Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I've been changing my horses' supplements A LOT over the past few months. That's not something I take lightly. Changing what a horse eats can cause all sorts of problems, but it needed to be done. The first thing I phased out was Speedy's Platinum Performance Healthy weight, a flaxseed oil. He's been eating this year's alfalfa with so much more enthusiasm that I decided to see how he'd do without the extra calories provided by the oil. So far, so good. After that, I decided to cut out the Platinum Performance itself. I spent a couple of weeks bringing Izzy off of it by cutting the serving in half once a week. With a full bucket still in the feed room, Speedy is getting a half serving for the next two months until that bucket, too, is finished. Both boys have been on PP's Hoof Support off and on over the past year and a half. That was always meant as a short term solution anyway, so I am thrilled that the tub is finally empty. I can now check that supplement off the list. While I was in the middle of phasing out supplements, I suddenly found that Izzy's once very simple bucket had become unnecessarily complicated. As I eliminated one supplement, I found that I had added two. I only gave the UlcerGard for one month, so that is now done. After a lot of thought, I cancelled all future shipments of the SmartGI pellets. He will have had more than two months of "gut support": there was one month of UlcerGard followed by two months of SmartGI Pellets which began in the last week of the UlcerGard. That will have to do. I think that supplements can be quite useful. Yellow Dog has been on a few lately. As a two-year-old, she started to become quite lame. We worked through a variety of things until they no longer worked. This year, she received a month long series of Adequan shots along with a vet recommended joint supplement. She's doing much better.
My horses, on the other hand, are healthy. They were healthy before the supplements, and I feel confident that they will continue to be so. I just got to the point where shipping and organizing and feeding got to be just too damn complicated. It is a very liberating feeling to be free of monthly buckets, wells, and tubs. Once the Platinum Performance and SmartGI Pellets run out, it will be just alfalfa and grass hay twice-a-day with LMF Senior for Speedy and a bit of beet pulp for Izzy. And candy of course, peppermints for Speedy and butterscotch for Izzy. I am looking forward to a more simplified 2019.
Shirley Bumgarner
1/10/2019 11:37:20 am
Stinking AWESOME!!!!!!!🤣🤣 Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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