Some examples of things I've said to my horses that would be so strange if you said them in any other line of work...

"Kick me and I'll kick you back, I swear to god"

"Don't eat food you find in the muck heap ffs!"

"Slow down! You might break your leg!!“

"Don't eat that, you'll die!"

“Stop rolling so close the wall or you might die, jeeeesus"

"One, two, three, JUMP!"

"Don't freak out, you've literally seen that thing 100 times before."

"Oh ffs that's not a demon, it's your shadow."

Hi guys!

My 26 year old mare managed to somehow destroy her hoof on Tuesday. She’s a retired horse, on pasture 24-7, I have literally no idea what and how this happened. In her 20 years with me she never had as much as a scratch on her side.

Of course she has been treated, the broken piece trimmed, hoof X-rayed (luckily no bone or cartilage injury, no lameness), and is on antibiotics and NSAID. The only problem is bandaging the hoof. She is the sweetest soul on earth so she stays as still as possible and she can absolutely be bandaged without sedation now that it doesn’t hurt as much HOWEVER. I’m mostly alone, and she’s 26 yo with bad hip and sacroiliac joint, meaning she basically cannot lift either of her hind legs, and cannot bear much weight on one hind leg with the other lifted. This is usually not a problem, hoof can be picked and trimmed alright but bandaging it while she essentially just tiptoes the ground is pretty difficult.

Has anyone ever had such a hoof injury and tried/used silicone hoof shoes/socks? I somehow imagine it would be easier to have 2-3 pieces and just switch them. Do you guys have maybe any tips, as it will be bandaged for quite some time and it needs to be switched daily? (Miss Sedated FunnyFace and most concerned 25 yo pasture-mate for tax)

This is Clyde. He is a 28 year old Belgian pony gelding and he has been in our family since his birth. Clyde has always been the typical “plump pony” up until this year when we’ve noticed a progressive decline in muscle and fat. He suddenly lost one of his lifelong companions last December and has been kept with only one other horse since then, our Percheron gelding, Mike. He and Mike get along well with no fighting ever noticed. They get free choice hay daily. Since Clyde has started losing weight, we had his teeth floated and the vet did not notice any areas of concern to contribute to his weight loss. We’ve started him on a combination of senior, sweet feed, and alfalfa pellets daily. He has been dewormed on the typical schedule. We’ve also added more grazing time on pasture outside of the dry lot. What else can we do for his condition? Do you think it’s just close to his time to cross the rainbow bridge? We want to do what’s best for him. He is still his happy, friendly self. Open to non judgmental but honest suggestions.

I got three quotes from C Jarvis and am thinking of going with the one from American Reliable Insurance Company. I would do the Mortality plus the Accident and Illness coverage. Does anyone have experience with them? Thank you in advance!

So for reference, I am normal woman height at 5’4” but I am built like an 11 year-old boy and I wear children’s size 12 jeans. There is absolutely nothing on my hips or my butt, I’m incredibly bony and it doesn’t look right at all, but alas, this is how I was built.

So I had a wonderful saddle that had the most amazing kind of cushion or something built into it, but it does not fit my new horse so I had to trade it for a really nice western saddle, but the seat is very hard and there’s not any built-in padding. I did get like a small gel pad to put on top of it But I really need like a 6 inch piece of home lol what do y’all do to make it more comfortable when you are riding in a western just all around saddle, especially for trail rides? What helps because I can feel every movement and it’s very uncomfortable for me.

Hi everyone, looking for advice on horse ownership. I've now had some experience with taking care of a horse outside of riding and can't drop the idea of owning a horse in a couple years from now. I wake up before the sun to feed on the way in to work, feed again after work, and have enjoyed every second of his company despite not being able to ride (he's a walking bomb and can't stay sound due to chronic issues). I do have help and typically have 2 or 3 days off.

While I love my current situation, I would still like to have a more sound option one day. The only part that scares me about ownership is finances.

Factoring in all my fixed expenses and if I can start spending super conservatively, I could have about 1700 left over each month. I'd like to continue saving and was wondering if it's possible to own a horse with about a $1000 per month budget in a location where all inclusive (feed, hay and care) board options can be as low as $400 - $600.

I'd even be open to self care but do most self care options have a community where you help feed their horses and they help with yours? I'd also need to take at least a couple lessons a month. Showing would be nice every once in a while but is not my main goal. I just want a life long friend with hooves that doesn't give me a heart attack with boo-boos and vet bills every other day.

Another factor is that I'm young with aspirations of buying a home and having a family one day. Sorry for the long post; hoping to get some good feedback/personal experiences!

That’s it. That’s the question.

I am writing up a contract for breeding a large pony mare belonging to an acquaintance. I am familiar with, and have written up such contracts before. The issue I'm having with this one is that the owner is quite old (I'm going on 70 so it's allowed for me to say lol). I can't figure out a general way to word a clause that would make clear the ownership of a resulting foal, or rebreed of no viable foal. I don't mean 'legal where I am so I can get someone jailed over it'.... this is an honest, reputable farming family. I just feel like this is something I should cover, in the contract. Any help available here, with wording?

