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Date: 4/7/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – It is an accomplishment for any company to remain in business for 130 years, but W.F. Young, which has catered to equine health throughout its history, has persevered through drastic changes in the way society views and uses horses.
W.F. Young began in 1892 when Mary Ida Young and her husband, Wilbur F. Young, wanted to help soothe their horses’ aches and pains. In the 1890s, “practices for maintaining horses were not the most humane,” said Amy Cairy, vice president of marketing at W. F. Young. The two created an herbal liniment and marketed their product as “Absorbine.”
The company began in Meridan, CT. in 1892 and moved to Lyman Street in Springfield in 1929 to increase manufacturing capacity. In 2000, the company left the manufacturing side of the business to others and moved its headquarters to East Longmeadow. Cairy explained the variety of products offered by W.F. Young and the connected regulatory processes, that it made more sense to partner with experienced companies than to juggle the manufacturing details itself.
Over the years, the company went from one product to nearly two dozen. The company sells equine products in 40 countries around the world.
Products
Beginning in 1903, W.F. Young developed the same liniment that the company created for horses into a formula for humans, sold under the brand name “Absorbine Jr.” The product enjoyed success in its early years and, after Mary Ida commissioned medical studies to prove its efficacy to the newly formed Food & Drug Administration in the 1920s, Absorbine Jr. was included in kits for Word War II soldiers as a method of avoiding “trench foot.”
W.F. Young spread beyond liniments, with conditioners for hooves, protection against flies and anti-fungal products, among many others. They have also spread to small-animal and pet care. The company offers liniments, healthcare supplements and products for fur and coats.
Horses transition
W.F. Young is still primarily a horse care company, with 18 of its 23 products geared toward horse health and maintenance. Despite a major shift in the prevalence of horses in people’s lives since the 1890s, W.F. Young has remained relevant.
“Horses have made a very strong transition from beasts of burden to athletes,” Cairy said, adding that an entire industry has developed around equestrian sports.
Ups and Downs
“There’s such a rich history here,” Cairy said of the Pioneer Valley. “There’s a pioneering spirit in the Pioneer Valley.” She said Mary Ida’s spirit of envisioning how to do things,” a better way and pursuing it, is the company’s culture. “That grit, that hard work, has gotten us through some tough times,” Carey said.
During World War I, alcohol, a key ingredient in Absorbine, was rationed and the company had to cease production for a time. After the war, production ramped up again.
The Great Recession that began in 2008 was a “real challenge,” for the company, Cairy said. Many horse owners could no longer afford to feed them or provide the veterinary care that was required. The number of people keeping horses as pets dropped dramatically.
In the past few years, the interest in horses has substantially rebounded, Cairy said, but it looks different than it did before the recession. Instead of owning horses, many people lease horses at boarding facilities for riding, equestrian sport or therapy needs. There are record memberships in horse organizations. The rebound has led to a strengthening of the industry, including sales of fencing, feed, tractors and health products.
Cairy said these changes have created an environment that will allow the company to continue doing business despite the current economy, with record inflation. “People are going to be challenged,” she said. Diesel fuel, feed and hay prices are on the rise again, but 2008 taught people to prepare for how the economy would affect their pet and animal ownership. People have turned to half- or quarter leasing, in which multiple people split the cost of the horse’s care, and in turn, each person can ride the horse for a certain number of days each week.
“I don’t think [horses] are going anywhere. The fastest-growing demographic for horse involvement is under 18,” Cairy said, adding those people will be life-long horse lovers.
The coronavirus pandemic, expected to result in a decline in business, was surprising for the company.
“During the pandemic, we weren’t sure what that was going to mean,” Cairy said, adding, “everyone just sort of dug in.” Rather than facing a downturn, as many industries did, the company found people turned toward pets and animals.
Passion and Purpose
Cairy said the company decided to go back to its roots in 2013 by divesting of its human healthcare products. “Our passion and original purpose,” was animals, she said. Cairy said pets are more than dogs and cats. She said horses are considered pets today, as are goats, chickens and “a cow that they brush.” She estimated 80 percent of horse owners also have dogs.
Two years later, the company purchased pet supplements, The Missing Link and Pet Kelp.
Pet nutrition is “critical,” Cairy said. The Missing Link, a veterinarian-created supplement, was created to fill the nutrition gap between what was available in commercial pet food and what they evolved to eat in the wild. Cairy said W.F. Young recognized The Missing Link’s “mission” and wanted to be a part of it.
Likewise, when Pet Kelp, a product that uses kelp-based products to increase the quality of pet and livestock coats, came to W.F. Young’s attention, the company added the supplement to its lineup.
Cairy stressed that W.F. Young does not create or acquire “me, too” products, versions of already available products sold at lower prices. “We look for products or brands that make a really unique offering,” and “innovative solutions,” she said. W.F. Young is devoted to “purpose over profit,” she said.
W.F. Young devotes 15 percent of its annual revenue to developing new or reformulating existing products using the latest science. The company’s newest product is Silver Honey, which uses the antimicrobial properties of medical grade silver and medical grade honey to make a wound care product that is specially designed for animals. Cairy said people often treat their animals with hydrogen peroxide or triple-antibiotic, but those can be dangerous for pets to ingest if they lick their wounds or disrupt the natural microbiome of pet skin. Silver Honey, which comes in a spray, gel and ointment, is harmless, she said.
“You have to approach it from a pet-first mentality,” Cairy said, “really understanding the unique health needs and how pets interact with their families.”
Cairy credits the company’s innovation team, including scientists, veterinarians and engineers, for the work they do in this area. “We’ve got really good partners. We work with really smart people,” she said, adding that they share a belief in the company’s vision.
With the increase of cooperation and partnerships across pet and animal industries, Cairy said, “It’s a phenomenally exciting time.” W.F. Young is located at 302 Benton Dr. in East Longmeadow.