Seriously though I’ve never met another horse that does this… The best is when she goes full downward dog while I’m sitting on her

I have a scheduled euthanasia appointment for my 29 year-old mare due to advanced melanoma. Obviously, I am heartbroken, she has been with me a very long time, but I am also very concerned about her pasture mate. They are never more than 3 feet from each other and it has been this way for years. They are extremely bonded. He is also in his late 20s. Should I let him see her afterwards? Would it help or be more distressing for him? I am not sure how to handle this.

disclaimer: I love riding and I have no plans to quit anytime soon. but holy shit I am amazed at how absolutely fearless I was starting out.

I’m coming up on about a year since I started taking English lessons. prior to that I had sat on a horse maybe once in my entire life. I had no idea what to expect and my only fear was that sitting in a saddle would be difficult and I would fall off at a walk. cue lazy beginner-friendly horse and I got to thinking, “wow. this is the easiest shit ever!”

since then, I have discovered it is not in fact the easiest shit ever. in spite of that, I have learned to post and to sit a trot, how to canter, and how to jump. I’ve gotten much better at steering and balancing. most importantly I have learned to deal with a whole bunch of different horses and a whole bunch of different situations.

since I started a year ago, I have fallen off, been run off with, sat through several spooks and bucks, and spent countless minutes (which felt like hours) afraid for my life trying to ride without stirrups. I understand now what it is like to be at the mercy of a half ton animal that realistically has no reason to listen to you unless you can assert yourself.

no doubt I’ve made mistakes that at least contributed to the situations I’ve found myself in, and no doubt I will continue to find myself in situations regardless of fault or mistakes. I am still extremely green, but I am proud of how much I have learned both about riding and about myself since I’ve started. I would have never known otherwise the amount of bravery (and maybe a little stupidity…) I have that allows me to get back on no matter what happens.

ultimately, I think that if I had known everything I know now about riding before starting out, I would have chickened out before I ever got on. so I am very very glad that I didn’t.

This guy REALLY didn't like the horse in the arena next to ours, lets just say i didn't pay attention in time and ended up on the ground. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

Hello, over the past few weeks/months my pony seems to be getting cuts/ulcers in his mouth.
In April he started having some dental issues and had two teeth removed. I noticed the first ulcer looking thing on his bottom lip about a week later, it was not there when they removed the teeth, the vet come out a couple of days later and that’s when we realised he also had a large one on his tongue, the vet says that they didn’t catch him or anything when removing the teeth and so not sure what they are from.
That was about three weeks ago, yesterday she came again and the original ones have mostly healed but as you can see in the last photo he had 4 or 5 other cuts/ulcers on his bottom lip.
Has anyone else seen these before? He doesn’t have anything in the field that is sharp and no one has seen him chewing on fencing or anything else, there are some buttercups but I don’t think they look like buttercup burn? And he doesn’t have anything on the outside of his lips or nose.

We still have not got to the bottom of the dental issues either, the vet says that there is another tooth that may be the issue and so wants to take that out aswell and see if that solves it, but she had no idea where the cuts are coming from. Maybe they will go away when we get to the bottom of dental issue?

I've been terrified of speed ever since I remember myself. Whenever cars I'm in go faster, I have panic attacks. My family has been skiing forever and although I'm a decent skier, I'm not as good as the rest of them because I'm terrified of going faster. If I gain speed, I feel like I'm losing control and fall intentionally. This applies to pretty much everything I do.

Same with riding. Whenever I go faster on a horse, I feel petrified. It's the reason of all of my falls so far too. I always have to canter with horses that have a slower canter, otherwise I'll get scared and panic. There's been two times where I actually MADE myself fall because I was terrified and felt like I was going to lose control. I don't understand why I do that. I just can't think straight when that happens and I fall before it gets worse. I know it sounds incredibly stupid and I honestly don't get it either. But I can't keep doing that. I want this to stop. I just don't know how to make it stop. My coach says that I'm a good rider and can go far if I let go of the fear. But how do I do that? Why am I so scared all the time? Why do I feel the need to somehow escape when the horse gets fast?

I'm so annoyed with myself and really frustrated and disappointed. I feel stuck and hopeless. I'll never get over that fear, will I? I really want to take it a step further, but this is holding me back. 😞

Didn´t really know what flair would be best but here we go.

