Kristen Wright - Trailer Accident - Superior Hoof Recovery with Equinety
John Dowdy:
Hello and welcome to another Equinety Podcast. I am excited this week because we've got Kristen Wright out of Commerce, Georgia on this week's podcast and she has gone through something that everybody hopes they never have to go through. And that's a trailering accident with severe injury to her horse. And without further ado, Kristen, welcome to the Equinety Podcast.
Kristen Wright:
Thank you, guys. It's very nice talking to you guys and joining you on this beautiful day.
John Dowdy:
Yes. Well, and I tell you the story that you have is something that everyone hopes they never have to go through. And unfortunately, you have gone through a pretty bad thing, but things are definitely looking positive. So let's go back to, Reno, is your horse's name?
Kristen Wright:
Yes.
John Dowdy:
And so tell us about Reno, how long you've had him? I understand he's a 1300-pound buckskin, so no small animal here. But tell us how you acquired him and everything about him.
Reno 6 Year Old Barrel Horse In A Horrid Accident
Kristen Wright:
I acquired Reno as a three-year-old and he had a pretty bad attitude. He was pretty pushy. He was just the resale project that I had planned on putting some time on in getting his bucking issues under control and sending him down the road. But he won my heart over and we ended up being a team. So come September 4th, I've owned him three years now and he has ended up being my best friend and my best hauling and partner and my only hauling partner for the past three years. So he's a cool guy.
John Dowdy:
Now, I understand also, he's a barrel horse.
Kristen Wright:
He is a barrel horse.
John Dowdy:
Tell us how he has done since you've a transformed him from this project into running patterns.
Kristen Wright:
Honestly, he's blown away every expectation. He's helped me reach every goal that I've set. We've competed with some of the best of the best and we stayed at the top. We placed in our first rodeo, we got second at our second rodeo ever this year. We usually, run 1D/2D about everywhere we go. And this whole situation is a little heartbreaking because we're sidelined for a little while, but we're hoping for a comeback for sure.
John Dowdy:
Sure. And you had hoped just to win one race this year, but you actually won two with him?
Kristen Wright:
Yes. My goal was to win a barrel race this year and we've ended up winning two this year. One of those we were actually the only person in the 1D and that was an absolutely thrill. It wasn't the biggest show, but a lot of times that's not what matters sometimes.
John Dowdy:
Right. Yeah. Getting the experience with him out there and yep. So then around, let's see, when was it? August 31st of this year, you are headed to an event and tell us what happened there?
Kristen Wright:
We were heading to a Tennessee to a barrel race, me and my mother and we were probably about an hour from our destination and the unthinkable happens and somebody in front of me... I was only traveling about 45 miles an hour and they gave no warning that they were stopping. So it was either go into oncoming traffic or go off an embankment, hit the truck or try and stop. And I tried to stop. And I didn't hit the truck. I did get stopped. But the way I had to stop ended up by sending him through my tack room wall, which is a metal wall that separates the tack room from the horse area.
John Dowdy:
So once everything got settled down, as you made your way back to go check on him, what did that look like? Visualize. We're all listening here, but just trying to picture this as you?
Kristen Wright:
It was kind of a blood scene. It was something scary because I didn't realize where it was coming from or what really was going on up until I got in the trailer. And I realized that his hoof had went through the welds on the metal wall and so he was hung by his hoof. So the sheets metal, which is what the wall is made of was actually cutting off the right side of his right front foot with every movement he made or I made. It was cutting deeper and deeper.
Kristen Wright:
Luckily, I had my mother with me and she had gotten on the inside of the tack room and I stayed in the horse area. Because I knew I could keep him calmer and we had to seesaw his foot back to the widest point where it originally went through just to get his foot out. And at that point, there was a few people that had stopped to help and that we are very thankful for them also.
Kristen Wright:
But we ended up about the time we got him free. Like I said, my mom was helping and I went to pull Reno's foot out, but Reno took a step and he ended up stepping on my mom's hand. So her hand was also broke in the whole situation. And once we got him free, I realized the extent the blood was just pouring everywhere. It was spraying, pouring. It was a site that I truly don't ever wish on anybody or do I want to see again.
John Dowdy:
No way. So at this point, were you able to have somebody come out then or did you just have to wrap things up and try to get back home to a vet or what did you do at this point?
Kristen Wright:
At that point, I laid on the ground for what felt like hours and hours, but it was about an hour waiting on an emergency vet. I laid on the ground holding his foot back together and the blood was just pouring over my hands and I was just stunned at the whole situation. So I feel like my mind wasn't working just right and I was more or less concerned with the bleeding, getting the bleeding stopped.
Kristen Wright:
And so we ended up having to wait for that vet. Well, when that vet got there, it was one of the situations. They threw a pressure bandage on and sent us on our way. And so we ended up having to have another truck and trailer come and get him just because I couldn't put him through going back in the same trailer.
John Dowdy:
So what happened at that point? So he goes back to the vet clinic, they do x-rays, and what did they find in addition to the visual damage? What happened internally in that hoof?
