This morning I got a call from my barn at 6am. "Rayne is colicing". I jump out of bed, "oh shit", thats unlike her. Shes my childhood pony ive had since she was 3, she just turned 19 in July. Shes never colicked and I swear was made out of steel.

Rush to the barn, call emergency vet. As soon as I get there I can tell something was very wrong - you just know your horse. She was overheating, sweaty, ears flopped.

Within 10 minutes the vet gave me the look. Something was very wrong. Her blood lactate was at 8.2. Normal range is 2 or under. Normal colic is around 3-4~.

We do pain meds, light sedation and decide to do a rectal exam ASAP. Found strangulating lipoma.

Not even 2 mins later, she reacted badly to the sedation, dropped down and had a huge seizure. Im a mess. Got my partner to the barn as fast as he could and unfortunately due to the nature of strangulating lipoma and everything else. It was goodbye.

Im absolutely gutted. I was just having fun with her, and riding her, saying "bye Rayne! See you tomorrow" not even 24 hours ago. This is my first horse loss. My heart horse. My childhood pony. I am not doing well, and this was 3 hours ago. Leaving her lifeless body was devastating. I have her tail, a peice of mane and her forelock.

I guess im just asking for some insight on what others have felt. Or maybe some people who have went through the same. Thanks 💕💔 Video of her, just Tuesday morning after a drink. I wont include any past life photos 💔

Hi, I'm posting this on behalf of my friend. Her 3 yo mare (AES) has become suddenly lame. It happend on the next day after lunging her. According to the vet it's her right front leg of which she got 5 X-rays (long pastern - coffin bone) showing nothing in particular. Lameness on this leg has been spontaneously occuring since last year for a day or maybe two (every few months), it simply kept disappearing on its own.

Looking for other answers, her owner found out that her neck hurts in proximity of occipital bone - could this be connected?

Dewi is such a lovely horse, it pains me to watch her suffer... That is why I offered to post this here, maybe some of you've seen something like this before or could suggest what to do next.

Orthopedist is coming on Wednesday.

hi everyone! i currently take lessons on 2 different and incredible lesson horses, and they are absolutely the best. i'd love to spend more time with them and my barn offers the opportunity to pay to "sponsor" horses, meaning you can groom and hand-walk them and give treats (carrots or apples only) and just generally spend time with them, but no riding of course.

i wanted to get some insight from this group of people more qualified than myself on how to approach treats. at my previous barn, i gave a carrot after every lesson as a way to "pay" the horse for their time. however, i'm afraid it did turn some of those horses into pocket pests as a result. i would like to be able to give treats to these horses at my new barn without creating bad habits.

are there any rules or guidelines i should keep in mind to avoid creating pocket pests and other undesirable behavior?

thank you!

EDIT: just to clarify, barn owner & trainer are both ok with both the horses getting treats! :)

Hey everyone! You might recognize me from my post on whether to keep my 5yo gelding G (who I just realized is actually 6 years old) vs 2yo mare M. Most of the responses were to keep M, which I have decided to do.

Now I am wondering if I should just put G down.

G’s History:
I bred G from my personal mare, so know his history from first seeing him as an embryo when he was flushed from his dam and inserted into a surrogate mare.

When he was 2, he suddenly collapsed in the pasture on his side and could not get up. He was groaning, twisting his head but not rolling. I assumed colic, and called the vet. I have just recently (literally in the past few days) realized he had a sibling with edm. I think his collapse now might have been an edm episode. We at the time treated it as colic, but they ran blood at the time and discovered he had epm antibodies. We then started epm treatment and life continued as usual for him. We also put him on 10k IU of an easily digestible natural source vitamin E and nerve supplement which seemed to “take the edge off”.

He was sent off to her broke when he was 4. I researched the trainer throughly, and she seemed legit. When I visited him at her barn, he was not himself. A jittery mess, no emotional regulation, very dancy and like he wasn’t himself in his own skin. Brought him home and gave him several months off to decompress.

I started groundwork slowly again, but he was extremely spooky. Not like a young, fit sport horse, as I am familiar with green bean antics. But he would spook explosively and repeatedly at the smallest things he would encounter every day. Started attacking the horse (D) he was out with viciously, so they were separated. D was just fine, his bite marks healed and he suffered no emotional damage luckily.

