Horse Success Stories

It was early 2014 when Heartbeat, a 16 year old Oldenburg gelding, showed signs of lameness in his left front. He was seen by our local vet, Dr. Nancy Lee who performed a soundness check and nerve block determining the lameness to be located in the left front hoof area. Due to the location of the injury additional testing was needed to determine the severity of the injury. He was transported to MidAtlantic Equine Medical Center in Ringoes, N.J., where a soundness evaluation was completed along with diagnostic ultrasound and MRI in order to fully evaluate the severity of the injury. He was treated by Dr Patty Doyle-Jones who revealed that he had damage to the lateral collateral and impar ligaments in the left hoof area. Dr. Doyle-Jones recommended stem cell injections along with a slow regimented rehab of 8 to 12 months. In March 2014 she performed a minimally invasive surgery to remove fat cells from his buttocks area. The sample was shipped to VetStem laboratory in Poway, California where it was processed to extract Heartbeat’s regenerative cells for injection into the area of the injury. After a full year of slow, progressive rehabilitation Heartbeat was fully sound and returned to the jumper ring competing successfully at the lower levels for the past six years. At the age of 22 he remains sound working six days a week on average and still winning in the show ring. Note: Horse owner received one free year of stem cell storage in exchange for their honest testimonial.