Unfortunately you pay the same price for the supplement even if you do not qualify or sign up for colic care…there is some research to support the formulation and well changing a digestive supplement is well vewweee vewwweee scawwwweee!!
Is cash grab. 
Ok, I looked it up. You are only eligible for colic care if you buy the supplement as a smartpak individual daily dose, not as a tub of pellets which would presumably be cheaper?
Anyhow I think the colic care guarantee is just advertising to make you think these supplements are so good they guarantee them! Not really an actual insurance because they are not an insurance company and probably don’t need to be quite as transparent as to why they turn claims down.
Yep but they have me (& countless others) by the hind gut…
I had this with my horse, as well as additional insurance. Colicare paid right away. My insurance paid the rest.
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Is their product really the best out there, or is their genius idea to have it packaged in daily doses to make it easier to administer in a full care boarding barn situation?
I don’t know of anyone using them up here in Canada, I expect that even if they deliver here the exchange rate would make the cost insane.
Oh, I realize you are getting product - but is it a really “necessary” product? Probiotics and yeast. I think you are paying for the Colicare through a more expensively priced product. But then I find feeding good quality hay, providing clean water, and adding a ration balancer and flax seed keeps most horses very healthy.
As for insurance companies insuring low value horses - shop around. Some do, some don’t. I had a $3500 horse insured with $10k of major medical - it was many years ago, but they did pay out when he needed a foot surgery.
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Tons of misinformation on here.
it is cheaper individually packaged. And easier.
it is cheaper than regular insurance in certain circumstances
it delivers peace of mind and actually is a PRODUCT fed, not just insurance.
We use it.
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Hey COTHers,
Happy Saturday! SmartPaker Sarah here.
Let me start, as usual, by apologizing for being slow to jump in on this thread. I wish cruising the COTH forums was a bigger part of my day job (it’d certainly be entertaining!), but unfortunately this is something that usually fits in on nights and weekends, as we trust that folks who really want to hear from us reach out to our Customer Care team by phone, email, chat, or text. So please don’t read into a lack of response from us as an unwillingness to engage on the subject. In fact, this is a subject that I care about deeply and personally, and I’m glad to have the chance to share our perspective on some of this topics that have been raised, so that everyone has the most accurate information as they’re deciding whether or not ColiCare is right for them and their horse.
First and foremost, I heard a few times that colic is “extremely rare.” This, I suppose, is a matter of perspective. Colic is unfortunately the #1 cause of death in horses, behind old age, and the AAEP estimates that 10% of the US horse population will colic each year (that’s roughly 900,000 horses annually). On one hand, 10% might not sound like a lot. However, when you consider that that population includes all of the 9 million horses living in the US, and not just horses in boarding barns, this becomes a little more concerning. That’s because common barn events and practices, like increased time in a stall, high-grain diets, changes in hay (including a new cut from the same field), and changes in activity all increase a horse’s colic risk. So if you have environmental or geographical factors that make it impossible for your horse to be one of those lucky few who freely grazes on dozens of acres of fresh pasture and never spends time in a stall, his or her risk of colic is likely much higher than 10%.
Next, one person noted that we do have some rules around eligibility to apply for ColiCare. This is 100% correct. However, our eligibility restrictions are not intended to exclude the horses who need the benefits the most. Instead, they’re intended to ensure that we can afford to offer this program to as many horse owners as possible. Previous colic surgery and recent/chronic colic significantly increase a horse’s risk of experiencing another severe colic. If we were to allow these exceptionally high-risk horses to enroll at the same rate as everyone else, it would run the risk of bankrupting the program. If you think about it, this is very similar to the way that risk factors drive up the cost of human life insurance. And this brings up an important distinction - ColiCare is not intended to be an insurance program. It’s primary purpose is to focus on the wellness of the horse and preventive care, which is why the two main components of the program are feeding a daily supplement that provides high levels of digestive support, and sticking to a regular wellness program with your veterinarian. While I have no doubt that exceptionally high-risk horses would also benefit from daily support and preventive care, they’re not the population that the program was designed to support - a true insurance program is likely the best option for those horses. ColiCare, on the other hand, was designed so that we - as a company - could afford to make it as broadly available as possible, so that we could help the maximum number of horse owners take great care of their horses and get the peace of mind of having $7,500 of colic surgery reimbursement, should the worst every happen.
