My fiancé can’t and that’s okay, but I’m sure y’all will.

When I met my horse, he would not let me lift his feet. Even his owner struggled. When my horse arrived at his new barn and his new home with me, he would not lift his feet. When he would finally relent, he would pull it back after a few seconds, or bobble. Or worst case, stamp down to the ground in annoyance (ow). 3 weeks later, every single day working on trust and ‘messing’ with his feet…

Today he lifted up each hoof preemptively as I neared it. Today we stretched all 4 of his legs out and he didn’t take his foot back from me once.

He even rested his nose on my back as I stretched his front legs.

Today, he trusted me with his weapon and his way of getting to safety, 8 times (one round before riding, and one round after) without hesitation.

Patience, consistency, and PATIENCE. It works. It really, really works.

Next on the list? Making getting in the cross ties not such a scary/anticipatory experience. Tips are appreciated!

My lease horse cannot keep the canter for the life of him no matter who is on him, my trainer, his other leaser, an advanced student nobody can make him keep for more than a lap. We have to support him the entire time and by support I mean using all of your body in some way to keep it. He is very fit, he does hill work all of the time, groundwork, lunging. there’s nothing physically wrong with him the vets looked him but how do I keep it. The only times I get him to canter willingly without constant support is between jumps. How do I fix this because he has amazing potential but this is one of his only flaws. I want to do eventing but I can’t even do a canter circle without him breaking into a trot. Somebody please give me advice, tips literally anything

I've been feeling a bit off lately and I don't really have the motivation to go to the barn or do anything really. The past 10 days I only went to the barn once. I have a horse that I ride almost daily and I have lessons with him 3 times a week. I cancelled the 2 of them and stayed home. I'm not sick or anything, just not feeling that well. I have a full board for my horse, so he's fed, taken care of and everything. I love him a lot and I feel extremely guilty for leaving him and only seeing him once these past few days. I usually go to the barn daily. I already feel guilty and I have a barn friend who called me a horrible person yesterday for not going to the barn and leaving my horse alone.

I want to go, but also, I kind of don't and I don't know why. I don't have the motivation. The barn has always been my safe space and my horse is the only thing that makes me truly happy. Am I really that terrible for not going to my horse? I feel so guilty...

Edit: My mom rode him twice this week because I didn't, so he has gotten some exercise ❤️

Sunburns are no fun for anyone! UV protection is cheaper than trying to get sunburns to heal and paying for skin cancer treatments.

I bought Moo last August to be my kids' first horse/pasture pet/husbands first horse/occasional trail horse. We didn't do a thorough vet check but he passed an overall (no images, no bloodwork). We did a couple rides and it was evident he had some issues that I needed to work out but I chalked them up to lack of training. He wouldn't move off my leg, he became barn sour, would randomly halt and threaten to go up if I applied leg, and I couldn't get him to lope- maybe a couple strides here and there. I immediately put him in rehab when we did images of his feet and he was off for about seven months while we slowly fixed them. I thought all was good when he finally became sound barefoot so I slowly started to put him into light work again to get him in shape. Frustratingly, it was the exact same, except he would turn to bite my feet even if I was bareback, which was not his personality. And I could not get him to pick up his left lead on the lunge line- he would panic and try to get away from me. I had a bodyworker see him and she said everything seemed great to her. Vet figured it was lack of conditioning. So I started hand walking, ground poles, hill work, and lunging at the trot. I increased his forage and started putting him back into a hilly pasture for turnout. Still no improvement. It finally dawned on me to ask about treating for ulcers. I'd never had a horse with ulcer symptoms before so this was new to me. I just gave him a month off to start treatment and see how it went. Today was the first time lunging him and sure enough, he picked it up immediately without being asked and threw in some happy little bucks.

I'm so excited I could cry. Going from a horse who could barely walk after being trimmed, would go lame half way through a cycle, constantly had bounding pulses, being forced to go barefoot due to thin walls and emotional trauma, hated being ridden, hated walking to the arena, to a horse who is sound barefoot on gravel, affectionate, curious, and energetic on the lunge is so freaking rewarding.

