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Welcome to my Blog!
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RIDER: REBECCA SWEETLOVE
HORSE: Linby
BREED: Thoroughbred
HEIGHT: 16.1hh.
Rebecca Sweetlove & Linby,
with Trainer Di Barrett
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I have been riding for 14 years and bought my first horse, Iyke, 8 years ago.
I currently own 3 horses with my mum Sue - Iyke, Cracker and Linby (affectionately known as “the boys”!).
They all have great characters, are very individual and excel in different spheres.
I compete the boys at unaffiliated level jumping, cross country and dressage.
Iyke is the jumper, Cracker the dressage boy and I’m hoping Linby will be the all rounder!
Linby is a six year old ex-racehorse who I bought straight out of training
nearly two years ago. When I first got him he was in great racing condition
as his last race had only been a month before I bought him. Linby is affectionate,
loveable and very cheeky! So far I have competed Linby at local unaffiliated
dressage to try and get him used to the competition environment and learn to
be more relaxed away from home as he finds everything so exciting.
Linby has had one cross country lesson so far, he was very green but grew
in confidence as the session went on. We are jumping as much as possible
as jumping does not come naturally to Linby but hurdling does!
MY DREAM....
one day would be to event Linby but we have a very long way to go. I
intend to go out and about as much as possible to dressage and to progress
with our jumping. Maybe, just maybe, if we are prepared enough we might
have a go in the small class at Milton Keynes unaffiliated three day
event in September.
I hope you enjoy reading our diary, I’m sure Linby will entertain you as much as he entertains me.
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Monday 3rd October 2011....
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So, was he sound or not?
Unfortunately Linby wasn’t sound to go to his Gareth Hughes lesson. I was so disappointed because I really wanted to show Gareth what we had achieved in the short time he had been sound and I also wanted to show Jane from Baileys how well he was doing on the food. Linby and I have had a very disappointing summer due to his foot but I am now looking into alternative shoeing methods so fingers crossed the future is looking brighter. He has currently been sound for two days so let’s see what the week holds!
So, with Linby out of action the decision who to take to Gareth’s had to be made. The whole idea of the day was right up Cracker’s street but unfortunately I didn’t feel he was strong enough to have the pressure put on him. So after much deliberation I decided to take Iyke but I have to say a big thank you to Sacha and Hayley who both very kindly offered me their horses.
I ride Iyke a lot but usually it involves hacking and jumping and very rarely do I school him. Mum does all of his schooling so riding him did fill me with a bit of dread! Tuesday night I got on him for mum to shout at me and give me a lesson. Half hour of intense work and I was exhausted, not quite my push button thoroughbred! On the morning it took an hour to load the beast but fortunately he travels well. Stables had been organised for us again which was great, I think Iyke was ready to move in, I’ve never seen him so relaxed somewhere different. Jane came and spoke to us about his diet, she said he was in good condition but could do with more muscle tone in places so she suggested adding Performance Balancer to his existing diet which would provide quality protein to help muscle build up.
Then came the lessons, I got to watch most of them which was excellent and very interesting. It is great to see how horse and rider progress throughout a session. When it came to Iyke’s lesson I have to admit I felt sick but he was a star. We worked mainly on his canter, getting him to sit on his bottom more and stop swinging his quarters out.
It was a great day and a great way to end the feeding trials. All that is left to say is a HUGE thank you to Equine Affairs and Baileys horse feeds who have made this experience possible. I am so pleased with how Linby is looking and will 100% be keeping him on this diet. Thank you to Gareth for two fantastic lessons and a massive thank you to Di for her help and support over the last 14 years.
Thank you for reading my diary and sorry Linby has been lame for most of it!
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FINAL FEEDBACK FROM TRAINER, DI BARRETT
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So we had the final day of lessons with Gareth and feeding consultations
with Jane from Baileys. I was so proud of Rebecca and Iyke. They rose to the challenge and
Iyke showed off his correct training; being straight and forwards, quiet in the hand and
beautifully over his back in a relaxed but powerful manner. A horse you would love to have
when he was 6. His leg yields were straight and not out in the shoulder, he maintained his
balance through each exercise he was asked to do - always seeking the rein forwards.
