Dr. Valentine
Thank you so much for all your help with John Henry. And thank you everyone else for your support.

I just wanted to let you know that John Henry is just doing so well I can't believe it! It has been a long frustrating road full of ups and downs but it has been worth it.

I had originally bought John Henry as my "get my confidence back horse" Well that didn't work out with his refusing to canter and sometimes even go forward, swishing tail, stomping back feet etc. So we started Clinton Anderson training but he wouldn't back up at all! We kept at it and made a little progress but it was that darn canter that just didn't make sense which brought us to your site and the EPSM world via Google "problems in horse cantering"

I posted our problems you suggested the oil diet and off we went and started some forward progress. We decided to do a muscle biopsy and it came back negative and I took him off the oil only to have him go completely backwards. Well we have been back on oil since June 1st and have realized he is very sugar/starch sensitive so it is muzzle 24/7, soak hay, only beet pulp and alfalfa pellets, and 2 1/4 cups oil without fail.

Not only is he going sound but we are achieving our Clinton Anderson goal! He is so well mannered and going so well that my confidence is back better than ever. He can canter so long and both leads now, transitions are wonderful and his attitude is great.

So to any people new to this disorder stick it out and if you get stuck post and not only will Dr. Valentine help you but everyone else will also. Thanks to all of you, it is so wonderful to have my passion for riding back.

Thank YOU Andi for posting this story. I know it will help other unhappy horses and owners. Just goes to show that even a negative biopsy can be wrong. Keep doing what you are doing, and enjoy your new horse!

Great news and I couldn't agree more. It seems tough sometimes, but looking back the effort was nothing compared to the results I got. (Bart had difficulties with his canter as well, but now just steps into it effortlessly.) Best wishes for continued progress!