Nomen Omen, 6 years old, Thoroughbred, gelding

Problem description

Omen is an exceptionally sensitive horse who reacts strongly to stress and changes in his surroundings. At competitions he became very worked up, which affected both his well-being and his behaviour under saddle.

He coped poorly with transport, refused to eat in a new place, and stress was regularly accompanied by diarrhoea. In the warm-up arena he was highly distracted, tense, and inclined to run away from the rider. It was hard to achieve proper focus and calm, effective work.

Results of Hempqualizer Compete supplementation combined with Easy Rider

At first I decided to introduce only Hempqualizer Compete for Omen. Already at the first competition after starting supplementation, I noticed a huge change. The horse handled transport without the slightest problem, ate normally at the venue, and in the warm-up arena he was far calmer, more focused, and willing to cooperate.

Difficulties only appeared once we entered the course. Omen became very excited again, and I partly lost control of tempo and steering. Despite the huge improvement in his overall behaviour, we were still lacking proper focus during the round itself.

That's when I was advised to test the combination of Hempqualizer Compete for the horse and Easy Rider for the rider.

Interestingly, I had never considered myself someone who gets particularly stressed at competitions. I don't feel strong nerves and I don't get overly worked up about starts. Even so, after using Easy Rider I noticed a clear difference. It made me realise that even a slight tension, almost unnoticeable to me, could translate into the behaviour of such a sensitive horse as Omen.

Combining the two products gave us the best results so far. Omen kept his energy, his willingness to work, and his natural responsiveness to the aids, while becoming far more focused on the rider. During rounds, it was easier for me to maintain the right tempo, steering, and communication with the horse.

What matters most to me is that I never wanted to calm Omen down at the expense of his energy or his rideability, but to achieve a balance between emotions and concentration. And that is exactly the change I observed during our starts.