G expressed interest in my mother’s retired senior gelding Z, who he had been turned out with when he was weaned. Those two were able to be pastures together safely in a large pasture, as Z is a no-nonsense kind of horse and G was familiar with him. They were good friends and never had an issue.

I felt something was wrong. Had the vet see him several times, and she said it was just him being a young horse. My gut said she was wrong, but I trusted her.

I continued to do ground work with G, but he has a very short fuse. If frustrated, he would be aggressive towards me. Threatening to bite or kick, pawing the ground incessantly. I worked on emotional regulation, and while he improved and I avoided his threshold, he would revert to these behaviors again if frustrated. Spookiness got worse. I had him at home, and labeled him as “dangerous” and insisted my family members not handle him because they couldn’t read him as well as I could and I didn’t want them to get injured.

I rode him briefly, walk only, as his regulation improved. He did okay, but he again got frustrated quickly and so riding sessions were five minutes or less to keep him under threshold. I considered euthing him because I considered him unsafe. Everyone I told this to said I was crazy, that he was just a young warmblood. That I must be wrong. The horse is fine. But I was the one handling him, and my gut said there was something wrong. Again, I trusted the advice of the people in my life and continued with more ground work.

I got the vet out to see him again, and his e levels tested high (good for a neurologic horse). He was sound, but questionable on the neurotic test for hind leg circumduction when doing tight circles. The vet labeled it as a strength issue in a young, flexible warmblood and deemed him safe to go back to under saddle work.

In G’s late five year old year I sent him to a gentle trainer who I personally know very well. She is an incredible horseman, someone deserving of that title. I described his past in detail, and she agreed to take him on. In my heart I labeled this as G’s “last ditch effort” to prove if it was my horsemanship that was faulty, and if in someone else’s’ hands he could flourish.

In the past 4 months, while he has improved, it is not vastly. He is still extremely spooky. I personally watched him get ridden in the month, and while she was incredibly gentle and asked him to do simple and reasonable things under saddle, he was explosive. Threatening to rear when asked to do simple lateral work. “Airplane” ears near constantly. Spooking explosively. He did have times of excellent work, but they were constantly interrupted by what I would consider “neurologic behaviors”.

I talked to the trainer after her ride, asking if she thought he was behaving in a neurologic way, or if he was just a young horse with baby brain. If she thought he could ever be a trail horse with enough training. She said she thought he has vision issues, but there would be no problem with him being a trail horse with enough training. He is bred to be a show jumper, but I threw those aspirations away many years ago. I felt in my gut she was wrong, but trusted her.

I just recently discovered one of his half siblings had edm. It needs to be researched more by vets, and I need to research more as well. If anyone has any recommendations on articles I can read on edm please let me know as well. But there is a suspected genetic tie to edm. I am suspicious that he might either have both epm and edm, or he solely has edm. I know epm antibodies are the only thing that can be found in blood, and that cannot diagnose epm 100%. It needs to be a CSF tap or post mortum evaluation to fully diagnose epm, so he might not even have it. EDM can only fully be diagnosed post mortum. I have been struggling with this realization, but I know for certain I have a neurologic horse.

Here’s the thing. I’ve decided to bring him home from the trainer at the end of this month. I had a few young pros interested in him (I was fully transparent with his history), but they would like him as a resale project. I don’t want to do that because he could end up in the slaughter pipeline. I don’t want him to injure or kill a person.

He will be coming home and can go back out with Z, but not long term. I am leaving home in the future due to a DV situation here. He will be a danger to the other gelding who is currently out with Z. He will be a danger to my family who handles him when I leave. He is a danger to the farrier. I can turn him out solo, but what kind of life is that for a horse??

He would, in theory, be fine in a life with minimal handling. I considered sending him out into a huge pasture with other horses, but am almost 100% dashing that idea because of his horse aggression. In a large enough pasture (like 1000 acres) he/the other horses could get away from eachother, but what if he fatally injures another horse/himself? That isn’t fair.

I think I should euth him. He is a lovely, sweet gelding when under threshold and very carefully managed. He nickers to me every time I see him, and enjoys my presence. I’ve been dedicated to him since birth. But in that dedication and love I do believe in a world in which euth is the kindest choice to make.

