To finish this blog series, I thought I would end on a rather humorous note: all the many many crazy things that terrify horses. With all of the hours of time I have spent around horses over the years, I could probably come up with a list of over 100 instances where my horse spooked […]

Many people, that are not familiar with horses, may be wondering why exactly people cut their hair or shave their bodies. The answer to this curiosity is for cleanliness and health reasons. A big part of it is also tradition since people have been riding horses for thousands of years.  It is very common for […]

Have you ever thought about going to a barn or stable? I thought that I would discuss some general barn etiquette that you will want to follow when visiting horses. Most of these rules are pretty universal regardless of the barn that you visit and the general purpose of having rules in the first place […]

In last week’s blog, we talked about the beginning steps of getting ready to ride including human attire as well as cleaning the horse off or “grooming.” This week I will focus on the next step of “tacking up” where you put all of the necessary equipment on a horse.    Usually, the rider will […]

Unlike other sports, where you need to change into the appropriate clothing; stretch; and then get started with your workout, horseback riding starts and ends with caring for your horse because without them there is no sport.  My riding routine begins with changing in to breeches, essentially tan leggings with a knee patch to better […]

What does falling from a horse really feel like? Until you fall, you are bound to be both curious and terrified of the unknown so in today’s blog post I will describe my own experiences to you.  When I was younger and less experienced, I fell off more than a few times before getting really […]

  Instead of planning to fall, equestrians learn to ride. From the very beginning, new riders learn how to read a horse’s emotions so they can predict when a horse might feel threatened and begin to act irrationally.  Riders also learn a “basic-balanced-position” and this is the most stable position to be in even in […]

I think part of what makes the thought of riding a horse so scary for most people is not only working with such a large creature but the possibility of falling off this large creature. Did you know that equestrian helmets are actually quite different from bike helmets and most equestrian competitions do not consider […]

I have one horse, Oliver, who was previously in a boarding situation. What this means is that you essentially pay rent for a stall and pasture at a larger facility with other boarders. Because I live on a larger piece of property, I decided to go forward and move my horse onto my own property. […]

  After being home for the holidays, I thought it would be interesting to share how my horse lives and how I set up his home. Unlike a dog or cat, horses require a little more pre-planning when it comes to designing and setting up an ideal habitat for them. Some of the most basic […]