Annika Niemi is a trotting enthusiast who has worked abroad as a groom for more than ten years. She has had her own horses almost continuously, with several at the same time.
Her current horse, Toivo, is a six-year-old trotter. Toivo is a temperamental gelding who has done fairly well in races, finishing in the top three in about half of his starts. Toivo has always had a strong personality—at times even stubborn—and has therefore been extremely challenging to train.
Toivo has had stomach problems since he was two years old. The issues began after he was gelded. There were complications after the procedure, and Toivo had to undergo long courses of medication. Since then, he has experienced abdominal pain almost continuously. Because his stomach and gut have been in poor condition, the horse has also been susceptible to various illnesses, which unfortunately have occurred quite often. Outwardly, this has shown as general acidity, irritability, and a lack of appetite. There have also been problems with drinking. In December 2017, after a great winning race, Toivo stopped drinking altogether and had to go to a clinic for fluid therapy.
After that, Toivo was started on Chia de Gracia’s Protect That Tummy feed. The product relieved the horse’s discomfort very quickly—after just a couple of days, his drinking had doubled compared to normal. His appetite also returned to normal. Today, Toivo drinks well, recovers faster, and is like a different horse in temperament: cheerful, and the fits of rage experienced while driving have disappeared completely.
At first, palatability was poor. Annika administered the feed by syringe directly into his mouth for the first three days, and after that it became the horse’s absolute favorite treat! The horse waits for his daily dose at the gate with his tongue out, and the bowl is licked meticulously clean without leaving a single crumb. With Toivo, the response to the product is immediate—if a day is missed, you can notice a difference right away, and not for the better.
“I recommend it to everyone dealing with stomach issues. I won’t stop using the product as long as the horse is in active work!”