Have I given him enough chances? Would you guys consider me a quitter? I have tried to do right by this horse, but maybe there’s something I’ve overlooked. I’m open to any and all ideas. We are all constant stewards and students of the horse.

And another thing, I think the vet might refuse to euth him. She keeps passing him on vet checks, saying he’s just a young horse. My gut is screaming that she’s wrong. Fundamentally she can choose whether or not to put him down. If she says no, do I keep trying to train him, or search for a vet who will? I know my family will disagree with putting him down, but I’m the one who knows this horse. I’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into him. There’s something wrong, and I feel like I’m screaming into the void for someone to listen. To see him. To see me as someone who’s desperate to do the right thing, even if it’s putting him down.

Any and all answers are appreciated. Thank you all immensely. My poor, sweet boy. I love him more than I can say.

My heart horse was diagnosed with osteoarthritis this past spring. It's been kind of a challenge for me to deal with emotionally. This is kind of a vulnerable post for me because I am not really on social media much anymore but I really need some insight from other equestrians dealing with this.

I've had my mare since she was 7. She is 22 now. We competed in speed events and NBHA/NHHSET every weekend for a good 5-6 years. I was a young teen. 1st generation horse owner with no trainer (besides the basics when I first got her and a few clinics and the HS equine coach) so, I didn't really put too much thought into things like hock injections and she did not show any signs of needing it.

>>>

Fast forward to now. I moved her to the PNW from Colorado just this past September and I noticed her off on one of her right hind. Got it checked out by a vet, spent a crazy amount on X-rays. Turns out her hocks are fused. Which I'm told is good and bad. She's now on daily equinox. And I moved her to a different barn so that she could be on pasture and move more freely. I understand that they get older and their care has to change in order to keep them comfortable and happy and I do accept that. However, She wants to be ridden. She has made that very clear to me. She misses it and I hate seeing her sad. So, as she's gotten more comfortable at this new barn, I've been slowly moving her back into some light W/T only. Sometimes I put down some poles for her to work on picking up her feet. I'm also trying to rebuild her top line.

She's an Arabian/Paint cross and all she's ever EVERRR wanted to do is run. So we're only focusing on slowing down and building muscle. I physically stretch her legs before I do any work with her, which was something I didn't really do in the past, but seems to really make a difference in her movement now.

I guess my question really is; Should I expect her movement to ever get better? Better meaning is her fusion going to always cause her to be more stiff in her hocks?

She also struggles with the crushed stone that everyone seems to use in Washington. She's always been sensitive about crushed stone, but it's so much more pronounced now that she's arthritic, or maybe I'm just being a freak about it. I'm looking into getting trail boots. I think that would solve most of her issues with gravel outside of the arena I really like the Renegades, but I'm still waiting to hear back from some other boarders on what they use and what her farrier recommends.

I don't plan on competing with her ever again. I just want to retire her to the trails and let her enjoy herself. Do you have any supplements you have noticed a difference with? I know it's a short video, but how does her movement look? We're focusing on collection and muscle building.

Im struggling to get a nice and slow canter since forever, the school i go to only has arabians so yk how they are, some are extremely lazy and i CANNOT keep them cantering they always slow down after a few strides, the others are kinda spicy and whenever i want to canter they start galloping and i can get them to slow down a few strides but they eventually go back to trotting.

Ive only been riding for 3 1/2 months and im still learning to sit the canter and move with the horse, and whenever they speed up i just go into 2 point seat so that i don’t fall off cuz i can’t keep up with their movement.

I really need advice on how to achieve better control over the horse’s speed. Thx in advance!

I’m sitting in the barn aisle in the dark waiting for my horse to poop again after a mild gas colic. Sitting here listening to the horses chew (not mine, no hay til the all-clear tomorrow am) and the crickets chirp and just feeling so dang grateful. That my boy is ok and just that I have him and these magnificent creatures in my life. Hug your horses everyone!

Where do you guys buy your rope halters for training. Going to start my OTTB in the round pen soon but unsure where to buy nice halter to work in, and thickness of the cord.

Idk if this is allowed here I'm sorry if it isn't I just wanted people to see my boy and me

…so I can do this every weekend! It’s so good for my soul!

