A GREAT RESULT FOR HERBIE AND FACETIME FOR MAPLE

January 2014

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I absolutely love Christmas time but I also love January, when everything reopens and I can get a firm plan in place for the year ahead. 2013 was a really good year for us so I am really hoping I can build on that in order to make 2014 even better.

My aim with Alfie is to do the CIC1* at Chatsworth in May so for this reason the plan was to give him a rest at the end of last season then have him ticking over during November and December so that come January I could build up his fitness and get him out showjumping and doing dressage. At the moment this is going to plan and I am making the use of the one spot light we have in the arena in order to ride after work. He wasn’t at all sure about the shadows to start with but he seems to have gotten used to them now! I have entered the British Eventing Jumping and Style (JAS) competition at Bishop Burton at the end of January so I’m really looking forward to that. We did this competition last year and would have won had I not missed out the last fence so I’m hoping to put this right this year!! Schedules are published for the first few months of the season and entries are about to open so I’m very excited to get cracking.

I have also booked onto an eventing prep session with Helen Bell at Breckenbrough later this month which I am hoping will help me ensure both horses are suitably fit and ready to go come March. I am conscious that stepping up to 1* needs that extra level of fitness so I want to ensure we are ready.

Mum has been going great guns with Herbie; competing in her first affiliated dressage competition she took home two second placings which is fab considering she has never competed in affiliated dressage before and Herbie is only 5 (rising 6 this year). The pressure will be on me this year to live up to Mum’s high standards with him!

I am house sitting this week for mum and dad which means Herbie is at ‘Boot Camp’ (this is the name both horses give to my trainer, Zoe Rymer’s yard!) and Alfie is being ridden by me every day - much to his annoyance! Being at mum and dad’s for the week means I really miss Maple (as she has stayed at home with Jim) so she stole Jim’s phone last night and rung me, she even managed to use Facetime (phone call when you can see each other on the screen) – OK, so she might have had some help from Jim but it was very cute and we had a lovely catch up!!

For now I am praying that the cold weather stays away and that the approach of the start of the season continues to run smoothly. Hopefully I will see people out and about over the coming months.

Best wishes,

‘Team Cawood’

TEAM CAWOOD HAVE BEEN TRYING OUR NEW EQUIBLOX. Find out what Lucinda, Herbie and Alfie think of our new compressed forage block.

Being a guest blogger for Fulmart Feeds certainly has its advantages, one of which is the opportunity to try out new products such as the Equiblox. I have two event horses who thrive on attention and the fact that I work full time means they have to occupy themselves for the best part of the day.

For Herbie this means hassling Alfie all day over the stable door or fence in the field and picking up anything he can get his teeth into (head collars, rugs, wheel barrow….the list is endless!) and for Alfie it is all about doing what he can to get rid of Herbie (as he prefers the easy life!). Equiblox have been a great addition as they can last for a whole morning so I know the boys are occupied whilst I’m at work.

As the horses have to be super fit to go eventing but also have to be calm enough to go out and perform a dressage test I am very fussy about the heating properties in the feed I give them (which is the reason they are both on Chill Out Condition Cubes). Equiblox are an ideal addition to their daily feed as they have low sugar content and no added molasses so are non-heating. There is also a High-Fibre variant which is great for horses who gain weight easily.

I would absolutely recommend the Equiblox as a way of occupying horses without giving them sugary treats and Alfie and Herbie can certainly vouch for them tasting nice!!