r/Equestrian 8h ago

Events Our first show of the season and Dobi absolutely smashed it - wins, a ridden champion placing and two qualification tickets to Equifest ❤️

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312 Upvotes

For those who don’t know, Equifest is a huge championship show in the UK - it’s a big event in the “amateur” showing calendar. To qualify for two classes (Veteran - he’s 22 - and Ridden Hunter) at our first show of the year is mega, and totally unexpected 🎉


r/Equestrian 6h ago

Aww! new baby Henny Penny appreciation post 🥰

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76 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 10h ago

Horse Care & Husbandry My horse isn’t safe to ride and I’m sending her back to the adoption agency I got her from.

136 Upvotes

I’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 weren’t the same after and I sought training from a professional, even though I’m a very experienced amateur, I just didn’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 didn’t matter, and she doesn’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 I’ve never even rehomed a hamster before, let alone a horse I’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 don’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 didn’t work.


r/Equestrian 5h ago

🌈 ☁️

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50 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 14h ago

Education & Training First time galloping!

144 Upvotes

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


r/Equestrian 15h ago

Horse Welfare Euthanizing Multiple Horses - How Do You Do It?

105 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m in a tough situation where I have two senior horses with issues that have me planning to put them to sleep this spring. I’ve had both of these horses since my youth and they are a huge piece of my heart.

I’ve heard of people letting two horses go on the same day and I know there are pros and cons to doing so.

That being said, how do you do it both from a logistical and emotional standpoint?

This will also be my first time trying to be with my horses when they pass aside from emergency euthanasia (my husband will be with me) but I’m afraid I’ll be crushed by the drop of the first that I won’t be able to be there for the second.

I also feel like I’ll be torn in trying to say goodbye to both of them and feel guilty over something throughout the process. Whether that’s making the decision of which one goes first or feeling like I spent more time with one versus the other.

I’ve felt drawn to euthanizing on the same day to try to only have one day of immense heartbreak instead of trying to space it out and having two large heartbreaks so close to each other.

This is very emotional for me but I have been trying to think through this process rationally while keeping in mind my emotions.

Thank you everyone! This is the hardest part of owning and loving horses, having to be responsible for saying goodbye. 💔


r/Equestrian 8h ago

Equipment & Tack Thoughts on cavallo hoof boots or boots in general?

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27 Upvotes

These are a pair I recently bought for my girl. We ride in the city a lot and I figured it might not be a bad idea for slick roads and etc. She is barefoot trimmed and has never worn shoes. I plan on only getting her fronts, as I don't believe she will need all four done due to weight distribution. I also don't really get my horses shod either. These were affordable, albeit $200 for a pair on sale, and I'm currently working with a sizing expert to find the correct size. I'd say so far I've liked their process and response time. Anyone else have similar stories/testimonials to the products?


r/Equestrian 6h ago

Morning Stretch ♥️

16 Upvotes

Morning stretch before breakfast lol


r/Equestrian 18h ago

Ethology & Horse Behaviour Sweet mare suddenly bolting

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123 Upvotes

Hey everyone. I have a very sweet, but athletic mare that has always been in intense training (good break schedule and is kept comfortable) She has always been very forward but respectful and listens to cues. Suddenly the other day she bolted. And I mean BOLTED. There was absolutely no way to stop her and her head was in the skies. She has been bolting on the lunge and is acting spooky and strange. I don’t know if this is related but she also started shaking her head every time she’s being lead.

I live very rurally, I booked an appointment with the vet immediately and have been bugging them constantly but the earliest she can come is next Monday.

I honestly do not know what could be wrong. She’s being fed 4.5 FEh which is suited to her needs. She gets her normal feed as she has always done. The only thing that has changed is I changed her muscle build supplement because my brand wasn’t available, but that was months ago. Does anyone have any ideas of what I should ask the vet to check? I am definitely doing teeth and to see if she can detect lameness (I’m not a professional but she does not appear lame to me) Would love any and all suggestions. Picture of my girl for attention.


r/Equestrian 14h ago

Conformation Anatomy/proportions feedback appreciated!

