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“Seedy toe” almost sidelines old friend and hard worker

Rachel Joost & 'Jerry'Founder — it's a word that strikes fear in the heart of every horseman and woman. But as owner Rachel Joost tells it, 14-year-old Jerry, at 1,400 pounds and 16 hands tall, is a dominant gelding — the kind of guy who'll steal the grain or hay from the very mouth of his neighbor at the feed trough.

When Jerry foundered in the summer of 2006, they took him to the University of California, Davis. The docs there took X-rays and, after a period of uncertainty, diagnosed the resulting lame left leg as seedy toe.

Seedy toe, also known as white line disease, occurs among all breeds of horses and can appear in one foot or all four. The animal suffering from it experiences deterioration of the inner part of the hoof wall; the "white line" refers to the nonpigmented, inner layer of the wall. The disease begins with a separation between the hoof wall and the sole, which removes the protective part of the hoof/sole junction, allowing bacteria to enter. Jerry's condition would eventually affect his right foot, as well.

Put him out to pasture?

Long story short, the UC Davis vets told Rachel she might never again be able to ride the horse she's been astride for more than a decade. A flurry of instructions followed: Put this gel on his foot. No grain. Keep him out of water. Bring him back in six months. …

It seemed Jerry's working days—rounding up cows, sorting calves at branding and more—might be over.

Back in stride with BioStride

Desperate to find something that would bring back the Jerry they knew and loved, Rachel and her dad considered other options. She says she doesn't know where they got it, but somehow they ended up with an ad that proclaimed the virtues of a product called Formula 707 BioStride™ Trainers Formula. The ad touted BioStride as the "most intensive support for hooves needing help," and boasted healing ingredients — including d-biotin (a B-vitamin vital to hoof health), DL-methionine and L-lysine (essential amino acids), plus calcium, phosphorus, zinc and more — to back up that claim. Rachel and her dad decided to give it a try.

When they first began putting it in his feed, Jerry would take a mouthful and look up as if to say, "I know there's something in here!" But when they mixed in some moisture to give the grain and product greater cohesion. Jerry never looked up — or back — again. When they took him to UC Davis for a second visit, the staff noted the hoof wall was growing back together. They proclaimed it "amazing" and asked what Rachel had been doing (beyond the prescribed treatment) to get such results.

He moves like a dream

More recently, Rachel's dad called her to say Jerry's back up to a size two shoe (he'd gone down a whole size). And when she was home from college, where she's studying to be a veterinarian, she took her companion for a ride, reporting that he "moved like a dream" and saying she couldn't believe the change.

"Looking at him now, you'd never be able to tell there was ever anything wrong with his feet," she observes. "BioStride is a wonderful product. Thanks so much."

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