20 Horse&Hound8 August 2019

Pictures

by

Hoofprints,

Team

Armstrong,

Peter

Nixon

W

HENhisracing

dayscametoan

endlastyear,Saint

Are’sconnections

werekeenthatthe12-year-old

NationalHuntheroshouldenjoy

an“activeretirement”.Despite

havingtackledtheGrandNational

a demandingfivetimes,twice

finishinginthetopthree,“Arnie”

wasingoodshape—oncehe

hadrecoveredfromthecrashing

fallhesufferedduringhisfinal

attemptattherace.

Withtheversatilityofa true

athlete,Arniehassinceflourished

ina newcareer.Welookback at

hisdevelopmentfromlegendary

chaserintobuddingshowhorse...

APRIL 2018

ARNIEis runningwellinhis

fifthGrandNationalwhenhe is

Preparing an ex-racehorse for a career

in the show ring requires a diff erent

approach to fi tness and conditioning,

as Andrea Oakes discovers

Show business

brought down by another horse

at The Chair. After assessment by

veterinary experts, he returns to

trainer Tom George’s Down Farm

for a summer holiday at grass.

Plans are made for Arnie’s

retirement. Justine Armstrong-

Small and Rebecca Court, who

retrained 2017 Retraining of

Racehorses (RoR) horse of the

year Beware Chalk Pit, hear about

the thoroughbred gelding through

show judge Lucy Killingbeck, who

describes him as “exquisite”.

JULY 2018

JUSTINE and Rebecca visit Arnie.

“We could see he had beautiful,

clean limbs and was correctly put-

together, with a kind, intelligent

eye,” says Rebecca. “He had

exciting potential.”

AUGUST 2018

ARNIE moves to Team

Armstrong’s Essex yard, as part of

the new Are Saint Syndicate.

“Tom provided Arnie’s medical

history, including worming,

vaccination and dental, and talked

us through his diet, routine and

character,” says Rebecca. “Arnie

is laid-back and settled straight

away. The fi rst step was to give

him a health assessment.”

Dr Susanna Ballinger MRCVS,

of Ballinger Equine, recalls: “Arnie

arrived a little on the light side, as

is often the case when a formerly

race-fi t horse has been out of

training. A brief examination

revealed no obvious limb injuries,

but his pelvis was much lower and

less muscled on one side, most

likely due to an old injury.

“We discussed a return-to-

work programme, based primarily

on hacking,” adds Susanna,

who also recommended a feed

supplement to assist muscle

development. “Arnie needed to

develop general condition and,

importantly, topline muscle for

core strength and stability.”

Association of Chartered

Physiotherapists in Animal

Therapy physiotherapist Susie

Grady found Arnie was quite sore

in the lumbar region and through

the epaxial (long back) muscles.

After his fall and being let

down for summer, he needed help

to develop the correct musculature

and fl exibility for showing.

VET CLINIC

After a summer at grass, Arnie is ready for a new challenge

Flourishing in a new career: the

National Hunt hero Saint Are,

known as Arnie, is now enjoying a

new lease of life as a show horse

with Justine Armstrong-Small

(pictured) and Rebecca Court

RACEHORSE

REHAB

★

Part 2