Sammie shiny

I had a lovely day pootling around in the mild weather and sunshine. It was Sammie spring clean day - tail and mane wash and a good old rubbing down. Cleaned his hooves with Borax and filed his hinds down a bit more too. He wasn't too impressed but was happy enough to chew on a haynet during the proceedings. Then we went into the school to do some ridden stuff.

He offered up a bit of Spanish Stamp Trot; only a couple of strides but it definitely happened. His head went lower and lower ('cos he has to look what at what he's doing down there!) and then he produced a couple. Makes me laugh every time. I only have to say "Good Boy" and he comes to an abrupt halt expecting a treat.

I've also been talking to a company that make bespoke equine supplements for a whole variety of conditions. I'd heard good reports of them from a variety of sources and I'd been meaning to phone for ages about something for Sammie's fear/lack of confidence etc. The man I spoke to described Sammie to a T - hates being on his own, will react dramatically if pushed too far, nervous, lacking confidence etc.

He said there's no magic solution and what he suggests might not work, but he recommended putting him on a very basic supplement as part of a diagnostic process. It contains Valerian and Mag Chloride and something else that I can't remember. He's just sending a litre to start with and wants me to report back in 14 days after 2 x 25mil shots a day. Sammie's reaction or non-reaction to it will be useful as part of trying to work something out for him. No promises, but you could tell he had an awful lot of knowledge and was very honest about what was achievable. We agreed that some things are so hard wired into a horse's memory that nothing will shift it, but it's worth a try.

Might not work and I know Sammie is a hard nut to crack, but even if it helped him a little bit it would be worth it. He's so much better now, but I often worry about how he must feel sometimes. I know he's happy in his own way but he does fret and worry over things that others don't give a second thought.