Read the Success Stories for these former Bits & Bytes Farm
horses.
* Former Prospect Horses bought directly from the track or trainer.
* Prospect Horses are horses that were bought from our Web site photos and a vet check. Read "How to Buy a Prospect Horse" for more information.
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Heather's Best was purchased in September 2007 by Jennifer DeGier of New Jersey.
OTTB Heather's Best score of 62 in a dressage show. July 22, 2008
Heather's Best goes to his first combined training event and finished second out of 26 horses!
Heather's Best and Elizabeth take a large coop while cross country schooling back in November 2005
Click here to see photos of Heather's Best when he was a horse For Sale at Bits & Bytes Farm.
Heather's Best is training in dressage and jumping.
Elizabeth leads her special boy Heather's Best to the van taking him to his new mom in New Jersey. September 28, 2007
Heather's Best leaves on a large van for New Jersey.
Bits & Bytes Farm Success Stories |
Our horses > success stories > Heather's BestHeather's BestSeptember 2, 2008 - Heather wins another ribbon!Hi Everyone!
The day started out a little rough, I arrived early, parked the trailer and went to go walk the cross country course. Well, when I got back 30 minutes or so later, Heather was so upset! I felt so bad because evidently he got very worried when I left him. Even though there were plenty of other horses and trailers parked all around us, he had a major panic attack and was calling out and sweating terribly when I got back. I've never seen him so upset. So, instead of relaxing, reviewing my dressage test, eating, etc, I ended up hand walking Heather around the fields for 45 minutes, talking to him and trying to convince him that everything was going to be fine. He finally calmed down and relaxed enough to graze a little bit and look everything over. Once I got him tacked up and sat on him he was much better, but still not convinced that he was ok. So of course Dressage was a bit tense to say the least-there were so many distractions, and Heather was still worried. There was no warm up arena, so horses and riders were just going all over the place next to the dressage arena, and the jumping warm up was in view also, so there was just so much for him to look at! Luckily we made it through the test and had an hour to relax before xc. By the time we got onto the course he was much more settled and I had the time of my life! Heather flew around the course as if he had been doing it for years. He was perfect! He never gave anything a second look-just galloped and jumped everything like a pro. Half way through, the course went into the woods with a downhill brush jump and along a shady trail with a trakhener. I thought that area might be a little spooky, and I was a little spooked by the trakhener since we had never schooled one. Well, Heather is just the bravest horse! He galloped straight into the woods and we were just flying down the trail. He was completely focused and literally soared over the jumps! He loved the open gallops, but never got too strong,and came right back whenever I asked. When we galloped over the last jump I think I was laughing and crying at the same time because I was so incredibly proud of my horse. I was giving him the biggest hug as we crossed the finish!! Things just got better from there, with a perfect stadium round (including his first flying change!) I have the stadium jumping on video, so I will get that to you soon, and I'm hoping the photographer got some good shots of cross country. I'm waiting for his e mail. So, we got a nice 5th place ribbon (out of 31 competitors) for our first horse trials together, and that means that Heather has gotten a ribbon at every show he has done so far! But most importantly, we are having a great time, and have formed an amazing bond-I love this horse so much, and whenever we are out schooling, people always tell me how much my horse loves me-which I think is amazing. I feel so blessed that I found my perfect partner, and I can't wait until our next competition! I'll send photos soon! Take care, August 17, 2008Hi Everyone! July 24, 2008Elizabeth, Let me know when you might be in the area! July 23, 2008 - Heather's Best Gets a 62 at the Dressage Show!Hi Elizabeth and Barry! The warm up was fabulous, and I wish I had video of that as well as the test because we were definitely better in warm up. I think I left too much time to warm up, I'm learning that Heather needs less time in the warm up than I think he does. I'm also learning that if I
get a little nervous and tense entering the arena, he immediately
senses it and gets tense also! Then I tend to over-ride and Heather
is like, "What is wrong with you??". Anyway we ended up with a
score of 62, and I am pretty happy with that. He saw something and
had a little speed up and head tossing at the canter that took a
few seconds to work out. He is such a smart horse. We only practiced
the test three times and I swear he had it memorized! The judge commented
on our nice canter depart, and the funny thing is that I hadn't asked
for it yet! Elizabeth's Note: Thoroughbreds really bond with their owners. They are very sensitive and can tell if you are worried. The hardest thing about competiting with these horses is controlling your fears. If you, their herd leader, is frightened, they are ready to run as that is how horses protect themselves as prey animals. If you are confident, your horse will be. If you do not have a brave horse - look at your own fears before looking for a new horse. Heather's Best and Jennifer are both brave and confident and it shows in their results. We are proud of both of them.
