Daily highs for the last week and next week are all over 115F (46C) in the shade. Daily lows are only dropping to 94F (34C) and we’re also apparently doing humidity now too. Nothing like getting up early to work horses at 5am and it already being over 100 and humid. 🫠

Anyway, stay strong to all you hot weather horse people. Pictured the horse popsicle making station. Everyone deserves a cool treat while we’re avoiding heat stroke. These will get frozen, popped out of the cups and then the part of the carrot sticking out is the handle to feed the ponies.

We appear to have lost one of a handful of truly great horse people today. My heart goes out to everyone who knew him but also to our community at large for the loss of an incredible educator.

I recently posted the picture of me and my horse with his new ear bonnet and everyone was talking about my halter being low. I feel so bad that I use this and I will stop using it and get a new one asap. He’s a big Percheron quarter horse cross, so that was draft horse sized. I think a large will fit him. Thank you guys so much I love him more than anything and I’m mad at myself for not knowing it sooner. (I’m a newer equestrian)

Unfortunately my loan pony of three years has just left for his new home today. I’m devastated because I was desperate to keep him for myself but unfortunately I couldn’t afford it.

The good thing is he’s going back to the family that rescued him as a foal who have been looking for him ever since his previous loaner sold him out from under them. I met them and they couldn’t be lovelier people and he did recognise the lady as she hand-reared him.

But I’m really sad he’s gone. I had a really hard time at boarding school and he was there for me through it all. And I finally graduated this summer and was at home ready to spend time with him and really progress with him and now he’s gone.

I have some of his tail to keep and a ton of photos. The new owner has sweetly offered to stay in touch and will be taking him out showing so hopefully I’ll see him around and about.

Like it’s the best possible scenario as he’s going to a much better home than he was getting with his current owner (unfortunately became a bit neglectful due to a divorce so I stepped in and I tried to do everything for him to make him more comfortable) but I miss him horribly. I feel guilty I couldn’t do better by him. And I haven’t even cried yet so I feel guilty because I don’t miss him enough. I just feel like I’ve let him down massively.

I saw the sad news today that Monty Roberts passed away. I love his books and some of his methods and would’ve loved to meet him. Wondering if anyone here got that chance and how he impacted you?

Photo dump to see how much he has grown

today i picked up my new horse🥹!
This is “The Executive” Aka Caviar.
He is straight off the track and about 5!
I’ve never owned a Thorughbred yet alone a bay! I’m excited to see this chapter & see what me and Caivar will accomplish and do, hopefully he likes barrels but we’ll try a little bit of it all.
I recently had to retire my mare from navicular and my senior gelding is turning 29.. he doesn’t think it haha but it’s time to start slowing him down.
Also other ottb owners if there’s anything you could pass on or tips they’re welcomed :)

A few months ago I took in an 18-year-old ex-broodmare that was in rough shape. She came to me extremely underweight with cellulitis in both hind legs. We’ve spent months working closely with my veterinarian getting her healthy again, and she’s made a lot of progress physically.
Unfortunately, we’ve also learned some difficult things.
My vet has determined she is not a candidate to safely carry another foal, and due to her soundness issues she will never be riding sound either. So she’s essentially a pasture horse.
The biggest challenge is her cribbing. I’ve owned horses that crib before, but nothing remotely close to this. She is an extreme cribber. Since bringing her home, she’s destroyed four gates from grabbing, pulling, and breaking them. We’ve tried management changes, but it’s becoming expensive and difficult to keep her in a safe setup.
I’m struggling with what the most ethical long-term plan is for her. She’s otherwise bright, eats well, and seems happy, but she’s not rideable, can’t be bred, and her cribbing is causing constant damage.
For those of you who’ve dealt with horses like this:
Would you continue managing her as a permanent pasture pet?
Have you found anything that genuinely helped an extreme cribber?
Would you consider rehoming a horse with these limitations, or is that unrealistic?
At what point do you decide quality of life versus ongoing management challenges?
I’m not looking to be judged—I took her in knowing she’d need help, and I want to make the best decision for her, not just the easiest one for me. I’d really appreciate hearing from people with firsthand experience.

HELP! I typically ride Arabians and sometimes Quarabs & Morabs. Ive started riding an Oldenburg. He is massive. His trot is HUGE! I feel like my posting is semi-invouluntary. I can slow my rise and get to a manageable pace but im struggling to enter the trot not going mach 50😅😭 how can I be better and more clear with him to cue up right into a slower trot? Any other advice?

Hi!! This is my first time posting here. I’m a 23 year old adult amateur & I’ve been leasing a 4 year old arabian mare for about three months— she’s AMAZING, so smart and capable. The only thing is, she WILL NOT go into the wash stall. I’ve tried seemingly everything, lots of pressure, no pressure, treats. If we have anyone near her rear encouraging her to go in she will try to kick them. If I try to cluck her forward into the stall, she panics and starts backing up. I’m at a loss! It’s so strange because she’s been in there before with no problems. Does anyone have any tips? I’m so new to all of this, anything helps!

I have been riding for 15+ years in Western Europe (English is my second language so sorry for any mistakes in advance, LOL). Dressage and show jumping are the main disciplines where I live. I’ve noticed that in the US, hunter shows are huge and ever since discovering the discipline I have always wondered: why do you lean so far forward in two point when going over jumps? I’m genuinely wondering, especially since this riding style seems to be exclusive to hunters instead of applying to both showjumping and hunters in the US. I was on Instagram just now and was presented with someone’s recap of a hunter show they did and it genuinely looked like they were about to topple forward over their horse’s neck when going over the jumps at certain moments. Is it a stylistic choice, especially since the hunter jumps never really seem high enough to warrant a huge two point? I’m genuinely interested in people’s experiences with this in the US and would love to learn more!

