Holly

I have had Holly since she was a yearling and she is now six years old. It is only this year that Holly has been able to enjoy life to the full since we had her DNA tested and was confirmed to have PSSM Type 1. After many hours of research on the internet we made major changes to her diet and she is now on a high fat and low sugar and carbohydrate diet. I met Carin from Simple System feeds at a Natural horsemanship play day and was quite impressed with how knowledgeable she was about horse nutrition. After a long chat I decided to try Holly with Simple System food and we have not looked back since. I liked the idea that Holly would receive all the nutrition she needed in a bucket of natural food and not as powder additives. I sent Carin a photo of Holly last year so she could see how she had changed. Carin summed it up so well with how the old Holly looked "depressed". Poor Holly used to walk everywhere ver very slowly with her head low and had a frown as if she had a permanent headache. She was so obese we followed advice and kept her on a small paddock which was brown and grazed down to nothing and only had a small feed to put her vitamin and mineral supplements in. We had to keep her separate from our Cob called Iolo because he constantly wanted to herd her about and as she was unable to move very well she would be cornered by him and Holly couldn't defend herself. So for two years they where separated by an electric fence. Now it is a much happier situation. Holly and Iolo get on so well together and have free access from the fields to the 3 stables that are linked together with internal doors. Often they lay down together in the one with a straw bed which shows how contented they both are now. They have a large green field to graze in together side by side. Holly is now the boss and Iolo is content to follow. Holly has two big feeds a day and has never looked so good. She now comes to me at high speed with her head held high, eyes shinning, glowing with health and happiness. Part of her PSSM management is daily exercise to burn up any sugars. Holly has a very active life now and only has one day off a week. We have trained her into harness which she took to very well and easily drives 7 to 10 miles mostly at trot. On other days I ride her in the arena or play on line and at liberty. She is a joy to hack out either on her own or with Iolo. In January if I led her out in-hand for ten minutes she would completely cease up and could not move with stiff muscles. I am amazed how a change of diet has given me my dream horse back and if this can help any other horses out there it would make me very pleased. Thank you Simple System and Carin for helping to keep my horses happy and that in turn makes me very happy too. Maggie. Pictures are: Holly 2012, a different happy horse! Holly at liberty in forestry Holly in 2011 before change of feed, depressed and tied up. Holly at liberty in the forest with me riding Iolo. Holly's first driving event. Good as Gold!