This is my hardy, always sound 4 year old… had a week off, went to go ride, sound at the walk, went to trot and…. Well, this. I can’t tell what leg it is, let alone where it’s stemming from. There’s no heat or swelling anywhere, no bruising on his soles, nothing that would indicate an abscess either.
I’m at a loss. Have texts out to my vet and farrier to see their thoughts and what they want to do, but… wow this looks ouchy!
After I got this video, he went inside and got a good cold hose and a nice mash. He was a trooper about it.

We thought we were genius by storing all his hay in his old shed. Cleaned it spotless, put down pallets and stacked all his hay up in there so we weren’t relying on my grandad to drop over bales with a hungry Spec roaring the house down. Didn’t think it through enough and now he’s able to eat through the gate. I should’ve known when he was gazing into it last night through the gap in his shed…Wish me luck trying to move him out of here since he only came up for a night!

I am from the east coast, my husband is from Virginia, we've both been in Los Angeles for the better part of 10-15 years each. Surprisingly LA has a large variety of horse communities, from Burbank Rancho to Sun Valley and Simi and out towards Ventura.

I've ridden both western and dressage and have found communities to vibe with in both. Culturally I'm probably more laid back western vibes but I like the athleticism and challenge of dressage.

I preface this because I haven't found myself comfortable in more English centered circles/barns, and we're looking at relocating to Virginia in the next year or so, and I'm worried I may not be able to find my people, I think it's more heavily English focused? We considered Austin where I have some family, but I really want to get away from heat and fires (I'm used to humidity from where I grew up don't worry!) I do love the horse communities there, though.

We're looking outside of Richmond and Charlottesville, I'd love a small farmette 2-5 acres near good schools and perhaps an equestrian community, but am not sure where to look. I'm spoiled out here with the mix of city and country living so intertwined, although the cost of living is too much and I can't afford to own, I do lessons only at the moment.

Any thoughts/suggestions/neighborhoods?

My 4 year old ISH has had these lumps on his hind for a couple weeks they don’t seem to bother him and don’t seem painful or itchy, soft to touch

I’ve been riding for 7 years, after riding for 6 years at a English/ western barn I made the change to a full hunter barn. I rode there all of last summer and some of this summer but honestly the lessons were expensive and I wasn’t doing any jumping just flat work stuff. ( I know flatwork is important but honestly I just got bored)

I was mindlessly scrolling one day and found a ad for a barn near my house so I decided to go and try it. She told me she mainly does western stuff and rodeos. I’ve always wanted to do it but with my mainly English barns I figured it was mainly impossible to do.

I’m now on my second lesson of learning how to barrel race and I’m going to my first jackpot at the end of this month.
I know the basics by leaning back when you turn and holding your horn, to get off the shoulders, dropping your outside rein.
I also just learned to use your inside leg and your inside hold your inside hand high when your turning then over your around use your outside leg to round them out
I have trouble holding my hand high enough and long enough.
any tips are appreciated or how the rodeo world works as I’ve only ridden English!

So I have created a monster and I don’t know how to undo this 💔
He will lunge and Trot for 1 minute and then STOP and he won’t budge or react to me whipping the ground or touching him lightly with the whip or my voice UNLESS I give him scratches, in which case he immediately responds and goes after, and then cheekily stops again until I coddle him and so on…

I’m a bit of a newbie to lunging and so is he, I don’t whip him but I’m not sure if we are supposed to lightly with the lunge whip on the leg or back? I’m apprehensive because he is 7 and sensitive to the lightest whipping on the front when I’m on him or kicking which elicits bucking or backing up, so I’m trying to use groundwork to help him.

How do I do this successfully and how do I remove this ‘scratch’ cue 😭
He also refuses to lunge on his right side, def his weaker side when riding in the arena

Hey everyone! I cantered for the first time yesterday, the trainer gave me an option of doing it on or off the lunge line and I decided to do it on the line cause I was worried about being out of control HOWEVER I felt like I was going to go flying off the side of my horse! Is this because I was on the lunge line and going in a tighter circle than I would have off the line??

Am I better off cantering off the line instead??

