I met Jenny Paterson from Horsemanship New Zealand at Horse of the Year 2009. I talked to her about my horses issues.

 

My eighteen year old Thoroughbred mare was then "retired" as she was too affected by the grass to ride. In the spring/summer she would come out in itchy hives on her face, neck, stomach and hind end which she would scratch until her skin was swollen and bleeding. I tried soothing washes and creams, I even got steroid injections from the vet to reduce the irritation.

 

Her behaviour was also affected. When she was wearing a halter or bridle she would shake her head like sand flies were around her ears. When the saddle was on she would continually itch at the girth and do full body shakes like her skin was crawling with ants. She would be so irritated she could not concentrate on riding but would just scratch/shake until I got off and if I rode her down the road she would have rearing explosions and continue rearing even when I got off.

 

 

My eighteen year old Cleveland Bay gelding had been lame for years with no apparent cause. He is a good doer and we have had excess weight issues when the grass was growing well. This was hard to manage when he was out of work due to intermittent lameness. To address the issue of sore feet we tried the vet (nerve blocks, x-rays and blood thinner to increase blood flow to the feet), chiropractor, regular horse massages and glucosamine supplements. No-one could suggest what was causing his lameness.

 

Then I got onto a barefoot trimmer who picked up on laminitis lines in his feet! He had never shown the classic signs of laminitis (weight on heels, hot feet, etc.), only his feet where consistently tender and he was reluctant to move faster than a walk around the paddock at times. He would also sweat excessively during summer with sweat dripping off him as he stood in the paddock and found it hard to shed his thick winter coat.

 

Finally, my six year old Thoroughbred who I have owned since he was a yearling has always had diarrhoea and because of this his back end was always poo stained (a problem when he is grey!). He also drank a lot to keep hydrated.

 

After talking to Jenny I changed how I managed my horses environment. Now my horses live on a track system i.e. a four meter wide raceway around the perimeter of my paddocks and the middle is left to grow for hay. All the paddocks join up and the horses wander around them a lot, between the trough, hay and trees for shelter which are located in different paddocks. The horses have eaten down the grass and are slowly creating tracks meaning they have limited grass and hay is given twice a day.

 

 

All three horses are fed unmolassed sugar beet, top quality well balanced vitamins and minerals, a toxin-binder that doesn't bind nutrition, highly absorbable organic magnesium with boron plus extra organic calcium as well as a tablespoon of salt split into two feeds. My skinnier eighteen year old Thoroughbred mare also gets barley and oil to boost her weight which works without making her fizzy. What a difference this has made to my horses.

 

My young Thoroughbred now has normal, solid poos for the first time in his life due to the higher fibre content in this diet and no longer having access to fresh, green grass. My Cleveland Bay gelding now hoons around the paddock with the other horses and gets regular exercise around the track which has helped him lose weight and tone up. He is also a lot more supple and is able to canter on the lunge which is something he has not been able to do for years. He is now sound meaning I can ride him again.

 

But the best is my mare. She is now back in work and is like a push button pony. No shaking, itchy skin or rearing! I cannot believe the change in my horses especially when I had tried so many other avenues to find solutions to their issues. I would heartily recommend the ProVide It Plan to anyone with horses and will continue using this plan on my horses all year round due to the great results I have achieved.

 

Katie Jones - Wairarapa, New Zealand.