Everybody wants to have a special connection with their horse. There's something about that feeling of perfect harmony that speaks to the pony-mad eight year old hidden in all of us who love horses. I'm no exception. In my time as a horse owner I have researched and practiced many ways to get my horses … Continue reading How to build a stronger bond with your horse
I've been away from this blog for the last few months, which was a complete accident and I've been feeling horribly guilty about it. I got a new job which meant I was out of the house for at least 13 hours a day, then for the last month I've been on an internship, and … Continue reading Training Update: January 2018
If you keep your horse barefoot, or are thinking about it, you're probably aware of the importance of diet when it comes to keeping hooves healthy. Start researching what food is 'good' and 'bad' for hooves and you'll likely have fallen down a rabbit hole of information. Every blog, news article and forum post has … Continue reading Should you feed soya to your horse?
When you own a dog or a cat or a horse, you may be responsible for training them. Most horse owners don't need to start their horse's training from scratch but every time you groom your horse or have a lesson the horse will be learning something. If, like me, you find the process of … Continue reading Training made simple: the behavioural approach to learning
On the 9th of July 2017, gold medal-winning showjumper Scott Brash and his team Miami Glory were disqualified from the Global Champions League due to a small amount of blood on his horse Hello Forever's side. It has become part of a longstanding argument in the showjumping world that FEI rules are too strict when … Continue reading The FEI’s “Blood Rule” is changing: is this a good thing?
I have wanted to put a track system in place in my field since the very first day I heard about them. I have drawn up plans, I have assessed the amount of space I have to work with, I have paced it. It's never happened, and there are several reasons why it's still something that I'm wary of committing to. Will your horses actually benefit from a track system?
Archie's diet is aimed at maximising his growth because he was so undersized when he came to me. As a result he's got bags of energy to burn through, and opportunities for him to express that energy are limited to the field while he's still so young. I can be less than confident on the … Continue reading Training Update: Personal Space
Archie the Friesian is the latest addition to my herd (I say "herd"; it's now got two members). He was purchased in March 2017, but has been living with me since about January and I've known him since he was eight months old. He is now fifteen months, currently standing at about 13.3hh.
This is a question that a lot of horse owners who are interested in taking their horses barefoot end up asking themselves. Google it and you will find countless articles and forum threads, and most of them will come to different conclusions. All of this makes it very confusing when you just want a simple answer as to why your horse isn't comfortable and what you can do about it.
What we consider to be the "modern" horse shoe has probably been in use since before the 13th Century (this is still contested), but very little evidence has been provided that actually explains how horse shoes benefit the horse in terms of loading and protection. As a horse owner, these are some of the questions that I would want answered before I considered putting shoes on any of my horses.
The Barefoot Horse 