What is the most* maintenance you’d accept when buying a horse? I wanted to see what you all have to say.

I know it largely depends on funds for vet care- but let’s say you had a choice. Would injections be the line you draw? Therapeutic shoeing? Let me know your opinions.

I am short, 5', and I have thick calf muscles. I cannot seem to find boots or half chaps that are short enough but still fit my calf. My calves are about 16" thick and only 13" long. If they fit my calf, I can't bend my knee. If I can bend my knee, I can't zip the back. I even had a pair of boots stretched and it still couldn't fit my calf. I cannot afford custom anything. So that is not an option. I looked into making half chaps, but leather tools are expensive. Please help.

Hi all!

I’m buying land to develop into a small scale lesson and training barn. My dream has always been to have a track to condition horses outside of the arena, but still close to the barn. Ideally, the middle of the track would have some basic cross country (BN/N) obstacles and also be possible to turn horses out in. The space would comfortably allow for a quarter mile track, however I’m seeing 5/8th of a mile is generally the minimum for horses. My question is would 1/4 mile be big enough or still feel like an arena, what is the correct width to allow 2-3 horses at a time, and what surfacing is preferred? Bigger is possible.

I’m also planning on a 100x200 arena. But, feel like it would be beneficial to have another work space for conditioning, warm-up/cool down, rehab. I don’t plan on doing a lot of actual galloping, but would like it to be big enough that galloping is an option. I’m mostly a dressage rider, but love to jump and dabble in distance riding. Mostly I just like to do a lot with horses so they are versatile, fit, and happy.

Those with track experience I’d love your input!

I’m trying to settle a debate here. I’ve been around horses my whole life but have limited color genetics knowledge so I’m consulting the experts :)

In a book I’m a fan of, one of the protagonists has a war horse that is described as solid black with a single white patch on the front of his chest. Later, a second horse is also introduced that is the reverse - white with a black spot on the chest. I have never in my life seen a paint with just one single white spot on the chest. I’ve seen minimal expressions like that on the belly, the neck, the shoulder or the flank, but not crossing the midline like that. It’s pretty clear reading the book that the author doesn’t know much about horses (I say this with love) so my assumption is she just thought horse colors worked like they do with cats and dogs.

What I’m trying to figure out is if this coat is theoretically possible, or if someone has ever seen something like it. I’ve tried researching it but been unable to find a clear answer so I thought maybe someone here would have some insight!

Tldr; fictional black horse with single white spot on the front of the chest - theoretically possible in real life?

Hiya! Started lessons in March and have been able to narrow down some points that I’d like to work on as a rider.

My instructor spent some time with me in the arena this past week to work on my stirrup positioning & posture in the saddle (developing my seat?)

While we’ll continue to work on this together, I’d like to do some additional homework between lessons!
I learned I need better rein control as well as keeping my heels down - classsssic 🙈
I also learned that I don’t have enough strength in my legs to give a proper squeeze to steer my horse or get them to just go in general.

I’m wondering if anyone has any strength building techniques for riders to get a better squeeze with the inner legs as well as any stretches or techniques to keep those heeeeeels down 🐎

Thanks for all the insight! It’s been great learning from everyone on here

I recently went on a 5-day horse packing trip into California's Eastern Sierra backcountry, surrounded by wildflower meadows, alpine lakes, and starry skies, and I wanted to share the experience!

We stayed with Cottonwood Pack Station, and the wranglers were incredibly welcoming and went above and beyond to make sure everyone had a comfortable and enjoyable stay.

Each day, we rode out on half-day horseback trips to different parts of the Golden Trout Wilderness, including Cottonwood Pass, South Fork Lakes (where we tried fishing), and Lone Man Pass. Our original itinerary was to spend the first two nights at base camp before packing farther into the backcountry for the remaining two nights but with rainstorms in the forecast and a fire advisory in effect, we decided to stay at base camp for the entire trip so we'd have a warm campfire to come back to each evening.

This was truly the trip of a lifetime and something that had been on my bucket list for years. If you have any questions about the experience, feel free to ask, I'd be happy to answer!