The Diagnosis: Coffin Break
Kristen Wright:
What happened internally is we sustained a P3 break, which is the coffin bone break and I think it's a articular wing break. So it's the wing section of the coffin bone. That was honestly very shattering news along with how deep everything had cut down. It cut about 25% down into the hoof itself about down to the nail holes. And so at that point, the vet was just like, "Look, we're going to put a hoof cast on the bottom part to try and keep the coffin bone break still and we'll play it by ear."
John Dowdy:
So they didn't really have any positive things? It was really just a repair situation or try to get everything to a baseline so they can even try to work with what they've got.
Kristen Wright:
Yeah, yeah. It was literally just trying to find a baseline to see if it was going to heal or if it was... Nobody really knew at that point.
John Dowdy:
Because also the coronary band is all damaged.
Kristen Wright:
Yes. Yeah. The coronary band took a very rough... It got cut off along with some through the pastern and everything was pretty much damaged.
John Dowdy:
So now going to the first vet, so now the coronary band's damaged. You've got a coffin bone that's broke. The hoof is about sheered off. And by the way, for those tuning in on our website at teamequinety.com which is one of the places this podcast will be posted and the podcast is also transcribed. We'll put some pictures in there, which are a bit on the graphic side, but you can see what Kristen was dealing with here initially. And so now you go to the first vet. Tell us about what was going on there, what the vet was recommending, and what they had to do for Reno?
Kristen Wright:
The recommendations they had were kind of simple stuff and I followed what he had advised to a T and within a couple of days the foot just it was turning kind of brown. It did have a little bit of a smell to it. And then Reno started having diarrhea. So I started kind of blowing up the vet phone and was like, "Something's not right. Something's wrong. What needs to be done, can we get you back out?" And they ended up sending us to UGA, which is one of the biggest hospitals here in Georgia.
John Dowdy:
And with that, so they ended up having to or was their findings or recommendations or anything significantly different from the first vet or what did they do differently over there?
Kristen Wright:
UGA pretty much went in as we need to check everything, every vital, every ounce of bloodwork, kidney functions to figure out why he has diarrhea, why everything's going on, why did this turn necrotic? And then they went in and cut all of the necrotic tissue out. There was some cartilage that had died off also. So they had to go in and cut that out also. And they wanted to see how deep it was cut down into the hoof.
Kristen Wright:
They knew that the coffin bone break was there because they had got the x-ray forwarded to them. So they already knew about that. So pretty much it was addressing the wound and how to heal the wound or assess if the quality of life was going to be good enough to keep fighting to keep him alive or if it was too significant to keep him alive.
John Dowdy:
Because I imagine that was probably going through your mind as well is all of this worth putting him through or is there a chance that we can come out of this? That was probably iffy for a little while as well.
Kristen Wright:
It was very iffy, especially when the vets told us, "You know, look, we need to take this 12 hours at a time." That's really scary, especially when it's your best friend on the line. And I would never want to put him in pain that he doesn't need to be put in if it's not going to heal. So that's kind of where we were at UGA. The very first visit, they weren't as positive, but I understand they didn't want to give false hope. So we left it at that. But we went home and we prayed about it a lot and we started Equinety and that's when everything started changing around.
John Dowdy:
Now, prior to the Equinety, what other things did you have him on for just like the time?
Kristen Wright:
Reno has been on a Kimmie's Cocktail, which is an all-natural supplement. It's a overall bloomer. It just pretty much helps them on the road. It's got every mineral vitamin that they need. I've never had issues with ulcers even though we compete every weekend. We've got amazing coat, amazing mane, and tail. This guy, he's just pretty and so cocktail was always our go-to. But after the extent of these injuries, we knew that wouldn't be enough.
John Dowdy:
And with the injury now you had him on Bute, did you have any him on anything else?
Kristen Wright:
Yes, he was on Bute and he was also on Equioxx, which is another pain medication. And he was honestly getting two scoops of Bute in the AM, two scoops in the PM and this is all per vet. At the first UGA visit, they were like, let's wean them down and see how he reacts. And they were honestly worried about laminitis setting in and causing more injury to the opposing legs that weren't injured but could have became injured if we had put too much stress.
John Dowdy:
Sure. So he had been on all that for a couple of weeks at this time. By the time you went over to UGA?
Kristen Wright:
Yeah.
John Dowdy:
So when you realize that, okay, well he's going to need a little bit more than or something else to help, then you went on the Internet search as a lot of folks do. And what were you initially searching for and then what popped up?
How They Found Equinety
Kristen Wright:
I was honestly searching for healing of bone, which I know, especially in horses that's a lot different than humans. And so I was on a search of people that have had coffin bone breaks before and how they healed it or breaks period. I was just kind of on a hunt of, all right, let's get ahead of this and see what we can do. And Equinety kept popping up and that's when I started watching their videos and reading everybody's reviews. And I've seen some off and on reviews, but there was way too much good not to try it.
John Dowdy:
And so you brought the Equinety in and you had reached out to us to ask one scoop versus two scoops. And of course, when we're talking about an injured horse or one that maybe have come out of surgery, even for the performance horse that doesn't really have any issues, we always recommend two scoops. Because it just helps with the recovery whether it be performance recovery or in this case we're talking about an injury recovery. And so now you're two weeks in, you start the Equinety I believe at the 1st of September timeframe. September 6th or something like that.