Speaking of $7,500, a few of you have noted that this wouldn’t cover the cost of many colic surgery bills, and you’re absolutely right. There’s no official reporting or metrics on this, but colic surgery bills can vary significantly, based on the surgery type, geographical location, and any complications. However, in our experience, $7,500 of colic surgery coverage often covers the entire surgery cost for straightforward cases, and still the majority of the cost even in more complex cases. While some of you correctly noted that other colic programs offer $10,000 or more, what you may not be considering is that the cost of the qualifying supplements for those programs starts at $54/month (for $8K of coverage) and goes up to $88, $100, or even $300/month. At SmartPak, we think every horse owner should be able to afford peace of mind, which is why our program starts at $38.95/month (or $1.39/day). We believe that having a slightly lower reimbursement amount is a good and reasonable trade-off in order to make the program as inclusive and affordable as possible or horse owners of every income and barn budget. (And again, because ColiCare is not insurance, it’s not intended to cover 100% of the bill. After the main goal of providing daily support and preventive care, the goal of the program is to offer horse owners peace of mind that should the worst happen, they’ll have $7,500 to put towards the bill, hopefully making the incredibly difficult decision of whether or not to send a horse to surgery a little bit easier.)
This brings me to my next point, which was the biggest bummer in this whole thread, for me - seeing that some folks don’t believe that we pay out our claims. This is disheartening because we are proud to have reimbursed all eligible ColiCare claims since the program started in 2012. Our requirements are simple and straightforward and 100% outlined in our Terms & Conditions of the program. In a quick summary, horses enrolled in ColiCare only need to do two things to receive reimbursement: 1) feed the supplement daily in SmartPaks, and 2) perform the Annual Wellness Requirements (which include vaccines, dental & physical exams, and deworming). We do not require any proof of what caused the colic, and we cover ALL types of surgical colic. We also don’t require any receipts - we keep all records of your supplement purchases, and have two single-page forms to be completed by the horse’s veterinarian and surgeon after the surgery, confirming these requirements have been met. Once this information has been verified, we mail payment within 2-5 business days.
That said, we know people are skeptical about this benefit, so you don’t have to take our word for it! You can check out the story of Thunder, a 31 year-old therapeutic riding horse who was saved by ColiCare, and hear Jeff, his owner, talk about his experience with ColiCare. You can also watch Kelsey’s story, read Beth’s story, and read additional stories from Pat, Annie and Sara.
I know this has been a bit long-winded, but it’s personally important to me to address each of the concerns that I read here, because our ColiCare program is one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a SmartPaker. I truly believe we’ve created something that - yes - works for us as a business, but has also helped many horse owners save their horse’s lives, and helps thousands more sleep better at night knowing that they’re supporting their horse and that SmartPak will be there to support them if the worst should occur.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns or would like to learn more about the ColiCare program, I’d encourage you to reach out to our Customer Care team - they’re always happy to talk to smart, passionate horse owners like yourselves! And if you have something you’d like to share with me directly, you can find my contact information below.
Thanks for reading, and have a great ride!
SmartPaker Sarah
SMann@SmartPak.com
774-773-1410
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In all honesty, you could not pay me to partake in the Colicare stuff. It’s not enough coverage in my opinion - I agree with the people who have said you’d be better off finding actual insurance or just squirreling that money away. $7500 might cover the surgery, but the company I use for insurance will also cover part of transportation, clinic stay, and rehabilitation costs. I know some people feel like they’re doing a lot by enrolling with SmartPak, so to each their own…just take everything that’s marketed to you with a huge grain of salt, especially from a company that has made its living from convincing people their horses NEED all these wack-a-doo supplements.
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Nope, SP doesn’t ship to Canada, only the US.
Wouldn’t waste my money on colic care & supplements. Wasn’t there issues with product not shipping in a timely manner? Thought i saw a thread on that somewhere on this forum?
If your horse is going to colic, there is no supplement that’s going to stop that or prevent it. Called save money weekly out of paychecks,that’s what i do have over 7,000$ in saving doing this.
