"Vanilla (Brimblemere Whirlygig) was my 16th birthday present 24 years ago. After 13 years of riding lessons, pony camp, beach rides and asking for a pony every christmas, birthday and every other day in between we were finally in a position to get a pony. My parents weren't from horsey backgrounds but did their bit to learn about horse management and care too. We went to view a beautiful arab x welsh dapple grey rising 5 year old and I knew instantly he was my pony.

Months before my 19th birthday I became bed bound with an undiagnosed condition, it turned out to be M.E./C.F.S.. Vanilla was my driving force, he kept me motivated to keep going and get to him with the help of my parents. Without him it would have been a different story. I owe him so much.

In 2019 he was diagnosed with cushings and put on meds, he was losing teeth with no apparent explanation. I am very grateful to my vet for thinking outside the box and testing him. He now only has 2 lower molars remaining and has lost one of his upper molars so he is now fed hay replacers all year round.

In 2024 his best friend sadly got grass sickness and Vanilla grieved terribly and lost so much condition, his droppings were so loose the vets considered a course of steroids, (he always had loose droppings with seasonal changes as a youngster but not like he was that year) he didn't gain the weight back even while being fed conditioning products, micronised linseed and copra and pre and pro biotics, alongside good feeds. They just weren't right for him...

We knew about EquiNectar after researching ulcers and hindgut issues. When his best friend had ulcers (before the grass sickness), we decided to give it a go. It was August and I was worried about his weight heading into autumn and winter.

After a phone call conversation with the EquiNectar team, we gave it a go, we offered Vanilla 30ml twice a day for a few days and he licked his buckets clean! We increased this to 100ml twice a day and the difference in a month was incredible. You could see a difference in a week to be honest! In Winter 2024/5 we were so happy with his weight that we were able to reduce his EquiNectar to a maintenance level.

He will be 29 in June and is loving life, behaving like a silly baby and enjoying adventures when my health allows. We are planning to do more pleasure rides this year as he absolutely loves them and following the markers. I have no doubt he wouldn't have gained enough weight without EquiNectar and his droppings have been perfect ever since. The customer service is second to none!!"