Jennifer Johnson – Laminitis – Cushings – Picky Eater – Depressed – Dull Coat – Spirit is back
John Dowdy:
Hello, and welcome to this week's Equinety Podcast. We are swinging into my home state out in Oklahoma. We've got Jennifer Johnson on the call this week. Jennifer, welcome to the Equinety Podcast.
Jennifer Johnson:
Thank you so much for having me.
John Dowdy:
Well, it's a pleasure. As always, we're excited to hear these stories, and I'm really excited about this one because we're going to be talking about two different horses; one is on the senior range and you've been dealing with Cushing's and bouts of laminitis through the years, and then your other one is a five-year-old. And so, it's really interesting how, in this particular one, we've got two different horses, two different ages on either end of the spectrum, dealing with different issues. And we're talking about Equinety Horse XL and how it's helped each one of these horses. So let's start with the first one, the 20-year-old, and tell us how long you've had this horse and the things that you've been dealing with.
Jennifer Johnson:
So I've had this particular horse for the past 12 years. I would say about five or six years ago, she started showing signs of laminitis. So that was kind of the start of the downhill slope with her. I put her on a daily medication for her Cushing's that she was later diagnosed with. And just over the past few years, she's really began to show her age. It takes her forever to shed off her winter coat, she even had a little bit of lameness, and just her overall demeanor seemed not very happy. So that's what I was dealing with before I found Equinety.
John Dowdy:
And some of the other things that you had told me that you noticed, a bit of a swayback, just the difficulty in shedding out, which is pretty common with Cushing's horses. Anything else that you were kind of noticing there? How was the demeanor, the overall attitude and everything as you were going along here?
Jennifer Johnson:
Yeah, as I was going along through these past few years, just her overall attitude, just very dull. Like her personality had disappeared. You could just tell that she was not a happy horse that she used to be. She wasn't eager to go out on trail rides like she used to be. So I knew, at that point, something had to change. I had to do something more for her than what I was already doing.
John Dowdy:
Well, tell us then how you came across the Equinety product.
Jennifer Johnson:
Yeah, absolutely. So on Facebook, I kept seeing this product pop up on my newsfeed, and every time I saw it, I would see different comments on how much that it's helped their horses with all of these different issues, especially the Cushing's. Like I said, I have her on a daily medication and it doesn't seem like it's helping her with her appearance. And I noticed on a lot of reviews that horses have really blossomed being put on this. So basically, that's why I wanted to put her on this, and also, to see if it changed her attitude.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. And so how long have you been using the product now?
Jennifer Johnson:
I would say about five to six weeks.
John Dowdy:
Okay. Which is not long at all, but what are some of the things that you've been noticing?
Jennifer Johnson:
Her winter coat is coming off nicely, which, the past few years, has taken almost to the middle of summer to fully come off. I had her on a trail ride this weekend where we rode at least 25 miles and her [inaudible 00:03:39] was amazing. She wanted to go and she was happy. And it was really, really good to see that because, like I said, I've had her for 12 years.
John Dowdy:
Right.
Jennifer Johnson:
And it was really good to see how she used to be come back. It was like she came back to life.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. I mean, 25 miles. Did you notice anything along the lines of stamina, recovery? Anything along those lines as well that you normally hadn't seen?
Jennifer Johnson:
Actually, yes. This was a three day trip. And usually, after at least the first day of riding, I will see her get a little stiff, you know, coming out of her pen. This weekend, I saw absolutely none of that. And it was a pretty long trailer ride home. And I was thinking, "After I get her off this trailer, she's going to be stiff," and she wasn't. I turned her out in the pasture and off she went and she looked amazing, and she was not lame or stiffer or anything.
John Dowdy:
Wow. And I'll say that's pretty common, and I'll get into why this product is working the way that it is. And again, for those who have Cushing's horses, one of the common questions that we get, is it safe for Cushing's horses? Yes, it is. It's also, because it's 100% pure amino acids, the Equinety Horse XL, so amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so there's not any negative side effects to any medications, other supplements, feeds, anything like that, or any metabolic things going on. So that's a definite plus if you're dealing with similar scenarios here.
So let's jump over and talk about the five-year-old that you have. Tell us the history on this one. How long have you had this one and what was going on?
Jennifer Johnson:
Yeah. So this one was actually born at my place. And this winter, he did not look as good as he normally does. He had lost a lot of his topline. He started just looking thin. His coat was extremely dull, and so was his personality. And for a five-year-old, you don't expect to have them a very dull personality-
John Dowdy:
Right.
