Flair Nasal Strips
SKU:
$10.50
$10.50 - $49.95
Breathing easier helps maintain respiratory health and optimum performance
The benefits of breathing easier are important for horses competing at all levels of fitness and skill. Many riders report that horses wearing FLAIR® Strips are more relaxed and focused.
FLAIR Strips are scientifically proven to make breathing easier:
When using a FLAIR Strip horses do not breathe in more air. Rather, they take in the same amount of air but with less work. Think about the difference you feel breathing through a “stuffy” nose, as opposed to when your nose is clear. It definitely feels like more work to breathe through the narrowed nasal passages of a stuffy nose. Now, let’s look at why it feels that way and how it impacts health and performance of a horse.
Let’s start with the nose…
You may recall horses are “obligate nasal breathers”- meaning that during intensive exercise horses can only breathe through their nose, not their mouth. All the oxygen they need for exercise can only come through the nasal passages; a significant portion of which is unsupported by bone or cartilage. This unsupported portion of the nasal passage collapses inward for all horses when breathing in during exercise — reducing the size of the airway and greatly increasing resistance to airflow. This is significant because during exercise over 50% of resistance to air flow to the lungs comes from the nasal passages. Some studies suggest this percentage can be as high as 80%. In addition, pathological upper airway conditions (roaring, gurgling, nasal flutter, alar fold collapse) and functional obstructions (significant poll flexion) create additional increases in the work of breathing. This makes it more difficult to move air into the lungs.
FLAIR Strips work by providing a spring-like force that gently supports the nasal passages and reduces soft tissue collapse that causes narrowing of the airways during exercise. The Strips support the nasal passages including the nasal valve, which is the narrowest part of the nasal passages.
FLAIR Strips and the Breathing and Stride Locomotory Coupling:
FLAIR Strips can impact stride efficiency due in part to the horse’s unique synchronization or “coupling” of stride and breathing at a gallop. At a walk and trot a horse’s respiratory rate is unrelated to its stride rate. However, at the canter and gallop, breathing and stride are linked. That is, horses take a single breath with each stride. As the illustration below shows, inhalation (red arrows pointing to air moving into the nose) occurs when the front legs are non-weight bearing and exhalation occurs when the front limbs are weight bearing (blue arrows pointing to air exiting the nose).
In a way, you can think of a galloping horse as a large bellows. As the front legs are in the non-weight bearing (or “flight”) phase (1-5) air is being pulled into the lungs like air moving into a bellows.
Once the lead front leg contacts the ground, the front legs are in the weightbearing phase (6-10) and air is pushed out of the lungs. At speeds beyond a hand gallop, a horse increases its speed by increasing stride length, not by moving its legs faster. When a horse lengthens its stride to increase speed, it also takes deeper, longer breaths providing the lungs with more air. A horse struggling to move air in and out of the lungs may fatigue quicker or shorten its stride to compensate for the increased work of breathing in. By reducing resistance through the nasal passages, FLAIR Strips help make stride adjustability or lengthening easier.
FLAIR Strips and Lung Health Benefits:
FLAIR Strips provide proven health benefits to the lungs. One way FLAIR Strips help improve health is by reducing lung stress and reducing exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH or “bleeding”). For more information on EIPH and how FLAIR Strips help, click the EIPH button on the Learn page.
FLAIR Strips and Optimum Performance:
By reducing upper airway resistance allowing horses to breathe easier FLAIR Strips benefit respiratory health and help your horse performance his best.
The benefits of breathing easier are important for horses competing at all levels of fitness and skill. Many riders report that horses wearing FLAIR® Strips are more relaxed and focused.
FLAIR Strips are scientifically proven to make breathing easier:
When using a FLAIR Strip horses do not breathe in more air. Rather, they take in the same amount of air but with less work. Think about the difference you feel breathing through a “stuffy” nose, as opposed to when your nose is clear. It definitely feels like more work to breathe through the narrowed nasal passages of a stuffy nose. Now, let’s look at why it feels that way and how it impacts health and performance of a horse.
Let’s start with the nose…
You may recall horses are “obligate nasal breathers”- meaning that during intensive exercise horses can only breathe through their nose, not their mouth. All the oxygen they need for exercise can only come through the nasal passages; a significant portion of which is unsupported by bone or cartilage. This unsupported portion of the nasal passage collapses inward for all horses when breathing in during exercise — reducing the size of the airway and greatly increasing resistance to airflow. This is significant because during exercise over 50% of resistance to air flow to the lungs comes from the nasal passages. Some studies suggest this percentage can be as high as 80%. In addition, pathological upper airway conditions (roaring, gurgling, nasal flutter, alar fold collapse) and functional obstructions (significant poll flexion) create additional increases in the work of breathing. This makes it more difficult to move air into the lungs.
FLAIR Strips work by providing a spring-like force that gently supports the nasal passages and reduces soft tissue collapse that causes narrowing of the airways during exercise. The Strips support the nasal passages including the nasal valve, which is the narrowest part of the nasal passages.
FLAIR Strips and the Breathing and Stride Locomotory Coupling:
FLAIR Strips can impact stride efficiency due in part to the horse’s unique synchronization or “coupling” of stride and breathing at a gallop. At a walk and trot a horse’s respiratory rate is unrelated to its stride rate. However, at the canter and gallop, breathing and stride are linked. That is, horses take a single breath with each stride. As the illustration below shows, inhalation (red arrows pointing to air moving into the nose) occurs when the front legs are non-weight bearing and exhalation occurs when the front limbs are weight bearing (blue arrows pointing to air exiting the nose).
In a way, you can think of a galloping horse as a large bellows. As the front legs are in the non-weight bearing (or “flight”) phase (1-5) air is being pulled into the lungs like air moving into a bellows.
Once the lead front leg contacts the ground, the front legs are in the weightbearing phase (6-10) and air is pushed out of the lungs. At speeds beyond a hand gallop, a horse increases its speed by increasing stride length, not by moving its legs faster. When a horse lengthens its stride to increase speed, it also takes deeper, longer breaths providing the lungs with more air. A horse struggling to move air in and out of the lungs may fatigue quicker or shorten its stride to compensate for the increased work of breathing in. By reducing resistance through the nasal passages, FLAIR Strips help make stride adjustability or lengthening easier.
FLAIR Strips and Lung Health Benefits:
FLAIR Strips provide proven health benefits to the lungs. One way FLAIR Strips help improve health is by reducing lung stress and reducing exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH or “bleeding”). For more information on EIPH and how FLAIR Strips help, click the EIPH button on the Learn page.
FLAIR Strips and Optimum Performance:
By reducing upper airway resistance allowing horses to breathe easier FLAIR Strips benefit respiratory health and help your horse performance his best.