By DAVID MAY

Through ranching, rodeos and education, Charmaine Newkirk has literally grown up around horses – raising them, training them and caring for them. She knows more than a little about equine health.

“I grew up on a small ranch in Gunnison, Colorado,” Newkirk said. “My dad was a bullfighter clown, rode bulls and had a rodeo school, so rodeo and ranching have always been part of my life.”

When it was time for college, Newkirk studied and received a degree in Equine Science. One of her favorite classes was Equine Nutrition. She says she most enjoyed fine-tuning and developing targeted feeds to meet a horse’s dietary needs. She also competed in college rodeo as a breakaway roper. She continued her education, obtaining a degree in Education and a degree in Medical Technology.

Following a brief career in financial advising, Newkirk returned to her true love and passion – equine medicine, nutrition, and health. She worked with other various horse-related companies as a product specialist, spokesperson, group education, trainer, and business development executive.

Newkirk still had a competitive fire and came to Texas in 2005 wanting to “compete against the best” barrel racers in the world. She competed until an injury in 2014 ended her racing days. However, she continued to organize, support and promote competitive events throughout the country.

The birth of her son and learning he had autism and special needs, once again altered Charmaine’s life. But that also opened up a barn door of new opportunities.

“I've always been able to connect and work with various companies looking for business development strategies for horse products,” she said.

That brings Charmaine’s story to the present, serving as president and chief executive officer of Whisper Works. The company, with its natural ingredient equine de-wormer products, having been passed down from the Amish community, with a culture known for their hard work, ingenuity, integrity and natural focus seem a now perfect fit and timing for Charmaine.

Whisper Works uses these same natural ingredients with activated charcoal in their de-wormer products that Newkirk said has proven highly effective in killing worms and parasites without using chemical-based or artificial compound products. Unlike other chemical de-wormers, Whisper Works works sustainably to inhibit parasites from developing immunity. Besides being a natural, charcoal-based de-wormer, the products have shown to prevent parasite resistance, unlike other chemical-based treatments.

“Horses digest differently than we do,” Newkirk said. “They take their energy from fats differently, so you need to educate people on how to take better care of their horses in their digestion.”

Whisper Works has been on the market for three years, and Newkirk has been with them for the last eight months. She is busily working to bring her full line of products to local retailers, which as of this writing includes Horseman’s Supply and Teskey’s, as well as introducing the complete product line to local veterinarians.

Newkirk said that the fact that these products were originally developed from the Amish community was especially inviting to her. She had personally seen historically that the Amish community had excellent horse and animal products, and needed some outside marketing and distribution help to get that best-kept secret out.

“What makes this product so different from others on the market is it works on parasites in a different way,” she said. “It's actually an activated charcoal that doesn't process in the worms, it damages them from the inside out and from the outside in so they can't become resistant. I tell people it's like you can never become immune to bumping your elbow and getting a bruise. It's going to always hurt and that's how it affects the parasites, they can't develop a resistance to it. So where we have a gap in the pharmaceutical industry that's getting bigger and bigger all the time, now we have this product that can come in as a more natural and fresh approach. When it’s needed most.”

There are other benefits to using Whisper Works, Newkirk said. One is detoxification, an increase in blood oxygen levels and repairing and rebuilding of muscle and other body tissue damaged by parasites.

“We've also got a fantastic product that comes right after the deworming that increases rebuilding muscle tissue and it will pull out lactic acid that is sometimes present with muscle and tissue rebuilding,” she said.

Activated charcoal prevents absorbing toxins into the horse’s body, with some studies showing improved kidney function and reduced gastrointestinal damage and inflammation. Activated charcoal can also interact with and absorb a range of viruses, bacteria, fungus, and chemicals. Animals on the program can enjoy health benefits such as a parasite-free GI tract, balanced body pH, quicker healing and recovery from infection, and higher blood oxygen levels.

Whisper Works suggests that owners are urged to consult their veterinarian before administering Whisper Works. Information about the products and company, along with a FAQ, can be found at WhisperWorksUSA.com.

Charmaine closed by saying, “If you have any questions or concerns, I'm the person behind the brand, but if you want to have a non-biased opinion I'd be glad to help facilitate that by speaking to your vet and pointing them to the information we have available.” Otherwise, she says, “Ask for it by name at your favorite feed store or order it online at WhisperWorksUSA.com.”

Sound equine care with Whisper Works