EquiNatural

21/09/2026

𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀
~ 𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧

Thick, stubborn, crusty patches in the folds behind the knees – particularly familiar to those of us with Cobs, Shires, Friesians and other heavily feathered horses.

𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.

And yes, you can soften it, wash it, pick at it, clip around it, and fill the tack room with lotions and potions. All while standing with your head in your hands and watching how painful it is for your horse.

But if it keeps coming back? That’s when I start saying KPU (Cryptopyrroluria).

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗞𝗣𝗨?
If you've followed us for a while you'll know that much of our thinking around KPU comes from Dr Christina Fritz, who I studied with back in 2021.

Mallenders (and sallenders) isn’t just a stubborn skin issue – and Dr Fritz’s work has increasingly connected recurring cases with the wider KPU picture.

Her clinical observations have repeatedly connected it with a wider metabolic imbalance that begins in the gut and affects the liver, kidneys and, in the case of mallenders, the skin – particularly when the horse has other seemingly unrelated niggles going on at the same time.

And that last bit matters, because we're not looking at one crusty patch and declaring “KPU!” We're looking at what else might be going on:

• Mallenders/sallenders that keeps returning year after year
• Digestive problems or faecal water
• Poor hoof quality
• Recurring skin problems
• Metabolic issues
• A horse who seems to collect one problem after another

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?
This is where the KPU picture gets interesting. It connects back to the hindgut – a chronic metabolic housekeeping bottleneck involving the gut, liver and nutrient pathways, which can eventually show itself through the skin. And in some horses, this can begin very early in life, depending on how well the gut microbiome becomes established.

Equally, our feathered breeds are more genetically wired to eliminate waste through their skin than most – meaning mallenders often comes with the territory. It’s not bad luck – just a metabolic inheritance.

Then add modern horse management into the picture. The gut–liver–kidneys' housekeeping system ends up working overtime, overwhelmed by a less “natural” lifestyle - restricted forage diversity, haylage, processed feeds, chemical overload, or a back-history of antibiotics - all influencing the gut environment in different ways.

And this is when the skin steps in as an elimination route – like the over-helpful friend who means well but makes a bit of a mess.

So rather than thinking “skin problem = skin treatment”, we look at the whole horse. The diet, the gut, the nutritional picture - and the liver and kidneys.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Foundations first – diet, gut health, liver support and the specific nutritional needs we see in the KPU horse. This is where the real shift happens.

That's exactly what our KPU Reset Programme is designed to do – a structured, foundations-first approach to supporting the wider gut → liver → nutrient picture.

And for horses who don't need the full Reset, there's our KPUCOMBO for ongoing nutritional KPU support.

📖 Read our Mallenders Info Page:
→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/mallenders-horses

🌿 Explore our KPU support:
→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/shop/Mallenders-Sallenders-c150812785

Meanwhile...

🍂 𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 - 𝟮𝟬% 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Our 𝗞𝗣𝗨 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲, 𝗞𝗣𝗨𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗕𝗢, & 𝗣𝟱𝗣 are all included in our September Shift Sale:
→ Use code 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧𝟮𝟬 at checkout
→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/september-horse-health-sale

Let's break the cycle - no more wrestling with clippers or a cupboard full of potions.

Next up, sarcoids – what they really are, and why immunity matters. Till then, if you’re not sure where to start, just shout. We’re here to help you decode the signals, and support your horse naturally from the inside out.

Carol & The Team

© EquiNatural 2026
01761 325032
[email protected]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 𝗞𝗣𝗨 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.” 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘒.

Support your horse through September’s seasonal changes, from coat change and rising ACTH to autumn grass and metabolic health. Save 20% with SHIFT20.

18/09/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁...
- 𝙎𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 - 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩

So I've been down another rabbit hole (those rabbits must be getting fed up with me... 😂)

This week we’ve been talking about the autumn ACTH rise - as the days shorten through late summer and autumn, every horse experiences a natural seasonal rise in ACTH. And for our PPID horses and ponies, that rise may be higher, begin earlier, last longer, or become more difficult for their bodies to regulate.

For us horse owners, we’re now watching our older horses and ponies more carefully. September arrives, the coat change has already started, and the vets send out an invitation for a free ACTH test.

Except - I came across a brand-new study this week that made me wonder whether ACTH is just one piece of a much bigger September horse.

Researchers followed 22 older horses – nine with PPID and 13 without – for an entire year. Every two months they collected poo samples and measured six short-chain fatty acids – SCFAs. And here's the first bit that made me go:

𝙊𝙤𝙝. 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣...

