Frequently Asked Questions

A. Karbo Combo is already fortified with vitamins, so any extra vitamins you would give would not be necessary. More importantly however, because of the Encapsulated Enzymes in the formula, the food your horse is eating should be better digested and so more of the natural vitamins are taken up by the animal, and less passes through. Many of our customers find that there livestock will gain weight, with less food, because food is better utilized by the animal

 A: Karbo Combo complements the effectiveness of Marquis in the treatment of EPM and when the horse is kept on a maintenance dose of Karbo Combo, EPM will no longer be able to establish itself in the animal. Follow a two month regimen with the Karbo Combo to restore the horse to a healthy condition. Feed 2oz. both morning and evening for two weeks followed by 1oz. both morning and evening for the next month. Continue to feed the Karbo Combo on a maintenance dose at a level of 1oz. per day to eliminate the possibility of this condition ever recurring. All of the additional benefits of this product are a plus to your horse’s health. Add an answer to this item.

 A: The reason for twice daily feeding is to keep the blood unit consistent.  If you must, you can feed the daily suggested amount once a day and it will have the same effect.

 A: Karbo Combo has adequate vitamins for a maintenance level. Performance horses or horses under training stress will benefit from additional vitamins in their rations. 

 A: Karbo Combo and Karbo Pellets that are not fully utilized during the digestive process and pass through the horse will not infect another horse exposed to its manure. The benefits of the antibacterial, antiviral and antiprotozoal properties of these supplements effectively control the transmissions of disease and parasites. 

 A: Depending on the horse’s general condition and level of immune response, Karbo Combo will show decided improvements in 30 days depending on the severity of the conditions listed above. The exception to this is in the case of EPM.  We recommend keeping your horse on the suggested feeding schedule for a full 60 days before switching to a maintenance level.  

 A: The Karbo Combo and Karbo Pellet formulation contain 6-8% of organic calcium. 

 A: Karbo Combo, Karbo Pellets, and Karbo Essentials all have high levels of perna which is extremely beneficial in joint functions and healing. 

 A: Anecdotal evidence has shown over and over that bleeders for whatever the reason are helped in the elimination of this condition when put on a maintenance dose of Karbo Combo or Karbo Pellets. 

A: At times, horses that are put on the Karbo Combo have an unbalanced digestive tract bacteria flora. The intestinal tract contains over 800 strains of bifido bacteria (good gut bacteria). In eliminating the bad bacteria that are present in many horses and allowing the good bacteria to proliferate with the aid of probiotics, diarrhea of a short duration will take place in many cases.

 A: This is a common occurrence in many horses because they love the product and feel extremely good when their nutritional needs are being satisfied 100%. Discontinuing or removing the product upsets their entire digestive and immune systems. Realizing that 80% of the horses immune system stimulation takes place in the gut (Peyer’s patches), removing this stimulation by taking away the vulnerable components provided in the Karbo Combo formula upsets the natural stimulation of the immune system.  

 A: The Karbo Combo and Karbo Pellets have a great number of probiotics in each gram of material. In my opinion, the addition of any probiotics at this time is not necessary as long as the horse is on a maintenance dose. 

 The Karbo Essentials in a newer product and was designed as a more powerful and more effective version of the Karbo Flour. Many people look at the two products and wonder if the Karbo Essentials is worth the extra money. We believe that it is and we recommend it to all of our customers for canines. Here's why: Karbo Essentials is a combination of two other products developed by Dr. Smith.(Karbo Flour and Epic II CL) Therefore the Karbo Essentials has many ingredients that the original Karbo Flour does not. These added ingredients stimulates the immune system more effectively then the original Karbo Flour . The Karbo Essentials also has the effect of tying up various toxins and dilating blood vessels to help the defense mechanisms of the animal to do a better job in fighting diseases caused by pathogenic viruses, bacteria and toxins. This point of dilating blood vessels is very important and (in my opinion) is the biggest advantage in the Karbo Essentials Formula. A virus is a sub-microscopic particle and therefore it is very easy for virus to hide in the animals body. Because of the effect Karbo Essentials has on blood flow, it is more effective at getting those hard to reach viruses, attaching to them and rafting them out of the animals body. Also, as you compare the two products it is important to look at the "per day" cost. Keeping a 10# dog on the Karbo Essentials breaks down to about 10 cents per day since you only give about 1/3 of a teaspoon a day. All things considered, we think that the Karbo Essentials is a very good value. 

