Equine Transformation - Galaxy Park Nicodemus and Amy Sutton

Our Equine Transformation series shows what a little bit of hard work, persistence, determination and vision can achieve...

As seen in the April 2019 issue of Horse Deals.

Horses age, breed, height, name? Nik is a 15.2hh, 9yo Warmblood x Sportaloosa by Cayuse Grand Illusion.

How and when did Nik come into your life? In August 2017, I purchased Nik from a friend as my first own horse. Nik was broken in as a two year old, however due to his extremely slow development, he was left out to mature and was basically untouched.

What potential did you see in him? I fell in love with his personality the first day I met him. He was cheeky but kind, I knew he would make an awesome galloway mount as he was sitting at around 15 hands at the time when I purchased him, which was ideal for me as I didn’t want a massive horse to ride.

What was his condition and temperament like on arrival? He’s temperament was quiet but you could tell he was still very green. He was super fluffy, not fully developed and lacked any kind of top line or muscle from just being in paddock condition.

What did you do with him in the first month? My priority was getting to know each other and start building trust in one another. Nik had spent the majority of his life in paddock condition, so I wanted to observe his normal behaviour before I started to change anything. During this time Nik was on a diet of grass and hay as the last thing I wanted to do was start pumping different types of hard feeds into him without first observing his current behaviour and condition. I was lucky to have helpful advice from a good friend who is experienced in breaking in horses. On her advice we mainly focused on different types of groundwork, and plenty of bonding time through grooming. We also did a lot of
de-sensitising training by running objects such as whips and flags along his body, which he responded well to due to his quiet nature.

How did he progress over six months? It was roughly two months until I felt confident enough to begin riding him. The first couple of rides he had absolutely no idea what I was asking of him. He did not respond to any kind of aids, and that’s when I realised how inexperienced and green he was. As we started our training under saddle I mainly focused on him getting use to the weight of me in the saddle, and within six months we had progressed into him responding to basic leg aids and being able to do basic transitions such as halt to walk, walk to trot etc. I also dealt with his behavioural issue of constantly moving around whilst being tacked up, as I thought it was important to address this early on. I would correct him on the ground by for example, asking him to move forward if he kept stepping backwards, or asking him to move back into position if he moved over. Though this took a lot of patience, he eventually responded well and now stands quietly whilst being saddled and bridled. As he was brought into more work I then decided to introduce hard feed into his diet such as oaten chaff and Hygain Balanced. This was a gradual process as I did not want to overfeed him and change his behaviour.

Progression after 12 months? After 12 months we had established basic flat work and started schooling over some poles and small jumps. I soon realised his favourite thing was jumping. Nik had filled out so much and ended up growing to 15.2hh when he got measured in September 2018.

What was Nik’s first outing and how did he cope? Our first outing was Doongala Open Show, we entered a couple of hack classes and did our first freshman’s showjumping round. He was so well behaved and took everything in his stride. We came home with an equal fifth place ribbon and had a clear round. I couldn’t of asked for a better day!

What are you and Nik up to today? Nik and I have just started Adult Riders down at my local club Hurstbridge. We have started competing in a couple of different disciplines such as eventing, showjumping and combined training days.

What is your greatest achievement together so far? Our greatest achievement was taking home Reserve Champion in the Open E Grade at Yarrambat Showjumping Day which was also our third competition out.

Does he have any special needs? Nik is fit and healthy. And luckily enough he hasn’t had any problems with his weight or any serious injuries.

What was the key to his transformation? I think the key was just heaps of TLC and time. As he was my first horse I had purchased on my own, I had plenty of time and money to spend on him to bring out the best qualities I believed he had.

What advice would you give to someone considering taking on a young, green broken horse? Take things day by day. Don’t try and rush anything and give them plenty of love and attention which will help get that bond you really need.

What does the future hold for him? We have just started competing and I am hoping one day we will power through the grades and do higher levels of competition. My goal is to get to Grade 1 eventing.

Would you do it all again? I would 100%! There is nothing more satisfying than having such a great horse who you’ve trained up yourself. It’s really worth everything.

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