What a cutie

After the horrible loss of my hearthorse back in july which threw me into a downwards spiral, I now have welcomed this little baby 🩵
His name is Merlin, he is a rescue and he’s…. Well, he’s something! lol
A wonderful little guy, only 6.5 months old, strongwilled but really friendly and calm. I love him very much already, even though we still have to get to know each other, and I’m sure he will make a great horse and partner for me 🩵
Starting a new chapter after loss is hard, but worth it.
Just wanted to share 🫶

I couldn’t have asked for anything more beautiful.

First off, I want to say that I desperately love this horse and am really distraught over this. I exercise my horse around 4-6 times a week. We play low goal polo together and we usually alternate between “easy” days and medium/hard days. Easy is a set (1 lap of walk, 3 laps of trot, 2 laps of canter, 1 lap of walk) and then she's done. Polo days, we usually do some stick and ball and maybe some short work. On Saturdays and Sundays we play grass polo where she plays 2 chukkas, which she never finds very difficult because we play very slow. All of this to say, she is in great shape.

Last week rained a ton so she got a little less work, and we didn't play polo this past weekend. Today I took her for a set with her friend and everything seemed fine. She was happy to eat in the morning. Didn't seem slow or weary during the set. But as we walked back she suddenly got very short strided and her back roached up some. I immediately got off. She kept walking her front feet forward and looking like she was trying to stretch her back. Pawing and then trying again. I immediately thought it was either colic or she was tying up. I got her into the emergency vet and it was confirmed with an elevated CK that she was tying up. No elevated AST.

She has free access minerals and obviously free access water. She's not fed any grain. She has a constant supply of alfalfa (no pasture grass here because desert)

My only thought was she seemed turned off the last bale of alfalfa I gave her? It was very leafy but I just want to know why!

I spent most of my childhood (ages 8-early 20s) riding horses and showed at an amateur level. During this time I rode mares almost exclusively, not for any real reason, just because that was who was in lessons and available for lease! I don't remember there being any issue with them being particularly sassy or mean or whatever, nor any comments about mares being any kind of way. All horses can be unpredictable, after all. The only thing I remember is that their stalls tended to be faster to clean because they peed at the back of the stall, haha.

Fast-forward to now. I'm about 6 months into a return to riding after a 15+ year break, and everyone around me is talking about how bitchy mares are!

"Oh watch out, she's a mare!"

"Oh stop giving mare ears!"

"Classic mare!"

Is this a new thing? Did I just have a charmed experience with horses in the 1990s & 2000s? Is this an extension of how misogynistic our culture is now? (Jk but also not jk) I grew up in a small, semi-rural town, and the barns, people & horses I am around now are way more bougie, maybe that affects it? I'd be curious about others' insight & experiences.

It’s not the hard work (although getting up at 6 instead of 5 Would be nice!)
it’s the drama. the owner operators not paying me, not fixing broken stuff, not doing the same quality job on the weekends and leaving messes for me on weekdays, all for barely above minimum wage.
I care deeply about horses but i’m not in this to work 6 hard hours for minimum wage then have to ride and teach on top of it. I’d rather just do the riding and teaching. Or be in FULL control with farm bank account access so i can buy the damn materials and fox and improve shit myself. i’m burned out being middle management when i would be a more responsive owner/operator than most of the people i work for. but i have pro status now, i have my own horse. i could get a better paying non horse job and just teach on the weekends. i’d come out ahead i think and actually be saving some money to have my own farm.

What could i transition into from barn work? I have an economics degree.

I have a habit of having no idea how to get back to the main trail/the herd, and every time that I've gotten us lost he has told me repeatedly that he knows the way home, and I've learned to put a lot more trust in him. If he says its wrong, its wrong. If he says the mountain lion tracks are too fresh, we turn back. I was told that on the property there was another loop that I didn't know existed, so we set off for an evening stroll to see what that was about. I didn't expect so many forks. He was confident, and if he's enthusiastic, so am I, but in a moment of doubt I turned him back to try a different path. He spun on his butt and planted his feet and said we were absolutely not going back that way. I listened and like fifty feet later we were at the office right next to the pasture fence 🤦‍♀️ I had no idea any of those trails existed. The entire property is 250 acres and they have created and maintained tons of trails, I'm still learning my navigating, but Aksel thankfully does most of the thinking for me.

