Finn
Suzanne Vickery
Photos by kind permission of RADFoto.co.uk
Finn did his first 50 km [EGB] ride at Windsor on Saturday and he got a Grade 1 with zero dehydration and 41 heart rate. It is only his 2nd grade 1 as he usually gets very tense and nervous at the vet and his heart rate goes up, but he was totally calm on Saturday. He had his Lucie Nuts/beet pulp/Total Eclipse/Electrolyte mix before, 5 times during, and after the ride. He didn’t drink once but it obviously kept him really well hydrated and well. I did get some odd stares from people who clearly thought I was an idiot feeding a horse mid-ride and expected him to drop dead any minute. I think our success that day was due to both the feed and the fact my husband crewed for me for the first time and met us 5 times. Finn is barefoot and managed all the stones in the sandy tracks with no problems at all. Ready to go advanced now !
2010 Successes :
Finn has been on Simple Systems feeds for 18 months and is now an advanced endurance horse, having completed 68km and 80km rides this summer. He is fed Lucie Nuts, Purabeet, Total Eclipse – and for competitions he gets some red bag grass pellets as an extra boost. No grain at all. He achieved a Grade 2 in both long distance rides this year, only missing a grade 1, by 1 beat per minute heart rate. Not bad for a non-arab.
Apart from maintaining his weight and energy, Simple Systems ensures he stays hydrated, even when he refuses to drink.
He has also successfully converted to barefoot and his feet are in fantastic shape.
Ed: Well done, Suzie and Finn! Note that it is only safe to combine work and feeding in this way if you are on forages and are sure there is no starch in the feed - no cereals or their by products and no pulses (peas and beans) and also no molasses as this causes fluctuations in blood sugar levels. So a Simple System diet is ideal when effort is required over several hours, as Suzie and Finn have discovered!