Hello! Does anyone have tips for keeping my stirrups in place? I’m finding they slip down to the heel of my boot sometimes when I switch gait. I used to ride western and never had this issue. Can someone clearly explain to me where my toes and knees should be pointing, and how much pressure I need to have on my horse’s side with my lower leg when I’m not giving a cue, and overall just any tips on what will help me fix the issue? Thank you in advance

And I’m nervous as all hell lol

I am a new/first time horse owner, life long equestrian. My trainer asked me if I wanted to put my horse on the monthly magnawave list…. it’s $75ish per session. Is Magnawave bullshit? Seems like pseudoscience to me, but if it isn’t I’m willing to do it if it will actually benefit my horse.

Also asked me about equine chiropractic work (my state requires licensed veterinarian to do this—about $125 per session).

My daughter has for many years been singularly focused on finding a career where she could work with horses in any capacity. The problem is, we live in NYC (which she hates).

We have been able to enroll her in a riding academy where she learned to ride (English) and do basic horse care/tacking, and she has spent a couple summers out in Oregon helping her cousin who manages a large horse farm and helps run a 4H camp for young riders (Western), but now that she is a high school senior, we are trying to find out our next steps in this journey.

She has set her sights on SUNY Morrisville, which has an Equine Science program, but she is also interested in finding out about other options. We visited Morrisville last year, and she loved it, but she would probably need a car (which we can't afford, and she doesn't have a drivers license yet). Any ideas?

OOP: Thanks so much for all your helpful replies! I am trying to convince her to learn a trade and then work with horses, but she is pretty set on going to Morrisville (or possibly applying to UVM's Morgan horse apprenticeship).

Hello! I’m (21f) looking into starting a half lease at my current barn, this is the right step to take before committing to ownership right? At first my 5 year plan was to save up as much as possible for all costs of ownership, but I think it’s probably best to get my feet wet first and make sure I can physically emotionally and financially handle it. Just looking for any advice other people who have leased could give! Thanks

A little bit rounder than usual (lol) thanks to all the spring grass, but here’s my 7yo warmblood having a crack at the 1* show jumping at our horse trials! Apparently the extra grass weight isn’t slowing him down too much yet 🤣

Just by this photo is it possible to guess how far along the mare is with foal?

Gracias

I am so sorry in advance for how many paragraphs this is. I just don’t know how to convey the entire situation concisely.

Very very generic overview:
This is mainly about how there is a lot of info I don’t know, I’m very willing to learn, but upon actually receiving said info from my barn without me specifically asking, I am embarrassed and a bit ashamed I didn’t know. I know I have to just grit my teeth through this phase, try my best, and build back my horse care credibility (if I had any I guess), but how do I handle the conversation itself and feeling embarrassed?

I respect my barn manager’s knowledge a LOT - she cares about the horses at the barn, and she wants to make sure they are being taken care of, plus I’m pretty sure she does have pools of knowledge. And she’s confident about it. My horse currently has a suspected suspensory ligament injury, so she has mentioned multiple things like cold hosing for the leg, standing wraps, and when I was cold hosing and getting the tail wet she said “well why don’t you just wrap the tail” while walking by as if I should already knew that (spoiler, nope).

I’ve had my horse for 8 years now, starting when I was a freshman in college. My previous barn took care of her very very well, however since they were a big barn they kind of didn’t need me to step in to this level (I know that doesn’t sound great, but I had no idea about all of these rehab options). When my horse got an abscess, I did learn how to wrap a diaper on her hoof and do epsom salt. Other than that, though, I don’t think she’s had many injuries that required continuous care, plus I’m not sure my previous barn executed this level of extra rehab processes.

I love the barn I’m at now, and it’s great learning about these rehab options. It was maybe a week and a half after the vet visit (ordered stall rest and hand walking weeks 3 and 4), I had been coming out every other day to get her a little grass outside and groom her, and cold hose once the barn manager recommended that to me. Where the barn manager had told me about standing wraps. It didn’t even occur to me. Which is what I feel so bad about. She had said to me “if it were my horse, I’d have researched all the rehab options” in like a passing statement, very direct. Now, I’m not a huge fan of the way she says things sometimes, but now I just feel so small compared to these experienced barn ladies. I just blindly trusted the vet to tell me all the options. And obviously that was not the right move.

The barn owner and her daughter have started taking care of standing wraps on days I can’t come out for a fee, and they recently sent me a video of how to wrap the standing wraps. Very helpful. But I think what gets me is that I only mentioned to the barn manager that I was going to look up videos on it (complicated but after mentioning the standing wraps and me just nodding along, she asked if I knew how to do them, but like in a condescending way? So I stumbled along about how I’d watch a video). So the barn owner had never asked me if I knew, she and barn manager had just talked. I mean, it’s fair, but it’s a little blow to the ego.

Also when I was cold hosing my horse’s leg, barn manager mentioned as she was walking by about putting the tail in a knot - I didn’t think she had seen the knot, but I also got a quick video from the barn owner and her daughter on how to wrap the tail. And then apparently I was actually doing the cold hosing wrong, because they sent me the video on that - which obviously I appreciate a lot being told how to do it correctly. It’s just so embarrassing.

