Janet Culley – My Horse was Depressed after being Abused –
Life is Back After 9 years
John Dowdy:
Hello and welcome to this week's Equinety Podcast. We're going to swing up into Alabama. We've got Jan Coley on the podcast this week, and I'm going to tell you this story is... I'm just going to say it's unbelievable. If you're dealing with this scenario, a situation with your horse that you believe you're boxed in a corner and you don't have anywhere to go, you got to listen to this story. It's absolutely amazing and might even bring a tear or two, because this is the ultimate comeback story, I would say. So without further ado, Jan Coley, welcome to the Equinety Podcast.
Jan Culley:
Well thank you, and thank you for allowing me to tell my story.
John Dowdy:
Well, we're excited. As every week, I'm excited to have guests on and to share these stories, and I think this one is probably one of the most intense ones that we've had on. So let's just start from the beginning. Tell us about this horse.
Chino's Ordeal with Depression & Abuse
Jan Culley:
Okay. I bought Chino in 2006 I believe it was, beautiful horse. And I worked with him every day basically. Then I had someone come up and say, "Well, I know a good person who can train him." He was still a stallion. He was two years old, two and a half years old. I should have queried it more, but he was a farrier. The farrier was a farrier of mine who was very good, and it was his brother that supposedly trained horses. I just took it as it was a good thing.
John Dowdy:
Sure.
Jan Culley:
Of course we asked where do we take him, and everything, and made the arrangements and he loaded on the trailer without a problem. He was good as gold and went to this place where there was other horses but nobody around. And I thought, well, this is really strange. I hated to leave him, but they told me to put him in a stall and that they'd be there to work with him. Well, as far as I knew, that's where he was. Of course we took with us two big tubs, the huge tubs of grain for him, what he was having, plus bales of [inaudible 00:02:48]. So he had plenty of food and everything, and I never heard anything. So I called the farrier and I said, "Hey, your brother, is your brother working with Chino? What's going on?" And he says, "well, yeah, I said he had to move him." And I said, "really? Now where to?" And he said, "well to where he lived which was even... which was quite a ways away.
Jan Culley:
So I said, "well, I'd like to come and see him." Well he said, "well, he needs to just have at least a week to work with them, et cetera and so on." And he said, "and then after that it you are more than welcome to go and see him." So I guess some people they don't like anybody to be there that first week. So I said, "well okay, would you ask him to call me please?" And anyway, never got a call. And then I called the guy again and I said, "look, I need to go and see the horse. And he said, "well, here's my dad's number if you call him first and then he can give you directions." Well, I called the father and he said, "well, can you leave it another week?" He said, "we're really working with him right now." And I said, "no." I said, "I need to come and see him right now." This was like three weeks after.
John Dowdy:
Wow.
Jan Culley:
Must have been going on the fourth week. And so I got the address and everything and he says, "why don't you just leave it a few more days?" I said, "no, I'm coming right now." And we left and got there and I was almost sick. He was skin and bone. He was stood this cage like thing. I don't know what they used it for. It's still a lot. And he had a saddle on and that saddle had apparently been on him for days.
John Dowdy:
Holy cow.
Jan Culley:
And he was stood there and just awful. And I went into him and he just his eyes were vacant basically. And the guy came around, he says, "well," he said "he's been sick we've been doctoring him, we've been trying to get him well. And I said, "move out of my way." I said, "where's his food? And hay," "well it's all gone."
Jan Culley:
They'd given their horses all the food and the hay.
John Dowdy:
Oh my gosh.
Jan Culley:
And apparently they had been beating him was what I found out. They beat him on as rump with a two by four. And that saddle had been on him for days. And so I took him out of there and I loaded him up and my husband was in... He doesn't say much. It's out of line. I was just beside myself. I said, "you'll be hearing from me and you'll be hearing from my lawyer." I said, "this is out absolutely outrageous." "Well we, we just, we, it's not our fault," blah, blah, blah. So anyway, we just... I loaded him up and basically I just didn't even know if I'd get him back in one piece.
Jan Culley:
I got him home and I immediately called my vet and he came out that same day and he said, "who is... What is this?" And I said, "this is Chino." He said, "you've got to be kidding me." I said, "no sir, I'm not." I said, "do the guy's brother?" And he said, "is that who's had him?" And I said, "yeah." He said, "well, I wish I had of known before." He said, "it's not the first time he's ruined a horse."
John Dowdy:
Oh my gosh.
