How To - General Equine Advice

My name is Jennifer and I have been riding for decades. I knew very quickly that I wanted to spend my life with horses, in nature. The trigger occurred at the age of 10 when I discovered the profession of ‘Animal Osteopath’. Since that day, this passion has not left me. 15 years ago, this therapy was not very popular in France but I finally found a 3 year course. After taking this course I wanted to complete my knowledge so I started a 5 year course in osteopathy for humans and had my own pr...

One of the things that seemed really odd to me when I first lived in the Middle East, was that some of the horses wore a green strip of fabric ribbon around their pastern; a little bracelet. Not too many horses had it – maybe two in a yard of 30 horses. Finally, I tracked down a human who had both the English language AND the Arabic culture to explain. Only the very best horses have it, because it’s to protect them from jealousy and the Evil Eye. The evil eye is fiercely believed and feared ...

Hi there! My name’s Chloe and I’ve just become a contributor for Horsemart. I'm so so excited to be here! My content will mainly consist of discussions and help/advice. I’m 23 years old and live on the outskirts of Birmingham. I’d love to say I’m extremely confident but I’m not! I lost my first pony, Conker, when I was 8 years old, and the 5 year gap between losing Conker and owning my now horse, Poppy, proved to be harder than I thought it would be. It seemed like I’d missed out o...

There are probably only a few words or phrases that really strike fear into an equestrian: “loose horse”, “strangles” and “box rest”. Hopefully, you’ve not encountered the first two but I’m sure the majority of you will have had a period of box rest at one stage. To me, there’s two categories of box rest: 'box rest light' and 'box rest'. 'Box rest light' I’d classify as anything up to about 8 weeks. Not great, but completely doable without too much rearranging or hassle, a...

Hi, I’m really excited to be part of the Horsemart blog team. I’m Clare Guest and here’s a quick rundown of myself, where I’ve been and where I plan on going! Basically, I’m a middle-aged horse-mad woman who is lucky enough to have the most amazing partner in Phil; great chef and DIY extraordinaire. Our household is completed by Paddy the non-event horse, Milton the marvelous mini Shetland, Hamish the collie and two cats, Snuff and McCavity. We live ‘Up North’ in the glorious Fo...

Hi Everyone. Today, I want to discuss something that is close to my heart, something that I feel people should discuss more. Anxiety. Throughout this article, I will be covering my own journey and feelings, as well as speaking with a few people from different areas and levels of the sport to get their take on it. We will be hearing from people who compete and are involved in Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping, as well as speaking with a qualified Counsellor and BE/BD Judge to get their thoughts...