In 2002, Kim Gentry left a career in marketing to commit herself full- time to dressage as a professional rider and instructor. Since then, she’s earned the USDF Instruction Certification, Training through Fourth levels. But taking her self- trained mount, Concerto, through Intermediate 1, Kim faced perhaps her biggest challenge in late 2007, when she was awarded a Major Lindgren Scholarship.
Kim jumped at the chance to train in Germany, thanks to the scholar- ship. Still, she was concerned – whenever she traveled with Concerto, the horse went straight off his feed.
“It seemed like every time I put him in a trailer he stopped eating,” Kim says of her 12 year old American Warmblood gelding. “And he’d never been to Europe before. That takes four days of travel for a horse. I was truly concerned.”
Then in December, 2007, Kim met representatives from Freedom Health, makers of SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program. “They had a booth at the USDF Convention, so I talked to them. I explained what I was facing with Concerto, and my concerns about traveling to Germany. They suggested starting Concerto on SUCCEED. I gave it a shot.”
The result? “I was really impressed. We started Concerto on SUCCEED about two weeks before we left for Germany. About three days after we started I could really feel the difference under saddle. It was as if he took a deep breath and relaxed.”
Since then? “I continue to be very pleased. SUCCEED has made a big difference for Concerto,” Kim says now. “SUCCEED helped him handle the demands of his training by ensuring that he keeps eating well. I can see the difference. I know he’s getting the calories he needs for his work, and he’s getting the protein he needs to build muscles.”
What Kim learned is that a horse’s digestive tract maintains a delicate balance that can easily be altered by the challenges of modern performance horse care, like travel, training and competition. Unlike other products that address individual symptoms, SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program® is a unique, daily Functional Feed program that maintains the health of the entire digestive tract.
“When training is concluded, we’ll bring Concerto home, a happier, healthier horse,” says Kim, “thanks to training in Germany and SUCCEED.”
