Most of the time we think of community as the area we live – it might be our rural neighborhood, our town or even our county. But for one BioZyme® dealer with a passion for the equine business, her “horse” community stretches from New Mexico to North Carolina and from Wyoming to Florida. Kaycee MacGibbon, from Crouse, N.C., comes by her passion rightly; she is the fourth generation born into a rodeo family. She and her family always worked with horses – raising, training, breaking, showing and competing on them. It wasn’t until tragedy struck in 2014, that she started advocating for their health.
“Equine nutrition has evolved over the years. We always knew how horses worked, unfortunately we didn’t have a good nutrition program back then because we didn’t have all the research and knowledge we do now,” MacGibbon said. “I always tried to feed the best feed I could, but unfortunately in 2014, all my horses died of Rumensin toxicity. That is when I would start educating myself on equine nutrition. Through that and through learning proper diet and nutrition for horses, I found out about Vitalize® , and I started feeding it and it did wonders for all my horses – even the horses I thought were looking good and really healthy. They improved another 75% at least, once I put them on Vitalize.”
Although MacGibbon experienced immediate results when she put her horses on Vitalize, it was almost a year later before she decided to become a dealer. And now, she shares the Vitalize message of the importance of a “good gut feeling” with her equine community, rodeo friends and family both near and far.
“A lot of time when you start new products, the first 60-90 days you are like ‘wow, this is really working,’ then it plateaus, and it quits working. But with Vitalize it did not do that. It improved the animal’s overall health, digestive tract, hoof, hair coat, brain, everything. It continued a year later, which was really impressive to me because I have never seen another product do that. I wanted to become a dealer because I wanted to share this with all my people in the barrel horse industry, rope horse industry, the rodeos, the shows, and everybody to be privy to this information and have this help their horses as much as it has helped mine. And through that I met (ASM) Justin O’Flaherty, and I became a dealer and it has been a huge snowball effect from there,” MacGibbon said.
With such a large network of friends and colleagues in her equine community, MacGibbon said it hasn’t been hard to sell the products. And if she gets people interested in the product too far from home, she will point them in the direction of an another ASM like Rowdy Pope who will help them find a dealer in their area.
MacGibbon said the split is about even with her approaching people to tell them about the products or people coming to her seeking advice about their horses. But her advice and the outcome are almost always the same – the horses usually have gut health issues, and Vitalize typically makes them feel better.
“If the gut’s weakened, the body’s weakened. And 99.99% of the time, it is poor digestibility. Basically, their horse’s digestive tract has shut down, and we get them on the Vitalize. In 10-15 days, I get a text, saying ‘Oh wow! My horse is already looking better. They are happier; they are healthier. Thank you so much.’ I usually say, ‘Don’t thank me. Thank Vitalize,’” she said.
And for the skeptics, who are used to a “supplement on every corner,” and not sure they want to try Vitalize, MacGibbon offers some free product because she knows once they try the Vitalize, they will be hooked. She said to this point, she’s never had one person try a “free” sample, who hasn’t returned as a paying customer, making those samples well worth the investment.
“The product speaks for itself. If they try it, they stay with it,” MacGibbon said.
Reaching out to the equine community is what MacGibbon is passionate about. By raising awareness of a sound nutrition program that starts with gut health, she knows she is making a difference for her generation of equine enthusiasts and those generations to come.