Did you know that your horse needs at least 1 ounce of salt and 5-10 gallons of water everyday? Many horses drink less in the winter because of cold or frozen water, but proper hydration is essential for your horse’s well-being no matter what season it is. Learn more about the importance of hydration and how to encourage drinking at http://bit.ly/YtksJi.
(via boobiestothebarn)
I’ve added a new feature to the blog: submissions.
Due to the character limit in the ask box it’s become clear to me that allowing submissions shall be necessary moving forward with the blog, as followers’ input is often called for and has always been welcome.
With that said, the Submit Content button is exclusively for submissions and is not intended for any form of questions or suggestions, which are still to be directed to the ask box.
I would like to make it clear that I do not intend to make this blog submission-dependent as I want it to have a clear voice and not go in every which direction at any given time, but well-written posts following the guidelines set out inside of the submission box are welcome and will be posted either immediately after being read or will queued to be posted at a later date.
Thank you for reading on!
Happy Trails
Anonymous asked: would you be able to write some grooming tips on getting white horses clean? especially getting wee stains off! thanks x
Well to be perfectly honest I haven’t yet owned a white horse myself (or anything with more than a sock or two) but from at least the experiences I have had and the experiences of the people around me there’s usually not much a short soak in Quick Silver can’t handle.
Beyond that I would definitely direct you to some posts in the Horse Forum’s grooming section where there is always excellent advice I personally have relied heavily upon over the years. I tracked down a couple of topics with some very helpful responses here:
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/ahhhhhh-white-horse-grooming-107875/
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/ahhhh-its-blue-help-107733/
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/how-keep-gray-horse-clean-107086/
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/whats-ultimate-whitener-102583/
Hopefully it helps! And sorry that I couldn’t offer more personal experience. If any followers have any good tips and tricks for whitening those white horses, you’re more than welcome to submit them, as well!
While carefully hand-picking through a mane and tail and generously coating with coat conditioners are optional grooming routines, there are a few things very necessary to the comfort and well-being of your horse. It is generally not acceptable to simply pull your horse out of the pasture, throw your tack on, and gallop off, because likely he is covered in dirt and God only knows what’s wedged in his hooves. While you don’t have to spend hours a day brushing your horse, make sure that you can properly and confidently do the things described in this post on a regular basis for your horse’s well-being and comfort.
No hoof, no horse. Likely the most important part of grooming is picking out your horse’s feet because you never know what could be hiding in there causing him a great deal of pain. It is important to get a hoof pick that’s easily usable and effective for you and your horse. There are a few different shapes and styles of picks, and the best way to know what works best for you is to just try them out and see what works well.
There is no one way of asking a horse to pick up his feet. Many horses are trained to respond to a variety of cues, and many horses are also just not trained very well at all. You may need to test a few different spots before you figure out what works for your horse and you. The main areas I see used are shown in this diagram:
Begin with your horse standing square with you positioned beside the leg you want to pick up, facing the opposite direction from your horse. Put your hand on the horse’s shoulder or hindquarters, then run it down the leg to the position you are using, then gently squeeze there while clucking. You can also use a cue such as “up” or “foot”. If the horse simply won’t lift the leg, try leaning a bit into him to try to push his weight off of the foot and squeeze a little bit harder. Once he lifts the hoof up, be prepared to grab the bottom (reaching around to the inside with the same hand used to cue) and support the hoof securely, preferably resting part of the hoof and part of the area just above the hoof in that hand.
When you pick out your horse’s feet, be sure to remove all of the debris from the foot, ensuring that you get your pick all the way into the cracks on either side of the frog (see diagram:)
The most important part to know about is the frog, which is a bit more sensitive than the rest of the hoof. People unfamiliar with horses often ask if picking out a horse’s hooves hurts him, and the answer is no (unless the hoof has been severely compromised by infection, poor trimming, founder, etc). You can get pretty aggressive while picking out stuck-in debris, just be mindful of the frog as, again, it is a little bit more sensitive.
In wet weather, thrush can also be a big issue, especially in horses who are stalled or do not do a lot of moving around. Thrush is a fungal infection that affects the frog and can deteriorate it completely with time, becoming very painful. Be sure to check for the number one sign of thrush: a nasty smell that is noticeably different from the way your horse’s hoof normally smells (so be aware of that smell, too). The best way to prevent thrush is with movement and air circulation to the frog. If you have thrush, be sure to apply medication such as Thrush Buster or one of many popular home remedies (my personal favourite is ½ water and ½ liquid Lysol all purpose cleaner for minor cases, consult your farrier or vet about severe cases).