Kristen Wright:
Yes.
John Dowdy:
Today is at the time of this recording is October 14th, so we're talking five weeks.
Kristen Wright:
Yep.
John Dowdy:
So what has now transpired over five weeks? Now, by the way, the horse was casted up and you couldn't see. Tell us about that. So they're going to put it in a cast and tell us about cast changes.
Kristen Wright:
He was in a full cast from the pastern down. It was like a big 10-pound cast. This thing was pretty huge and we couldn't doctor the wound. I couldn't see the wound. I think that was probably the scariest part, especially the first casting is that you know how bad that wound is, but you couldn't see it, you couldn't doctor it. And we're naturally fixers. So that was a really rough two weeks, especially when they're like give it 12 hours at a time, take it 12 hours at a time. It was pretty scary.
Kristen Wright:
Our second visit to UGA is when I was scared to death. I didn't want to see it. I wasn't sure what to expect. And when they finally got that cast cut off, it was like a breath of fresh air. It was like, "Oh my gosh, what happened?" And I started thinking, I'm like, "The only product that we've added to his diet is the Equinety." And by our third visit, we have not complete healing. But two-thirds of the injury is healed. The coronary band too. There's just the coronary band is healed and we do have growth.
John Dowdy:
And how many months ahead of schedule are they saying that this injury has come along?
Kristen Wright:
We are months, I want to say probably closer to six months. They were thinking it would take a long time just to get any amount of growth at all.
John Dowdy:
That is incredible. And for those tuning in for the first time, and maybe this is the first time you're hearing about the Equinety product. It's 100% pure amino acids. And essentially in short, what we're doing is we're giving the body what it needs to release the necessary hormones, which help the body heal at a cellular level. So this includes a skeletal, ligaments, tendons, muscle, everything. And this is really what you're experiencing at this point. So now we're 45 days into this. When is the next checkup?
Kristen Wright:
We go back on the 22nd and he is actually completely out of the full cast. He's not even in a cast anymore, which we thought we would have to cast him for months. But they felt confident enough in the way he's healed to put him in what's called a rim cast. So it goes around the bottom of the hoof to hold the coffin bone break. So the wound itself, I can actually see the wound now and I can see the growth and I can see the healing in the coronary band.
John Dowdy:
And as far as lameness goes, where is he at this point? The walking versus anything else?
Kristen Wright:
This is the most exciting part. He's actually sounded a walk that was pretty much even the vets stated in our last vet report that they were very impressed with the fact that he sounded a walk. Of course, we really don't want him trotting around or anything like that. But that doesn't say he doesn't try so.
John Dowdy:
So I'm going to back up too because with all the Bute and Equioxx that you had him on, so he's not taking that anymore? Is he just using the Equinety?
Kristen Wright:
Yes. He's just using the Equinety. He has not had Bute or anything for pain in probably about three and a half weeks. He's been off of all medications, all everything.
John Dowdy:
Just healing up real nice.
Kristen Wright:
Yes.
John Dowdy:
That's exciting. Well, I tell you what, if this story doesn't move a person listening, I don't know what does. Because it's absolutely horrific. And I know both you and Reno have been through a lot here. But everything is looking very, very positive. I would love to do a followup podcast with you in the coming months, so we can do another checkup on Reno. That would be great to hear.
John Dowdy:
In the meantime, as I mentioned before in our podcast on our website, I'll put those pictures so people can take a look at those, which they are pretty brutal. But the-
Kristen Wright:
They are.
John Dowdy:
Yeah, the before ones anyway even the after ones, they're healing up very nice. So it's great to hear. So well-
Kristen Wright:
It's great to hear and it's great to see.
John Dowdy:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, hopefully, nobody else has to go through what you had to go through. It does happen, but with any type of injury, I hope that those tuning in will take a look and try the Equinety product. And Kristen, is there anything else that you want to add to this story or maybe let anybody else know that might be tuning in?
Kristen Wright:
I am very skeptical on all supplements. I'm not a big supplement person. I've always stuck to the more all-natural route and Equinety, I have all faith in Equinety. I literally am blown away with the Equinety product and what it has done for us. It is saved my guy's life and he's going to be a miracle story and hopefully, his come back story is bigger than this.
John Dowdy:
That would be pretty darn exciting right there. You'd get him back and running again. Holy smokes.
Kristen Wright:
Yes, sir.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Well, awesome.
Kristen Wright:
And he's young and he's got his whole life ahead of him. And so what's a year off?
John Dowdy:
Yeah. That's right.
Kristen Wright:
Some people forget that. What's a year? I understand he's healing from an injury, but it's hopefully healing it helping his mind and everything too. And that's all we could pray for and hope for.
John Dowdy:
Yeah, absolutely. So awesome. Well, Kristen Wright from Commerce, Georgia. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your Equinety story here on the Equinety Podcast.
Kristen Wright:
Yes, sir. Thank you.
John Dowdy:
All right, bye-bye.
Kristen Wright:
Bye.
30 Days Using Equinety
