We had a discussion with a vet today and she has been reluctant to treat a cat in front of the owner. The noise of the VibraVM can be distrubring during the first use. There is a wonderful book by Dr Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation where she discusses animal restraint. A tight wrap around the cat will calm the animal and allow for a safe treatment. Safety is of the utmost importance when treating a cat.

The vet was also relating the status of two dogs she has been treating with the VibraVM. Both dogs have advanced congestive heart failure and after just two months of treatment for one and one month for the other, both dogs have been taken off their cough medicine. They are still on heart medicine and diruretics, but their comfort level is very high.

The bottom line for the day is we have two very happy dog owners and a very happy vet.

Our customer support policy brings out some of the best testimonials. We have been treating this lady's horse for just three weeks. In that short time the respiration rate has dropped to below 20 and the nasal drainage is now almost non- existent. There is still a slight wheeze that we are working on. She also has a pony with a sinus problem. Early aggressive treatment has almost eliminated all signs of the problem.

Another call was really very exciting. The client has a horse that in July she was contemplating putting the horse down. Today she came in third in a cross country race!! Her call was very emotional for both of us. She is walking on a cloud.

I had another followup call from a dog owner in Hawaii. Her dog has congestive heart failure and his breathing over a month ago was very shallow. After a little more than a month of treatment, all of the lung "crackles" are gone. He is eating again and is getting his personalty back. A VERY happy dog!

I love this job.

This past week was one call after another from clients telling me how their horse's have improved. A typical call related how the respiration rate had dropped dramatically from the start of the treatments. I track the progress of the treatments by asking just a few simple questions. (what is the respiration rate and the heart rate?) Those questions guide us to the next step in our protocol selection.

We had great news for one client that the respiration rate of her horse was 16 breaths per minute--down from 32. But she could still hear a little wheeze. The VibraVM had cleaned out the lungs, but not relaxed the airways. Modifying the protocol a little, we added more "massage" time to the treatments.

Today I received a call that really got my attention. The client's horse started treatments one month ago. The first day the respiration rate was 52 breaths per minute. Today it was 24. Remember a healthy horse's respiration is between 12 and 22.

Our customer support policy is to call the client the first day, then at 7, 14, 21 and 31 days after purchase. We also call at the The followup allows us to "customize" the protocols for each client and make sure the horse is progressing.

A trainer called today about her success in treating a 3 month old foal with severe lung distress. She described the mucus/pus that poured out after several days of treatments. Our advice was to continue the twice a day treatment of the foal for the next 5 days. We also suggested she add the Massage mode for a minute or two after each treatment. She has been working with her vet and we also advised she coordinate her treatment with her vet to monitor the lung condition.

One of our clients reported that during initial treatment (first three days), her little dog had large (copius) amounts (lots) of mucus appear. The dog was very relaxed at the Vet's office for the next round of treatments. The vet techs noted the relaxed attitude of the dog during treatment. One very happy owner and dog.

One of the most complete description of “heaves” diagnosis, management and care is found in this reference document. Even though they didn't mention the VibraVM as a treatment method, it can be used as either an adjunct treatment or a primary treatment. In the article the term “remodeling” is used to describe the changes to the lung structure. The VibraVM can help in reversing “some” of the damage incurred by heaves. Please also read the VibraVM heaves protocol.
Heaves Reference Document:
www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/asc/asc172/asc172.pdf

Another interesting heaves reference that I found that is VERY good is a Power Point presentation. It doesn't include the VibraVM as an option, but covers all of the drug choices that are currently being proscribed. The MANAGEMENT of the environment is also very good.

Heaves Reference Document:

www.equinestudies.umd.edu/Extension/sweeney_heaves2005.pdf

Another link you should take a look at if your horse has been diagnosed with RAO: http://www.critterology.com/recurrent_airway_obstruction_heaves_or_“broken_wind”_in-232.html. It is very concise and give another perspective on the problem.

Large or Small the VibraVM does them all. I stole that line from a TV commercial, but it really fits the VibraVM. The original design was completed a while ago and we continue to discover new capabilities of the device. As we developed the protocols for horses, we were constantly asked about the application to the smaller animals. Goats, dairy calves, foals, all reacted to the VibraVM in the same way—they all relaxed and if they had any respiratory issues they got better.

We were really surprised at the reaction of the cats. We thought they would take off our heads during the treatment. But put a little towel around the cat and you could do just about anything. The Pro Model of the VibraVM goes up to 3000 HZ (very high pitch) and the cats just laid there and took the treatments. A little physics: The smaller the bronchial tubes, the higher the frequency required to get the sound to the lowest level of lung. The Pro Model is the device that we recommend for the smaller animals simply because of the choices in the frequency ranges. I actually covered my dog's ears during a typical treatment. It minimized stress and allowed for a very smooth treatment.

You can see the blue membrane cover in the cat picture. When you push the membrane tight against the face, it seems to relax the cat. The little high strung dog in the upper picture did not like the membrane so much, but did tolerate the treatment.

The VibraVM is just a new way to provide a very old treatment. For the past fifty years, the only method of airway clearance was simply to pound on the back of a patient. Not many small animals would stand for the “abuse” that would be required to break up any congestion. Try pounding on a 1,200 lb horse to break up congestion! Now the VibraVM can do this internally and much more gently, with the application of sound waves.

The VibraVM is the first battery operated device that can address airway blockage and congestion without drugs for both large and small animals. The operation is very simple, put in or on the nose—and turn it on. The vibrations and subsequent frequency match causes a unique separation of the mucus from the bronchial tubes. Once the mucus is broken up and is free, out it will come. We have a Massage Mode that acts like a bronchodilator. The massage mode creates a high frequency oscillation that relaxes the airways and addresses the restricted airways of asthma and COPD patients.

Pneumonia, sinusitis, COPD, asthma and many other lung conditions respond well to the VibraVM.

CUTTING AND THE VIBRAVM

The VibraVM is an airway clearance device for both large and small animals. This short article is about one of the many uses “besides” airway clearance. There is a setting on the VibraVM called “Massage”. This setting causes the airways to “open up” to the maximum extent possible.

The regular VibraVM treatment “calms” the horse to such a degree that it can actually slow the horse's reaction time in competition. The massage mode opens the airways without the calming effect.

Competitors using the device have reported requiring less time to get their horse ready for the ring. The horse is not as fresh and appears to be more focused on the tasks at hand. Looping time is also reduced.

The current protocol is to give the horse a full treatment the night before the event so it can relax and sleep. The morning of the event only requires a 2 minute Massage to get the max performance. If the event lasts

several days you have only to treat with the massage mode for the remainder of the competition.

Once you get the horse back home, a full treatment will help minimize shipping fever. The calming effect has also helped farriers, without using drugs.