It is ideal to pick out the hooves at least once a day, but at the least be sure to clean them before every ride (and more often if you never or rarely ride), especially if your horse is stalled. Try to also pick them out after every ride if you ride outside of a sand arena. If every time you pick your horse’s hooves they are full of a ton of debris, try to get them done more often. On top of picking the hooves out, be sure that you have a well qualified (not dirt cheap just barely enough to get the job done) farrier and follow the schedule he sets for your horse after regular visits.
The next step to grooming is brushing the body. Minimally you must make sure that there is no debris underneath where your tack and any blankets or sheets will be worn. Make sure you at least physically look your horse over before putting any equipment on him, with care to check underneath (and inside of) the mane at the withers, under the belly where the cinch/girth and back cinch (if worn) will go on both sides, the chest and between the front legs where the breast collar will go (if worn), as well as all around the head where the bridle will be worn. Tiny bits of debris can be wiped away with the hand, while usually the best practice is to just go over the area with a dandy brush (short to medium length, stiff to medium feel bristles):
And a small, gentle face brush for the face. With many horses gentle strokes with a dandy brush on the face are also alright, but it’s generally nicest to stick with a face brush or soft finishing brush.
If there are a lot of mud clods or something else well stuck in the horse’s fur that won’t come out with a dandy brush, you may need to use a metal rake or similar style tool:
Finally we get to the mane and tail. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to brush these all the time. Usually if you prefer not brushing the mane often it is recommended that you keep it short. You can trim it short with scissors (cutting UP into the hair, not straight across as that will always, I repeat, always turn out looking stupid…unless of course you don’t mind him looking stupid!), thin it down with a hair thinning razor, pull it (will post a guide in the near future, but this is the method used to get those short, clean-looking straight across short cut manes, they are not cut straight across as it may appear), or roach it (simply shave it completely down with a clipper, also can be done with sharp scissors or shears if the mane is thin enough). If you desire a longer mane but don’t have the time to brush it carefully or often, that’s okay too, it just will usually look less healthy especially when a lot of tangles are ripped out. Horses don’t generally have a lot of feeling in their mane beds so usually a tangled mane can be quickly brushed out even without detangler, without causing much if any discomfort to the horse. It is still best to try not to pull on the mane a whole lot (especially because you can hurt the neck muscles by pulling the main over too far to the side) and try to hold the hair in your free hand tightly, above the tangle you’re working on, in order to minimize the yanking on his neck. Always start from the bottom and work up. This only really has to be done often enough to keep from getting huge, uncomfortable mats that will be out of hand (if that is going to be happening, just do both of you a favour and roach it.) Just be sure the areas underneath your equipment are tangle free, as bunches of tangles strapped tightly under your saddle can be extremely uncomfortable for your horse.
The forelock can be very sensitive and it is important not to go tearing at that the way you might with the mane. Be very gently when brushing it out, starting from the bottom and going up and again, holding the hair above where a tangle is to minimize pulling on the horse’s head. There is no shame in deciding to shave the forelock off if you know you will not be able to gently maintain it!
The tail is also much, much more sensitive than the mane, despite the way many people will treat it. The good part, though, is that if you need to rip through tangles near the bottom the length of it usually makes it much easier to do so without pulling on your horse’s dock at all. Again, just grip the hair very firmly (the firmer the better) underneath the dock (never including the dock!) and have at it. Do not rip through a large tangle that you can’t shield your horse from feeling, use detangler if needed and even use scissors if necessary. If your horse has a thick tail that you don’t want to be stuck brushing through all the time, there are two options to minimize the stress on both of you. First, you can braid the tail (being sure to leave a long portion at the end for fly swatting if flies are present) to keep it out of trouble. Second, you can thin out the tail rather than banging it (AKA cutting straight across) by basically layering it, cutting it all different lengths all over in a way that appears natural, again, cutting up into the hair rather than cross and staying very mindful of exactly where the tailbone ends. It is best to avoid simply cutting the tail very short unless you are prepared to very thoroughly protect your horse from flies during fly season.
That should about cover it for now, and I’m glad about that as it is a little painful for someone like me to talk about doing only the minimum grooming required! ;) From here on out in this particular series I will be covering random grooming topics in random order in much greater depth, and, as usual, questions and suggestions are more than welcome!