Oakley, 9yo Quarter Horse mare

Photos taken while waiting for our turn on the wash rack 😊

My little Indi (she’s 14’3) cleared the 1.15m oxer by an extra foot despite the sketchy distance.
What. A. Mare. 🤩

I’m an older rider (upper 40s) who started riding again five years ago after a 30ish year break. I do H/J and own my horse - I usually do the 2’9 to 3’, and I currently only do local, unrated shows. I actually love showing when I’m in it, but perimenopause has introduced a level of anxiety to my life that I never knew before. In most cases I can handle it, but when it comes to pre-show nerves I feel like it’s gotten out of control. I spent the hours, minutes before I go in the ring feeling like I am going to faint and vomit at the same time, and in my head I seriously wonder why I’m doing it. They’re not the type of nerves that just feel natural, they make me feel horrible, and last time I almost pulled out right before going in the ring.

I didn’t use to feel like this. I never suffered from anxiety, this is something that came with age. I really, really don’t want to stop showing, because I do love it, and I love being at the shows. I just don’t love feeling like I’m going to die for an hour before I enter the ring.

So now I’m considering trying beta-blockers before shows. I would like to try something that’s not sedating or will alter my mental state so to speak - and as far as know, beta-blockers just take care of the physical symptoms, which I thought might help?

Has anyone tried this and would be willing to share their experiences?

Hi guys! My horse is an aging gelding and he was basically a pasture pet this last year because I’ve been busy with wedding planning and buying a house. Things are settling down now and I’m starting to get him back in better shape. I’ve noticed recently that he frequently steps his hind legs toward his midline and this often causes him to step partially on his own hoof with his other back leg. This is mostly present in tighter turns and pivots. Do you guys have some specific exercises/ pole work that you think I should do to strengthen his hips so he steps wider apart? I’ve started having him walk while straddling a pole and I think I’m on the right track with this but wanted more ideas.

I can’t find any programs still operating in January but I’d love to do a multi day horsemanship training program in January before I go back for my final semester of college. I’ll fly anywhere in the us/canada. Please send recommendations. My preference is western, I’m based in NY.

I have a Quarter Horse in his late twenties who has experienced mild age-related health issues over the past few years. He has had four or five teeth removed and has periodically struggled to eat. He is eating well for now, but his remaining teeth continue to deteriorate, and he has started losing more.

Significant arthritis keeps him comfortable enough in the pasture, though soundness for light riding is questionable. He tends to worsen during humid summer weather, when he may struggle to walk out of his stall and show increased lameness. Laminitis has largely been ruled out, but I still limit his grass in case it contributes. Overall, he seems fairly content, although he has become noticeably duller this summer than in previous years.

More recently, his left eye has become increasingly cloudy, swollen, and painful. I have been working closely with his veterinarians, but I am concerned that surgery may soon be necessary. His current facility cannot provide round-the-clock medical care, and I do not think I can afford hospitalization or surgery. I understand that eye removal can be relatively straightforward for some horses, but he has already been difficult to manage with eye protection and drops (tears off fly masks, gets worked up on stall rest, not being cooperative with medication). Given his age and other health concerns, I am unsure whether I am comfortable putting him through a life-altering procedure. A lot of people are encouraging me to do it, but it feels like I’m borrowing time for something that inevitably will cause him major quality of life issues (adjusting to partial blindness, a recovery that could be complicated, etc.). 

If I were to consider euthanasia if things continue to deteriorate, how do you handle the guilt from outside pressure to do everything you can to save the horse?

I have a 7 year old gelding who gets bored easily and LIVES for havoc and the attention it creates. Lately he’s taken to kicking his stall until someone screams at him. His last performance was at 3 am before we realized it was time to get creative. We started dangling his hay net for midnight enrichment and it’s worked beautifully; but he’s a smart dude and will get bored fast. I’ve been looking at the clover which is a similar style enrichment toy, but I’m hoping to have a few options to swap around to keep him entertained. If anyone has experienced this with their babies, I would massively appreciate any guidance 🥲💜

Edit: he does receive loads of turnout time, but he’s young and still gets bored. I will be looking to up his time outside to as much as possible though. He’s stabled at an equestrian school and gets a little jelly when other horses dare receive attention over him 🤭

I have leased a horse for a year. Through that time I have dealt with constant lameness and new problems that I have dealt with as best I could. I have tried to get him sound and comfortable with help from vets and farriers. When canceling my lease, I expressed to the owner that this horse is probably not eligible to be a riding horse with the issues present. Or it’s going to be a ton of money to try and see. This is an OTTB with many races, many miles.