Well done Rebecca and Iyke.
Of course we were supposed to bring Linby after all he was the one having the feed but problems
with his foot prevented him coming. However, you can really see the difference in the horse
check out the before and after pics. I really do recommend Baileys Balancers and have put my
new horse Anja on to their Low Cal Balancer with very good results so far. I have had her for
2 weeks and already you can see a difference in her top line and weight.
I have to say that Iyke looked the bee's knee's in his posh white bandages.
Well wish me luck with the new girl and good luck to you all.
Di Barrett
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Monday 19th September 2011....
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Things haven’t quite gone to plan over the last two weeks but I suppose that’s horses for you!
I said last time I was planning to get Linby out and about to some different venues so that I could work on getting him relaxed. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get him anywhere because last Saturday he did the one thing I was desperately hoping he wouldn’t do, he pulled his shoe off in the field! Since then he has unsurprisingly been foot sore! My heart sank when I walked down to the field and he was holding his foot up, too sore to put it down. He walked in as if he had broken a leg (thank god he hadn’t)! There was a glimmer of hope on Monday when he had the shoe put back on and he walked away sound. I kept him in that day to stop any field shenanigans but the next day he was very sore again. He has been in all week and is sound in walk but lame in trot. I am so disappointed but it is unfortunately one of those things. I am going to carry on with the box rest and see how he is mid week, fingers crossed he is just a bit bruised and with no concussion to the foot he will come sound. Many positive though ts his way, we want to see Gareth again!
The week before pulling his shoe off we had been going great guns. We had resumed our lessons with Di who had seen a huge improvement in Linby. I mentioned last time he felt stronger to ride and Di agreed. In the first session we worked on getting him more consistent to the hand and controlling his enthusiasm. By the end of the lesson Linby was working much more from behind into the hand producing a lovely big trot. We also worked on making him straighter as he has a tendency to bend to the inside allowing the outside shoulder to drop out, by the end he was straighter and accepting an outside rein contact. The next lesson saw us trying a different warm up technique. We allowed Linby to dictate his speed rather than me checking him back. He seemed to really respond to this and became suppler quicker and more accepting of the contact sooner. He moved up another gear and was producing his best trot and canter work to date. Big smiles from rider and trainer!
It was the next day that he pulled his shoe off, he probably thought the day before was a bit too much like hard work!!!!!! I can only hope he becomes sound quickly so we can get back on track. I will hopefully be reporting on our Gareth Hughes lesson next time, keep your fingers crossed!
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Monday 5th September 2011....
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The last two weeks have consisted of getting Linby back into full work after his time off. All was going well until I dared to ride him before he was turned out one morning. He decided that he couldn’t possibly do any work that early so he thought the best way to get out of it was to start rearing! Now the last time he did this I decided it was safer to get off and lunge him for a bit but this particular day he caught me on a bad day! He wasn’t going to win and he was going to be ridden before he was turned out! So there we were stood in the school with mini rears every time I asked him to walk on, I think this went on for 10 minutes until he got bored of me nagging him and he just walked on round the school, not that hard Linby was it! Apart from that little disagreement he has been a star. He feels so much stronger to be ridden and is using himself much more correctly. I think although his time off has been stressful for me it has given him the opportunity to grow, develop, put on condition and mature a little bit.
He is now back to full turn out and full work. The plan over the next couple of weeks is to get him out and about. I think I will hire a few different schools first to get him use to going out again and then find some dressage and possibly some showing to go to. We will also be starting our lessons with Di again now that he is back up to fitness. So hopefully I will have a relaxed Linby ready for our next Gareth Hughes lesson which is fast approaching.
