Janet Kaufman - Pre-Cushings and Insulin Resistance
John Dowdy”
Hello and welcome to this week's Equinety Podcast. We are swinging up into the great state of Kentucky, and we've got Janet Kaufman on the line this week. Janet, welcome to the Equinety Podcast.
Janet Kaufman:
Thanks John. I'm excited to be here.
John Dowdy”
Well, I am as well. I believe you first reached out to us in November of last year, which was 2019. And at the time of this recording, which is in August, 2020, it's been a little while. You were dealing with, we could say, some serious metabolic issues with your main horse. Also, I think it's important to mention your background is in nursing so you understand some of the medical things going on.
But let's first talk about this main horse that you were looking to try to help, some of the challenges and hurdles that you've been dealing with, the dreams that you had with this horse. Then we'll get into how you came across the Equinety product and what that has actually done since then. But let's back it up to how long have you had the horse? What are the challenges that you've been dealing with?
Janet Kaufman:
Okay. Well I've got six horses. I've seen positive changes in every one, but this one is my Arabian, his name is [Amir 00:00:01:13]. I've had him since he was two and in the summer of 2018, he was 13. I'd finally gotten all the pieces to the puzzle together and I can start doing endurance and I was really super excited.
A little back note was that at a very young age he was started on Thyro-L because my vet said he had hypothyroidism. I never really gave it much thought because as a nurse and treating people, if they're hypothyroid you just give them thyroid and move on. And they're on it for life, so I never really thought too much about it.
Excuse me. And then when I started doing endurance, I'd only been into it a few months, but I had one incomplete ride under my belt and I asked the endurance community on Facebook if any of their hypothyroid horses ever were able to decrease their doses of Thyro-L because of all the training they did and the responses I got were just really overwhelming in the fact that there is no true such thing as equine hypothyroidism. That is a secondary condition to an underlying problem.
So I thought, "Well, what's going on here? Why have I been pumping so much Thyro-L into my horse over these last, nearly 10 years? What have I jacked up internally?" I mean, I was like, "Why did my vet keep him on Thyro-L for all these years?" When I looked into it more closely, I found that Thyro-L is usually just a therapy for an acute short term period and not for a chronic 10 year period.
I was frustrated, disappointed, and really mad that I had been doing this for so long.
John Dowdy”
Wow. Let me ask you this question. So at two years old, you acquired this horse and your dream was to do endurance riding. And then you realize that he had this metabolic issue and so, of course, you go to your vet, which is what any person would do and what we always recommend, of course. So they prescribed the Thyro-L. How much were you giving of this?
Janet Kaufman:
Well, up until that time, when he was 13, I was giving him two scoops in the morning and at night. That's a lot of Thyro-L.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. And then you were doing this, whether you started that way, but ultimately over a 10 year period, you're giving him Thyro-L. And of course, as you get into the endurance racing, that is not allowed.
Janet Kaufman:
Yes, correct. There's hardly any medicines that are allowed in the AERC endurance world. So the goal is to not be on any, so that's why I was wondering if I could ever get him off of this because of all the training we do. Everybody was like, "Well, you know it's banned." Yes, I do. Any medication in the endurance world is not allowed. There's very, very, very few that are allowed. Also, since there's no such thing as true equine hypothyroidism, I had to start a whole new phase of research and figure out what was going on with my horse.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. So what did you find out after doing research?
Janet Kaufman:
Well, that was probably getting into the fall of 2018. During that time, Amir then developed this massive abscess and he had really a hard time overcoming it, so we weren't able to even train anymore. So then I had the vet out to look at that and also to draw some labs because I needed to know what was going on with some other labs.
I didn't care about his thyroid level at all anymore. I wasn't even going to look at them even though she wanted to draw them. I said, "No, we're not drawing. We're drawing these other labs." So then when they came back, she told me he had pre-PPID, which is another term for pre-Cushing's, and I pretty much lost it. I was really upset. Didn't know if I could believe her. Questioned the drawing of the labs because those are, at times in the year, sensitive lab that needs to be drawn at certain times. So I questioned that and that she said I needed to start him on the medication for Cushing’s.