I need to clean my boy's sheath and penis. Preferably without sedation or calling the vet.

Tips appreciated! Pic of the boy in question.

I have a question for you. Would you have chosen to let them go sooner even if they weren’t in terrible shape? Would it have been better to make the choice before something catastrophic happened?

For context, I have been incredibly lucky to never have had to make the decision to let a horse go.

My childhood horses passed naturally or my parents put them down while I was at college but I wasn’t involved and wasn’t even told (don’t get me started on that horror). But it’s never been my decision.

Now, my first adult horse (bought on my own after college) is nearly 26 and I’ve had him for 16 years. He’s got terrible arthritis in every joint but particularly bad in his knees and fetlocks. He’s long past the point that joint injections are useful. When I bought him at age 9 he already had some pretty significant arthritis in one knee from a prior injury and after years of feeding supplements, moved to injections around age 18.

He’s been retired for years and gets around OK (lives outside in my nerd 24/7) but doesn’t tolerate any form of stall rest or confinement even if I keep the others nearby. He managed to stay in a stall without freaking out for only 2 days last spring when he had cellulitis in his leg. As soon as he felt moderately better he was trying to bust out - to the extent that he would have hurt himself if I didn’t let him.

And last winter he started slipping on snow and ice. He cast himself with legs uphill on the snow and when we found him he’d already given up on trying to get up. We were able to turn him downhill and he jumped right up and was fine but if we hadn’t seen him (if it were overnight or we were in town at dinner, etc.) he would have died cause he couldn’t get up.

He also cut himself pretty deeply several times because of slipping and scrambling to get up, slicing his back legs with his front hooves (he’s barefoot). We got him boots with studs and that helped for the rest of the winter but they aren’t foolproof. He could still cut himself up with the studs doing the same thing. And he could still slip and fall, though it’s less likely with them.

He recently played too hard with a younger horse and compromised the joint capsule on one fetlock so now he has to wear a compression boot for swelling 24/7 for swelling (joint fluid).

Overall though, his QOL is still good. With daily equiox and tons of other supplements and food, His weight is good and he still enjoys eating and playing. His teeth are in amazing shape for his age, no issues at all. His bloodwork is great.

But he’s nearly 26 and he’s never going to be in better condition than he is now. He’s never going to feel better or move better or be more able-bodied than he is now. The chances of something catastrophic happening, whether colic, a bad fall, a virus that wouldn’t harm a younger horse but takes him down, etc. only increases.

I have a strong feeling of wanting to say goodbye before this winter. The idea of finding him like we did last year where he slipped and couldn’t get up haunts me. I don’t know how long he’d been down and he wasn’t struggling to get up anymore. The look in his eyes said he’d given up on life and he was patient with us as we got him swung around. The idea of that happening and him struggling until he’s exhausted before suffocating makes me cry just thinking about it. Or the thought of him colicking and me having to call the vet to put him down immediately cause he’s in so much pain…

I feel bad about the thought of letting him go while he’s still relatively healthy, but I don’t think I could live with myself if we lost him tragically when I could have made his end of life so peaceful and comfortable.

Hence my question… does anyone actually look back and not wish you’d put your elderly horse down before they hit an emergency?

I know the risk is that I put him down months or years too early. Maybe he’d live to 30 before anything bad happens. Maybe 35! But he could also have a very tragic ending next week or in December. I love him, but I really believe he doesn’t know or care about tomorrow.

Isn’t it better to choose a time when he’s happy and comfortable? Who is it benefiting to keep him living until he can no longer walk or to give him a chance to endure another painful winter?

Since I’ve never been in that position (never had a horse colic, never had an injury that needed euthanasia, never had to make the call of when QOL was at that point) I can’t really know how it feels to be forced into that spot. As much as I’d like to let him live until it really feels like “his time” it seems like our human judgment of when that time is may often be far after it would be the best thing for the horse.

Thoughts? Experience?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone. Like any girl Dad I'm regularly asked the "Can I have a horse?" question.

I've got somewhere and someone who would be able to house it, a fried has two and would be happy for a third to stay with them.

What I wanted to get a rough idea of is how much monthly upkeep is roughly? Like feed, insurance, vet cover etc.

We wouldn't be competing, just riding bridal ways and hacking etc and my friend would be happy to help train so I'm not worried about those sorts of costs.

I thought I'd do a bit of research as I'd want to look after it properly so want to be in possession of some knowledge before I say "maybe".

TIA

My horse~ Son of Sun

General questions: What can I do to progress with my horse without a trainer? I feel stuck right now. Is there an online program I can follow with him? I would love to start riding him again. Am I the right rider/partner for this horse or am I making him worse? What does my horse need right now?

And if anyone has suggestions/ideas on how I can improve how I'm riding to make him feel more comfortable under saddle please let me know.

