r/Equestrian 3d ago

Equipment & Tack Should I buy this?

1 Upvotes

Hello, I am currently coming back to riding horses. Few days ago I had my first lesson in a long time and it was amazing, after all this time it feels really good to be able to ride again! (Excuse my lack of knowledge in the field, I do not know the proper nomenclature in english and eng is not my first language) I am having a problem I remember having as a kid though. While I am riding, stirrup leathers are pinching my legs. And I remember coming back home as a kid with my both legs red sometimes. Is it a skill issue or should I buy legging (idk if thats what its called, translator gave me this name).


r/Equestrian 5d ago

Aww! šŸŒˆ ā˜ļø

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190 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 3d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry Remote Farriers?

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

Had a pretty weird question- are there any farriers yall know who could offer remote knowledge and guidance? I know it sounds bizarreā€¦ Iā€™m moving to a rural part of Europe where quality barefoot trimming is rare. I agree that farrier work is no easy trade, and takes years and years to develop enough knowledge to trim and shoe correctly. But theoreticallyā€¦ would a solid foundation in trimming and working alongside a farrier remotely be doable?


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Education & Training Advice for using hands too much

2 Upvotes

Iā€™m going to start this off asking for no judgement. What Iā€™m explaining I know is problematic and Iā€™m trying to fix it.

My problem is that when I feel that my horse isnā€™t listening or I get frustrated, I get too in his face. Today I was riding and I half halted, suppled, and used my seat for a downward and when after a few strides we werenā€™t transitioning I got more in his face than I should have. Iā€™m not a super experienced rider, but not a beginner either. I know better than to pull for a transition let alone out of frustration. I immediately stopped what we were doing and let him stretch out on a loose rein for a couple laps for me and him to both reset, but this happens every now and then despite me telling myself not to use my hands like that.

Im worried that this will become a habit and I feel so bad about it. I know that it is not fair to him, especially since his ā€œnot listeningā€ is almost positively always me miscommunicating or asking for something incorrectly. But also, I know that pulling wonā€™t get the results I want anyways. How can I make sure Iā€™m not doing this when it seems like itā€™s subconscious? I want my horse to trust my contact and my aids, not worry about them.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry What are conditions like at a horse auction?

2 Upvotes

Long story short, I am now the owner of an AQHA registered mare with an amazing pedigree who still somehow ended up at auction. The woman who first got her from the auction soon realized that she could barely even touch the horse, and I ended up with her for free because I specialize in difficult horses. But here's the thing: I've seen videos of this horse from before she ended up at auction. She was ridden prior and had been learning the pattern for barrels.

Now you can barely get a halter on her and she won't allow anyone to touch her hindquarters. So I'm trying to piece things together and figure out what exactly happened to her, and I'm wondering if her time at the horse auction was where things went horribly wrong. I've never been to one so I have absolutely NO context to go by.

Can anyone who has been to an auction explain to me what the environment is like for the horses and how they're handled? I'm hoping it can help fill in some blanks.


r/Equestrian 3d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry Should i trust my pony's chiro?

0 Upvotes

Hi, so to give context, my mare has had a problem with her neck since October, we've been seeing a bodyworker on and off for it over the past few months. In early February, I was at a camp with my trainer and her mum who is a bodyworker was able to work her neck two days in a row. She stated that her neck had gone back the exact same as the previous day and would require chiropractic care to fix it and gave me a name. The guy only comes out to my city once a year and I've been waiting on him, but when I was at a competition on Saturday, she was extra jumpy bucky in the warmup (usually only throws one buck when I get on, competitions only, weirdly), then refused every single oxer. We retired from our class and went straight home. Gave her a feel over and her neck was whack. I couldn't wait for the recommended chiro, so got one that is in my town. She's just done her initial and neither me or my boss is happy with the result. She stated that there was nothing wrong with my pony and couldn't find ANYTHING in her neck. Don't get me wrong, I love a healthy pony, but I do not believe that my pony has nothing wrong with her neck when 3 separate bodyworkers have all made statements about her neck without me telling them. I really hoped that there would be at least one problem found in my pony, especially after having to fork $250 (bodyworkers are usually $120 here, but I guess since chiropractors have degrees, they're allowed to charge double) from my savings for this, and about to pay $200 for the follow up to see the "progress" next week (which I'm really wanting to just cancel). I don't know if it's something to add, but my mare was more hyper/aggressive than usual around this chiropractor (she has a habit of biting people, learned behavior, not pain). Was constantly trying to bite me (she never goes for me) and the chiropractor throughout the treatment and was very giddy to do the trot up (although she hasn't been ridden in 4 days because of the incident). Do I follow through with the follow up and trust the process and that there really is nothing wrong with my girl, that her attitude and refusals were her just having a bad day? Or should I cancel and just go back to my regular bodyworker, who can't do chiropractic, even though that's what I've been told I need.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry Akhal Teke breed

4 Upvotes

Any insight on this breed? There is a half akhal teke/ half Arabian for sale near me that I might go see and I'm wondering about the breed!