Every single SCFA they measured 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀. Every one.

And not just in the PPID horses, but across all the horses generally.

But - the PPID horses 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 compared to the non-PPID horses: 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 and 𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦.

Many of us have met butyrate before through our hindgut/KPU conversations. But valerate and isobutyrate? Less familiar territory for me.

But here's what really got me thinking. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗴𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻?

As it turns out, potentially something rather interesting! And if you’re a bit nerdy like me… So obviously Carol headed off to the rabbit warren again.

SCFAs are metabolic compounds produced largely when the microbial communities in the hindgut ferment what the horse has eaten - particularly fibre. The KPU studies have taught us this (a quick nod of gratitude to Dr Christina Fritz 😉).

And they're not simply microbial exhaust fumes waiting to catch a ride out with the next poo – they’re really important!

They're involved in energy metabolism, the intestinal environment, and signalling between the gut and the rest of the body. Or, in simplistic Carol-speak: the microbes are doing a lot of “stuff” - and SCFAs are some of the evidence of what they're doing.

Which means those microbes aren't simply passengers living in the hindgut - they're metabolically interacting with the horse.

And according to this study, the measurable products of that microbial activity changed significantly across the sampled months. Which makes perfect biological sense.

So perhaps we've been guilty of thinking about September in departments - one department marked “pituitary” to change the ACTH, another marked “metabolism” to start making life interesting for our EMS horses, or a coat department to start producing the winter woollies... while somewhere round the back the hindgut department is still getting on with digesting fibre. Next we’ll be saying there’s a little internal memo system making sure they never interfere with one another!

No sir - our horse is 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺, and of course there aren't any departments. There's just the horse, with fewer daylight hours, cooler temperatures, grass chemistry changing, forage changing, movement adjusting from the summer ground, coat changing, hormones changing, metabolic demands changing…

And, apparently - changing faecal SCFA patterns too. All happening within the same horse at the same time.

In short - September isn’t one hormonal event - it’s a whole-horse thing.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗖𝗙𝗔𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗗 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲?
And this is where my eyebrows went properly upwards.

We already know that PPID shares some pathological features with Parkinson's disease in humans – including degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons and accumulation of a protein called α-𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯.

And because researchers are increasingly interested in the microbiota–gut–brain axis in Parkinson's disease, these other researchers essentially asked: 𝗗𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗗 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼?

Erm... Hello rabbits! 👀😂

Now – before the internet gallops off and turns this into “𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴!” – they absolutely did not. This was a small study with just 22 horses, which found an association between PPID and certain faecal SCFA patterns.

• They 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 establish that the microbiome causes PPID.
• They 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 establish that PPID causes these SCFA differences.
• And they 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 establish that manipulating the microbiome could prevent, reverse or treat PPID.

But here's where I'm going to allow myself a little Friday Thought (or more like a Carol Ramble...): wat if the gut–brain conversation eventually turns out to matter more in PPID than we've historically imagined?

This study doesn't know, I certainly don't know, and science doesn't know - yet. But to me this is one heck of an interesting question - because perhaps the finding that interests me most isn't even that three SCFAs behaved differently in the PPID horses...
.. It's that all six varied significantly across the sampled months.

And if we think about that for a moment - the measurable metabolic output from the hindgut wasn't sitting there doing exactly the same thing throughout the year. Something was shifting.

So was it due to changing forage? Grass composition? Temperature? Movement? Daylight-driven physiology? Management? Hormonal changes? Or some complicated conversation between all of them?

I haven't the foggiest! And actually, I'm quite happy saying that - because this is a Carol-rambling Friday Thought, not a Friday Scientific Conclusion.

But I'd love science to keep asking, because suddenly a season isn't simply weather happening outside the stable – it's a whole ton of changing “stuff”: light signals, plants, metabolic demands, hormonal patterns, behaviour and movement...

And crucially – it’s about what the hindgut microbes are being given to ferment.

In short, it's a constantly adapting conversation between the horse and their environment.

And somewhere amongst all of that, the microbial community in the hindgut is responding to whatever arrives from that changing environment – because scientists are showing that the metabolic output they’re measuring isn't staying the same either. And in PPID, part of that pattern looks different.

So perhaps that's where I'm going to leave this week's rabbit hole, because sometimes I’m simply left sitting there with my coffee thinking, “Well that's VERY interesting!”😂

And now, annoyingly, I want to know 𝙬𝙝𝙮 these measurable products of hindgut fermentation shift across the year – and why that looks different in horses with PPID.