Cracker is going strong, we had a lesson with Di on Saturday and he felt lovely. Left rein canter is still a sticking point but Di has given me some exercises to do to make him straighter and more accepting on that rein which are working wonders on him. All going well he will be out for another prelim soon. He is lacking a bit of energy in his work though so while at Burghley today I nipped to speak to Jane from Baileys and she has suggested adding Baileys outshine to his diet which contains oil for slow release energy which is exactly what he needs so I will be off to get that tomorrow.
I feel like things are getting back on track now and I can’t wait for our next Gareth session, I am keeping everything crossed that Linby will stay sound!
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Monday 22nd August 2011....
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I finally have some good news to report, Linby is sound and I am back on board! After being on strict box rest for two weeks he finally walked out sound. Fantastic news but then the realisation, I had to start working the beast after he had been stuck in for two weeks! Let’s just say the first lunging session had more hooves in the air above my head than I care to remember! After a few days of lunging life wasn’t so exciting for Linby so in my wisdom I thought I would ride him. One foot in, two feet in, walk on, NO, vertical, vertical, vertical, I decide to exit stage left before Linby throws me stage right! How I managed to get off him while he was on the forth rear I will never know but I think self preservation came into play! A few more days of lunging and limited turn out has put the brain back in the right place. I have ridden him properly today so we are now set to get started again. The plan is to get his turn out back to normal and get his schooling back to where it was before he went lame. Seeing him move on the lunge his back end is so much more powerful than before, I am hoping to see some big movement from him over the coming weeks.
Iyke is also back in work after having some time off and a back treatment. He seems a lot looser than before so hopefully he has got rid of his aches and pains. Just need to get his fitness back up and then we can get him out to some jumping, lets just hope we don’t have a repeat loading performance!
I took Cracker to his first show in three years on Wednesday. We went up to Keysoe for their evening dressage. He was a superstar; he knew exactly what he was there for and went into ‘look at me’ mode. He did a decent test and scored 62.3% which I didn’t think was bad for a horse that hadn’t been out for a long time and isn’t up to full strength yet, a very pleasing starting point. The canter needs a lot more work but he is so easy to work with it shouldn’t take us long to get it back to where it was.
I am so pleased I can ride Linby again. He has had to have such a long time off it is time to get going again on all three (keeping fingers, toes and hooves crossed)!!
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TRAINER FEEDBACK: DI BARRETT
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Hello everyone
Becky and Linby are doing very well, with Gareth's session backing up the training that we
have done, and what we hope to achieve, we are well on the way to a better more secure contact.
The problem is when Linby is not correct he throws his head in the air and goes technically
above the bit - so getting Becky to feel when this is about to happen, so that she can correct
him before the crime is comitted. We are using a lot of steady rhythmical work increasing
and decreasing circles, shoulder fore and transitions. Through this and his feeding regime it
would seem that Linby is calmer in his work and more receptive to work with. Defiantly his transitions
are improving and he is more settled sooner in his work generally. He is quicker to work over
his back, this could be attributed to him gaining a little more weight, muscle and strength.
We have been hampered slightly by Linby being foot sore after shoeing. . . . he is a little
accident prone it would seem too! However, a good physio is keeping him on track, so we hope
to resume full work soon. Normally Becky is having a session once a fortnight but with
back issues, and feet problems our sessions have not been regular. The plan at the
moment is to get him sound then to continue trainning again and get him out and about again
to some local venues.
It will be interesting to see the before and after shots, and to see what Gareth's
impression of him is after 3 months.
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Monday 8th August 2011....
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The last two weeks haven’t been great horsey wise for me. It all started to go down hill last weekend when I was due to have a jumping lesson with Nick Turner on Iyke. I was really looking forward to the lesson to address the speed issues I was having and I do love my lessons with Nick, he is a great instructor. My lesson was at one so I had plenty of time in the morning to get myself and Iyke sorted. 11.30 came around so off we went to get loaded and that’s when the drama began! Iyke was not going on the lorry for love nor money! He has always been a dodgy loader but hasn’t refused point blank for 2 years. We had rearing, bucking, twisting, turning, you name it Iyke was doing it. Three and a half hours later mum and I were beaten, we have never given up before but as I say he wasn’t going on. So, lesson was missed and a hack round Ashwell with friends on Sunday was also missed!