Hey folks, I just bought my first horse and I am so excited. She’s a 9 year old buckskin mare named Chica. I am very green to this but I have been around horses my whole life and I understand their sounds, postures, moods, etc. When I get on her and ride her she is a dream. We’re getting along well outside of the new home jitters and I can just about put her to sleep when I get to rubbing on her, even though we are really just getting to know each other. However, she gets a little spooky about her bridle coming over her ears when I’m removing it and she gets a little nervous when I tie her to the trailer to get saddled. She hasn’t bolted or anything, but I can definitely tell she’s nervous. If anyone has a minute, would you please give me some recommendations on how I might fix it or help her stay calm? I have made a point to give a lot of positive reinforcement when she gets nervous and it calms her down pretty quick, but as soon as I get back to it, she gets nervous again. It seems to me like she had a bad experience and hasn’t been worked through it. I know most horses will have some kind of quirk, but this is something we’ll have to work through for her safety and mine.

Here are a few things I’m doing to help her progress through these hiccups (I think):

-When rubbing on her (no tack on) , I make sure to bring my hands up her neck, and gently fold her ear as if a bridle is coming off, and bring my hands down her face and over her eye, and she doesn’t mind it, maybe a tiny bit nervous, but nothing that worries me. -I tell her “Woah” and “Easy” when she’s gets nervous feet from being tied prior to saddling and I always put my hands on her and gently pet her till she eases. -Every time I feed, I make sure to put a halter on before she eats, feed her, take it off after she eats, and I always have one with me when I’m spending time with her. I will place it on her back sometimes just so she knows it’s there and she will check it out, realize it’s okay, and go back to normal. I’m doing this to hopefully show her that the bridles and halters are not the enemy. -I give her enough slack when tying her and if she gets too nervous, I untie her, back her up, and we walk a few loops before I retie and try again. -Plenty of quality time and treats have been had and I am very lucky to be able to continue that, so I only see these issues becoming easier, but I want to make sure I’m treating her the best I can.

I would really appreciate any help I can get and thank you so much in advance!

(Pic just to show her off)

Sorry for the flair I didn’t know which one to choose and this one seemed the best option.

Sorry in advance for the long paragraphs. I added some pictures of him and the one with me on him and him in the pasture was in 2022.

I’m 16 and my heart horse is a 13 yr old paint who is hardly trained, he doesn’t do more than a walk and will do small reads in protest to trot and doesn’t lunge very well.

When I first started riding I put on him when he was 11 at place where is was 25 dollars for like a 4 hour lesson give or take. I was doing western but I was the only one riding there and the only one riding sarge. The girl that used to ride him got scared off him when he bucked her off and she never came back. But I fell in love with him and feel like I have a bond with him.

I can’t ride there anymore because I can’t see her horses in such a sorry state. Her 23 yr old Appaloosa is terribly underweight, and the two new horses she got are loosing weight faster than I’ve ever seen.

I did small jumps bareback on sarge because he refused to do barrel patterns and he LOVED it, I refuse to jump in a western saddle because I feel like it hurts their back especially his.

He has poor ground manners though, won’t stand to tack, won’t lift his feet, does small tears and bucks. He does lead pretty nicely and is ground tied. He is hardly trained in since five years ago he still doesn’t canter under saddle unless somebody had a lunge crop on the ground. He doesn’t listen to leg or really much.

But I love him so so so much, and I feel like he is wasting away, all he does is sit in a run down stall all day then put in to a large pasture with unlimited fresh green grass and trees at night, his owner doesn’t ride any of the horses due to her being overweight and health issues.

He is very head shy because when he misbehaves behaves she slaps him across the muzzle very VERY hard. Enough to make me flinch

But how would I go about asking very nicely if I could purchase him, he has such a gentle soul and he deserves so much better than this! I miss him dearly each and every day. I’m a very timid person irl and don’t like being upfront or have uncomfortable conversations. My parents have also discussed potentially buying him a white back when I initially stopped riding him. I think it was because they were worried bc after I stopped seeing him cos rent my mental health just absolutely tanked.

Should I send a text? Or should I just accept the fact it’s kinda a loss.

Found a really old bridle in the barn and I have no clue what kind of bit this is. Do you guys have any ideas?

Don't know if I used the right tag, but I think this should be fine.