Thanks very much for reading!
Happy Trails,
Manes and Tails
I’ve been meaning to start up a series on grooming because it’s a bit of an obsession of mine, in fact I’m a bit addicted. I’m hoping keeping this series ongoing permanently will help give me an outlet and at least something to post up when I’m feeling less inspired about horsemanship writing.
As a kid I always admired horses with perfectly groomed shining coats and long, full, flowing manes and tails, but didn’t own my own horse and also didn’t really have the patience to put much time or effort into grooming so, like many other people, I raked brushes through manes and tails once in a blue moon after they were thoroughly tangled and brushed just enough space for my tack to sit clean against my horse and that was it. By the time I got my own horse I was much older and a lot more patient and finally set out to learn all of the best grooming tricks to blind with my horses’ shine and maximize and carefully protect their mane and tail growth. While, just like anything else I post about here, I’m very far from knowing everything, I would definitely say that with my crazed obsession with grooming over the years I’ve gained a very fair share of knowledge on the subject that I’d like very much to pass along.
I love grooming because not only does it allow for some great quality quiet time along with your horse to help build on your relationship, it can also be very rewarding to see the finished product of your hard work. I take a lot of pride in the way my horses look and go to great lengths to get them looking their absolute best, but grooming can be as minimal or involved as you’d like depending on your preferences and schedule so long as you are able to complete a few necessary tasks, especially when riding.
It is very important to be able to groom at least minimally because leaving a lot of dirt underneath your tack and equipment can be bad for your horse, rubbing and irritating his skin at least and causing actual injury at most. Knowing the right tool for the job and building on tricks and techniques will help to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It is also worth noting that no amount of good grooming or products can make up for the physical effects of poor equine management and care. The most important step to keeping your horse’s coat shiny and his mane and tail healthy and full is ensuring that he is getting proper nutrition and is on a regular deworming schedule following the seasons and weather in your area (both of which you can always consult your vet about if you’re ever unsure). It is inevitable that a horse who is not getting those things will have a dull, dry coat and a less than fabulous head of hair.
I’m going to kick this series off with a guide covering the bare minimum basics and then let it go in various directions from there.
Here’s wishing you long locks and bright blinding socks as we continue on into the glamourous art of removing dirt and hair from your horse’s coat and applying it to yourself. Stay tuned for the next edition coming soon!
Happy Trails,
Manes and Tails.
I covered desensitization very lightly back when I answered this question, but of course there is a lot more to say on the subject. Desensitization is an important element of groundwork, but it is also something important not to overdo. While ideally your horse should not be afraid of any of your equipment, I’ve encountered horses that were desensitized to the point where you could run at them aggressively swinging a rope at them and they wouldn’t budge, which can be a very dangerous situation. You want to be able to use your rope or whip as an extension of your arm- nothing more or less, just an extension for your arm so that you can reach places that would be challenging or even dangerous to go to with your own arm. Using that logic, contrary to a common thought, a whip, rope, or flag is never anything to be actually truly feared by a horse on its own. You want the horse to treat your equipment as a part of you, so if he crosses you, you can use it to correct him. Just as there are times when you might slap a horse for dangerous misbehavior or aggression, you should be able to slap him with a whip or rope because, as stated, it is just an extension of your arm.
Desensitization has several different meanings, purposes, and methods, but they are all closely related. When you desensitize a horse to something, you are getting him used to allowing that object to be in his space and in most cases, to touch him all over his body without becoming fearful, upset, or uncomfortable and simply holding still and staying relaxed but ready to move if you should ask him to do so. The most common type of desensitizing I see done is simply with the same rope or whip used for more active training work (like directing and driving, short lunging, and disengaging) and its purpose is to get the horse comfortable with the equipment as well as getting him used to being touched all over his body in general. It is also common to desensitize a horse to something like a plastic bag (sacking out) because it is something most horses find very scary yet it’s something they will encounter a lot in life. Getting a horse used to being around a large scary object (like a tractor, a river, or a spooky hole in the ground) is also a form of desensitization. You will find that all of these different categories require patience, pressure and release, and a relaxed state of mind. It is extremely important not to become frustrated with your horse during any desensitizing process because that nervous energy only makes the horse feel more anxious and insecure. I would recommend trying to avoid entering into a situation requiring desensitizing work when you’re in a bad mood or feeling short-tempered.