Maybe one day we'll discover it means something important. Or that it's simply one more perfectly ordinary part of the seasonal shifts. Or maybe the gut–brain bit will turn out to be fascinating – or it won’t! We genuinely don't know yet.

But I rather like the fact that September clearly isn't just an ACTH number happening somewhere inside a horse's head - there's a whole horse responding to a changing season.

And apparently, even their poo has joined in. Boom! There’s the real September Shift.

Happy Friday!
Carol

© EquiNatural 2026
01761 325032
[email protected]

*𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩: 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 2026: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘦𝘥.𝘯𝘤𝘣𝘪.𝘯𝘭𝘮.𝘯𝘪𝘩.𝘨𝘰𝘷/42612695/

14/09/2026

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀/𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗗?
~ 𝙎𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧, 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙃 & 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧…

If you've been following us for a while, you'll probably know that when our Cookie appears on a post, I'm about to talk about Cushing's. 😉

And yep - it’s that time again – the days are shortening, coats are changing, and the seasonal ACTH rise is underway. That rise happens in healthy horses too, but in a horse with Cushing’s/PPID, the response can be exaggerated.

Which means I’m on PPID watch. Not because every fluffy coat means Cushing’s, but because this is the time of year when some of those little changes can start joining the dots.

𝗦𝗼 – 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲…
🐴 slower to shed, coat becoming thicker, curlier, or just seems out of sync with the season
🐴 not as bright or cheery as they once were
🐴 drinking or weeing more than before
🐴 losing topline or muscle condition
🐴 struggling with seasonal changes more than they used to
🐴 becoming unexpectedly footy – or had an unexplained laminitic episode.

Agreed, just one of those things on its own doesn't equal PPID. But several of them beginning to appear together? Hmm...

That’s when I’d stop blaming age, weather, coat change or “just one of those things” – and start looking at PPID – because PPID is a pattern.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Here’s the bit that makes PPID much easier to understand – at its root it’s a gradual decline in dopamine signalling.

We all know dopamine as the “reward” chemical – we eat chocolate and it makes us feel happy! But dopamine has lots of jobs, and one of the important ones in the horse is helping keep this particular part of the pituitary gland – the body's "master control centre" that produces and releases key hormones – under control.

Think of it as part of the braking system – as those signals weaken, the brake becomes less effective, hormone regulation becomes less precise and ACTH can rise more than it would do normally. And that affects much more than simply coat growth – we’re talking energy, metabolism, immune function, muscle condition, and hoof health.

Which means PPID isn’t simply a hairy horse syndrome - it's a whole-horse endocrine condition. And come spring, or late summer/early autumn, when ACTH is naturally rising anyway, that seasonal response can become much more pronounced in the PPID horse.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Now, this is one area where I get a bit of a twitch.

Early spring and autumn are the typical times when the ACTH naturally rises – so if you’re testing now, you’re going to see higher numbers. Thing is though - ACTH naturally changes through the year for many reasons, i.e. it also rises from stress / vet visits / pain / herd drama / someone sneezed wrong…

So yes you absolutely can test now when your vet sends you a heads up about a free test – and we have seasonally adjusted reference ranges to account for that. Personally though, I still like the diagnosis to match the horse – not just the blood result.

If I was already seeing several PPID clues together, as we did with Cookie, for sure I’d test. But if an otherwise healthy horse came back with a borderline or higher result during the seasonal rise? I wouldn't rush into a lifelong diagnosis from that one result alone.

There are twelve months in a year – so where appropriate I’d want a retest outside the typical higher seasonal cycle.

The blood result is only part of the picture - the horse is the rest of it.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲?
If I suspected PPID, vet and appropriate testing first. Then I'd look at how best to support the horse living with PPID – not simply the diagnosis.

That's exactly why we formulated 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 all those years ago – in fact, it was one of the very first EquiNatural blends we ever produced.

And because medication changes the picture, we have two versions – and choosing between them is really straightforward:

• Not on Prascend? → 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰-𝟭
• On Prascend? → 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰-𝟮

That's it.

🌿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰-𝟭 provides natural nutritional support for dopamine pathways alongside wider endocrine and metabolic support.

🌿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰-𝟮 is specifically formulated without the dopaminergic herbs, allowing Prascend to do its job while the blend supports the wider systems around it.

Same horse-supporting mission - slightly different route.