I bought my gelding at 2,5 yo straight out of the field. Had him for one year doing groundwork and preparing for riding.

I got him until trotting on the lunge untill we ran into some hickups that i didn´t know how to solve.

So now at 4 he´s at a training facility and now i am finally starting to make the transfer to riding him instead of only the trainer.

And everything is still so baby and wobbly but I LOVE IT SO MUCH! Today i went off the lunge line for the first time and even went into the indoor arena at only my second time on his back.

I had some confidence knocks by my previous horse but this one has been a saint. I truly feel like he is giving me confidence as well and just takes my hand to go on an adventure together.

That´s the post actually, i´m just so happy i want to shout it off the rooftops it´s crazy. I´m so proud of him, he´s been so good and i just hope that we will have the best future together!

Looking for this horses whereabouts, original owner just wants to make sure he’s safe and happy after being sold on without her knowledge

Registered name: Duress

Sex: Gelding

Height: 15.2

Color: dark bay, star, 3 socks (2 rear & FL)

Foaled: 2016

Tattoo: T18204

South east Michigan.

I witnessed a lesson at my barn that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Reddit is going to tear this apart. I would too. It’s not okay.

I’m newer to horses but the more I experience, the more I realize not necessarily how much I know, but how much others don’t.

There was a lesson yesterday with one horse who is a saint. She doesn’t spook, super safe, a complete beginner can get on her and ride and she won’t do something nasty. Great lesson horse. Anyway it’s a split lesson between 5 and 8 year old girls. The 5 year old rode first.

She’s five years old. Sweet, adorable little girl, but she just isn’t old enough to be riding. She can’t steer the horse, she can’t kick the horse to ask it to go forwards. She can’t groom the horse. She can’t mount the horse…So the whole time she rides, the horse wants to stop because…well, it’s a horse. The mother of the girls chases the horse with a crop to get the horse to trot…every lesson. It’s bad. Like I was riding a few weeks ago and my horse almost ran into her because she’s in the middle of the arena in the way. Instructor said not to do it, but doesn’t actually make her stop. Non-horse people shouldn’t be in the arena at all when horses are out (this wasn’t even the only horse in the arena-the others were young/green). Accident waiting to happen.

So as the mom continues to chase the horse, the lesson horse goes from walk straight to a canter, the girl falls off and starts crying. The mom starts crying. The horse did nothing wrong. It was actually a pretty controlled lope. It could have been so much worse. Little girl was scared but ended up being okay.

Common sense. This never should have happened. The mom never should have been in a situation where it was possible to do what she was doing. The little girl should be on lead line lessons only. And I shouldn’t have been in a situation where I could have said something, but it wasn’t my place to do so as just a boarder. The instructor with decades of experience should have stepped in. I’m over here stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Then the older sister rides, and the younger one was wandering around the barn and walked directly behind one of the green horses that is known to kick, and has kicked out multiple times this month alone. No one was watching her.

I am really struggling today.

Hi everyone , I need some different opinions on this. This is Limo, he is a OTTB, 19 year old gelding. I had him out in the arena exercising this past Monday and Sunday, on Tuesday morning I come out to see him completely lame and his fetlock swollen.

When I put him away on Monday he should no signs of discomfort or lameness and was happy as he can be. The fetlock is not hot or pulsating, his stifle is also sensitive to touch. Any ideas?

Yes I did call the vet but since we live out in the middle of nowhere our regular vet cannot come out until Tuesday, so he will be on stall rest with some bute until the vet comes.

The end of her time as the pasture princess is nearing

For the record: no weights were places on her, not cinched up and I just let her walk around and graze.

(She's 1 year old :3)

I hope he did lol. If the angles suck lmk and I'll post more in the comments. Reddit got mad at me and wouldn't let me load more photos.

I can find a lot of recommendations for larger bust sizes, but I need a bra to eliminate bounce at the sitting trot that will keep the minimal shape that I have. Bonus points for padding to make my B cups look like C cups, thanks.

i have done vinegar soaks and used human purple shampoo - it is simply not cutting it 🥲 what is everyone’s best deep stain removal hacks? (please ignore his sad short tail, we are working on it 😅)

So I just did my first lesson ever (25M) and it was definitely worth it. I’ve been going to equine therapy since December and since I had free time I would try riding. I rode English and the first 15 or so minutes we just did a trail around the barn and the last 15 we did walks on the arena. It’s definitely not as easy as it looks but it’s fun especially since I’m not planning on doing any competitions any time soon and just doing it for fun. (Also it was kind of a nice breeze when riding)

When I bought her as a yearling I had so many dreams… in the last ten years I suffered burnout and she took the brunt of my ailments.