When entering into the process of desensitizing (or any groundwork training, really) I always recommend being in an enclosed space of a reasonably small but functionally large space with a training halter and lead i.e. a rope halter with roughly a 12’ lead. There are times, of course, when that equipment won’t be available at the moment, but just do your best with what you have handy in those cases.
Begin standing away from any walls in the safest ground position (illustrated again here) facing your horse. Hold the lead in your left hand with enough slack that you won’t pull him at all as you move around but tightly enough to control him if need be. This hand should be slightly raised in a defensive position, because if he should come towards you with his front end you will raise this hand and pop him with your palm, aiming for the side of the front of his neck, near his jaw, avoiding hitting the throat or eyes, ears, or delicate nasal passages on the face. If you must strike him in the face, aim only for the cheek. Be prepared to use this, because if he becomes very afraid he may attempt to come over the top of you and you must make it very clear immediately that that answer is wrong and dangerous. Be as aggressive as necessary with this correction without going crazy on him. Remain calm, apply the correction, and then resume casually. As you go through any desensitizing process, you want to have a confident but extremely calm and casual demeanor. You want to send out energy equaling the reaction you want from your horse, which is calm, collected, not the least bit upset or worked up over what’s going on. I’ll often stand with one leg cocked and slouch slightly in order to really thoroughly portray and get into the required feeling of being relaxed, nothing out of the ordinary going on here.
The first example I would like to cover would be desensitizing your horse to your rope (or whip) for the purpose of familiarizing him with it and getting him used to being touched all over his body. For the example I am going to use a rope for simplicity and because it’s my personal preference, but it can only really be properly done with a training lead around 12’ long with a leather popper on the end, so if you don’t have something like that, substitute in a whip for safety and efficiency purposes. While standing in the safe zone with the lead held as described, take the tail of the lead in your right hand and position it so that there is enough slack between each hand to move your hands freely. You want to have a long tail remaining that you can manipulate and throw freely all over the horse. Be careful not to actually hurt the horse at all with the rope, and if you do on accident, stop for a moment, give him a pet and apologize, then causally move on. You do not want to desensitize the horse to being hit, so don’t give any negative reaction for him moving off of that pressure, take a moment to clarify that that’s not what’s being worked on, and move on as though it never happened. In order to help properly manipulate the rope as you intend to, you might want to try practicing on something other than your horse first to get a feel for how to throw it and swing it in a way that won’t cause a hard hit and will travel the distances needed. To get the rope to travel straight and far in a particular direction, begin with it as straight and far BEHIND, in the exact opposite direction, as it can go, then swing or toss the rope to where you want it to go. I often hold the rope lightly in my open hand with it resting on the top of my thumb and ring fingers (the rope would pass underneath the first and middle fingers, not above.) That’s what’s worked for me, but other methods may be more comfortable for different people. Try to get the hang of the proper motion before working on your horse. With practice you can easily toss the whip exactly where you want it then with just a flick of the wrist, pull it back into the optimum position to be thrown again. You will need to work on both your throwing technique and how long you need the tail to be to reach different distances. You want to try swinging the rope around something (I often just used fence posts) so that it lands lightly on top and slowly and gently wraps around the object, then swings back.
For simplicity I’m going to describe this all taking place on just one side of the horse, but it is very important to do this on both sides so that the horse reacts exactly the same way on both sides. I usually advise switching between the sides with each section of the body.
The part of the horse you must always, always start with is the back, near the withers. Horses are generally least sensitive about things being tossed around that area (and if they’re not, they need to be), so it’s the best starting place. Start by gently swinging the rope over the horse’s back, keeping a hold of it still with your right hand. If he gets started or moves away, follow him casually and keep on swinging it over until he makes some kind of improvement, whether it be stopping his feet or lowering his head a bit. The very moment he improves, stop swinging and release all pressure. I would heavily advise a lot of relaxed praise and a lot of stopping, turning away from him, and walking away a few steps without pulling him after you (the ultimate release because there is no pressure on him whatsoever), keeping a hold on the lead but letting it slip through your hands so that you’re not asking him to follow (even though many horses will.) Stand facing away from him for a moment and then calmly turn back to him to start again, with a quick scratch of the withers or whatever else your horse likes or recognizes as praise. That is what I’m referring to when I talk about “walking away” hereafter, and I recommend it after every bit of progress, but it is not necessary to keep on doing if the horse is not making a big improvement, like if you toss the rope over his back for the first time and he stays calm. If that is the case, just move on to the next step immediately.
