For our Transformation Tuesday we caught up with Róisín, a 4yo Irish Draught mare to find out more about her journey to the show ring.

Róisín came to us in March this year, she was broken and riding, but had done very little. She’s approximately 15,1 and has a lovely temperament. She was a lovely project to begin working on in the spring and we were looking forward to seeing her progress.

 

 

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First things first...

Having been out on grass for much of the winter she didn’t have much muscle or top-line and her coat was quite dry and dusty. She also scratched her mane and tail, so I began by washing her with the Carr & Day & Martin Medicated Shampoo. I always have this product in the wash bay, it’s so versatile, and was perfect for Roisin on this occasion to freshen up her coat and skin and help alleviate the itching. When she dried, I applied Carr & Day & Martin Itchgard and continued to use this daily. It’s another fantastic product to have in the tack room, it is easy to apply, non-greasy and instantly soothes, calms and cools the irritation.

 

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Feeding Programme

I slowly began to introduce hard feed to her diet, I wanted her to start putting on condition and muscle, so I choose the Horse Care ULTRA Cubes, it’s very low in starch (4%) so it’s a cool feed and it contains 14% protein which I hoped would help her build muscle and develop her top-line as I begun to increase her work. I also introduced Foran Equine Kentucky KARRON Oil, it’s a staple of my feeding programme, it’s a brilliant product and has so many benefits from promoting healthy coat, digestion, and joints. It contains optimum ratio of Omega 3 & 6 and comes in 4.5 litre and 20 litre containers and has a 30ml pump which makes it quick and easy to add to feeds.

Supplement Programme

Roisin has a lovely temperament and was progressing nicely with her flat work, as her workload increased, I also began to supplement with Foran Equine MUSCLE MAX. I really love this product and have had great results using it in the past. I find it really helps the young horses when they are in work and being asked to use their muscles and carry themselves in a balanced shape. It’s a vanilla flavoured liquid that contains antioxidants, Vit E, L-Lysine and Selenium, it’s very palatable and supports muscle function and recovery.

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Getting that show ring finish

Our daily routine includes a lot of Canter Mane & Tail, she has a very thick tail, I’d be lost without it. She is turned out a lot and with the weather having been so dry the ground is hard, so I have been using the Carr & Day & Martin Daily Cornucrescine Hoof Dressing, it nourishes the hoofs and I find really helps to maintain hoof health – it comes with a brush as part of the lid so again, easy to apply.

Show time

Róisín did her first show in June and behaved perfectly to finish 2nd in a Small Hunter class. Hopefully she’ll do a few more this summer and build-up her experience. The Irish Draughts are very versatile, and we look forward to trying a few news things with Róisín. She’s the perfect type to show or do some dressage or go jumping. At the moment she is thriving on her feeding programme and there’s no need to change anything, we’ll monitor her Body Condition Score and if needs be it’s great to know we can ask the RED MILLS Experts if we have any questions about the feed or supplements.

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