Hey all, just wondering if anyone has ever bought a lemieux base layer from Sothernsporthorses.com.au or is anyone able to have a look on their website and let me know what sizing they use. I am a UK size 10 but a US size 6. It doesn't state on their website what sizing they use and I don't want to order it if I could end up getting the wrong size. I am needing the baselayer in oak and so this website is the only one that has it in stock in Australia.

I am also a very sweaty rider and wondering if anyone else can relate. I am always self concoius about sweat stains under my underarms and so am always particular with the fabrics I use that either hide it or eliminate it. Can anyone else relate to this and do the lemieux baselayers get rid of any visible sweat marks under the under arms?

He’s a warmblood x TB, and I’d be looking at starting him over fences in about 3 years time. Basically just making sure I’m not missing anything before I go ahead burning money on a vetting + X-rays.

I’d had the privilege of staring and bringing on plenty of young horses. But I’m still on the hunt for one of my own, finally. Does he look like he’d fit the bill?

Heya! I'm looking to book an African horse safari in Namibia. I've been riding my entire life but due to my location I never experienced an entire day on horseback or galloping in the open. It's a lifelong dream of mine and if these safaris are as I hope I might start going year after year.

Has anybody been? What is it like? Are the horses well cared for? Is it safe for a solo female traveler?

Thank you to all future responders!

What black boot polish have people used and liked? I have the effax one with the sponge attached, I used it less than a month ago and today it was moldy. Unsure if I want to get the same one again after that haha.

Hi all - me again, the mom of an advanced beginner h/j rider with a sweet leased pony, who learns something new every day via my 10 year old and this sub.

This is our first holiday season with my daughter’s darling mare and she would love to do a theme costume with her. She’s pretty set on being “two peas in a pod” and I’m just failing at making this happen.

She is already planning their bday celebration (they are 13 days apart, in the same year!) and Christmas motif but I’m just coming up short here for Halloween.

I was thinking of getting the pony a green quarter sheet and bonnet, putting my daughter in a pea pod costume and calling it a day but it doesn’t incorporate her pony into the pea pod theme. What else can I do here?

Hi guys!

About a month ago I got a new horse. She’s just under 2 years and has next to no training besides being haltered.

My older horse will come up behind her to basically just push her around, and in her haste to get away, she will literally bulldoze anyone standing in front of her, and push them backwards until they move out of her way. Shes not like running at people, it’s just a very fast and panicked walking, but it’s still a major problem.

Whenever I’m there and I see my older horse creeping up behind her, I’ll chase him away, but I don’t always catch it. Does anyone have any advice on how best to correct this?

Does anyone have experience with buying horses through online auctions? I know the auction is real but just wondering peoples experiences with them, was the horse as advertised was it an easy process to collect the horse afterward? I’m interested in a particular horse but the auction part has me nervous.

When I was younger (9-13) I took weekly lessons at a barn. I'm 19 now and really miss horses but I do not have the time or money for weekly lessons.

Would it be weird to ask my old trainer if I could do lessons once a month? I would not expect to get very good at it/ improve. I just really miss riding and seeing horses.

The trainer does not just have lessons for people looking to compete in things (though she does do that too). She has a lot of people that do lessons just for fun. So would that be ok, or do you think she'd definitely say no or think it's dumb?

Hi everyone,

I would just like to ask your opinions and experience on this. At what point do you feel/suggest is a good time to get a first share/loan horse?

Would it be when one is at an intermediate level - can walk, trot, and canter independently? Or can one get one a little bit earlier so that they can practice more, as well as their usual lessons?

I understand that opinions may differ, and that is fine because I'd like to hear what you think. Perhaps you could share your experience of timing in getting a first horse (whether share/loan or purchase) I am a beginner rider, but I am thinking about the future.

This woman bought a colt from us a little while ago. I saw her making a post about him, talking about doing AI training and claiming that he has “A1” semen… the thing is that he’s not even two yet. This is off putting and the people I’ve asked about whether this is okay practice or not have given me varying answers.

