Hi wondering if people are able to satisfy my curiosity. I get a lot of tiktoks from America especially the jumper, hunter, eq sides and it makes me wonder how accurate is the representation that’s shown? Like money wise. I understand that these people with numerous horses, fancy barns and constant competitive circuits are an over represented minority so it makes me wonder about the next step down - how common in real life are the people with one maybe two nice imported horses, nice barns, expensive snow gear, showing regularlyish sort of thing. I too see A LOT of these people and was just wondering if it is just as over represented or if that is the reality over there? Thank you!! 😊

This might sound a bit lame and I know it’s not that dramatic but it felt like it to me.

So today I had my 4th riding lesson. Usually I come earlier to tack up the horse I’m assigned to and then go towards my usual indoor arena. This time, someone was already having a lesson with my horse in that same arena and I was told to wait for her to hand me the reins so that I could go do my lesson. She eventually came, but she was in a group and there were like 4 other horses and riders trailing behind her. At this point I’m thinking on what I’m gonna do, and she hands me the reins. I turn around and try to make my horse turn the opposite way and he ends up stopping in the middle of the trail while turning. One of the grooms saw me, and started screaming.

“Hey, you! That’s so fucking dangerous. Turn around and stop moving right now! What the fuck are you doing?!”

My horse would not budge. I was about to cry and he was standing still. It took 20 seconds before he agreed to do anything, and when everyone left I was able to start walking.

This incident made me embarrassed as I have heavy social anxiety and I’m new to the equestrian world. I thought about it during my whole lesson and now I’m dreading the next one. I lost all the excitement I had over this little incident. I thought horseback riding was for me, but I think I’m too soft to continue involving myself in this sport. How do you guys deal with this stuff? I understand that they’re harsh because they want us to learn, but is it really necessary?

Hello! I was looking into getting a multi tool and was hoping to find one with the usual things as well as a hoof pick and I was curious if any had a bot fly knife too Let me know of any suggestions and/or reviews of ones yall have, thanks!

Hi guys, it’s heading into summertime in Australia and the flys are horrible at the moment, I’ve gotten my horses a fly mask but can only see him once a day so I was wondering if it’s okay to leave the mask on overnight? Is that something common? I agist but do DIY so the feeders don’t tend to my horse and won’t be able to take the mask on and off. Thanks!

Talk to me about mare magic. Did it help your mare with overall moodiness?

I need advices !! I’ve been riding at this barn for 5 years now. I’ve met some of my best friends there, am really close to the trainer and just love my half lease. However I feel like she’s really unprofessional and as a teen, I fear this is getting to me. She often talks badly about other people / barn and since I trust her I don’t know what to believe. I also took some lessons elsewhere and couldn’t begin to tell you how much more I learned from those single lessons than a month of lessons with her. I get that she’s trying but it seems that everytime I try to ask her to go more in depth about what she’s asking me, she gets mad, saying I should know. She also talks a lot about herself which is cool that she trusts me so much, but barely asks about me. However, I also am very close to the people at the barn and they feel like family to me now in a way I’ve never felt before. My trainer also has a lot respect for horses and a more natural approach and says she’s the only barn with that much respect in my area. Just going to the barn right now is a huge stress relief from my daily life short term and I’m afraid of changing barn and not finding that in another barn. I’m also afraid that my coach right now has an impact on my mental health decline long term Do you guys have any advices / similar situations ?

Hi reddit world.

Curious if anyone has ever had to pay their farrier for a thrown shoe?

In all of my horse experience I have never paid for a thrown shoe except when my farrier came this week and charged me $50 to replace a thrown shoe within 2 weeks of his most recent trim.

I'm pretty sure it's resentment on personal issues(long story not for this reddit thread lol). But before I consider getting a new farrier I want to make sure I'm not over-reacting.

TY;

Specific to hind gut ulcers…. What were your horses symptoms?

So, the horse show association I compete with, has a huge year end ceremony where every rider receives a large rosette and a prize for how they did in each of their divisions. I ride Western and compete in Western Dressage, yet one of my prizes was an English saddle pad. I'm not really sure what to do with it, as it's shorter than my Western saddle. I'm very grateful to have recieved a prize at all, just not sure what to do with an english saddle pad, as I don't have any English saddles at all.

Anyone have any ideas for what to do? Should I attempt to make it into a decorative pillow? It has my name and a couple other things embroidered onto it, so I don't want to get rid of it.

Hi all! Was wondering if seeing if you could share you experience and or thoughts on Mary Wanless clinics. I’ll hold my opinion well others share theirs.

Thanks!!

