that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message w.f. young inc. type privately held industry health care products animal care products founded 1892 1 founder wilbur fenelon young ; current ceo tyler young ; president adam raczkowski headquarters east longmeadow massachusetts united states products liniment veterinary liniment horse grooming supplies horse fly control stable supplies website wfyoung.com w.f. young inc. is a privately held american corporation that has sold specialized animal care products for more than five generations . 2 these brands and products are sold online in farm feed and tack shops and pet retailers . the corporation was founded in 1892 by wilbur fenelon young and mary ida young and has been family owned and run by the young family since 1892 . its headquarters are in east longmeadow massachusetts . contents 1 founder s history 2 company history 3 management 4 brands 5 references 6 external links founder s history edit wilbur fenelon young was born on november 18 1863 in wallingford connecticut to charles and julia tyler hine . on june 24 1887 wilbur married his first wife sadie wilcox who died in 1891 . a year later on november 16 1892 he married mary ida stephenson young . mary ida was born on june 29 1865 in stonington maryland . her parents were thomas bronson and amelia f. stone stephenson . mary ida was a descendant of thomas stone the first protestant governor of maryland and a signer of the declaration of independence . together wilbur and mary ida had two children wilbur ii and sally . company history edit w.f. young inc. is an american company founded by wilbur f. and mary ida young in 1892 in meriden connecticut . wilbur delivered cargo with a team of workhorses while mary ida cared for the horses and home . 3 in 1892 blistering 4 was a common practice done to heal horse muscles tendons and joints faster when they were strained . the purpose was allow more blood to enter the area to heal the skin as it was believed that the injured joint would benefit from the extra blood flow . wilbur and mary ida disapproved of this harsh method of treatment . mary ida was a herbalist and formulated a liniment of menthol wormwood oil and herbs in her kitchen tub as an alternative to blistering which she named absorbine veterinary liniment . 5 the couple then founded w.f. young p.d.f. to market and sell the liniment . as neighboring farmers and drivers tried the liniment on their own horses it grew in popularity . in 1893 w.f. young p.d.f. moved to springfield massachusetts . 6 a few years later wilbur was inspired by his son to create a version of the liniment for humans and absorbine jr. was introduced in 1903 . 7 today absorbine jr. products can be found in grocery retailer supercenters and drug stores . it is reported that the development of absorbine jr. was partially inspired by stories of local farmers using the veterinary liniment on themselves after a hard day s work . after wilbur fenelon young s death in 1918 wilbur f. young ii took over the business at 20 years old . the following year in 1919 w.f. young p.d.f. was incorporated to become w.f. young inc. as it is known today . 8 w.f. young inc. moved to lyman street in springfield massachusetts in 1923 . when wilbur ii died in 1928 mary ida took over the business from her son . she ran the business until 1957 when her daughter sadie stephenson sally young and grandson wilbur f. young iii were each promoted to president . mary ida stephenson young died on october 31 1960 at age 95 . following sally young s death in 1977 wilbur iii became the sole president . he was president for 10 years until his death in 1987 . at that time wilbur iii s son tyler young became president and ceo . w.f. young inc. acquired the equine america company and products on november 1 2007 . 9 equine america products include supplements grooming aids and muscle & joint relief . on october 15 2008 the board of directors at w.f. young inc. appointed adam d. raczkowski as president of the company with tyler f. young retaining his current role of ceo . 10 in 2012 w.f. young inc. underwent a strategic reorganization of the business to focus exclusively on animal care . they continued to grow their equine care product lines and expanded their offerings into the livestock 11 and companion pet 12 categories . with this change w.f. young divested itself of its human healthcare division . in 2013 dse healthcare took on the absorbine jr. brand . in 2013 the equine america line of products was discontinued in the united states in an effort to focus on the growth of the absorbine line . this led to the decision to move key equine america brand products into the absorbine family of products . b l and fungasol are now sold under the absorbine name . the remaining equine america products are available outside of the u.s. only . in 2015 tyler f. young was promoted to executive chairman of the board with adam d. raczkowski taking over as ceo . chris jacobi who had been serving as the general manager of the equine division was appointed as president . 13 the company also expanded its pet care division in 2015 acquiring pure ocean botanicals 14 makers of pet kelp products and the missing link supplement line . 15 product lines currently sold include items to improve the health and well being of animals in the equine pet and livestock categories including the original absorbine veterinary liniment . the company continues to be owned and managed by fourth and fifth generations of the young family . 16 management edit general managers henry caswell 1919 1956 j. kenneth alexander 1956 1983 presidents wilbur fenelon young 1892 1918 wilbur f. young ii 1918 1928 mary ida young 1928 1957 sally young 1957 1977 wilbur f. young iii 1957 1987 tyler f. young 1987 2008 adam d. raczkowski 2008 present brands edit absorbine products have been around for more than a century . many of the original products including the original absorbine liniment are still available . currently w.f. young inc. s core products and brands are focused on equine livestock and pet care . the product set includes grooming fly control flea and tick control muscle & hoof care leather cleaner and conditioner and joint supplements . absorbine is w.f. young inc. s largest product line and the following brands and products fall under the absorbine name showsheen ultrashield hooflex flys x miracle groom bigeloil refreshmint horseman s one step santa fe coat conditioner & sunscreen bug block flex max procmc the original absorbine veterinary liniment is still produced in the usa . references edit the horse absorbine liniment company w.f. young celebrating 115 years . thehorse.com . 2007 07 30 . retrieved 2012 11 19 . w.f. young inc. private company information business week . investing.businessweek.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . w.f. young heritage horse sense . umass amherst . ask the expert equine management . esc.rutgers.edu . 2012 09 14 . retrieved 2012 11 19 . our story . wfyoung.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . w.f. young inc. celebrates 115 years as an industry . wfyoung.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . absobrbine jr. history . absorbinejr.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . w.f. young inc. celebrates 115 years as an industry . wfyoung.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . w.f. young inc. buys sc firm . masslive.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . raczkwoski named president of w.f. young inc. pdf . tackntogs.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . http www.absorbine.com our story news press releases flys x insect control for multi species use http www.absorbine.com our story news press releases appoints director of new pet care division w. f. young inc. absorbine announces strategic management promotions w.f. young . 2015 07 30 . retrieved 2016 08 16 . w.f. young inc. acquires pure ocean botanicals llc w.f. young . 2015 11 04 . retrieved 2016 08 16 . w. f. young inc. absorbine acquires the missing link supplements w.f. young . 2015 11 30 . retrieved 2016 08 16 . our story . wfyoung.com . retrieved 2012 11 19 . external links edit wfyoung.com official website absorbine.com official website absorbinejr.com official website equineamerica.com official website charcocaps.com official website absorbine.blogspot.com horsechannel.com retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title w.f. young inc. & oldid 737353664 categories privately held companies based in massachusettscompanies based in massachusettshidden categories articles with a promotional tone from november 2009all articles with a promotional tone navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 2 september 2016 at 06 10 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view