Category: Pringles

This has been a big month for Pringles. We have been continuing on with Pringle’s bodywork. She has started her PEMF sessions and continuing with chiropractic treatment and Bowen therapy. She has been letting down well and has finished her 8 weeks spelling. The racing muscles are starting to subside and she has been putting on some more weight. Pringles has been going well on grass hay, Lucerne hay and her Seedhouse Build so I have continued with this feed upping quantities when she has days of work.

Pringles had her retained baby tooth removed ready for her to have a bridle on, she also had front shoes put on this month. We are still working on getting her comfortable in holding her back legs up for the farrier so I chose to only do the front shoes this time and continue to work with her so she has a good experience with the farrier moving forward.

For the first two weeks of this month, I have focused on groundwork and also lunging for Pringles.

In our groundwork, we focused on ‘stop’, ‘go’, ‘turn’, ‘back’ and also lowering her head when she would get anxious. All of these aids will help us in our transition to under saddle. Another thing we practised was ‘park’, this will be translated to standing still at the mounting block when I go to mount.

I am fortunate with Pringles that her breeder/trainer had done a lot of work with her in regards to lunging so this is something that is familiar to her and that can be used to help Pringles loosen up and stretch and also help develop balance and rhythm.  Lunging is also a beneficial way of building up fitness and strength before starting under saddle.

After 2 weeks of groundwork and lunging, I had my first ride on Pringles. Our first few rides were reasonably short. Before getting on I make sure that Pringles is responsive to our groundwork and it is important that we continue to practice our ‘park’ at the mounting block.

Under saddle, I worked on keeping a rhythm in the walk and riding accurate lines. This also progressed to the trot.

Pringles also started her float training. Prior to me getting Pringles she had only been transported via truck. When I picked Pringles up I brought my pony (Vincent) with me to be her buddy coming home. So he has also been her safety blanket in our float training at home. To start with I would use our ground work training with our forward and back aids to get Pringles to quietly walk in and out of the float without rushing and then ‘park’ while I closed the divider. We have since started doing little float trips (literally 2 minutes down the road and back) and will continue to build from this.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me with Pringles this month was that she finally took some treats!!

Next month we will continue to work on our groundwork and under saddle training as well as continuing with our float training.

Pringles was purchased for myself to bring on as an event horse. I was looking for a horse with a nice temperament, clean legs, not too big (I am only short!), good confirmation and a good walk and canter.

She was bred by Rhonda Hall at 12 Oaks Thoroughbreds in Richmond. Rhonda also trained her at the start of her career before she moved up north to be trained by David Keating. She had her last race on 26 June 2022.

Since picking up Pringles she has been ‘letting down’ to allow her muscles, organs and mind time to adjust to life after racing.

I find this is the most important part of the transition from racehorse to pleasure/competition horse. This is the time when I want to try to get on top of any physical issues that may have occurred during her racing life.

Below is a list of things that I made sure were done or checked with Pringles in her first month of being here.

• worming -all new horses coming onto my property are wormed on arrival.
• vet exam and dental check- this showed that Pringles had a retained baby tooth so this will be x-rayed and removed before she is started under saddle.
• a 28-day course of Ulcershield was started under veterinary consultation. Pringles did not have a gastroscopy however statistically 90% of thoroughbred race horses have ulcers so it was decided to start treatment.
• Farrier visit to remove race plate and to trim her up. I have left her shoes off for this 6 week cycle as the ground is soft. However, I will be getting shoes put on next cycle as she will be started under saddle again and the ground will start to harden up.
• As soon as Pringles arrived bodywork was started weekly. Everyone has different preferences with bodywork however I use a lady who performs Bowen Therapy on the horses which I find works very well. This is also paired up with chiropractic work.
• I transitioned Pringles from her race feed onto the feed that I have chosen (Seedhouse). She will drop some muscle tone while letting down and spelling but I want to make sure she sustains a good body weight. She has free access to good-quality grass hay and is also given Lucerne hay as it has a higher calorie content.

The next month will be continuing with Pringle’s bodywork and also start to introduce groundwork and lunging to build up her fitness and strength before the work under saddle begins.