Ann Jones - rescue horse – lame - horrible feet – now running and playing
John Dowdy:
Hello, and welcome to this week's Equinety Podcast. We're swinging back out to Texas, we've got Ann Jones on the podcast this week. Ann, welcome to the Team Equinety Podcast.
Ann Jones:
Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
John Dowdy:
And be here for a second time, mind you. Well, it was right at a year when you were on before.
Ann Jones:
Yes, I think it's been a year and still love this. Can't say enough good stuff about this product.
John Dowdy:
Yeah, that's great. And I tell you, one of the big reasons I wanted to have you back on is, this particular horse... We're going to talk about two horses here. The one horse, which is why we had you on the first time. And I want to go through the history for those that are tuning in for the first time that hadn't heard this story. When you sent me the videos, which it was a before and after video and the first video and it was very, very short. And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I can't continue to watch this." It was only seconds long, but it was horrifying just seeing this horse trying to walk. And then you tried the product and then 30 days later, I didn't even know if it was the same horse or not, it was that much of a change.
Ann Jones:
Yeah.
John Dowdy:
I want to talk [crosstalk 00:01:19]. Yeah, go ahead.
Ann Jones:
Oh, no, after that 30 days... I would have almost cried going out there to feed him because, as you could see in that video, it took him forever to walk just a couple feet.
John Dowdy:
Yeah.
Ann Jones:
And then I almost got kicked when I wasn't prepared for his burst of energy when I was filming after that 30 days. And I could feel the wind go past me when he took off running.
John Dowdy:
Oh my gosh. Okay, so give us a little history on this horse. How did you get him? What was going on and how did he get into this situation? Was it a mystery lameness kind of a thing?
Ann Jones:
Yeah, it really is. I've had vets look at him and no real good answer. His history, I don't know if everyone remembers it, but down here we remember the Hurricane Katrina and then right after that was Rita. Well, in Mississippi it got hit really bad and there was a trailer load of horses that came through and they were going to slaughter. And a friend of mine, that was actually the farrier's wife, saw this horse and the bloodline and told the people at the feed store about it. And I just happened to be in the feed store that day. And I rescue animals and I'm just, "Oh no, I can't let that horse go. He's championship bloodline." So I go look at him and he was two and a half, I think. No, three, I think.
And he was skinnier than my yearling. And he got fungus spots all over him and they had just left him out there in the pasture. And there's no telling what he went through. But we got him cleaned up and got the wounds healed and now he's fat and happy. But he always had some issues, he was a little bit spooky and his feet were just never really good. So I ended up not being able to show him because his feet, he wouldn't stay sound. And of course, this was 15 years ago that I got him and he would be good for a little while and then he'd get bad again and it just kept getting worse and worse. And so at the point where I saw this Equinety ad on Facebook and I'm like... I don't know.
I've been burnt by stuff on Facebook and I just... Everyone needs to be careful when they purchase stuff online anyway, but this, I said, "I'm going to give it a try." I've tried everything else. I literally have tried anything that I could find and vets and farriers are trying to tell me what to do. So took a chance, went ahead and ordered this. And I did the videos, it suggests taking videos and I thought, I want to do that so that I can go back and look. I might think, "Oh, yeah, he looks a little bit better." But then if you see the video, you can see he's a lot better. I did it at, before I started, at seven days, 15 days and 30 days. And each time was a big difference. But I promise you, after three days on this, I could tell a difference. He was walking better and then by the time...
I couldn't wait to video that on that 30 day, and I'm telling you, I was standing out there in the pasture with him and getting ready. Well, no, I don't think I even had my phone ready. And he just took off and I'm like, "Oh, man. Oh, I've got to get my phone. Where's my phone? I've got to record this." And took off and all... It was a really nice day, crisp, fall day and all the other horses were running and he just took off bucking and running down the fence line with the other horses. And that alone almost made me cry, so it was just a remarkable transformation.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And I tell you, when I saw the video, the first one... And at this podcast, at teamequinety.com will have this podcast hosted there, as well as other places. But on our website, just below the transcription of this podcast, I'm going to post the video, that's the before and after video. And when you see the before, it is like he is walking on some eggshells. It's even worse than that I think.
Ann Jones:
Yeah, just imagine seeing that every day when you go feed. We were about to think that we were going to have to put him down, it was so bad.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And I'm sure the frustration was at an all time high too. And you don't know what's going on, nobody seems to have any answers and who knows how much money you're spending, trying to figure out a solution for everything going on.
Ann Jones:
Right.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And so in day three, you said you noticed in three days just using the Equinety Horse XL is what you were using, which by the way, is a hundred percent pure amino acids. And it's specifically designed to give the body what it needs to help repair itself from the cellular level, by releasing hormones from the of pituitary gland. So when this happens, when the hormones are released, the body sends its own hormones to its own problem areas. And that's why it helps in so many situations and we've had more testimonials and positive feedback from mystery lameness that I can even count. But it starts working within hours, and so it makes sense when you said you noticed a difference in three days. What exactly did you start noticing within three days?
