Testimonial of Owners Improving the Health
of a Stallion and Broodmare
April 2003
Stallion Health
I have been calling Sharon for her recommendations and suggestions for my horses'
nutritional/health needs for the past 3 years. I tend to call her each time
we get a new horse to see what we can do to optimize their health both for
performance in the show ring and reproductively. When we brought a new stallion
home 2 years ago, I called Sharon to describe his eating habits. He was a very
picky eater and it took him a long time to finish his feed both hay and grain.
He was generally in very good health, however, he did not carry much weight
and in fact having known of this horse for a number of years before we bought
him I knew he had never carried much weight. Sharon felt that he had stomach
or intestinal discomfort and therefore didn't like to eat very much because
that would only make him more uncomfortable. We put him on additives to help
to balance the gut environment and relieve irritation. We kept him on a few
different things for most of a year and then just on a basic maintenance level
of vitamins, minerals and high performance supplements. Last year, the stud
never looked better and he is carrying better weight than he ever has. We have
had lots of compliments from people that have know him for years and say he
looks better now at the age of 15 than he has in many years. Reproductively
he was strong when we got him but we have found that since he has been looking
and feeling healthier, his sperm count and particularly the volume has increased.
This spring at the age of 16 he is, if anything, looking even better than last
year. He continues to get kelp, MSM and a good joint supplement and every couple
of months a probiotic for about a month. It took quite a long time (about a
year) to get him back to optimum health, but it is quite easy to keep him there
now and well worth the little extra money and preparation time.
Our Show Horse and Now Broodmare:
In March of 2002, we bought a mare from Texas. She has great value to us as
a broodmare but we had a couple of obstacles to overcome first. The mare only
has one ovary (the other was removed surgically a few years ago). Also, she
had a slightly odd cycle in that she would ovulate very early - 2-3 days earlier
than would be expected based on the ultrasound examination. In addition to
these obstacles, she was also a very uptight, high strung kind of horse and
was not exactly an easy keeper. Again, I called Sharon for some suggestions
- we added the following items to the mare's diet: Vitamin B, Kelp, MSM and
an initial treatment of Garlic with Ester C. By the fall, the mare was carrying
good weight and had settled down a great deal. She is still a high energy horse
when she's working but mentally she is much easier to focus and relax. This
spring her cycle is normal - her follicle reaches a normal size prior to ovulation
and she has been confirmed - in foal - following one breeding cycle. As if
that's not enough - she looks GREAT and is actually carrying a good amount
of weight.