We were very grateful to hear from our featured Bader Grant Recipient, Para Dressage rider Richard Neumann, albeit with mixed news…
On the 19th May, Richard told us that sadly, uncomfortably close to their next show, beautiful Otto had cut his lip badly the previous week necessitating stitches and putting him out of action until his wound had healed.
Richard had intended to be competing with Otto in a few local able bodied shows before the partnership’s first para show on the 29th June, and was hoping to be back in the saddle in about a week.
Fortunately Otto’s wound healed well and on the 28th May Richard sent us the good news, with the following videos to prove it, that following this difficult month, Otto had recovered enough to come back into work.
(Check out the affectionate relationship between Otto and his stable neighbour in the first video…Happy horses indeed.)
After this gentle start, Otto moved on to careful exercise, walking for a week, on a novice outline, hopefully to start work on collection the following week.
The following video shows Otto’s ongoing fitness training and preparation:
and this latest his most recent training session:
What a treat to see this graceful horse regaining his strength and fitness following his injury and unexpected holiday. Richard reports that Otto is getting stronger with every session. Now all that remains is a visit from the saddle fitter on the 19th June to check that Otto’s new saddle has, after 3 months’ wear, settled into a good fit that won’t pinch him, and one from the physio on the 21st hopefully to give him the all clear meaning that this great partnership will be good to go for their first para show of the year on the 29th June.
We thank Richard for this fascinating insight into the care and maintenance of a competition dressage horse when things don’t quite go according to plan! Please join us in wishing him and Otto the very best of luck and success – we’ll look forward to hearing how they get on on the 29th and will keep you posted.
Useful Links:
- You can see Richard’s first post as Featured Bader Grant Recipient by clicking HERE