Because I didn't know if I could go with her recommendations, I went and got another... I had a consult with another vet and she came out and said, "Based on these lab values, yes, we probably should start on low dose Prascend but never, ever, ever, ever start him or put Thyro-L in his body ever again.
So reluctantly, I started him on that medicine, but-
John Dowdy”
On the Prascend?
Janet Kaufman:
But he started to have negative... Go ahead.
John Dowdy”
On the Prascend?
Janet Kaufman:
Yes, on the Prascend. But I really still wasn't convinced that he has this. He's really too young. Although there are cases of them being PPID at a young age, there's not that many. But he started having negative side effects. He was getting aggressive and baring his teeth at me and acting like he just wanted to bite my head off. He was having musculoskeletal discomfort. I could barely brush him and he'd planting his ears at me and this just was not my horse. He didn't look good, I could tell he didn't feel good, his coat was dull and dry, and I didn't think this was the answer so I stopped Prascend because I was in tears nearly all the time when I looked at this horse.
That brings us up into like November of 18, nearly a year yet before I even found you. So I started thinking about what was going on inside to his endocrine system, to all of his organs in there and would any of them ever work again? Because being on Thyro-L for so long, his pituitary probably didn't even have to function because I was pumping him so full of that stuff.
So I finally, somehow, came across this herbalist out in Idaho, contacted her and we came up with a plan to do a liver detox because I just wanted to clean him out if I could, and then also provide some metabolic support.
So then that brings us into the beginning of 2019. It was around March. I'm thinking maybe we were almost done with the detox, but his fur became really, really dry and patchy. So now I have a third vet coming out.
John Dowdy”
Oh gosh. All you wanted to do is endurance race.
Janet Kaufman:
Pretty much.
John Dowdy”
Yeah.
Janet Kaufman:
He says, "By the way it looks, I think it's a fungal infection." So he came out and did some kind of, I think it was an iodine therapy. Don't know if it really helped or not, but he near lost all of his fur in March and we still had winter left, and I was like, "Horse, you have no fur." So I thought, "Well, maybe his fur will come back really nice." It came back okay, but I wasn't really impressed with it that much because it was still kind of on the dry side.
So at that time we did draw a repeat metabolic screen, which showed that he didn't have PPID, but possibly some IR, or insulin resistance, and he said [inaudible 00:09:35]. So the plan was dietary management, which I already had him on a low sugar, low carb feed. So all he really suggested was a vitamin mineral supplement. So I'm really kind of back to square one after all of that.
So, I did that vitamin mineral supplement for a couple months and it was a lot of powder. Amir and didn't even really get that much food, and I always felt like, "How would you like to eat a lot of powder?" I would hate it. So in the meantime, I'm still looking for stuff and I find this other company that's very reputable and they had this great supplement that's supposed to make all these fantastic changes for metabolic horses in just a couple months. So I said, "Great, let's try it.”
Well, I never really saw that, but I kept him on it for probably that whole summer into the fall. But I never really saw any changes, kept looking, and then in November of 19 was when I found Equinety, contacted you, did my research. And I thought this is fantastic stuff. If it really does tickle that pituitary and if Amir really has pre-PPID or any kind of pituitary issue, if it's going to tickle that pituitary, that's what I want. I liked it because it works at the cellular level, which is where everything starts. That's very important. It's bioavailable so I don't have to mess with it getting broken down in the gut and maybe a little bit getting absorbed. It goes directly from the stomach up to the pituitary to do its thing. And there's no loading doses because I can't do loading doses. My horses won't eat all that so I never did them, so that was a waste of money. And it's just such a small dose. It's so important. All those things were huge.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. Now, let me jump right in here. So for those tuning in for the first time, maybe you are dealing with similar situation, although this has been what? At this point, a 10 year journey. Holy smokes.
Janet Kaufman:
Ten year journey, yep.
John Dowdy”
Yeah, with all the different things going on. So the unique thing with the Equinety Horse XL, which we've been on the market now for a little over five and a half years, it's 100% pure amino acids. There's no fillers, no sugars, no searches, and as you mentioned, no loading dose. And you mentioned the bioavailability and it's very important when you're looking at supplements, especially to look at is it bioavailable?