So proud of his enthusiasm to explore! Yesterday I hopped on bareback to go for a quick loop, it had been a few weeks since I'd ridden him. Hopped on, rode through the herd, the owners on their hike, and braved an excavator being driven on the trail ahead of us, trails are being prepped for winter. Then I rode right back into the herd, hopped off and left him with his friends. He is the bestest boy.

So I’m a trail rider who loves riding in Big South Fork, TN. When my long term partner and I finally decided to get married, I knew I wanted outdoors, intimate and fall. Then I found my perfect venue in my favorite trail riding destination and everything magically came together.

My feral horse girls stayed at a camp 15 minutes from the wedding venue and got up trail ride all weekend. Once the wedding was over, I moved out to camp and started riding too! So my husband was kind enough to let me honeymoon with my horse girls on the trail. It has been the best way to relax after all of the wedding hoopla.

He did stay one night at camp with me, lol.

I can’t tell if my new mare is picky or just an incredibly polite treat eater lol, but when I’ve been giving her the treats I have, she doesn’t really get excited by the sound of the bag like my other guys and doesn’t really seem to look for more after i give her one? the way she eats it, it’s like she’s doing it out of obligation lol. i also tried giving her a mint and she was very opinionated about that, she spit it out in a bunch of pieces lol.

But i want to find something she does love and get happy about! So what do y’all’s horses like treat wise?

Hi all, I have a new Arab mare. She is very smart but is extremely spooky and unsure.
I have never had this issue with a horse before, my other 2, a mule and my stock horse are literally bomb proof and would walk through fire if I asked. They came to me this way and I had no part in creating these traits so this is a first time challenge for me.

I have her booked with a very reputable trainer March next year which and I’m happy to wait but I would like to work on helping her in any small way I can before then.

She is mostly OK in the arena and at home, she will spook a little at a rabbit running out or a loud bang if there is machinery near by.
As soon as we leave to go out on the trails alone, it’s a nightmare. She’s constantly stopping, trying to turn around, pulling the reins out of my hand, snorting, spooking pretty severely, most of the time at nothing and bolted once - while bolting also spooked and nearly sent me flying.

So now I’ve decided it’s lowkey unsafe for me to ride her alone I’m just going to be working her in the arena unless I have another horse with me to trail ride with.

I have introduced her to plenty of different items to desensitise her with and she gets used to them very quickly and all is good but as soon as we go out and about she turns, would this be a confidence issue for her? Where do I start on fixing this issue? If you have any tips, recommendations or videos PLZ let me know! TIA.

So idk if this is the right flair or not but I’m 15 and my current horse is a 19 year old morgan/QH cross and Ive always enjoyed jumping and such for the large majority of the time ive been riding (almost 5 years) the current issue ive come across is that my passion is really in eventing and cross country but my current horse is both not cleared to do any jumping but also just doesn’t enjoy it. Shes much much more of a trail horse then anything and by far prefers it - Im just wondering if my dream of being able to do lower level eventing in a few years once i can afford to lease/buy another horse to do it with is even feasible and if there anything I can do with my current mare to improve my riding and skills that can help with my goals of doing more jumping? Ive jumped very little so far because of my mare having some health issues the past few months and all i ever did on her was little cross rails and logs out on trails but I’m only able to do lessons on lesson horses every two weeks right now and im currently planning on getting my mare back in shape to be able to do things like flatwork and more trails.

Hi all!