So I’ve been riding for around 5 years now, and I feel like my level of riding and the time that I have been riding isn’t really representative of each other? Like I feel like I should be so much better than I currently am, and I started kind of late and I’m almost about to hit 20. Seeing people younger than me who have been riding for less than I have, that have a stronger foundation and confidence make me kinda reflect on my own riding. I know I shouldn’t compare myself but it’s hard :( Should I just quit and stop wasting time on something that I feel like I’ll never get better at?

We’ve had our boy for 2 months now and the trainer I’m working with suggested barefoot. He just got new shoes this week and we’re using rubber pads bc the PPE said he had thin soles. His uses are light riding, low level polo, and trails (the trails are very steep and rocky). He’s in full grass turnout almost 24/7. Do any of you do barefoot? What is your experience?

Photo for cuteness.

Anyone know of anywhere I can rent a two horse trailer in Upstate New York? Everyone I know only has 5th wheels. Thank you!

This is probably wishful thinking on my part, but is there a way to identify blanket weight when the tags are unreadable? My horse was given a used stable blanket, and it’s in great condition other than the tags being so worn they’re unreadable. It’s a Bucas Irish Stable, and from what I can tell that style only came in two weights (50 grams and 300 grams), but I have no clue which it is. Is there some way for me to figure out what fill it has? Thanks in advance!

Her name is Gracie. I love her to bits!

 I have a horse with EPM, toltrazuril shop has EPM treatments but im not sure on dosage, my vet will not help me. im looking at the blackout EPM, she is 1,200 pounds, does anyone have dosing information for this site? Some have single dose information but does not say how long treatment is to last.

Hi everyone. My horse has a deep central sulcus on all four feet. Deep enough that you can put the hoof pick in and it hurts her (she’ll pull foot away). I’m not sure what to do. Farriers haven’t suggested anything even when asked directly. She doesn’t appear to have thrush. I have read that this is not normal and needs to be rectified.

I got her last year and pulled her shoes. She’s always stayed sound. Not sure if shoes could cause this issue.

Should I be packing the central sulcus? I used coppertox on her feet last year but read that coppertox stops healthy growth.

Thanks for any tips. I’m in Canada, in case anyone has product recommendations for me in Canada.

As the title says, I’m cantering for the first time tomorrow and I’m SUPER nervous.

Does anyone have any tips or something to keep in mind before I go?

Thank you so much 🙏🙌

Edit: Thank you all so much, I’ve just woken up and read all your replies. Feeling excited to go riding now ☺️

Anyone have an idea for a super quick saddle cover that's waterproof to throw over saddles when it starts to rain?

I'm not keen on the elastic ones because they're a pain to put on when the saddle is actually on the horse and was kinda thinking a waterproof version of a basic pad that would just rest on top.

TIA

I'm thinking seriously of looking at getting a Morgan when I'm ready for another horse. I was curious if anyone has any lines they particularly like that I should look into. My main focus is dressage, but my riding history was ranch horse versatility and I'd be looking to at least dabble in working equitation, extreme cowboy racing, and endurance (probably just limited distance).

I want to start riding. Ive ridden before at girl scouts. I adore horses and want to learn to ride, take care of, and just have fun with horses. Where should I start?

I am an older rider starting over again after over two decades away. I had my first lesson (English) last night and am starting at the beginning with all the fundamentals. I rode when I was a child, and went back in my 30’s where I progressed to starting low jumps but had to stop riding due to work and other life events.

Everything feels completely new to me, so I thought it would be a good time to build some better habits.

With the knowledge that I’m over 50 (flexibility is not my friend 🤣), and I am both exhilarated and terrified at the whole idea of doing this again, what words of advice would you give me? Anything from form and posture to best barn practices to whatever you wish you had known when you started out?

This book is simply brilliant. Warwick introduces 13 core “principles” of horse training, covering everything from foundational techniques to specific training challenges. Each principle is clearly explained, and every concept is backed by Warwick’s personal stories, making the ideas easy to understand and apply. The best part? The book encourages compassionate, gentle methods that focus on listening to the horse, while still achieving effective results.

The Principles of Training isn’t just informative; it’s also an entertaining read. Warwick’s stories are engaging and often humorous, giving real-life context to his training methods. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a humane, insightful approach to horse training. I started with just a basic knowledge, but now I feel much more confident, and I’m so grateful I picked up this book.

Hi! So I recently just transferred to english from western and I’ve been really confused with all of my clothes. I’ve got the right stuff but I heard you need a belt for your breeches. Does anybody know what kind of belt I should get or where i can look?