We couldn’t come up with an explanation for the non loading but during this week he has not been right. A back check from the vet found a tender spot down his left hind so time off for him. Now, did he not load because of this or did he do it by not loading, horses!! I’m sure it will be ok in a week and after a back treatment but it has meant we have missed our one day event.
Linby has also caused me a lot of stress this week. After enjoying his time in the field a little too much he has managed to move his shoe back on his sore foot. The shoe had to be taken off and put back on again (not a good thing when you’re lacking foot to connect the shoe to). I held my breath when the shoe was being put on, we had one shot and one shot only to get it right. Luckily it went on ok but he was ultra sore on it again so back to box rest and bute. He has been in for six days now and is behaving himself so far. He did walk out round the yard this morning sound so fingers crossed we are getting there.
Hopefully I will be reporting some better news in two weeks.
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Monday 25th July 2011....
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Since our last entry Linby and I both had a week off nursing our injuries. My bandage from my finger came off on the Friday and Linby was still looking better on his foot so the time had come to get back on board. Saturday evening came around, the tack came out and in the school we went. Sound, sound, sound, lame, sound, sound, lame, lame, lame, lame, sound, sound and lame is how his movement went! So off I got and stuck him on the lunge, intermittent lameness was the name of the game. It begins to worry you when your horse has that degree of pain from a foot. You think you might be missing something and something more sinister might be going on. I am a Veterinary Nurse so I have friends in high places! Charlotte my personal vet, colleague, friend and owner of Linby’s best friend Evie (see picture below) very kindly took a look at him to put my mind at ease that it was just his rubbish hoof – THANK YOU. Linby is now sporting the crème de le crème of shoes, unfortunately it will just take time for him to c ome right on that foot as he needs to grow some decent hoof!
Linby has been enjoying some R and R in the field. He is first out in the morning and usually the last in.
I am missing riding him but the time off is giving him the opportunity to put some weight on. Condition wise he is looking lovely, the Baileys food is really making a difference. I hope when you see our feed reviews next week you will all notice a difference, dare I say he might even be getting a bit of a belly!
Not being able to take Linby out and about gives me the chance to get Cracker going again properly. Cracker had to have two and a half years off due to injury. He has not been back in work long but he is feeling good. Last Sunday mum and I thought it was time to take him out so off we went to Waresley Park Stud for some schooling. He was a star and so enjoyed himself.
Wednesday was lesson day with Di for Cracker. After having to address a few control and attitude issues Cracker worked really well. With a bit of fine tuning I think we will be ready to go out and compete which is something I never thought Cracker would do again. So when you see someone storming round the dressage arena smiling that will be me with Cracker!
I will hopefully be reporting better news on Linby next time, in the mean time Iyke and I have got Keysoe ODE to look forward to.
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| Monday 11th July 2011.... |
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Got to love thoroughbred feet!!!!!!!!! In my last entry I mentioned Linby was foot sore after
being shod, well he is still foot sore two weeks down the line! My poor long suffering
farrier has had to put a pad on Linby’s right fore to stop any bruising. So in the last
two weeks Linby has been on box rest for 5 days and then turned out for the rest of the time.
He has been looking sounder for the last 2 days so fingers crossed we are getting there.
I will hopefully be riding him by the end of the week but I am also not sound on my right
fore after undergoing surgery for the second time on my little finger. When Linby broke my
finger whilst jumping back in February I had to have screws inserted to mend the break but
my finger hasn’t been straight since. On Thursday I had to have surgery to take the screws
out and manipulation to see if they could make my pinky straight. So, screws are now out
and I think there is a slight improvement in straightness but I won’t know for sure
until Friday when they take the bandage off. Not to worry though I can still
do full mucking out duties and reckon I might
just be able to ride!