An Initially Slow Recovery, 9 years slow
Jan Culley:
And so then I started finding things out. They had almost killed him with the... I guess he got really down, got the flue or whatever had been out there in all kinds of weather and in that cage. And so, I mean, he was never the same after that. I built him back up. I mean, he was, I can send you photographs of when he was... what, before he went to be trained and he was just beautiful and then we... The vet worked with me to get him back, but he was never really the same. And I basically just worked with him being close to him and, but he wouldn't even let me touch his rear end and the joints and stuff. Wouldn't let me touch him at all. He just got really wild. And I started to keep him in and feed him inside and everything and he would back up away from the feed bowl and backed into a corner. And that's probably what they did to him. They beat him. Before they'd let him have some feed.
John Dowdy:
Wow. And what's the point of that?
Jan Culley:
Exactly, I don't know. But the guy apparently left the area. I think they realized I was really, really mad. And so I basically let him be a pasture ornament except for me just trying to be around him and bring him to where he could trust me again, which has been, it's been kind of difficult, but he would let me go to him and everything and my daughter came from Alaska and he just absolutely adored her and she could just barely touch him all over and she's a therapist for the soldiers coming back from Iraq and everything. So she worked with him with Reiki and with massage therapy and everything, but he still, she couldn't get near his back end very well. So I started to saddle him up and kind of just lean over the saddle and he let me get on him and we were in the arena and I just basically sat there and I just rubbed him. And I was sitting there and I think, but he was locked up totally. I could not make him move.
Jan Culley:
So I had my trainer came and" he said, well, let's try and get him on the trail" after I've been sitting on him and stuff. And I could basically get him just to walk a little around the arena, but not much. I'd never saw him run. I never saw him like he was before he went away. And we actually took him out on the trail with a young man, 17, 18 he rode him, I rode my own horse and then the trainer rode another one of mine and I've got photographs of it and he was just stood with his head down and there was no life in him, but he, all he could do was walk in a straight line.
Jan Culley:
Then I basically, I had a chiropractor come in, I had a massage therapist coming and it was really scary because I wasn't sure that they were safe enough to do what they needed to do and, but they did. And, I mean he, but he still had that vacant look that is basically, he was totally just stood, and of course he was away all the time from my other horses. He would eat away from them on his own outside when I put hay out. I just feed them grain in the evenings and he was just totally not really with it. And it was funny. I've been seeing the Equinity on Facebook. I use Facebook quite a bit with my horses and of course keeping in touch with my daughter in Alaska.
John Dowdy:
Sure.
Jan Culley:
It's easier than trying to catch her when she's doing therapy and things that. So we have this agreement if it's something urgent, she'll ding me and, and otherwise she'll just contact me through text and stuff. But where was I going with that.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. You had been seeing the Equinity on Facebook,
Jan Culley:
Right? Exactly. Because of my daughter and of course I check on horse stuff all the time and I saw the Equinity and I saw that people were having good results of horses that lame and horses that are really not doing well. And I felt I'm going to try that on Chino and I'd actually started bringing him in at night instead of feeding him with my other two boys out in the small paddock that I have. I switched him out and he started coming in and eating and I got the same thing, if I went to the feed bowl, he just backed away right into the corner and flattened his ears back. As if he was going to get beaten I think
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Now how much time.... So he was at this person's place for four weeks until you brought him home. So how much time now had he'd been back at your place up to this point?
Jan Culley:
Oh my gosh. It's been a number of years.
John Dowdy:
Really?
Jan Culley:
Yes. I have been trying all this time to work with him and never really gotten very far except I did, like I said, we got him out on the trail one time, but he could basically only go in a straight line. And it was hard work for the young man because I told him, I said, "please do not push on him, do anything that just... gentle him through it. Use gentle horsemanship, which is what I'm a big fan of. All my horses are like babies. They do as they're told and that's the way it is. And I'm the alpha mare even though I've got one out there that takes care of them. But anyway, it's been oh gosh, how many years? It's got to be the least. It's got to be at least 13 then.
John Dowdy:
13 years.
Jan Culley:
Yes. No, it's not been 13 years. He is about 13 years old. I'd have to get his papers to check it.
John Dowdy:
But from the time he came back from this trainer, up until now it's been, about how many years do you think?
Jan Culley:
Probably about 9, 10 years.
John Dowdy:
Holy smokes. See, I was thinking as we were talking about this, that it's like, Oh well that was like six months ago or something. I didn't know it's been... So you've been dealing with this for nine a good nine years.
Jan Culley:
Yes. And I had somebody that came that fell in love with him and wanted to buy him and I said, "well," I said, "to be quite honest with you," I said, "you can try and ride him." I said, "but I don't... I think he needs to go away to be trained properly by someone that uses gentle horsemanship." I said, "as much as I've done with him, I haven't been able to break through." And she said well let me ride him. I'll be able to ride him okay. And she got off him and she says, "what in the world?" She said, "I couldn't make him go." I said, "exactly." I said, "so as beautiful as he is" and I mean he is now, he's back... His body, everything is just amazing. But it's still the same boy.