Ann Jones:
Well, like I said before, it would take him a couple of minutes just to walk five feet. And it was, like you said, like walking on eggshells, like he was walking on gravel. And you know how you're walking out in the sand and it's really hot and you take really baby steps?
John Dowdy:
Yes.
Ann Jones:
Well, that's the way he was walking. He didn't want to put any pressure on those front feet. Well, in three days he was walking, it was slow, but it was faster. He didn't look as tender footed, he was putting his weight on his hooves and walking. It was just a little bit slower than normal, but you could tell he was not in as much pain because he was actually putting weight on those feet.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And I tell you, the 30 day video it looks like a completely different horse. All is great. I have no issues. And this was a year ago, so how's he doing today after being on the Equinety for a year?
Ann Jones:
He has not been lame one day. Seriously, he's still running and bucking. And after that 30 days, I actually, right before I had him started, the farrier was supposed to come and I said, "Just skip him because I don't think you can pick up a foot and have him balance on the other three feet. So let's just not do him." So then he came back when he was due again, I showed him the before video, I said, "You remember how he looked?" And he said, "Yeah, when I drove up, he didn't look like that. He was running." And then I showed him the 30 day video and he said, "Yeah, that's what he looks like now, what are you doing? What are you using? Tell me about it."
John Dowdy:
Yeah.
Ann Jones:
So yeah, he was very impressed.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And I think too, for those tuning in, we have a lot of people that, they have an issue with the horse, they're looking for something. And in your case, you tried everything that you knew to try. You're getting advice from everybody that you knew to get advice from. Nothing seemed to be working. And I always tell people that Equinety Horse XL, it's not a miracle supplement, but it sure has done some miraculous things through the years. And the odds of it working are so high that it is worth giving it a try. The large tub is 99.99. There's a hundred servings in there, so it's a dollar a day. There's no loading dose and there's no fillers, no sugars, no starches. And like I said before, it's starts working right away.
And the point I want to make here is, if you are dealing with an issue and you're trying to find something to help your horse, this product isn't... I'll say it like this, it's unique in the fact that it doesn't fall into a specific supplement category. So in other words, it's not a joint supplement, coat supplement, shiny coat supplement, muscle building, and even the performance horse world, it doesn't fit into any specific category. What makes it unique, is it's giving the body what it needs to release its own hormones and then the body is able to use its own hormones to send to its own problem area. So it's going to customize to the horse's needs.
But the important point here is, don't just purchase the product and use it until your horse is better. Don't use it for this specific problem, you want to use it as an every day, for the rest of the horse's life, because especially... Well, unless your horse is out on wild, free range grass, they're not getting the right amount of amino acids, among other things, but specifically the amino acid. So it's something that you want to give every day, long term, which also leads us into the second horse, which is your show horse. And you started using this as a preventative really, is that why you started on the second horse?
Ann Jones:
Yes. He has arthritis since he was about three, and so I have to get his [inaudible 00:11:02] injected and he's very high maintenance. And I put him through a lot, showing him so much since he was so young, and he's 17 now. We just came back from the AQHA World Championship show and he did not have to have any injections at the show. Sometimes I would have to touch up at the show, but we made the semifinals in one class, finals in another class. And one of my classes, he has to make really tight turns at the trot and that's usually where his problem shows up. But I made the semifinals and they check that kind of stuff pretty closely, so I'm believing that my preventative action with him is really making a difference.
I started using it with him probably eight months ago, because I thought, "It can't hurt. And it did such an improvement with that other horse, let's see what it does with this one." I took him to the vet just to get a checkup in October, to go ahead and do the injection, just to be safe. And the vet said, "This horse, he's great. You don't need to retire him." I was planning on retiring him, I still haven't made that decision. I don't know. It's just a day to day thing, whether I want to keep showing him. But he's doing so great, the vet said, "You don't need to quit showing this horse. There's nothing wrong. He's great. He's at his prime. Keep showing him."
John Dowdy:
Now, how many years have you been, from the maintenance standpoint from injections, how many years have you had to do that?
Ann Jones:
Oh, probably since he was 10, so seven years maybe. Yeah. And now, when I was at the World Show... Well, when I'm at a show, any show, I go ahead and give him a dose in the morning and a dose at night, just because he's working harder than he is at home. I don't know if that helps any, but I know it can't hurt. And when he's being worked hard at a show, I want to give him every edge we can.
John Dowdy:
Sure.
Ann Jones:
And I go ahead and do two doses when I'm at a show.