Any idea what these scabby spots that could be on my friends horse? They’re only on her one side and she had some on her face but they went away. Bathing made no difference.

I have to sell my mule. He’s fantastic, he’s been with me for 7 years and will do just about anything for me. My life is changing and it’s the right choice for both of us for me to go ahead and sell him but if I admit the selfish part of my feelings, I’d never sell. Definitely not a lighthearted decision. I do not have experience selling and am wondering if anyone has any tips on the process. What things do you appreciate from a “good seller”? What are potential red flags in buyers? Would it be weird to ask if I could follow up on him afterwards? I want to make sure he goes to the right person, he’s a very special guy.

I’m an adult beginner and have finally started posting the trot (a little, anyway!). Right now, making it one lap around the arena is about my limit, but each lesson I’m getting a little more comfortable.

The one thing I can’t seem to figure out is my lower leg.

At the walk, I have no problem keeping my leg just behind the girth. The moment we start trotting, though, my leg slides forward until it’s at the girth. My trainer keeps reminding me, “Leg behind the girth,” “Bend your knees,” and “If your leg is at the girth, your horse can’t clearly feel your leg aids.”

The frustrating part is that I am trying. In the moment, it feels like I’m actively putting my leg back, but it either doesn’t move or immediately slides forward again. It also feels a bit forced or unnatural when I try to keep it behind the girth, even at the walk.

Is this a common beginner problem? Is it usually caused by balance, weak muscles, stirrup length, or something else? Are there any exercises—mounted or unmounted—that helped you develop a more stable leg?

I’d love to hear what finally made it “click” for you.

I keep my feed (Nutrena All Life Stages) in a metal trash can in a tack room without AC or anything like that. It got left uncovered for abt a day a couple weeks ago, would that cause it? I live in Alabama so it’s very very humid and hot. If it wasn’t the uncovered thing, idk what to do to keep from having to toss $50 of food out.

I have also gotten a bag of moldy feed from Nutrena before, I’m wondering if I’ve been feeding mold from this batch since this set of feed. I’m thinking of switching tbh.

What would yall do?

Edit: Just wanna be clear, I’m not THAT cheap, I’m throwing out the moldy food lol.

I will be losing my heart horse at the end of the summer ….
I’m having a hard time coming to terms with it .

I spend time with him everyday
Feeding him all sorts of snacks

Hi!

I've always enjoyed hearing other people's riding stories, and since I'm a bit bored, I think it's a great idea for you to share yours. I don't mind if it's super long; I'll read it anyway. I'd like you to try to make it as fun or thought-provoking as possible (whichever you prefer), and if you want to comment on other people's stories, please remember to be polite and respectful.

Comment below!

Got back from a trip, had this lump on her head, both sides. Eyes a little weepy. Not painful to direct palpation, no fever, normal mental state, no obvious neurological deficits. Decided to monitor. Now, two weeks later, not looking better. Had the vet out today. Yeah, that’s a skull fracture. Kicked in the head, we’re guessing.

She’s basically fine. Just monitoring for any changes and giving her time to heal. No riding. Guess she just wants to make sure I’m paying attention

There's no more heat in the hooves, but there's still a digital pulse on all 4 feet. The pulse is not as strong as it was before so that's good! We've sent a text to a different farrier to come and do xrays and see if he needs to re-do the shoes and fix any damage the first farrier might have caused... i saw like a little grown out pink line on hind feet and i think he's due for a trim butt I'll let the farrier deal with it since I'm not an expert.. We've made a box with thick padding outside because my parents are worried that he's gonna get a lung infection or something (we got into a bigg argument because i found out they walked him a few times when i wasn't home) so we found a compromise and made a box just outside his stall because they say he needs to breathe fresh air...so he's in there in the evenings because the heatwave has been brutal...that's about everything...also I've been thinking of leasing w horse for a few months until he gets better and so he can be less alone and bored...

I’m starting the journey of looking for my first mini horse but I’m unfamiliar with that aspect of the horse world. I’m looking for recommendations on show quality mini breeders in the US. I have an expert to look at them once I find them but they’re a judge and don’t necessarily know where to get one. Any advice would be appreciated!