It’s called we don’t buy what we don’t need.! Money goes into saving every week. Bills get paid savings account gets paid if money is left then that great .If not to bad we go without what we might need for a week. Hasn’t killed either one of us yet.
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I believe correct nutrition and feeding contributes to good health, and good health leads to healthy digestion. I feed a vitamin mineral supplement. I feed a probiotic when my horse has diarrhea. If my horse had ulcers, I would get them treated.
But from what I know about horse gut health, I don’t think long term feeding of a probiotic (which is a big pary of the colic care line) is going to have much impact on most forms of colic, especially the more dangerous small intestinal ones.
The Smart Pak interactive quiz is a great marketing tool because it has the appearance and feel of being custom advice while overselling the same product to every one. IMHO while it reflects current best understanding it is also tilted towards the alarmist end of interpreting that research.
Also I expect that a lot of people in full board who have very little input into their horse’s diets, and maybe little experience or skill in this area, come to it early in their self education and also appreciate that it can be incorporated into a full board regime so they are doing some thing to personalize their horse’s care.
People at the same stage in self board or with horses at home might be running around with little tubs of turmeric and raspberry leaves and psyllium husk, trying to figure out what has an effect.
Anyhow SP marketing is brilliant at creating anxiety then suggesting a product to cure that anxiety.
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Just coming back to this thread (hadn’t meant to post once and wander off!).
Personally I wouldn’t use ColiCare, as I have my horse insured. I can see, however, how it might be an appealing option for someone with a horse that is low value monetarily, but high value emotionally. There are insurance companies out there that will work with lower value horses and it’s always a good idea to weigh all your options. Insurance will cover both colic care and regular medical care, depending on what you have in your policy.
Read all the fine print (I’ve read my insurance policy a few times and need to read it again since I just renewed it a few weeks ago), and figure out which option is best for you and your horse. Your vet can be invaluable when making these sorts of decisions. They’ll have their own opinions about insurance brokers, ColiCare, feeding options, and general care of your horse. Let them give you opinions!
Things to consider:
- is this a supplement you want your horse on, even if you weren’t considering ColiCare
- how much will this cost per year
- is your horse insurable through other means
- what precisely do you need covered in the event of a colic
- do you have money saved up for vet bills (I have a savings account for horse related issues)
- would being on ColiCare lower your anxiety?
- have you spoken to your vet recently about your horse’s diet
etc. etc. etc.
If you actually read the thread you are referring to you would have read that the supplements were not affected by the shipping issues they had around the holidays and at the beginning of the year.
My personal thought is ColicCare is another option for people to look at when deciding how to best keep their horse the way they want to keep it.
@Scribbler
I have not gone thru and checked every supplement, but I have looked at all the supplements my horses are on and they are all cheaper per serving in Smartpaks than in buckets.
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Thanks to Sarah from SP for chiming in here. Communication is always a plus. And it’s good to hear they have paid all substantiated claims in the last 5 years or so.
IMO, the more owners taking proper care of their horses with regular vet and dental work, the better for the horses. If CC kicks some in the butt to move them in that direction, it’s all good.
Not everybody has the same homelife, living situation, career demands, family dynamic and horsekeeping options so it’s impossible to judge just based on your personal situation. SP is a great choice for many due to storage and barn environment. But there’s others. Neither is better or worse solely because they work for you or don’t. Long as the horse gets proper nutrition and health care regularly, whatever it takes in each owners individual situation.
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I appreciate all the feedback and insights from everyone. I do use SmartPak but not this supplement. I use SmartPak in part because it is peace of mind that my boy is getting what I want him to be getting, in the right dose, and it makes it easier on the staff to give it to him.
Thank you SmartPak for weighting in also. I was surprised to see Sarah, I thought I saw on a SmartPak video that she had left SmartPak.
Anyway. Thanks again for all the great insights and points to ponder.
For what it’s worth… I had my horse on this supplement for many months and he suffered from a 360* torsion. I had the colic surgery, but he was not covered under Smartpak - I used my own insurance company. We had to put him down three months after due to further complications from the surgery.