And there's a very personal reason why CushTonic exists in the first place.

𝗠𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱…
Our first PPID pony was little ancient Dinky, back in, gosh – very early 2000s. He was my step-daughter Tabatha's first lead-rein pony.

We'd only had him around six weeks when, quite literally overnight, he went from happily walking out to seriously lame in all four feet with acute laminitis. Looking back there had been clues – his winter coat hadn't shifted, and he was drinking and weeing excessively.

We had him tested. PPID.

D***s sent me down my first PPID rabbit hole – and ultimately inspired the original CushTonic formula.

Then came Cookie, Tabby's second pony – the sweetest little hairy cob with a fabulous polar-bear winter coat. But in 2014, aged only fourteen, her coat simply refused to shed; by August it was still duvet-thick and curly. She'd become lethargic and, very unlike her, just seemed... sad.

Tested. PPID.

Same condition – but two very different ponies telling us in two very different ways. But a pattern all the same.

But…
• Not every hairy horse has PPID.
• Not every horse who drinks more has PPID.
• Not every horse losing a little topline has PPID.

Yet when several little things about the horse you know so well begin changing together? Again... Hmm…

If you want my full PPID ramble – what PPID actually is, dopamine, ACTH, testing, Prascend, natural support, nutrition and everything D***s and Cookie taught me along the way – it's all on our Cushing's/PPID Info Page:

→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/cushingsppid

Meanwhile?

🍂 𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 - 𝟮𝟬% 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Because the autumn ACTH rise is one of those very real biological September "shifts", CushTonic is included in our September Shift Sale:
→ Use code 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧𝟮𝟬 at checkout
→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/september-horse-health-sale

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
September doesn't cause PPID, and a horse growing more coat as the days shorten isn't suddenly a Cushing's horse. But - September can make an existing PPID picture much easier to see.

So don't chase one symptom, or one number – always look at the horse, and look for the pattern. And if the pieces are beginning to fit? Well… you know what to do. 😉

Carol & The EquiNatural Team

© EquiNatural 2026
📧 [email protected]
📞 01761 325032

Discover EquiNatural's premium organic supplements and high-spec mineral balancers for horses. Trusted by vets and practitioners for health, vitality, and well-being.

11/09/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁...
- 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙀𝙈𝙎 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚

A question we get asked often at EquiNatural - "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘔𝘚 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘺?"

A perfectly reasonable question. After all, if you've just been told your pony has Equine Metabolic Syndrome, or you're worried because the crest is getting more solid or the weight simply won't shift despite feeding less and less, it's only natural to look for something that might help.

Meanwhile, I was recently listening to a fascinating discussion on the use of GLP-1 medications for obesity in humans, and one particular sentence made a lot of sense to me:

"𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜 - 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩."

And me being me, I immediately found myself rewriting it in my head:

"𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 - 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧."

Because although humans and horses are very different, the biology behind healthy metabolism speaks a similar language when it comes to "movement".

And despite all the good intentions we have when it comes to exercising our EMS pony, biology will only respond to what actually happens. I know this all too well from our MacAttack caretaker days (he wasn't mine) - no-one else was caring for this chap until I stepped in, but being a semi-feral thug (before we fixed his KPU self), albeit just 13.2hh, he had the strength and determination of a rhino and was way too strong for me to risk taking him out for walks where the public - or people's cars - might have been involved! So Mac stayed put - and porky - in his field.

Now, before anyone starts feeling guilty, I also know all about broken resolutions when life gets in the way. We work, there's the school run, then by the time we've seen to Ned, it's dark by the time we get home and we still haven't got to Tescos. The idea of riding for an hour can feel completely impossible - been there a thousand times.

And then there's the know-it-all yardies thinking it's their place to tell you to ride every day, or lunge for at least 45 minutes, or that you need a proper fitness programme.

No wonder we give up before we've even started - because perfection is exhausting. But here's the good news. Biology isn't looking for perfection - all it needs is consistency - and it could be that the smallest changes are the ones that stick. Tiny wins - small, repeatable actions that gradually become normal life.

And when it comes to EMS pony, don't beat yourself up with "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺?" Think more "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴?"

Maybe it’s a wander round the lanes while planning supper in your head. Or a lap of the village after you’ve mucked out. Or letting the kids ride their bikes alongside.

None sound impressive, agreed - but metabolically they're huge. Pony won't know it, but meanwhile muscles are contracting, energy is being used, glucose is being cleared from the bloodstream, insulin resistance is gradually improving, and inflammatory signals begin to change.

