Michelle Travisano

Level 1

Aug 2

Written By Amanda Voss

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denali equine nutrition

Michelle Travisano

sobieski, wi

My love for horses never left me.

I begged for a horse when I was six years old, but received a pony… A Shetland I quickly named Mr. Ed. He was the devil incarnate, as most ponies are. He taught me a lot. He taught me how to duck under low branches, avoid barbed wire, and negotiate narrow barn door openings. He would buck me off in the middle of nowhere and try and leave me for dead; but I loved him, and he knew it! I continued to love horses, but move to the city, and owning a horse was not an option.

In 2018, I moved back to the country and on my daily ride to work, I passed a horse barn where the horses were out on pasture. That got me thinking… Fast forward to 2020 the year of COVID-19. This was the year I decided to get back into horses. I bough t my first horse off Facebook. He was on the slaughter pipeline and one day away from being shipped to Mexico. I saw his picture, and immediately knew he was the one. His kill pen name was Andre, but I changed it to Denali. He was described as a gentle giant, 18 hands. His body condition was very poor. He was emaciated. His spirit was broken. He needed rest, rehabilitation, and TLC.

He rode in the stock trailer for 30 hours from Henderson Texas, to Pulaski, Wisconsin. He was shivering cold when he arrived on April 19, 2021. We quickly put a blanket on him and took him to a stall and fed him hay and water. It was from that point forward. I had a crash course and everything Horse. Denali taught me how to re-feed a chronically starved horse, and to bring his spirit back to life! I am forever, grateful that is the route that I took.

Denali and I persevered through it all; EPM, a relapse/flare, and learning to treat and manage his ulcers to name a few. Through trial, error, and hard work, I have successfully put him in an ideal body condition score, and have kept him there with proper nutrition and exercise. I continue to reevaluate him to keep him as healthy as possible. There are horses in this world that can change your life, and he was a prime example. I with my boyfriend, now have three horses and a mini. Denali, Ember, Titan, and our little guy, meatball, whom we all love!

My goal is to continue to apply what I have learned through personal experience, and what I have learned through Legacy Equine Nutrition advisory courses as well. I look forward to continuing my journey with equine nutrition, and helping as many horses as I can along the way!