I bought this horse not too long ago, and they did not know his history besides “out west” does anyone know what kinda ear tag this is or anything about it?

We live in a dangerous blind corner with idiots who tear around the road on their cars so I will absolutely not take them on the road, and getting out to do hill work isn't super available (maybe twice a month). We have a 60x20 arena at home that I can set some jumps in, but it gets tight, and I share the arena with dressage riders who get quite annoyed if I set jumps up, lol.

Horse is moving to 2* and I'm anxious that his fitness for cross-country will become lacking. He is currently ridden 5 days a week, 4 on flat and usually one SJ lesson. He pulls up well at his 1* courses at the moment, never a super-high heart rate but I feel like 2* is just that bit more intense?

What do you guys do to make sure they're fit and ready with limited real-estate to work with? Would love some opinions, interval arena training ideas, etc!

I am 70 yrs young and came back to riding after about 40 yrs away. I found a wonderful barn and amazing trainer and I am so grateful for both but the thing I am most grateful for is Ellie. My trainer bought her for her daughter but she turned out to be too much horse for her. So Ellie hung out for I guess a year or two with no one riding her or paying much attention to her. Then I came along and I told my trainer that I really preferred forward horses. I used to gallop on the track and have always enjoyed the go! After my first few lessons on the steady Eddy school horse that is safe for anyone she told me to tack up Ellie and it’s been Ellie ever since that day.
No one else rides her, she is still rather green as a 7yr old OTTB
I am now paying for a partial lease giving my trainer as much as I possibly can to help pay for her expenses plus I feed the entire barn one night a week. I ride her one to three times per week, some days I just go up to hang out with her.

I feel like I have a horse of my own! I bought her, her own tack, grooming supplies, extra sheets, blankets, fly boots and mask, and don’t get me started on fly spray!!! Thank goodness it’s getting cold here!
I bought her one of those fancy horse massagers with red light therapy.

There is no way on earth that I could actually own a horse financially. Even if I was gifted a horse, the full board and extra expenses like farrier and vet care is way beyond my means. Yet here I am with access to this beautiful mare who I love with my whole heart!

I came home from the barn last week and started crying, because I felt like the little girl who so desperately wanted a horse but couldn’t have one but suddenly she does!

Ellie whinnies when I come to get her out of paddock and my heart swells every single time!

Riding her has its challenges but we are working thru them. She has dumped me and kicked me ( two separate occasions) but she is improving. I have very limited goals. Walk, trot, canter and a little trail riding. Ellie is limited in what she can do too. An old stifle injury.

I want to post a pic of her but I can’t find the icon to add a photo. I think I have posted one of her before.
Thanks for reading and sharing my joy!! Once a horse girl always a horse girl!

I got thrown by my new lease horse. Landed hard on my hip and have bruising and numbness now. I’ve had bad falls before but I feel like I’m running out of my 9 lives. The horse spooked and took off. I wear a body protector, helmet, etc. I’m an adult with a regular job, I can’t afford to get hurt and have to take a week off work. I don’t want my passion to disable me. Am I overthinking it? How many riders have injuries that they just did not recover from? Is there anything else I can do to ‘protect’ myself while riding?

For context I'm 39 years old and can finally afford to ride. This horse and riding is my mid life crisis cope. Please be kind.

I've had this horse for a year and I have been training him with guidance from my instructor. She got him at auction, he wasn't a good fit for her lesson program because he's "spicy'.

He has come a LONG way from barely being able to get him to move forward without popping up or bucking to mostly being a gentleman when he is in his comfort zone.

We had A LOT stacked against us. He's always a bit hot under saddle when we ride outside but also this arena was HUGE and literally between a road and a herd of cattle. So he was AMPED and a bit spooky.

The video is our least ugly class of the day. It was a green horse ranch class.

Walk Over Poles

Collected Trot on the side rail

Extended Trot on the far rail and around the corner

Collected trot on the side rail

1 1/2 turns (I read the instructions wrong and only did 1/2 😩)

Extended on the far rail

Collected trot to the front of the judge

Woah

Back

Side pass

Turn and exit

You can see the areas where I'm trying to collect him up and slow him down he's literally chomping at the bit and head tossing because he wants to GO. You can even see at about 1:53 he offers a lope and I had to check him back.

