Katie Fishlock- Bit Bridle Saddle Horse Rider

13/06/2025

13/06/2025

Yep 👍

08/06/2025

The most common question in the horse world has to got to be:

"How do I stop it?" followed by,

"How do I fix it?" and followed by the perennial

"Can I get a firmer/ stronger/ more effective one?"

meaning tool or gadget and probably one that works through causing the horse discomfort or pain.

Not many horse people want to know "why" or want to do some training.

It's something we always do as Positive Reinforcement trainers; we train horses. If we see problem behaviour, we try to work out what the function of the behaviour is, what's reinforcing it and what kind of alternative or incompatible behaviour (that is also reinforcing) that we can train.

All behaviour is communication and is often expressing an unmet need; to feel safe, not experience pain, be with conspecifics, etc.

The more that people look for band-aids and quick fixes, the more they will continue to experience problems with their horses.

Horses aren’t out to get us, or being a jerk, or naughty, they’re communicating the only way they know how, with their behaviour.

I never just try to "fix" problematic behaviour, I work out the cause.

💖

29/05/2025

COULD YOUR HORSE LOSE WEIGHT AND FEEL GREAT ON A TRACK GRAZING SYSTEM? A new study from researchers in the UK looked at "track grazing". If you haven't heard about it already, it might be a helpful way to help horses manage their weight.

WHAT IS A TRACK GRAZING SYSTEM?
Picture a fenced lane or track that runs around the edge of a field. Instead of having the whole field, horses walk along this track to get to their hay, water, and shelter. The idea is that this gets them moving more, and they naturally eat a bit less grass than if they were in a big open field.

We have a track system for our own horses here, and it's proved very helpful in maintaining their weight! We have a summer track for grazing, perfect for our minis and Welshie.

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STUDY & RESULTS
The study watched 19 horses at a rescue charity called HorseWorld. These horses either put on weight easily or had health issues that meant they couldn't exercise much. Some of these horses lived on track systems, while others lived in more traditional, smaller paddocks where their grass was already limited. The researchers kept an eye on their weight, checked their body condition (like seeing how much fat they had), had a farrier check their hooves, and watched how they behaved.

The results were pretty clear: the horses on the track systems lost much more weight! On average, the horses on the tracks lost about 10-11 kilograms (around 22-24 pounds). But the horses in the normal small paddocks actually gained about 7 kilograms (around 15 pounds) over the same summer period. The researchers also noticed that the horses on the track that was the hilliest lost the most weight, probably because they had to walk up and down more!

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WHY A HEALTHY WEIGHT IS IMPORTANT
Weight management is super important because keeping your horse at a healthy weight is one of the best ways to protect them from serious health problems like laminitis. Laminitis is a very painful hoof condition that can be triggered by being overweight, especially if a horse eats too much rich grass or has underlying metabolic issues. So, a system that helps manage weight naturally, like a track, is a big win for their overall health and can help avoid such painful problems.

One interesting thing was that just looking at the horses' body condition score (a way to judge fat levels by eye and feel) didn't always show these changes clearly. This suggests that this scoring method might not be perfect for spotting smaller, but still important, weight changes.

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A LESS STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENT?
The good news is that horses on the tracks seemed calm and content. The study found they showed fewer overall behaviours (like swishing tails, interacting, or general fidgeting) compared to horses in the smaller paddocks. Most importantly, there were no signs of stress behaviours like crib-biting or weaving on the track system. So, while they were encouraged to move more for their food, they weren't getting anxious or bored; if anything, they seemed more settled.

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WILL IT SUIT ALL HORSES?
It's worth remembering that while tracks are brilliant for good-doers, it can be trickier for breeds that burn through their calories quickly, like Thoroughbreds. If you have a horse like that, you may need to be extra watchful to make sure they're getting enough forage (like hay) and the correct supplements to keep them in good condition on a track.

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WHAT'S NEXT?
The people who did the study think more research would be helpful, like using GPS to see exactly how much horses move on these tracks. But for now, this is exciting news for any horse owner looking for a healthy, horse-friendly way to manage their horse's waistline and overall well-being!

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READ MORE
Here is a handy link to the original paper https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389973593_Tracking_the_Track_The_Impact_of_Different_Grazing_Strategies_on_Managing_Equine_Obesity

27/05/2025

Is your horse getting their steps in?

A horse at our yard came down with laminitis recently and when the vet visited she told us that there’s been an epidemic in the number of cases, and that got my brain 🧠 thinking 🤔

We as humans are told that 10’000 steps a day can help us loose weight, improve our cardio health, improve heart disease, reverse type 2 diabetes, its good for our joints, keeps our lymphatic system healthy, and so on and so on.

The average wild horse will wander up to 18 miles a day for forage and water, far more than our domesticated horses. We as humans have created nice flat, square open paddocks, where grass and forage are easy to access along with water.
So is this the reason we are seeing elevated cases of laminitis, EMS, CPL and other such related issues in horses?