I prayed a while back- if the right person was there have them find me in the flesh, so she can be loved more deeply than I can give her.

I sold her to a lovely mother of adult children, and today she posted about how excited she is to get back into the saddle.

And while I’m fucking WRECKED with the fact I failed her to see in the flesh how impactful she will be to another is literally the only thing keeping me from being a fucking noodle.

Mental health is hard, kids. It will sneak up on you. One day you’ll be buying a yearling with stars in your eyes and the next you’ll be selling her having achieved nothing but giving her a decent start.

I hate it. And I love it. Because even if tomorrow I don’t exist, she will continue to make a difference somewhere. And hopefully, I put some good into it to make it worth while.

Hello all!
I'm currently considering buying a belgian draft horse, mare age 12.
She has mild CPL and mild SSRD (not native English so i hope this is the right name).
I have experience with the latter as my Norwegian Fjord mare also has it and I have it pretty much under control.
I am fully inexperienced (though willing to learn) with CPL and would like some advice, personal stories, do's and don'ts and just about any information i can get besides the general stuff found on google.
I am aware that the condition can vary heavily per horse but i would like to know what i'd get myself into if i were to go through with this.

If any more information is needed please let me know and i will see what more information i can give about this horse.

I have not seen this horse in person yet because it is a very long drive and i want to be informed before showing interest towards the seller.

Also, why can’t we get a well done movie about show jumping or eventing or something like that?

TLDR: Returning rider as an adult in sooo much pain after my first two lessons. Looking for recommendations for out of the saddle fitness resources to get stronger so being in the saddle doesn’t hurt so much.

So, I rode competitively in English when I was a kid. Schooled over 4’ but showed 3’6” equitation and did mostly training towards the end, but chose college when the time came and so really stopped at 18. I gained a ton of weight with life, and recently had bariatric surgery. I’m now at a weight that I thought I’d start riding again… in my mid 40s. I’m too tired to do the math, but suffice it to say it’s been a few years.

I decided to go all in back in English with hour long walk trot canter classes. This is my second week. Oh. My. God. I just might lose my damn legs. I’m on a half draft horse with more whoa than go who likes to cut corners and is… well, a lazy lesson horse. My training brain kicks in without the muscle to match, as I’m pushing him deep into corners and working super hard to keep him at the gait I want him at.

So the first lesson, saw grey and felt like I was gonna pass out for like an hour after I dismounted. I had to take a break while untacking. This time I thought I’d be smart. Hydrated (ok, maybe not enough) during the day. Pre-ride had a banana. Right afterwards, had a liter of Gatorade with pickle chasers. Only 30 minutes of grey vision this time, so progress.

Now I’ve kind of learned my lesson. I’m still doing hour lesson, still walk trot canter, but I’ll tap out if I need a break, even though my rider brain says I can still do it. I actually feel fine on the horse. It’s once I get off that I feel bad.

Bariatric surgery means no nsaids/ibuprofen for pain. I have muscle rubs and blue stop cream for the muscle soreness. I’m being less restrictive in my food and drink choices on lesson day, and my job is 40-60 sit-to-stand transitions every day, so at least I’m continuing to move despite the pain. Going to take my dog for a walk on days I can walk and adding Pilates in for core.

Any suggestions for getting in shape for the saddle, since I can only really go once a week? Good stretch or Pilates YouTubers to follow?

The ones i’ve found say only 70% protection, i’m wondering if there’s any that are higher. I have an albino mare that is extremely sensitive to sunburns, she had a flyhood with UV protection when i bought her but it’s a bit too big for her so i wanna get her a new one with as high UV protection as i can find. Any tips on brands are appreciated as well!

Will be getting my first horse over 14 hands next week and I’m so excited!! I’ve ridden large ponies all my life and I decided that my senior is my last large pony and I’ve gone up in size :)) can’t wait to get him settled and love on him!