With Linby out of action I decided it was Iyke’s turn to have some fun out and about. Iyke is the first horse we ever bought and he is now 19 years old. He has had many issues in the past but we have worked hard to make him confident in himself and in us. Last Sunday we took him to Keysoe’s unaffiliated one day event. We had a great day. If a horse could smile from ear to ear he would have been. First up was the dressage. Dressage doesn’t come naturally to Iyke but he can move when he wants to. He warmed up beautifully but as soon as he was in the outdoor arena his concentration was gone. The huts and the white boards were definitely going to eat him so we did a lot of spooking and sideways movement. Not a very good score but considering he hadn’t competed in dressage for about 6 years I couldn’t complain. Next up was the show jumping, now this horse can jump. Again the warm up was great, we went in the ring, the bell went we were off! If we were in the speed derby we would have won! Unfortunately for us we weren’t and we had 3 poles down because of lack of control! More schooling needed Iyke,
listen to mother! By this stage it was obvious we weren’t in the running for a rosette so I
went for clear on the cross country rather than speed. We flew round the course completely
clear with plenty more petrol in the tank. Cross country certainly does give me a buzz and
he loves it. More schooling needed and we are going to enter the next one in August.
Linby hasn’t been ignored for the last two weeks as he has had a session with his favourite person Caroline Lindsay from PerfectMovementSolutions.com. Caroline is Linby’s physiotherapist. Since his back problem back in February Caroline has been coming out to us on a regular basis. To begin with she was treating him weekly, then fortnightly and now monthly. Caroline has been fantastic in getting Linby stronger and working more correctly. Caroline tailors her methods to the individual needs of the horse and uses many different techniques to make the horse more comfortable. She truly does have magic hands, I would highly recommend her to everybody and so would Linby, he really is a treatment junkie especially after the use of the ultrasound machine for a deep tissue massage (and yes she does treat humans too – mum might need her after riding Cracker and Iyke for a week while I am out of action).
Hopefully Linby will be better on his foot by the end of the week and we can get going again. The plan is to get qualified for The Chiltern and Thames dressage championships at Prelim level so we need to go go go.
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| Monday 27th June 2011.... |
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I can not start this next entry without mentioning Mac, he was a truly amazing horse with a massive character, and he is missed on the yard by us all.
Linby and I have had a frustrating few weeks since our lesson with Gareth, consisting of good days and bad days!
The week after Gareth it was time for Linby to get jumping again. He had not jumped for 12 weeks because of a back injury which caused him to dump me in the middle of the school, breaking my finger in the process! I wasn’t nervous until I pulled in to the first jump and Caroline (Linby’s physiotherapist) shouted to me “be prepared for him to stop”, instantly I felt sick but he sailed the jump and cantered off neatly afterwards. Caroline set up some different jumping exercises and Linby was a star, jumping the best he had done in a long time. One very happy horse and owner. A few days later we had a lesson with Di which Linby had a strong opinion about. He just wouldn’t relax into any of the exercises we were doing and did not do any of his best work which is very unlike him at home but I suppose we all have our off days. The next day we were up early to go to Abbey Farm in Turvey for their unaffiliated dressage. I stupidly didn’t allow enough time to warm up so he was very tense throughout his test and ver y inconsistent to my hand, which led to a very short choppy trot. We scored 60.45% which wasn’t bad but I know if I had allowed a longer warm up he could have been more consistent, sorry Linby that was rider error! On a brighter note preliminary 19 the test we did is a lovely test to ride and is ridden in a 20 x 60 which does seem to suit Linby better.