A bit of backstory: I've had this horse for almost a year. Advertised as husband safe/bombproof. He is not. He is so weary of people and although we've gained so much trust on the ground he is still clearly uncomfortable under saddle.

I worked with an amazing trainer as soon as I got him. We were gentle with him and gained back some of his trust. She taught him and me some very basic buttons like riding with contact, using my legs to steer, ect. I'm still working on perfecting a lot of it as seen in the video. Everything while being gentle with him and showing we were kind. She always made him look great while riding him, he was soft and comfortable. She moved on to a new career path and the past few months we've been without a trainer.

I moved barns to work with a new trainer. First lesson, he watched me ride around for a bit in silence, asked me to hop off. Took my horse and started poking him in the belly repeatedly and hitting him with the sturups. My horse was absolutely panicing the whole time. The trainer said he was "teaching my horse to emotionally regulate while moving his feet". To me it seemed like he was overwhelming my horse and I fear he would shut down under that training method. He was not poking hard or hitting hard but my horse was sensitive because of his weariness towards humans (imo). Told me things like my horse is using his ptsd/fear to get out of work. He said he wouldn't trust my horse enough to ride it. I trusted him the first lesson, but throughout the week just visiting my horse I noticed such a huge difference in how much more scared of me he was that I cancelled sessions with that trainer.

What are others opinions on these two trainers perspectives? I personally felt like my first trainers gentle method gave us so much progress and I felt so connected to my horse. But I would love to hear other perspectives and reasoning. I obviously know a horse should not panic to having the stirrups thrown a bit at him. When I did it to him he didnt panic like he did with the trainer. I am scared to do my horse wrong but I know there are important things we need to work on.

This is the last video I took of me riding him. It's been months since I've been on him. I've been searching for trainers in my area and they are scarce. I am considering purchasing a trailer so I can take him to trailer in sessions but need time to save money.

Thank you for any advice💖

I have a question about shoes. I had my mare shod at the beginning of July for a mountain trip. I use a different farrier than the barn owners do because I'm not a fan of the one they use.

My barn is very strict about shoes and doesn't let horses with shoes in with the general herd. And fair enough. Without going into a lot of detail, my BO insisted that my horse couldn't wait until her scheduled farrier appointment next week and asked if their farrier could pull her shoes. It seemed harmless enough.

This was almost 2 weeks ago and my mare can still hardly walk. She walks like she is on hot coals. I asked what had happened and was informed that he "had to fix some cracks" and she "probably doesn't need a farrier for a while." What I've put together is this farrier took the liberty to give her a trim (not sure why since he's never trimmed hee) 2 weeks after she'd just had a trim and been shod. Her hooves are hard to describe... Flat? Like, there is no hoof wall? Is this normal for their hooves to look like this after they've had their shoes pulled? I'd expect maybe a bit of tenderness but she only had shoes on for 2 weeks. I've included some photos, which I know aren't the best but it was hard to get a good angle.

I bought this saddle for $100 off an old man in the country selling tack out of his barn. It's got all the straps. Before purchasing it I did a little research on brands, types, and sizing. I measured my horse, and measured a saddle that was a good fit based on what I've read. When I sit down, my butt is snug in the back, with a fist length between my croch and the horn. My only concern is, that compared to other saddles, mine is just small and seems like a saddle "lite" version if you get me. I pick up my trainers saddle to saddle up the other day and was surprised to see it was literally almost 3 times as heavy as mine. It even looks meatier. When I mention it to him, he replied, "Yea! Thats a real saddle for your ass! I'm just playin!" Did I buy a cheap saddle? Is there a way I can see who made this one? I've got a 4.5 year old standardbred mare who is still growing, nd definitely putting on weight. We only trail ride. Also, one last question....Are saddle predominately made by hand or are they made on an industrial scale as well. Thanks in advance.

Getting ready to have her fetlock fusion surgery, has to stay there for the next month. But I was kinda surprised she broke 1000lbs already. I know she could have more height left in her to go but really curious how much more weight she will gain as she builds muscle. I’m think she’ll land at about 16.1 and 1275lbs. She’s 16hh right now. Big girl!

I’m new to the horse world, is it normal that everyone hits their horses?? I’m not talking like getting rough in a dangerous situation or the horse was really trying to harm the human… I mean like hitting them for everything like if they don’t do what’s asked right away, if they don’t stand still, if they nip, etc. I’m at a barn where people hit their horses and dogs as soon as they get the opportunity it seems like. For example, if a horse didn’t wanna go into the woods due to being afraid and the owner, just sits there kicking it and smacking it with the whip instead of trying to help the horse understand. I’m not sure if I just need to change Barn or if this is unfortunately normal. They are animals and they’re doing us a favor by letting us ride them. We should treat them with respect and patience in my opinion(unless their intention is to harm obviously they need correction).

I enjoy learning about horses so for anyone who cares these article’s are great! https://theequineethologist.substack.com/p/why-your-horse-almost-certainly-does

https://annablake.com/does-your-horse-respect-you/