John Dowdy:
Okay. So you, so just through being on Facebook, so you came across the Equinity and decided to try this on your boy?
How Equinety Made a Difference
Jan Culley:
Exactly. And the Equinity came and I was giving it to him in the evening before I put him out again. And I just, I didn't pay a lot of attention because I did not think it would work that fast. And then I started noticing he was playing with one of the other horses and I thought, wow, that's the first, I've not seen him do that.
John Dowdy:
And this was how many days?
Jan Culley:
This was he had been taking it probably about three or four days.
John Dowdy:
Oh wow, okay.
Jan Culley:
And I thought it was probably because it was windy and the other horses were, they all play like that, but he never did. And all of a sudden I see him playing with the youngest horse that I've got and I started watching him. And then about probably a week and a half later, I had my young lady here that helps me on a Tuesday and a Saturday. And she came running in, she said, "have you seen Chino?" And I said, "oh no, is he okay?" And I was actually busying myself doing something in here. And she said, "oh, come see, come see." And when I got there, I said, "I saw them, they were playing and everything." Then all of a sudden I see Chino flying across the pasture.
Jan Culley:
Full tilt with this youngster behind him. And then they'd stop and they'd run the other way and then they'd come together to each other and you know how they play. And I said, "that is not Chino." She said, "yes it is." I said, "Oh my Lord." I said, "I've not got my phone." And she said, "I have filmed it."
John Dowdy:
Oh, that's great.
Jan Culley:
And I've seen it happen maybe four or five times since. And of course I haven't gone to him and tried to groom him or anything in the last since before he started the Equinity because before I did start him, I'd gone into his stall one evening and I started brushing him and a little bit harder than probably than what I have done. And his head came flying round and nearly knocked me senseless and then he backed right into the corner. And when it happened was when I had, was brushing him on the rump again but I didn't realize basically what I was doing. I was doing it harder than what I normally do, I guess.
Jan Culley:
And so I mean, I was lucky he could have really put me through the wall, but he just basically just backed up into a corner and stood as if to say, are you going to hit me again? So I knew he was hurting and that's what finally decided me to go ahead and order the Equinety and try it with him. I never had any hopes that it would do anything, to be quite honest with you because there's so much stuff out there and you can try it all and it doesn't do anything. So my next plan was to go ahead and start grooming him again and, and see how he responds to like pressure on his rump. But, believe me, I could not... I honestly, I was absolutely dumbfounded that he was running and playing like he was, I have not seen that since he was two years old.
John Dowdy:
Holy smokes. So he's definitely feeling a lot better now. How long has he been on product up to this point?
Jan Culley:
Well, from when I bought it, well I think it was about the 18th of November when I first sent for the Equinety. So he's had it every day since then.
John Dowdy:
Okay. So not quite two months.
Jan Culley:
Right, but it's really totally amazed me, especially with him.
John Dowdy:
Right. Well and to go for, for nine years without really any progress whatsoever.
Amazing Hoof Recovery
Jan Culley:
Right, exactly. And that's what I couldn't believe. And actually my farrier is a new farrier. Of course, it wasn't the same one he won't even give me the time of day because I threatened him. And so my new farrier had come and said to me, "we're going to do Chino today, right?" And I said, "yeah." I said, "I've got like five trims that we have to do." So I said, "okay, well let's start with Chino." And I said, "okay." And I thought, well, I hope I can get him in. And we walked up to him. And I put the lead rope around him and he walked with me into the stall. Walked through into the big aisle-way in the farm, in the barn. And he stood there like an angel while the farrier trimmed all his feet.
John Dowdy:
Wow, and this-
Jan Culley:
And he said, "you know what..." This is, let me see, when did he come, Saturday. This was last on Saturday, just gone. And he says, "wow." He said, "have you looked at his feet?" I said, "well, yeah, I clean them out periodically." I said, "but it's just been so bad here it's like we go swimming, sometimes." I swim with the fishes, when gets really bad in Guntersville. But He said, "well, his feet, they're amazing." And he said "he's not even bothering about it." And I said, "well," I said, "it's amazing me just looking at him."
John Dowdy:
Yeah, so you had prior to trying to get him in that really wasn't an option before?
Jan Culley:
No, not very easily, no. I mean he, I'm basically the only one that's been able to handle him.
John Dowdy:
That's incredible.