10’000 steps is around 5 miles, so 15 miles must average around 30’000 steps. So should we be aiming to get our horses to move around 30’000 steps a day?
Obviously with out a pedometer attached to your horse permanently we’ll never know exactly how many steps they take, and some horses are more mobile than others, but I think we do need to consider how we can help them move more than they do, at the end of the day, it’s down to us how long they are out of the stable for and how well set up the field is in order to encourage more travelling.

You may think that schooling 3-4 times a week and out on a hack for the 5th is plenty of steps for your horse, so I thought I’d do some maths, yes, I did maths 🙈
The average school is around 20 x 40 meters. That makes a perimeter of 120 meters. 1 mile is 1609 meter so you’d have to ride round the school 14 times to achieve 1 mile.
Now, I’ve never counted how many times I’ve been round a school in order to do the next bit so I came from the other direction. The horses trot average is 8 miles per hour and we probably spend 2/3rds? Maybe less? Of a schooling session in trot, so that’s around 5 miles per hour. Going on the basis of my theory, you’d need to ride for 1 hour every day in order to achieve a third of the horses daily need for steps.

There are ways we can increase mobility for the horse in the field on a daily basis, and I’ve certainly seen a huge difference in my own horses by doing so.
The ultimate is a track system, with fiends and lots of lovely things to interest our beasts, with an all weather track made of sand stone, but that’s not always possible. A rudimentary track is possible though, using electric fencing placed inside the perimeter of your original fence. I know this as it’s what I’ve played with.
Even things like putting hay out as far away from the water source or blocking the easy route to water from where they are grazing will both mean they’ll have to get more steps in.

These are just the musings in my head but rehab centres are finding a huge impact on horses health, for the better, just by getting them to naturally move about more.

See how you may be able to help your horse get there steps in, and let us know if you see any changes ♥️

I’ll leave you with a video of Boris and Ellie when I first let them out on to the track.
TBH, I was definitely expecting more drama 🎭

23/05/2025

Bit and bridle fitting.
The fitter comes along with some pretty bridles for you to choose which you think is the prettiest, maybe or maybe not a bit of sparkle and then pop a few pretty bits in from a shiny company like Fager, Bomber or Neue Schule for you to ride in for a couple of mins then choose which one you want to spend a fortune on but you’re not really sure if your horse feels any different 🫤

That’s not the way I work

Think of a bit and bridle consultation with me as an investigation.
The first thing you can expect is a lot of questions.
How old is your horse?
How long have you owned them?
What’s the reason for my visit?
Do you feel you have any issues ridden or otherwise? When was the saddle last checked?
Teeth?
Bodywork?
Lameness issues?
Farrier/trimmer?
Feet issues? Etc etc….

While we chat, I’ll be looking at the horses back, muscle structures, how they like to rest, their demeanour, energy, injuries, palpitations for any obvious sore spots, your energy and demeanour, relationship with each other, horse reaction to tack and the process of tacking up, and on and on.

I don’t fit bridles for control or prettiness, to close an open mouth, to stop them “running through the bit” “avoiding the bit”
I don’t fit a bit so you have “more breaks” “more control” to “bring his head down”

I fit for comfort.
I fit to the conformation in front of me.
I fit to eliminate pressure points.

In turn this give you more breaks, more “control”, ( don’t like the word control as you should be communicating together, not controlling each other) closes his mouth and his head will naturally come down.

If we fit for comfort and to conformation but the horse still isn’t happy, then it’s time to look outside the box, and that’s where all of those questions come into play.
We may then need to look at calling the vet for investigation, the body worker, saddle fitter etc

A lot of the time I’m the last to be called, and a lot of the time I’m told “I wish we’d had you sooner” or “we had a bit fitter but they didn’t do anything like you’ve just done”

I’m not here to sell you a bit or bridle, I’m here to make yours and your horse’s life a happier and healthier one. Just so happens that you end up with a very pretty bridle in the process 😜🥰

Picture of Boris, because he’s pretty 🤩 and he started it all.

22/05/2025

Had to clear out the van for its MOT, which it passed, thankfully, so I thought I’d take a few photos of the fabulous saddle I have for you at the moment.
If you are interested in any then do drop me a message.

14/05/2025

I was talking today about the progression of learning with my trimmer and how long it takes before the masses know and understand what the few have discovered. This was conversation was about trimming and laminitis.
This little post from Southridge Equine shows just what we were talking about. This bit was invented in the 1860’s, that’s 165 years (ish) ago and we’ve only just figured out that looking in the horse’s mouth to actually see how the bit sits is a good idea in the last 20 ish years! And I only learned 9 years ago.

There’s always a better option than a French link. If you are currently riding in one then get in contact with a good bit fitter to see what the best option is for your horses mouth conformation ♥️

French Link VS Lozenge bits 🤔

They are both nice 'soft' bits right? Perfectly acceptable and all that.
❌ Not so much.

