Hi, I noticed you’re doing well with BillyBump

As you know, Equestic providing riders with insightful emails that not only alert them to potential injuries but also celebrate the strides and achievements made along the journey. It’s not just about monitoring; it’s about understanding and connecting with our horses on a deeper level.

Among the numerous stories shared by users in reply, one particular email has deeply resonated with us. This story, emblematic of the profound connection and mutual growth possible between a horse and its rider, underscores the essence of what Equestic aims to foster.

This narrative is not just a story; it’s a journey of resilience, trust, and technological innovation. Wendy Molinar’s heartfelt recount of her experience with BillyBump (race name Bumpy) and their journey together encapsulates the essence of this bond, underscored by the pivotal role of Equestic in translating the unspoken into the understood.

“Hello Leon,

Yes, you are more than welcome to share our story. In doing so I feel our story needs to start from the beginning because, in reflection, it is dynamic and one built in faith in our partnership and the ability of the Equestic to tell me what BillyBump couldn’t.

I purchased BillyBump (race name Bumpy) off the track as a 6 year old. He was sound and remained so for 4 years.

Beginning in early 2019. I began to visually see “something” in BillyBump’s movement. He wasn’t lame, he wasn’t imbalanced, I did not feel it under saddle, but visually I saw something that just wasn’t right. Sometimes it was the right lead, sometimes it was the left lead and sometimes it wasn’t there at all. His vet and various body workers could not see nor find what I was visualizing.
So in work we continued with BillyBump always giving 100%.

In March 2020, as the COVID pandemic began, I was performing our usual stretching exercises. We were in the middle of the front left farrier stretch, when he suddenly buckled and toppled over me.

3 witnesses stated he saved me that day by doing everything to not land square on me. I found myself flat on my back with his tail over my face and his right hind hoof pinning my right arm. The witnesses said he twisted his body mid fall to land perpendicular to my right side.

A vet check revealed him to be sound. Shortly after, during basic flat work, we came out of a left corner in the trot when he uncharacteristically and violently bolted to the left and with me still with him continued twisting and bolting left and right and left and right until I was finally off.

A broken back (mine) and a now spooky horse confirmed he had been politely and now urgently telling me what I believed I was visualizing; something was significantly wrong in my “physically” sound horse.

In April of 2020, still without lameness and me desperate to understand what BillyBump was trying to tell me, I purchased my Equestic with a decided faith in its technology. The first time I used it on April 26th, all looked great and all horse shoes were green.

The next session May 11th showed orange shoes on the left lead in landing. Wow!! There it was, left lead landing…left front, right hind. He bolted that violent day out of the corner to the left. It took 8 mos to diagnose the etiology with the Equestic consistently telling me he was protecting his left lead in landing.

Finally, in November 2020 with the Equestic results analyzed in severe detail during a several hour diagnostic appointment and his vetrinarian determined to not send him home without a diagnosis, via ultrasound several micro tears in the fetlock ligaments of his front limbs were visualized with, you guessed it, the left forelimb tears more severe than the right. Exactly correlating with the Equestic results!!

He entered rehab with 5 months of shockwave treatment to both fetlocks every 6 weeks.

It is here, our story diverges a bit from the Equestic. Unintentional negligence initiated a domino effect of health assaults to be overcome:

• April 2022: at the tail end of shockwave rehab, BillyBump was placed in his limited pasture during a 19 degree snowstorm. The barn intern neglected to put on his winter blanket and sent him out in a rainsheet. I found him after work shivering from head to toe, barely able to walk. He was diagnosed that night with his first colic, an impaction colic that took 3 treatments to clear
• January 2023: Colic is often accompanied by ulcers. BillyBump was diagnosed with his first glandular and gastric ulcers via gastroscope. He was a treatment success as confirmed by a day 28 gastroscope.
• April to June: BillyBump had time off to acclimate to his new home in South Carolina from Portland Oregon. He was initially suspected to have ulcers 3 months after arrival due to losing weight and slow to lose his winter coat (it was already 80 degrees Fahrenheit here, snowing in Portland the day he left). Gastroscope revealed a very healthy stomach.
• June to August: Back to conditioning work with plan to return to competition in Spring 2024.

September 2023: BillyBump went acutely lame in left forelimb at the tail end of a walking trail ride. He was diagnosed via bone scan and follow up x-ray with a bone spur in his left elbow. I am devastated.

Today: My priceless Equestic is guiding our hopeful rehab. He was injected with a lubricant to his left elbow followed 1 week later with a steroid injection.

Post 2 days pasture rest with 1 week of 45 minute walks, he returned to gentle flat work. 3 weeks in, he acutely became lame again in the left front. He was injected with a second dose of steroid 1 month ago.

My Equestic is consistently telling me BillyBump is sound and improving towards balance in landing each session. His vet reassessment 1 week ago, as I expected, supports the Equestic findings.

I am so grateful to my Equestic for giving to BillyBump the words to express the pain he is experiencing. It is impossible to know the length of time between treatments BullyBump will need nor how this issue will impact his level of work.

My vet stressed the earlier we respond to flare ups, our ability to maintain the condition at a level of comfort while impairing its progression is greatest. My faith and love in BillyBump and his dedication to his work and his will to succeed is the foundation to our future successes together. My invaluable Equestic is the pinnacle of this treatment plan.

Thank you so much, Leon, for providing to our horses the words to complete the stories they are telling us everyday, including the days they feel good and healthy and fully empowered in their bodies.

Sincerely,

Wendy Molinar and BillyBump”

As we continue to follow the unfolding story of Wendy and BillyBump, their journey serves as a poignant reminder of the deep connection that exists between horse and rider, a bond that is strengthened and illuminated by Equestic’s insightful technology.

Their story is a vivid illustration of the challenges, triumphs, and unbreakable bonds that define the equestrian experience.

It’s a narrative that resonates with the core of what Equestic stands for — not just monitoring, but truly understanding and connecting with our equine partners.

We invite you, our community of passionate riders and horse enthusiasts, to share your own experiences. Whether it’s a story of triumph, a tale of overcoming challenges, or a simple reflection on the everyday moments of joy and companionship with your horses, your stories are what make the equestic community vibrant and unique. 

Share your journey with Equestic and let’s celebrate each stride, each leap, and each moment of understanding and connection. Together, we’re not just riding; we’re embarking on a journey of mutual growth, compassion, and discovery. Join us in giving a voice to the stories our horses carry, and let’s continue to make every ride, every interaction, and every moment count.