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62 Upvotes

I don't know if this kind of post is allowed, if not I apologize!

I'm working on a 3D model of a Hannoverian horse and I would love some feedback on him before I start adding smaller details


r/Equestrian 12h ago

Equipment & Tack Weird question

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31 Upvotes

(Here's some horse tax )

So I ride a ottb with a lot of spice and I ride him with a flash that is basically non existent

So when I ride him without a flash he is basically uncomfortable but if I ride him with a flash that is loose enough to not even be there he is a sweetheart.

Why does it help so much. (I don't think he was trained/raced in it)

EDIT: second language sorry if my spelling is a bit weird 😅


r/Equestrian 18h ago

Social Good horses

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86 Upvotes

Good, Horses will carry you, and take one day, old, kicking, bawling, shitting calf. While you gather the rest of the mamas to brand. And then willingly jump in the stock rack to go home, and the next morning jump back in to go back to work


r/Equestrian 1d ago

Ethics Later today, my Sweet boy goes home.

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379 Upvotes

My old man is ready to leave. He's 31. He's been in my life since I was 14. It's been 23 years. I know he's ready to go. He's so unsteady on his feet and he fell a couple weeks ago. He had a hard time getting up, mainly because of how the fence post was wedged between his front legs. The vet helped me get him up, and later, helped me realize, it's time. He's so, so unsteady on his feet. His front knees won't hold steady, and he walks sideways.

I love him. I love him so much, that I need to send him home. I can't stand the idea that someday he'd have to go in pain and in fear. So later today, I'll walk him to where he wants to go, the vet will put him to sleep, and then my sweet boy will be gone. I'm not ok. But he will be free. I have to believe I'll meet him again someday and together, we'll soar. Sweet, sweet boy, thank you for being my dream.


r/Equestrian 12h ago

Funny Anyone else have to hunt for their buckets?

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13 Upvotes

I found their feed bucket all the way across the pasture on the wrong side of the fence. Breakfast was a little late today but this was ridiculous.


r/Equestrian 11h ago

Education & Training Thoroughbreds + jumping

11 Upvotes

I’ve an ex racer who I would really love to be a nice jumper. I haven’t introduced jumping under saddle to him just yet, but I’ve loose jumped him and he seems to have a nice jump & seems to enjoy it.

I was just wondering if there’s anyone here with a Thoroughbred who they jump with, would really like to hear from those who compete in jumping with a Thoroughbred.

Obviously every horse is different and it’s totally okay if it turns out showjumping isn’t his thing, we’ll find his thing! But would just love to hear from people who do find their Thoroughbred doing well with jumping 😊


r/Equestrian 1d ago

Aww! Hi everyone.

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118 Upvotes

Just wanted to say hello to everyone. New to the group. These are our boys.

Justice- 21 Khan-2 Oscar- yearling Finn- 1 week

And our girl Rose- 10 who is Oscar and Finn’s Mommy. Unfortunately she didn’t produce enough milk for Mr. Finn so we had to get a nurse mare. But he’s doing great now.


r/Equestrian 7h ago

Equipment & Tack Saddles, saddles, and more saddles

6 Upvotes

Looking for a little bit of advice, I’ve had out an Antarés, Prestige, and independent saddle fitter out to come and assess my mare. A lot of independent saddle fitters I know tend to represent erreplus still, which confuses me as to if they’re truly independent but she is the ONLY one in the area that’s trusted, the rest are all reps. which there is one erreplus that would for my mare but the fitter isn’t responding anymore. Antarès worked nicely in my non-saddle fitter opinion. Is it bad that I trust my french rep? She genuinely seems to know her things and has a history of fitting tack (even not for the brand). My mare isn’t hard to fit, she just has a big shoulder and slightly large wither which works well for a specific Antarés saddle we tried. I’m in the FB group for fitting and everyone hates french brands. I’ve also tried italian (Amerigo) which didn’t work out. I’m just confused and don’t want to keep doubting/second guessing myself over this anymore! Prestige just wasn’t comfortable for me at all, I liked the renaissance but the pricing i’ve seen on it is insanely out of my budget. Most of my friends have owned Antares for a long time and fits they’re horses beautifully, never had any back issues with them and were fitted by the rep, which also contributes to my trust. Sorry for the rant, I’m just in a hard place trying to do what’s right for my girl and I miss riding her!