Jan Culley:
Yeah. So, and it was amazing. Because literally I just... And my husband was actually there also and he says, "wow," he said, "I've never seen Chino so good." And I said, "I know." I said, "the farrier has already told me his feet look fabulous." So I thought, why goodness is this Equinity is a miracle drug or something.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Why? I tell people all the time, it is not a miracle supplement, but, you hear stories like this and you're like, it's kind of scratching your head. Now I'll take a little bit of a timeout here. So anybody that's tuning in for the first time, maybe you've been dealing with just a real challenge of a scenario. Similar I mean, I don't know how much more challenging you can get then than this story, but there's plenty of them out there.
John Dowdy:
What the Equinity product is, is 100% pure amino acids, but they're specifically formulated to stimulate the pituitary gland, which is the master gland in the body. And that's what releases the hormones, which help the body heal at a cellular level. So I think in this case dealing with all the trauma PTSD, I mean who knows what all really happened with this horse. But, for nine years and you have been able to make just very little progress in nine years, which is just incredible. And you edit the Equinity product. You saw changes in days and then he's out running around and playing and then being able to come in and the farrier for the first time. I mean, that's pretty incredible.
Jan Culley:
Right? And also this morning I went out to put hay out at seven o'clock and he normally like I told you he normally stands away from the other horses across the creek and I have to walk a little bit to get the hay to him. He was outside there with them this morning, right in the middle of the horses just eating away and it was fine.
Jan Culley:
So it's every day I see some improvement or something that he's not done before and it's incredible. Really.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Well I tell you what, I would love to have a followup podcast in three or six months and where he's at at that point. That'd be pretty amazing what the progress he's doing now. So, well I tell ya, if there's anybody that's tuning in to the podcast for the first time, maybe they're a little bit on the fence as to whether to try this product. Because just as you mentioned, there's a lot of stuff on the market. You can try a lot of stuff. Sometimes it seems like you're just throwing money away, but with this product in particular other than everything that you've already said is there any advice or anything that you could say to them that might convince them to come on over the water's warm kind of thing?
Jan Culley:
Well, all I can say is I have been totally blown away with what I have seen with Chino, my horse, and I mean I have tried a lot of different products and there are some good products out there, but nothing, absolutely nothing compares to Equinity. And I've seen it with my own eyes in a short span of time. I guess I could give an ironclad guarantee that it works. I don't know.
John Dowdy:
Well, I would say from a horse that you that you've had since the beginning and then for nine years after the trauma that it went through and then nine years not able to make any progress or very, very little progress. And then the Equinity product is the only thing that you've changed in the last two and a half months. And now with all this progress, you would have to attribute it to that. I mean that's logic. It's pretty cut and dry in this scenario.
Jan Culley:
Yeah, absolutely. And like I say on all sides, really on all fronts. Even my farrier he couldn't believe how great his feet were and he never moved while he was like a statue and let him, let the farrier do everything that he needed to do with him. It was totally amazing.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Now earlier you had mentioned of course when you had found him in that cage or whatever that thing was he had no life in them. When you look at him today, obviously he's running around and playing and he's now being, looking like a horse again. What do you see in his eyes? because that's the biggest telltale sign I think.
Jan Culley:
I see life. I see joy. I see this is what it's all about. I see him as he was when he was two and a half years old and he was just beautiful. He was majestic and it was... I see what I saw then. So if it's a cellular level, you've given me back my horse.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Oh boy.
Jan Culley:
And cause I could never ever give up on him. People said, "well, why are you still feeding him? Why don't you just don't have him anymore. Just get rid of him." And I said, "no way. No." And so it's just something that to me, totally incredible.
John Dowdy:
Right? And I think it's important to again, with some of the things being out on the market, we're blessed in the fact that we have a product that works as well as it does. But I think for those tuning in, if you're really dealing with the situation and we have a lot of stories like this, but if you've been down every single path that you can possibly think of, everybody's scratching their heads, the vet's scratching their heads, the farrier's scratching their heads, and there's mystery stuff going on and you just don't know what else to do.
John Dowdy:
Please give this a try because I mean, this is one of many stories that as you put it, as a miracle supplement. I tell people that's not a miracle supplement. But again, hearing stories like this, you have to wonder, but the odds of it working are very, very high. And it's 100% pure amino acids. There's no fillers, no sugars, no starches, there's no loading dose. And amino acids, the only option they have is to work. I mean, they're the building blocks of protein, so but, well, awesome. Well, Jan Coley out of Alabama. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story here on the Equinity podcast.
Jan Culley:
Oh, you're very welcome. And thank you for allowing me to let you know I've got my boy back.
John Dowdy:
Oh, that's great. Well that is awesome. Well, thanks again and we'll look forward to an update hopefully in three to six months.
Jan Culley:
All right, sounds great.
John Dowdy:
All right, thanks. Bye bye.
Jan Culley:
Thank you so much. Bye. Bye.
