Vicky Smith's blog update: Success at Olympia and plans beyond the snow!

Due the bad snow and dark nights I feel a bit grounded this month! I had an exciting time at Olympia finishing 12th riding Sara Dowdeswells Connemara Johns Cuckoo. He went extremely well as he is only in his first season and was produced beautifully as always by my friend Mathew Lawrence.

I had a lovely time in London and it was nice to do some partying and shopping! I got home to find snow, snow and more snow but the horses enjoyed playing out everyday. Being a teacher I was lucky to get an extra week of work but was frustrated not to be able to ride.

The end of January will see lots of hacking out for the horses and they will be clipped and ready to start competing in February. My coloured horse Indian King will go and stay in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire for some intensive training with my trainer Libby Williams whilst my 6yo Millhollow King of Kings will do some show jumping.

Holly Burton's latest blog update: Snow, snow go away!

Everything has been very quiet on the horse front, since my horse Tinto went on his annual winter break in mid-October. He always gets a 2-3 month break at this time of year as he really deserves it after competing BSJA and BE all year. It's also very practical since I only have a paddock to ride in therefore it's pitch black when I get home from work every day. I planned to bring Tinto back into work a couple of weeks ago however we have had some serious snow which has been here for a month now - sick of it! We currently have about 2 1/2 - 3 feet of snow in my yard so we won't be moving the trailer anytime soon! It was -18 degrees the other night which made doing the horses pretty chilly to say the least! I had initially planned to do some dressage this month and during February, however my local competition venue's indoor school collapsed under the weight of snow a few days ago so that'll limit the amount I can do even more. I'm getting very bored of not being able to ride! Tinto is wrapped up warm and looks rather like a giant furry connemmara right now...! He's begun cantering around in the snow a lot this week so I think he wants to get going again too.

Josh Thompson's blog: Back to work afer the snow

I have just come back form a weeks skiing in Megeve, France. I think we had nearly as much snow as England! As with many people the horses have not been able to been ridden for the past week, but thankfully it has started to thaw now so mum has been lungeing them at home. After a week stuck inside they were obviously were excited, and Shannah reverted to his high-pitched squealing which he put into practice at the final trot up at Weston Park!

We were hoping to take Duncan competing during the Christmas holidays, but sadly the weather stopped play. Hopefully he will get out to some BSJA, or possibly Osbaldeston JAS, school dependant next weekend. Shannah will hopefully be fit enough to jump next month. I managed to school Shannah before we went skiing, and he felt better than ever. Now our partnership is more developed I am really looking forward to this year with him. Duncan had one small ‘teenager moment’ when he decided that he no longer could work in an outline, but he was soon won over and is improving all the time.

I am now back at school, and have five A-level modules to sit, which I am not looking forward to! However, looking at my exam timetable for the summer I am able to do Houghton CCI*, which I am very happy about as I thought exams might clash. Its now time to knuckle down,. Work hard, run hard and then the eventing season will soon be upon us. Until the next time!

Abby Steel's blog: In the ribbons

I took both Pinky and Lilly to an indoor eventer trial the week before Christmas which was only Pinky's second show and Pinky was entered in the 2ft6 and 2ft9. These classes were one round against the clock with a course of 16+ fences which were show jumps and cross country style jumps. In the first class she did a fantastic clear and came first! Then the second class she did another fantastic clear but slightly slower time and came third but I was very pleased with how she went. Lilly was entered in the 2ft9 and 3ft and in both classes did a lovely fast clear to get a first in the 2ft9 and fourth in the 3ft.. a sucessful day!

I then took Lilly along to Overa Farm for her first BSJA show in about 3-4 weeks because of the weather being so bad and not having time to ride at all! She was entered in the British Novice
and did a lovely clear but unfortunately knapped slightly at the gate (a bit too fresh and excitment of being back out!) so got four faults, and she was also entered in the 1m Amateur qualifier where she had one down and decided to knap again at the gate, but i was very pleased with how she went, as it was the first time i had sat on her for about a week so I wasn't expecting her to behave as well as she did!

I am planning on taking Pinky schooling at Overa on Thursday and hopefully she will be out competing again soon!

Jemma Harrison's blog: the effects of Joint Power!

