Positude Podcast with the Equine Elixirs Team

Ever wonder what inspired Equine Elixirs Founder, Liz Ehrlich, to develop Positude? Or, why you often see a bow tie and pearls on the bottles?

Transcript

HOST: Before we get started on our podcast, a little testimonial from McLain Ward.
[We've been using Equine Elixirs’ Positude on several of the mares within our stable. One of the major changes we've noticed is the overall state of calm well-being. The horses seem to feel healthy and happy, and that benefits them not only in their daily routine but in their performance as well. – McLain Ward]

HOST: Here we are with Liz and Kim from Equine Elixirs, and we're going to talk about one of their products today. One of the exciting things about all the products Liz and Kim put out is that there's a reason for the product. Positude—okay, it's about positivity. It's about your horse going into the ring, focused and positive about it.
Liz, what was the genesis for the need for this product?

LIZ: The genesis of the need for the product was that my horse, as well as many, many other horses, used to be on a product called Depo. Depo was really effective when it came to helping keep your horse hormonally balanced, even-keeled, very willing to do its job—happy-go-lucky in the ring, not spooky. But one of the negatives of Depo was that you had to give it via injection. I did not like having to give my horse Depo once a week. I hated having to stick her with a needle. So, I wanted to come up with an alternative.
Coincidentally, about a year after we developed Positude, there was a large review of the safety of the product Depo, and it was ultimately banned. You could no longer use Depo in horse show competitions. So about a year to a year and a half after we created Positude, it really got a tremendous boost because people like me who had been using Depo were no longer able to. Positude was initially designed as a Depo replacement, and people have found that their horses do so well on it. They do as well as they did when they were on Depo. The benefit being, it doesn't require any injections. It's a liquid that goes in their feed twice a day. They stay more hormonally balanced than they did with any progesterone therapy because you don't have peaks and troughs. You just have morning and evening feeding. So, throughout a week and throughout a month, they're much more balanced, and it's a much more effective product.

HOST: So, Kim, you're marketing this. How do you approach marketing something that sounds like it's pie in the sky, you know? And by the way, do humans ever say, "I'm going to try this out?"

KIM: Well, to answer that question first, one of our most frequently asked questions is, "Do you make Positude for riders?" And it's almost always a trainer asking us that question. The answer is, no, we do not make Positude for riders.

HOST: And by the way, you do not recommend people actually eating this, right?

KIM: No. It's formulated for horses.

HOST: Okay, but how do you market that? How do you take something that's so ethereal and say, look, we can show you that this works?

KIM: From a marketing standpoint, when Liz told me about formulating Positude, I began thinking about how to develop a personality for the product and what it should look like, and what you should feel when you started learning about what Positude would do for your horse. So, to me, it was getting that best hoof forward, being at your best, putting a little effort in above and beyond. And I started to envision the bottles having formal wear on them—like a tuxedo and a dress. And then we actually started trying to shoot things and get down to reality, which ultimately turned out to be a bow tie and pearls on the bottles. And so, I imagine that if you know nothing about the product and you come across it, you would instantly know what it does. Even without reading any words, you would know that this was all about being your best, feeling your best.

HOST: Great answer. So, Liz, what's in the product and why? Just a couple of the ingredients, not all of them.

LIZ: There are only three active ingredients. And actually, I'm glad you asked because I wanted to touch on something Kim said. The ingredients are all human-grade ingredients. And a lot of the science behind why these ingredients work comes from the effectiveness that these products have in helping balance the hormones of humans. So, the three ingredients are Chasteberry, Dong Quai Root, and Raspberry Leaf.

HOST: Wait, wait—those aren't exactly household names. Really? I mean, how is that possible? If they're used on people, how are they not household names?

LIZ: I would contest that statement. I think Chasteberry is actually a household name. Some people would even be familiar with Dong Quai. Now, Raspberry Leaf, I'll give you—most people probably wouldn’t assume Raspberry Leaf. That’s something horse people seem to know more about. But there is a lot of literature, especially in Chinese medicine, about the effects of Chasteberry and Dong Quai on people. So that's where a lot of this body of knowledge comes from.

HOST: How did you decide how much of each ingredient goes in?

LIZ: That was based on not only comparing body weight and metabolism rates of these ingredients in people but also doing as much research as we could on horses, along with trial and error. You start with one ingredient in a certain volume and give it to the horse morning and night. Then, based on the reaction after a certain amount of time, you determine how that might need to be adjusted.

HOST: Well, it’s an amazing product, and thanks for walking us through a little bit of what it does and how you're putting it together. Now, we’re going to play some feedback from horse people who have purchased the product. Here’s what they had to say:
"I first started using Positude about a year ago because I had two horses that I was having a little bit of difficulty with. I have a stallion, and during Wellington, I think he gets a bit bored and then finds some things to argue with me about when we stay at the same venue for a long period of time. So, I decided to start using the Positude to see if it would help change his attitude and demeanor a little bit. It made a huge difference. He’s stayed much more level and happy. It’s taken a little bit of that edge off him that was becoming a bit of a problem in the ring. His half-brother has a very similar personality—they can both be a bit difficult to manage and start to get a bit opinionated. Positude has really helped take that edge off."

HOST: Thanks for listening! If you have any questions, get in touch.