The Pasture Mix Episode

She was pretty good to handle and on the ground but I came back from holiday to find that she'd dropped loads of weight, wouldn't stay in her stable and was a highly strung, shaking mess.

She had reared at people in the field and even charged at the YO one day. I hadn't got a clue what was going on but she was obviously in some distress. I got a phone call early one Sunday morning to ask how long I was going to be. I wasn't told why but when I got there (thankfully I wasn't too far away) she was stood in her stable dripping sweat from the tips of her ears to her little hooves.

I woke up at 2am the next morning, sat up and said "Pasture Mix".

Thank you whoever planted that seed in my brain! I took her off it straight away, acting not on logic but on intuition, call it what you like. First of all she went onto Cool Mix and within about a week was much better though still not 'right'.

She was much, much better and hadn't reared since the RA visit but was still very stroppy and opinionated. She had all the regular checks and more, she was ridden in a treeless saddle (my beloved SBS), was in a hackamore, was off the Pasture Mix so it was her character ..... wasn't it?

She was completely upside down with a very impressive muscle on the underside of her neck which she used to great effect. She also had no bum, something I've strived for myself but never been able to achieve!