He had many homes before he came to Nora as a six-year-old 1st of June in 2004, but when she finally got her own pony she was not likely to let go of him so he has stayed with her ever since. Together they have had quite a few adventures and now they are planning their greatest project ever - a ride through England from Brockenhurst to the North of England.
In 2007 Juniblest was drabbed by intestinal impaction (one of many types of colic) and had to have surgery in order to survive. It took him four months to get well enough to carry a rider and Nora got so scared she did loads of research on how to keep him well and healthy for the rest of his life. This lead to the poor pony being thrown out of the stable to live outside without shoes and to have free access to hay and water - which he seems to enjoy! "Hey ho, hey ho, a natural life for me"...
When Nora decided to study in England she couldn't part from her beloved friend and so the poor pony had to travel all the way from Oslo to Brockenhurst. As competition horses travel across the world all the time, Nora figured Juniblest could travel those few miles. And he was fine. In fact, he seems to love England and the New Forest!
Juniblest and Nora have always been into long distance rides and in March 2011 they entered their first endurance ride. They enjoyed it so much that they were both more sad it was over than tired when they first saw the finishing line! You will be seeing them huffing and puffing along tracks quite a lot in the future. Another great thing about endurance is that it keeps both pony and rider fit! As Juniblest is a good doer* who's possibly insulin resistant or at least borderline IR, he has to be kept in a healthy condition in order to stay sound and happy. During the spring 2011 Nora realised he had become so obese he scored about 5 on a fat scoring scale going from 0-5, where 2 is good and 3 is ideal, and started the long process of getting rid of all that fat. Now, almost a year later Juniblest scores somewhere between 2 and 3, and is a completely different pony with lots of energy! His bare feet have improved so much, he's happy and playful, and everything is looking a lot brighter for him.
He still needs to be carefully managed regarding grass as he is prone to laminitis due to his history, and at the moment he is kept off the grass during the day to make sure his diet contains as little sugar as possible. It is very much working and where he could hardly walk on gravel without hoof boots on one year ago, he can now trot on most surfaces. For more information about barefoot hoof care and the importance of diet for sound feet, please visit Barefoot South
Some pictures of Juniblest:
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| Spring 2011. Weight according to weight tape: 400kgs |
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| Spring 2012. Weight according to weight tape: 320kgs. |
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Winter 2006, his favourite photo! |
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| It's not an easy task keeping Juniblest fit the way he finds ways to get more food all the time.. |
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| Endurance ride summer 2011 |
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| Endurance ride autumn 2011 |
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| Dressage lesson spring 2012 |
*A horse or pony that puts on weight very easily. They can almost be kept on love and thin air...