John Dowdy:
I'll give you a little bit of the science, and for those of you tuning in, one scoop versus two scoops. Now, it's not a loading dose, but here's what happens internally. When you give a scoop of the Equinety Horse XL, which by the way is only 5.2 grams, it's like a two spoon. Not very much at all. But it's based on the size of the pituitary gland, not on the size of the animal. So whether it's a tiny mini or a draft horse or anything in between, they all get the same dose, which is the 5.2 grams.
So when you give a scoop in the morning, as an example, it's absorbed very rapidly and those hormones are released. And those hormones have a 23 and a half hour life cycle, so that's why you give the product every day. So if you give a scoop in the morning, by the time you give a scoop the following morning, the hormone levels are back to where they would normally be for that age of a horse, which is why you give it every day. And it works perfectly fine in the vast majority of all situations.
What we always recommend for working, performance horses, show horses, or if you have one that's injured and you're trying to help recover from an injury. If you give a scoop in the morning and a scoop in the evening, what that's going to do is help keep the hormone levels elevated and it just helps promote faster recovery. And so we have a lot of people in the show world, they swear by the two scoops because it just really helps with that recovery stamina focus, they haul better. Just their overall being is better because you're helping the body to repair. So that was a good call in your part, doing the two scoops when you're showing. What I find fascinating with this second horse story is, the years that you were having to inject and the maintenance and everything else. And then you started the Equinety 10 months ago and you haven't had to inject at all. That's pretty amazing.
Ann Jones:
Yes, it is.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And that's something that we hear all the time, and again, it's not a miracle supplement, it's not the end all be all. And it sounds too good to be true, especially if you've tried a lot of things and you've been around for a while, but we just... That's one reason why I started this podcast is, because there were stories like this and I wanted a way to capture these stories and get them out. So if you're dealing with something similar, then here's just an example or many, many examples. And so we have a lot of people in the performance world that are either able to drastically reduce and sometimes stop the injections when they're using the Equinety Horse XL.
But it all depends on the situation and the severity of what's going on in those joints. That's just one example and then you get into the hoof quality and thicker sole depth and it gives your farrier more to work with in a shorter amount of time and it's just really, really amazing. So with this particular show horse, and you're in the western riding and trail, so when you went and competed, how many horses were you competing against?
Ann Jones:
In trail, there were 99 and that's when I made semifinals, so I was top 30 in that. And in western riding, I think there were 35 and I was in the top 15 of that.
John Dowdy:
Nice. And how many years have you been contemplating retiring this horse?
Ann Jones:
Three. Since I have his half brother that I really need to start showing and I am preparing to do that. But it's just hard to give up a trained horse when you're at this level and you're not going to be there again for a couple of years.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Well, that's pretty remarkable. For a horse that you're planning on retiring and then the vet says, "Don't retire this horse, he's doing great." Might mess up your plans there for a while.
Ann Jones:
It messed up my plans, yeah. I'm already planning to show him in January, so it doesn't look like he's going to retire this year.
John Dowdy:
Oh, man. Well, that's funny. Oh, goodness. Well, I tell you what, I really appreciate you taking the time to share both of these stories and having you back on again. It's great to hear Fancy is doing awesome after all of the things that he was going through a year ago and still doing great today. So if there's anybody that's tuning in and they're thinking to themselves, "I've heard about this, but it sounds too good to be true." What advice or feedback would you have to get them to maybe try the product?
Ann Jones:
I would say, if you have any problems that you're thinking about, you need to try a supplement, just try it. Just try it for 30 days and make sure you take videos so you'll know that it's not just in your imagination that the horse is getting better. But just give it a try. And you really don't have anything to lose because it's not going to hurt the horse. It can only help. And I tell everyone that I know to try it if they have any kind of problem because I tell them my success story and show them the video and they're just really impressed. It's a very good product.
John Dowdy:
Yep. Well, and then not only if you're having issues with your horse, but we do have a lot of people just as you're doing with your show horse, using it as a preventative and then you've seen benefits in that aspect too. So when you can use it as a preventative, then you're keeping those cells and everything inside working at optimal levels, so if there is an injury or potential for one, then maybe it's not as severe, they're able to get back a lot faster as well.
Ann Jones:
Right.
John Dowdy:
Yeah.
Ann Jones:
Our show horses, they are put through a lot and they're not as sturdy as they were many, many years ago.
John Dowdy:
Sounds like me.
Ann Jones:
Yeah. They have a lot of issues. If you have a horse that you ride a lot, even if it's not a show horse, just use it as a preventative because their bones... And inside, they're not as sturdy as you would think, an animal that size.
John Dowdy:
Yep.
Ann Jones:
They do have a lot of issues and so this is just... Even if you don't have a problem, they're getting on up there in age. It's just a good idea to just start preventing problems.
John Dowdy:
Absolutely. Well, Ann Jones, out of Texas, thank you so much for taking this time to share your stories here on the Team Equinety Podcast.
Ann Jones:
Well, you're welcome. I'm glad to get this news out there.
John Dowdy:
Absolutely. Thank you so much. Bye-bye.
