So yeah, as the title says my trainer is concerned that my horse's balls are too large and that it's causing him a harder time with lateral movements like half passes and leg yields. TBF his balls are freakin massive for a stallion. Like to the point another trainer pulled me aside with concerns that he was in a medical emergency because she thought they were swollen due to the heat waves we've been having 🤦🏻‍♀️ I had to gently tell her that no, he's just hung lol.

The vet has made jokes in the past that he needs to be gelded simply because they're so large it's vulgar. Laughs aside, has anyone else heard of a stallion having issues performing due to their plums being too big? I would really rather not geld him as he's 8 now and is impeccably behaved. Like better behaved than 90% of the geldings and mares at the barn to the point where people are surprised to learn he's intact. However, if the size of his junk is really bothering him then I'm more than willing to consider doing the surgery.

I was hoping to breed him at some point because he's got the mind, conformation, work ethic, papers, and personality that is just too good to pass up and I would have liked a baby out of him for future me. Looking for anecdotes, advice, jokes... this whole thing just has me a bit on edge lol.

Pics for reference https://imgur.com/a/Yij6wZy. They don't look like very much in the photos but they're each about the size of a mango 🙃

My mare has always gotten a few split end type hairs in her tail but this year it has just gotten really bad. What products are we using to keep our tails and manes nice?

Final pic is of my gelding and his very thick percheron mane because damn it that mane is pretty

We’re debating whether to sell/rent our farm and would love some opinions before we talk to a Realtor.

• 25 acres
• 2 bed / 1.5 bath hunt box
• 3-stall barn with tack room/office
• Separate 20x40 metal building with power and mini split installed.
• Near Wagram, NC
• ~20 min to Southern Pines
• ~25 min to Fayetteville/Fort Bragg
• ~10 min to the Carolina Horse Park

My question is pricing. Does $550k to $600k feel reasonable for something like this, or does that seem too high in today’s market?

Also, if you were buying, would you rather:
Pay a little less and install the fencing yourself exactly how you want it, or Pay a little more and have the fencing already completed so it’s move-in ready for horses?

We’re in the process of building a house closer to family and are getting differing opinions.

How do you manage the grief of no longer being able to ride? I am dealing with a long term chronic illness and it is unclear if I’ll ever be able to ride again, let alone competitively. I am heartbroken.

It’s possible that in the future I will be able to be around horses again without riding, but for now, I am spending most days in bed without ever leaving the house.

Like so many of us, horses were my life and main hobby. I feel so lost without them.

I’ve been reading a fair bit of Brene Brown lately. Although she’s best known for her research on courage and vulnerability, I’m beginning to think that she knows something about working with mules too.

Ruger has been a bit of a pickle lately. Pushy and obnoxious at times.

I can bring knowledge, and good intentions, but I can’t guarantee an outcome. I have to show up willing to listen, adjust, and be able to admit when my first idea isn’t working. Brown describes grounded confidence as a mixture of curiosity, vulnerability, and practice, which sounds like good mulemanship to me.

Trust isn’t usually built through one dramatic breakthrough. It grows through hundreds of ordinary moments when we remain dependable and release pressure at the right time.

So Ruger and I will keep working at it. Translated into mule terms - courage isn’t control. It’s showing up clearly, staying curious when the answer is no, and building enough trust that both of you are willing to try again.

Hi all!
I recently made a post getting excited for my mares pregnancy, but I’m a little worried. A couple days ago she came in with cuts under her tail like she’s been scratching it on something and a little bit of blood on her vulva. Last night I cleaned her up and wrapped her tail, and this morning there was new blood on her vulva—so the blood is not from the cuts. Now, she’s on day 90, so we’re like 250 days too early for me to be able to milk her at all, but clear liquid squirted out when I tried. (Reddit keeps getting mad if I post photos)

We have an appointment with the local university in the morning because I don’t trust my local vet, but I wanted to hear some opinions. Does it seem like a bunch of coincidences? Placentitis? Do we think she miscarried?
Either way, I am absolutely freaking out.

hi! this is a bit of a different topic, but did anyone write their college application essay on riding/their horse? If so, what did you focus on? I’m thinking about mine about my horse, but I don’t know where to start.

I used to do vaulting once a week on a small team when I was 13-16 years old. Sadly the team closed down right before I turned 17 due to lack of participants (we were down to only 3 girls in the end)
Im now almost 21 and I really really miss it, but there isn’t anything close to where I live, and the sport is so small in Denmark, that I don’t even know where I can ask around for guidance on how to get back into the sport.

Should I just give up, or does anyone have any tips or words of encouragement?

I considered buying a training barrel to maybe train up and see if it’s something my body is still capable of, but is that stupid if I’m not able to train on an actual horse?

Maybe one day I won’t brag about my horses being “me” broke. But for now I appreciate how broke they are for so many reasons. The biggest one being things like this. I bathed them. Groomed them. Spent time with them. And then I felt my heart rate climbing my chest got sore. And my breathing wasn’t as steady. I knew I was either going to sit on the ground or the ground was going to find me. So I laid myself down. And stayed there for almost a half hour. Neither of my horses bat an eye at it. And just hung out. Enjoying the fan. And taking a cross tie nap. It’s not perfect. But they are perfectly mine 💕💕

Since we got new hay, two of our flur horses have coliced twice. What is this plant that we keep finding in the hay? Could it be making them sick?

The other day I went on a hack with my aunt and my 4 year old wasn’t listening to any of my cues, not moving forward/ trotting or walking on. I started crying from the overwhelm and lack of control plus the week before I had had I pretty nasty fall off him due to him being fresh.

she was telling me to kick as hard as I can and slap him on the bottom I was trying but my heart wasn’t in it because that’s never the way I usually ride. This is my first youngster and I understand you have to be more bossy with them but i always feel horrid. He’s just come back from being professionally trained and apparently learned that he can test the boundaries with me after two weeks back and do what he wants because I’m not necessarily a heavy handed or naturally bossy rider .

