A horse & human journey to harmony & wellbeing. This is the story of a young Irish Sport Horse & a c
07/07/2025
A very early ride this morning which meant that we missed the flies and also got out before the wind.
A nice saunter up the Glen - always cool and quiet with the peaceful sounds of the river and birds adding to the atmosphere and then back down the road which gives great views of the Strathearn Valley and my neighbours highland cattle.
We both did some foraging - Milly enjoyed a selection including plantain, cleavers, hazel and willow whilst I made the most of being on horseback to get the higher up edible wild cherries which are absolutely amazing at the moment.
We have BT fibre being installed along the verge on our road so going out was interesting as Milly had to check every traffic cone and every barrier. Coming back you would think would be easier but seeing things with a different eye = different brain and although we were literally at our gateway there was no way Milly was going past the red barrier lying on the ground! As soon as I hopped off to lead her she was ready to march on!
Just as we arrived home the first of the horseflies of the day appeared so our timing was perfect!
05/07/2025
Despite the weird summer and grass growth, this has been our best year so far in terms of hoof health and also body weight.
We have made changes that seem to be working.
1) Switched from Calm Healthy Horses supplements to Forageplus which is based on analysis of UK forage and is super low iron.
This is a low calorie way to add protein which is needed for muscles, energy levels and hoof and skin health
3) Trimming to the live sole plane. My farrier simply follows the parameters set by the horse and trims every 6 weeks bringing hooves back into balance where they have not naturally worn. He doesn’t cut frogs except to prevent debris causing thrush or excess frog material leading to pressure points. All the horses seem happy with this trimming style which is sympathetic to the natural hoof , doesn’t impose any particular “ideal” and leaves them comfortable and happy walking over our stony tracks.
4) Grass track overnight and grass free with hay during the day. This seems to work best particularly in fly season as the horses naturally prefer to be out overnight and hide in the stables or the woods during the day browsing from hay nets.
Otherwise it’s a simple bucket feed of Thunderbrooks Healthy Herbal chaff, Baileys Meadow cobs, salt and a handful of linseed for omegas plus Forage Plus Hoof and Skin health Winter balancer (I feed this version all year round to ensure sufficient vitamin E).
For all three horses who previously had white line separation and footiness, we now have a better quality hoof with a nice tight white line. All three are also staying at the correct weight even although only Milly is in actual “work”
Same hay supply for the past four years which comes from my neighbours old meadow grass ley which I have tested and is only 7% sugar so the hay is not an issue.
Hopefully we have figured out what works here even in a fairly challenging warm wet summer but it is a constant challenge!
01/07/2025
Wow thank you Academic Art of Riding - Bettina Biolik for coming to my place today for another lesson following up on the clinic at the weekend.
It was great to be able to continue with the work and get one to one help with a little more to leave us with plenty to work on going forward.
We worked on techniques to free up the shoulders to allow the thoracic sling the space to lift. We did this first on the lunge and then ridden. Milly worked really well and her trotting on the lunge has really transformed since starting this work. Trotting under saddle was a little more challenging and will take time and practice before she is able to do the same with the weight of a rider.
Horse work was followed by a lovely walk up our glen with good chat and foraging for wild cherries
A perfect way to spend a day 🤎🤍🤎
30/06/2025
What a wonderful weekend of learning and time spent with a group of lovely like minded riders.
It’s hard in the horse world to find your way and not feel all alone when the majority are still following very traditional methods.
Last weekend was a treat of sharing experiences and knowledge with a bunch of people who totally get us and who have been on similar journeys. So refreshing to find your tribe
Our ridden work was slow and precise working on developing a better feel for how to help Milly remain in balance through subtle changes in my seat. Noticing when the swing in her ribcage was like a lop sided pendulum, when she needed to step through more with her inside hind and how to support her tendency to fall onto her inside shoulder on the right rein. Encouraging her to really stretch out her top line.
All done with seat and weight shifting and no fiddling with reins at all. We ended up with a horse who was more relaxed and in much better balance on both reins.
We were using our Rebalance Equestrian cavesson set up with one rein on the bosal rings under the chin and the other reins on the cavesson rings but we barely touched them.
We need to practise now and get it really good before progressing onto more complicated work.
The Academic Art of Riding work is very slow and deliberate almost meditative - like yoga or tai chi on horseback! It’s something that is however accessible to all. It doesn’t need a fancy horse or even fancy equipment as it’s simply a healthy way for any horse and rider to work.
As a result it is a very relaxing way to spend time with your horse as both of you come to the end of a session having really let some stuff go.
Bettina as always was a super teacher, very patient and great at giving the kind of detailed explanation as to why we are doing something that really helps cement it into your brain.
We feel encouraged again to carry on down this path - so much easier when it is an approach that really resonates and puts the horse first.