Jennifer Johnson:
Especially when working with them and stuff like that. So he also has very underrun heels with long toes, and I was looking for something that would help with the hoof growth so that we can get that toe back and get him looking better, because he does tend to stumble because of that.
So I also saw reviews on Equinety on how it helps just a horse blossom appearance-wise and how it helps with their focusing, especially during training. So that's why I decided to put this particular horse on it as well.
John Dowdy:
Right. So how long has this one been on the product now?
Jennifer Johnson:
About five to six weeks, just like my other horse.
John Dowdy:
Okay.
Jennifer Johnson:
Yeah.
John Dowdy:
So with this particular one, the other end of the spectrum, we're going on the young side, so didn't winter well, lost some muscle topline weight, the coat was kind of dull. So over the five or six weeks you've been using the product, what are the things that you've been noticing with him?
Jennifer Johnson:
So I took a picture of him this winter and I compared it to a picture that I took last week, and they look like completely different horses. He looks like he could go out and win a halter class right now. He has bulked out. His topline is filled in. He looks amazing and his focus is back. I can easily work with him without him just being so dull and just trotting around. He has energy and more stamina and just, he looks amazing. I can't believe it.
John Dowdy:
Wow. And in the short amount of time, what have you also noticed with the hooves? Because when you're dealing with low heels, which we get a lot of questions that come in, will this help with that particular situation?
Jennifer Johnson:
My farrier was out last Wednesday and she did notice a difference in the hoof, the amount of hoof that was there that she normally didn't see before. And she said that's really going to help with getting his feet back to the shape that they should be.
John Dowdy:
Yeah, that's great. And that's one of the things that we tell people all the time, you could have the world's greatest farrier standing in front of your horse, but if there's nothing to work with, then everybody's kind of stuck. So one of the many benefits of this product is helping with a healthier, stronger, faster growing hoof, thicker sole. So it gives the farrier more to work with in a shorter amount of time.
Now, if this is the first time you're tuning in to the Equinety Podcast, or maybe it's the first time that you are learning about this product, one of the questions commonly asked is how can this one product do so many different things. And again, in this example, we're talking about two different horses, one's five years old, one's 20 years old, and the 20 year old has Cushing's, laminitic issues, was depressed over the last couple of years, probably due to the things going on. And then we've got the five-year-old that didn't winter well, lost a lot of top line, weight loss, coat was dull, and also had low heels, so the hose weren't that great. And the spirit of the horse wasn't there either.
So how can this one little product, which a serving size is 5.2 grams, which is equivalent to about a rounded teaspoon, so you just put that in their feed. What this product is actually doing is it is specifically formulated to give the body what it needs to release the necessary hormones that help the body repair at a cellular level. So when we can give the body what it needs to release its own hormones, then it's that horse that's sending its own hormones to the problem areas.
So in the Cushing's horse, for example, you didn't see the bulking out and top line and everything because the horse didn't need that aspect. It needed other help. So one of the examples that I give as well, you could have 50 horses with 50 different issues going on, and again, because we're giving the body what it needs to release its own hormones, then it's that horse that's, again, sending the hormones to the problem areas. So in essence, it's customizing to each horse, which is really, really interesting and unique from anything that's out on the market. So we're definitely blessed in that way.
So what plans do you have for your five-year-old moving forward?
Jennifer Johnson:
So we just mainly trail ride and we just want him to be a good trail horse. That is our goal for him, is to be a good, safe family horse.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Yeah, that's great. So for anybody tuning in that is, again, listening to this that might be a little bit on the fence, that might think, "Hey, this sounds a little too good to be true," other than what you've already talked about, is there anything that you could say to that person that might prompt them to go ahead and get the product to try for themselves?
Jennifer Johnson:
Yeah, absolutely. I have used all kinds of different supplements over the years. And the number of supplements that are out on the market to address different issues is completely overwhelming. The fact that this product addresses so many different issues and it's personalized based on the horse's needs, that kind of takes away the overwhelmingness because I know that this product is addressing the issues that need to be addressed, and it's not anything more.
I like the fact that there's no fillers in this, and also the fact that you feed such a small amount. My 20-year-old is very picky about anything that's added to her feed and she licked this right up. There's no problem with feeding this to her. And that's a problem I've dealt with over the years, trying to get her to eat different supplements.
John Dowdy:
Right. Yeah. No, that is great. It definitely makes it simple when you can give everybody the same thing and it's customizing to their particular needs.
Jennifer Johnson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), exactly.
John Dowdy:
So yeah, that's awesome. Well, Jennifer Johnson out of Oklahoma, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story here on the Equinety podcast.
Jennifer Johnson:
Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me.
John Dowdy:
Okay. You bet. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Jennifer Johnson:
Bye.