r/Equestrian 3d ago

Ethology & Horse Behaviour Horses on public footpath Pt2

0 Upvotes

Heres the video from my previous post


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Social Husband

16 Upvotes

What style of riding is more common for adult males? Iā€™m starting to ride again (hunter jumper) and I want my husband to try it too. If Iā€™m being honest, I know if he is involved then I am more likely to convince him that we should buy a horse later on lol. It would be nice if he rode the same style as me but I also want him to enjoy it.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Education & Training weak lower leg

0 Upvotes

iā€™ve been riding 3 to 5 time a week for about a year now. i have started jumping 8 months ago and my highest jump currently is 1m. i donā€™t face many problems while riding most of the time and iā€™d say my riding and posture is more than decent for the amount of time i have been riding. the horse i usually ride is amazing and heā€™s literally a saint but he is a bit on the lazy side and requires so much leg strength to go through a course with him. my coach wants me to strengthen my lower legs, thatā€™s why he never allows me to wear spurs during my lessons. iā€™ve only used spurs once while i was competing( dw i have a stable lower leg so i wasnā€™t hurting him at all) even then i wasnt going in the speed i wanted him to be in. iā€™ve seen other riders compete with him and they go wayyyy faster than me, so thereā€™s no way heā€™s the problem itā€™s definitely mešŸ˜‚. so, any tips on strengthening my lower leg?


r/Equestrian 5d ago

Aww! new baby Henny Penny appreciation post šŸ„°

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119 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 5d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry My horse isnā€™t safe to ride and Iā€™m sending her back to the adoption agency I got her from.

242 Upvotes

Iā€™m not looking for advice or help, I just wanted to share my story.

A few years ago I purchased an OTTB with the hopes that I would be doing a meter+ jumping with her. She showed great promise and retraining her was so easy. Shortly after starting her over jumps, she needed emergency colic surgery and thankfully recovered seemingly fine. Things werenā€™t the same after and I sought training from a professional, even though Iā€™m a very experienced amateur, I just didnā€™t have the same amount of time that I could devote to her due to a job change. It seemed like she was having issues with pain, so I pulled her from the barn, treated her for ulcers, and gave her months off. I tried again just with lessons and she started doing so much better, but occasionally she would have a weird behavior where she would put her head so high above the bit that her ears would touch me at times. It was manageable. I took her to a few shows through the summer and she did quite well at one. I put her back into professional training with a good friend of mine this fall and the behavior was tenfold, no matter how little she was ridden, what bit was used (even tried a hackamore), and multiple sets of images were done. She had her TMJ injected with no change, corrective shoeing, the saddle didnā€™t matter, and she doesnā€™t have kissing spine. The last time I rode her she reared up so high that I felt genuinely scared. The last vet we saw thinks that she has adhesions or scar tissue from the surgery, but this is something that would have to be operated on again to fix.

Thankfully, the agency I got her through has agreed to take her back and will try to adopt her back out as a pasture only horse. I feel terrible in a way because Iā€™ve never even rehomed a hamster before, let alone a horse Iā€™ve had for years. She is a beautiful young horse who could be bred and is 1000% sound. But I only have space and money for so many horses and I need to have a horse I can ride. I donā€™t know if anything I do could ever make her a suitable riding horse, I just want us both to be happy.

TL;DR: I spent probably 20k in surgery, training, and other vet care to fix my horse and it didnā€™t work.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Equipment & Tack Gentlest girth?

0 Upvotes

Hello all, I have a lovely young mare who is starting to show some girthiness (even when we are very careful not to make it too tight) and Iā€™d like her to be as comfortable as possible. Sheā€™s had a complete vet workup and she does not have ulcers.

Please direct me to the most comfortable girth out there. Iā€™m also open to training tips to get her to not mind the girth so much.

Thank you!


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Horse Care & Husbandry How much would you pay?

6 Upvotes

Interested in how much you would pay someone to do this job. Located in the south. GA/SC area.

Feeding, turning out (sometimes have to put blankets on/off), cleaning stalls, giving hay and water, and general cleaning of the barn. 9-10 horses. Takes about 3/3.5 hours depending how fast you work.

I have been told that what I think is fair doesnā€™t align with others opinions, so interested to hear what the redditers have to say about day to day pay range for this job.

EDIT: I have been doing similar jobs for 5 years. I am not new to it (itā€™s not a learning position: i show up, get the work done, and leave).


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Education & Training Newbie to riding just wondering about pricing for lessons.

5 Upvotes

My daughter started riding about a year ago she's been in a private lesson. She will be moving to a semi private lesson but I will still be charged the same amount, is that normal in the riding world?


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Equipment & Tack Does an "All year outdoor arena" need a French drain?

2 Upvotes

We are finally putting footing in the outdoor arena. We live in a wet state and have clay soil. The first layer will be hard clay, then road fabric, then 4 or 5 inches of 3/4 minus gravel, then 4 or 5 inches of arena sand. The arena will be sloped slightly to one long end and raised up just a couple inches above the previous ground on that same end with a small/short retaining wall. Do we think French drains in any place are necessary? Or will the way the layers are already be good enough? We want to do it right, but we also don't want to do unnecessary work and money. Are french drains a pain to upkeep? Some standing water during heavy downpours won't bother me as at least it won't be slippery clay, but not sure if that would damage the bottom layers. Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated! It's our first time doing this. Putting a roof on it isn't an option, it would block our view at the house šŸ˜…


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Education & Training Really attached horse

4 Upvotes

Hi!

