saving dietary supplements of acidophilus lactobacillus. We have had outstanding results with a human-use product called VSL#3 in our horses. To retain strength it must remain refrigerated. It is a packet of 450 billion bacteria. This will terminate looseness in over 90% of horses or humans, and allow the horse to absorb minerals from the diet vastly better. Adding magnesium to horses' feed without adequate probiotics may be useless and may increase stool looseness. Use of antibiotics, calcium supplements, wormers, steroids and hormones will usually adversely affect these life giving bacteria, and large supplements of probiotics are mandatory to preserve and promote health. Always provide them after giving any of the above treatments. In humans, Kefir is vastly more potent than acidophilus lactobacillus in correcting major intestinal problems due to fungus (Candida Albicans), and I strongly suspect that feeding Kefir to horses would be extremely beneficial, although I have no direct experience and it would be expensive. Post script 2/4/05: At least Kefir did not kill my horses last night. I gave both of them a quart of Kefir on their grain. They made the most comical, distorted faces I have ever seen on a horse, as if they were asking what are you doing to me? And this stuff really tastes BAD! They did not like it, but they ate their feed, and licked the bucket clean!

• NEW LABELS for 500 ml daily doses of 1% gallium nitrate
• Oral Gallium Nitrate Restores Soundness in Horses with Navicular Disease - A Pilot Study
• Home & Garden TV - Outback America video segment on Don Dee's and Sharpe's underground stable (23 mb)
• Antimicrobial activity of gallium against virulent Rhodococcus equi (cause of foal fever) in vitro and in vivo
• We got Publicity! "TO YOUR HEALTH" article in "The Austin Chronicle" by James Heffley, PhD Nutritionist
• Certificate of Analysis for gallium nitrate Solution (14%)
• Material Data Safety Sheet page 1 (14% gallium nitrate solutions)
• Material Data Safety Sheet page 2 (14% gallium nitrate solutions)>
• Therapeutic Gallium Compounds - Lawrence R. Bernstein
• Gallium in Cancer Treatment
• SEE WHY I CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE IN MY OFFICE WITH HELP FROM BANDIT (one of my minis)!
• NEW! Medical journal article accepted for publication: "Elimination of arthritis pain and inflammation for over two years with a single topical 14% aqueous gallium nitrate treatment"
• Research Trial Log (daily diary)
• A 2003 statement from Don Dee's most recent veterinarian showing no change in navicular bone X-rays since 1997.
• 4/15/2004 Blood Tests - Don Dee (blood taken on day-14 of full dose gallium nitrate treatment)
• 4/15/2004 Blood Tests - Sharpe (full brother of Don Dee - blood taken on day-14 of full dose gallium nitrate treatment)
• Millions of years of navicular disease (graphics)
• More millions of years of navicular disease (pdf)
• United States Combined Training Association reciprocal links
• The Texas Horseman’s Directory
• EPA's Clean Air Market Programs: Acid Rain
• Effects of Acid Rain: Lakes & Streams (with comment on Aluminum toxicity)
• 1999 Map of U.S. showing acidity of rain (neutral is pH 7.0)
• 1999 Isopleth Maps
• Other National Atmospheric Deposition Program Isopleth Maps of environmental conditions and their changes from 1994 through 1997
• Map of Europe and Effect of Acid Rain, a source of aluminum ion contamination.
• Univ. Penn. S. Vet. Med. - Index of Equine Leg Abnormalities with X-Rays
• Univ. Penn. S. Vet. Med. - Navicular Bone (X-Rays and Significance of Changes)
• Sigafoos Glue-on Shoes
• The Horse's Hoof, News for Natural Hoofcare
• Mystery Solved on Behavior Problems: Advances in Equine Dentistry
• Plants & Weeds Toxic to Horses
• More Plants & Weeds Toxic to Horses
• Adverse effect of certain feeds in bone development
• KUNAFIN! Fly parasites to keep you and horsey totally fly and bug free!
• Pictures of Don Dee's and Sharpe's pasture and underground (terraced) stable
• More about gallium at the ithyroid page

Questions? Contact me. Questions, kudos, complaints and comments are always welcome.

George Eby
George Eby Research
P.O. Box 1142
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620 USA
telephone/fax (512) 263-0805

E-mail: george.eby@george-eby-research.com