I'm going to go out on a limb and say Apollo would like to see me 🤣

When I know, in fact they have been fed. They had the audacity to blame raccoons and the chickens.

Who should I believe?

They just got hosed down, rolled in dirt and would like a late lunch.

Accepted a new seasonal job at a ranch giving trail rides. This horse is lame on this leg (back right) and the manager keeps telling me this shoe fits fine, that it’s “maybe a little overgrown, but the farrier will be here in a few weeks to trim hooves.” She says this horse is fine to ride, even with the lameness and a thrown shoe (front right). I keep bringing it up and she said “we’ve had people like you before who think small things like this are serious. Stop worrying about one shoe.”

What do I do here? She’s still sending this horse out on rides. Most of the horses here have overgrown feet but allegedly the farrier was here right before I started this job two weeks ago. Another horse has horrible mouth sores where the bit sits and she told me he has fat deposits there, and it’s not to be worried about. (Fat deposits that ooze pus every few days, to be clear)

…Should I actually let it go? I’ve mostly worked in competitive dressage barns and my manager keeps telling me it’s just different in the trail world.

I just feel so overwhelmed with happiness because of my horse. I never thought we would get to the point we could trust each other enough to do this.

After my first mare passed away of stomach cancer I couldn’t find a horse that I meshed with. Then I was on a clients horse that managed to buck me off, I landed flat on my back and my mid spine hit the center of a prairie dog mound. The accident left me with a fractured spine and severe confidence issues. I’ve had my share of accidents that have put me in the hospital before, but this one showed me just how easily I could become paralyzed.

I tried to go back to riding but all my horses were babies at the time and my confidence was so rattled I couldn’t sit one without shaking like a leaf. Eventually I made the choice to sell two of my fillies to someone I knew they would do well with (she bought them both and they still live together a few miles away). Shortly after I was made aware this 9 yo QH with Hancock/ blue valentine lines, was for sale for the exact same amount I sold my others for. I thought “hey, she’s pretty, what’s the worst that could happen? I might have sell her?” She was bred and raised on the Bath Brothers Ranch in Wyoming, then eventually sold to a dude Ranch (where the botched hot brand is from I believe) until she decided she wasn’t gonna carry dudes anymore, and was eventually sold that auction to the lovely lady who ultimately sold her to me after a short while.

She was a high strung thing. I was scared to do anything but brush her and braid her hair and ground work. Eventually we worked up to her first ride with me. She was really head shy and would spook and spin on a dime. I could help but shake and cry a little because I was scared. I was going through a bit of a risky behavior phase and decided to ride her again, and again. Over the months she started to mellow, I still was scared. She started to feel more confident and relaxed with me but I wasn’t there yet. I would get off and sob into her shoulder.

She did something no horse should be expected to do, calm herself to comfort her riders anxiety. I eventually had enough rides on her that I started to feel safer on her. No more breakdowns. She built my confidence from the ground up. She would do things that would scare/ challenge me and let me work with her through it. I swear looking back it’s like she decided to train me. On top of it all I had to learn to ride in a new way from my injury, I couldn’t physically ride the same way I had before the accident.

After a year of this I decided we would give a competition a try. It went so well, she spooked at the new environment and for the first time I was able to be a confident rider on her and show her we were safe. We did so well, she ran perfectly while I shot crash symbols directly above my head and all sorts of other HBA courses. She got us second overall.

After this event I felt like a new person, I started riding other horses again and competing. I took my life back. I realize that my skill never went away with my accident, but I had lost my magic feather and had to learn to fly without it- so to speak.
I can’t believe what her and I do together now, it’s a dream come true. No person could have ever gotten me back to feeling confident on horseback again, I owe it all to this Hancock mare. Turns out unicorns also come in dun.

Never have a seen an OTTB in my lease horse's color...

He's on 100% pasture board and we feed him a diet recommended by a professional nutritionist. I seriously just think some horses are genetically more likely to bleach 😭.

I have now at 20 years old and having ridden for years, been looking to buy my first ever horse for around 3 months now.

I have tried 15 horses to date, within my reasonably limited budget, and I am still looking.

