Sara Hunter and her grey Irish Sports Horse gelding, Mohurry GER, known as Mo, are keen eventers but after a mid-season equine physio check she found Mo needed a little extra condition and topline.
Having owned Mo for 17 months, Sara has had an exciting season so far with him, competing the seven-year-old at BE90 level with the aim to go further.
Said Sara: “Mo is very fit and healthy with a fantastic all-round fitness, thanks to where I am based at Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre with Michael Owen. We have plenty of access to farm rides, gallops, arenas and fields for show jumping, cross country and flatwork and all important lane work, which we have direct access to.
“Mo is 16.3hh and has big withers and big strong shoulders so saddle checks and adjustments are needed at regular intervals to ensure the correct fit, so I organise regular visits from our equine physio and master saddler.
“During the event season my equine physio, Steph Appleton, partner at Clarendon Equine Vets based in Essex, keeps an eye on Mo and it was noted that since her previous session with him he had developed a painful spasm in his lumbar muscles and signs of slight muscle wastage in the thoracolumbar region of his back. His saddle had been checked but his top line generally looked weak and Steph suggested we take a look at his diet, especially as his workload had increased, and recommended Fibre-Beet as an excellent non-heating feed to help develop good quality muscle tone.
“Steph recommended Fibre-Beet as this is something she has used before in these circumstances and therefore, on this advice, we agreed to try and monitor his condition.”
In just over a month, Sara and Steph noticed a distinct change in Mo’s shape and in his work.
Added Sara: “The improvement from the visit mid-season to just a month later was a much stronger top line and with a more symmetrical muscle tone. Also Mo seemed stronger again both physically and mentally in his work and I have seen that in his results from his last events.
“I will continue to have his maintenance visits and since this time we are all still very pleased with how he is working and looking at the end of the eventing season. I am very happy Steph recommended Fibre-Beet for my boy.”
Sara and Mo completed their final run at Kelsall Hill resulting in being placed sixth in her section, she is now looking forward to seeing Mo’s developments over the winter before stepping up to BE100 level.