The weekend after we went to Keysoe to do prelim 4 and 7. After the short warm up the weekend before I allowed us a good hours working in time. We managed to get the indoor arena all to ourselves which was lovely. I concentrated on lots of bending to try and make linby suppler and less tense. He felt like he was working really nicely and I thought to myself, yes Linby we have cracked it. How WRONG could I have been!!!!!!! We went outside to the arenas and that was it - Linby was a tense mess again. 10 minutes until my test and all we could get was Linby’s famous head tossing. Don’t panic I thought to myself, just go into the test and ride what you get. If the first three movements had asked us to bounce up and down on the spot and do mini rears we would have got 10 out of 10 but as it was meant to be trot I had to retire! The judge very kindly let us stay in the arena for our remaining time and I eventually hit trot. I decided to retire from our next class because by this point Linby was very worked up. In stead I went back into the indoor arena and settled him. The next day Linby was very sore and stiff, this coupled with him not being consistent at Turvey or in his lesson I think he must have pulled himself jumping. Caroline came out to treat him again and we decided not to jump him again for a while, instead we want to build his muscles up more so he is stronger. So the jumping is on hold for now but the dressage most definitely isn’t.
In our next lesson with Di Linby was on fire. He was obviously more comfortable and gave us some of the best work he has done so far. He was consistent from behind to the hand the whole lesson and produced a lovely trot and canter. I was very pleased with him and can not wait for our next outing to see if we can produce it again in the competition environment.
We haven’t got our next outing booked yet as I have left Linby in the field this morning nursing a sore foot after being shod, got to love thoroughbred feet, and a sore eye after being bitten by something, got to love thoroughbred sensitive skin!
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| Monday 13th June 2011.... |
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Wow, what an exciting three weeks Linby and I have had. Winning was the last thing on my mind when
I filled in the application for the Baileys tried and tested and handed it to Di back in April.
When I heard we had won I was over the moon as I was desperate for feeding help with Linby. As an
ex-racehorse, condition has been hard to keep on Linby without blowing his mind! So thank you
Equine Affairs and Baileys for this amazing opportunity. Also, thank you to Di for encouraging me
to enter and for the last 14 years of lessons and support.
When I heard I would be getting a lesson with Gareth Hughes as part of the prize it was the icing
on the cake. So on the 17th May off we went to Oxfordshire after spending the previous day bathing,
trimming and tack cleaning (thanks mum). Linby looked very smart with his plaits (thanks to Zoe,
mine were terrible), baileys numnah and stretch & flex bandages. Linby found his bandages very
comfortable and worked beautifully in them despite the fact I had never worked him in bandages
before and he is very suspicious of things on his legs, I will definitely be using them again.
In his lesson Linby was a little tense and not accepting the contact, both of which are our
biggest problems. To encourage Linby to accept the contact more Gareth showed me some ground
exercises I could do before riding, these worked very well, as soon as I got back on he accepted
more contact and worked through his back. Gareth went on to further encourage Linby to take
up the contact and gave me lots of things to work on at home, so hopefully by the time we
go back in September he will see an improvement. I will let you know how we get on.
It was lovely to meet Lorna and Jane from Baileys Horse feeds, they agreed with me that
Linby appeared hollow in the flanks and lacking in muscle behind. After taking a detailed
history they advised that I changed Linbys diet to Baileys number 6 Endurance Mix and
Baileys Performance Balancer to give him much needed calories and good quality protein
for muscle development. Lorna explained everything in detail and showed a great
understanding of the needs of ex-racehorses. We have started introducing the new
feeding regime and will keep you posted with our progress.
It was great meeting everybody and their horses and having the opportunity to watch
each others lessons. I think Tania summed the day up brilliantly, “there were a
variety of horses, riders and disciplines but one common interest, the love of horses”.
If anyone would like to share their experiences of owning an ex racehorse please feel free to contact me.
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| Photos courtesy of David Short, Baileys Horse Feeds & Equine Affairs
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| Vidoes & Filming courtesy of Sue Sweetlove
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| BAILEYS HORSE FEEDS TRIED & TESTED ... |
ASSESSMENT OF LINBY...BY LORNA FROM BAILEYS HORSE FEEDS
Linby is a 16.1, 6 year old Thoroughbred who came out of training 2 years ago, he has been
with you for the majority of those two years. He has a very good temperament to work with
but can still be a little sharp at times, however he has not put on as much condition as we
would ideally like, he really needs to build up his top line, particularly over his hind
quarters and back, he is also a little ‘tucked up’ and ‘hollow’. He is not a big eater,
especially when it comes to forage as he will only eat 12lbs over night.
