After competing in dressage for years, one statement I’ve heard occasionally- especially in the midwest- is that dressage is unnatural for horses. Proponents of this view feel that the way in which horses are “forced” to move during a dressage competition are not natural, and that such movements would never be performed by a…
The equestrian world has a countless amount of its own specific language, one of the most common confusing statements is “tacking up” and “untacking”. This phrase, common jargon of horse people and used across essentially all disciplines of riding, can be especially confusing. People who work around horses often have a bad habit of using…
Although you can easily spend thousands of dollars on authentic renaissance costume tack for you and your horse, it’s easy to make your own horse costume by upcycling tack you already have and making a few extra costume pieces using easy to find materials and basic sewing supplies. In this article, I’ll be walking…
One common question for new horse owners is how to know if your horse’s shoes fit correctly – or, alternately, sometimes people ask “what size shoes”their horse might need. These questions might raise eyebrows to experienced horse people, but for those new to the world of horsemanship they make lots of sense: most things we…
When you are considering buying your first horse it is very important to ask a lot of questions, especially if it is your first time buying a horse or you are buying a horse for a beginner, a kid, or a mature rider who is returning to riding as an adult. Questions you should ask…
Tail rubbing can be particularly irritating both to a horse and its owner! Because horses can’t reach back and scratch a spot that feels itchy, areas of the body that they can’t reach with their mouth they will typically rub against objects like trees, stall walls, or fence posts in order to relieve their itching.…
Long luxurious horse tails are a thing of envy! When I first started showing horses I was smitten by the luxurious and bright white tails I saw in the show ring. I was quickly informed that many of these tails are actually made by attaching false hair, manufactured from the tails of horses slaughtered overseas.…
keeping your horses water clean naturally can be a challenge – many horses love to slosh around in an open trough with both face and hooves, and even when they aren’t dirtying their water through play it’s common to find your trough filled with dropped food, insects, and on occasionally horrifying occasions in the heat…
How do you know if it’s safe to turn your horse out in the snow? Horses are, by and large, incredibly well-suited to snowy conditions. Convex hooves and thick winter coats make most horses more comfortable in snowy conditions than in high humidity heat. That said, there are still some wintry conditions which are unsafe…
Nothing makes a horse and rider look smarter than a tidy, well-groomed turnout and a bright white fleece saddle pad under your saddle. Fleece saddle pads are popular, affordable, and in some competitive disciplines are considered the “correct” tack for showing. The Problem: Clumped Fleece The problem with fleece saddle pads is that they quickly…
