Susan Bolinger - Laminitis - Thin Soles
John Dowdy:
Hello, and welcome to this week Equinety podcast. We're swinging up into Pennsylvania. We've got Susan [Bolinger 00:18:15] on the call this week. Susan, welcome to the Equinety podcast.
Susan Bolinger:
Hi, thanks for inviting me.
John Dowdy:
Well, you're very welcome. I believe I came across your comments on one of our Facebook posts and I'm like, "Wow, we've got to have you on the podcast to share this story."
John Dowdy:
So we're going to be talking about a severe case of laminitis, is that correct?
Susan Bolinger:
Absolutely.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Okay, so tell us about your horse. How long have you had your horse? What were you doing with your horse? And then we'll kind of lead into what happened with the laminitis issue. So let's just go back and give us a little history a little bit.
Susan Bolinger:
Well, Boone is my old lady horse that I got when I got back in at the ripe old age of 58 and he's probably about 19 or 20 years old now. He's a mix of a gated and Arabian. So I think he's really cute, but as he gets older, he's developing metabolic issues and I have to keep him off the grass. He hasn't been on the grass since July, and he's always had small laminitis issues every year when I don't get him off that grass soon enough.
Susan Bolinger:
But this July was pretty serious. The vet and the farrier were both there looking at him and the vet actually had tears in her eyes because we thought we were going to have to put him down, but we decided to give a special kind of shoeing one more chance. And I also started him on Equinety that our local tack shop owner highly suggested. So I've been giving him a scoop in the morning and a scoop at night since July. His feet have grown so quickly that the farrier and the vet are both amazed. So I have x-rays of it. And they're delighted that Boone is now walking comfortably.
John Dowdy:
That is great. And we would love to see those x-rays.
Susan Bolinger:
And his neckline looks great.
John Dowdy:
Just the overall the... So the neckline looks great. How is he feeling?
Susan Bolinger:
He has graduated to glue-on shoes. We had him on wooden clogs that were casted onto his feet, onto his front feet since July to this past November. And the blacksmith said his hooves have grown so much and have so much sole to them that he can now graduate to glue-on shoes. So those heavy clogs with the casting material is done and he's looking like his old self.
John Dowdy:
So do you know what brought about the laminitis?
Susan Bolinger:
Well, I had gotten a new horse to keep him company and there was a little give and take there as they were trying to decide who was boss and that, with a combination of neighbors fireworks, I think might have helped bring on the inflammation. Just upsetting him, because I did have him leveled for grass, but I don't really know.
John Dowdy:
Yeah.
Susan Bolinger:
And he does have the metabolic issue too. So it was probably a combination of all those things.
John Dowdy:
Sure. And then really thin soles on top of that?
Susan Bolinger:
Yes. He's always had iffy feet.
John Dowdy:
Right.
Susan Bolinger:
And he's never grown a hoof this quickly before. So we were just peas in punch. [crosstalk 00:04:12] Yep.
John Dowdy:
Man. And we hear these stories a lot and I'm excited, here again with the severe case of laminitis and you've got thin soles and hoof. What's really interesting about the Equinety Horse XL, which is what we're talking about specifically today. We've got two products, the Equinety Ultimate OEC, which I'll talk a little bit about here in a minute, but the Equinety Horse XL, we've been on the market for about seven years. For those of you tuning in, maybe this is the first time you're hearing about it. It's 100% pure amino acids. There's no fillers, no sugars, no starches. It's 100% pure amino acids but they're specifically formulated to give the body what it needs to release the necessary hormones, which then the body can use those hormones for its own repair. And the body is sending those hormones to the problem areas.
John Dowdy:
So we talk a lot about, and we have a lot of before and after pictures of hooves. There are some people that think, well, oh, this is a hoof product. It's not a hoof product and it's not a muscle building product. It's not a joint product. It's not a shiny coat product or recovery product. It fits in all of these categories, which makes it really unique. What this product is allowing the horse to do is use its own repairing hormones. And again, the body is now able to send those hormones to the problem areas. So we show a lot of before and afters of hooves and weight gain, thickening of muscle, more muscle, because it's easy to show those things. When you get into thin soles, with the x-rays, obviously we could see it that way, but when you're showing soft tissue or recovery that's kind of difficult to show in a picture.
Susan Bolinger:
The biggest gratitude I got was seeing my farrier's face, looking up at me, and I'm there with bated breath waiting to hear how's he doing after four weeks. And he just shakes his head and his eyes are wide. It's like, "I can't believe it. His hoof has grown so fast." So not only will you see improvement in your horse's ailments, but you'll see a happy farrier and a happy vet too.
John Dowdy:
And a happy horse owner.
Susan Bolinger:
Oh, absolutely.
