Cathy Wieschhoff, a three-day eventer from Lexington, Kentucky, who teaches, trains and competes nationally and internationally, believes in taking a proactive approach to horse health.
“If there’s anything we can do to make our horses healthier, we should do it,” she says. “I use SUCCEED because it’s a way to be proactive about the horse’s health, rather than trying to fix something when it’s broken. If you wait until there’s an issue, it may be too late.”
Cathy, a 25-year veteran eventer, has been using SUCCEED since 2007. In 2010, recognizing the positive effect SUCCEED was having on her horses, she became a Sponsor in the (free) SUCCEED Rewards Program. As a Sponsor, Cathy earns Reward Points for spreading the word about SUCCEED and encouraging friends to take the SUCCEED Challenge, a risk-free opportunity to try SUCCEED. When friends sign up and complete the SUCCEED Challenge by using their Sponsor’s unique code, the Sponsor earns Rewards Points they can redeem for cash, gift cards, or free SUCCEED.
So far, Cathy has helped 10 riders and trainers take the SUCCEED Challenge with their horses, and has received cash in return for earned Reward Points. She currently uses SUCCEED on the majority of her horses, from top 4* horses like Spelga Dam (aka “Kate”), to her off-the-track thoroughbreds just being introduced to the sport.
“I’ve been recommending SUCCEED ever since I saw the difference it made in my horses’ overall health,” Cathy says. “Other trainers can see that my horses are happy and healthy, outside and inside. My horses are a great example of all-encompassing equine wellness.”
The SUCCEED Difference
Currently, Cathy has six horses on SUCCEED: her two OTTBs (Yacht Club Debt and Biederman); two Preliminary horses (Ready for April and Goin’ to Seattle); and her two retired horses, Kate and Opie. She credits SUCCEED for helping her new horses and performance horses be at their best, and says she’s also found that horses on SUCCEED tend to be less reactive in their behavior.
“It’s part of my overall approach to training,” she says. “If horses are healthier on the inside, it helps them to do what I’m asking on the outside. It’s all part of keeping a healthy horse.”
This year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is going to be nothing less than exciting. From past Olympians to Rolex winners and veterans, this star-studded line up guarantees a fast-paced equestrian competition.
Among the impressive list of riders competing at Rolex 2013 are a couple of SUCCEED-sponsored riders: Jennie Brannigan and Hawley Bennett-Awad.
Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda
Jennie Brannigan has been named as one of three featured riders at Rolex this year. This is her first time competing at Rolex and doing so has been a dream of hers since she started her career at age 14.
Jennie will be competing with her horse Cambalda, aka Ping, a bay Irish gelding. They’ve become quite the pair since 2009 when they won the Intermediate Division at the AECs and ranked fifth overall on the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Intermediate Leaderboard.
In 2010, USEA named Jennie to the Top 10 Rider List while Cambalda was added to the Developing Rider List, and became the USEA/SmartPak Horse of the Year.
In 2011 and 2012, Cambalda and Jennie had fantastic years at the Advanced level, winning the CIC 3* at the Fork, taking 2nd at Richland and finishing 3rd at Jersey Fresh.
Follow Jennie’s Rolex journey on her blog and visit her Eventing website to find out more about her horses, coaching and training, schedule and more.
Jennie has been a SUCCEED sponsored rider since 2007. She recently posted this message to the SUCCEED Facebook page: “Placing second in the 3* at The Fork was the perfect last run before Ping and I head to Rolex! Thank you so much for all of your support, I know Ping will be competing at his best thanks to your amazing products!”
Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice
Hawley Bennett-Awad will be competing at Rolex with her bay thoroughbred Gin & Juice. Hawley has competed at Rolex several times over the years.
Gin & Juice, aka Ginny, received a silver medal for Team Canada at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, the 2010 USEA Mare of the Year Award, a top 10 finish at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, and a spot on the 2012 Olympic team – just to name a few of her accomplishments.
Follow Hawley’s Rolex journey on her blog and visit her Eventing website to find out more about her farm, horses, lessons and training, achievements and more.
Hawley has been a SUCCEED-sponsored rider since 2010.
