"I bred Ozzie by my own homebred stallion so he is somewhat special to us. He is out of a very sharp mare who has had a bit of a turbulent history in previous homes. I'm sure that some of Ozzie's anxiety has come from not only the sharp blood in the mare but also her own anxieties. He so desperately wants to trust and do the right thing but seems to always be fighting his flight response. He had got to the point where he would blow out and then often explode when I did the girth up or at least when I asked him to start lunging. He would totally overreact to things without even a second thought. Over the winter he lost so much top line and seemed to have quite a belly and although he was getting on with work and being ridden, something definitely wasn't right and he was trying hard to tell me. He exploded big time one day on the lunge and I decided it was not fair or safe to ride him until I had figured out what was going on. He had about 3 months off.
After a lot of pondering, chiropractor and vet consultations I read up about EquiNectar and thought it was worth a try. So much of what I was reading I felt I could relate to Ozzie.
Within a few weeks I could see a change in his shape and he seemed calmer in himself and more at peace with the world. I started ground work again with him, keeping it easy and steady and with plenty of rewards for good calm behaviour. Within about a month I had started riding him again. He seemed so much happier in himself. He still has a spooky side and I'm not sure he will ever grow out of that but his reactions to things seem more calculated. He stops to look at things and work them out now rather than spin, run and potentially bronc.
Although vastly improved I was still not 100% happy so I contacted EquiNectar via WhatsApp and we discussed his feed and I was given yet more invaluable advice regarding the feed he was on and how it would interact with the EquiNectar so we have had a few tweaks there too.
Last week we even went out to our first arena hire with the intention of taking it slowly and safely riding round on the flat. He totally surpassed all expectations and even jumped round most of the course. He was keen, loving it and absolutely ready for the challenge.
I honestly can't thank EquiNectar enough for helping him. He has totally changed and now I feel like we have a chance of a decent future with this cracking young horse."
Lisa, Ozzie's owner