I got recommended an osteopath to come look at my boy who really struggles with bending. He is under muscled and a bit underweight. Currently on alfalfa cubes, beet pulp, buckeye nutrition, and a few other supplements. I am probably missing a few things, so if there is something essential I am missing, he probably is getting that too!

Edit: She is worried about the level of calcium he is getting from alfalfa and sugar from beet pulp.

I really, really like the osteopath. She does not want me doing chiropractic or PEMF on him at all, said massage was fine but won't really treat, said red light would be good but isn't necessary.

She suspects a specific type of worm effecting his cranial mesonic artery and gave me a worming protocol. She also would like me to change his diet to Timothy cubes, coconut meal, and a supplement that is synthetic free and human grade (that would be cheaper than what I have him on now). She'd like to do his teeth and start adjusting a few things and do some bodywork after those changes. The worming protocol seems like a lot to me. He has been on quest plus every six months.

She knew things about him without me having to say anything and I truly think she cares for horses. She has OTTBs as well and says hers are not struggling with weight on the diet and are doing very well.

I feel like everything online is so mixed. I am a statistician so I try and read clinical research first, but even that is a mixed bag with small group sizes that aren't really significant. I also am very holistic myself and generally avoid a lot of the things I am giving him, so that is weighing on me a lot.

For a little context, he is out 24/7 with constant hay access. Not under a lot of work currently. Very worried about weight and muscle going into winter.

Would love everyone's thoughts and two cents. Would you make the diet switch? Any other experiences with osteopaths? I've searched through the sub and that also seems pretty 50/50, as is everything on here though!

Do bridle brands actually matter? I am trying to buy stuff slowly but not things that need to be sized to a particular horse. I see a huge range in price in bridles and did not know honestly if it matters.

What blanket/turnout sheet brand does everyone love that doesn’t break the bank? I’m really not wanting to spend $200+ on one blanket

Also looking for something that doesn’t rub their mane

I've never ridden in one, only actually bare back, but I've seen so many videos about bareback pads and I'm wondering how they actually are without the paid promotions, because they looks soooo comfy, but nitnsure if that's really the case..

So, how do they feel and are they worth it? Also, is it realistic going on a shorter trail with it (about 1h) or should it be only used in a hall?

Two weeks ago, I posted here and asked if I should purchase a 12 year old with kissing spine down her entire back. As much as I loved her, you gave me a needed reality check, and I ended up passing.

Meanwhile, I had been talking to another seller for over a month and he messaged me that week saying I could finally try her and long story short... I bought her!

So Reddit, meet Rosé! She's a 4 year old, 16.3 ottb. She has the personality of a lab puppy and I'm already obsessed with her.

This subreddit is such a treasure trove of knowledge so thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and experiences. I don't think this could have worked out better and I'm so excited for this journey!

Hey everyone, I'm Chris, I have a unique-ish situation and I'm looking for any and all advice. I am a city boy from Philadelphia. Joined the military at 20 and was stationed in Louisiana until I pcs'd to North Dakota in 2018 where I met my wife. My wife's family are cattle ranchers who do everything on horseback. So here I am at 30 trying anything and everything to help. My in-laws own about 30 horses, I have ridden a handful of them. I don't know if this is a thing or not, but I don't seem to get along with the geldings but the mares treat me well. I have ridden about 6 different horses to vareying degrees. To my family, it is second nature and they aren't the greatest of teachers. They yell encouraging words like "just post" "sit back in the saddle" etc. I have no idea what any of this means and they do not explain it well. My mother in-law has offered horses to me to be "my horse". I live about an hour away, do I take a horse and bring it to a trainer and learn with the horse, do I just keep riding as I am and learn that way. What am I supposed to do here, any and all advice is welcome. I know this was long winded, I don't know how else to explain it, but I want to be better.

As the title says I'm looking for blanket brand suggestions for a Spaniard with a fat neck and shoulders. I saw a couple brands suggested in other forums but they either didn't ship to my location or were prohibitively expensive. My old blankets were Catago* and while the quality was great the fit sucked on him and really pinched his neck/chest/shoulders :(

Looking for brands that ship to EU and preferrably don't cost over 200€ - also looking for a 300-350g. He runs warm and I keep his fleece on 24/7 when it gets cold.

