Sweden’s Pether Markne has been an acclaimed dressage rider for decades, competing at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney is one of the many highlights of his career. Nowadays, Markne is mostly active as a trainer for both showjumping and dressage riders. Markne has been training Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson for over 20 years, while his partner Per Sandgaard is an Olympic dressage rider as well. For Pether Markne and his horses, Equine 74 Gastric has proven to be a very useful product.
Pether Markne is an experienced horseman and has seen the development of the sport over the years, in both dressage and showjumping.
“Since our breeding improves, our horses improve. Dressage horses are much more talented and are mostly learning the exercises easier, while our showjumpers get more and more quality and a better rideability. When something goes really easy, there is always a backside. Everything in the sport goes very quick, so we have to protect our horses a bit against themselves,” Pether Markne explains.
“A horse is not a motorbike, it is an animal, so we really have to be horsemen. Even if you are not a vet, you can see if something is wrong with your horse,” Markne states.
“At home we had a horse that did not really show stress in his character, but you could still see that something inside his body was not right. I talked to a Swedish colleague, Henrik Lanner, and he advised me to try Equine 74 Gastric. I am not the type of person to just try everything that is on the market, but since my colleague advised it, I decided to give it a try,” Markne tells. “After just two or three weeks, we saw a huge change with our horse. It really helped him.”
Pether Markne works with both dressage and showjumping horses and feels that in both sports, horses can face different kinds of stress.
“In some ways, it can be easier for a showjumper to lose its stress since a showjumper is allowed to show his feelings in all kinds of ways – for example making a buck or two in the ring. In addition, for today’s showjumpers, jumping is a natural thing – so when they jump, they can use their bodies in a natural way and express their energy.” But also showjumpers face stressful situations. “Our showjumpers get more and more careful and alert, while our shows get more exciting with more atmosphere and even faster jump-offs and speed classes. That can be moments of stress, but these are mostly short moments of stress.”“For a dressage horse, his education is a lot about repetition and learning exercises. Some horses learn very easily and fast, but others need to repeat a lot and that can be stressful too. So in both sports, it is very important to protect and help your horses,” Markne says.
“Obviously it is even better to stay ahead of problems, and Equine 74 Gastric can help with that. If you have good straw, hay and other feed, it can be enough. And Equine 74 Gastric can help your horses before and during all those stress moments, like travelling, competing at shows, et cetera.”
Pether Markne likes to keep things as simple as possible with horses, and thanks to Equine 74 Gastric, many supplements can be kept away.
“I never choose the complicated things, not in feeding, riding nor training. I try to keep thinks as simple and clean as possible. When you use Equine 74 Gastric, you can leave many ‘strange’ supplements away. As a trainer, I see some very ambitious students having pots with powders for everything. But all these extra supplements can also destroy the natural system of a horse. That is why I don’t like it complicated with horses, and I choose Equine 74 Gastric!”
On our topic page you will find a lot more information and links on the topic of gastric ulcers in horses. The possibilities for the prevention of gastric ulcers in horses are also described here.