Both Jennie and Hawley are riders to watch at Rolex 2013. SUCCEED and Freedom Health wishes these two riders, and especially their horses Ping and Ginny, safe, successful rides at Rolex this weekend.
The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event begins April 25 and goes through April 28. You can find all Rolex updates, information about horses and riders, and more on their website, Facebook, or Twitter.
In Monday Myths we debunk common misconceptions about a range of topics regarding equine digestive health and care. These are real statements made by real horse people. Have a question or topic you would like to see covered? Submit your idea here.
Statement: My horse doesn’t show any signs of weak digestive health. I don’t need SUCCEED.
It’s a common misconception that SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program is just a supplement for horses showing signs of weak digestive health. Typically, we find that many owners turn to SUCCEED to help maintain GI health when they want to support a healthy digestive system all the time, to ensure good manure consistency, a healthy weight, optimal nutrient absorption, and just to ensure their horse is healthy and comfortable in the face of the challenges of modern horse keeping, traveling, and competing.
But while many people may start using SUCCEED with their horses for specific health reasons, they say that they stay on it long term because of the benefits they see in their horses’ attitude, behavior, willingness, trainability, and performance as well as overall health and wellness.
Real-Life Examples of Behavior and Performance Benefits
Don’t take our word for it, though. We’ve spoken with top competitors and trainers in many disciplines who use SUCCEED on the horses in their programs, and here’s what they had to say.
Reined cowhorse trainer Ted Robinson once shared that he sees the most difference in the new horses that come to him for training. “The first change I see is in their coat,” Ted says. “But the biggest thing I notice is an attitude change. They are happier to see you and more willing to train.”
Susan Treabess, an FEI Para Dressage rider, originally tried SUCCEED to encourage her partner Moneypenny’s ongoing digestive health. Susan then says, “We saw dramatic results in her ride-ability and trainability. I wouldn’t dare compete a horse without SUCCEED.”
Arabian trainer John Rannenberg was one of the first to use SUCCEED, ever. “I saw a change in less than a week after I began using SUCCEED,” John said. “One of my best English Pleasure horses is very high strung and sensitive. She wants things her way and can be very difficult. The difference with her on SUCCEED has been dramatic. She really enjoys her work now and has become much easier to train.”
These are just a few specific examples of how SUCCEED benefited these top-level horses (and their owners, riders, and trainers) in areas you may not associate with digestive health.
Why Digestive Health May Impact Attitude, Trainability, and Ride-ability
So, just what is the tie-in between a healthy equine digestive system and a horse’s attitude and performance? Ted Robinson put it best: “A happy horse is like a happy person. He does a lot better. If the horse’s stomach and GI tract are healthy, he will perform much better.”
Much of the way we care for horses today, along with the challenges of training, travel, and competition, can compromise the natural health of the equine digestive tract and may impact how a horse feels and performans. Also, some horses are more stoic and don’t necessarily show signs of digestive health concerns.
It’s worth considering that the benefits of supporting digestive health even in a seemingly “healthy” horse could still have a positive impact on how well that horse relates to you and performs for you.
Digestive support only impacts physical health = myth. As the equine digestive system is a critical component of overall wellness, the better a horse feels, the better it may respond and perform.
SUCCEED’s mission is to deliver content that not only educate horse owners, riders and trainers on SUCCEED products and news, but provides important information about how SUCCEED will benefit your horse’s health and nutrition. Your horses are our top priority, and as 2013 continues, here’s a compilation of the most popular articles posted about SUCCEED on our blog in 2012.
What Goes In: SUCCEED Ingredients Series
With just a heavily-regulated box label to go on, it can be very difficult to understand what’s really in your horse’s supplements and why it makes a difference. This series was written in 5 parts all addressing different ingredients in SUCCEED explaining how and why they work to help answer the common question, “what makes SUCCEED different?”:
What Goes In Pt 1: How To Read & Understand Your Horse’s Supplement Label – Equine supplement manufacturers who go “by the book” and get licensed for sale in the US are subjected to heavy regulation regarding how we label our product, what we call our ingredients, and how we describe what it does. Learn about how these regulations affect what you read on your supplement’s label.