December and January have been quiet for us in Jersey and for the first time in many years we had thick snow! All the horses seemed to enjoy the snow as it meant they didnt have to work as much because the sandschool had turned into a snowschool!

We all managed to have great fun in the snow though, and as you can see from the photo, Piquet wasn't too impressed by our snowman and snowhorse!

In early december, Piquet and I had a Christmas showjumping competition at an indoor arena. We competed in the two last classes of the day, the first class ( height 1metre ) we knocked down the first jump as Piquet didnt seem to think much of the snowman next to it and decided that looking at the snowman instead of the jump, and therefore forgetting to pick up our feet was a better idea! In the second class which was 1m05, we got a clear round and were the only clear meaning that we won our class.

We are now just continuing our training ready for the season to start in early March. I have been using the Organic Horse 'Joint Power' powder on Piquet now for 3 weeks and I have noticed a dramatic change. He used to be stiff in his hind legs on the right rein. He found it almost impossible to do shoulder-in on the right when schooling and was never able to change his hind legs when doing flying changes which meant he always became unbalanced and had to come back to trot.

Now, with being on 'Joint Power' he no longer struggles with his shoulder-in, finding it just as easy on both reins and everytime he does a flying change it is always foot-
perfect! And this is what made me realise that 'Joint Power' was really helping his stiffness. I had been trying for months on correcting his flying changes but he found it very difficult and preferred not to. Now he changes with no effort involved so I am very happy!

Kelly Dickson's blog: Busy making plans!

Hope you all had a good Christmas and new year. Well I think there is going to be a theme to all blogs from this month saying the same thing. Nothing at all happened due to snow and ice.

I gave Charlie a couple of weeks off at the beginning of December hoping to go to Merrist Wood and Badgworth for the Blue Chip Power and Blue Chip Star Qualifiers towards the end of the month. Then came the first bout of snow, so Merrist Wood cancelled and Badgworth rescheduled their show for February. So things didn't go according to plan and Charlie has had an extended and unintentional holiday.

The school has been frozen and the roads haven't been great so fitness has dropped and a few pounds gained (for both of us). But had a good Christmas with Charlie managing to get out in the field for a couple of days after the snow had melted, and a very quiet new year.

At the beginning of the month I started Charlie on the JOINT POWER supplement from Organic Horse. He had coffin joint problem a couple of years back and when he's been stood in a couple of days he gets a little stiff. I've been using this for a month now and so far it seems to be working. He's legs are not swelling up at all and no stiffness. He's been bucking and flying about for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully it will make him feel good in himself at competitions too.

Looks like the cold snap is going to stay around for a fair bit as we are up to our ankles (and sometimes knees) in snow again. I'm just hoping it will wear itself out soon so that I can actually compete before January ends.

So through the boredom, I have been making plans for the new year ahead. First I'm hoping to get my last Discovery double clear to qualify for the seconds rounds. I only have £3 left to win before I am out of Discovery so not much to play with. Then try for the last couple of Blue Chip Power Qualifiers to add to my Discovery one, then aim for the scope classes.

I also hope to compete at more county shows and 3/4 day shows. Lots to aim for and look forward to. Hope to report back a bit more from January.

Happy New Year to all our fans: Free delivery!

With all this talk of New Year sales we thought it was perfect timing to help save you guys some money on your horses’ supplements. So, for the month of January we would like to offer you and your friends’ FREE delivery on any orders of our popular Power Powders range.

You may have heard about our range of Power Powders – but just in case you haven’t, they are a unique method of administering top quality, entirely organic and natural ingredients that have been carefully combined to help manage a range of every day equine conditions. They use nothing nasty, no chemical fillers, no binders and no preservatives – they are simply 100% herbal goodness.

Unlike conventional supplements that horses can build a resistance to, our Power Powders take a biodynamic approach and we make subtle changes to the ingredients seasonally to mimic what the horse or pony would naturally source in the wild meaning that they maintain their effectiveness all year round.

Due to the intolerable weather conditions we are surely not the only ones to have our horses stabled for longer periods of time – they seem to be eating us out of house and home in the amount of hay and haylage we are going through. Make sure you keep their digestive system healthy as this can be the time when they could be more prone to gastric upset. Feeding Gut Power can help as Organic Horse Performance Squad member, Roger Gregory has found out. Click here to read his blog and hear for yourself how Gut Power can help.

