Helsinkey, known daily as Henio, is now a seven-year-old KWPN gelding with an excellent show-jumping pedigree and outstanding conformation, who from the very beginning showed the promise of a top-level sport horse. His story, however, demonstrates that genetic potential and movement ability do not always go hand in hand with mental readiness for sport.

This case study by Daria Kobiernik highlights the crucial role of the emotional aspect in the development of a sport horse and shows how appropriate support can help highly sensitive horses adapt to the realities of competition.

Case Study

Helsinkey is currently a seven-year-old KWPN horse. His excellent jumping pedigree and outstanding conformation suggested a great future as a show jumper. Unfortunately, his high sensitivity—essentially an oversensitivity to the world—made working with him extremely difficult.

He came to me when he was turning five. Prior to that, riders in the Netherlands had attempted to work with him but ultimately gave up.

He displayed strong “electricity,” difficulties in daily handling, and extreme fear of people and any movement around him. Calm mounting and relaxed riding were out of the question.

Many months of work resulted in him beginning to perceive humans as friendly beings and allowing himself to be mounted. At that stage, further training became possible. In the home environment, we achieved a great deal of understanding and calmness. The real challenge, however, came with competition trips—specifically the warm-up arena.

Chaos during warm-up, large numbers of horses, and noise are an enormous challenge for highly sensitive horses. The stress Henio experienced stripped away all joy of jumping, and he entered the course completely tense.

Honestly, despite my considerable experience with difficult horses, I lacked a clear idea of how to help him. I did know, however, that I did not want to compete with any horse under such conditions.

At that point, I came across Hempqualizer. Although I am generally skeptical about calming products, in Henio’s case I decided to try it out of sheer helplessness.

The results were—and continue to be—surprising.

Hempqualizer Compete does not dull horses; instead, it provides relaxation and creates a foundation that allows the horse to remain ready to learn in challenging situations.

It does not replace proper training or do the work for us, but with highly sensitive horses—of which there are increasingly many—it helps create space for learning. As we know well, when emotions take over, learning stops.

Thanks to Hempqualizer, Henio has the opportunity to perceive competition trips differently and approaches tasks with increasing calmness. He is beginning to show his significant potential on course, and the warm-up arena—especially at open venues—has become a place where he can relax.

There is still a long road ahead, but today I can confidently say that in this horse’s case, the use of the paste has played a key role in allowing Henio to become a sport horse who has caught up with his peers in competition.

When can Hempqualizer Compete be helpful?

Hempqualizer Compete can provide valuable support in situations where a horse is well prepared from a training perspective, but emotions prevent it from using its full potential. This is particularly relevant for highly sensitive horses that respond with strong tension to new places, noise, crowds, chaotic warm-up environments, or competitive pressure.

The product does not replace training and does not “do the work” for the rider. Its role is to create a state of relaxation in which learning, focus, and genuine cooperation with the rider become possible. In cases like Henio’s, where stress eliminated the joy of jumping and led to complete tension on course, Hempqualizer helped reduce emotional tension without sedation or loss of energy.

Where a horse stops learning due to excessive stimuli and emotional overload, supportive measures become necessary to help it remain present, open, and ready to work. It is precisely in these moments that Hempqualizer can play an important role, helping sport horses gradually find calmness, confidence, and the ability to show their full potential.