28/06/2025
Back in the classroom for some Academic Art of Riding training with Bettina Biolik
Despite the windy conditions Milly was an excellent student this morning in lesson one of our two lessons today
24/06/2025
Awww Milly doesn’t have a monopoly on beauty here.
Opal and Matty posing nicely this evening 🥰
23/06/2025
Interesting day messing around with saddles.
The thing about Wow saddles is they are modular so you can switch around all the parts.
I was mainly trying an alternative seat which was newer than my spare seat in case it worked for me and I could set it up as a second saddle - eventually for Opal. But I also switched around the flaps as well and it was quite revealing as to what Milly preferred and also what suited me best.
Milly has always craved shoulder freedom so her favourites were our original VSD flaps as they have very little material on her shoulders. Same seat and same panels just changing the flaps and she was striding forward more.
For me the new seat really didn’t work and it shows how important the right seat for your pelvis and thigh shape is and why trying and riding in different seat styles is so important . I must have a high pelvic arch and we know I have skinny thighs so without the support of my usual deep seat in the pommel area I was feeling tipped forward the whole time because there was nothing there!
I would say the best hip shoulder heel alignment for me was also in the VSD (bottom of the collage of ridden pics) but I did also mess with stirrup lengths so possibly not very scientific!
So I now know the Wow deep seat is the one that best suits my anatomy and that Milly is happiest with the least saddle on her shoulders so we will ride in that set up again.
I did quite like the cross country flaps I also borrowed so the last test I might do is to ride in those in my normal seat as I do like a good positive thigh block and these have those.
And I don’t think bit versus bitless made any real difference as she is happy in both.
One day maybe saddle makers will 3D map your pelvis in order to custom print a seat that will fit you perfectly!
22/06/2025
Out and about yesterday with some bum building hill work 💪🤎🤍🤎🤍
Video in comments 🙂
21/06/2025
This morning we set off super early to try to beat the heat and the flies. It nearly worked but my trusty fly swat really helped too!
21/06/2025
What a clever girl
I have never bathed Opal so today to cool down I gave her a cold hose.
She was slightly hesitant but soon accepted that this was actually a good thing and she let me hose her all over.
Another positive first experience for a youngster
18/06/2025
Having fun under a moody sky.
17/06/2025
Keeping on with the cross training so mixing up in hand work with ridden work and hacking out.
Seeing nice positive changes to the old patterns of movement and as we untangle some stuff we make some things worse so she currently is offering counter canter a lot!
As we build strength where it is needed and stop her recruiting the wrong muscle groups this will no doubt resolve.
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My Journey with Milly
Back in October 2017 at the ripe old age of 51 I decided to tick an item off my bucket list and I bought my first horse - a 6 year old Irish Sport Horse named Milly. I was naive back then and purchased her from photos and videos and with a 2 stage vetting. I had fallen in love with her kind eye and decided that whatever she was like when she arrived I would deal with it. She arrived after a long journey from Ireland skinny, stressed, anxious, with no trust in humans and clearly needing some tlc. I began to question my sanity at this point but, never one to quit, I decided that her best chance was with me so it was up to me learn whatever it took to help her.
And so it began - the long slow process of bringing her back to health and relaxation.
I will update this about section as I remember all the things we have done in the last 18 months - as there is so much! So first lets talk about hooves .....
Milly arrived with shoes on her front feet, contracted and underrun heels bad thrush in every hoof and mud fever on her hind legs. So that is where I started. Through the power of Facebook I found a knowledgeable barefoot trimmer (Libby Thorman) who gave me advice on what to feed (low starch and low sugar) and pointed me to information on the internet to learn about barefoot and the importance of diet. The shoes came off in November 2017 and Milly heaved a huge sigh of relief. In the arena the next day she demonstrated a beautiful floating extended trot at liberty by way of saying thank you. The thrush was tackled daily with Horse Leads hoof spray and clay, apple cider vinegar and weekly spray with Backtakill 55 - I really should have soaked her feet in Cleantrax but at that stage in our partnership there was no way I would get Milly to stand with her hoof in a soaking bucket for 45 minites. She would barely lift her feet for picking out at that time and would slam them down almost immediatley as she did not like the feeling of vulnerability that standing on three legs gave her. My lovely friend Helen would help me treat her feet, distracting Milly while I worked but it was a sweaty stressful two person job! And the mud fever? Well that has gone and never returned since the Spring 2018 when her body must have kicked it into touch itself :-)
Gradually over time, with careful trimming and with plenty of turnout and walking in hand over different surfaces her hooves have become closer to the hooves she should have. Smaller, better digital cushion and her breakover has come more in line with her point of balance, the thrush has gone, the central sulcus groove is no longer deep and harbouring bugs and the heels are getting there! I wouldn’t call her “rock crunching” as she definitely feels stones but will quite happily walk on them. So far we have not used hoof boots however now that we are planning to hack out and she will have my weight added on top I am going to invest in some front boots so that she does not feel the need to dive onto the verge on stony paths.