Continue with the same swinging over the back until he is relaxed (not tense, not flinching, not moving away, head at a calm level, eyes soft) and then try tossing the lead completely over his back (keeping the same hold with the left hand but throwing it as far as you can completely out of the right hand). Once he accepts that, move on to the same steps with his hindquarters. After the hindquarters, try the neck, maybe even allowing the rope to slowly and gently wrap itself once around the neck before swinging back. After that, do the front legs, swinging it around both legs and each individual leg if you can. Swing the rope pretty much anywhere you can think of after that point, be creative, make sure you can calmly toss it anywhere and he will be okay.
When it comes to things like a whip, stick, flag, rake, or even a plastic bag (to be attached to the end of a stick without a tail, I usually use a whip with a very short tail I can use to tie to the handles of the bag, dressage whips or Parelli-style sticks without strings attached also work well), the method is very similar but different in a few ways. First, especially when working with something the horse is very afraid of, offer the item held up underneath the horse’s nose in a non-threatening way for him to sniff at. If he sniffs it, consider that a huge step in the right direction and offer a huge release. Once the item is allowed nearby, begin in the same area, the top of the back, but just rub or pet the horse with it rather than swinging or tapping. Follow the same procedure, giving a lot of release and moving around the horse’s body. With this format it is a lot easier to touch the horse all over his whole body with the stick. Continue just rubbing, do not tap at all, because that is considered pressure that you actually want the horse to respond to. If you are working on a plastic bag I would recommend going through the process with the bag both intact and then again with a hole torn out of the bottom of it because it behaves so differently.
It is a little bit trickier to desensitize a horse a large object like a tractor, water tank, or windmill. The method of approaching this type of desensitization is a lot different because you can not just take the item away as a release, you must move the horse away, and on top of that of course you can’t rub the horse with it. Begin by just confidently yet casually leading the horse up to the object. If he stops, urge him to take a step forward, and if he does, praise him highly and release. Try to encourage him to sniff the object, then lead him away. Try to get him to stand calmly near the object without prancing around or trying to run off, then lead him away. Try to walk around the object, then lead him away. Keep encouraging him to sniff as much as he pleases. Don’t drill it into him, as these things do take time. Walk away on a good note.
If it is at all possible, try to make the object a regular part of his life. The best way to do this is to put it near to where he lives or someplace you can turn him out, if that’s at all possible. Try to lead him up to it and/or past it on a very regular basis. If he’s not totally panicked and torn apart inside over it, try feeding him near it, or try grooming him near it. Being near it on a regular basis alone should be enough to get him used to it after awhile.
Teaching a horse to be comfortable crossing water can be challenging as well. Again, calmly but confidently lead him up to the river, as though you assume he will just stroll through it. If he stops to drop his head, let him, as this is how he is investigating and gauging whether he’s about to step into a bottomless pit. Try to keep him faced up to the water, facing him back up to it if he tries to turn away or gets distracted. When you see progress, lead him away. Try to get him to take a step into the water. Pull and urge him on until you at least see him slightly lift a leg, as this is a solid try. Praise heavily and lead him away. After he is regularly lifting a leg, get him to step in. The exact moment that his hoof touches the water, praise him and lead him away. Build up very slowly in this manner, requiring him to get at least as far as he did the time before each time. Sometimes horses will get scared and hugely regress, flat out refusing to touch on the level they had previously reached. If this happens, just try to get at least part of the way to where you were before, before releasing. Eventually he should walk through.
It also helps a lot to have other horses with you that are familiar with water crossing or are at least braver than your horse. Because of their herd mentality, horses are usually quicker to pick up on these things if they see another horse doing it. In some cases it helps to try to be that other horse for him yourself, but not all horses will see it the same way. Still, do not expect him to charge right through just because another horse did.
Hopefully this does well as a summary of some of the basic principles of the desensitization process and I would definitely encourage anyone to ask any questions at all or request any further elaboration on anything, as well as recommending anything that I didn’t cover. If anyone does so, I will both post it in a new post and add it to this guide.
As usual, thank y’all a ton for reading and bearing with me! Or perhaps horseing with me?
Happy trails,
Buckets and bales.