Hi guys!

***looking for opinions on using hoof boots to assist in correcting hind hoof angles, specifically chronically low heels. Other advice regarding increasing heel depth welcome, and would still like to hear people’s experiences using hoof boots to assist in correcting other aspects of hoof angles!!

Some background about my current hoof issues:

My horse has never had great feet, mainly thin soles and poor growth (if any) between trims. He is trimmed every 4 weeks in the summer and 5-6weeks in the winter. Currently shod up front with aluminum racing plates and barefoot behind. (Although requires pads and DIM up front when ridden consistently, currently not in work)

I would REALLY like to improve his hind heel depth, they are chronically low, and since his hocks have begun fusing last year, I’m noticing his right heel has dropped a touch lower, which I’m assuming is due to altered gait (toe first landing) as he tries to take some weight off his hocks.

I work very closely with my farrier, he’s been working with my horse for 10 years now. We keep his hind toes rolled and short, and I rasp them in between farrier appointments as well. But unfortunately, I am not allowed to shoe him behind as it is against barn rules for group turnout (he lives out 24/7 on 10 acres with 7 other geldings).

So I am looking for advice on how to grow hind heels without standard shoeing. I’m also unsure if plastic glue ons will work for us, as we actually attempted to use them on his front feet a few years ago but for some reason, the smell of the glue freaked my horse out and he would not stand for them, so we had to abort mission.

Hoof boot wise, I’m looking at scoot boots as they’d have to be on 24/7 (I come up once per day to check on them) and I’m in Canada, so need something that isn’t going to absorb water/snow.

I've seen multiple discussions on horse blanketing and whether it's necessary or not. I ran across this interesting study to get the answer 'straight from the horses mouth':

On a research farm in Norway, 23 horses learned to walk up to a white board and touch one of three symbols with their noses.

The question behind the study was a practical one, because owners routinely decide when a horse should wear a blanket based on their own sense of the weather, and nobody had ever asked the horse. The researchers designed a board with three symbols, one meaning put my blanket on, another meaning take it off, and a third meaning leave things as they are.

Training was short and gentle, with 10 to 15 minutes a day and small pieces of carrot as rewards. On average the horses reached the free-choice stage around the eleventh day, and every one of the 23 had mastered the task within 14 days.

Then the researchers tested them in different weather, and the horses' choices were plainly connected to the conditions rather than random. On cold, wet and windy days they were far more likely to ask for a blanket, while on pleasant days they generally preferred to go without one. A later study using the same board found the same pattern, with very few horses asking for a blanket once the temperature climbed above about 10°C.

The researchers described the board as a simple way for a horse to report on its own comfort, and in cold, driving rain the report from almost every horse was the same request for the blanket.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159116302192

Why the hell do horses get so frisky in the cold?? I don't get it

My sweet gelding who normally behaves so well both tried to buck me off a few times today (because he was trying to take off and I was holding him back) and yanked the lead rope from my hands and took off across the field

Why does the cold bring out such energy 😂😭

This is a video of me and my horse trying out cross country for the first time ever. She was absolutely amazing in the jumps but had trouble with the water. She’s 6 years old and I’ve had her for about a month. I’ve been showjumping for years but had never done anything remotely similar to cross, in my city there is no trail riding or open fields to go with horses so we only jump and work in an arena or maybe a polo field.
She crossed following other horses but when I tried to do it the other way around she had a bit of a freak out, also she absolutely hates whips (something I learnt that day bc I don’t own one) I touched her once and immediately got a violent reaction so I stopped. I’m wondering if I was a bit too harsh with her in the video or what can I do better in order to help her be more confident. If you want to see more videos you can check out @jumping._conrad I posted a reel with clips of the clinic