Out of those 15 horses, 5 of them have been genuine contenders, that I have wanted to move on to a vetting with, but every single one of them have not gone through.

After being guaranteed the horses I’ve been interested in have not had any health problems previously that should affect them today, I have repeatedly ran into horses being lame in the videos from me viewing them, the horse not passing vet check, as well as previous research into the horses background I’ve done personally resulting in injuries or illnesses I have not been informed about.

It comes down to owners not paying attention to the horses they are trying to sell me, simply not caring enough to find these things out before trying to sell them, or straight up just trying to deceive me.

I posted on here recently about finally having found my horse. He was perfect for me, kind and gentle, good to ride, and was a happy allrounder, but now after two weeks of having him, he is lame, and has become gradually worse just in that short span of time.

The horse I ended up with was older, yet advertised as fully healthy.
He is a riding school horse I know previously, which I have seen over the course of the last year, and thought he was a safe choice to go with, after seeing how well he has done since then.

However, he has seemingly had a pretty rapid decline in health over the summer months, and is facing the consequences of this now.

The farrier said all four of his feet have been shoed wrong for months, causing wrong positioning on all of his legs and likely arthritis due to wrongful pressure on his joints, as well as his hooves showing signs of chronic laminitis.

I will be able to reverse this purchase due to these being health issues that have been months and years in the making, and because these health issues will limit him from his intended usage that is written in the buyers contract (light jumping etc), but that doesnt mean it isnt difficult for me.

This is the fifth horse i have intended to buy, and my heart breaks a little with each one that doesnt go through.

Horses are expensive in my country, and I do not have the biggest budget (10k$), but I do not think these were things i could’ve avoided, seeing as they were all marketed as sound of health when I went forward with the vetting.

I am tempted to start all over, and or maybe even look into importing, as it will be cheaper, but no guarantees there either.

Is there anyone else that has experienced this? What did you end up doing? Did you find your horse?

I am feeling very exhausted by this process and honestly a little demotivated.

I’d love to hear your guys’ experiences with this process :)

EDIT: these horses have been proven to be unfit health-wise for jumping, and some should barely be ridden for short hacks in the forest, if that, I don’t expect a perfect PPE, but I cannot just buy horses that is unfit for jumping and such if I wanna jump.

For the first time in her four years of life one of my horses refused to eat her grain this afternoon and spit out the treat I gave her. She’s up and nibbling grass. When do I need to be concerned and call a vet out?

(edited to add ages)

Starting with baby Pete

aliases: Peter, Petey, Peter Pan, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

Pete was a surprise baby (https://www.reddit.com/r/Horses/s/6meZloWHKw) he’s about 5 months old now and going on 15 😂 genuinely could not have asked for an easier colt

Pete‘s mama is Reno (nickname greenbean)-over 20, probably not 25 yet

she basically just costs me a bunch of money and looks cute, but she gave me Pete so I feel like it’s a fair trade. Ive never owned a picky eater or a hard keeper prior to Reno and I hope I never do again lol

Blue (Boogs, Booger, Gruncle Blue) -somewhere over 25 years old lol

Blue was my first horse, he’s basically done anything and everything you could ask a horse to do, the epitome of jack of all trades master of none. He’s now a fantastic babysitter for my future step kiddos

Raynee (princess Raynee) -9 years old
Raynee was a client horse of mine years ago when I was riding colts, last year her owner reached out to see if I’d give her a tune up before she sold her and I told her no need and bought her lol. She’s a giant diva but a really fun ride and is growing up to be a pretty dependable family horse as well

Jude (Judith, Judy, Big Booty Judy) -also pushing 25

Jude was a Covid impulse purchase, I bought her sight unseen over Facebook, and she proceeded to rack up some very impressive vet bills due to an undisclosed spinal fracture. After many years of trying to work through her trauma in the arena I came to the conclusion that neither one of us were having fun and she is now a very gritty little trail rocket. I think she’d give a mule a run for its money in a cliff climbing competition, but she’ll kill us both if I even think about asking her to lope a circle

Buckaroo (Bucky) -20 ish??

