Thank you to UK owner and rider Karen Jackson for sending in her story of success with her Hanoverian mare Coco. After putting Coco on SUCCEED®, Karen saw improvements across the board in the mare’s health, fitness, performance ability, and attitude. Enjoy Karen’s retelling of Coco’s story and join us in celebrating with them.

I bought Coco as a rising 5 year old. She was very green, having been started, and then turned away for five months, after achieving Elite Candidate status at the Hanoverian mare performance test and grading.

Whilst clearly a very talented horse with an affectionate side to her, she also had a reputation for being difficult, and the grooms were fearful of her.

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We love to hear about you, your horses, and the health and performance success you are finding together. Thanks to Fay Windsor for writing in to tell the story of her horse Sovereign and how he has benefited from SUCCEED. The results speak for themselves. Use the share your story form on the website if you have a SUCCEED story you’d like to see featured on our blog.

My 5 year old Friesian/Percheron cross, Sovereign, has really benefited from SUCCEED. I first put him on SUCCEED when he was on stall rest recovering from hock surgery, as I was worried that being in a stall for 24 hours a day every day would lead to digestive issues and colic. I researched everything on the market and SUCCEED kept coming up as the most recommended product out there.

Knowing he had just gone through the trauma of the surgery, I could not lose him to a digestive problem that I could prevent with SUCCEED. He came back from the hospital with extreme stress which was CLEARLY affecting his digestion. He hated being trapped inside and the stress of this and the surgery was wreaking havoc on his digestive system.

We started the SUCCEED in the paste format right away and were relieved to see a noticeable improvement in about a week. We switched to the top dressing when his digestive issues settled down (about 10 days after we started the paste).

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Showing horses on the AQHA circuit is incredibly competitive – and equally as expensive. And with rigorous training, travel, and competition schedules, it can be very difficult on the horses who may get worn out physically and mentally.

Attitude issues, resistance to training and even competing, and stall vices like weaving were all problems with which top AQHA breeder and trainer Nancy Sue Ryan has dealt. Listen in as Nancy, owner of Show Stop Farm with multiple AQHA World and Congress titles to her and her horses’ names, talks about how she manages her horses’ mental and physical health by using SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program® (or read the highlights below).

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After over 30 years in Thoroughbred racing, Nick Zito is a man who needs no introduction among track enthusiasts around the world. One of only 17 trainers in history to saddle two or more Kentucky Derby winners, Zito has earned the title “Racing Legend” through hard work, perseverance and dedication to the needs of his horses. He was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 2005.

Zito most recently won recognition for saddling a remarkable five horses for the 2005 Kentucky Derby. He also turned heads in the 2004 Belmont Stakes, when his Birdstone beat out Smarty Jones to take the coveted third jewel of the Triple Crown. But this New York native’s career includes enough highlights to fill a novel.

Zito’s racing roots run deep. His father exercised horses for trainer Max Hirsch and Zito himself started hot walking and grooming for trainer Buddy Jacobson as a teenager. He also worked for trainers Robert P. Lake, Johnny Campo and LeRoy Jolley. In December, 1972 he saddled his fi rst winner, Palais.

But Zito’s concern for his charges goes far beyond the race track. The respected veteran always keeps an open mind about new methods and new ways to help his horses maintain optimum health during the grueling training and racing campaigns that make them winners.

“Some of it’s very simple. Horses do better when they feel good,” Zito said. “Attitude is a critical part of what it takes to be a winning race horse. When horses are in pain and they don’t feel well, their attitude suffers. Thoroughbred race horses are under a lot of stress and they have digestive problems … There’s no doubt it affects their performance. When people have a stomach ache they’re not much fun; pretty poor company. Horses are no different.”

Trying SUCCEED

In the fall of 2004, Zito found himself working with a racing filly who exhibited a variety of problems. While at Keeneland, he decided to try using SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program.

“The first thing I noticed was the filly’s change in attitude,” Zito said. “What a difference it made. Her energy level and her haircoat began to improve almost immediately. By November I had every horse in my barn on SUCCEED.”

After these initial successes, Zito became more and more convinced of the product’s benefi ts for his horses. And in early 2005, he approached Freedom Health, LLC—the makers of SUCCEED—about the possibility of putting his legendary name and reputation behind the product.

“I was so impressed with SUCCEED that I contacted them,” Zito said.

The Results

“I’ve been in the racing industry for thirty years and I guess I’ve been asked to endorse almost every kind of horse-related product at one time or another,” Zito said. “I’ve never wanted to recommend anything until now. I believe in SUCCEED 100%. I’ve seen dramatic results in the six months I’ve used this product. My horses’ haircoats, appetites, and blood work are all great. If they feel better, they run better.”

Though only 26 years old, Kate Levy is already a veteran rider in the show jumping arena. She’s competed at the Grand Prix level since she was 18, while completing her International Business degree at Georgetown University.

In 2003 Kate obtained a gray Belgian Warmblood gelding as part of a multiple horse deal. “Vent du Nord was thrown in at the end,” she recalls. “But I didn’t really want him. He was so ornery and stubborn.”

Kate had seen difficult horses before. “Top performance horses typically have lots of character and eccentricities. But Vent du Nord was something else. At first I swear I spent more time on the ground than I did on his back. He would spin and rear. And it was hard to get him in form.”

“Everyone I knew suggested I should get rid of him. But while I value their advice, I could tell Vent du Nord had potential. Maybe I was naïve, but I refused to give up.”

In 2005 the gelding was showing obvious signs of digestive imbalance. “He had chronic diarrhea,” Kate says. “We tried everything. All those products, all that money… and nothing worked.”

That’s when she decided to try SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program®. “I’d read about SUCCEED. I knew International Grand Prix jumper Laura Kraut was using SUCCEED on all her horses. So I tried it. And it really worked wonders. The problem went away for good.

But the benefits of SUCCEED went beyond solving Kate’s initial problem. “What really got my attention were the changes in Vent du Nord’s attitude. It was like night and day. Not all at once, but gradually I got to see more of the horse I hoped was hiding in there somewhere.”

Since then, Kate has been reaping the benefits. “Vent du Nord’s temperament has really improved. Now he approaches his work seriously, and he’s less excitable and unruly. He’s becoming more and more of a show horse.”

The value of optimal digestive health was apparent in other ways too. “SUCCEED has helped his physical condition too. The horse was always thin, with a slight build. He had a good appetite and ate fine, but the feed seemed to just go right through him. Now he’s gained weight, and kept it on. He’s more fit, with a more athletic build. Even his form is better.”

Ultimately, the benefits were evident in the show ring too. “Vent du Nord is nine now, and he’s placed in three World Cup Grand Prix classes. Three years ago it was a miracle to even get through the in-gate of the show ring, let alone actually finish a jumper class in his saddle.”

Kate now appreciates the impact that a horse’s digestive health can have on its appearance, temperament and performance. “I feel like we have an advantage, just knowing what SUCCEED can do.”

Horses’ digestive tracts maintain a delicate balance that can easily be altered by the challenges of performance management and care. SUCCEED is a unique, daily nutrient program that supports complete digestive health under these rigorous conditions.

“Vent du Nord still has his bad days, believe me. But he’s consistently better. And the results speak for themselves. I use SUCCEED on every horse now. It’s an essential part of my program.”