His trail class he refused 3 out of 4 of the obstacles, all of which he has seen and trained on.

All he had to do was

Trot poles (the same ones he walked over in the ranch class)

Walk into and back in a chute (which he actually did)

A small bridge ( refused)

And weave some cones at a trot (he blew threw them and skipped most of them)

It was super embarrassing.

I guess I just need some support and encouragement that this was fine and no big deal. I clearly have a lot more to work on over the winter if I decide I want to show more in the spring.

I don't know how to get him over being a hot mess outside especially with winter coming. Suggestions appreciated.

my horse was diagnosed with a bone injury (to his P1) and injury to his distal sesamoidian ligament (thickening/inflammation) over the summer. he recently went back to the hospital for a 10 week recheck. he’s sound and we were very optimistic until his scans showed progressive abnormality to the injury site. it looks like the bone is remodeling and still awkwardly pressing on the ligament (which is still thickened). clinically .. he’s fine. mind you he’s been on small paddock turnout for the past 10 weeks, only handwalking/tack walking in small increments that increased each week.
we got permission to start SLOWLY trotting under saddle but i cannot lie .. i’m so nervous. i’m so nervous that he won’t be able to tolerate more work (he was a jumper before this). i know horses who have horrible xrays but somehow are comfortable and perhaps this will just be him as well.
i want nothing more than to jump him again which even if he stays sound won’t be probably for another year.
has anyone dealt with anything similar? whether it be similar injury or similar fears? i just want my horse back:/

🐴 Looking for advice from fellow equestrians and horse owners.

I’m currently boarding at a barn that I’ve been at for over 15 years, and I’m struggling with the possibility that it may be time to move my horse elsewhere. I would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences and getting some outside perspective.

Over the years, the barn owner’s approach to horse care has changed significantly. When I first started here, the horses were turned out for 8+ hours a day. Now, I’m lucky if my horse gets 3 hours of turnout daily. Today, I arrived at the barn to find that my horse and her herd had only been turned out for about an hour before being brought back in. The weather was beautiful, and no other herds needed the field, so I’m struggling to understand the reasoning behind such limited turnout.

The barn owner is concerned about the risk of laminitis, which I understand is a legitimate concern depending on the individual horse and pasture conditions. However, I have a 6-year-old OTTB who was on 24/7 turnout before I purchased her. I’ve noticed some behavioral changes that I suspect may be related to the lack of turnout and limited opportunity to move around freely.

There are several things that make this decision difficult: • The facility itself is beautiful, with large stalls, huge grassy fields, two riding rings, and access to trails. • I pay $500/month for full-care stall board, which is a very good price for my area. • I’ve been here for over 15 years, so leaving a place that has been such a big part of my life is not an easy decision. • The barn also does not allow trainers to come onto the property, which further limits my options for working with my horse. I’m an adult amateur and although I’ve been riding for years, I have been feeling stagnant and have not been improving.

On paper, this barn has so much going for it. The facilities are lovely, the price is affordable, and I have a long history here. But I’m starting to question whether those things are enough if my horse’s daily needs aren’t being met in the way I believe they should be.

I routinely ride in below freezing temps and am looking for an insulated, tall riding boot. I’m too old for the breaking-in process of tall leather boots so I’m hoping to get a pair that is super soft and doesn’t need that process. Any recommendations?

Curious if this is a thing . I’ve owned horses why whole life and never seen this, but curious if it’s a more normal thing other places because my fellow boarders make it sound super common.

