The best supplement for endurance horses

What does Annie feed her endurance horses to ensure they perform to the best of their ability?

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Autumn is in full swing now, the first overnight frost appeared over two weeks ago and the long, hot and amazingly dry summer is a fading memory. 

I had my saddle fitter out to check Chiara’s saddle before making a decision about whether to enter the 2* at the Royalties ride in Lincolnshire.  It was immediately apparent that her saddle was no longer fitting her at all and almost certainly accounted for her intermittent lameness.  Wow, did I feel guilty?  I feel I should have picked this up before but didn’t, having convinced myself that it was something dire going on with a ligament or tendon.

A new saddle is the next task and Chiara is now on holiday to recover from her sore back and all the little stresses and strains of a competitive season.  Upon her planned return to work in December, I have arranged to have a ‘try on’ session with a number of saddles.

This was a huge disappointment to me and in hindsight could have been preventable.  Chiara will be unlikely now to gain championship qualification in time for the European Championships next year.  My consolation was that Fantom was all set for the Nationals and training up well.

As usual the National Championships was well-organised and everything ran like clockwork.  The organisers had even arranged for perfect endurance weather; indeed perfect weather for most people.  We arrived happy and relaxed in plenty of time for the Friday pre-ride vetting which ran smoothly and Fantom even got to spend some time in a corral before moving to one of the permanent showground stables.  There is so much space at the Royal Welsh Showground that nothing was overcrowded, the only downside being that you had to walk such a long way to everything.

The National Championship Red Dragon class is a two day 160km race and this year there were 9 combinations entered in the Championship with an additional two from Scotland.  We all set off early (not too early) on the Saturday morning in low-lying mist behind a pace car.  We were then ‘released’ to make our way up the first major hill where we emerged from the clouds into brilliant sunshine which we kept for most of the day.

I had a plan; actually a series of plans with various contingency plans.  I had ridden this same route a couple of years ago and picked up on the fact that there are some slippery stretches of road where I had been forced to walk down reducing our overall speed considerably, this time I made sure I had Fantom shoed with road nails which worked a treat.

The first day fell into a pattern with five of us breaking away from the remaining 6 and generally we rode together taking it in turns to take the lead.  This was one of the most enjoyable (and relaxed) days I’ve ever spent when actually racing: perfect weather, wonderful going, good company and views to die for.

We made good time that day and speedily vetted through into the overnight hold.  I had a 6 minute start on the others in the morning but made the decision to use this to take it easy up the first two major hills and then to tag along with the others when they caught me up.  This way Fantom had a gentle warm up to the hills and the later company of the others kept him motivated.  Overnight we lost one rider who retired as her horse had stiffened up so we were down to four of us.  The second day was much harder as the horses didn’t feel so fresh and it was much colder so we had to dig deeper and work together.

We rode this way up to the last vetgate where we lost another one so then there were three of us.  Tactics then gradually came into play.  Unfortunately for me, whereas Fantom had presented much quicker than the other horses on the first day when it was warm, on the second day with the colder weather they were almost as quick.  This meant that the three of us set off on the last leg of about 20 km together.

At the top of the last rather steep hill I had decided that I would make a break and trot down but to my horror just as I was about to make my move, a much smaller equine shot off leaving me to keep him in sight all the way down the hill the best I could.  On reaching the bottom Fantom passed him quite smoothly and we headed along a narrow path beside the river before crossing the road into the final run up.  Yep, this pony (unbeknown to me was an ex racing pony) literally flew past me in the final few metres!  So, second in the Nationals: not a bad result made even better by being awarded ‘Best Condition’.

Fantom has now joined Chiara in holiday time and both have some fresh grazing in a neighbour’s field.  Dilmun and Wizard have upped their work a little and schooling has commenced…

Annie feeds Formulate! to her endurance horses to ensure that each of their individual nutritional needs are met and they can perform to the best of their ability.

To create the perfect Formulate supplement for your horse, click here.