Groundwork is a very involved topic because there’s just so much to it: so many methods, so many different things to do, different purposes and levels of expertise and pressure, the list can go on. It’s a challenge to try to cover it in a way that’s informative and fair to different methods and frames of mind without going on and on for days. I’m going to try to keep it as brief as I can for now and add to it over time, but please feel free to let me know if there’s any particular thing you’d like me to cover!
Whether you like it or not, groundwork is an important part of any long-term relationship you build with a horse, and anyone who intends to learn about horses really ought to learn a bit about it. Groundwork is a broad term that covers pretty much any work you do on the ground with your horse, from lunging to desensitizing to grooming. Usually the main thing the term “groundwork” is referring to is one-on-one hands-on training on the ground for softness and respect and that is the subject I will be going into during this series. That particular sect involves things like disengaging of the hind and forequarters, directing and driving, desensitizing, and similar exercises, all of which I will cover in the upcoming additions.
The purpose of groundwork is to familiarize yourself with your horse (and vice-versa), to build trust and respect, and to help provide a foundation for things that will be asked for later undersaddle. Doing thorough groundwork will really help in training a horse to lead properly, to load into a trailer, to give a person space when standing at ease, and to move different parts of his body as directed in a relaxed and comfortable manner. When you do groundwork with a horse, you are at his level interacting with him with body language that (ideally) should make clear sense to him following the logic he is born with as a horse. It is a very natural way to interact with a horse and familiarize him with new people and new situations because it most closely reflects the interactions horses make with each other. To properly execute groundwork exercises with a horse, it is important to have some level of understanding of their way of thinking, as covered in Communication on a Basic Level.
How much groundwork is necessary varies widely from person to person and horse to horse. Some people feel that interactions with a horse should always be primarily groundwork with some riding, while others believe it is only important to teach a few basic principals in the beginning and rarely go back to it once it’s been taught. Personally I learn towards doing a lot of groundwork in the beginning but aiming not to need to go back to it often. I always start my horses with a lot of groundwork to get them solid and respectful and get used to each other, but once they understand the concepts I only go back to it if a problem arises, if the horse needs a reminder or a quick refresher course, or as part of new training or familiarizing with a new situation. I always make sure that I can send my horse in either direction easily just by pointing them there, that I can spin them around on either half of their body in either direction with ease, and that I can back them just by motioning to them or laying a finger on their chest and clucking. While some believe in very thorough desensitization to ropes and whips, in an average situation I only ask my horses to be reasonably comfortable having my rope or whip around any part of their body and once they have become comfortable I don’t go back to desensitization unless a problem arises. I do want my horse to respect a rope or whip being flicked at them and move off of that pressure, but I want them to do it without true fear of being hurt by it. I will go into all of these topics on a much deeper level when they are covered.
Overall, as stated, groundwork can be as simple or as involved as you make it. There are horses who require regular reminders, while some will never need refreshing. As with everything else, it’s all about reading your horse and knowing how to respond to his needs in order to accomplish what you need to do.
That’s it for now and in my next addition to this series I will be diving deep into the topic of desensitization. I hope y’all enjoy this series and that you’re having a great new year so far.
Happy Trails,
Buckets and Bales.
Merrigold today :)
Happy Holidays everyone!
(Source: ponyonapony, via jesscasino)
And I also wanted to apologize for the big gap in posting again. Things have been very strange. But I’m working on material mentally all the time. Thank you all for bearing with me.
I’ve been trying to brainstorm for this post for a very long time, and I’m at a loss of what to say.
It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to figure out what to say about something so incredibly important and meaningful to me.
The death of a horse is so strange and awful and confusing. To look a horse you would think he was invincible, immortal…and to know him, only more so.
Then to look at a horse who’s been through hell and back, who’s not just seen but felt the merciless hand of more hate and anger and disgusting outright unprovoked cruelty than you can possibly imagine, and lived through it, even if only by a thread…then think that he could really actually die one day, something on earth could be the end of him one day, it’s a weird feeling.
(Click Read More for the rest)
My name is Pony and I am a young horsewoman who has studied the way of horses my whole life. I do not claim to be a professional, just someone who is feverishly passionate about horsemanship.
Anyone who ever thinks that they know all there is to learn about horses is absurd. I will always have a hell of a lot more to learn, but I like to think I have a solid foundation.
I created this blog in order to write down my thoughts about horsemanship in today's world, maybe have a few friendly, productive discussions, and more than anything to share and gain knowledge.
Thanks for giving me a bit of your time,
Happy Trails.