Lets start with the French Link, it was initially designed around 1860's from an early version of a Rockwell Snaffle - a driving bit. It was thought to be a good option for a snaffle bit for the majority of ridden horses and has been ever since.
The French link has a flat dog bone shaped plate joining the bit cannons, initially it was thought that the plate sat flat against the tongue when a contact was taken up. We now know this is definitely not the case. When the bit is on its working angle (the position it shifts to under rein tension) the plate rolls to its side and has even less surface pressure on the tongue which creates more of a pressure point.

👀 The image posted is an xray of a french link bit on its working angle. If you look at the joins of the bit you will see clearly the pressure the tongue is under and the V shape created by the flat link.

The lozenge rose to 'fame' in the 1980s and by comparison will still rotate and work in a similar manner. BUT because it is rounded there is more surface area to distribute that pressure. In easy speak is less of a fork edge and more of a spoon pressure for comparison - feel free to try that on your arm.

Slightly off tangent, but the Dr Bristol snaffle actually applies less tongue pressure and is kinder than the french link. Which is not how it was originally thought to be BUT that being said, the longer plate leaves the joins on the outer edges of the tongue which is never an ideal set up. The more you know!

This is why I will always encourage people to do research before grabbing the cheapest bit they can find or 'just using a snaffle'. And no, it doesn't matter how soft your hands are - the bit sits how it sits and the only thing that can make a change is the angle at which the bore holes are drilled.

Know better and do better 😘

29/04/2025

Sometimes Teabag surprises me with what he wants to do. He’s always been a bold horse, known for tackling new things head on and not with a lot of caution, but stables are not his favourite thing and given the choice he usually chooses to stay well away from them.

Until this evening that is, where he opened the latch and put himself (and a random chicken who did not feel like she had control 😳) in the stable multiple times. I untied him and let him choose, the door was open, he could leave whenever he wanted (he had to stay on the headcollar as the yard gate was open). We walked round for a bit, sniffed every wall, kicked the old dusty bedding around and then we left like nothing happened.

Facially, he was a bit worried the whole time, but interestingly he was more upset when he couldn’t get in the stable and didn’t have the choice to come in or out.

I work hard to ensure that choice and control are factored into every interaction we have, but I don’t often factor in the possibility that he might choose to explore something that makes him a bit worried.

That lack of control when he was tied up outside and couldn’t get in was more upsetting to him than the ability to explore something that he genuinely doesn’t like. It just goes to show that a) we don’t always know what they want and b) choice and control are far more important at helping a horse feel safe than just actively avoiding potentially stressful situations.

Here’s a picture of the orangutan looking mildly uncomfortable with his own decisions 😂 The door was wide open next to me so he could walk past me and out if he wanted. I’d be interested to see what he would do without a headcollar, if he wasn’t tied up outside to begin with, maybe he wouldn’t go near the stable at all.

28/04/2025

Good to think about
I will add that if you are going through a rehabilitation process, however big or small, then changes may incur pain from somewhere else.
What do I mean?
A horse in rehab may start to make good postural changes, and that’s great, but in that process muscles that haven’t been used for a while will start to be worked which, in turn, will make them ache or sore as they build up. Just as when we undertake a new fitness routine one to two days after you can feel muscles you never even knew you had, and so we compensate for a while after. It’s the same for your horse.
So if you’re horse is doing great and feeling great one week but seems to be not quite right the next, don’t panic, keep an eye on it and remember rest is as much a part of rehabilitation as exercise

This is adapted from a course prsentation I did a few (ahem) years back. The point is that often, just resting a horse with a 'sore back' isn't enough, especially when the problem has been building up due to ride after ride with a saddle that doesn't fit. It varies of course - not all saddle misfts are equal and nor are pain levels. Should we just assume it's negligible? Of course not! If unsure, the best option is to get advice.
Also, recognise that while a problem may not be veterinary level in its seriousness, it can still be utterly debilitating for a horse that's being asked to perform. Chronic pain, and associated musculoskeletal changes and postural adaptation, can be as deeply damaging as acute problems. It can also be soul-destroying. That's why being thoughtful and engaging empathy is important, especially when it comes to recognising that a horse may still expect pain for a while to come.
Please feel free to add your own points and observations - I'm sure there will be a few :-)

- Jane

25/04/2025

Every day certainly is a school day. It still amazes me how quickly things in the body can change. Imagine this the other way round, in 4 weeks your horse could go from a happy comfortable horse to resistant and just not quite right.
Food for thought 💭

14/02/2025

Congratulations Wendy Smith 🤩
Knights Saddles are running a series of giveaways on the lead up to the launch of their fabulous saddle so keep an eye out for the next 😉

🏇🏇 Thank you all for your shares and comments.

Please remember we are running a series of giveaways. Make sure you are following the page so you can keep an eye out for them.

📢📣 Wendy Smith, you are the winner! 🎉🎉

Please contact us so we can organise getting the prize to you.

Thank you all. Good luck with the future giveaways.