Coco is A New Mare Thanks to Kelly at Celaeron and Hack Up

Coco is now much happier. She is not moody when in season anymore which is just unbelievable as Coco had a reputation for being a proper moody mare.

I have a super beautiful talented mare who is difficult, moody, tense and determined. We have struggled for years with getting the best out of her consistently. We would make huge leaps forward in our training sessions one week only to go backwards significantly the next week and for no apparent reason. 

Being a pure thoroughbred I often forgave her exuberance because…… ‘hey she’s beautiful’ and Coco feels the need to draw attention to herself in a warm up, spin and bolt for reasons only she knows and just be unruly and difficult because it’s not cool for thoroughbreds to behave……. Nobody expects a well-behaved thoroughbred do they…...? 

Coco has not had an easy time of life, although it would be fair to say she probably hasn’t tried that hard to make life easy for herself at times. She is a quick thinker, clever and is easily bored. She finds the long side of a school dull and 20 meter circles truly mind numbing so she finds ways to amuse herself and it’s this attitude that has got her a bit of a reputation. For me whether you see these traits as good or bad it is what makes her a great character and truly lovable? 

Coco has suffered serious health problems at I was told I would never ride Coco again and that she would be nothing more than a lawn mower, if, we were able to keep her comfortable enough to do even that. The specialists came up with a list of problems that was as long as your arm, it was a miracle she was able to stand let alone walk. I was devastated by the news but Coco never gave up, she is determined, even the specialists commented at every visit ‘she really wants to do this, she’s not giving up’ and for as long as Coco was fighting on I was going to keep helping her. I was so fortunate to have some amazing friends (for which I will always have a huge debt of gratitude) who between them came up with a plan to rehabilitate Coco despite the prognosis of the specialists. She went off to Kelly’s in Celaeron to start her rehabilitation and we have never looked back. 

We are now jumping 120cms and even turning our hooves to elementary stressage. However, dressage is not easy for Coco. She suffers a great deal from tension. She finds the warm up particularly stressful with a constant need to spin and run away from oncoming horses and kick out at anything that came up behind her. When we go jumping just watching other horses jump its like an electric shock going through her body it makes her so excited when it’s our turn it is like riding a rocket, she would bolt over fences and be almost impossible to stop. A bit scary to ride and I’m told quite scary to watch. She can be very moody in season so much so there is no point in going to a competition, if I could get her in to a warm up safely, she would be impossible to ride. 

Kelly then told me about Hack Up bespoke. I’ve tried herbs and natural things in the past to help Coco relax and be calmer but nothing really gave her what she needed until I had my bespoke Hack up powder and before the loading dose had been completed the difference was quite incredible. Not one to get over excited about these things I tried to come up with other environmental factors that would have helped the situation rather than believe it could be because of this little bit of powder in her food every day, but no, I have to admit I am a believer. 

Coco is now much happier. I have my regular training lessons in Celaeron and we are progressing through the levels. I have willingness now, and that’s something I have never been able to get out of her before. She will let me ride her and help her relax instead of taking over and on high alert all the time. Don’t get me wrong she is not switched off, she’s still a bit sparky and can be a hot head, attributes I need and like in a horse as long as they are safe. She’s not moody when in season anymore which is just unbelievable as Coco had a reputation for being a proper moody mare at times and now you would hardly know. It is fantastic stuff. I’m able to ride her to work properly to develop all those essential muscles she needs to carry me and herself to stay healthy, mobile and rideable. She doesn’t nip or kick out when I’m girthing her anymore and I can get through to her busy brain and ask her to work with me, it’s a fantastic feeling. Even simple changes have become simple!

Meleri Morgan