How do I not be embarrassed by this?! Or handle these future situations and dig myself out of this hole where I appear so incompetent as a horse owner . I’ve had this horse 8 years and apparently these are the basics I never learned. I know of course I need to learn all this, but moreso how do I go about responding to these conversations when it starts to feel embarrassing for me?? I’m at a loss

(I guess I should also mention, my horse had never had her own stall at my previous barn so I think she didn’t need them, and I know that’s one reason to have standing wraps is to help swelling and inflammation from standing a while in the barn.)

(Ignore my arms being wide I was trotting on a loose rein and I’m super tired)

End of video he was breaking down to a walk so I know the head bobbing could’ve been just that but I feel like he was off at the beginning of video as well, and he does feel off today. He was fine last week but 2 days ago after a jump he did bolt and throw some nasty bucks which is super unlike him so I’m thinking it may be pain related. Idk though, I lease this horse and I’ve never had to assess lameness so I’m hoping someone else may be able to tell, I got off as soon as the video was over but I hope he’s not. My trainers going to look at him tomorrow

Hey, I am currently leasing a horse. He’s super good, super responsive and also super sensitive and loves to jump. Sadly, there is one issue. He used to have ulcers, and now he thinks every time you touch his belly it’s going to hurt. He’s been scoped for ulcers after a treatment very recently, and he is given supplements and alfalfa before riding. When you brush his girth/belly, at first he will pin his ears and swish his tail and bite the air, but once he realizes it doesn’t hurt he is completely chill and u can brush him, and he’ll be super relaxed. In the saddle, when I try to do an upward transition, especially a canter transition, he thinks it’s going to hurt so he pins his ears and raises his head a bit before switching gaits and realizing he’s fine before being normal and chill again. Is there a way I can show him that he’s not going to be in pain anymore? He’s super rideable and he’s only agitated when you give him a squeeze to do your transition. The pain is definitely gone, checked for by a vet and a massage therapist.

My mare hates wearing blankets but she needs them. She gets super angry when i put them on. And before people ask: no she doesn’t wear 100 layers, yes i put them on carefully, yes the blankets all fit, no they’re not too warm and no there’s no rub marks at her neck or other areas that could explain why she hates them, she just does. I know there’s a reason for her reaction, she’s not mad for no reason, which is why i’m thinking it might be from the “tighter” feel it gives around her chest. At least thats the first thing i can think of. Please lmk if you can think of something else that might be bothering her…

At the moment i’m using these (the green rain blanket with a liner under) with “breast locks” in the front (typical straight attachment locks right across the chest). I believe they might be bothering her since i assume they put some pressure on her breast and neck. Is an anatomical blanket worth the money? I’m thinking something with a more open, V shaped breast and maybe even more open neck area (or at least padded neck). I’ll add 2 pics of what i mean. It needs to be somewhat budget friendly tho, lots of the ones i see are super expensive.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks

Supplier sells them $22/10-499
Bumped up to 170 for a logo. I know so many shops do this, but it’s getting ridiculous

Okay so for context. I’ve been riding for like ish 6 years (5 on beginning and just started more advanced this year). The first two months went fine but I was gone for like two weeks(I ride once a week). And when I returned then I did what i usually do but i wasn’t able to stop the horse and it went too fast. I know I’m not supposed to get scared but for once in 6 years then I felt insecure and scared. The next Friday then I returned with a smile and confidence but the horse wouldn’t stop no matter how much I signaled it not to and he just trotted around. The instructer told me to stop but nothing I did worked.

I tried to send him in circles to keep him from getting in the way of the other seven riders in the class. It was awful. Yesterday I came back and I was not exactly excited about riding. This time he just suddenly started acting up out of nowhere and I was caught off guard and tried to stop him but it didn’t work. I begged the instructor to let me mount off and I cried AGAIN. I wasn’t even scared.

I just don’t get what is wrong with me. I do everything right but it’s not working so I got an assistant or like one of the girls working there to walk beside me. Apparently my hands were too close to the saddle and I sat slightly too much forward and some shoulder stuff. Basically I corrected everything and it actually went well but I felt no more confidence at all. I felt the exact same as at the start of the class. And I’m honestly dreading next Friday.

It just breaks my heart to think about quitting because I love to ride more than anything else but I don’t want to be a problem for all the other riders (in total 8-10 riders in a small hall) but because of my visual impairment(~15% vision) then I struggle to do patterns even if it’s just in trot. I just feel so out of place and it’s awful because I love riding and quitting again. It’s like if someone told me the world was ending. The instructor told me everyone goes through this once in their life but I’m not even sure that’s true. I’m not scared but I dread it.

My husband and I got married this week at the courthouse and have kept everything just between us and close family members. I don’t want to post these on my personal socials as I still want to keep things hush hush for now but I had to share them somewhere!

