Nacho - started with stiff hocks but ended up with a weak back and arthritis

John Dowdy:    

Hello, and welcome to another Equinety podcast. This is your host, John Dowdy, and I'm really excited to share with everyone this amazing Equinety story. This is from Gracie Hayes out of Kentucky, and she's got an eight-year-old off the track Thoroughbred by the name of Nacho. And some of you may have seen these ads running across the internet for quite some time, because this story is really amazing. And without further ado, Gracie, welcome to the show.

Gracie:            

Thank you for having me.

Nacho: Off the Track Thoroughbred

John Dowdy:    

Well, it's our pleasure. And these videos that you sent me have really caused a lot of banter and communications, and all kinds of excitement from people, because ... well, when you first sent them to me, I was pretty amazed by it. And just the things that your horse was going through, and ... Well, let's just tell that story. So Nacho is an eight-year-old off the track Thoroughbred. Well, he was trained to be Hunter/Jumper, and that's when you got him. Is that pretty much right on board?

Gracie:            

Yeah. Well, he knew how to ride, walk, short canter, and I had done a lot of the Hunter/Jumper stuff with him whenever I got him.

John Dowdy:    

Okay. And then, you kind of continued that on? Or what did you do with him at that point?

Gracie:            

Yes. When I got him, I had started riding him more and more, and then I started doing more Hunter/Jumper and a little bit of traveling cross country, and some trails. He wasn't any kind of three-foot, four-foot jumper, but he knew his job.

John Dowdy:    

And you told me earlier that he was a bit of a firecracker when you first got him.

Gracie:            

Yes. He was definitely a bit like a dragon when you were riding him.

John Dowdy:    

Okay. So you were kind of enjoying Nacho in the beginning stages, a bit of a firecracker, and everything's going along in your training schedule. And then one day, he just kind of comes up a little lame? Tell us about that.

Gracie:            

Yes. I had noticed he had started getting a little bit stiff and uncomfortable under saddle. And I had noticed that it had kind of gotten a little worse, so I kind of stopped riding him, doing some ground work with him. And then it was like in a week, he just came up lame. Like that video, he came out of the stall and he was just dead lame. And of course, I had contacted a vet, and the vet had suggested that if there was any way I could avoid injections or anything, that I should try that first. So that's whenever I had gotten ahold of Equinety.

John Dowdy:    

Yeah. Now for those that are tuning in for the first time, we are going to post these videos at our website, which is teamequinety.com, and then you'll click on the "Podcast" link at the top of the menu button there, and then you can find the specific podcast about Nacho. And then below the podcast, we'll have everything transcribed, along with some videos of Nacho, at teamequinety.com. (Photos and Videos will be reuploaded soon, apologies for the inconvenience)

John Dowdy:    

So when you had the vet come out, what was the vet saying about Nacho, other than what you had just mentioned about maybe not giving injections. But what did he think that the problem was?

Gracie:            

He had pinpointed that his hocks were bothering him. They were stiff, maybe a little bit of arthritis. You know, when you get an off the track Thoroughbred, they've been so much anyways, to training as young horses, that they could have problems with their muscling or joints. And he had pinpointed his hock was stiff. He didn't really want to inject his joint just right off the bat, because he said once you inject, you could possibly be injecting for life. So he said, if there was any way that I could find another way to possibly make him sound, a supplement or anything, that that should be the first route.

Gracie:            

So I had found out that, since his hocks were so stiff, that he was overcompensating for them, causing his back to be super, super sore. He was so sensitive through his back, and you could barely even touch him. You couldn't even think about riding him, for sure.

John Dowdy:    

Right. And in one of the videos that we'll have posted, below the podcast at teamequinety.com, you're actually illustrating ... and you're not putting very much pressure at all on his back.

Gracie:            

No. I was not. My fingertips were barely touching him, and he was just quivering at the pain, like, "Please stop."

John Dowdy:    

Right. Right. So at your vet's recommendation, you went on a search to try to find some kind of product that would help, and you came across Equinety. Tell us what happened at that point.

Turning to Equinety before Injections

Gracie:            

Yes. I had came across Equinety on Facebook, actually. I'd seen other peoples' stories, and people were having mysterious lameness issues with their horse, and I thought, "Maybe I should give this a try." I actually called my mom. I was like, "Mom, look at this. We should try this for the horses." And she's like, "Yeah. Maybe you should order that." And I had tried it and put him on it, and I had seen a difference in just 15 days with him on it.

John Dowdy:    

Wow. And that's another video that we have. So the first video, where he can barely walk out of the barn, and then you're also showing where you were just barely rubbing your fingertips across his back. And then in the next video, which was around 15 days or so, he's trotting right out of the barn like, "I'm ready to go."

