Lameness Due To Chronic Abscesses - 2,100lb Draft Horse Diesel
After accident during the pulling competition, Diesel has been dealing with abscesses every two weeks and often needing a week or two to recover. This cycle of abscess and recovery left him mostly lame for almost 4 years. When Roberta got an x-ray result of a damaged coffin bone then she had it in her mind to make him comfortable on his way out. Roberta tells how Equinety brought Diesel back to life.
John D.:
Hello, and welcome to another Equinety podcast. This is your host John Dowdy, and this month we're in for a real special treat because we've got Roberta on out of Florida. Roberta, welcome to the show.
Roberta:
Thank you.
John D.:
Well, when you first reached out to us, you've got a 2100 pound draft horse. 19 years old I believe?
Roberta:
Yes, sir.
John D.:
Yup. And one of your initial questions, you were quite a bit skeptical because you've tried lots of things, and I believe in your message you said, "Well, one more try couldn't hurt with something else."
Roberta:
That's true.
John D.:
Yup. And I hear you're glad you did.
Roberta:
Yes, very much so.
John D.:
Awesome.
Roberta:
It's made a wonderful difference in him.
John D.:
Good. So tell us a little bit about what was going on with Diesel, which is by the way a perfect name for a 2100 pound draft horse.
A Bit of Diesel's History with Abscesses
Roberta:
Yeah, he's jet black too, so it fits.
John D.:
So what was going on with Diesel?
Roberta:
Well, he started out on pulling competition in '07, and he pulled numerous competitions here in Florida and up in New Hampshire and New York.
Roberta:
Somewhere along the line he stepped on himself at the coronet band, or his partner stepped on him, and injured right at the coronet hairline, and ever since then he chronically abscessed about every three to four months it seemed like. He would blow abscess right at the hairline, it would separate ... Oh, it was awful.
Roberta:
Of course with that, he would be lame for anywhere from a week to two weeks until it would clear up and go away. And then he would be okay for a little while, and then he would continue to abscess again. This went on for the past four years I've been battling abscesses with him.
Roberta:
I had the vet come out. We x-rayed him. He shows signs of deterioration of the coffin bone. So, my goal at this point now, I know there's no healing that coffin bone, but to make him comfortable.
John D.:
Right.
Roberta:
At this point it's to make him comfortable so he can live out the rest of his days in retirement.
John D.:
Sure.
Roberta:
So like I've said before, I tried all kinds of stuff and nothing seemed to work. I didn't see any difference. So I saw your ad on Facebook and I said, "Well, what's one more thing? Let's try this," and I'm so glad that I did.
John D.:
Yeah. So you made your first order I believe right around January 1st of this year, 2019, so as of this recording we are close to the middle of March. What kinds of things have you seen since you started and now being almost two and a half months in?
How Equinety Was Able To Help
Roberta:
Well, within two days after I started the product, he was walking and taking normal steps. He wasn't limping, which was amazing to me because this poor horse has been so sore. Bute about every other day I was giving him prior. I stopped the bute. I'm not giving him any bute.
John D.:
And he's doing perfectly fine without it?
Roberta:
Yeah, he's good. Yes. He's been great.
Roberta:
The last couple of days here recently, probably a combination with the warm weather that we have here, has really got him shedding really good. I mean I just pulled gobs of hair off of him. Last summer he did not shed it all the way out. He had long spots, patches of hair on his body, all summer long. He didn't shed. So I'm hoping that now, with the help of Equinety, that this was going to help him shed out and get his regular coat back.
John D.:
Right. Yeah and-
Roberta:
Which is, what I understand, is part of the Cushing's thing.
John D.:
Right, which you suspect he might be on the front end of Cushing's.
Roberta:
Right.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)- Now one of the initial questions that you asked me, and the reason I bring this up is because we do get this so often, is you asked if you should give him two scoops because of his size. And what's really interesting about the Equinety product, ultimately what it's doing it's targeting the pituitary gland, which is roughly the same size in mammals whether it be a draft horse, tiny mini pony, or anything in between. So it's not based on the size of the animal, it's based on the size of the pituitary, which is about the size of a pea ... even in dogs.
John D.:
So since you've started this, you've just been giving one scoop all along?
Roberta:
One scoop. Yes, sir.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)- Yup. Yeah, that's amazing.
Roberta:
Yeah.
John D.:
Now, there are times where we do recommend two scoops for competition horses or horses that are injured because that helps with recovery and stamina and focus and things like that. But one scoop. All right? And this is a prime example of how it's helped this little fella.
Roberta:
Yeah.
John D.:
Has your farrier commented any on what's going on with his hooves? I know you're battling with abscesses. How are those kind of seem to be doing these days?
Roberta:
The last time he was here a couple weeks ago, there was nothing obvious of anything that had been brewing here recently. He had one soft spot, and that was all he came across this time, which could be from an old one that just took some time to come out.
Roberta:
He's had ... Oh goodness. The left front seems to be his worst. It seems to be his worst foot, but he's also blown abscesses on his back right that have been really just ... I mean, so bad he wouldn't even take a step. It hurt so bad to see him. It just broke my heart. Terrible.
John D.:
Right. And your personal opinion, you believe since he's been on the Equinety, they haven't really shown up? Except this one is could just now be exposing itself, but have you noticed a decrease in the abscesses, or just healthier all the way around there?