(Pic of him as a foal for attention)

My instructor ALWAYS and I mean, every two minutes of me riding, tells me to shorten the reins and that they are too long. I shorten them enough and she keeps asking me to shorten them even more. I don't think I should? My horse starts reacting by yanking her head and she stops doing whatever we're doing and I feel like I'm ripping her mouth. She asks me to shorten the reins so much that I can't help but lean forward and hunch my back and it's really uncomfortable. If I even dare to tell her anything about it, she gets upset and starts saying things like "oh so you think you know better than me now?".

I tried telling her different things like the fact that my horse reacts badly or I feel like I'm ripping my horse's face and mouth. She answers with "she's fine. You need to be in control."

Today when she started screaming at me to shorten my reins, I did and then told her that my reins are so short that I can't sit straight and I lean forward. She said that we don't care about that.

Am I wrong here? I feel like I'm hurting both the horse and my back and I don't understand how that's okay to have such short reins. I don't know, maybe I AM being unreasonable but it just doesn't feel exactly right. Should reins really be thay short that cause you to lean forward and hunch your back?

Got this bean from one of the horses at work today. He’s 22 my guess is that he hasn’t had a sheath cleaning in a while.

Ok, so a little context... I am part of a family that trains and shows horses. Everyone is out of town at a show. I am helping MY family by feeding the few horses and other critters that are left. I was asked by an associate trainer in the barn for a "small favor". They have a horse being hauled and wants me to body and tail bathe and clip them so they don't look like a "disheveled pasture pony" when the hauler picks them up. I have no problems doing small favors, however..... Here's the conundrum. This will take hours, I am not familiar with the horse or its behavior, and I don't go on the word of , " oh, they'll be fine." I've dealt with THAT too many times before and have scars to prove it..... Plus I am working 60+ hours at work, going to school and feeding other animals and trying to get a shower myself before I have just a few hours to get up and do it all again. With the quick math in my head to bathe, wash, and dry and braid a tail, plus clipping, I'm thinking around 3-4-ish hours for a larger than quarter horse sized horse? Would it be rude to charge? Especially since it will be time sensitive because we all know what happens as soon as they get clean.... Since that is cutting into my one day to get schoolwork completed and turned in, If it is ok to ask to be paid. What would be fair to ask? I am happy to help, but feel my already limited and valued time is worth something. Especially since, to me, this isn't a "tiny" favor. What do yall think. Need advice. TIA Just don't want to be an ass by asking.

Ok hivemind, can anyone identify the maker of this bit? Not for my horse. Owner doesn’t remember the name of the bit and Google isn’t giving me a match.

D-ring snaffle with twisted copper and curved. Closest I can find is an O ring and can’t tell if it’s curved like this one.

TIA!!

I'm looking for some knowledge and information. I'm from the UK and my knowledge is that an overweight pony or mini horse going in to spring is at higher risk of laminitis. However I'm in another group on here and commented on a post about minis and how these specific ones were a touch overweight and could do with losing some weight before spring and the good grass comes in.

I was ripped to bits and told American mini horses don't suffer from laminitis and they aren't anything like shetlands, with people going as far as putting up pictures shaming standard bred shetlands that were at shows saying no wonder their minis/shetlands get laminitis look at the mess of them. 🙈

Now was I wrong or are these people talking rubbish?... the lady claims she's very well known in breeding American mini horses and has 40 years of experience and never had a mini with laminitis in her life and doesn't know anyone who has.

I'd love to learn if I was wrong and would appreciate some information as to what's so different about American minis that they don't suffer laminitis.

Has anyone here ridden in a Bliss of London or Loxely saddle? How do they feel for the rider compared to the french saddles. Currently have a CWD, I love it, it's so comfy, but my horse is starting to muscle up and thus is not fitting it as well as she used to. I'm considering Bliss because they're wool flocked and therefore a bit more adjustable, but I want to know how others felt in them. Thanks!!

