I am the proud owner of a very goofy, “accident prone” gelding. I love him to pieces, but he’s “one of those” that has never been an easy keeper. This horse is always finding ways to get into trouble, despite my best efforts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my vet say, “I’ve never seen this before!” and “do you just want the big bottle?” It’s not joke that I would literally like to wrap him in bubble wrap. So, in addition to trying to protect him from external injury, it’s super important that I keep close tabs on his diet and internal functions.

The dreaded “C” word is unfortunately one that horse owners are all too familiar with. It has touched all of us at one point in time and is one of those unfortunate realities of the horse world. We can do everything in our power to try and prevent it, but sometimes it just happens.

“I was neurotic about her diet and care, but despite my best efforts she ended up colicking … she had a twist and would need surgery…”

One of my first experiences with colic was with my wonderful childhood horse Lilly. This horse was one of those unicorns that was bombproof, did everything I ever asked of her, and just the sweetest, kindest mare. She brought me through middle school and high school, several Pony Club ratings, horse camp, many ribbons, and more memories and adventures than one could possibly count.

I was over the moon when my family purchased a small horse farm that allowed us to keep her at home. I was neurotic about her diet and care, but despite my best efforts she ended up colicking one day. Even though we caught it early and had the vet out right away, she had a twist and would need surgery. Due to her age as well as cost factors, we had to make the heart-breaking decision to put her down. Had cost not been a factor, I would have seriously considered the choice. Just knowing that part could have been removed from the equation would have given me a lot more peace of mind.

“Knowing that … should I ever have to make that dreaded decision again, cost won’t be a factor, lets me rest easy.”

Fast forward to today; still as a neurotic horse-owner with lots of worry, I try to have as many bases covered as possible. Being an OTTB, Max had stressors early in life, so when he came to me as a three-year-old, I knew gut health would be important. I learned early on that he was prone to gas colic episodes when he had a mild colic episode within the first week of owning him.

I began to take a full look at his diet and needs and made sure that it would fit his lifestyle and workload. I had heard about ColiCare from friends as well as via advertising and decided it was worth a closer look. Knowing that I wanted to support his digestive health was a no-brainer but realizing that SmartPak had several ColiCare Eligible Supplements appropriate for Max’s needs gave me such peace of mind. I immediately got him started on SmartDigest Ultra and enrolled him in the ColiCare Program. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was! The annual wellness requirements were things I did for him anyway and adding it right to his monthly SmartPak was so easy and affordable.

Knowing that (knock on wood), should I ever have to make that dreaded decision again, cost won’t be a factor, lets me rest easy. Also, knowing that there is no age limit on ColiCare doesn’t leave me faced with difficult decisions as he grows older. I am so grateful that this amazing program exits! While I can’t stop Max from making bad life choices, I can control his diet and gut health everyday and give him the tools to life his best life.