So, as an example, when your horse eats protein, the protein molecule is actually too big to be absorbed so the body has to take time to break the protein molecule down into amino acids, then it can be absorbed. One of the great things with the Equinety Horse XL, it's already in the amino acid stage and so the body doesn't have to do anything except to absorb it, which is what you just touched on as far as the bioavailability.
The other unique thing is the specific stack combination of amino's are specifically formulated to target the pituitary gland, which the pituitary gland is the master gland in the body. And that's what releases the necessary hormones, which then the body sends around its own body for repair. So, with all of that being said, you looked at and found the Equinety product. You ordered it, this was back in November of 2019. And here we are in August of 2020 at the time of this recording.
So you received the product, you started giving it. How long did you start noticing results as you started giving the product?
Janet Kaufman:
Well, I started it December 1, of 2019, like you said, and I was a little apprehensive about it and I didn't know how long I was really going to use it. I don't even really remember seeing any immediate changes with Amir, but I did with my other guy so I figured I'm just going to stay the course. He's been on all that other stuff for so long that I needed to just be patient.
I even contacted another gentleman that you had done a podcast with who had similar situations as mine and he encouraged me also to be patient and to give it at least six months on the product. He said he also had a horse that lost all of his fur and he thought of it as a total body reset, which I never really thought of it that way. So I thought, well, maybe that's what happened to Amir.
After all of this, it's been almost a year and a half since my initial excitement and dream of getting to do endurance. I don't know if Amir's ever really going to be able to do it, but he loves to go on the trail. He looks great. My husband and my son think he looks good and they are definitely not horse people. Sometimes I give it to him once a day, sometimes I give it to him twice a day. His coat has shedded out completely and this is the first time in several years that I feel like it has really shedded out normally. It's soft and shiny. He's got more muscles, his top line's better. I feel like his bolts are a little bit thicker or harder. He's always had a good pair of feet, but there for a while when we were in the midst of all this metabolic flux, I feel like he had kind of tender feet, but really not so much anymore. His eyes are bright and he's got a spring in his step and I'm just really happy that I found Equinety because I think it's all because of that.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. And I tell you, I tell people all the time it's not a miracle supplement, but hearing stories like this, it sure does some miraculous things. Of course we always recommend consulting with your veterinarian and doing the things that they recommend doing. At the times that you feel you're at a loss or maybe you've tried everything else and are frustrated, might want to look at this Equinety product. The amino acids are very powerful and we have a lot of veterinarians that are learning more and more about it and recommending it.
Looking back with your situation after 10 years and going through all of the different things and the frustrations and then seeing your horse that... The whole demeanor change and trying to bite you and just sad and depressed and all this rollercoaster type thing. What I always find amazing, it's one of the reasons I started the podcast, is this tiny little scoop, which is like a rounded teaspoon, 5.2 grams once a day, right in their feed. It just completely has changed this horse.
Now in this scenario, it took about six months to seven months for you to see. That doesn't really happen that often in regards to taking that long. Usually, 99% of people see changes in 30 days or less, which is kind of what you saw in your other horses.
Janet Kaufman:
Correct.
John Dowdy”
Maybe give us kind of an overview. You've got horses that range from three years old to 24, what were some of the things that you noticed rather quickly in these horses when you added the product to them?
Janet Kaufman:
Okay. Well, my two older ones are off the track thoroughbreds, so they have a lot of arthritic issues. So I had them on Bute-Less and I really wasn't thrilled with that. I mean, it helps and it's a great product, but I was really worried about their GI status. So I started them on Equinety and they were overlapping the two for just a short while and then I took them off the Bute-Less and they didn't miss a beat. It has helped with their overall health and wellness and arthritis.
I had a quarter horse who I thought might have an ulcer. It took a little while for that, but ulcers are tough guys. I feel like he feels better with that. And his top line and muscle has really improved, too. He's a big Texas born and bred quarter horse.
My two other youngsters, I actually took them off of the Equinety because I thought, "You guys are young, why would you need Equinety." You're just eating up my Equinety. And then they just kind of went bonkers so I put them back on it and my five year old, I feel like, is more levelheaded and more focused. My three year old, I think, maybe is a little more focused. He's just a little stinker anyways. But I feel like it has really helped with his overall growth. I think I hit him in a good growth period with this so he's going to be a really good size and he looks great.
