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When most people think of Thoroughbreds – or more specifically ex-racehorses – they usually conjure up images of highly strung, crazy animals with a penchant for galloping everywhere at 100mph and repeatedly injuring themselves. Whether these ideas come from their own personal experiences or from the horror stories that they’ve heard from other people, I think it’s fair to say that ex-racers generally have a bad reputation amongst a fair chunk of the equestrian community....

In general, buying a horse can cost anywhere between £500 and upwards of £40,000! A lot of factors contribute to the price of a horse, such as breed, size, age, pedigree and training, so depending on what it is that you’re looking for, you can expect costs to vary wildly. To help you get a more realistic idea of what you should expect to pay for an average horse, we took the prices listed across a total of 19,309 ‘Horses For Sale’ ads and found that the average p...

Following on from my last post regarding attention to detail, I wanted to dive a little deeper into how you can make small changes in your daily routine with your horses, which will lead to big improvements overall. So let’s start at the very beginning, before you even get in the saddle, with a pre-ride stretch. Now, the majority of the time that I suggest this to riders, their first response is that they “don’t have time”. I fully appreciate that time is tight, esp...

Elliott Rowe is a successful international showjumper based at Rowebuck Stud in East Sussex, where he has been producing show jumpers for more than 20 years. Elliott has a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to producing horses and has shared some of his own insights to help others find their own successes. Here you can find tips on the process, right from sourcing your own horse through to moving up the levels.

Learning to sit correctly takes a long time and even advanced riders need to work on improving their position all the time. In my last article, I wrote about The Scales Of Training - For The Horse. But before we get to train a horse, we need to learn to sit correctly ourselves. We have to be able to allow the horse to move without obstructing it in any way. And at the same time, we have to be able to give small, nearly invisible aids.

Whether you have a couple of stables at home, or a large equestrian centre, if you’ve got livery vacancies, you’ll want to get them filled. The best way to do this is to advertise, but advertising can be a complicated thing and with so many yards available, getting an advert to generate enquiries means you need to put in a bit of work to make your yard shine! This advice does not just apply to our advertisers on LiveryList but should be the same for anywhere you advertise your bus...

It can take a lot to bully an equestrian. And it happens a lot. The unwanted, unhelpful comments made on a livery yard soon escalate. I’ve seen grown women pounce upon younger women and start the psychological games usually seen in school bullies. What starts this behaviour? And if you’re experiencing it now, what can you do? Bullying of any kind is a repeated action, whether direct to someone’s face, or indirect – the kind where a person may be excluded from events or...

I'm reviewing something a little different today... I wanted to find a product that I could wear whilst riding to help me safely see texts and phone calls without having to get my phone out of my pocket each time. As much as I would love to buy an Apple Watch, I was apprehensive about spending £400 plus on a device that I had no idea whether I would use or even like using. So, I started my search for a product that offered similar abilities without the high price tag. It is a minefie...

So I have a non-horsey other half. Sometimes known in the trade as an NHOH. We met in a bar in Manchester and he found it very amusing that I couldn’t believe he’d never ridden a horse in his life. It has to be said that having seen my credit card statements lying around (I was only this careless once) and having accompanied me on several trips to A and E, I am no longer surprised he has no wish to sit on a horse. He has nonetheless, over the course of 15 years together, accomp...

If you are one of those horse owners lucky enough to have your own private land to keep them on, you’ve likely considered at some point whether a companion of some sort might be beneficial for your equine friend. This may be particularly true if you own one horse and worry about them getting lonely without other horses to share the space, or even if you have found yourself overrun with weeds and other unwanted plant life in your paddocks that your horse won’t touch. On the other hand...

Ever wondered what the real difference is between hay and haylage? After all, they are both grass and maybe smell a little different but what is the difference? Horses require forage all year round but grass growth is seasonal and therefore there are 2 main preservation methods that help keep forage good to eat all year round. The 2 methods of forage preservation are: 1. Fermentation – where the pH is reduced and the growth of bacteria pauses. This is haylage. 2. Dehydration &n...

After finding myself with gloves that had more holes in than Swiss Cheese I thought that it was about time I bought myself a new pair of summer riding gloves. But where do you begin? There are so many different types of gloves on the market these days that it can be difficult to decide which ones are going to work best for you. Today, I will talk you through my two favourite pairs of “summer” gloves and how they performed when I put them to the test.

You may have read my previous article about the challenges of keeping Rock (an over height Connemara) trim or you may have previously tried and failed with a grazing muzzle. Perhaps you’ve never tried one as you’ve heard the disaster stories or perhaps you think this type of article would be better in early spring... for all and any of these reasons, please read on. Equine obesity is a huge issue in the UK and this increases the risk of laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome, insuli...

Horse racing is a sport we share with our friends across the pond. It would be no surprise to hear that America has their own Triple Crown. In fact, it's based on the British model! As a quick history note, the American Triple Crown has its roots in Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. who attempted to promote an American Triple Crown in 1875, long after West Australian’s three wins in 1853 that started this prestigious reward in England. It wasn't until the 1930s that the American racing clubs and ...

With summer finally here, horse owners are naturally keen to give their four legged friends a cooling treat! But it’s essential to ensure you know which treats are ok for your horse to have. If you feed them the wrong thing, it can not only cause them a lot of discomfort and pain, but can even cause lasting damage to their digestive and urinary systems, and in severe cases lead to fatality. When feeding your horse, it’s always best to stick to a regular feeding routine and for you...

Let’s talk about cars for a second… and not just any cars; I’m talking Formula 1 racing cars. Why? Just bare with me here… I think it’s safe to say, unless you are a fan of Formula 1 and follow the sport closely, you could say all the cars look exactly the same and do the same job; they all drive super fast round a track for hours on end, right? At the end of the day they are just machines. Yet each formula 1 team has a highly trained pit crew, a team that w...

In part one we looked at what we needed to do to get our butterflies to fly in formation by identifying the level of arousal that works best for you, positively viewing symptoms of anxiety and ways of increasing self confidence. In part two we’ll look at understanding how motivation and goal setting can be used on a day to day basis to reduce stress, and how to manage stress, anxiety and arousal on the day of a big event, presentation or competition. It is a commonly held belief that indiv...

So many people don’t have access to regular lessons and want to make the most of what they have worked on. So here are a couple of quick tricks to help you maximise your learning in your own time. Write it down; After your lessons, take notes. Remember what was said, useful exercises, position comments etc. Initially, write out a page or two, describing things in as much detail as you can. Write them, don’t type them onto your computer – writing creates clearer memorie...

Riding jitters. We all experience them at one time or another. That hostile flutter of butterflies in your tummy, the nauseous feeling at the back of your throat, the sweaty palms and the need for a nervous poo! We have all been there, whether it is related to competition day, jumping, trying something new or even just getting on board and riding our horses, we all feel the fear at some point. I know all of those feelings only too well, having spent several years battling my confidence demons...

Well, it’s been a little while since I wrote anything for Horsemart. I think I’ve settled into lockdown life a little too well. The slower pace of life has suited me. I think when I’m older, twice divorced and obviously, hugely wealthy, I should retire to somewhere relaxed like Lake Geneva. Somewhere I can sip cappuccinos and take pleasure in not getting out of bed unless it’s for something hugely important, like a restaurant reservation or possibly a facial. Anyway, ...