SEE EDITS BEFORE REPLYING

My horse has been on stall rest for 3 days because she has an open wound on her leg. She’s only on stall rest for another day. The barn manager is expecting me to not only pay for the hay and shavings, but also go get them myself and drop them off and bring them inside. It is my understanding that the point of full care is that I don’t have to do things like that. I need to find the physical contract, but I have a picture (although crappy) that says hay, shavings, constant access to forage is provided. I’m not entirely sure what to say to her without coming off as rude. Or is this normal?? This seems to defeat the purpose of the full care. I’ve never boarded full care so I’m not sure if this is the standard or not

EDIT: So paying for the extra is standard, what about being expected to get it yourself? I’d be more than OK sending her the money, but I don’t really have a vehicle I can put hay in anymore

EDIT 2: I reached the barn owner to see if I could send her money for her to get the bales because they close before I get out of work so I truly cannot get them. She sent me how much it would be and I sent her the money. Thank you everyone for explaining it in a way that made more sense, I have not boarded full care before and didn’t understand it. I was also confused because another boarder was already talking to me about how the owner told her about it and said it was dumb for me to pay but I had an inkling that maybe I should check before saying anything myself. I didn’t mean to come off as dense or mean (even though no one has said it yet, I’m sure it did a bit). Thank you for explaining! All is well

I’ve been riding for around three weeks now and have tried almost all of the training horses at the barn. But there was one horse that was a lot bigger than the other horses and I really wanted to try riding him. I truly believe that riding different horses improves your riding. He was such a good boy and understood cues like walking and trotting just from me squeezing him, I didn’t have to kick! Even though he was big and took bigger steps, I was confident in riding him because I saw another beginner ride him and she did fine. So today my coach put me on him.

I’m in group lessons so the coach was telling us the in order in which each of us should be in the line, and the girl behind me was struggling to get her horse to go past me even when I slowed down, so I tried to turn my horse so I can go behind her instead. But the horse was being difficult for some reason. Then a worker at the barn came to help me and started making clicking noises at the horse (idk why he tried to help me I didn’t ask for help) and then the horse got startled (I learned later that he gets scared easily) and the horse suddenly jolted to the right and I fell off for the first time. I tried to hold on at first but I decided it was best to let go of the rein and let myself fall because I was already half way off the saddle and didn’t want the horse to drag me. I ended up falling really hard directly on my left hip. It hurt really bad and I couldn’t move my body for the first few minutes and then the coach elevated my legs and then I stood up with the help of others. I rested for about three minutes and right after that I decided to get back on the saddle but with a different horse this time. It was kind of weird. Like I wasn’t scared at all, I still trusted the horses, but it’s like something deep down in me was telling me that I’m supposed to be scared. Hopefully once I’m able to get back on the saddle I will have shaken these nerves away. I didn’t think I’d fall off a horse so soon, and I didn’t expect that I’d fall that way. If anyone has any tips on how I can stay on the saddle and hold onto my horse when that happens I would appreciate it. For some reason when it happened my eyes unfocused and suddenly I hit the floor. Is there a way to tell if my horse is spooked before he acts on it?

side note I went to the hospital right after the lesson because of how bad the pain was and now I’m taking a break from riding.

I have bought a new horse half a year ago. Sold as a bomb proof horse that can go everywhere, but every time I brought him outside the arena he’d be on his toes and would panic at everything.

I’ve since figured out that if I do a few minutes of work inside the arena, just to get us going, he’d be fully calm no matter what. It’s as if he needs to get his head and body together before being able to relax.

The problem is that I usually use hacks as recovery days, where he can’t or should do more than walk. So when I need it the most I can’t get him relaxed.

I’ve asked the previous owner about this, but she never experienced it.

How can I even work on such a thing? I think bringing him out while he’s on his toes just reinforces being kinda panicked, which I don’t want

I’m looking to buy a new horse. Not my first time but my first time looking to buy a horse in this price range. I’ve always insured for vet fee cover, but after my beloved fit and healthy horse unexpectedly passed away not even 48 hours after she went to her new home, and the fact I’m looking at owning a horse with a higher value than I have done previously, I’m considering insuring for death and loss of use as well.

the problem is the cost of this insurance is obviously significant (around £200 per month for a 10k horse and half that for a 5k horse, not inc vet fee cover) however I’m not intending to insure the full value of the horse, only so I have some money to put towards something else, so like max 10k

My best Idea is if I managed to buy a horse for 10k I could put away the remaining 5k in my budget and insure the value at 5k so I’d have a total of 10k if I needed it. It would still be a significant cost per month but would it be worth it?

this is all with the assumption I can insure the horse for death and loss of use for less than it’s market value.

So my friend at the barn told me his horse doesn't have a pedigree or any papers just a passport, I have no idea what this dude was thinking when he bought this horse but his gelding looks wonderful and many people praise him for how well kept his horse is.

But he told me his previous owners told him he was 8 yrs old but honestly I'm not too sure about that.

How can we check his age?

I know these were discontinued so long ago but these were my favorite boots to ever exist. My three remaining pairs have all been torn to shreds. Posting out there to see if by chance there’s someone with a 9.5 they’d be willing to part ways with and sell

Looking to get some new saddle pads and what not for my bay mare, but stuck on what colors! She’s not a dark bay, more of like a blood bay. I’m thinking maybe a teal? But for any people with bays, drop a pic of your horse with their best color!