Hello Malcolm,

Thanks for sending me your latest newsletter which I found very interesting and it has prompted me to send you this info about my 3 Fell Ponies who are all now on your EquiFeast products.

Dan is my eldest pony who was 11 in May. I loved him from the very first moment I saw him but he has not been easy ! He was two weeks short of being 4 when I bought him from his breeder and he had been backed 2 weeks.  He was so lacking in confidence and sceptical about life.  His answer to a problem was  to rodeo buck and bolt when things got too much for him. On one occasion he had me off and I fractured my ribs.

To help him I followed the Parelli Programme and attended Silvers and Clinics and trained with Lisa Bruin. As we progressed and attended clinics with Steve Halfpenny I became very close friends with Lisa  and she helped me enormously. We did lots of trail riding which did help Dan's confidence and he really loves it.  But he still had issues. Loading, some flatwork lessons and dressage competitions could all  be very tricky.

I couldn't understand what was making him unsettled. I thought it must be me and in May 2008 I decided that I would not compete in dressage any more.  Dan was reasonably happy now trail riding and taking other horses out on hacks and we could manage a flatwork lesson if there were no spectators or distractions and hardly any cantering.. I knew that Dan trusted me but other people were not to his liking.  I thought I had his diet sorted and I knew he had come a long way but deep down I felt I was never really seeing the true Dan.  I knew he wanted to be able to do anything for me but he just couldn't.  Why ????

6 weeks ago a good friend told me about EquiFeast so I phoned and chatted with yourself and Dan started Essential Daily Care and Cool,Calm & Collected Loader.  I now have my beloved Dan as my true partner!!! The change in him is phenomenol!!! I could not believe my eyes!!!

On the SECOND day we had our first flatwork lesson with a trainer I would never have dared to ask for a lesson from before. She is lovely but competes at Advanced level and I didn't want to be sitting on top of a Fell Pony that was having a temper tantrum  in front of her. This was a real test! Day 2 of Cool, Calm & Collected and a new trainer!! She thought Dan was amazing and he was SO GOOD! We have had a lesson each week and Dan has really enjoyed himself. We have been out to our first dressage  competition since may 2008 and we gained 78% in our first Intro test and a 4th rosette and in Prelim 4 we scored 56.3% and gained a 5th place rosette, both classes had 11 or 12 entries, I was so happy!

We are hacking out on our own without all the spooks or stops for a reassuring graze! And instead of running away and refusing to be caught when he sees the horsebox appear Dan now walks up to me in the field and waits patiently for his halter on and loads as easy as anything. He is also not afraid of the field shelter or spray bottle for the fly repellent which he always used to strike out at. Dan is no longer shying away from anyone who approaches him on the ground when I am riding him. He really seems to be happy in his own skin!!! I now have the pony I always knew was in there!!!!

My other 2 Fell Ponies are yearling half brothers but they are quite different in temperament.  Both of them have benefitted from a week on FightBack after having had a series of wormers to rid them of pinworms. Both of them had dull, scruffy coats but now they gleam! I took them out to their first show and in a Mountain & Moorland class for 1, 2 & 3 year olds Jet came 3rd and Woody came 4th.

Both yearlings are on Essential Daily Care and just starting maintenance levels of Cool, Calm & Collected. They are both very easy to handle now and will happily walk out anywhere with me, load on their own and have just started carrying a bit in a small bridle whilst being led from a rope halter. And although Jet is braver than Woody both ponies are really able to concentrate now and don't get at all flustered.

What struck me from your newsletter is the safety aspect around horses and this is what I am experiencing all the time with my ponies, IT'S SO MUCH SAFER NOW!

I now feel confident as a 51 year old rider and I feel the ponies will be safe in the future for my daughter and 2 small granddaughters to handle and ride. Most importantly all 3 ponies are happy!!!

I cannot thank you enough!!

Diane, Dan, Jet & Woody