John Dowdy:
Yep. I tell you, we've got more and more farriers, we've got more vets that are learning about this product all the time. They're starting to carry it and recommend it. We've got a lot of farriers and vets out there that recommended and carry the product, but in so many cases, and it's one of the reasons why I started the podcast a couple of years ago, which these come out on Wednesday mornings. It's a way for us to get this information out from people like yourself. And maybe it will give others hope if they're dealing with a similar situation, but in so many cases, when you've tried all these different things and you're at your wit's end and you're on the search. As most horse owners, you're on the internet searching like mad through the wee morning hours, trying to find different things.
Susan Bolinger:
Yep.
John Dowdy:
So many times we hear people have come across our product and they're like, "Hey, that sounds really good." And then it's like, "Okay, well now this sounds too good to be true because how can it do all that?" But in so many cases, it really does end up being the missing puzzle piece. I tell people all the time, it's not a miracle supplement, but we have seen some amazing and miraculous things with this product.
Susan Bolinger:
Wow.
John Dowdy:
Yeah.
Susan Bolinger:
It seems to go where it's needed.
John Dowdy:
Yes. When you're buying, as an example, if you're buying a hoof supplement, obviously you're targeting the hoof and that's why you're buying the hoof supplement. But what if your horse also has joint problems? Well, now you need a joint supplement or injections. But then what if you need a calmer? Well, then you're buying that and, oh, well, he needs more topline so I need a muscle building supplement. Next thing you know, you're like a chef putting all this stuff together.
John Dowdy:
So many times people tell us when they start using just our Equinety Horse XL, most of the time, this is all they end up using. And they're able to phase a lot of that stuff out. We don't recommend stopping anything that you're doing and just use this. We recommend not changing a thing and just add this to it. And then that way you know it's the only element you've changed. And then over the next couple of weeks to 30 days, people should start noticing a large enough change within you can decide, because you know your horse better than we do. But it's pretty amazing when it comes to the hoof and your farrier is able to notice that much of a change in four weeks. It's pretty impressive.
Susan Bolinger:
And enough to get an expression of, "Wow." Out of this guy who sees feet all day long.
John Dowdy:
Yes. I was actually going to bring that up because that's what they're dealing with every single day and for them to have that kind of a reaction and to go back to the point where you had mentioned your vet and your farrier almost had tears in their eyes saying, "Well, we may have to put this horse down because we don't know what else to do." So your horse has now been on, Boone has now been on the product now since July with this recording, we're in December, so a good six months going on here. How's he doing today?
Susan Bolinger:
He's doing great. He's out there. He's not on our grass. We're in Pennsylvania. And for some reason it's refusing to die, it's still green. It's snowing out on our green grass, but he's in a dry lot. I can't ride him yet, but I am allowed to start hand walking him, which just makes me so happy. To see him pain-free and interested in things again, instead of the stall rest. It's just awful. He is so much improved.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. How's his demeanor? Much happier, I would presume.
Susan Bolinger:
He is at peace and relaxed. Since I can't ride them, I've been teaching them little tricks and stuff. So every day we go through our routine where he lifts all his legs when I point at him and he does a smile, which is great for this year's Christmas card. So yeah, he's a delight.
John Dowdy:
That is so great.
Susan Bolinger:
And he's the boss over my new horse again.
John Dowdy:
Oh, nice.
Susan Bolinger:
So he's feeling good enough to keep the youngster in his place.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Well, I had mentioned earlier about a second product we have, which is called Equinety Ultimate OEC and we brought that out specifically to work in combination with the amino acids because the amino acids, the purpose of those is to give the body what it needs to help repair at the cellular level. The reason why we brought the Ultimate OEC out was to help feed those cells some nutrition so they operate longer and healthier. But also the ingredients, the three main ingredients are really powerful antioxidants, which help reduce inflammation. So it's a flaxseed based omega-3 oil. It's got a thousand IUs of natural vitamin E and colloidal silver all in one. And it comes in a half gallon because there's no fillers in it. So all the feedback we've been receiving this year, has been really, really positive when used in combination with the amino.
John Dowdy:
So hopefully as we get into the new year, we'll be able to start doing some podcasts that are specific around the Ultimate OEC and in combination. Some of the feedback we've received up to this point with people that are using the amino acids, maybe the horse still has a bit of a cough, or maybe they're tying up or they don't want to drink as much on the road. When they've added that Ultimate OEC to the aminos, that seems to be the missing puzzle piece. So, we'll see what happens as we move along here. But I'm just really excited that we've got a couple of products that help in so many ways. And, in your case, when you're dealing with a really bad case of laminitis, having to contemplate whether to put the horse down and now six months later here you are both having fun and being able to work and do something, that's pretty exciting.
