Written by Jeff Wilson

Original Publish Date October 2015

“My horse is irreplaceable, there isn’t another like him,” are thoughts that can echo through our minds whenever we face losing them. Yes, I hate that topic too. Our fantastic riding partners are so unique, that without them, we have a void. Make sure you enjoy your own extraordinary horse today.

I was greeted by my horse, Black Willow Orion, as he emerged from the pasture the other morning. He looking as if his belly was saying, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” I reasoned with him that it was just a little too much grass as I led him back to the barn. I finished feeding everybody else and returned to him. I could see his distress, and his coat had begun to glisten with sweat. “OK, tough dude, you’ll be fine.” I murmured, trying to convince myself. But I knew, yes I knew… that hated killer, Colic, was payin’ us a visit today.

Orion just stood there, motionless, dealing with it. My mind began to whirl, “This can’t be happening on the threshold of releasing our new promo video,”—a video that featured Orion. In my mind’s eye, I could see the video ending with his epitaph. I moved into his stall, the same stall he had been born in 17 years ago, and snapped a lead to his halter. “Let’s go walk around the arena.”

Some days it’s hard to rise to the occasion, it’s just easier to slide over to deal with it. Trying to keep my own guts from twisting, I hurriedly called my medical team. “It’s Orion,” I blurted, I had no words to downplay it. My team is exceptionally good, but serious challenges stomped in right along beside them. Orion’s veins would not stay open to administer fluids. He refused to swallow any mineral oil, and we weren’t able to tube him successfully. Did you know banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour? Did I mention that by this point that I was outta my mind and not coming back soon?

There aren’t words to describe your feelings towards people who stand with you; I was fortunate and grateful to have competent people working all day to evict that dirty, ole’ rotten scoundrel, Colic, from the premises. Despite their efforts, Orion’s temperature dropped, his body cold to the touch, and his gut sounds on the right side remained deadly quiet.

By the end of the day, there was nothing more for us to do. Facing the next tier of care, I recognized that he and I were heading towards our last moments together. As surreal as it was for me, I prepared myself to do what was necessary—for him. I wasn’t going to allow his suffering to escalate.

You can picture that moment, can’t you? What do you say and do to make everything better? Nothing. It was in that moment—with nowhere to run—that someone had the conviction to bring me a single dose of a product called SayWhoa which is the focus of this article. SayWhoa is a relatively new product designed to clear impactions using the power of osmosis—sending water back into the digestive system to clear the impaction and relieve the gas.

We administered the bottle, in truth, without much hope of recovery as Orion was so far gone. Time had been against us. Strangely, the SayWhoa was the only thing he cooperated with and swallowed. We waited; by now there was a small crowd of concerned people standing with us awaiting the outcome—the tension in your belly really does make you hold your breath.

Within 15 minutes of administering the product, Orion’s temperature began to rise and, like turning a switch, his temperament returned. Within a half hour his guts sounds returned (strongly), and, after drinking a half bucket of water, he strolled to the other side of the arena and began eating hay. Within 45 minutes he passed manure. Yes, a miracle occurred.

We all stood stunned, in disbelief, at what we just witnessed. The transformation, had it happened any other way, may have left some skepticism behind in us (we are all so marketed to), but we were unanimously convinced. This product actually had done what it said it would do.

If you want to keep your horse around, you need to have a bottle of SayWhoa on hand all the time. The makers of this product are very accessible and willing to help you through your 911 emergency colic squatter eviction situation. You can find SayWhoa here: www.facebook.com/StopsColic or their website www.SayWhoa.com.

Check out this fantastic horse of mine on YouTube. Search ‘Orion the Star Morgan Stallion’ and thank you SayWhoa for making this video not an ‘in memoriam.’

Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted. Fortunately, this time, I got both. (Keeping Orion actively moving continued on that day, maybe to make us feel better. Moving around me in a circle, I did not ask for a routine, but Orion swooped in with all his big moves. He absolutely felt great.) Hi Ho Silver!

If you want to learn more about what I talked about here, or wish to ask a question, you can contact me at: Jeff@JeffWilsonCowboyDressage. com or www.facebook.com/pages/ Cowboy-Dressage-World-of-New- York. I have been training horses for over 30 years and valued the western horse lifestyle in my approach to training. I give clinics and seminars on how to reach your full potential with your horse through the training foundation of Cowboy Dressage.