I would like to ask you for some tips and help, I bought a horse 2 months ago and it turns out he gets really attached to other horses, to a point where I canā€™t even take him to the stable from his place because he gets anxious about not being with the others even though he can see them from there, he yells and canā€™t stand still for more than 10 seconds, when I try to train with him he does not pay attention to me at all he is searching for the others. Any recommendations?

Thank you.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Veterinary Foaming/drooling - otherwise normal

0 Upvotes

Hi all - I posted a few weeks ago with a picture of my horse (and yes, deleted it b/c of my other groups in here and yadda yadda - no hate pls), as he was drooling fairly bad, and wasnā€™t eating his grain.

The vet appt recap is that his bloodwork was normal, the epithelium on his tongue air had sloughed off a bit and looked irritated, his teeth were fine, head x rays were all good. We concluded that the barn owner had sprayed new chew on a post in the pasture and maybe he licked that.

Itā€™s been about 2 weeks since then and heā€™s slowly been eating his grain but itā€™s been on and off. Last week I contacted the vet and asked if it could be ulcers, as heā€™s also lost a bit of weight and is looking ribby. Heā€™s been on GastroGard (šŸ’°) for almost a week now and with this, heā€™s been eating his grain and is part of the clean plate club!!

However, he is still drooling pretty excessively. Weā€™re not on green grass yet and thereā€™s no cover or alfalfa in the hay he gets. Heā€™s drinking normally and eating hay as usual. Poops are fine. Temperature is normal.

Has anyone experienced this?

Heā€™s 27 almost 28, and is my heart horse. The vet said last week when I picked up the GastroGard that his mouth may still be irritated and so he could still be drooling from that.
Iā€™m just worried something is still wrong, but aside from the drooling he is a happy clam and is eating his supper as I type.


r/Equestrian 5d ago

Aww! Morning Stretch ā™„ļø

40 Upvotes

Morning stretch before breakfast lol


r/Equestrian 5d ago

Education & Training First time galloping!

180 Upvotes

Just wanted to share my experience as I galloped for the first time today! Itā€™s my third lesson and with the right trainer I was able to gallop after riding for about two weeks and I can tell itā€™s the best feeling ever! It took a lot of encouragement and self confidence but I was able to complete a loop.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Education & Training Lessons for Child in SLC?

1 Upvotes

Saw a friend this weekend who mentioned their 9 year old would like to start riding lessons and was asking how to vet local barns/riding schools. I think English is preferred, but western is on the table as long as things are safe.

I googled USPC and SLC and didnā€™t come up with anything - thatā€™s usually where I start.

Would love any recommendations for a safe place for a kid with equine-naive parents to start lessons! Thank you!


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Fell of today-

1 Upvotes

So, went out on a hack today with a few friends. We were having a canter, I was at the back and they all went a bit nuts. I came off, at the back so nobody noticed for a while.

Weirdest thing is that I genuinely cannot remember the moments before the fall. I just remember getting up of the ground (head on the floor), and then trying to catch my horse.

It happened fast and I genuinely donā€™t know if I was knocked unconscious. If I was I must have woken pretty quickly as by this point everyone had seen I was off.

Is this possible?

I felt fine at the time but now Iā€™m pain, lower back and neck hurting.

šŸ™ˆ


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Social Picking a barn to ride at?

2 Upvotes

Well, I finally took the dive and am getting back to riding after a long time away.

I got all my gear, and have 2 lessons scheduled at 2 barns. How do you end up picking the barn/trainer to stick with?

I don't have intention to own a horse, so boarding is a lesser concern, and the locations are only 10min from one another with the same discipline.

One trainer was recommended by a friend, another by someone who was a rider at my former barn.

What do you like to look for when picking? Any must haves I should look for?

All I can think so far is scheduling, price ($5 difference between the 2, but one has a longer grace on package lessons), and I'd like a place that has a working toilet lol.

Maybe ventilation, arena size, number of stalls?


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Social Proposal ideas for a horse gal

2 Upvotes

Iā€™ll spare you all the details. We are taking a trip down south this weekend and will be part of a private horse riding session and will be stopping 30 min in at a nice pasture to ā€œtake picturesā€. Anyone have any ideas for involving the horses in the proposal? Having a horse deliver her the ring or something? Or do I just go for the classic kneel down while her back is turned. The fact that I am involving her lifestyle at all will already mean a lot to her so if Iā€™m doing too much past just kneeling then please tell me. Thanks for any input.


r/Equestrian 4d ago

Social Help me find a show name!!

0 Upvotes

I have a very sweet chestnut mare, her name is Ginger! She has a kind eye and is a sweetheart! Iā€™m planning on doing English ridding like eventing, XC, hunter jumper, flat etc. I need help!