I had a riding lesson set for 10am today, she texted me at 8 (so just an hour before I was leaving and I had gotten up to get ready) saying that she had to cancel with no explanation, it’s not weather related it’s a beautiful not to hot sunny day. She asked if we could reschedule for next week so I gave her the days I was free, and she never texted me back this whole day.

I already have a lot crap going on in my life, so I’m wondering would this irritate you? Or am I just over emotional from outside circumstances. I don’t have my own horse, these lessons are my only contact with horses now a days and it’s something that greatly helps me.

Ok, so my barn does a Halloween show. I have a lovely grey who is ok with pretty much anything.

So far I am thinking:

• Cruella Deville and he’s a Dalmatian
• Evil hunter from Jumanji/Tarzan and he’s a zebra
• Gandalf and Shadowfax (but I doubt the children would get it)

Creative ideas? Please share!

I am so nervous and excited - I took the plunge and booked my first riding lesson since I was a teenager (which I am decidedly not now) for this weekend!

I'm out of touch with my local horse community, so picked a lesson barn to try based on google and other online reviews. What questions should I ask to (hopefully) ensure the barn will be a good fit? I already know it's a more laid-back, non-show focused barn with an emphasis on good horsemanship and herd turnout, all of which matches what I'm looking for.

I’ve been riding since I was about 4 years old. I grew up on a higher-end boarding/training/breeding horse farm and I have a few older family members who are Grand Prix level show jumpers.

I was very anxious and avoidant of riding as a young child, as much as I loved it. I was, up until a couple of months ago, undiagnosed autistic and adhd. This made me very difficult to understand to not only my parents, but the trainers they hired to teach lessons. I also had crippling anxiety for most of my junior competing years.

As a result, I did not go to many horse shows, the highest class I’ve ever done was a .95. At age 14 I quit riding competitively for about 3-4 years because my anxiety was so bad and no one knew how to help me deal with it properly.

After about 4 years, I realized I missed competing, and I’ve tried for YEARS to get back to at least the .95s in showing. I still struggled heavily with my anxiety, and was still avoidant at times, but it was better. However, by this time, it seemed like everyone had given up on me and has been babying me ever since. Maybe I’m just a really bad rider and no one has said it to my face, but I have not jumped higher than .65 since 2020, and that’s at home. I’ve consistently gone backward in my competitive career and it’s absolutely maddening.

It doesn’t help that I’ve had medical issues, like a concussion in 2022 from falling, that have also been keeping me from getting better.

I’m writing about this because my cousin who is 10 years old started riding about the same time I did, but unlike me, she is not a neurodivergent kid and has been very successful. (I am a 22 year old woman) I was (and maybe I still am) envious of her, and I realize that’s silly because she is a child, but every time I see a video of her moving up, I’m happy for her, but I can’t help but despair at my own circumstances. And it’s not just her, we have so many junior riders that are constantly moving up divisions.

An hour ago my mom showed me another video of my cousin, and when she pressed me for why I was so grumpy about it, I told her how I felt. She told me I was jealous of my cousin (which I fully admit that I am, but I am happy for her), and that I was mad at her for not doing enough for me. I told her I wasn’t mad at her, just mad at my circumstances. I mean, my mom never bought me multiple expensive show ponies like my cousin gets. For most of my life, I’ve ridden what’s been on trade-ins. I’ve had my own horse ONCE. And it didn’t end well.

I realize I am very privileged. I live on a very nice farm with lots of nice horses. I’m just very sad that it seems like no one cares about my insecurity of being where I’m at, and the fact that it seems like no one takes me seriously. I have tried so hard to get to a good place mentally to be successful.

Now, I have long covid, another setback to getting better at riding. At this point, I just want to quit.

I’m sorry for ranting, I just really need support from other horse people who aren’t my family, because they obviously won’t ever get it.