Steffen Peters & “The Rave Horse:” Conquering Florida’s Humidity with Zarasyl

When Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, aka Mopsie, aren’t dancing at the Olympics, “the rave horse” returns to the United States and to regular competition. After the exciting Tokyo Olympic Games, Steffen and Mopsie still face one big obstacle: the humid competition environment in Florida. 

According to Steffen Peters,"I would say the most common challenge that we face is when we travel to and from Florida. Our horses are not used to the humidity.”While it’s nothing compared to flying across the world, traveling to Florida brings the horse in contact with novel bacteria and fungi. Florida’s humid environment creates the perfect conditions for these organisms to thrive. 

Unfortunately, horses are the perfect host for these thriving Floridian fungal spores and bacteria. The prevalence of warm, moist air allows these organisms to multiply, creating a variety of equine skin issues. Fungal conditions like rain rot occur easily in the heat and spread quickly from horse to horse. Pastern dermatitis, also known as scratches, is a bacterial infection that’s more common in Florida due to the excess humidity that gets trapped in the horse’s hair coat. All of these dermatologic issues can cause lameness and prevent a horse from competing. 

That’s where Zarasyl comes in. Steffen uses this barrier cream as a preventative on his horses’ legs. “We always carry Zarasyl with us to Florida to use as skin care irritation prevention. It works wonders and our horses come home with zero irritation!” Zarasyl is used by Steffen’s grooms on a near daily basis in order to manage the growth of any fungus and bacteria that cause so many equine skin issues. Anything from a minor abrasion to dew poisoning receives a quick coat of Zarasyl. “Our grooms use Zarasyl a lot on the daily with prevention and also wound care. We love this product and have seen really amazing results. It is challenging to find a product that does it all.” 

Peters reports that Mopsie, dubbed “the rave horse” by the internet, feels better than ever. “Mopsie has been so incredible this season and he feels more competition-ready than ever before!" Zarasyl is proud to have a hand in the incredible care that Mopsie receives from Steffen’s grooms and stable management team. According to Steffen, “Our grooms love Zarasyl and it has been a staple in our day-to-day life here with our horses."  

Congratulations on achieving a silver medal, Steffen and Mopsie! The wholeZarasylteam was dancing with you from around the world. 

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New to market equine barrier cream, Zarasyl, utilizes over a decade of cutting-edge research on a proprietary amorphous silica, which provides sustained delivery of orthosilicic acid. Orthosilicic acid is the bioavailable form of silicon associated with healthy connective tissue growth. All ingredients are odorless, non-volatile, water miscible, chemically stable, non-irritating and non-toxic. Steroid and antibiotic-free, Zarasyl is competition safe and contains no prohibited substances.