Riding on hard ground: supporting shock absorption from within

Do you know that sound? That hard, loud "clack-clack-clack" when the hooves strike the baked, dry forest floor? We all love summer and long rides, but as soon as there has been no rain for weeks, our bridleways turn into concrete tracks.

I certainly feel this way: with every step my horse takes on this hard surface, I wince a little inside. You can practically hear the impact travelling through the pedal bone straight into the joints and tendons. Of course, we try to stick to the soft verges or just walk, but hard ground often cannot be avoided entirely – whether on the way to the paddock or because even the arena surface loses its spring and becomes hard in the heat.

My biggest worry here is always wear and tear. Our horses may be robust, but this constant impact stress is poison for their cartilage and joints. I simply want my big boy to stay fit and active into old age, and not have to "retire" early just because his joints are playing up.

The daily struggle with powder

Because I have these concerns, I naturally started looking into supplements early on. The market is full of tubs with promising ingredients: glucosamine, MSM, collagen. In theory, that all sounds great.

In practice, though, my daily routine at the yard looked like this: I stand in the feed room, scoop out white powder and try desperately to get it into my horse somehow. I stirred it into his mash – he ignored it. I mixed it into his feed – he picked out the oats with almost surgical precision, and the expensive powder ended up as a dusty residue at the bottom of the feed bowl. Once, he even simply snorted into the bowl, leaving me standing in a cloud of joint powder.

It is simply frustrating. You buy expensive supplements because you want to help your horse, and in the end, half of it lands in the bin or on the floor. And we all know: if it doesn't get into the horse, it cannot work.

The discovery: nuvallo move Snacks

While searching for a solution that doesn't end in a powder battle, I came across the nuvallo move Snacks. At first I thought: "Okay, just some more standard snacks with a bit of herbal garnish?" But when I looked at the composition, I sat up and took notice.

These are not normal reward cubes, but functional joint snacks. What appealed to me immediately: the dosing is incredibly easy, and the ingredients are exactly the ones I had previously struggled to feed as a powder.

Why I think the concept is so brilliant

First things first: my horse loves them. I no longer have to hide anything, mix anything up, or hollow out apples. I simply give him 6 Snacks daily (that is approx. 30 g) straight from the hand – usually after grooming or as a reward after riding. He happily chews them up, and I know with 100% certainty that the active ingredients have genuinely reached his stomach.

Speaking of the stomach: the base of the snacks consists of linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed (free from wheat and corn). That is a huge plus point for me, as my horse has a sensitive stomach.

But the crucial thing is what is inside to support the "shock absorbers". The daily ration of 6 Snacks contains:

• Glucosamine (1,500 mg): The building block for the cartilage.
• Collagen (2,550 mg): Important for the elasticity of the structures.
• MSM (2,250 mg): Organic sulphur, which I particularly value for the tendons.
• Hyaluronic acid (150 mg): Essentially the "oil" for the joints.

So it is a complete joint supplement, just in a form that the horse will eat voluntarily and happily.

My conclusion after 3 months

I have been feeding the nuvallo move Snacks for about 12 weeks now. Of course, I cannot look inside his joints, but my subjective feeling when riding has changed.

Especially now, with the ground being firmer again, I get the impression that he moves more fluidly. In the past, he needed an extremely long warm-up phase on such days until he loosened up. Since he has been getting the snacks, he seems less stiff in the mornings when he comes out of his stable. He steps under more willingly and his stride has more spring. It feels as though his natural shock absorption is simply working better.

Another bonus for us competition riders: the snacks are ADMR-compliant. So I don't have to worry about withdrawal periods when we head out at the weekend.

So if you also get that uneasy feeling when hooves pound on hard ground, and you are tired of scraping powder residue out of the feed bowl, then I can highly recommend the nuvallo move Snacks to you. It is the easiest way to do something good for the joints – and your horse will love you for it (because they simply taste delicious).