All Things Equine

09/02/2020

A favorite picture ...

06/01/2020

19/12/2019

I love this horses ears whilst shes performing so relaxed. With an elegant yet powerful trot 😍🤗🐎🐴

17/12/2019

09/12/2019

Do you ever wonder why some people have truly happy horses ? Horses that never colic, bang on stall doors, misbehave while with you on the ground and under saddle ? It's not all due to training.
Its because some horses are allowed to be horses. The absolute very best thing you can do for every horse is let them live outside in a herd with constant forage. Let the horse decide with his group when to eat, when to nap under the shelter, when to drink and when to play. Let him learn his place in the herd. Horses do not need humans or our ideas. They need forage, water and oxygen .I hear almost daily from horse owners they they are scared to let their horses outside because they will hurt themselves. So you turn them out 1 hr a day and they go nuts. Meanwhile 23 hours a day their minds are going nuts as you lock them in a stall with "enrichments". Then they act like fools while you are trying to groom and ride. It's not the horse, it's the human routine
Stop feeding your horses at 8 am and 5 pm on the dot everyday. These types of routines create anxiety in horses that leads to stress colic, ulcers, bad behaviors and more. Feed one day at 8 and the next at 820. Mix it up a little and stop making them live on a humans routine that you think is best.
Weve worked with horses that had training as high as competiting in the Olympics but were no longer performing, all they needed was to live outside. In by allowing them to live out, they immediately went back to performing their very best .
Let your horse be a horse , living out not only is mentally healthy but also keeps them in great physical health as well
Were all about happy horses in training and board with us at Brock Griffith horsemanship. We get lots of requests to stall training horses, which we dont do. There is a reason we work with horses and behavior issues of all levels at our facility, we are excellent at finding the source of the problem. Not trying different equipment to make the behavior better with a bandaid. Humas are top quick to cage everything.. horses, dogs and children for lord's sake. Let these things roam free. For the love of horses, let them be horses. They will literally give you their whole hearts 💙 ** I am sharing this text (I've shared before) with my own personal picture.** shared from 👇
Www.brockgriffithhorsemanship.com
Written by Leisha Welborn Griffith

28/11/2019

🤣

25/11/2019

04/11/2019

Beautiful!

02/11/2019

A union of myth and fantasy that's almost too good to be true.

13/09/2019

Beautiful!! 😍

12/09/2019

Jock read that it was good for him to eat from various heights, so he thought he’d give it a try! Pretty impressive that he put it there himself and didn’t spill a bit!

23/08/2019

Always

29/07/2019

An amazing horseman, always a pleasure to watch him make everything look so relaxed, smooth and effortless for himself and the horses he rides.

23/07/2019

My little ponies are munching their paddock down so fast and they are on restricted grazing due to their 'very good doer status!' I give them a new strip every couple of days and it's gone overnight! Rest of paddock has new green sprouts of grass by then but from a distance still looks quite bare! So shows they def eat it as it grows! This hot weather means in during hot flyey day and out at night, will they slim down now?! 🤔🙄

🐴🐴When can I feed new season hay? 🐴🐴

Traditionally, we were always told to keep our new season hay until after Christmas. This would allow it time to cure and ensure it is safe for feeding.

But is this actually true?

In fact, hay can be fed straight from the field – but only if it has been made in perfect conditions and is very dry (less than 12% moisture). If the bales got caught out in the rain, or were baled before the grass was completely dry, it should be given time to ‘cure’. The dampness will cause the bales to heat and ferment slightly. Once they have cooled back down (usually after around 3 weeks) they will be safe to feed.

If you need to start feeding new hay here are some points to consider:

🐴 Mix new and old hay for at least a couple of weeks so the change is made gradually. This will help to avoid any digestive upset

🐴 Just because your fields look bare, doesn’t mean your horse needs extra hay. He could just be eating all the new growth!
🐴 Monitor your horse’s weight and dropping count. If either start decreasing that is when he may need some extra forage.

🐴 To reduce the calories of hay for greedy feeders, try mixing in up to 30% good quality straw.

If you have haylage, it is important to wait at least 6 weeks before feeding. This is to allow time for the reactions which preserve the haylage to take place inside the wrapper.

14/07/2019

The vascular system of the horses foot, a complex and fascinating bit of anatomy.

24/06/2019

Did you know?
Riding and walking are very much alike
If your way of walking and posture is good off your horse, it should be.just as good when mounted!

Tight Lower back?
Try taking small steps backwards! . Walking backwards helps to loosen up and relax your lower back. Your muscles will be used in the opposite order than normal. By doing this, we target the muscle chains, helping them to readjust the automatic coordination of the deep layer muscles in our back. If you have a hollow back whilst riding, try walking backwards to stretch your spine and straighten your torso at the same time!
If you are feeling brave and it's safe to do so, try jogging backwards!

02/06/2019

Nice looking exercise that is good for both horse and rider straightness suppleness rhythm and balance.

The cross:⠀⠀
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This is another very versatile exercise designed to improve straightness. Just like humans horses have a preferred side that they like to work on. Encouraging a horse to work straight will not only improve the accuracy of your riding but also encourage the horse to work evenly thus working the horses musculature evenly. You can mix up this exercise by adding transitions and rein back step in the middle of the cross.⠀⠀
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Remember… your horse can’t be straight if you’re not straight. So if you feel your riding is contributing to your horse’s one-sidedness, book some lunge lessons and take up Pilates, yoga or even a physiotherapist session for yourself. These will all help work both sides of your body evenly, and will improve your seat and posture.⠀⠀
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29/05/2019

A useful reminder 😊😊

21/05/2019

19/05/2019

So sweet 🥰

16/05/2019

Looks good 😊😉

16/05/2019

BOOKINGS:
Spring has definitely sprung and my diary is filling fast. We are now currently looking at bookings from June onwards unless already arranged. As you know I will ALWAYS do my best to get your equine friends booked in, but if you are looking for a regular maintenance treatment please could you give me as much notice as you can. THANK YOU!!

16/05/2019