Our other best sellers at this time of year are Joint Power – which has helped prevent stiffness and filling during the long periods of time our lot have had to be stabled. This and Power Against Pain has helped many older horses stay mobile during the cold, damp weather, including Organic Horse Performance Squad member, Therese van Rijckevorsel’s retired eventer. “He stumbled when we were out hacking a couple of months ago and injured a low ligament which couldn't be treated. I tried the Power Against Pain and now he is sound again, so I am very happy."

Power Powders require little storage in the feed room as they are supplied in recyclable, re-sealable pouches that take up less room than tubs and are easily transported if travelling away. With no loading dose required Power Powders get to work instantly and offer easy to use, palatable supplements that really pack a punch.

Prices start at just £32 for 40 days supply – which works out at 80p per day. If you buy the larger 100 day supply for £60, the daily cost comes down to 60p per day. A small price to pay for peace of mind!

Visit Our Shop for more information and to place your order or telephone 0800 970 9421 to chat to the team. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group – and keep an eye out for new products coming soon!

Sarah Jane Brown's December blog: looking forward to better weather!

We have slipped from endless rain into snow and ice. Luckily being down in the far South West has its advantages and although hit badly, possibly not hit for as long as everyone else. The main disappointment was our trip to Gloucestershire to compete and train at Talland fell to the weather, the lorry was totally stuck in situ and at the end of the day the risks of travelling were not worth it. Had already bought all the water bottles and dog coats!

Hoping to rebook a session at Talland with Pammy Hutton and maybe combine it with travelling to do a JAS competition with Sarnita. Sarnita is getting bored and although I have been able to keep her ticking over that has been about it. We had some fantastic lessons with my trainer Caroline Creighton before the freeze working very hard on getting the bouncy energetic canter that we sometimes lack.

One bit of exciting news has been a new addition to the team. Ashley (Pictured) was bought at the end of December. He is a 7 year old 15.3 ID / TB who has done nothing at all so is a blank canvas to work with. Initially he was bought as a buy and sell project but from the little I have done with him I am wondering if he may be a bit better than that and a good one to bring on and event. Watch this space. Hopefully more to report on next month with plenty planned. In the meantime keep up to date via www.shoestringeventing.co.u

Katherine Begley's blog: Bad start to 2010 - vibes needed for Belvedere...

Well back in October at Weston Park CCIJ* Belv's dressage completely fell apart. It was like there was something wrong with him. It had been going downhill for a few months and was just horrific at Weston. So we decided to start the winter off with some show jumping and hunting to keep him happy and take his mind off the dressage.

However, recently I have started doing some schooling, and in just a plain snaffle I cannot get any degree of flexion in the poll out of him. So we took him to Tor Brewer's (eventer based in Hartpury) for a lesson to see what she thought. She got on and found him exactly the same, she also said that his neck did not look like that of a 1* event horse. As she continued to walk him around more, she couldn't believe just how in submissive he was and came to the conclusion that there must be something wrong in his neck. So she recommended we get out Liz Launders and Chris Rea from Kearns and Rea Three counties equine hospital to have a look at him.

They came on Monday 4th January and to begin with we just talked about what the problem was, any incidents in the past few months etc. I then trotted him up and down the drive, turned him on tight circles and let the vets prod and poke him. They said that he had some very odd muscle on his neck, and that generally all over his body his muscle tone was very uneven. We then went and lunged him in the school in trot on both reins. And then I got on in my dressage saddle and nathe snaffle and attempted to school in. This was to allow them to see what he was like. Liz got me to do various different circles and things with my reins to see if anything changed his way of going. Finally to finish we put him in the Pelham, as per usual this gave us a nice flexed horse. However, what Chris & Liz noticed was that belvedere NEVER used himself behind, not once during the whole examination. They said that there was no change between lunging, riding with the snaffle and riding with the Pelham. Liz said that this was most surprising, as the Pelham should have set him back on his haunches more. They also said that he has a subtle lameness in his off fore and near hind. Neither of which they were hugely worried about, but just that it was something that we may need to look into if we find nothing else. They said that they think that there is something wrong with his neck and something else wrong in his back end. E.g. some arthritis in his hock, preventing him from using himself.

