After Bromont, Jet took it easy for a few weeks. I like to give the horses a little R&R after big shows. The six weeks before an FEI show is very busy and the horses have a lot of mental as well as physical responsibility. It is good for them to have a break once or twice a year to just hang out with their friends in the field and be horses.
Of course, I also had an agenda while Jet was resting. First, we got him on a new supplement called E3Live. This is a blue green algae that is given to him daily in liquid form. It is 97% absorbable and it is great stuff! I have started taking the human form myself. In horses and in humans it aids in regeneration after physical exertion, and it also helps with mental clarity and focus. The product was brought to the equine industry by farrier Wayne Blevins after he started taking it himself and saw great results. After Wayne started using it on horses, he recorded amazing growth and recovery in horse's hooves. As soon as I learned about some of his results, I decided that this was the supplement for Jet! My two top priorities this summer for Jet are to get a better hoof on him and to get him stronger through his topline so that he can handle the all three days of a three day competition. You can find out more about E3Live by clicking on the link on my website.
Along with the new supplement, Jet has been on a "topline program." This includes bulking his weight up so that he has more meat on his bones that can be converted to muscle, putting him on an acupuncture program to keep the flow of his systems even, and taking him once a week to do the aqua tread at Kendalwood Farm. If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you will remember that Doc did this regularly, especially after he injured the cartilage in his right front knee. Jet is doing beautifully with the aqua tread. It is great for coordination, topline strength and cardio. Tara and P.J., who own Kendalwood Farm, are true masters of their machine and it is a lot of fun to watch them take Jet through his 25 minute workout.
Monte has been going well at the preliminary level and continues to mature. He has a lovely temperament and I enjoy working with him. We competed at the Maryland Horse Trials last weekend and we have the NJ Horse Trials and Fair Hill coming up. At the end of August both Monte and Jet will go to "Princeton Show Jumping" at Hunter Farms.
In other farm news, we got new sand footing for the outdoor ring, which is WONDERFUL! However, I overestimated how much we would need. The ring went from being rock hard to way too deep in places. After some brainstorming, I decided to use the front end loader to move some of the sand into the indoor, so that the indoor would have some new footing too. This has been quite a project. I was out there this morning working on it some more. Unfortunately, I got a little too much wet sand in the bucket, and went over a bump that was a little too big. Here is a photo of the result! After I emptied the bucket, I was able to get the tractor "back on all four feet." Ah, farm life!