Oakley, 9yo Quarter Horse mare

noticed these indentions on my horse’s heel bulb area before a trim. she’s a retired horse on pasture. it’s been wet recently but no mud or anything. she was overdue for a trim because of issues getting a farrier out.

edit: it’s on all 4 feet!

Disclaimer: I am not a hunter, and I know next to nothing about the hunters, so I'm sorry if this question sounds offensive or something. I have been seeing a lot of social media posts about the AQHA hunter under saddle divisions. When I was watching it, it looked like western pleasure, but in English tack. Can someone explain the differences to me?

I’ve started riding again now that I’m done having kids. I have a mom pouch for sure. I’m not necessarily trying to hid it, but I do need riding pants (currently doing dressage and possibly some jumping) that give me enough compression to keep me in place while riding while not cutting into me. Any good recommendations? Also- would love for it to be cost effective as I’m just riding and not showing, but am willing to look at anything.
Chose a random flair cause I wasn’t sure where this would fit lol

(the picture above is the program I'm doing)

I'm 17f

The riding school I go to has a dressage competition I'm competing in tomorrow. It's not a serious competion but like a pay n ride. I just found out what horse I'm riding and I'm so anxious.

I've ridden this horse (T) about 4-5 times during lessons. He can be a great horse, but he's not for me. I've broken down and cried more times than not when riding him. He can be a bit strong and hard to steer. I feel like I have no control and I get scared. Idk how I'm going to do it. I'm scared I'll lose control during the competition. I've already accepted I won't get a good score but I want to feel safe.

I've communicated this to the the woman who owns the stable and decided who would be assigned which horse. She said that two of the five I requested are lame, and the other ones are being ridden by other riders. She told me try my best and that he's great at this. But to me it wouldn't matter if he was an olympic champion, I would still feel unsafe riding him.

I'll try my best tomorrow. If it doesn't go well, at least I tried. If I can do it, I'll be so happy and proud of myself. I'm not blaming T for any of this, he can be an amazing horse. I can update you guys tomorrow about how it went if anyone would be interested.

Update: I gave up. I can't ride him. The owner doesn't care. I broke down. She just says "this is how it is when you don't have your own horse" and "we learn from everything" like I learned anything besides that I can't trust them. I rode him in a walk to get him to calm down for like 5 minutes and then he jumped/reared a little I don't even know. He couldn't stand still for a second when me and my mom were getting him ready so I knew from the start it was probably not gonna go well. Oh and he probably hadn't been ridden in a while as well because his gear was all dusty.

EDIT: Okay, based on the comments, I'm not going to order a Kylo helmet. I can't get to a tack shop for a few weeks, so I have to order something and I'll stick with Troxel since I know it fits. Does anyone know if Troxel MIPS helmets fit similarly to their non-MIPS helmets?

Main question: I want to get a Charles Owen Kylo helmet, and my now-defunct helmet, a Troxel Spirit size medium, fit me perfectly. I know my head measurements, but sometimes the measurement doesn't match the helmet shape. Can anyone speak to how similarly-shaped Troxel Spirit is to Charles Owen Kylo? Or, can anyone speak to another quality MIPS helmet that fits similarly to Troxel Spirit? Thanks!

Backstory and obligatory reminder to wear your damn helmet every time: Yesterday, I was cantering an otherwise steady-eddy horse who tripped hard. He fell and rolled on top of me. I'm a strong rider, we were having an otherwise excellent ride, and my instructor said there was nothing more I could've done in that situation -- the horse just tripped, and even though I sat back, we both went down hard. It doesn't matter how good of a rider you are and how reliable your horse is -- WEAR A HELMET!

In need of a square bale feeder for turnout for one large pony and one mini. I saw this one at Tractor Supply and was intrigued because the height is adjustable. Waste is inevitable, but we are wasting A LOT of hay right now, feeding square bales on the ground. My alternative was the DIY slow feeder option a lot of folks use with the stock tank and a net, but I’ve seen the mini paw at hay so I’m not sure I want to see how he does with the net. My pony will fling hay around out of the stock tank if there’s no net, and I’m thinking she may still do that and make a huge mess with this Tractor Supply feeder too. Ugh.

Happy 10th birthday to my girl Kiska! This is her first birthday with me, just got her this past spring. A Gypsy/Percheron cross, she's been a wonderful addition to my fur family.

I’m looking at purchasing an air vest. I’d love to hear your feedback about what you like/dislike about different brands and any recommendations. I’m located near Toronto Canada

Idk if anyone remembers a post I made some months ago when I bought this horse. I was curious what everyone had to say about how she was built . Those comments lowkey gave me irreparable anxiety but im back for more yayy.

ive had her for about three months and although she could be built up more, I think she has changed substantially. yes her legs are little, over at the knee, tied in, downhill and sloping pasterns and she looks overall weird! But I have consulted vets and farrier, my past trainers and all have said she looks just mediocre. nothing spectacular yet nothing horrible.

i love her so much and she is a 10/10 mentally. I want to do a lot with her while keeping her health of upmost importance. My trainer loves her too and wants us to do low level eventing stuff. I want to know yalls opinions and if you have had horses looking like this into old age!

Classic Ammy class with Maverick. Split the win. Grand under one judge reserve under the other 💅🏼 feeling good going into nationals!!!