Oh, yes, and then the immunity, that was a good one. My youngsters must have been reacting to some spring foliage. They had enlarged lymph glands and when I put them on the Equinety their lymph nodes went down within three days. So it helped a lot.
But with Amir it was great because not only did it do everything that I... Help with everything that I just said, but what's really important is that the amino acids helped to regulate and use up the sugar. So if you have a metabolic horse, you don't want them to have a lot of sugar. With the Equinety helping to utilize the glucose that they eat really is important and helps a lot.
John Dowdy”
That's very interesting. One of the examples I give a lot is when you're dealing with the horse that has joint issues, for example, what are your options to help with the joint? You've got injections or joint supplements. I mean, outside of that, what are you supposed to do? I mean, there is nothing else. If you're dealing with a metabolic issue, you do what you were doing. You try the different things that the vets recommend. If you have hoof issues, you look at hoof supplements and hopefully you've got a very talented farrier.
In short, there's a drug or a supplement for every issue that you could possibly come across with your horse. One of the great things, in my opinion, with the Equinety Horse XL being 100% pure amino acids, we're not targeting the joint or the hoof or the gut or muscle tone or demeanor. We're targeting the pituitary gland, which again, is the master gland in the body, which releases the hormones that are necessary for repair.
And so in this example, you've got horses ranging from three to 24 that are in all stages of life that are doing different things. They have different jobs, they've got different issues going on. And just by giving them this one scoop, it, in essence, customized to what each horse needed because we're allowing the horses body to send its own repairing hormones to its own problem areas.
Again, although the vast majority of people do see changes in 30 days or less, there are those times where patience really needs to come into play in with your main horse that you have been dealing with all these things. It took six, seven months to really get to where you wanted him to be. So when you compare your horse from the last 10 years to now over the six or seven months, how would you best describe how he is now in compared to the last 10 years?
Janet Kaufman:
I think he looks great. I think he probably feels the best that he has in a long time because I just don't think being on that Thyro-L was very healthy for him, but I had no idea. I didn't go to vet school so I have to trust my vet that they know what is best. It didn't work out in this case.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. Well, fortunately, you did find something that helped in your case. Again, if you're tuning in and you're wracking your brain trying to figure out a possible solution, take a look at this product. It's one of the reasons why we have so many podcasts and things.
Well, Janet, if there's anybody tuning in that still might be a little bit on the fence, despite everything else that you've talked about, is there anything that you might be able to say to them to get them to give the product a try?
Janet Kaufman:
Yeah. I hear a lot of people saying, "Oh, it came across my Facebook feed." You know what? Don't be afraid of this being on your Facebook feed. It's there for a reason and it's a wonderful product. It's great for dogs, try it on your dog.
John Dowdy”
Yeah.
Janet Kaufman:
But just because it's on Facebook doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. It's a wonderful product. It's the building blocks of your body and your horses body. And do your research and just give it a try and don't get frustrated if it doesn't work overnight. Rome wasn't built in a day.
John Dowdy”
That's true.
Janet Kaufman:
And you need to be patient.
John Dowdy”
Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, and definitely, I mean, we spend a lot of our marketing dollars with these ads on Facebook because the product works. One of the ways, from a marketing standpoint and advertising, if you keep seeing the same ads over and over and over... And some of these ads we've been running for a couple years and we just leave them on there. It wouldn't make sense if the product didn't work to keep running the ads. That's going against yourself. So there is a reason why we continue to run these and why we're doing the podcast and we're trying to get the word out there.
When the stories are coming from somebody like yourself and all the challenges that you've been going through over the last 10, 11 years, and then now you found this product and it worked out, not only for the horse that you wanted it to work out for, but then all the other horses it's been working as well. We're blessed. It's something that we had no idea that it was going to help like it has, but here we are. So, it's pretty amazing.
Well, Janet Kaufman out of Kentucky, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story here on the Equinety Podcast.
Janet Kaufman:
Absolutely, my pleasure. Thanks a lot.
John Dowdy”
All right, thank you. Bye-bye.
