Young Warmblood Gelding Headed for a Bright Future

Amy Wise keeps about a dozen horses on her property in Columbia, Tennessee. She has a few boarders, a broodmare or two, some sport horses in active training, a retired upper-level event mare, and several young horses in the early stages of training for their performance careers.

Amy has owned Ruger, a six-year-old Oldenburg gelding, since he was just a few months old, and is the only one who has ever ridden him. Because Warmblood horses take longer to mature than some other breeds, Amy didn’t start ridden work with Ruger until he was three years old. She entered him in his first sanctioned event this spring, and the horse completed his initial year of showing with a string of three first-place finishes in major competitions at the Beginner Novice level.

It takes a lot of patience, skill, and hard work to train and successfully show a green horse, but the other factor that gets a lot of credit from Amy is the feed program she’s chosen. “I knew Ruger would be large when he matured, and I wanted the best nutrition for him,” she said. “All my horses are on feeds from Kentucky Equine Research. I like the fact that there is a selection of feeds to match what each horse needs, and any time I’ve had a question, the staff has been very prompt in finding the information I asked for.”

Her retired event mare has always been a picky eater, but even this horse is happy with Amy’s feed choices. “She’s never eaten better,” Amy commented. “All the horses like the feed, and they all look good! People walk up to me and compliment me on Ruger’s coat, condition, and appearance. His looks stand out!”

To fuel Ruger’s exercise and deliver the nutrients he needs for maturation, Amy feeds Re-Leve Sport, a completely fortified performance feed designed specifically for sport horses. This textured feed contains balanced omega fat sources and fiber-based carbohydrates for optimal performance. The formulation provides manageable energy for optimal sport horse focus.

While she’s thrilled with Ruger’s accomplishments, Amy doesn’t want to rush her young horse. “I’m just going to go at his pace,” she said. “If he’s ready, we’ll probably move up to Novice level next season.” With patience, skill, and sound nutrition, the future looks bright for this gelding and his owner!