Teeter Training

11/02/2023

Great visual!

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween!!

10/30/2023

- When my instructor repeats to me: ′′Straighten your shoulders and open your chest!” He’s not just teaching me how to stand up. He's teaching me that in life we should always walk straight and face problems head on.

- When my instructor asks me to lower my legs and keep them close to the horse, he teaches me that in life we do not allow distractions and that little is enough to deviate from his path.

- When my instructor tells me "Too much hand, don't hang on to the reins! "He teaches me to give and not to take, with the greatest respect of others.

- When he yells and repeats endlessly: "Look forward in the direction you want to go!” He teaches me the importance of setting goals and never losing sight of them to achieve them.

- When I ask to move up or do more and my instructor says I'm not ready, he teaches me that in life you must always respect your rhythm and never skip the steps.

- When I fall and get back up, I learn that there are always setbacks, times when we back up, but the important thing is to get up more determined than before.

- If I hold my breath during a ride and he jokingly tells me "breathe! You are purple!” I understand that you have to let your emotions flow in order to get rid of them.

- When at the end of the course I am happy with the work done and my instructor says to me′ ′Well done, thank your teacher′′ I know he is not referring to himself but to my horse.

- Now you, you who are watching a rider pass in the saddle, keep saying that riding is not a sport because it is the horse that does everything. I agree. Horse riding is not a sport. It is a life lesson.

10/27/2023

This is why I always ask for pictures from the front to show the angles and flare along with measurements. I have told so many clients, who were looking for a saddle for their horse, to ask for this or have me come look at their horse to help them figure out the best flare size for their horse.

This is what frustrates me about the saddle industry. Both of these saddles are "full quarter horse bars" with 7" gullets (as correctly measured between the concho's and listed as such by the manufacturers). But clearly the difference in flare and bar angle is huge! Saddle on the right is a Martin and the saddle on the left is a Charmayne James by Cactus. Why can't we buy saddles by bar angle????? **edited to say - I didn’t take this pic - found it on FB about 4 years ago from someone who forwarded it. The original mastermind is Jenny Barnes - I found out from her posting here that she took the picture. Hats off to Jenny for trying to educate folks to begin with ❤️ so 𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙!

10/26/2023

Dearest Riders,

Please let me remind you of something very important. Horse showing, riding and training are insanely difficult. If you have a crappy ride, a less than stellar show ring result (or if you made your trainer want to pull their hair out today), it just means there's more to learn. The people who had good rides today are not exempt from disappointing rides tomorrow. They also have bad days and, if they're very experienced riders, they've had a whole bunch of bad days.

There will always be someone out there on a more talented horse, someone with a bigger bank account, someone who never struggled to learn to sit the trot...life isn't fair. You probably can't win the lottery or grow 5 more inches of leg. You can, however, wake up every morning and be thankful that you're able to ride horses. Work hard at becoming the best rider you can be with the body and the bank account that you have right now. Work at being the rider your horse wants up there on his back. Your horse's opinion of your riding is more valuable than any judge's opinion could ever be.

10/24/2023

Great information!

10/22/2023

10/20/2023

Great article to help improve your horses’ top line.

https://madbarn.com/exercises-to-improve-horses-topline/?fbclid=IwAR3uXDMtAa-rVQ6jOkgbjOnc105RehKluWE42eqH-4t3BKgylWjJBKTtiUw_aem_ATe_aMmmJj9Ls_dByFjET016BVTwJpL2NjAZ7EUNUxJ9oZZRbObNo5w8Kitu0LSAZUHEIw3MqBmqu-xK66Igdpfo

A strong topline is one of the most important indicators of a well-conditioned horse. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing and supporting performance, a good topline can protect your working horse from strain and injury.

10/19/2023

Easy keeper horses...where does it come from?

(There is nothing easy about it)

Many Morgans, donkeys, Quarter Horses, Mustangs and others can be found with this label.

If we harken back to those and other breeds' ancestry, we find that they were genetically adapted to survive in harsher situations or in high work by having an exceptionally thrifty metabolism and traveling a lot.

This is why you can take a mustang off the range in Nevada and have it come to Virginia and become an air fluff with hoof issues. Horses who grew up in starvation situations can also flip over to fluff status later in life. Horses who in their early years were fed an exceptionally high starch/sugar diet can also be predisposed to falling into this category.

