Have you ever gotten out onto the trails, only to discover you left something important back in the horse barn? Here’s a list of items to make sure you have in your trail riding saddle bags the next time you head out.

First-Aid Kit

Hopefully you’ll…

When you own horses, especially those who are injury prone, you will probably accumulate quite a bit of medication. Whether bought over the counter or from your veterinarian, medications need to be handled and stored properly. Here’s how:

Create a Medication Cabinet

One of the most important precautions you should…

Have you ever owned a buddy sour horse? A buddy sour horse can make doing anything without his buddy difficult. Luckily, buddy sour behavior can be cured, and you can enjoy peaceful rides with your horse again.

Start Separation at Home

The first thing to do when dealing with a buddy sour horse is to start by breaking…

If you own a grey horse, then you know how grey horses seem to be mud and dirt magnets. Unfortunately it’s impossible to hide dirt in a grey coat, so you will need to be talented in your grooming to have your grey horse looking great. These tips can help you in the challenge to keep your grey horse clean.…

Buying a used horse trailer is a great way to save money over what you would pay if you bought a brand new horse trailer. There are many deals on used horse trailers – you just have to know how to find them. These tips can help you to get a good deal on a used trailer.

Buy During Off-Peak Season

The prices of trailers drop when…

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you had to evacuate your horse in an emergency? We hope that you never have to face an evacuation, but good planning is key to evacuating your horse successfully. Here are some tips to help you get…

Do you plan to take your horse swimming this summer? Swimming with your horse is a fun summertime activity. These tips will help ensure that your experience is a success.

Make Sure Horses Are Allowed

When you’re planning your trip, check to make…

If you’re planning on building a horse barn, then you want to make sure that you do it right. Before you start building your barn, take a look at these common barn building mistakes so that you can be sure to avoid them.

Opting for Cheaper Stalls

In an attempt to save money, barn owners may choose to buy cheaper, lesser quality stalls to put into their…

A lack of confidence when riding your horse is a significant and widespread issue. A fall, an injury, or even riding a spooky horse can quickly shatter what confidence you have, and even aging often results in reduced confidence. If you find that you’re lacking…

Many horse owners have one – the horse who, either due to injury or old age, can no longer be ridden. If your horse is unrideable, you will face some decisions about his future. There are a few different options for unrideable horses that may work for your situation.

Keep as a Companion

The most obvious, and often most desirable option…

Sending a horse away to a trainer requires a good deal of trust, since your horse’s care and wellbeing will be in the trainer’s hands. If you’re planning to send your horse away for training, you will want to make sure that the horse will be safe and that the training will be a positive experience. Here are some factors you’ll want to…

As the holidays approach, you may find yourself horse sitting for friends or even for horse owners you don’t know. Caring for horses during winter is very different than caring for them in the summer, especially when you are the sole caretaker for a barn. When you’re horse sitting in the winter, there is some very important information that you should make…

I have been blogging along for a couple of years now and I notice that no one is asking me for beauty tips. I wonder why that is?

It couldn’t be that I offended with last week’s rant about non-helmet wearing riders who have more concern about their hair than their brains.

It can’t be a grudge about the blog where I referred to my truck as The Perfect Purse, that was…

Allergies & Skin Health

An allergy is an exaggerated response from the immune system to a substance in the environment, called an allergen. Although horses can become allergic to things they eat, inhale, or touch, insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH or "sweet itch") is…

Professional Dressage Groom's Top Ten Grooming Items for Horse Shows

By: Justin Ridgewell

- Over the past six years I have been a professional groom and working student to the elite dressage training facility Oakcrest Farm. I have had the great opportunity and pleasure of traveling across Canada, the USA and even to Europe with grand prix…

Kick Start a Healthy Life – 10 Tips you can Start Today

By Lindsey Forkun BScN, PHN

1)      Eat more…

Once you have introduced your horse to a variety of things, it is important to try and give the objects a purpose or make them part of your play.

This is were you get to be creative and think of ways you can incorporate your ground and riding cues into challenging games that can test your communication, build confidence, and ultimately build a better…

Some horses are naturally braver than other, and some horses tend to be fairly skittish and flighty. Horses can become more confident when they are exposed to many different things – when they associate positive

experiences with the different objects/ environments.

Getting your horse to touch different objects is one way to build confidence. Provided the…

The Incredible Shrinking Leg (or How To Avoid Losing Your Stirrups!)

I've been giving a bunch of seat and leg position riding lessons lately, and I've discovered some interesting things about the correlation of the pelvis, lower leg, and losing

your stirrups.…