Denise Shirey
Dr. Oakley performed her yearly wellness exam on JRS Blonde D. (I call it a spa treatment for my little sorrel mare). X-rays of front hooves, back hocks, blood work, fecal exam, float, et al et al. Blonde D is rock solid sound and uber fit. I am so lucky that my little cutting horse mare can have the same care as the world-class dressage horses. She also provides Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), to maintain soundness and increase the horse’s comfort and performance. FES is Blonde D’s favorite spa treatment. I’m jealous!!!!!!
Amy Speck Kern, FEI Dressage Rider and Trainer
“Dr. Oakley and the Wellington Equine team helped me understand how to help my mare,” said Amy Speck Kern. “I know more now about training an athlete and using physical therapy to get horses going again. What we do with humans, we now do with horses. That’s their forte at Wellington Equine.”
Speck Kern, who is preparing to show the mare this summer, had been afraid that the horse would never be able to compete again. While the horse is an extraordinarily talented athlete, she was too sensitive and hot to ride.
“She’s not a horse you would think needed a vet – you’d say, ‘That horse is too hot to handle the pressure of collection,'” said Speck Kern. “Usually people would give up on the horse or sell her as a lower level horse for a good rider, but she has so much potential that I wanted to keep trying. ” said Speck Kern, a USDF bronze and silver medalist and graduate with distinction of the the USDF ‘L’ program and has been accepted into the USEF ‘r’ judges program.
Rehabilitating the mare medically and physically to help her reach her potential has taken time and patient training through a multifaceted approach and the innovative therapies available at Wellington Equine. With their help, Speck Kern plans to return to competition with the mare this summer.
Marcia Kulak, International Three-Day Event Rider and Trainer
“They were amazing and incredibly professional. They were very open and forthwith and wanted our team to know what we were doing. I thought it was very much a team with a very open line of communication. They were willing to share the knowledge and their experience. Horse care and management is a very intricate puzzle. I was impressed with the knowledge, the willingness to share the knowledge and the professionalism this group brought to the table.” Marcia Kulak, international three-day event rider and trainer based in Scotia, New York and Wellington, Florida.