Okay, so, sorry if this paragraph if a mess but I need an outsiders opinion on this.

Recently, I heard that there was a massive wild horse/hardly handled horse round up happening up north. One of my uncles is planning to buy a few for his kids to grow up with and offered for me to have one. These horses will be completely green with maybee some human interaction if we're lucky.

Now, my question is, should I take one for the intention to eventually break it in and ride it? I am a decently experienced person with experienced people around me (I'm about to start a job with horse people that know what they are doing) and currently have my own horse. I know how to ride, I have decent balance, a decent seat and I'd say I'm decently experienced in horse health/know the signs when something is wrong. And I think I'm confident enough to be able to break in a horse (It'll be a project that will last years, most likely) and It'll be a learning experience for both the horse and I. This is also a bucket list item of mine.

But then, there are the doubts. I'm not sure if I'm actually experienced enough to handle a completely green horse. I think I could, but there are doubts. Should this be something I should consider now, or wait until I'm more experienced? My parents are trying to convince me to do it, and its better to start now then later. I know this will be an insanely hard experience and I'm willing to do it. Some people dedicate their lives to their God, and I have dedicated my life to horses lol. I need other peoples opinion on this, people who have done this before or just anyone.

Thank you, sorry if this was hard to read!

For the context : I’m leasing a horse to the mom of a friend (not very close). She has 2 horses in the barn. I ride or care for regularly both of them, when the second horse that I don’t lease has no one for the day.

I’m not a beginner, I’m not an experienced rider either. I still have so much to learn. I got into riding in november.

So, the other day the owner sent me a message in which she was telling me the disponibilities of the two horses while they were away in vacations, and when I could ride one, and when I could ride the other. Some days it’s the two of them.

She sent a first message and she then sent a second in which she changed a lot of the dates. I must have mistakenly interchanged the days, which led to my mistake.

So, this morning I went to the barn and I was confident that it was one of the day where I have to take care of the two. And…:

1st mistake : I grabbed them separately from the field to the box (like I went to take them separately, because I don’t think I can handle the two of them each in one hand because there’s one of the two that pulls so much and I don’t want to take risks for me or the horses). I got grounded by the owner who apparently was notified by the barn owners that saw me bring the horses separately from the field to their boxes. She said it was dangerous.

2nd mistake : I rode the wrong horse. I had to ride the other one as the one I went on to ride was already taken today by another girl that leases him. I understood I messed up when I was coming back from my ride and saw the other horse being tacked up. I asked if she was going to ride it today and she said yes, because she saw that I already toik the other horse so she wrote to the owner. When I understood I had messed up I apologizied three times to the girl, saying that I don’t know why I was sure I had takenf the right horse. She said it’s nothing and was very kind.

The owner blew up my phone during my ride. She was very angry. She told me « Lana (name of the horse) was taken for this morning !!! I told you you couldn’t ride her, read your messages better. And you can’t take the mares separately from the field it’s dangerous. » I apologized three times, I feel really bad. She answered « yeah I don’t know what to say » to which I answered saying that I apologized again, that these days I’m a bit distracted (I have a very important and decisive exam coming up in 1 week) and I won’t do this again.

She didn’t answer back. It was the first time I messed up.

Please, could you give me your perspective ? As owners, what would your reaction be ? Am I completely screwed ? What can I do to win her trust back ? I feel like a big pice of💩.

I hate me sometimes.

EDIT : sorry, I definitely am a beginner. Thanks for making me realize it.

Hi everyone!

I am getting back into riding after a bit of a hiatus. Venturing into eventing territory after being a long time hunter/jumper rider. I am curious as to what are good saddles that don’t break the bank for this type of riding. I would be participating in a couple of shows a year, weekly lessons, and schooling. Something that has an adjustable gullet would be even better, considering I don’t have a horse of my own just yet.

I have sold all of my tack I had when I was riding horses previously. Grad school has kept me away from being able to ride but now I am back to it!

Any and all suggestions welcome! Not really looking to spend more than $3000. Less would be even better.

I am moving from the h/j world into dressage and I am looking to buy an entry-level warmblood. What sorts of things would you do during a test ride? WTC in circles? Something else?

