Liz Taylor

The UK Endurance Season gets underway.

Since we returned from Dubai in January, Falaina has had a couple of months resting and Karaanza has started proper work again in preparation for a busy season.  After loosing a little more weight on her return from Dubai than I would have liked we have put Falaina on Dengie Fibremix Complement as well as her regulation Alfa-A Original.  She has regained a nice amount of weight and looks wonderful without being too fizzy - she seems to go mad for this feed too...I think the next village 3 miles away can hear her shouting for it at feed times!  (Note from Dengie - Liz is correct - Fibremix Complement has great palatability and therefore is ideal for fussy feeders - although it doesn't sound like Falaina would fit this description!)

To get the horses fit for the season I start them off slowly at the beginning of the year with a bit of walking out - then trotting and then cantering alongside schooling and lunging.  I tend to do a couple of good canter sessions with them each week once fit, one in the local woods and then once they are more fit they go over to the gallops and do 8 - 12 miles canters.

After her two months off Falaina came back into work as enthusiastic as ever so we decided, seeing as she was so fit, we would take her to the first FEI** 80km race of the season at Haywood Oaks on 12th April.  It was an experienced field so we were just hoping for a good run and to make sure she was fully recovered from Dubai.  The first 30km we rode in a group of riders, but Falaina was quickest to present at the vetgate and left with a 2 minute lead.  Riding a horse I knew was very fit, I let her canter on and we arrived at the 60km vetgate with a 10 minute lead to the next horse.  Falaina was feeling wonderful so I let her go on the last loop - she covered the final 20km in 54 minutes, winning the race by 12 minutes and still full of running at the end!  She barely lost any weight during the race and finished with a tank still full of fuel.  The Fibremix Complement stood up to its first test!  We are now running Falaina at the 160km FEI*** at Dukeries ride at the end of May.

Karaanza has been slightly less lucky with competitions.  She started the season well with a good ride over 50km at the Forest of Dean Endurance Ride at the beginning of March.  She was then supposed to do the 65km at Salisbury, but when we got up at 4am to leave it was snowing so much it would have been dangerous to take a trailer out for a 2.5 hour trip.  Unfortunately the ride she was supposed to got to, two weeks later,  was then cancelled so poor little Karaanza has been doing lots of work at home and on the gallops to ensure she is fit enough to do an 80km race at Berkshire Downs on May 4th.  She is going really well so I'm looking forward to that ride.

We also have a quite rounded mare as SG Enigmatika is due to foal within the next 3 weeks. I was quite excited about this but as it is getting closer the excitement is giving way to nerves!  Watch this space!

Liz