Current Diet
2 scoops of Hi Fi Light per day
2 small shovel scoops of No.4 Top Line Conditioning Cubes per day
2 small shovel scoops of Everyday Horse & Pony Cubes per day
Garlic, Equivite, Biotin, Electrolytes
Suggested Diet
6lbs or 2 heaped round bowl Stubbs scoops of No.6 Endurance Mix per day
1lb or 2 mugs of Performance Balancer per day
Protexin Quick Fix – probiotic
Baileys Digest Plus – prebiotic
Garlic and Electrolytes
Lorna explained the importance of ensuring that Linby receives a balanced diet to ensure he can continue developing muscle. Rebecca has done the right thing by making an emphasis on a high fibre diet, and by topping up his ration with a vitamin and mineral supplement, and the changes that Lorna suggested still use fibre as the basis of his diet. All-Round Endurance Mix in place of the high fibre cubes and Top Line Conditioning Cubes will provide a low starch but high calorie feed with energy coming from slow release energy sources, such as oils and fibres. It also contains some alfalfa chaff which meant that Rebecca does not need to add extra chaff.
The addition of Performance Balancer ensures that Limby is receiving adequate amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals and will therefore replace the Equivite with the advantage of also providing good quality proteins for muscle development, which the Equivite does not. When feeding a balanced diet there should be no further need to use Biotin as it is already present in the both the hard feed and the balancer so Lorna suggested Rebecca fed half the recommended quantity of the Biotin supplement to finish it up and then not replace it.
As Linby is an ex-racehorse and still remains a little ‘hollow’ in the flanks, Lorna felt it was important to support his fibre-digesting bacteria to ensure he is utilising as much as possible of the fibre element of his diet. Racehorses as a rule do not receive high fibre diets and over time the beneficial bacteria in the hind gut become disrupted due to the very high starch diet and low fibre intake. Now that Linby is receiving as much forage as he likes, Lorna felt that helping to repopulate the fibre digesting bacteria would have a positive impact on his condition.
Lorna suggested using Protexin Quick Fix, a probiotic paste, for 10 days, then Baileys Digest Plus prebiotic for a minimum of six weeks. He can remain on the Digest Plus long term should Rebecca feel he is benefitting from it but Lorna recommended seeing how Linby is without it after the six weeks and reintroducing it if he took a step backwards. Alternatively Rebecca can use Digest Plus before, during and after competitions, if Linby becomes tucked up or hollow from the excitement, work, travel or stress.
Should Linby need more calories during the winter months or when the grass is not as plentiful, Rebecca can increase the amount of All-Round Endurance Mix or add the high oil supplement, Outshine, to his feed. Outshine is very energy/calorie dense but oils provide slow release energy rather than quick release so will not affect Linby’s temperament. Outshine is fed in mugs rather than scoops, as with the balancer, and Linby could receive 1- 4 mugs per day. Lorna also suggested providing other fibre sources as Linby will only eat a limited amount, this could either be introduced now or during the winter months. Hay/grass replacement products, like Badminton Ultra Grass, Ready Grass, Graze On, Dengie Alfa Beet or Mollichaff Veteran, can all be fed in a separate bucket to increase the good quality fibre in Linby’s diet.
REBECCA'S THOUGHTS...
I had previously been feeding Linby Baileys No 4 Topline conditioning cubes, Baileys Everyday Fibre cubes and Hi Fi; although not to the recommended amounts as I was nervous of giving him too much energy on top of his natural exuberance. Following a detailed discussion with Lorna we agreed that Linby needs to build up his topline, particularly over his hindquarters and back and that he is a little tucked up and hollow. It was recommended that I feed Linby Baileys No 6 Endurance Mix and Baileys Performance Balancer to ensure that he receives a balanced diet to encourage continued muscle development. I was extremely happy with these recommendations as I felt I was working condition off him by not feeding to the recommended levels.