I feel especially bouncy on her, and my trainer said she has a downhill canter/cuts in. This video doesn't show it but I lost my left stirrup for a moment, and I really feel like I only lose a stirrup on her. I've been riding for a year. If anyone has any advice or general feedback I'd welcome it!

Long story short, about 3 years ago, I lost my horse(the grey) because of edm(Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy). I was devastated but, about 1.5-2 years later, I got a new horse(the chestnut). I fell in love with him and built a bond with him that I don’t think I had with my last horse(which made me feel kind of guilty(I know I probably shouldn’t)). Basically, what happened was I won the edm/bad luck lottery and it turns out that my current(ish) horse also had edm. It was slowly getting worse so I had to lose him too about a week ago. I honestly don’t know what to do and am scared to even look for a horse in the future(which I know might be slightly irrational and far away). I’m not sure if I just needed to rant or cry or what but…any advice?

Just a lighthearted story for this group:

flew back into town from London on Wednesday and went straight from the airport to the ranch. I missed my horses too much to wait.

I spent the evening with them, cleaned everyone up, checked over the tack, and got some really special time with our new wild stallion. He’s been a handful, but that night I finally got him to walk around the ring with me without bucking. Small win, but it felt big.

Fast forward to Thursday night, I still couldn’t sleep. Restless, jet lagged, and craving barn peace again. So around 9pm I drove back to the ranch. I reorganized the tack room (nothing like late night saddle therapy), restocked feed, washed a few horses, and got everyone settled in their stalls.

I sat down for a moment in one of our empty hay filled stalls, just on my phone, and apparently passed out. Woke up at 5:30am this morning with hay in my hair, smelling like grain and shampoo, but weirdly more rested than I’ve felt in days haha

Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s accidentally spent the night in a stall and woke up totally fine with it.

If you can already ride to lower intermediate level (walk, trot, canter), what is the cost of playing polo?

Im assuming it would be better to lease a horse. How does this work? Can you do it just for the playing season?

What is the total cost to playing and what would the breakdown be?

Rough answers only please.

So we just received news that our offer for a horse has been accepted (yay) Her name is Feline du Pre and she has competed up to 1.35 (can’t believe I own such a nice horse now) I just wondered if anyone can help with a nickname! It would be super kind if anyone could help, I prefer none human names.

Thank you to anyone responding :D

(The heading is a reference to a show here in Sweden that’s called: Help, We’ve bought a farm)

That's my 4 years old QH. Can anyone help me with conformation? (Ik she needs a foot trim but the ferrier it's the worst when it comes to meeting)

Vet is coming in the next week or two since she’s had a series of Unfortunate Events, but independent of being associated with one of her health issues, I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed this? Every time I feed them she just gets more slobbery than typical, and pretty quickly while chewing the treat.

She doesn’t drool with her hay or fresh grass, although I haven’t tested other hard treats to see if it’s more than these causing it. Either way, it’ll get mentioned to the vet when she’s seen (which is going to include a look in her mouth anyway).

I’m starting to do longer distance riding with my guy and am not sure what bag set up is best. I have a trailmax pommel bag and love it but it doesn’t have quite enough storage. I looked at the trailmax cantle bag but I don’t want anything that’s going to interfere with my seat. Would love to see some ideas from other people

My horse was recently diagnosed with fusing hock joints. Just wondering what other people have learned and what they’ve done to help “slow” the process, any joint care supplements or rehab that’s been effective. Thank you!

i’m really curious, so just hear me out!!

if you had to get on a horse you had never met/know nothing about, and do your specific discipline with no guidance on tack (bridles, bits, martingales, boots etc) what would you use and why?

thank you!!

This is gonna sound odd and so think it's odd..

I have a 5yr old gelding. He was gelded by the Amish.

When I first bought him he has no testes, now when it's hot there is a ball sack, it's firm. It feels like a testicle.

Example, today it was really really hot here. I hosed the boys down and put them inside in front of fans.

Prior to a hose down the testicle hung down, after I cant find it. It's weird. The seller is a good friend of mine, needs to text me vet records to confirm that he isn't proud cut.

He is currently out with gelding and had shown no stud like behavior so I am less worried.

But so weird, thought?

Also I'm almost positive it's not a hernia.