Stable Makeover for Jack

Jack has a wonderful stable with excellent ventilation, rubber matting and a great view from his stable door onto the yard as well as a window overlooking the arena. He can even chat to Marmalade through the dividing bars of his stable. Horse heaven and yet still missing the extra finishing touch that would bring more light to the corners and give him a sense of peace and tranquility. I drew the line at a water feature though he does his best to upset the drinker and dunk hay in his buckets. I read about the calming effects of stable mirrors and was delighted to be asked to test a Stable Mirror and review the impact on Jack's attitude.

The mirror was an instant success with Jack who is always trying to gaze at himself in the arena mirrors at Emile Faurie's yard! Jack seemed delighted to have his very own mirror that is safe enough for him to nuzzle and chat to and gaze at himself! I think he knows it's his reflection because he still goes to chat to Marmalade!

As for the energy flow in the stable I think the mirror has created a stillness, it has certainly created an extra sense of space and lightness and I would recommend treating your horse to a mirror- easy to order and install contact Mirrors For Training for more information.

My Flexible Horse

Roughway Jack is 22 and is still enjoying work and training. Emile Faurie has been instrumental in helping me improve our dressage scores at medium. We start with a careful warm up and let Jack begin to relax and start to connect. The secret is to ask Jack to work with me and not take charge and to allow me to ride his paces in a regular rhythm so that he works in a soft,supple, swinging frame. I believe that there are lots of factors which contribute to Jack's current high performance. First it's crucial that he's happy and for this he needs a regular routine, the company of his friends, well fitting tack, a balanced diet, regular turnout and varied workloads and lots of pampering !
I think it's very important to feed a joint supplement and I was delighted to review Equine Science Supplements Flexibility for Haynet Blog. Jack was initially sceptical about eating a new supplement particularly as the loading dose is 6 measures for his body weight. I got around this by adding in a scoop at each feed and gradually increasing it and once he discovered he liked the taste there were no more dramas.
Jack is certainly on top form, we have started to improve his lateral work and develop even greater collection in our lessons with Emile and these are taxing sessions for any horse let alone a veteran. I am pleased to report that Jack is demonstrating a great desire to work and perform at competitions and giving me a feeling of cadence and expression in his paces that I never dreamt possible.