Herbert Diederich has been breeding Holstein horses in northern Hesse for over 30 years. From his stable come licensed stallions, federal championship finalists, and Olympic and world championship horses. The most famous representative of his breeding is Canturo, who won the Spruce Meadows Grand Prix and the European Prize in Aachen with the Brazilian Bernardo Alves. In his stable he currently has a three-year-old son of Caretino, who initially caused him headaches because of his lack of appetite and delayed development. The horse is much improved since Diederich started feeding Equine 74 Gastric.

The story of the now three-year-old Caretino son begins last spring. Herbert Diederich took the young stallion out of the herd at the age of two and a half and raised him.

"I didn't really like the horse. He was quite thin, almost emaciated. He hardly touched hay, and he also had a hard time with feed concentrates," as the breeder describes the horse's eating behavior. In addition, the colt had also shown himself to be anxious and unable to concentrate. Herbert Diederich rejected the original plan to prepare the interesting Caretino son for the Holstein licensing because of the young stallion's physical and mental condition.

"His free jumping was always very good, as was his movement. The blood of Caretino is also in great demand because of Casall. But somehow I had the feeling that the colt had a deficit in terms of his development. And in this case, the effort to get him licensed would not have been worthwhile."

So the colt was castrated and allowed to enjoy another summer in the pasture. At the licensing in Neumünster, Herbert Diederich met Christian Dietz, and they discussed the Caretino son. The horse’s unwillingness to eat, lack of development, and overall less-than-ideal condition made Dietz sit up and take notice. He told the breeder about Equine 74 Gastric, a nutritional supplement derived from red algae, that keeps the horse's stomach in balance. The sponge-like structure of the red algae and the high calcium content ensure that excess acid in the stomach is very well buffered. Many of the 74 minerals in the product have an additional anti-inflammatory effect. Herbert Diederich did not want to miss this chance for his horse, and he fed Equine 74 Gastric daily for four months.

"After just two weeks, the first small successes began to appear. He began to eat better. Basically, food tasted better every day," the breeder says of the first weeks with Equine 74 Gastric.

After about six weeks, the first physical changes were also clearly visible. The horse began to steadily gain weight, and he slowly caught up in development. And the changes were not only of a physical nature; his temperament also began to change. The horse became more self-confident and was much friendlier to people. This summer the young gelding will definitely be allowed to spend some time in the field.

"Every day I´m happy to see his progress, for I have always believed in him.” Herbert Diederich is certain that “even if he is no longer a stallion, he certainly has a future as a good sport horse ahead of him."

But whether this new path already begins this autumn, or whether he will allow his horse another year in the pasture is not yet certain. But he knows one thing very well:

"How a young horse is raised has a considerable influence on its development. In the case of stallions, which are required to compete very early on, this phase is already very short. If the horse’s well-being—whether physical or psychological—comes off balance, the horse has hardly a chance to shine when compared to his peers."

The Caretino son is now a gelding. It is impossible to know whether he would have had a career as a breeding stallion if his stomach had been well balanced earlier in life. But his chances would probably have been much better.