So instead of launching into hundreds of full body scans the first step is to put him on an intensive course of Bute. This is not as a treatment but as a diagnostic tool. The idea is that Tor rides him whilst he is on Bute and she talks to Liz about whether there is any improvement. Therefore if while he is on Bute he becomes more easy to flex, then it will show that there is something physically hurting him in his neck. Or, if the Bute makes his back end work better so that he uses himself more, it will confirm their suspicions that he has a physical problem in his back end/near side hock. Therefore allowing the vets to determine that there are problems in his neck/hind end and investigate further and take x-rays etc. If the Bute doesn’t help him at all, then it may indicate a neurological problem.

So vibes please, let’s hope we can get the problem sorted ASAP and come back better than ever for the 2010 season! For more news and information please visit www.katherinebegley.com

Janice Pegler's blog: Snow stops play!

Well nothing has really been happening with the horses, all the competitios I had planned have been cancelled due to ice and snow! The driveway down to the yard, which is a steep hill, has been almost impassable for a few days and I have been camped out at my mums as they live in a flat on the yard.

The horses have just been being kept ticking over, although I have trouble with Serenity keeping her brain calm as we can't get them out to the fields, the last time this happened she went a bit crazy!! So I have been trying to ride her and put her on the walker for as long as possible everyday. So far it seems to be working but the problem will be if it carries on as even the indoor school is starting to freeze!!!

Amat had to have some time off over Christmas due to being a bit sore in his back but was just back in work when the snow hit so is back to loose schooling everyday. Hopefully soon I will be able to write a blog with a competition report in, but for now it's just a case of trying to keep warm!

The picture is of our rising 3 year old, Stop Larking About and Bud my retired eventer.

Roma Oakes' new year blog!

Happy New Year to everyone! We had a lovely Christmas and New Year - except of course for the weather! The sand school was frozen, the roads were frozen - it has been really bad. Fortunately the sand school has a lot of rubber in it so on most days there was enough of a thaw that the horses could get turned out for a little while to stretch their legs, but it wasn't possible to ride until 31st Dec - just in time for a competition on 3rd January. Also had a lesson on 2nd January - that was good but really hard work! Apparently my legs are wobbling about all over the place! Anyway - although the competition was just around the corner from the yard it was still touch and go as to whether we would be able to get the trailer to the venue. We kept our fingers crossed and managed to get to LaurelView for the Charity Dressage Extravaganza. Entries where down from last year but still £900 was raised from the Children’s Hospice.

I had entered for two classes; the individual Dressage to Music and a Preliminary class. The music class was first and we got Baker all 'dickied up' for the occasion with a garland in his mane, Christmassy bows on his bridle and stirrups but he was not having any of the spray glitter on his rump! He really objected so we decided not to press him about it. We competed to a melody of Christmas tunes and did some medium trot and half 10m circles to counter canter and he coped really well! There was a panel of four judges and we ended up with a score of 71.25% for 2nd place. The winner was a horse and rider who compete at Elementary level so we were very pleased with Baker and he behaved himself really well. We've been using the Organic Horse 'Ring Craft' drops which help with his concentration and they do appear to be helping him.

We then had to remove all the 'bling' and compete in an affiliated prelim class, we were first to go and scored 60.83% to get 6th place and our first DI point! Hurray. Then it was home, plaits out, rugs on and a big hug for him and carry out pizza for us. It was a tiring day as it was so cold but I really enjoyed it and it was great that Joan came round to warm us up for the dressage to music - it really helped.

Roger Gregory gets snowed in!

It’s been a very strange month for most of us, I think –we are just not too good at all this arctic weather!

Everything was ticking along nicely, then came the snow and the ice. I managed to get to Carl’s with Crumble and Nuts on Friday 18th ,and had two super lessons – on Crumble we did lots of work on keeping her in front of the leg, especially in canter and passage. Nuts is now starting to become fitter and his trot work is coming back really well. In the canter we tried to get him a little quicker and in piaffe we worked on trying to keep him slow in front but quick behind, without upsetting him in the contact.

Before I had even loaded up it was starting to snow – a glimpse of what was to come! The following Monday I set off to High Wycombe to teach a 2day clinic. I arrived to find 3 inches of snow on the ground already! By the next morning we were snowed in and High Wycombe was on the national news – nobody could get in or out!