Susan Bolinger:
Yep. And he is more advanced and appealing than the average horse, according to the farrier. He's like, "Wow. He'll probably be on these wooden clogs, it could take a year for his feet to grow out." And here we are like six months. So I don't know, is that double?
John Dowdy:
Yeah. In half the time.
Susan Bolinger:
Yep.
John Dowdy:
I tell you... And I'm glad you brought that up because I meant to ask you that, what the healing time was... Yeah, the prognosis, what they were expecting and kind of what's been going on, but I'll tell you, it goes right along with pretty much every story that we hear with whatever injury it is. When they're using the Equinety Horse XL and now in combination with the Ultimate OEC, the healing and repair time is dramatically increased. We just see this over and over and over. But it makes sense. We're giving the body what it needs to help repair itself, which is what the body wants to do anyways. We're just saying, "Hey, here's the stuff that you need to help speed these things up." It's 100% safe. There's not any negative side effects to any medications, supplements. They're amino acids so they're the building blocks-
Susan Bolinger:
And it gets gobbled down.
John Dowdy:
Yes. Very palatable.
Susan Bolinger:
Enthusiastically.
John Dowdy:
Yep. And, I didn't ask you this before, but what was your initial reaction if you remember when you opened up that tub and it was this tiny little scoop?
Susan Bolinger:
I was willing to try anything. I started it on immediately after our local tack shop owner started her one problem horse on it. And she said, she got a call from her farrier saying, "What did you do to this horse? His hoofs are going so fast." So she knew what I was going through with Boone and took me back and got one of your products off the shelf. I've been buying it ever since.
John Dowdy:
Now I'm going to throw this in there real quick, because you mentioned earlier that you're giving a scoop in the morning and a scoop in the evening.
Susan Bolinger:
Yeah.
John Dowdy:
So for those of you tuning in, the science behind that is if you give a scoop... Which by the way, a scoop is like a teaspoon, it's 5.2 grams, regardless of the size of the horse, because what this is doing is targeting the pituitary gland, which is roughly the same size in horses. So if you give a scoop in the morning, then it releases those hormones and those hormones have a 23 and a half hour life cycle. So by the time you give the product the next morning, the hormone levels are back to where they would normally be for that age of a horse. So if you're dealing with a situation like Susan with any kind of an injury or need faster repair, even a performance horse that doesn't have any "big issues," but they need fast repair, recovery, stamina, they're hauling better.
John Dowdy:
If you give a scoop in the morning and a scoop in the evening, then what that's doing, it's keeping the hormone levels elevated. So it just promotes faster repair. So that's the difference in one scoop versus two and again, a hundred percent safe, not going to hurt in any way, shape or form.
Susan Bolinger:
No sugar in it.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. No sugar, no starches, no loading dose, which is nice. So that hundred dollar tub will get you a hundred days if you're doing one scoop a day.
Susan Bolinger:
And it's well worth it.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. So now with that being said, if there's anybody tuning in that says, "Ah, okay, you know what? It sounds good, but I'm still a little bit on the fence here." Is there anything you would say to that person or persons that maybe get them off the fence to give it a try?
Susan Bolinger:
I've tried several different hoof products and I was willingly looking for that magic formula. I think I found it in Equinety. After hearing the professional opinions of my vet and my farrier, both being amazed at how fast this hoof was growing. There's no way I'm going to stop feeding it. So if you're grasping at straws for your horse with sore feet, I would highly recommend it.
John Dowdy:
Yep. That's great. Among other things. And again, the feet are just one of the many things. And that's the great thing about it too, is it's not just going to focus on one thing. Because if you're a horse has horrible feet, thin soles, a dull coat and bad joints, it's going to help in all of these areas, all at the same time. So that's pretty neat. And I'll throw one other thing in there. The amino acids, because they're already in the amino acids stage, they begin working in 24 hours, a very fast absorption. And I would say the upper 90 percentile of people notice changes in 30 days or less. You noticed, your farrier noticed thicker soles already and better hoof growth in 30 days.
Susan Bolinger:
Yeah.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. There are those cases that do take a long time. Although you were seeing the improvements, you're six months in and you can't quite ride yet, but you're working and doing things. So that's great.
Susan Bolinger:
Yeah. Yeah. He's much happier now.
John Dowdy:
That's awesome.
Susan Bolinger:
He is the boss again.
John Dowdy:
Yeah. Well, Susan Bolinger out of Pennsylvania, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your story here on the Equinety podcast.
Susan Bolinger:
It was my pleasure, John. Thanks for a great product.
John Dowdy:
Oh, you bet. Thank you. Bye bye.
Susan Bolinger:
Bye bye.
