I saw a lease advertised on Facebook, and it rubbed me the wrong way. It was a "Free Lease," but the leaser was required to pay all the expenses of the horse during the lease. This included board (on the owner's property no less) and medical bills (the horse had a prior injury that required ongoing treatment). The total amount of this le[...]
I realized recently that a long time ago, I posted an overview for one of The Saddle Club movies. I was full of promises for more, and then I never did another one. I know this must have devastated everyone, so it's time to revisit that glorious time of our lives when we lived vicariously through those girls at Pine Hollow. Let's go all[...]
Catherine the Great, famous for her "love" of horses. Of course, she's famous for lots of other things as well, but it's mainly the horse thing that people are interested in. It's deliciously scandalous, of course people are interested in it. There's been renewed interest in Catherine, primarily due to the show The Great, which is[...]
Many non-horse people look at a horse and just say "yup, that's a horse, with a "bridal."" There's definitely a lot of confusion in the non-horse world about how a bridle works, as evidenced by the appalling kids toys that show up in my house. But even in the horse world, there's SO MANY different kinds of bridles. Some bridles are[...]
When I was kid, I didn't have a horse. Sometimes I didn't even have lessons. But I did have books - I had tons of books. I had books on horse care, books on riding and books filled with stories of horses. Some days all I would do is just read my books. Books allow you to escape to another world. You can feel the experience of riding[...]
I was first aware of Wintec saddles when I was a kid. I remember seeing their full page ad in Horse Illustrated - a brightly lit crisp, black Friesian, a happy rider, and that black synthetic saddle. They were so modern. Not at all like the old leather saddles at my lesson barn. Some had been used so much that the leather where the stirr[...]
In modern days, it's unthinkable that women wouldn't be allowed to compete at the Olympics. But at one point, they weren't, and it was actually punishable by death for them to just attend. Luckily we are long past those days, but it wasn't without women breaking the ranks and paving the way for other women. One of those women was Cynisca[...]
Horses are a lifelong dream for many. They begged their parents to buy them a horse growing up only to be told, "Horses are too expensive!" Horses are well known to be an expensive hobby. They are expensive to buy and expensive to keep. But unless you already have the horse, what they cost to keep might be a mystery, leaving you wonder,[...]
Hunter classes have come under scrutiny. Shows have changed format over time, and with it, the style of riding. There has been criticism of today's riders, claiming they are laying on the neck, perching, too far forward, trying to hard to look "pretty," and this is what it takes to earn a ribbon. I saw a post where someone blamed[...]
Horses seem to be made of glass. They are injured easily, sometimes under mysterious circumstances, and sometimes for reasons we can't control. We try our best to keep our horses sound, and use every tool we can to keep them safe. Boots are one of the methods. Using boots is extremely popular, and boots have been in use for a long time t[...]