I started the new diet the next day and I have gradually been replacing his old diet with the new over the last two weeks. Linby is now on 1 large scoop of Endurance Mix and a cup of Performance Balancer twice daily. Although it is early days I feel that Linby is already showing a calmer attitude mentally. It is too early to notice any difference in his condition but I am going to photograph him regularly so that I have a visual record of any changes which I will share with you. Needless to say he loves his new diet and hoovers everything up with gusto.
Lorna also advised that I add Baileys Digest Plus supplement to his diet which is a prebiotic and will aid his fibre digestion. I have this on order and will start it as soon as possible. No other supplements are required as the Performance Balancer has adequate amounts of proteins, vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet.
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| Condition Photos taken on 17th May 2011 at Aspen Grove Dressage
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ASSESSMENT OF LINBY - REBECCAS FEEDBACK...AUGUST 2011 (3 months later)
Linby has now been on his new diet for about ten weeks and I can really see the difference. Not only has he put weight on he has also built up some muscle. This is something I have not been able to achieve in the 2 years I have owned him. You can no longer see his ribs and his bottom is the biggest I have ever seen it. Everybody on the yard has recently commented on how well he is looking. He is also going through a growth spurt, which would usually see him drop weight but on the new diet he has not dropped at all.
When I received Lorna’s feeding plan back in May I was really pleased with it because I knew Linby’s diet needed changing but I was not sure where to start. Lorna gave me the kick start I needed.
The No 6 All Round Endurance Mix is great. I do not need any chaff with it as it contains some alfalfa chaff and is quite dense. Linby is having 2 heaped Stubbs scoops of it a day and he loves it, it is very palatable. He is also on two cups a day of the performance balancer which I am sure is helping with his muscle development. Linby is now fuller in the neck, his top line is developing and he is stronger behind.
Linby is now coming to the end of his 6 weeks course of Baileys Digest Plus. He was given this to help the fibre digesting bacteria in his gut. I feel this has given Linby the ability to digest the fibre I am giving him properly therefore enabling him to gain weight. I also feel that the Digest Plus has helped Linby in times of stress by supporting his digestive system which would normally be disrupted when he is anxious. Travelling and competitions raise his stress levels but he can also become stressed in simple situations such as late turn outs and exciting hacks. When I have finished the 6 weeks course I am going to monitor Linby’s weight and if I think there is any change without it I will put him straight back on it or, as Lorna suggested, use it at times of stress when he is more likely to become tucked up and hollow.
As you know from my diary I have not been riding Linby for a few weeks due to a foot problem. On Linby’s old diet if I was not riding I would have to knock down his feed quantities drastically as he would become highly excitable, difficult to handle and very anxious. With the new diet I have not had to change a thing as he has stayed calm and relaxed which has been fantastic. It also means he is receiving all the nutrients, fibre, vitamins and minerals he requires.
Since seeing Lorna I have not had to tweak the diet at all. I really hope from the pictures Lorna can see the difference in Linby.
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Condition Photos taken August 2011 at Haynes
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You can contact me via becs283@hotmail.com or
via my Facebook
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| THANKS TO MY SUPPORTERS... |
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Having never really used bandages on Linby before I was a little apprehensive about how he would react to them. With their extra padding on the first part of the bandage and then the elasticity on the second part they were very light weight and Linby barely noticed they were there.
They were very easy to put on and came in different lengths depending upon the width of the horses legs. With Linby’s legs being very thin the medium ones fitted perfectly. The Velcro fastenings allowed secure fitting but be brave you can do them up a little tighter than you think.
Having used the bandages several times on a surface they did become a little discoloured but a normal wash in the washing machine bought them up a treat, they were whiter than white again.
A great bandage I will definitely be using on all three of the boys.
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