They most often have cresty necks and fat deposits on their bodies (especially near the tail head and over the eyes). These are the horses who drive their owners crazy trying to keep them slim enough because dry lots and 2 flakes of hay per day only seem to make them bigger and angrier.

For these horses it is especially important that they have a diet that is balancing adequate mineral needs with low carbohydrates and limited fat intake. This is Hard

Commercial feeds that are supposedly low NSC and marketed for Easy Keepers/EMS horses are often really not, either. The goal for these horses is to have an NSC value at 10% or less. Many of the feeds that are targeting these horse owners are actually 16% or above, which isn't ideal at all.

Add this frustration to soaking hay for 30+ minutes and keeping your horse off of grass much of the time while still getting exercise in, and it is enough to make a horse owner take up kick boxing just to have some way to let off steam.

We can empathize having gone through this struggle ourselves. People want to have an easy path to follow, and in these cases, there is not always a one size fits all, step by step approach.

The journey to health for your horse begins in the education of yourself and understanding what resources that you have available in your own area.

Some information that you can start with...

1. Carbohydrates are not these horses friend. That means a lot of the time grass is going to be off the table for your pal and you need to know what is in your hay. High protein should also be off the table. Watch your ration balancers because some of them can be very problematic also.

2. We cannot stress enough exercise, exercise, exercise. Your horse has got to move. Ride your horse, make a track system, get him a donkey that chases him in circles all day but doesn't beat him up (maybe that is a joke, maybe not)

3. You cannot make these horses think they are starving. Somehow you have to figure out how to feed them in an all day trickle. If you are soaking your hay make sure your horse does not get the soaking water. It contains all you just tried to remove from your horse's diet.

4. Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin E, plain salt and Magnesium are super important for these horses. You are probably going to need someone very knowledgeable to help you analyze where your horse is and what your horse needs.

5. In most cases bags of grain, no matter what is on the label, do not serve these horses well. You are probably going to have to go to more simple ingredient feeding. Some ration balancers can be a great help.

6. Have your hay and ground analyzed to see what you are dealing with. High iron sources can interfere with copper and zinc absorption which is very unhelpful. Clover is high iron and so are some weeds. Timothy Hay is more NSC than orchard grass. Hay grown in high iron soil is also high iron.

Here are some resources for you to start with.

https://www.ecirhorse.org/treatment-

https://www.facebook.com/124619504251477/posts/2330795680300504/

https://www.ecirhorse.org/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ddte_campaign

https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/equine-metabolic-syndrome

10/10/2023

Question

Is it safe to graze horses after a killing frost? What do I need to consider before turning them back out on pasture? Also, what defines a killing frost?

Response

A killing frost (or hard freeze) refers to a frost that is severe enough to end the growing season. The National Weather Service defines a hard freeze when temperatures fall below 28ºF for a few hours.

We recommend keeping horses off pastures for 7 days after a killing frost. Frost-damaged pastures are higher in nonstructural carbohydrates because plants can not use up their stored carbohydrates as efficiently. It can take plants 7 days to return to more normal nonstructural carbohydrate levels. Higher levels of nonstructural carbohydrates can lead to an increase risk for laminitis, especially in horses diagnosed with or prone to obesity, laminitis, Cushings, and Equine Metabolic Syndrome.

The decision to graze again after a killing frost depends on the condition of your pasture. After a killing frost, no additional regrowth of the pasture will occur, even though the pasture might appear green in color. If your cool-season grass pasture is

✅ taller than 3 to 4 inches, then grazing can resume 7 days after a killing frost and can continue until the pasture is grazed down to 3 to 4 inches.
❌ shorter than 3 to 4 inches, then no grazing should occur after a killing frost.

The 3- to 4-inch minimum height recommendation is necessary to help maximize winter survival and can help predict a vigorous and healthy pasture come spring. We do recognize horses rarely graze uniformly and pastures tend to have areas of both over and under grazing. Therefore, owners need to base decisions on the average appearance of the pasture.

10/05/2023

We know I love visuals!
What does your horses’ b***y look like?

10/03/2023

I had a wonderful ride on Sprüdel this morning!

09/25/2023

𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸, 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲!

𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 ’𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀’

𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘁𝗰 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹, 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁. 𝗕𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲/𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁/𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲. 𝗜𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴) 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀, 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸/𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿.

𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 😀

09/23/2023

Not a joke...

Have you ever wondered why you can have a 15 acre field and part of it is chewed down to nubs and the other part has grass a hand high, But your horse is constantly grazing in the chewed down part?

Grass 6 inches and taller has less sugars than grass under 6 inches.

For every inch drop below 6 inches, the fructan (sugar) content rises.

Grass under 6 inches is stressed like it's a Monday morning with a project deadline. It uses sugar to repair itself.

Stop mowing your fields short.

Stop grazing your chubbys on chewed down grass. (this is why grazing muzzles are so touted...they keep the horse from being able to get much short grass)

(We aren't saying let your fields be 3 feet tall, by the way. The optimal thing to do is keep them 6-8 inches tall and graze them in small areas there)

09/15/2023

To help you understand what the horse feels when you sit crookedly in the saddle…

Load a wheelbarrow heavily to one side as in the center illustration. Now push the wheelbarrow, and feel how it pulls to the weighted side and how you are forced to lean in that direction to compensate. That’s how your horse feels when you sit unevenly in the saddle, as shown in the left image. When you sit evenly, the horse will be centered and balanced as shown in the illustration on the right. —Sharon Sweet (Illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz)

09/07/2023

I totally agree!

For all of my friends that own, train, or care for horses. This is a MUST READ...

What is the longest a horse can safely go without food?
Answer from a veterinarian-
More and more I see horses and ponies stood for long periods of time with no hay or haylage. Usually under the guise of a “weight control diet”. So how long can a horse be without food before damage is done? And what damage is done?

For those with a short attention span, I’ll give you the answer to begin with - 4 hours, maximum.

Why?

Horses are grazers. They are designed to eat constantly. They have no way of storing their acids and digestive enzymes, they’ve never needed to. They have no gall bladder to store bile and their stomachs release acid constantly, whether or not there is food in the stomach and intestines.

A horses stomach only holds approximately 8-15 litres. Depending on the substance eaten, it takes on average 4-6 hours for the stomach to completely empty. After this, the acids and enzymes start to digest the inside of the horses stomach and then the intestines. This causes both gastric and intestinal ulceration. It has been estimated that 25-50% of foals and 60-90% of adult horses suffer from ulceration. But I won’t go into detail about this, there is a lot of information around about ulcers.

So is that it? Are ulcers the only concern?

No, having an empty stomach is a stress situation for a horse. The longer they are starved, the more they release stress hormones, cortisol predominantly. Cortisol blocks insulin and causes a constantly high blood glucose level. This stimulates the body to release even more insulin, and in turn this causes fat tissue to be deposited and leptin resistance. Over time this causes insulin resistance (Equine Metabolic Syndrome). All of these mechanisms are well known risk factors for laminitis and are caused by short term starvation (starting roughly 3-4 hours after the stomach empties). Starving a laminitic is literally the worst thing you can do. Over longer periods, this also starts to affect muscle and can cause weakness, and a lack of stamina so performance horses also need a constant supply of hay/haylage to function optimally.

Let’s not forget horses are living, breathing and feeling animals. We talk about this stress reaction like it’s just internal but the horse is well aware of this stress. Door kicking, box walking, barging and many other stable vices and poor behaviour can be explained by a very stressed horse due to food deprivation (we all have that Hangry friend to explain this reaction). Next time you shout or hit a horse that dives for their net, remember their body is genuinely telling them they are going to starve to death. They know no different.

But surely they spend the night asleep so they wouldn’t eat anyway?

Not true. Horses only need 20mins REM sleep every 24 hours (jealous? I am!). They may spend a further hour or so dozing but up to 22-23 hours a day are spent eating. So if you leave your horse a net at 5pm and it’s gone by 8pm, then by 12am their stomach is empty. By 4am they are entering starvation mode. By their next feed at 8am, they are extremely stressed, physically and mentally.

Now I know the many are reading this mortified. I can almost hear you shouting at your screen “if I feed my horse ad lib hay he won’t fit out the stable door in a week!!”

I will say that a horse with a constant supply of hay/haylage will eat far less then the same horse that is intermittently starved. They don’t eat in a frenzy, reducing the chance of colic from both ulcers and over eating.
Don’t forget exercise. The best way to get weight off a horse is exercise. Enough exercise and they can eat what they want!