What Goes In Pt 2: Benefits Of Oat Flour In SUCCEED- The oat flour in SUCCEED is beneficial to horses because it contains an unusually high concentration of beta glucan, which has many benefits for digestive health and immunity. Learn about the benefits of beta glucan, as well as the types of oats we use and how they are processed to retain higher concentrations of beta glucan.
What Goes In Pt 3: Benefits Of Oat Oil In SUCCEED – The oat oil in SUCCEED is rich in polar lipids that may help your horse’s brain function, energy, digestion, and overall wellness. For healthy equine digestion, polar lipids play a key role in improving the structure and function of cellular membranes responsible for nutrient absorption.
What Goes In Pt. 4: Benefits of Irradiated Dried Yeast in SUCCEED – The yeast products in SUCCEED contain two forms of a complex yeast sugar called Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS). MOS makes the yeast ingredients in SUCCEED so beneficial because it is widely used in nutrition as a natural additive because of its promotion of gastrointestinal health. It also helps overall wellness, energy levels, and performance.
What Goes In Pt. 5: The Synergy of SUCCEED’s Ingredients – SUCCEED provides good digestive health through a combination of ingredients working together to support the healthy structure and function of the entire equine GI tract – not just one portion. Overall digestive wellness and a proven track record are what set SUCCEED apart.
Using SUCCEED to Help Your Easy Keeping Horse Lose Weight
The ingredients in SUCCEED help with nutrient absorption, which means that your horse won’t have to consume as much concentrated feed to meet energy and nutrition needs. With SUCCEED working to get the most out of the roughage your horse is naturally engineered to eat, he’ll get all of the vitamins and minerals he needs to perform — without starchy, sugary hard feeds that just adds calories.
Feeding SUCCEED to Fuel International Success: Shannon and Steffen Peters
2012 was a big year for Steffen Peters as he prepared to head to the Olympics among other international competitions. As top international competitors, Shannon and Steffen understand the role optimized digestive health plays in international success. They have been using SUCCEED since the summer of 2005, when Shannon read about it in a magazine and decided to conduct a blind test on three of their top horses. She didn’t tell Steffen which horses she placed on SUCCEED, instead asking him to identify the horses on SUCCEED after three months. Based on the positive changes in their coats, weight and trainability, he guessed correctly.
Steffen is a SUCCEED sponsored rider who understands the importance of keeping a horse healthy on the inside for great success on the outside.
These were just a few of our most popular SUCCEED articles from 2012. To see more, check out our blog and be sure to subscribe to get the latest SUCCEED news directly to your inbox. Also, check out the most popular articles in our Horse Health & Nutrition section from 2012.
Are you among the many dedicated owners and trainers up north who want to support their horses’ digestive health with SUCCEED? Good news! Original SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program in both paste and granules is now officially available for purchase in Canada.
Where to Buy SUCCEED in Canada
Canadian horse owners and trainers may now purchase SUCCEED DCP from their veterinarians and through major equestrian retailers, including Greenhawk Harness & Equestrian Supplies. Veterinarians can obtain SUCCEED through Canadian veterinary supply distributors; including WDDC, Veterinary Purchasing Company Limited, and Central Sales Ltd.
About SUCCEED Digestive Health Supplement for Horses
SUCCEED DCP has been available in the United States since late 2004, but did not meet the regulatory requirements for feed products in Canada. A new product category – called “Low Risk Veterinary Health Products” – was established in 2012 by Health Canada, and SUCCEED does meet the requirements for this. The registration under this new program was approved recently.
“We are very excited to be able to give horse owners and veterinarians in Canada the opportunity to use this product,” said John Hall, president of Freedom Health. “We receive inquiries regularly from Canadians asking why they can’t get SUCCEED, but it was not under our control. We’re pleased that Health Canada recognized the need for a new classification to address products like SUCCEED that are not feed but are also not drugs. The nature of how feed ingredients and claims are defined there make this particularly appropriate.”
About Freedom Health LLC
SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program and the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test are produced and distributed exclusively by Freedom Health, LLC of Aurora, Ohio. The company is focused on finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them.
The SUCCEED Equine Blog is all about empowering horse owners, trainers, and barn managers to better understand and care for their horses' overall wellness.
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Are you among the many dedicated owners and trainers up north who want to support their horses’ digestive health with SUCCEED? Good news! 