May 19, 2008 - Heather's Best goes to his first combined training event and finished second out of 26 horses!Hi Guys, Since this was Heather's first experience at a horse show, Doug Payne competed him for me in the beginner novice class. I wanted to make sure that Heather was in good hands and would have a good ride even if he got nervous. He threw a couple of bucks (complete with his signature squealing sound effect) in the dressage warm up, and got some looks from the other riders-oops!), but overall he handled himself really well, and I am so proud of him! There were 26 horses competing in his division, and Heather was 4th after dressage, then had perfect cross country and stadium jumping rounds. (Doug's other ride took first place!)
Needless to say, I am so excited! I'll be riding him in his next competition in June. I'm not sure that I can do quite so well with the dressage-it is a bit tricky for me to keep it all together on the flat since Heather is very fit and full of energy, but I feel really confident that we will still end up doing well. And, as we all suspected, Heather seems to love going cross country and jumps everything bravely and happily. I have video which I will put together for you-it started raining during cross country and was pouring for stadium-poor Heather was shivering in the rain as I got him ready! It was a really big day for him, since the horse park is over an hour away, and the whole scene was alot for him to deal with-his eyes were huge! But he doesn't seem tired at all today-I can see him out the window running and playing with Radar. Overall the day was a huge success, and I couldn't be happier. I could really see Heather's competitive side come out at the xc warm up-he was definitely checking out the other horses, but as you know he is pretty self confident! I'll keep you posted on our progress and let you know how the next competition goes! Hope all is well at Bits & Bytes... Take care,
Elizabeth's Note: Heather's Best loved jumping cross country fences the first time he ever saw one. He gave me confidence to jump 3'6" very wide coops and ditches. Ex-steeplechase horses make great event horses.
May 14, 2008
Hi Elizabeth, just wanted to give you a quick Heather update...he is doing great, the vet was out a couple of days ago and Heather had a full checkup and spring vacs. The vet measured his weight at 1111 lbs, and said that Heather is at the perfect weight right now, (and mentioned how fit he was also!) Heather looks amazing, he is happy and bright and his coat is really nice and shiny. Radar, on the other hand has been instructed to loose about 100 lbs-oops-guess he put on a little weight also! We went xc schooling last Wed. evening, and Heather was perfect. I had so much fun. We went out with 2 other horses, and I thought Heather might be a little bit excited in the huge horse park with other horses jumping around, but he was great, and seemed to be really enjoying himself. I wish I had pics. He jumped all sorts of novice jumps, and a couple of training level cross country jumps as well, and he never got strong or silly, he was happy to quietly walk around and ready to trot or canter any jump I went to. I was so happy with him!! We are planning to do a schooling horse trial this weekend- I will let you know how it goes! Take care, April 14, 2008OK, I finally have learned how to use the movie maker program! I posted a video of Heather on you tube, since I'm not exactly sure how to send the link, I think you can find it under my login name, jcdflyer, or search under "Heather's Best". Let me know if you can find it!! Also, please excuse the editing, etc...this is my first attempt, but now I'm hooked on making movies, so there will be more to come! Jennifer April 12, 2008Hi Elizabeth and Barry! Heather is doing great! I took him to Doug Payne's farm (about 1 hour away) for a clinic last weekend. We worked on our dressage, and Heather did so well. We got lots of compliments. He is looking really good-I think the Buckeye Ultimate Finish really agrees with him. I got the chance to go xc schooling with Doug Payne a couple of days ago at my sister in law's farm. He rode Jeremy (a 3 -star event horse) and I rode Heather, but we had to switch horses for a few minutes in the beginning because Heather got VERY excited at the thought of jumping cross country. I think Jeremy gives off a bit of a competitive vibe as well. For some reason, Jeremy would make Heather jig and buck every time he got too close! I have no problem just going in front, but Doug was encouraging me to try to get Heather to walk quietly along side Jeremy out to the jump hill -yeah right! Mission accomplished if you can count jigging from side to side with the occasional crow hop in between as walking lol :) I've discovered that Heather is a true competitor, and he is really in top condition physically right now, so knowing how athletic he is, you can imagine the "horsepower" we have now! That was the second time I have taken him to our jump hill, and each time as soon as he sees the jumps he can't contain himself! He gets so excited that he starts jumping up and down and bucking! He actually makes noises as well, like little squeals and grunts-it's hilarious! But once he gets to gallop around he is better. By the way-Doug did not want to switch back! He LOVES Heather. But eventually he gave me my horse back and I got to jump around and had a great time. Heather is so athletic and comfortable, that going up and down the banks I felt like I was riding on air-he loves