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…
How to Tell if your Horse’s Shoes Fit Correctly
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…
Natural Tips for Keeping Horse Troughs Clean
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…
Winter Horse Turnout in Snow or Ice Covered Pastures
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…
How to Wash, Clean, and Rehab Old Fleece Saddle Pads
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…
Caring for a Horse’s Double Mane – Tips for Horse Hair Management and Growth
First, What the heck even is a double mane?! A double mane refers to a style of horse mane. Typically, horse’s manes – the hair growing from the crest of the neck – sweep to one side or the other of the horse’s neck. The mane may naturally go to the right or to the…
Tips for Washing Horse Blankets in Home Washing Machines
Washing horse blankets, sheets, and coolers can be hard on both the washer and the horse blankets. Commercial blanket washing services are available but are usually pricey, and laundromats may not be an option if there are staff on site that see you come in with horse blankets (horse blankets are explicitly banned at many…
Stabling Horses: Shared Stalls and Communal Herd Stabling
American horse owners generally avoid pasturing horses alone, but always stable horses one-per-stall. Why do we stall horse separately and is it possible that alternative stabling might be cheaper, easier, and healthier for many horses? Read on to learn more. Do Horses Need Their Own Separate Stalls? Short Answer: In traditionally built barns, Yes.…
How To Braid a Horse Mane with Unique Four Plait Braids
A four strand braid is a simple braiding style- useful for horse hair, human manes and tails, and the occasional friendship bracelet. It adds a bit of an extra challenge in the braiding process that pays off in a lot of extra “wows” on the finished result! How To Braid a Mane in Four…
Winter 2006 – Horse Training Video Stills
Video stills from an early training session of a 5 year old horse.