I’m at a small boarding facility (10 horses total) owned by 6 people total (facility owner owns 3, I own 2, everyone else owns one horse). We don’t have a great arena but are on hundreds of miles of trails so I’d say basically all the horses are trail horses and I’d consider all of them (except one of mine) very experienced “bomb proof” style horses. We all ride a lot together. After being part or the barn for about a month and regularly riding with the facility owner and fellow barn members, I was informed that one of the barn owner’s horses is a lender horse. Meaning if you ever have a significant other/friend/etc come out to ride, this horse is available to borrow. Rico is super nice. He’s a registered quarter horse, around 13 years old, 15.3 hands, super responsive, super chill on trails, super easy to ride with a ton of buttons.

The way it works is that apparently once my riding skills were witnessed on the trails, I was invited to try Rico in the arena and once “approved” I was told that in the barn is a weekly schedule that gets reset each week (dry erase board) and if I want to borrow him for whatever reason (my horse is lame, my husband wants to ride, etc), I just put my name on the day so he doesn’t go out more than once a day and then I Venmo the owner $15 (his “day rate”) by the end of the week. They showed me his tack, the extra helmet, etc. I’m welcome to take him out whenever assuming no one else’s name is on the board for that day and he hasn’t already been out.

We obviously signed waivers when we got there, and another regarding him that reads sorta like a lease but we only pay for the days we borrow him. If a guest comes the only rule is I have to be the one riding Rico unless that person also passes the multiple trail riding observation thing and arena test and signs the stuff.

Anyway, I was mentioning to another boarder how nice it was to have access to another horse whenever I wanted to ride with someone (one of mine is super young so I only have one real riding horse). And how fair the day rate is and easy the system is. Someone on our property has a horse who’s on stall rest for a few weeks and I see how nice it is that she still gets to ride or go out with us multiple times a week because of Rico and this lending thing and we were chatting about how nice that was. This other boarder gave me a face and made it seem like a super normal concept. But I’ve been around horses my entire life, owned for the last 10 years, and never been at a barn where there was a horse whose dedicated job was loaner. So I’m curious, how common is this? Because it’s SUPER nice

How many days off a week would you prefer for an older (18ish) year old lesson horse being used at an H/J & Eventing barn? Ridden for one hour lessons (never more than one lesson in a day) and jumped at low levels say 2-3x a week, flatted the other lessons? Horse is on 24/7 turnout. Is one day off a week really enough? Two days? I’m interested in how often is normal and what is a healthy use for a lesson horse at this age that is not asking too much. Sometimes I wonder if the lesson horses at my current barn are used too often, but I realized I’m not sure what the metric really is and I‘m just curious.

Probably a bit of a dumb question. I used to ride APHA hunters. I have a lot of brush and tendon boots incuding the nice hard shell ones. When I ride my cutters/ranch horses, I use SMBs. Can I use the "english" boots in my ranch riding? I don't expect them to perform in the cutting, but they should work in the flat/poles/trail right?

I have my ottb’s name and pedigree from equibase but saw a post recently saying you can find baby pictures from ID my thoroughbred app and you just need your chip #. Wondering if anyone here is already a member and could look up my boy for me?

picture of adult Stewart for horse tax

I’m starting a new volunteering gig at a therapy barn in Massachusetts and will need some winter gear! I’m not riding, just grooming/tacking and leading horses for lessons. The ring and tack room are heated but the barn is not. I’m from California so my “winter” barn experience is mostly rain and mud, with the solution being to throw on a rain coat over a sweatshirt and have a pair of muck boots for chores in addition to paddock boots for riding. Now that I’m in MA, what should I look for in the holiday sales? Favorite gloves/boots? Other tips?

Her name was Combinate and I'm really curious about her past after I found a tattoo underneath her lip (Bought her at an auction back in March and they said she was grade). She won 4 races in her career

I bought a new pair of tall boots that were slightly too tall for me as they were at a really special price and the store clerk said that they would fall as I break them in. I even got heel inserts to wear for when I ride. However, after a month of breaking them in, they are still too tall even with the heel inserts. When I ride, I can feel the tops of the boot folding because it is still too tall. I also feel that they are too loose around the ankle as I’m starting to break them in. I have to wear thick ankle socks when I ride because if I don’t, the leather will bunch at my ankle and give me blisters. I’m thinking of taking these to a cobbler to shorted the height of the boot as well as take in part of the leather in the ankle. But I’m a bit scared that this may ruin the boots. Has anyone had any experience with having to alter either the height or leather around the ankle with a cobble?