Start the puppies on the Karbo Essentials as soon as they are able to eat solid food. Ideally, you would already have the mother on Karbo Essentials and so the puppies would be protected through the mother's milk. If you have a new litter of puppies and the mother is not on the Karbo Essentials, start the mother on the Karbo Essentials right away.

Some dogs need to slowly build up to the levels listed. When an animal has a lot of bacteria and toxins in the lower gut, diarrhea can occur as the Karbo cleans out the system. The solution is to build them up slowly. Drop to 1/4 the recommended amount and slowly increase the amount you give them over 4 weeks. For example an active 50lb dog would use 4 scoops per day. Lower the level to 1 scoop per day for a week. Then increase to 2 scoops per day for a week, then 3 scoops per day for a week until on the fourth week you are up to the recommended 4 scoops per day. NOTE: Make sure you use the included white scoop and make sure you use flat scoops, not heaping scoops.

 Though it may surprise you to hear it, yes, you should keep your canine on the Karbo Essentials through out their life for best results. The reason is that when they are taking it, they will have a level of protection against viral and bacterial attacks. The Karbo Formula is in their blood stream ready to attach to any virus or bacteria that your dog may come into contact with. This is very important, because sometimes, you just don't have time to react. For example, in and article  about a Parvo outbreak in in Ohio it says "Some animals died within hours of contracting the highly contagious disease. Others were euthanized based on their poor condition or the risk of their spreading the disease to other animals..." When these things hit, you have to be ready. Parvo is a very fast moving virus. The idea behind the Karbo Essentials is PREVENTION of the problem, not reaction to a problem. 

The following is an article written by Dr. Russell Smith, developer of the Karbo Formula.:

"The Calcium Question: Too Much or Too Little?

Calcium is an important, essential component of the skeleton, including the fetus. It functions in muscle contraction, blood clotting, enzyme activity, the nervous system and hormone release. Its uptake and homeostasis in the blood stream is governed by the parathyroid gland.

In certain animals, it is possible that too much calcium can allow the parathyroid gland to become inactive and not encourage adequate uptake of calcium from the gut. This activity can manifest itself by lowered blood calcium levels at the time of parturition, producing eclampsia (puerperal hypocalcemia) in the bitch. The treatment is to raise the blood calcium levels by IV injection and to increase dietary calcium intake.

The feeding of higher levels of calcium during pregnancy can promote eclampsia if the parathyroid gland is not functioning properly. However, with slightly higher amounts of calcium available, the good metabolic results are realized and available calcium to the mother and puppies is present. The organic calcium (shell flour) found in Karbo Essentials has to this point in time been very beneficial in preventing on onset of eclampsia either pre or postpartum. As noted in Merck’s Veterinary Manual (p. 809), eclampsia (puerperal hypocalcemia), is “usually seen at peak lactation, 2-3 wks after whelping”. It also states that “hypocalcemia most likely results from the loss of calcium into the milk and from inadequate dietary calcium intake.” Therefore, the benefit of slightly elevated levels of calcium in the bitch during parturition far outweighs the risks and effects associated with a calcium deficiency postpartum.

By using Karbo Combo, a host of good metabolic reactions including the binding of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and toxins are taking place and the vital mineral needs are satisfied. Any surplus calcium is simply rafted out the body in the feces. In addition, with the ionophores present in the formula, most pathogens are also rafted out of the body. In most litters, the puppies are free of round worms, hookworms, giardia and coccidia upon fecal examinations.

Dr. Russell C. Smith