Roberta:
Definitely a decrease. He's been trimmed right down the sole. He's cut the good sole, a part of the foot off, has not come across any soft spots or evidence of any bruising or anything in there for an abscess pocket.
John D.:
Great.
Roberta:
It's been ... yeah. It's been a really big difference I think, considering what I was battling before. And it's been ... Well, what did we say? It's what, three months now?
John D.:
Yeah. Yup. About two and a half, yeah.
Roberta:
About three months.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Roberta:
Yeah. So, yeah. Prior to starting Equinety, he was abscessed probably about two weeks prior to it.
John D.:
Oh wow.
Roberta:
So he would be right about now is when he would start to show signs and start blowing abscesses.
John D.:
Right. Right.
Roberta:
So he's coming right into it right now. So I'll have to keep you posted on that.
John D.:
Absolutely. I'm sure everybody would love to hear an update on that.
John D.:
One of the other things that you were able to use Diesel for is, I guess he was highlighted in the Citrus Chronicle newspaper for a fundraiser that you do with the VFW.
Roberta:
Yes. VFW Post #4337 was the VFW in Inverness. I'm a member of theirs and the auxiliary, and we did a fundraiser for the kitchen to raise money for them to get a new stove, and I brought him down and set up a corral down there for him. And people were just at awe when they see him because he's so big, and they stand there and they look up at him and go, "Wow, he's just so huge!"
John D.:
Right. Right.
Roberta:
They said they hear draft horses, but a lot of people have never really been up close and personal to them. So it's warming to see the results and reaction that people have.
John D.:
Sure. Sure. Now you also mentioned to me before we got on the podcast here in the last few days you've seen him kind of running around and feeling real good.
An Almost Complete Change of Behavior
Roberta:
Yeah, he was ... He was walking to the barn and it just totally blew my mind because I have not heard him do this in a long time. He let out a squeal and he actually jogged, and I just took a retake and looked and I was like, "Oh my God. You must be feeling better."
John D.:
Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, because prior to that you said that he would just stand or lay down or he just wouldn't move.
Roberta:
Yeah.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Roberta:
Yeah. He was just hanging out under his trees, and there's days at where he wouldn't even walk. I mean it was so sad. It just tore me up.
John D.:
Oh wow. Yup. So now that you've ... Up to this point and seen the progress, he's feeling good and running around and playing ...
Roberta:
Yeah, yeah. Actually he was playing with his two pasture mates out there right now.
John D.:
That's awesome. So moving forward here, what future plans do you have for Diesel?
Roberta:
Well, I do want to be able to ride him again.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Roberta:
You know, I don't do any hard riding. Just a little leisure walk around the neighborhood, and up and down the streets. And we still have a group of us, every so often we'll ride down to the Shamrock Restaurant and go and have lunch or breakfast down there in the mornings.
John D.:
Right.
Roberta:
It's nice to get the people's reaction when you pull up there on a horse. And then they get up next to him and they go, "Wow! He's huge!"
John D.:
Yeah, but that's quite a shock for some people.
Roberta:
Yes.
John D.:
Awesome. Well, this is one of the questions that I typically ask everybody that's on our podcast, and I know in your case you were very skeptical about trying the product and I know there's a lot of people out there that have just come across our website or our ads or listening to podcasts and hearing and learning about Equinety for the first time.
John D.:
And as skeptical as you were, we might have some of those same people that are on the fence. What advice or things could you maybe let them know to go ahead and pull the trigger?
Roberta:
Well, what's one more product to try? And in my case it couldn't hurt, so I made that step, got the sample. Just try the sample because it's ... $24.99 is nothing compared to probably what you spent over the past years on products.
John D.:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)-
Roberta:
Try it. Probably within three days you'll see a big results. In my case it was like two days. Just to see him walk was amazing to me, and not be sore.
John D.:
Yeah, that is definitely life-changing.
Roberta:
Yeah. Definitely.
John D.:
One of the great things with Equinety, it does start working within 24 hours. It's just a matter of what you can start seeing. Just in this case, we had some other cases where people are dealing with mystery lameness and they've run out of options. They're at their wit's end and everybody's scratching their head, and they tried a little sample tub and whammo bammo. Within less than a week people were seeing some crazy things.
John D.:
Now, I always tell people this is not a miracle supplement, but it sure does some miraculous things. And the odds of this working are on the very, very high side, so at a dollar a day, I think it's a very ... We try to price this at a very affordable price point so everybody and anybody could afford it.
Roberta:
Yup, yup.
John D.:
Well Roberta, thank you so much for joining us here on the Equinety podcast and sharing your Equinety story. And when we get all of this uploaded and we'll post some pictures and some video of Diesel there so that everybody can take a good look at him and ... Obviously it'll be a lot smaller than life-size.
John D.:
But I really appreciate your time and sharing your Equinety story.
Roberta:
Oh, it's been a wonderful journey. As far as I'm concerned, that it's an awesome product and I would really recommend it for anyone to try it.
John D.:
Awesome.
Roberta:
Definitely.
John D.:
Good deal. All right, well thank you so much Roberta.
Roberta:
You're welcome, sir.
John D.:
All right.
