My Personal Colic Success Story
During the winter of 2014 my husband Rob and I had just finished evening chores. We headed to the house, peeled off our winter layers and went about preparing dinner. As dusk approached Rob glanced out over the fields towards the barn and said, “Hey look, your horse is laying down in the field.” As I looked out I noticed that it wasn’t actually my horse. It was the other big, dark horse on the farm, a teenage Warmblood mare named “Light.” We watched her for a moment to see if she was just there to enjoy a quick roll in the snow. It soon became clear that was not the case.
Lying down in the field was totally out of character for any of our horses at this time of the night as evening hay had just been fed out. The alarm bells rang! This mare NEVER walks away from food, especially hay in winter. We geared back up and headed for the barn. Light was quiet as we approached her and willingly allowed us to halter her, get her up and lead her into the barn. Her vitals were normal but her expression was dull and her gut sounds were minimal. We decided to administer the SayWhoa colic remedy that we had had previous success with. After a few minutes of observation we put her in a stall with some water.
Per the product instructions we checked her 30 minutes later. When we entered the barn she looked at us with ears pricked, bright eyes and offered a nicker. She was clearly no longer in distress and her gut sounds were improved. However, she hadn’t passed any manure. We decided to leave her in and recheck her later. When we returned a few hours later we were greeted by a very loud nicker and a very lively horse. We were relieved to see that she had consumed water, passed 3 piles of manure and urinated. She earned her ticket for release back into the herd and boy was she ready!
I was introduced to the “SayWhoa” (previously known as StopColic) product a few years ago at a CHA International Conference at the Kentucky Horse Park. I visited the booth, learned about the product, listened to some testimonials and decided it was worth the investment. At that time the creators of the product inquired about me becoming a possible supplier here in the Northeast as they are based in Texas. However, I passed on their offer as I had no personal, firsthand experience with using it.
Since then I have successfully used the product on three different occasions. One was with a 39 year old Quarter Horse and two were with the above mentioned mare. I now feel compelled to make it as easy as possible for my clients and local horse friends to have a bottle on hand. I recommend keeping one in the barn and one in the horse trailer. This all natural product has a 3+ year shelf life and does not have to be kept at above freezing temperatures.
Colic is the number one cause of death in horses. We all know that catching and treating it early can make the difference and help increase the chance of survival. This product is now available for purchase at my facility in Vermont, my clinics and the lesson barns I travel to. Visit the www.SayWhoa.com for more information. Let’s increase our odds of successful colic outcomes!