banks-and he just launches out off of them, but it is so smooth that I barely know we landed. I think what we have to do now is just get outside on the trails and on the xc schooling area every day so that it is not quite so exciting. Or I have to just start bringing my fox hunting flask and have a few shots before we head out to the jumps!! We have entered a few competitions coming up in May and June-I'll keep you posted! Hope all is well at B&B! Love, March 9, 2008Hi Elizabeth and Barry! Meanwhile, we had a great time at the clinic this weekend. The weather was horrendous, with gale force winds and heavy rain, so it was held in the big indoor. We were soaked just getting in and out of the trailer. The rain was so loud yesterday that we could hardly hear, but Heather wasn't bothered. He got a little bit excited on the first day, being in a new place with strange horses, and got a bit jiggy and bucky in the warm up, but once I just got him to move forward (as opposed to up and down lol!) and got him focused on doing a 20m trot circle with ground poles he had to think about what he was doing, and he calmed right down. Overall, Heather was such a good boy, and
a beautiful jumper! There were all kinds of strange looking jumps
with trees and flowers and brick walls...he didn't give anything
a second look. Of course we had our share of mistakes, but I have
to take full responsibility for those-I am learning to be more
clear and direct. If I get a bit indecisive, Heather is like, what
are we doing??? When my aids are correct, even the most technical
bending lines with s turns and tough combinations just feel so
effortless and smooth. I can't even describe how great it felt
when we were completely in sync. I wish I could get it right every
time, ....but like they say, it's the journey that counts and I
am really loving every minute of my journey with Heather! Elizabeth's Note: If your horse is slow to eat or acting grouchy when doing up his girth, he may have the start of an ulcer. A horse can get ulcers from the stress of going to a new place or show. The faster you give him something to neutrualize the acid in his stomach the better. There are many over the counter options that you can discuss with your vet. If your vet diagnoses ulcers there are also several medications available by prescription. Some of them are more affordable than others, so take the time to ask your vet for all options.February 28, 2008Hi Elizabeth! The weather here has been a bit crazy, but we have still been able to ride 4-5 times a week. I have now had Heather out in rain, snow, 25 degree weather and 30 mph wind and he isn't bothered by any of it! He definitely prefers jumping to dressage at the moment, but I think that jumping is just easier and more fun for him. All the horses are getting sick of the indoor as well, which is where we usually do dressage so that may be part of it. I think I might have to watch how much more fit he gets because recently he thinks it is fun to throw a few bucks and put his head down and play! he's like, it's winter and I have too much energy! The chiropractor checked him recently, so I don't think he is sore, just fresh! I feel like I learn something from him
every ride, and what it really interesting is that as Heather has learned how
to really get on the bit and look for that support, he has become much more
sensitive to rider position. Or maybe he always was, but now
we are really communicating. And, as a result he really demands
a correct ride. Which, I guess is only fair, considering that
I am asking him to work hard, I have to keep up my end of the
deal and make sure that my position is steady and supportive. If I get frustrated
or tense, he will start to jig, and if I exhale and relax, he puts his head
down and relaxes and goes forward. It is amazing to me that he
can feel exactly what I am thinking! We are doing a cross country clinic with Doug Payne at the Horse Park of New Jersey on March 8 and 9. I am trying to recruit a videographer or at least get some good photos for you. I
hope everyone down there is well, and I'll be in touch again
soon! Elizabeth's Note: Thoroughbreds are very sensitive horses and that is why they are not always the best choices for beginners. They are fantastic teachers as Jennifer noted. If you are correct with your seat and aids - they get it. If you are sloppy and out of balanced they get uptight. Relax and they relax. What wonderful teachers. You don't have to work hard (like some other breeds) to communicate with them -- all you have to do is be correct. Riding Thoroughbreds will make you a better rider.January 9, 2008Hi Elizabeth, Heather continues to be wonderful. Over Christmas between the holidays and the weather I went for 5 days without riding him. Well, I was ready for him to be pretty fresh, and he was pretty fresh on the crossties, but as soon as he was tacked up, he was like, oh OK we're going to work. I hopped on, and he was perfect. If I didn't know better I would have thought he had done flatwork the day before. In fact, it was almost as if his mini-break made him refreshed and ready to go back to work. I was so happy about that. You wouldn't believe how steady and gorgeous his trot is now, and he has gotten so much stronger behind-he feels like a different horse. His front end is so light when we canter! He definitely finds the bigger jumps fun-I swear he glances back at me about 3 strides out and says, (with a slight smirk of course) "hold on tight now because wooo hoo we're flying!!" I can't help but smile