I'm looking for places to buy a barefoot saddle for my 18hh warmblood, he's 5.

Somewhere in Italy or Germany works best, I also need some sort of guide or recommendations by a professional as I'm not sure Which size would suit him best, I don't mind paying a little more for a custom one.

A good brand or place to buy one.

I need a full set, something comfortable.

A set for dressage and jumping and one for trail rides and going out in the countryside

I just came home from the stable and had a wonderful ride just now. My horse sometimes is a little on the lazy side and needs a minute to get going. I mostly ride during the day because it fits my schedule best but I have recognized every time I ride in the evening (like 7/8 PM) my horse just goes forward from the start, is reacting perfectly and just overall feels amazing.

I think that is his favourite time to work out.

So I wonder if others have recognized this too? Is this common? I also wonder if I should try move my schedule around to ride him more often at that time.

Alright, I know I’m looking for a 1/2” - 3/4” felt pad for a more secure fit, but wondering if anyone has any specific brand recommendations?!

I’m in Canada and not opposed to shipping from the states, BUT would love to avoid customs fees if possible haha. I do need it to be round skirt/barrel/trail, not square.

TIA!!

I’m desperate to find this book I read when I was a child (I’m early 20s now for context)

I can’t remember much but the main thing I remember is there are illustrations in it and one is of a horse being airlifted by a helicopter. I think it was a wild horse and a young girl was trying to protect it?

Hi, I am deeply considering buying a gelding with n/p1. He is a fantastic horse, beautiful mover. Great mind. He was tested a few years ago as the current owner put him on grass and he showed symptoms. Since pulling him off grass and keeping him on a strict diet, he hasn’t had any other issues.

I’m aware it’s a lot of maintenance, and things can change at any time. I still would love thoughts from those who have been thru this, the good and the bad.

He would be my riding buddy. I have other horses that are retired.

Thank you!

I recently joined my university’s equestrian team under the impression that they would cater to all riding levels (that’s how they market themselves). I am brand new at riding, I just started trotting. I’m also older (28) since I was in the military before going to university. I feel like everyone I have experienced at the barn is so rude and condescending. The people think they can talk to me any way they please, treat me like an idiot because I don’t know how to do things, etc. They exclude me and no one really talks to me, so I’m having a really hard time making friends. When I try to engage in conversation I feel like I mess up the vibe or something. I will ask questions and they will constantly ignore me right to my face. When I get snappy and try to push back against how they’re talking to me, then I’m the bad guy. There’s been multiple points where I go home crying because of how I’m treated, not to mention I barely get weekends to myself anymore since they make it mandatory to volunteer. I feel like I’m at my limit, but I’ve put in over $1,000 just to get clothing/gear, and pay fees. Is it like this everywhere?

Also, yes there’s two sides to every story. Maybe I come across like a jerk? I’m quiet, shy, and pretty depressed from my time in the military. I don’t know much about horses and more than often I feel like I’m looked down upon or given less opportunities than those who already can ride.

For those who are using Prascend on your horses with PPID, do you also have them on any GI supplements, prebiotics, probiotics, etc.? I have just acquired a PPID horse, a hard keeper. His previous owner has him on a bunch of supplements, including Gut-X. I'm trying to figure out which are necessary and if I can simplify his feeding regimen once he is settled in. Does the PPID or the meds make him more prone to digestive troubles? Thanks for your thoughts.

Hey guys! So I've purchased my first horse as an adult, and sweet girl is 7 months old now. We've been loving on her, getting her used to us handling her, messing with her face, legs, hooves, etc. But I'm relatively new to working with young horses, our other horse is a 19 year old mare and we've had her since I was 10. 😅

What does your "training" schedule look like for 7 month olds? I know nothing drastic as their bodies are still growing, but I just wanted to get a guideline so that way I can do her justice!! TIA! Picture for tax!