‘Tinkers Cross’ aka Archie a four-year-old ex racehorse who arrived from racing in the middle of winter with a partly healed tendon injury. He went straight out on grass rest to recover with a plan to have six months off. He did settle quickly into his new herd and even though he initially went off his food, went on to eat up well and show his incredibly inquisitive character. When he did get his appetite back, we increased him onto two feeds of horse and pony nuts, alfalfa and soya oil twice daily. He put weight back on but obviously lost muscle which was expected and also intentional. It is better in some cases to allow the old patterns of movement to break down and rebuild new muscle memory from scratch. He did have a cow hocked right hind which may have contributed to his injury on the left fore, so in mid-May we started him on an eight-week walking plan to gradually teach him to use the right hind more evenly, develop topline and balance correctly to avoid reinjuring his left fore. His new owner was working with me four days a week after taking him on officially in February. In May I taught her to long rein him. We started on two weeks of 20 mins, adding poles, hills and ridden work incrementally as we moved upto working for an hour out hacking, walking out, learning to leg yield and stretch working into a light contact. His owner’s confidence progressed, and his frame became stronger without stressing any limbs. He started trotting and eventually cantering. I was there to offer support and lessons four days a week in how to engage him, spiral exercises to teach leg yield, trot poles to encourage self-carriage, first canter and then out to a group lesson at a well-known showjumping venue locally. They took it all in their stride and he is proving to be a calm, sensible and wiling horse who has developed a wonderful bond with his owner. A huge success all round.
A 5-year-old Arabian Gelding arrived to me unbacked. He was well handled but a little tense. He was going to be a riding horse for a young woman who had had serious head injuries after falling from a different horse. I investigated why he was uncomfortable moving forward with weight over his back and was showing mild difficulty lunging and long reining to the right. He was in spasm in his shoulder. He had chiropractic treatment. He was much improved. Given his conformation with a weak back, he then worked for eight weeks to develop strength in his top line and abdominal muscles as assumed he would have mild kissing spines. This was latterly proved to be correct. The work over poles and on long reins provided him with a strong bridge and he went on to be become a gentle happy riding horse. Going out to compete in an unaffiliated dressage competition winning a fourth place. His owner rode him for the first time and remarked that he gave her the same feeling as her first pony had done of confidence and safety. He left the yard in great shape.
A 4-year-old gelding who had raced a few times unsuccessfully on the flat was sent to me by his breeder. He was being bullied in the field and hadn’t been able to gain access to the food provided. Consequently, he was anorexic and anxious when he arrived. We fed him small amounts often in-hand just outside the field from his new friends, so he didn’t get anxious but ate up. He gradually gained confidence in eating in company again and put on some weight. I started working him on long reins to develop top-line and gently stretch over his back. He has the most wonderful temperament and is now embarking on grass roots eventing with his new owner who is over the moon with him.
A 6-year-old gelding who came out of racing as never good enough to get onto the track, but retained to take yearlings up the gallops as he was so reliable. An absolute diamond of a horse with a gentle fun, bombproof temperament. I schooled him on the flat up to elementary. Took him to cross country schooling, show jumping clinics, on beach rides and generally had lots of fun getting him strong, educated and fit. We found sadly that he had changes to his navicular bone that wouldn’t allow him to progress any further with much jumping. He was rehomed to a lovely girl with full transparency, and he hacks, has lots of fun and they adore each other.
A 6-year-old gelding raced once unsuccessfully over hurdles. Was then rehomed to a really nice young man who sadly found he couldn’t manage the horse anymore. I took the horse on and built his confidence back up again. He was weak from being out of work for so long, and also has a massive frame which made it difficult to maintain strength on a minimal work routine. He is a horse who enjoys working and feeling strong. He was angry, unwilling to leave the yard generally quite difficult to handle and keep relaxed initially. We used our established field companions to help settle him down, get him moving gently around the paddock and grazing again. With a combination of long reining over poles and hill work he has developed much more strength in his stifles, learned to have confidence in riding out on his own again and has subsequently been out show jumping and cross-country schooling. Whilst very much still a work in progress he is beginning to develop into a decent amateur event horse.