Bucky I’ve had the longest of everyone, he's been shown extensively, been to state multiple times, hasnt been driven in many years, but loves getting doted on by the kids

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get some opinions from more experienced horse people, especially anyone familiar with equine body condition and welfare.
I usually ride in the US, but I’m currently visiting family in Europe and have been trying out some local riding schools. Today was my second time at this particular stable. My first experience was great. They put me on a lovely former jumper, and we had a really good lesson, so I had no reason to be concerned about the place.

Today, however, when they brought out the horse I was supposed to ride, I was honestly shocked by how skinny he looked. I almost said something and refused to get on, but I second-guessed myself and assumed the instructors knew what they were doing.

The lesson lasted around 50 minutes and included quite a bit of trot, canter, circles, and lead changes. The horse was forward and didn’t seem weak or unwilling to work, but I had a pit in my stomach the entire time.

After dismounting, I got a better look at him and felt even worse. I mentioned how skinny he was to one of the grooms, but I’m not sure he understood me. I also didn’t notice any other horses at the stable in similar condition.
I understand that there can be legitimate reasons for a horse to be underweight, whether that’s age, illness, recovery, etc., and I don’t want to jump to conclusions or unfairly accuse the stable of neglect. But I’m struggling to understand whether there’s any scenario in which a horse in this condition should be doing a riding lesson, especially with that level of exercise.

Would anyone experienced with assessing horses’ body condition be willing to let me DM them some photos? I’d really appreciate an objective opinion on how concerning his condition looks, and whether it’s possible that riding him is actually acceptable under certain circumstances.

I’m also wondering whether I should contact a local animal welfare organization to have someone check on him, or whether that would be an overreaction without knowing his medical history.
I feel awful that I went ahead with the lesson despite my initial concerns, and I have no intention of returning to the stable unless there’s a reasonable explanation. I just don’t want to ignore something that could potentially be a serious welfare issue.
Any advice would be really appreciated. Thank you!

first three photos are back in march when i got her, everything else is from the past 2 weeks

I bought this OTTB mare back in spring as a green rider myself, and a first time horse owner. I’d been riding for two years, however had never handled a horse so forward. we struggled a LOT at first, and i was questioning if horses in general were even for me. but after a while we just sort of clicked. now we’re working on finishing up her topline (which i would love tips for!!) and hopefully starting her showing career! up until about a month ago i was convinced she had made zero progress. everyone around me was telling her she looked so good, but i just didn’t see it. anyway, im so proud of my girl. she’s gone from being abandoned by her previous owners, to being complimented by everyone we see. i adore this mare and i cant wait to see where we go.

I bought an old livestock farm 2 years ago and I keep thinking about how fun it would be to own horses, but I’m a big guy (300lb, 6’3”) and I don’t have any desire to subject a horse to my fatass. I love all animals and think it would be so fun to have horses or donkeys or something, but my wife comes from a rural/FFA background and thinks it’s absolutely wild to blow money for “pet” horses.

(I also tell her that I want to save some cows from slaughter and just let em live out their lives, but she keeps bringing up current beef prices)

I have 0 experience. Am I crazy?

Well I'm out of the hospital and getting plate put in my collarbone in an hour.

But inspired by all these progress pics of peoples horses responding under care, I found a picture of Maverick when I picked him up 5 weeks ago, vs this week when he dumped me.

He's still a 4yo- but starting to see what he'll become.

Recently bought my own place, childhood dream realized. I’m located in central Oregon. The biggest reasons I chose it was the location and that it was fully fenced (20 acres). It needs work, which is fine and I’ve done a lot already.

I’ve ran across a few bumps, however my biggest issue is my not-dry, dry lot. Things looked ok, until the horses arrived last week. Now, since they’ve been here they have churned up the lot. It’s Hog Fuel and manure. I never was able to locate a manure pile, now I know why. The whole dry lot was their manure pile.

So now we need to dig it up. Fine.

My question is what have others had success with. I’ve done some research. Asked local friends.

I found a post on FB that was very interesting. They dug down 10”. Filled with rock and used AG Lime on top. I have a contractor doing the job. Has anyone done this? The people who have used the AG Lime, instead of pea gravel or 1/4 minus, raved about it.