Written by Vikki Fowler BVetMed BAEDT MRCVS

A few edits for the critics-

Firstly, feeding a constant supply does not mean ad lib feeding. It means use some ingenuity and spread the recommended amount of daily forage so the horse is never stood with out food for more than 4 hours. I am not promoting obesity, quite the opposite, feeding like this reduces obesity and IR. This can be done whilst feeding your horse twice a day as most horse owners do. Just think outside the box. Hang a hay bag or hay net*is one solution. Every horse/pony and situation is different, but this is a law of nature and all horses have this anatomy and metabolism. How you achieve this constant supply is individual, the need for it is not.

*the use of hay nets in the UK is very very high. I’d estimate 95% of horses I see are fed this way and very very few have incisor wear or neck/back issues as a result. Yes, feeding from the ground is ideal, but a constant supply, I feel trumps this. Again with ingenuity both can be safely achieved.

Final finally 🤦‍♀️ and I feel I must add this due to the sheer number of people contacting me to ask, feed your horses during transport!!! I am astonished this is not normal in other countries! Again in the UK, we give our horses hay nets to transport. We don’t go 10 mins up the road without a haynet and a spare in case they finish! Considering we are a tiny island and we rarely transport even 4 hours, we never transport without hay available. I have never seen an episode of choke due to travelling with hay available. If you are concerned, use a slow feeder net so they can’t take too much in at once.

If you get to the end of this post and your first thought is “I can’t do this with my horse/pony, they’d be morbidly obese”, you haven’t read the advice in this post thoroughly.

Thanks Trish!!

08/30/2023

Teach the student that shows up.
I’ve gotten what some have referred to as “difficult” students… the slow thinkers, the dyslexics, those with shockingingly minimal proprioception, the nervous over thinkers, the physically challenged,…
Whatever. I teach them the best I can. They learn what they learn. It’s not my job to decide if their speed of progress is acceptable or not- that’s up to them! If they are happy and having fun, and they keep showing up, (and yes, pay their bill) then I keep teaching them the absolute best I know how!!!!
I’ve had students that progress [what to me feels] painfully slow at first, but then things click and, like grass growing, you can’t see it, but there it is!!! Some are slow thinkers but fast learners. Some have a challenging learning style that pushes me to become a better teacher. Sometime kids show no RIDING progress, but parents rave about how the child is better behaved and a better listener for 1-2 days following their lesson- that’s progress!!!! Who cares if they still bumble around in posting trot, and can’t figure out diagonals. Sometimes adults struggle for awhile until they get strong/fit enough and then suddenly make a big leap. Sometimes fear issues can hold someone back for what feels like forever, but then they “suddenly”, after a year of repetition, break free and find their confidence.

Progress isn’t linear, and sometimes we are using the wrong metrics to measure success anyways. If two hours at the barn is the only time a parent isn’t worried about their child taking their own life, than who cares if the kid doesn’t want to trot and is content steering at the walk.

Sometimes us pros think “good” students have to be like us- athletic with big goals, and dedication to spare. But not everyone is in it for that, and that’s okay- I’ll meet them where they are and teach the best I can… using THEIR metrics- not mine.

Btw- pic is most instructor’s dream student. Quick learner, good feel, knows left from right, memorizes a pattern quickly, brave without being reckless…. But I would be out of business if I could only teach kids like this one. 😉

08/28/2023

08/24/2023

Good morning everyone, I want to start off by saying how thankful I am for all of the people who have reached out to me about lessons and training. Wow, you guys are awesome! But, I did want to clarify some things. I don’t have my own lesson horses nor do I work out of a facility. I am only offering remote lessons and training, meaning I travel to you. I have very limited spots available for lessons and training, because I travel from barn to barn. Also, I have redesigned my business to focus on finishing horses; Horses that need a tune up, show prep, or being exercised by someone other than their owner. I will no longer offer training for breaking horses, as I had surgery at the beginning of July and I want to give my body enough time to fully recover from this. I am living in Goose Creek, SC. If you would like, please reach out to me if these are services you are interested in. Thanks again!

08/24/2023

Mistakes happen. Every day, someone somewhere sends the wrong text, misses their appointment, or attaches the wrong file to an email. When we show horses, we might miss a lead, break in front of the judge, or forget our pattern. No matter what the mistake is, the most important part is how you handl...