I did eventually get home, but like so many others have been snow and ice bound, so very little work for the horses. It’s been very interesting to see how well Pan has behaved despite the lack of work – the Gut power organic equine supplement has clearly helped him to stay relaxed (not a word usually associated with him!) Here’s hoping everyone can get back to normal again soon. . . .

Tilly Tillbrook's latest update

Well, it’s been a hectic couple of months for us – Boysie has had a recurrence of the ulcers, due in part we think to the diarrhea he suffered as a result of the antibiotics used to help cure the ulcers the first time around. He’s been on a high dose of steroids and I have been winging my way ever closer to bankruptcy as the insurance has now run out.

Thankfully at the end of November we finally got it all under control, and whilst I am frantically touching wood, it looks like he is now completely cured of all digestive ills. It’s been a long time coming!

Unfortunately, there is always a ‘but’ with horses, or at least it feels like it for me at the moment! I’d no sooner got his digestive issues sorted out when I felt his saddles were looking rather unbalanced on his new muscular figure. And I was right – neither fitted any more, both were a whole size too narrow. Over three hours with a very patient saddler later and Boysie had two new saddles, whilst I was left with a melted credit card! The knock-on effect of this was that a day or so later it became obvious that his back was very very sore. So next on the list of people to call was the chiropractor – recommended by a friend who competes at 3* since I have moved into a new area and am still finding my feet. Very disappointingly she recommended 2 weeks of hacking, which neatly scuppered my plans to do our first two BD competitions. Yet more money paid out and nothing to show for it. I am getting rather used to that.

However, I am an eternal optimist, and having done my hacking, had a lesson in the new saddle, and left Boysie for some dressage boot camp at Dovecote Stables over Christmas whilst I dealt with family emergencies involving hospitals and a lot of driving, I have spent the break filling in more entry forms for 2010. First stop is Riding Club Area 12 dressage on 3rd January, then I have 2 BD competitions on the following two weekends, and finally I am joining the BSJA on the 3 month eventer membership to try and get some outings at the end of January.

Here’s to a more successful 2010!

Tilly Tillbrook introduces herself officially...

Welcome to the first installment of my year on the inaugural Organic Horse Performance Squad – as a professional ecologist I understand the importance of organic products to the environment, and so I was delighted to be chosen to join the squad.

Let’s start with a bit of background, I have a 16.2 bay gelding called Burr Oak (Boysie to his friends!), whom I have owned for the past 4 years. He turned 9 this summer, and together we’ve gone from never having competed beyond local level to Novice level affiliated eventing. At the start of our 2008 season, things were looking good for us – at the end of the 2007 season we’d picked up our CCI* qualification, not bad for only our second season eventing. The aim was to spend the season building on this success and finish on a high at Aldon CCI*. Sadly this was not to be, after a long and frustrating season of ups and downs, Boysie was finally diagnosed in October 2008 with grade 4 Gastric Ulcers – the worst grade you can get, and not just that, but he had two kinds, splash ulcers and glandular ulcers. No wonder our performances had been erratic!

With the help of the excellent team at Willesley Equine Vets, not to mention many months of me having noxious medication spat on my head, we got him back on track and he went out on loan as a schoolmaster whilst I spent the first part of 2009 in the USA as a working pupil. But on returning to the UK, as I upped the workload it became apparent all was not well, and a gastroscopy and ultrasound revealed he had slight ulceration and a very inflamed bowel. He’s currently on steroids, and although we have cleared up the ulceration, he’ll need to be on an antacid supplement for the rest of his life. The knock on effect was that he has lost all confidence showjumping, so we pulled out of the remaining events of the season and have set to work rebuilding our partnership ready for 2010.

I am very much looking forwards to trying the gut power powder from Organic Horse, which I hope will really help us get back on track – just the kind of support we needed after the past 18 months! We’ve got a packed winter ahead of us with lots of dressage training from Sam Twyman at Dovecote Stables, where I also take lessons on his fabulous schoolmaster horses, showjumping until we are both brimming with confidence and the odd fun ride, arena eventing and hunter trial to keep us both sane and ensure Boysie doesn’t put in for a transfer.