Better still, the body starts adapting to movement because that's what healthy bodies do. There are no extra points because the exercise happened in a fancy arena rather than a wellies walk along a quiet country lane. Movement is movement.

Now, before anyone panics, this isn't me saying supplements don't matter - of course they matter. Our MetaTonic was designed specifically to support the metabolic pathways that become challenged in EMS horses and ponies, using targeted phytonutrients to support healthier blood glucose/insulin responses, and inflammatory balance - all incredibly valuable.

But they're only one piece of the picture, because supplements can only 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 physiology - they don't 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 physiology.

A supplement can't create movement - and this is the important bit when I was listening to the lecture. The speaker talked about medications helping people build momentum, but she was absolutely clear about one thing - without behaviour change, nothing truly changes.

Same in our horse world. No supplement has ever put a headcollar on a pony. No herb has ever unclipped a lead rope. No carefully formulated blend has ever persuaded a pony to leave their field and wander happily down the lane - that's still down to us.

So be kind to yourself! Think more "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 *could* 𝘐 𝘥𝘰?" and ignore the guilt (and the yard opinions) over why pony hasn't been ridden hard for an hour. What's the one thing you could realistically manage?

It might be just 15 minutes a day, or maybe it's two evenings a week - brilliant! Two walks a week are infinitely more valuable than the perfect exercise programme that never actually happens.

The goal isn't simply to make pony smaller - it's to help pony become metabolically healthier:

• Become less insulin resistant.
• Move more comfortably.
• Grow healthier hooves.
• Cope better with spring grass.

Which means every time you clip on the lead rope, every walk is a chat with pony's metabolism. You're reminding muscles to work, and encouraging glucose to be used. You're slowly nudging metabolism in the direction you want it to go and telling the body that this is what healthy looks like - simply through consistent repetition.

𝗦𝗼... 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗠𝗦 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?
You didn't think I'd dodge that question did you? 😂 Of course it's still 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰! I genuinely believe it gives owners a valuable tool to support metabolic health naturally.

But - in my humble opinion, you still need a lead rope, because while MetaTonic can support your pony’s metabolism and encourage healthier insulin responses - it can’t take your pony for a walk.

Biology doesn’t need perfection. But it’ll happily respond to 10 or 15 minutes of movement - a lead rope and a stroll down the lane. No saddle required. 😉

Happy Friday!
Carol

08/09/2026

𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀...
~ 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚
𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 - 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘧, 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥

After four months of baked fields, barely-growing grass, and horses picking hopefully at what increasingly resembled Shredded Wheat, the rain has finally arrived.

And certainly here in Somerset, the grass has noticed - which means some horses may have noticed too.

Because although we tend to think of spring as the grass danger-period for our good doers, September can bring its own grass flush from warmer soil regrowth, compared to early spring soil fresh from winter – as well as horses who may already be heading into autumn carrying rather more summer around their waistline than we'd ideally like. 😉

But here's a thing - it's not always about “𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘺 – 𝘗𝘈𝘕𝘐𝘊!” - because two horses can stand in the same field, eat the same grass... and respond very differently.

This is where we need to look beyond the grass, as the grass is only one half of the picture - the other half is the horse's metabolic response to it.

🌿 When your horse eats carbohydrates, glucose enters the bloodstream and insulin helps manage what happens next.

🌿 In a metabolically healthy horse, that system is perfectly regulated - but in a horse with insulin dysregulation/EMS, tissues don't respond to insulin in quite the same way - so the body compensates. Which means...

🌿 More insulin is released, and blood insulin levels remains higher for longer.

Which is why for some horses it's not about simply eating green grass again - it's about the horse's metabolism already telling us they’re not handling it particulary well.

They might be the permanently hungry one, or the wonderful good-doer that survives on fresh air. Or the one with the stubborn crest or fat pads that won't shift, or they’re a little footy. Or... they're the one who's had laminitis before.

Supporting an EMS horse isn't about one magic supplement that somehow makes grass harmless. Grass management, body condition, movement, forage/overall diet, and mineral balance are all still important. But once those foundations are in place, there are different ways we can support the metabolic picture around the individual horse.

This is why our metabolic range 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 four versions of the same product:

🌿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 – our herbal metabolic “balancing” support for the blood glucose/insulin-dysregulated horse.

🌿 𝗔𝗰𝗲𝘁𝘆𝗹 𝗟 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 – targeted support where glucose and fatty-acid metabolism, energy utilisation and metabolic muscle support are part of the picture.