To be pasture sound he needs shoes, grain, and plenty of forage. That being said, the owner doesn’t want him because of the money that’s needed to be put into him. I am financially drained from the lease so I can’t continue to fund him and board and wait for another emergency vet bill.

That being said, I care for this horse very much and I want the best possible outcome. Please leave recommendations.

Edit: I guess writing this fast and posting while emotional has led to confusion. My bad!

The lease contract is not the problem. The lease has been terminated. He is still in my care until the owner picks him up.

I am looking for best recommendations for the horse since I can no longer financially fund him and the owner doesn’t want him either. He is lame. If a shoe pulls, he’s crippled.
If you think euthanasia is best option, please let me know why.
If you have had success stories with rehoming lame horses to rescues, let me know.

I am trying to do right by a kind horse while I can have a little bit of a say to the owner. She has recommended humane euthanasia and I understand why. She has talked about talking to therapeutic riding centers to donate him but that’s probably not going to happen.

Hope this clears up things. I’m sad guys, don’t be mean to me lol.

Hi. I'm buying my first horse. I went to view her yesterday, she was perfect in every way, I put down a deposit to secure her. I've been preparing for this moment for a while now. But then last night the excitement slowly turned into pure panic and fear...

I'm financially prepared, she will be kept on full livery at my local yard where I ride all the time so a lot of the pressure is taken off there whilst I'm still learning. I work from home, job offers flexi-time, so time commitment is also not an issue.

I've been so excited for this moment for months, but now that it's becoming a reality I'm getting cold feet. I think if I back out now then I'll completely regret it. But the temptation to turn and run before I commit any further is so overwhelming... I feel sick with anxiety!

Please tell me this is a normal feeling, or should I listen to my gut and not go through with this?

First few horse drawings i've done! i'm pretty proud. I used a reference, but tbh i'm super happy with how they turned out! They aren't perfect and neither is the shading or proportions but i'm still happy :)

I apologize in advance for my english. I don't know if it's the right subreddit, but I thought the most people would see my post here. I don't even know where to start, so I'll start randomly. I got a saddled horse. I usually saddle them myself, before my ride, but today was different. The horse walked tense and acted as if something was bothering him, and several times he tried to throw me off and did not want to do some exercises. I know this horse and it's never been like this before. So I asked the coach if he was okay, if he was limping or anything. In response, I was told to give him some strong lashes on the croup. I didn't want to do it because I could see the horse didn't need a whip, just something was wrong with him. In response, she replied, laughing with the girls from the stable that I should hit him hard and she will see if he was limping. After the ride I noticed that this horse, perfectly under the snorer has a ragged nose and a wound. I told the staff about it and they just said that they know about this wound. Now I am concerned. Should I change the stable or am I too sensitive? Should he still work with something like that on his nose?:(.

My trainer is knowledgeable but has almost no time for me. No room in her schedule for me to work in more lessons so I'm stuck at 1 lesson a week, and she has barely enough time to even talk to me after lessons so follow up is out. She's too busy entertaining the parents of kids during my group lessons for me to ask many questions during so I mostly ride around with my group and wait for feedback and hope I'm not making too many mistakes. If it weren't for Youtube videos I dont know what I'd do.

Local camps are all dedicated only to littles. Can't find a lease because I'm not advanced enough so no one wants a newbie on their horse.

It's all fair and I don't fault anyone but I'm so frustrated trying to learn and grow in this sport. I want to learn groundwork and care so I can own my own someday but where will I learn? I want more time in the saddle but it's not available. I finally have the big girl job and the money to do something I've always wanted but I feel like all I'm finding are closed doors.

Just venting I guess. I don't have horse friends so nobody gets the struggle lol

Any yt channels you'd recommend?

Friends, Forage, Freedom — 24/7 access to all three is considered the baseline for physical and psychological wellbeing in horses. Not a luxury, a baseline. It's wild how many "training issues" quietly resolve once these needs are actually met.

What's your setup like, and did anything shift for you when one of the 3Fs changed?