08/22/2023

Now that I have recovered from my surgery, I’m back open for lessons!

07/27/2023

It’s easy to look at someone’s results with their horse this way…

All too often I come across people who get to feeling frustrated and impatient that their horse isn’t doing the thing they want them to do.

It’s a hard one to respond to because the honest answer is this picture.

Are you doing all the work below the surface or are you just expecting to get the result.

What has to happen under the surface?

discipline…

Discipline yourself in how you behave… Discipline your mindset, attitude, habits, effort, education, etc are all the things that don’t require talent but are required to get the bigger picture you seek.

07/04/2023

https://www.youtube.com//videos

06/20/2023

BUTTERCUPS
Many horse owners ask about blisters, sores and scabs that they see on their horse's lips, gums, noses and lower legs at this time of year.

If you have buttercups in your grazing fields, then these might be the reason for those sores (but not exclusively*).

Symptoms include the horse developing blistering in and around the mouth and/or what looks like sunburn on their nose or mud-fever scabs on their lower legs (this is seen a lot in horses with white hair and pink skin, however it is not exclusive to these types).

Buttercups contain a glycoside (a chemical compound found in plants) called 'Ranunculin' which, when the plant is broken down through eating or being disturbed (e.g. when crushed/bruised when trodden on), this compound breaks down to form a toxin called 'Protoanemonin'. It is this toxin which, when coming in to contact with mucous membranes (tongue, gums), lips and skin causes the blisters and sores.

Buttercups are actually very bitter to the taste and given the choice, horses will avoid eating the plant itself, however if ingested it can sometimes cause diarrhoea, excess salivation and colic.

Buttercups are prolific growers and are seen on pastures which have been over-grazed, are horse-sick or the grass is sparse (i.e. areas of bare mud where grass is struggling to grow due to previous damage such as poaching) and can thrive because horses prefer not to eat them so they are avoided and left to grow.

The presence of buttercups often indicates the need for improvements to soil structure and drainage, and harrowing the field during April to October can help to improve grass growth, aerate the soil and break-up the growth of the buttercups. They are very hard to eradicate completely and pasture health and management is key - they seed when they are in flower, so they need to be treated before the flowers appear.

An interesting fact is that Buttercups are 'heliotropic' which means that they follow the sun across the sky throughout the day (like Sunflowers do).

If your horse, pony or donkey shows any of these symptoms mentioned, always contact your vet.

*Note: A sunburnt-looking nose can also be caused by ingestion of St. John's Wort or a sign of liver disease in horses, which can cause photosensitisation (when the animal becomes abnormally reactive to ultraviolet light) which can be caused by ingesting toxic plants, amongst other causes.

You can call us on: 0131 664 5606 or email us at: [email protected].

06/19/2023

Hαρρყ Fɾιԃαყ

06/09/2023

🔥🔥🔥

06/09/2023

⁉️ Question time! ⁉️

When was the last time you groomed your horse? 🤔

We all suffer from it….lack of time, lack of energy, only brushing the muddy bits (if at all!), prioritising riding, easier to bath…….you name it, I’ve heard it and said it myself!

Grooming is by far the undersung hero of our equine care practices! It is absolutely fantastic for so many reasons, physical and emotional:

🤕 Showing subtle and sometimes major signs of pain in the body where your horse might flinch away, or show behavioural signs
☠️ Highlighting areas your horse is less happy to have touched
🤲🏻 Feeling areas that are harder or softer than they should be
💪🏻 Allowing you to notice larger or smaller areas of their musculature which could be suggesting something isn’t functioning the way it should
💆🏼‍♀️ Massage and stimulation of the muscles to boost blood supply and reduce pain levels
🤲🏻 Assessing for any lumps, bumps and cuts
❤️ Building a better connection and bond
🦄 Boosting your horses well-being as mostly they love to be groomed! And if they don’t, then it may be time to take a look at that
🧹 Truly cleaning their coat and lifting dust

It’s an art that seems to be lost these days in our busy modern lives, and one of my favourite homework exercises! You can take this further by adding in a more fascia based groom using different brushes.

Whatever your reason, please please do your four legged besties a big favour and start giving them a regular deep groom 🙌🏻💕

06/07/2023

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!