🌿 𝗗𝘂𝗼𝗕𝘂𝘁𝗲 – when the first thing the owner notices isn't the metabolism – it’s the footy hooves.

Or – all three combined, when the picture has become more established:

🌿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗕𝗢 – for the wider leptin/insulin-resistance pattern - the permanently hangry horse, the stubborn crest and/or persistent fat pads.

None of the above will make unrestricted grass safe for an insulin-dysregulated horse – but they can support the horse underneath the metabolic challenge.

Which brings us back to September! Our horses may be telling us they're overjoyed that the grass is greener and their field finally looks alive again, but...

For the EMS horse in September, it's not just about the grass - it's more about the horse who's eating it. 😉

🍂 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲
Our seasonal metabolic support range – including MetaTonic, MetaCOMBO, Acetyl L Carnitine, & DuoBute – is 𝟮𝟬% 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿.
→ Use code 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧𝟮𝟬 at checkout
→ https://www.equinatural.co.uk/september-horse-health-sale

Next week, we’ll be talking about another well-known September shift that becomes more significant in some horses as they get older - ACTH levels are shifting too.

Till then,
Carol & The Team

© EquiNatural 2026
01761 325032
[email protected]

Support your horse through September’s seasonal changes, from coat change and rising ACTH to autumn grass and metabolic health. Save 20% with SHIFT20.

04/09/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁...
– 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙬 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮... 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 😂

I've been firmly in the "straw is for bedding, not feeding" camp for years. And I had my reasons.

I've personally seen overweight little ponies on livery yards, shut away from grass for 23 hours a day because of EMS/lami worries, with singular small haynets repeatedly stuffed with nothing but dusty wheat bedding straw literally scraped up from the barn floor.

That isn't weight management - and nothing I've read this week has persuaded me otherwise. BUT... Science moves on.

And if we're going to say we follow the biology, we also have to be prepared to change our minds when better evidence comes along - because some interesting research has made me (grudgingly) look at straw again.

Not dusty bedding straw, not a haynet containing 100% straw, and certainly not "the pony needs to lose weight, so let's give them virtually nothing nutritious to eat."

I'm talking about clean, hygienic, feed-quality straw deliberately mixed with hay as part of a properly balanced forage ration. And that's a very different conversation.

Recent studies are now saying that it’s okay to replace a little less than half - around 40% - of the grass forage ration with good-quality straw – with some rather interesting results for horses where energy and insulin management matter.

Specifically, the horses took longer to eat it, consumed less energy and showed a lower insulin response – without the increase in gastric ulcers that had many of us worried about.

Another study following native ponies over winter found that those fed a 50:50 barley straw/hay mix lost weight, while the hay-only group gained weight overall.

Now THAT got my attention - because next week we're going to be talking about something particularly relevant in September – the autumn grass flush, insulin and the metabolic horse. And managing an overweight EMS horse can very often leave owners between a rock and a hard place.

We need to reduce excess energy coming in. But the answer can't simply be to leave a trickle-feeding animal standing hungry for hours with an empty stomach and nothing to forage.

So perhaps carefully chosen quality straw has a place after all. Emphasis on “a place” – and not the whole haynet.

And there's the important bit. Straw is still nutritionally very different from hay - it's still lower in protein, still less digestible, and the quality matters enormously. In short - the 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 diet still needs to work.

So no, I haven't suddenly joined the "fill the haynet with bedding straw" appreciation society. But - I have softened my opinion on feeding straw - because good nutrition shouldn't be about defending what we've always believed.

It should be about looking at the evidence, looking at the horse in front of us, and being curious enough to review our thinking when the two tell us something new.

Used intelligently, straw is simply another tool in the box.

More on that metabolic horse next week... 🌿🐴

Carol
© EquiNatural 2026

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀
1. 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2021) – 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 - 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘜𝘭𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘱𝘮𝘤.𝘯𝘤𝘣𝘪.𝘯𝘭𝘮.𝘯𝘪𝘩.𝘨𝘰𝘷/𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴/𝘗𝘔𝘊8388405/?𝘶𝘵𝘮_𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦
2. 𝘋𝘰𝘴𝘪 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2020) – 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘺?, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩.𝘦𝘥.𝘢𝘤.𝘶𝘬/𝘦𝘯/𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴/𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘪𝘯-𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴-𝘪𝘴-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸-𝘢-𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪/?𝘶𝘵𝘮_𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