I bought Bono as a five-year-old from Germany and imported him to England. My goal was always to train him through the dressage levels and eventually compete at Grand Prix. He’s 21 now and we’ve been together for 16 years.
From the moment I bought him, though, his feet were a challenge. When he was vetted in Germany, they removed his shoes and discovered he was incredibly footsore. His feet were in a terrible state. Over the years I’ve tried countless farriers, different shoeing systems, pads, specialist shoes and glue-on shoes which has cost a fortune and more importantly, it affected Bono.
There were periods where he was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t ride or compete him. He’d end up on box rest while we tried to find another solution.
As a one-horse owner, that’s really difficult. Bono is my horse. If I can’t ride him, I don’t have another horse waiting in the stable. I needed to keep finding ways to make him comfortable and keep him going.
Despite all his hoof issues, he’d never suffered from sweet itch, hives or skin problems. Then last winter, around December he became incredibly itchy. He would constantly turn around and bite at his back legs; the itching became relentless.
I spoke to my vet who said they’d been seeing a spike in hives because the winter had been unusually mild and damp. There hadn’t been many hard frosts, so midges and insects were lingering for much longer than normal. I tried antibacterial shampoos. I bathed him. I washed his rugs. I cleaned his legs repeatedly, but nothing seemed to make much difference.
His back legs looked awful, and I remember going to a training session feeling embarrassed about how he looked and he was also clearly uncomfortable.
I actually discovered microbz through my own experience. I started taking microbz myself and noticed some benefits, so naturally I became curious about what it might do for horses.
Then I came across a Facebook post where someone was talking about using microbz, a horse gut supplement and the different things it had helped with. One of the things mentioned was hives. At that point I thought I had nothing to lose. I started feeding Bono microbz on a Wednesday.
What happened next surprised me. Bono had microbz on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday morning I washed his legs with microbz too and by Sunday he had almost stopped itching.
I honestly couldn’t believe it.
Part of me wondered if it was just a coincidence, but the improvement was so dramatic and so quick that it was impossible to ignore. The constant itching stopped, his skin settled and his hair started growing back. As the weeks went by, his coat continued to improve.
The hives were the reason I started feeding microbz, but they weren’t the only thing I noticed. As his summer coat came through, he looked incredible. For a 21-year-old horse, his coat is probably the best it has ever been. He’s always naturally carried a slightly longer coat, but now it looks healthy, shiny and full of life.
I also started noticing changes in how he felt under saddle. I compete regularly at FEI dressage level, so I need him to have the energy and enthusiasm to perform in difficult movements. Historically, Bono has always struggled a bit during hot weather. He tends to get sweaty and can feel less willing when the temperatures rise.
This year he has felt completely different. He’s keen, forward to ride and seems enthusiastic about his work.
One of the biggest surprises came from my farrier. Bono’s feet have been a challenge for most of his life. They’ve always been shelly and difficult to nail shoes onto. A few weeks ago my farrier came out and commented on how much better his feet were. He said they were noticeably stronger and easier to shoe.
At first I didn’t really connect the dots and then I realised that one of the only major changes I’d made was adding microbz. His feet will never be perfect but hearing that from somebody who has worked on them for years was really encouraging.
For me, the biggest thing is seeing Bono comfortable. The itching has gone and his coat looks fantastic. He’s enjoying his work and at 21 years old, he genuinely looks and feels better than he has in years.
When you’ve owned a horse for 16 years, you know every little detail about them. You know when they’re feeling good and right now, Bono is feeling really good.
I would recommend microbz and I would say you’ve got nothing really to lose. It’s good value for money and if your horse is struggling with something, it’s absolutely worth giving it a go. I know a lot of owners worry about molasses but that’s all used up in the fermentation process to leave a sugar free liquid that Bono loves.