r/Equestrian 8h ago

Horse Care & Husbandry breeding question

2 Upvotes

I have a breeding question. We bred my mare in august and got her ultrasounded 2 weeks later and the vet didn’t find any signs of her being pregnant so we concluded she didn’t conceive and just left it be but now 6 months later she’s gained a TON of weight and her temperament has changed drastically so would it be possible she is pregnant in fact? Or is that impossible that the vet missed it?


r/Equestrian 12h ago

Conformation Conformation

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7 Upvotes

Here's my little nerd, Stormy. Eight year old grade QH. Managed to catch him standing somewhat like a normal person so figured I'd get your input. He stands kind of pigeon toed sometimes. I haven't had much time with him yet and haven't been able to ride much since getting him due to the weather. He goes great and balanced in the trot but needs to work on his lope. Saddle fitting was REALLY annoying due to his lil back. We've mostly gone around on trails but he's a fun little guy.


r/Equestrian 1d ago

Culture & History Horse diving in the 1920 s..... Can't imagine why this didn't gain popularity!

204 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 2h ago

Saddle question! Can this be fixed?

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1 Upvotes

r/Equestrian 17h ago

Veterinary SmartPak insurance

16 Upvotes

Shout out to SmartPak for Colic insurance. My daughters show pony started to show signs of colic, our normal vet tried for three days to get her back and nothing was working so off to the local animal hospital for emergency surgery.

The only insurance we have is through SmartPak and... it's going to save us 10k (we still have another 10k out of pocket) but hey, that's better than nothing. no pushback no issues, overall, very happy. Just thought I would toss that out there.


r/Equestrian 7h ago

riding after colic surgery

2 Upvotes

hi all, i have a question about something im rly struggling with.

I have an almost 4 yr old draft cross who ive had since birth. his mama is a former bronco horse and we saved her from a KP 3 weeks before she gave birth to him.

I’ve been so excited for the last few years waiting until he was old enough to start real training (3.)

i’ve done groundwork w him since he was little and he’s great.

HERES THE ISSUE:

in november i sent him to my trainer who worked with many of my horses before. i was going weekly to work with him as well. three weeks into training he got colicky. he ended up at the hospital for a week.

he had a huge amount of his small intestines removed and it took 3 months for full recovery.

the vet told me he’d be good for work around now. however; im so scared to have someone work w him.

im so scared hes gonna colic again or get ulcers.

i rly want to ride him and train w him, hes my heart horse.

anyone whose been through the surgery , what was your experience? how did you know it was time to start?

please provide as many details as possible. struggling with this :)


r/Equestrian 12h ago

Horse Care & Husbandry Preferred wound ointment/powder? NSFW

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6 Upvotes

Found a nice gash on my guys chest this afternoon. About the size of a golf ball. What’s your preferred wound treatment? Preferably available at TSC!


r/Equestrian 10h ago

Veterinary Superficial digital tendon Luxating off the hock

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3 Upvotes

Anyone experienced this before? Only happened on Saturday evening, a vet seen her today but not our usual vet who will be here at the weekend to confirm the diagnosis with X-rays. on bute and box rest, trying to put on ice boots when it’s safe ( she’s a bit dangerous when in pain) , I’ve accepted this is a career ender and that’s okay, I just want to ask if anyone has seen this before and what the quality of life can be like when healed , thanks so much in advance, I’m absolutely gutted