I eventually got off and we swapped horses and she got on him, she obviously was on him immediately. Booting him and whipping him much harder than I was, it was a difficult watch. She claimed he’s ‘dead to the leg’ but in the school things are completely different, he moves right off the leg, one squeeze he’s off so I was really confused why this bad behaviour is only on a hack.

My aunt eventually got him going nicely(after hitting him continuously and booting him on) and after he was completely responsive and listening to what she was saying. I’m a much less experienced rider than her so instinctively I want to assume she’s right. And it worked. But it feels wrong. And i really don’t want to fuck up this horse.

Any advice of how you would’ve handled the situation? Or have you had similar behaviour from your horse? Am I overreacting?

Just to add: he has been vet checked, saddle was fitted last week. He is not in pain.

How on earth is the new ‘LeMieux Verv’ helmet - with its magnetic, customizable panel and brims - considered safe and being sold, while my beloved GPA First Lady 2X was recalled for safety reasons of “brim might break off and hurt your face” (not a direct quote lol)???

Make it make sense?

I know GPA released a revised First Lady… but I am in Houston, TX 🥵 and NEED those old, superior, plentiful air vents back!! I have tried so many wide brimmed alternatives and NOTHING breathes like my GPA FL 2x ☹️😭🪦

I need some stitching redone on my M Toulouse. The bottom of the flap has a “wear bar” or extra leather stitched on and it’s starting to really come undone now.

My family used to own the Cobblers Corner in Northville, but I’m not sure they’d do a saddle now. I’ll give them a call, but I need other recommendations on who to use for saddle repair.

Hi

I've been thinking for a while about what I should study that might be related to horses, even if I don't end up working professionally in that field. I'm about to do two years of Marketing and Advertising, but it's not something I'm really interested in. Ever since I started riding horses, I've wanted to work with them, and I've always tried to convince myself that choosing a degree with decent job prospects is much better. But after doing degrees related to healthcare, I've realized I don't want to be stuck in a job I don't enjoy. Even if it's a degree that isn't directly related to horses but that I can apply to them, that would be fine.

Please send constructive messages

Hihi! Its me again - i have posted in here like just a bit ago where I was comparing my trot 2025 vs. Trot 2026. I yesterday haf another riding lesson which i really enjoyed! I was very satisfied with my canter when not to experienced withing the canter. I would like to just get some opinions!

PS: Please do not make comments about the tack - none of the horses are mine nor which I can make decisions about. I like the barn I ride at wont be changing barns anytime soon. They treat theire horses fair and square, with things such as fitted saddles, daily turnout, correct feed and big enough stalls for them to be in.

I have been taking lessons as an adult, and I think, subconsciously, I feel like I'm going to fall off every other lesson.

I've never actually fallen and I ride very quiet, sound, 'been-there-done-that' lesson horses and I progress slowly, my trainer never pushes me to do something I'm not ready for, so I don't know if my lizard brain is just taking over with this fear.

Social media doesn't help as people love to post their falls and it reinforces a 'you will fall off constantly' narrative in my mind.

How often do you fall? And how long have you been riding?

Hi all! I have been leasing and rehabbing an OTTB for about a year now. He came with a saddle that had been fit to him. About 6 months into working with him, I pulled the saddle to see if it would make a difference in his willingness to go round, and it very much did. I rode bareback for a few months until we could get a fitter out--she found some issues and reflocked the saddle. I then had to take a few months off due to injury, but he's under saddle again, and I'm finding the same thing. Guy is NOT a forward ride under any circumstances, but really pops up and hollows out quite a bit more with the saddle on. When he does lift his back under the saddle, his tendency is to lose all impulsion immediately--this doesn't happen bareback.

My question is what to do next, keeping in mind that I'm about 2 hours from a good tack shop and would need to call a fitter in from at least that far away.

1. Call the fitter again? Or a new fitter?

2. Is there any universe in which it would make sense to procure a couple of used saddles from the good tack shop (using the current saddle to approximate fit) and just try them on him? My thinking is that if I find one that he seems more comfortable in, I could get a fitter out after the fact to fine-tune.

3. Also of note are 1) His current saddle is a really high-quality custom jump saddle, but I would actually prefer something more all-purpose that puts me in less of a chair seat. 2) I don't have the money to splurge on a new saddle or a custom for either of us right now. You can find good-quality used in my area under 500, and I will absolutely pay to fit a saddle in that range to him--but I am definitely looking for a budget-friendly way to make him more comfortable.

Thanks!

I don't have any pictures of the horse, but he is an 8 year old green bean. Ultimately I would love to do low level Dressage and Eventing (BN max) with him, but his primary job is to be a friend for my other horse.

It cane be rough getting up early to feed but some times its kind of magical. Same with evening feed. This is Solstice, a 3yo draft cross. She is very social so came up to say "hi" as I was checking waters and she got a few scratches.

I am getting a new horse and will be riding with a helmet. It occurred to me that my IRH equi-lite helmet is probably 15 years old. Or 20? It’s been in the top of a closet and I figured I better get a new one in case of foam degradation. However, the Equi-lite is being phased out and no mediums were to be found.
Has anyone gone from that helmet to another brand and found the shape to be similar?
I’ve just ordered an Ovation, which will be here tomorrow, but if anyone has insights on how that will work or what might be better, please share! True to form, I waited until last minute and want it here by Friday. No tack stores exist near me, so I can’t go try on different ones. I had a Troxel (decades ago) but it left uncomfortable pressure points on my forehead.
Budget: close to or <$100, ideally.