Wednesday Morning Feed from World Equestrian Brands

Meet the winner of Eventing Nation’s recently concluded Equilibrium Therapy Massage Pad by World Equestrian Brands giveaway: Maggie Hitron.

Maggie’s entry was selected from over 80, each describing why his or her horse deserved a Massage Pad (pictured below) in 400 words or less.

Maggie wrote:

My horse deserves a massage pad because he has given me 100% of his heart despite not having 100% use of his back. When I bought Riley 6 years ago, I’m pretty sure that no one in their right mind would have wanted him. He resembled a goofy giraffe much more than a stately Thoroughbred. But I was so excited that he was mine, because in my mind he was my perfect horse. In 2008, he was diagnosed with kissing spines in his lower lumbar region. Although his heart was into the bigger jumps, his body physically wasn’t, and I decided that I would look for a horse to take over his job and that he’d be limited to the beginner novice and novice levels, where he seemed most comfortable. I also decided that he’d always have a home with me. I couldn’t imagine the thought of selling him and him subsequently not getting the treatment and care he deserved after giving me so much.

I’m lucky enough that I was able to find and purchase another horse, Will, to fulfill my training and prelim dreams while Riley enjoyed his lower level career. While I was out competing Will, Riley was still busy giving to others, acting as a last minute stand-in for horse trials when other horses came up lame, a teacher for a girl new to eventing, and as a move-up horse for another girl who’d outgrown her pony. Riley and I entered a new phase of our lives this spring when he came home from lease because of an unsolved on-again, off-again lameness. A month and a half before Riley came home, Will had collapsed and died on course at our first event of the year. Some days it was very hard to see horses, and many days I considered quitting. But Riley has been the perfect companion to keep me going and give me the strength to keep riding and to truly enjoy horses again. He’s not the same as my other horse, and no horse could ever replace Will, but Riley has gently reminded me that there’s so much to love about each and every horse. Because Riley has given so much to me, I’d love to be able to give back to him by making him and his back as comfortable as possible with an Equilibrium Therapy Massage Pad.

Congratulations, Maggie, and thank you for sharing your heartwarming story!

Learn more about the Equilibrium Massage Pad and other World Equestrian Brand products at their website. Be sure to “like” WEB on Facebook to stay in the loop on the latest news and contests!

Go Riding.