Gracie:            

Yes, he was. He was feeling so much better. I mean, you can tell. It's obvious in the videos, of how good he was feeling. And you know, when he was trotting out of the barn into the yoke, he's not 100% sound. But compared from that day to the 15th day, it was a huge improvement. And then over, using Equinety for 30 to 60 days, he was completely sound, and overall, better than he'd ever been.

John Dowdy:    

Yeah. That is amazing. And I do believe there were some other videos of him rolling around out in the field, and things like that. So we'll have all of that stuff posted. That's so amazing to see. (Photos and Videos will be reuploaded soon, apologies for the inconvenience)

John Dowdy:    

So now, when we skip forward, you had actually sold Nacho, and the new owners, from your understanding, did not keep him on the Equinety. And tell us about that.

Gracie:            

Yes. I had sold him, and the new owners that had took him, didn't really care for him properly. But when I did bring him back, I noticed that he was overall a sound horse. He was a little stiff through his hocks, but not bad at all. And for him to have been off of Equinety for that long ... I mean, Equinety had definitely healed him, I guess, or had just really helped him so much, that he was sound when I brought him back.

John Dowdy:    

Mm-hmm (affirmative). And so, you had sold him, and he was gone for around five, six months, thereabout?

Gracie:            

Yes.

John Dowdy:    

Right. So, since you brought him back, since day one, which was about four months ago?

Gracie:            

I brought him back at the end of January of this year, so I've had him ... And I had put him on Equinety the day that I had brought him back, and I've had him until now, in April. And he has done so well. He's sound, and he looks so good. He's come a long way since the first time I put him Equinety.

John Dowdy:    

That is so great. Now, one of the other things that you noticed, with, obviously being an off-track Thoroughbred, not much of a topline, or the muscling, and so what have you noticed through keeping him on the Equinety since you've had him back, over these three months or so?

Gracie:            

Well, I have noticed that his coat is 100% shinier and healthier. You can just look at him and tell he's a healthy horse. And his topline, it's just overall balanced. His topline has good muscling, and really good fat on it, and he just works really, really well. He works really well, and he moves really, really well. He collects up very well, and all that is due to Equinety. I mean, he wouldn't even be able to have been ridden if it wasn't for Equinety.

John Dowdy:    

That's fantastic. So, now going back to when you first got him, when he was a bit of a firecracker, so-

Gracie:            

Yes, he was.

John Dowdy:    

... Okay, so now, skipping ahead, and especially now since you've had him back and had him on Equinety ... So what is his demeanor, his attitude, and everything now, as you're bringing him back into training? And tell us about that.

Gracie:            

Now he's coming back, and now he's muscled up and fat enough to go back into full work. His mind and his demeanor is just really, really good, and overall, better than, especially it was when I first got him, back a year, two years ago. Whenever it was I first bought him. I mean, he works so well, and listens. He's not constantly trying to run off, or run out flank of me, or kick out, or do something that Thoroughbreds typically like to do. He listens, and he's calm. He doesn't try to be crazy and whatnot.

John Dowdy:    

Yeah. And you know, we hear that a lot. And that's one of the things that we know Equinety does help with, as far as horses that might be a little stressed, anxiety, or a bit spooky. It really does help them calm down, and it very well could be because they are having some chronic pain issues going on, and that's why they have the anxiety. And the focus is a really, really big thing that the Equinety helps with, as well. So this pretty much falls right in line with the things that we hear over and over and over. And one of the reasons why I was excited to have you on the Equinety podcast here, is to share this story.

John Dowdy:    

Because as we're running the ads on the Internet, people say all kinds of things, and I know people have been around the block, and they've seen and heard all sorts of crazy things. And when you see these videos, and then you're giving Equinety the credit for helping with this issue, people are like, "Come on. There's no way." You know? "Obviously, you've done something, you've buted him, or injected him, or something." And I understand, a lot of people have heard and seen a lot of crazy things, and so that might be their first reaction. But for those who are seeing this video, or hearing this podcast for the first time, what would you have to tell them, outside of everything else we've talked about, if they're sitting on the fence trying Equinety. What would you tell them?

Gracie:            

Well, I can honestly say that, especially with my horse, I did not give anything other than Equinety, as far as like bute, or injections. This whole story is basically just Equinety. And it has done a lot. And I would definitely tell them to just try it. It doesn't hurt to buy a sample tub, or a big tub of Equinety, and just give it a try. You'd be amazed at what it would do for your horse, and the way your horse looks, and the way your horse feels. It's definitely worth the money, for sure.

John Dowdy:    

I couldn't agree more. That's awesome. Well, Gracie, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to share your Equinety story, and I'm excited to get this out there so everybody else could hear it. So thanks again.

Gracie:            

Thank you.

John Dowdy:    

You bet.