ear to ear when we jump. I finally allowed our trainer to ride him over some jumps, and she LOVED riding him! She was smiling the whole time too! (I personally think Heather was showing off a bit knowing he had a professional on board) But I was also so proud of him! I thought it was so great that this woman who competes internationally at the 4 star level on top horses really enjoyed riding Heather. He had the chiropractor the other day-just routine, but she did pick up a couple of points and gave him some adjustments. I figured that after 3 months of pretty steady work it was time for a little "sports massage" and adjustment. She found some stiffness in his neck and poll and adjusted that, and also found a couple of sacro-iliac points near his hips. That did not surprise me since he is working more from behind now, but as you know, the stronger he gets the less he will need adjustments. His hocks and everything else looked great. He and Radar have become best friends. They love hanging out together, but they are both secure enough that I can ride them off the property individually without any problems. I did a secret test, because sometimes Heather will cry a little bit if he sees me leaving on Radar, so I rode off and 10 minutes later had my friend come out and check on Heather. He was totally fine, just grazing away quietly, so I'm really happy about that as well. The weather was really nice in Jersey this week, and I finally got the 2 of them out on a nice trail ride together again. Well, Heather was very happy and excited to go out hacking. A little too excited, because as soon as we picked up a nice trot, YeeHaw! the rodeo started! I was actually laughing, but Heather just started dancing around and took off up the hill jumping around and bucking! But not in a nasty way, he was just playing and felt good! Radar was looking at him like he was crazy. Luckily they were very rideable bucks and he walked quietly after that. I was thinking that what he really needed that day was a nice outdoor gallop, but the footing and the trail where we were really weren't good for that. I can't wait for spring! Anyway, I promise I will get some good pictures soon and I really want to send you a little video too! Love from Jennifer and Heather December 9, 2007Hi! I hope all is well down there! I'll send better pictures soon! Take care, November 16, 2007Hi Elizabeth! Heather is doing so great-I just can't tell you how happy I am
with The hunt sponsored a hunter pace last sunday, so instead of competing a few of us rode the course and picked up all the markers. It took a while, and it was even starting to get dark on the trail, and Heather was perfect. He led the way, jumped all the logs and a little coop, stood nicely every time I had to pull a streamer off a tree, and did not get worried at all even though it got late. I think he really enjoys his trail rides. I have been trying to take him for a good trail ride in the woods at least once a week. Other than that, everyone is great. Heather and Radar really like each other, and love to play. They have private little conversations out there sometimes, where they just stand with their noses together for the longest time. Then they will both decide to get silly and run away from the neighbors sheep and buck and play(even though they see the sheep every day) I love just watching them. I hope everything is good down there...and I really will send pictures next time!!! Jennifer November 2, 2007Hi Elizabeth! I got a job flying part time for a company that does charter and instruction nearby. Of course, work is already getting in the way of my daily riding plans, but it is also paying for lessons, nice winter coolers and blankets(it's getting cold here!) , a fancy new bridle for Heather, treats, toys etc...... Actually the schedule is really flexible-I pretty much just tell them when I can work, so it's not too bad. Meanwhile, Heather and I have been continuing our lessons with Wendy Lewis, and it is going so well. We are putting together courses, and jumping more challenging combinations, bounces, and are able to stay perfectly straight to jump a VERY narrow vertical! Heather seems happy to jump around the courses, and always tries to do the right thing. I have never had a horse that is as honest and willing as he is. I feel like we are really developing a partnership, when we ride, sometimes I'm the one taking care of him and really directing and reassuring him, and sometimes he is the one (particularly in the jump combinations) who makes me feel like he has everything under control, even if I'm not sure about a distance, or how to ride something- I can always trust him to take care of us. He is moving beautifully on the flat-in just a few weeks he has really increased his flexibility, and is much stronger behind than he was. I can feel the difference in the power, and his canter is a lot more uphill-so nice to ride. I feel like I could sit his canter with no stirrups all day-he is so smooth! He is doing perfect trot-canter transitions as well. He just steps into a lovely canter without missing a beat. Take care, October 23, 2007Hi Elizabeth! I am going xc schooling on Saturday-I promise to get some good pictures for you. The attached pics are of us out in our local woods where I go fox hunting, and of Radar and Heather enjoying a nice fall day. I hope all is well there...I gave your info to a girl I met fox hunting who is looking for an OTTB - so you may hear from her. Take care,
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