Feeding, Hi form, supplements
Buddy’s Triumph: Overcoming Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Aug
Angela Medland, is Buddy’s Mum, best friend, carer and protector. She runs a yard in Dorset and has great knowledge of all things equestrian.
Buddy started to develop some worrying traits, he became reluctant to being touched. He was uncomfortable being groomed, tacked up, having his saddle cloth put on and riding was becoming a problem. Angela also recalls that he had very loud gut sounds that she could hear even whilst riding. She called the vet and after a fairly lengthy diagnostic process Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) was the diagnosis. Under the guidance of one of the most eminent gastro vets in the country, Buddy was put on Prednisolone.
Prednisolone tablets are steroids. He had been on the steroids on and off for over a year, at its peak he was on 100 5mg tablets a day, as he seemed to improve the dosage was reduced to 70 tablets then 50 tablets but once Buddy got down to 30 steroids a day the symptoms returned and the dosage had to be increased again to regain control of the situation and to keep him comfortable.
Angela recalls “He just returned to being very twitchy to groom on a lower dose of steroids. If I managed to get onboard I could tell that he was uncomfortable, unsettled to the contact, overreactive to my leg, pooing every two minutes and unhappy to go forward. It was heartbreaking as he is such a lovely moving and happy horse when comfortable in his guts.”
Talking to her vets Angela felt like they had run out of options other than to stay on steroids and she couldn’t feasibly see Buddy on steroids for the rest of his life. Apart from complications this could cause him medically, he could not be competed on steroids either.
So Angela was facing a very difficult decision in May 2024, and was feeling fairly despondent when she wandered into the Hi Form stand at Badminton.
“To be honest I was waiting for some friends to come out of another stand and only popped into the Hi Form one to get out of the sun!” Angela revealed some weeks later. She asked if Hi Form could help Buddy. An initial discussion was entered into about the background to Buddy and what had been happening. It was agreed that Angela would send all Buddy’s notes and scans to Hi Form, these would be assessed and a plan would then be sent for her consideration.
Angela again “I am pretty sceptical about supplement companies. My experience is that they tell you what you ‘need’ without the real background knowledge of the situation. It was refreshing that a supplement company didn’t even want to talk about their supplements, they wanted details about Buddy and a full understanding of the situation. I sent all Buddy’s information to them when I got home from Badminton.”
“ A couple of days later I received a phone call with a plan. There was no magic being pushed, in fact the honesty was stark, there were no guarantees that this would work. I was at a stage where I was willing to try anything to get Buddy right. Honestly, I was blown away by the care and attention to detail. The guys in the UK have a great team of specialists in Australia, made up of Clinical Nutritionists, Nutritionists and Naturopaths, it was the combined skill set that drew up the plan. I followed the advice to the letter, changing Buddy to natural feeding and introducing the new supplement regime. Each supplement was explained to me and why it was going to be utilised. Essentially I used Detox to assist in cleaning out his system, then Oxydane, ProflamAid Plus, BioEquus Gold and Respirafix.”
“I began to reduce the steroids with some trepidation, looking for the signs of IBS returning. Buddy was soon steroid free and every day I was waiting for the discomfort of being touched returning. It didn’t. In June I even felt comfortable enough to leave Buddy for a well-earned holiday.”
“We are now 3 months since I changed my feeding regime and started to use Hi Form. Buddy is back to loving life. On the 24th July Buddy and I were on the canter track for the first time in over a year, the smile on my face must have looked ridiculous, I was euphoric. Last week we were back out dancing between the whiteboards, coming back with a red rosette. Life is good, I have my lovely horse back something that was unthinkable 3 months ago”
“My vets did a great job pinpointing where the problem was – the scans showed clearly the inflammation in his intestines. They could treat him with medication, this is their speciality and it worked. However, the long term management needed a different speciality and approach. Hi Form understood the problem and how changing and purifying his feed would benefit him. I have honestly been astounded”
“The guys at Hi Form are very upfront – they don’t deal in magic – they deal in nutrition, trying to give the best advice possible from a holistic standpoint of which the supplements are a part of the whole – I can’t thank you enough”
“Finally to my friend who was keeping me hanging around in the heat at Badminton, I owe you a very large thank you, I will never complain about going on to stands again!”
Angela runs her own yard, Seymours Farm in Dorset.
Hi Form’s advice is freely available to anyone who wishes to ask. We will request a full history, don’t worry it can be over the phone, vet reports if you have them, as much detail as you can possibly give us. In combination with our team in Australia we will return to you with a detailed plan to assist your horse.
