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Statistics and Observations
Over the years since the birth of
Guardian Mask, Sid Eby, owner and founder, has spoken directly to horse
owners around the world, as well as Veterinarians, and Universities.
There is no better way to learn about the diseases and problems that
horses suffer than to speak to those directly that are experiencing those
problems with their horses. We would like to take this
opportunity to share with everyone so that there might be an overall better
knowledge to help the most favored of creatures on earth, the horse.
Sid Eby has spent countless
hours in speaking directly with literally thousands of horse owners,
veterinarians, universities, and interested parties about the
products he manufactures as well as addressing anyone's concerns,
answering questions and listening to their experiences. On an
average, 95% of the phone calls with customers prove that it is they
themselves that have done the research to try and find help for
their horses, and as you can imagine, the customers are the ones
with the heartbreak, the concern, and the desire to learn and share.
It is you, who we learn
from and it is you who can be of most help. With your
knowledge and personal experience, we are able to help others.
Sid Eby is not a
veterinarian, nor does he have a Veterinarian in-house, he does
however, have years of experience dealing with customers directly
that have had afflicted horses needing help. He has also
spoken directly with Veterinarians and Universities on many many
occasions and his ideas, concepts and proven products are the
success of Guardian Mask. Sid is always the first one to ask
the customer what their veterinarian recommends, and the first one
to state, "you should always consult your veterinarian" and he is
also the first to say, "try a Guardian Mask and my 95%
Sunshades on any horse with the 5
major eye conditions and the product will prove itself".
To this day there has
never been a veterinarian or university to call and talk about doing
any type of research or extended research on the use of Guardian
Mask products with those horses that have any of the 5 major eye
conditions, but the same veterinarians and universities use
the Guardian Mask.
Here are some additional
facts and findings that Sid Eby has discovered by dealing directly
with his customers.
8 out of 10 cases are
uveitis, 2 of 10 are headshakers while all others rank a small
percentage of his customer base generally one out of 20 have horses
that are afflicted with a type of eye cancer, and approximately 1
out of 50 suffer glaucoma. We do not know if these customers
are rare because of their lack of knowledge, or if the diseases
themselves are uncommon and rare. What we do know now however
is that 3 out of 10 customers are veterinarian recommended, whereas
in the early years of Guardian Mask there were none.
Another finding that has
been observed that is very important, 99% of the customers that
contact Guardian Mask have found the web site and information while
doing their own research while their horse was being treated
by a veterinarian for headshaking or uveitis. In further questioning
of customers, many have stated later, that their veterinarians
actually knew about Guardian Mask and recommended it after initial
treatments over a period of time.
Sadly, in conversations with numerous customers Sid learned that
most of his customers were not told what was wrong with their horse
until after they were being treated, this has been most common in
cases of uveitis. Another common statement made by customers is that
their veterinarians told them their horse was diagnosed with trauma
and treated the horse with Bute, Bantamine, and Atropine which are
also prescribed for treatment of uveitis. The
medications help temporarily and horses begin to show improvement
and often times the horse owner believes the problem is solved until
the next bout or reoccurrence. With years of
experience from talking to countless customers, Sid would suggest
that the symptoms are parallel to uveitis and his recommendation
would be to place the afflicted animal in a Guardian Mask with 95%
Sunshades.
Although Universities often speak of statistics of how often horses
are afflicted, or during which months the disease has the propensity
to be rampant, or what typical breeds of horses are afflicted more
than others, Sid has also made other observations in speaking to his
customers and tracking sales. Symptoms for the two most
common diseases crop up all year round, anywhere in the
world, any time of the year, and to any type of horse.
The two most common diseases are of course uveitis and headshaking.
Through sales and asking questions of customers he has determined
that while the Appaloosa and Arabian tend to be a large part of
Guardian's customer base, there is equal attention coming from
customers purchasing "extra large" size mask for Thoroughbreds,
Warmbloods, Draft horses and even Clydesdales. These are
however just observations over the years and not actual scientific
study statistics.
While scientific studies are mentioned, it brings another fact into
light. No government, state, or private organizations that
deal with equine health care, have ever contacted Guardian Mask to
inquire of the positive success, nor include the Guardian Mask in
their studies. It is instead the Guardian Mask customers that
have hands on experience and know what works. Many
Universities have had success with Guardian Mask products and do not
publicize this. Those same organizations purchase the Guardian Mask
for treating afflicted horses, yet they do not mention any type of
research even when they find ultimate success with the products.
Another observation by the Guardian Mask company is that not one
customer that has purchased a mask for a horse with eye cancer has
reported any reoccurrences of any kind.
One can speculate that there is still much to be learned about the
diseases these horses suffer however unless additional extensive
research is done to include the Guardian Mask products, we could
assume that the studies would be inconclusive and incomplete.
Guardian Mask has proven success and is sold around the world, the
products have drawn attention from major Universities, Veterinarians
and the general equine community. Even the most popular John
Lyons, a very well known horse trainer supports Guardian Mask.
Why not invite the Guardian Mask products to be included in these
studies? Is it that easy? Yes, It is.
More experience has peaked Sid Eby's interest. It isn't just
the horses with common uveitis or headshaking symptoms that would
benefit from the products. A fine example of this is a horse
owner that had a harness racer, once called to speak with Sid and
stated that every time her horse was in a race and there was bright
sunlight, he went crazy. Bright sunlight certain shadows seemed to
just set him off. The owner decided to try the Riding and
Racing mask with 95% Sunshades and later found that simple shading
from the Guardian Mask made all the difference and her horse went on
to win several major races.
Sid has also found horses that have become blind in one eye with
white or blue cloudiness should continue to use Guardian Masks with
the 95% Sunshades. Findings are that even if the horse is blind,
they still have a tendency to have attacks of uveitis with
inflammation and excessive weeping.
Many customers have also asked about the pre-existing "Blackout Eye
Patch" that Guardian Mask used to manufacture. Sid found over
the years that eye patches aren't needed anymore. The 95% Sunshades
are working well without complete darkness and he also concluded the
additional air circulation is needed to help aid in healing.
This is why the Blackout Eye Patch has been discontinued.
There is little known by Sid as to why Miniature horse owners seem
to be the rare customers. Perhaps there is little known in the
Miniature horse industry of these diseases however they are still
afflicted and should know. Guardian Mask also helps
Miniature horses with their eye conditions and Guardian Mask is the
only company in the world that manufactures "special orders" for
customers with non standard size requests, they naturally are
charged a small additional fee. There are many horses
with exceptionally large jowls or wide foreheads and Guardian Mask
helps these horses as well.
The statistics, and observations conducted by Sid Eby will always be
ongoing and with time, we hope that the Universities will one day
include the Guardian Mask as part of their research. Meantime
Guardian Mask will keep helping horses around the world as the "Gift
of Life" and be the ultimate success for all. |
