Blog

What does your horse want for Christmas? No, I haven’t made a quick start on the sloe gin, it’s a serious question. As the shopping countdown starts, those in the know suggest that glitter quarter marker kits – including one that looks as if a Christmas fairy has landed on your horse’s backside –...

When dressage and showing classes for ridden heavy horses were introduced, social media was awash with disparaging comments. One of the kindest labelled them as “gimmicks” – and one of the cruellest referred to “elephants in tutus”. Critics have egg on their faces, as the classes are hugely popul...

Congratulations to Debbie Smith, who has won a BHS award for her work trying to help make riders safer on the roads, writes Carolyn Henderson. When more than 100,000 people signed her petition calling for a legal requirement for drivers to go past a horse wide and slow, and to be compelled to abi...

Being in the wrong job is miserable. If you’re stuck in an office when you’d rather be outside, or crunching numbers when you’re longing to be creative, you’ll know what it’s like.

So, what’s it like for a horse to be in a similar situation? Obviously, horses don’t grow up dreaming of career path...

If you’re a horse or pet owner, chances are you hate fireworks because of the distress and even injury that they can cause to animals. Hopefully, you also share my loathing of Chinese lanterns, which can cause devastating harm to wild and domesticated animals as well as damaging property. I’d love i...

The best trainers know how to spark light bulb moments. With just a few words, they make you understand what others may have failed to get across. A quote from legendary showjumping trainer George Morris is going viral. If you’re one of many struggling to see a stride, he has this to say… “Distances...

Well I haven’t ridden now for about 5 weeks as I decided to give all the horses a break after a busy season.  All shoes have been removed and they are out 24/7 in the fields finishing up the last of the season’s grass before winter arrives.  This is the time for all those jobs that you simply don’t ...

According to a 2016 survey, moving home is in the top five most stressful “life events” – and that’s just for people. Imagine what it’s like for a horse. One day, he may be in a place and with people he’s come to know. The next, everything’s different: new environment, new people, new horses. Inevit...

The event season has now come to an end and what a year it has been. The highlight definitely has to be winning the U25 National Championships at Bramham, other memorable moments Collien P 2 enjoying the mud and relaxing in her field.[/caption] including making my Nations Cup debut earlier in the y...

Are you a high-tech horse owner? Or does the thought of apps and data analysis send you running for cover?

There are opportunities out there in technoland that we should all appreciate. Gait analysis has been a vital tool for our Olympic equine athletes as well as “ordinary” riders who want the b...

Are you and your horse all-rounders – and proud of it? Or do you confess, in an embarrassed sort of way, that you “just do a bit of everything”? Riders are so eager to specialise that being an all-rounder has acquired a tinge of being second-best. I’ve even heard it used in a derogatory way, along t...

A day at the British Skewbald and Piebald Association national championships is always a revelation. It isn’t just the beautiful horses and ponies, it’s the dedicated owners – and yes, in the nicest possible way, some of them are obsessed. They’re convinced that solid-coloured horses aren’t a patch...