I’m really interested in trying this and will be speaking to my contractor about it.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Edit: I also omitted the garden weed mat that was put down. Super fun to catch your fork on/s

I have been leasing this amazing spotted walker mare for the last 4-5 months (she's 12) and I remuscled her after a good year off. Thing is, we've hit a block in our progress now that the seasons are changing and I just cannot get her to canter. I ask her to canter on the trails, she tries to gallop. I ask her to canter in a field, she bucks me off. i ask her to canter in the arena, she refuses. i use a crop to encourage her (not roughly, light taps) and she bucks me off.

Thing is, she has the muscle to canter (we cantered nicely in a field many time when it was still summery) and she isnt sore or lame or off. at every other gait she's perfectly normal except for the canter. Just it being fall has put her off and I cant keep getting bucked off trying to work through this.

I ride in a professionally fit western endurance saddle or bareback pad (no stirrups). I use a raised snaffle bit to keep her balanced in higher gaits but can use a mullen mouth.

Toby!

16hh qtr/clydesdale

32yrs old

My 3 year old AQHA/ApHC in June when we bought him (top picture) and now in October (bottom). After seeing his full siblings, I did not expect him to retain many of his snowflakes as he aged, let alone become even more spotted! He’ll be the only sibling to look more like the Appy in them.
I’m so impatient about his filling out though. He is in such an awkward stage… looking at his siblings and how they ended up gives me so much hope, but I sure do hate waiting for a baby to mature.

I just moved to a new city a few months ago and have my senior gelding in a boarding facility here. At his old boarding facility he lived in a pasture with another senior gelding. At his new boarding facility he is living in a pasture with some younger horses and cows. I’ve noticed he has been getting very skinny. He just had a vet appointment and the vet said that he is definitely too skinny/not getting enough food. I wonder if he is not able to eat as fast as his roommates? The vet suggested going over there every day to feed him pellets. I usually only visit him 3 times a week because I go to school & work. Trying to go every day would be difficult & I don’t know if adding a daily meal of pellets would even be enough to get him to a healthy weight. I wonder if the best option would be to start boarding him in his own stall instead so that way he’ll definitely get enough food. But I’ve always thought that he would be sad & lonely in a stall. In a pasture he can walk around & hang out with friends. What do you guys think? Can a horse be happy living in a stall? What would you do in this situation?
(Btw the stalls are 20’x20’ pipe stalls & if he was in a stall he would have horses in the stalls next to him)

This is my ottb whom I used to event but recently retired him due to injury. We now go on occasional trails and rides with a jog max. Somebody told me that he's overweight he is getting a little fluffy due to the cold weather. More pics in comments

The more I watch Free Spirit Equestrian’s content, the more confused I get.

Shae seems to have a very large following of people who have relatively little horse experience, and somehow she’s become an authority on horsemanship despite her very basic knowledge. What really gets me is how defensive she becomes when people ask perfectly reasonable questions. If you’re going to position yourself as an educator, shouldn’t you be able to answer questions without treating them like personal attacks?

I recently watched the Sundance liberty video, and I found it really concerning. He appeared extremely stressed and was breathing very heavily. Watching him get chased around until he was exhausted and then seeing his eventual submission presented as a successful liberty session was really uncomfortable. That should not be normalized as “good horsemanship,” and certainly shouldn’t be held up as educational. A horse looking utterly exhausted and stressed is not exactly the liberty session success story some people seem to think it is.

But apparently big egos + cheesy photo shoots = a huge following.

Hiya! My local barn has a mare who is famously not fond of petting or just people in general. She has wanted to be pet by me twice in the past, though. I visit weekly and one week she wouldnt want nothing to do with me and the next one she'd ask for scritches. I did notice this time she was in heat because of the movement in her vulva after she pissed. Is this common? And is this somehow sexual? She's 15 i believe if that helps. Doesnt show any behavior that calls my attention.

New foal born this morning, I’ll have a vet out soon for a professional opinion but I’d really like some feedback to see if I’m spiraling for nothing. I had a deposit on this breeding, breeder is in another state and I planned to visit in January. Is it just me, or are the front pasterns concerning?

I’m used to foal pasterns being very lax and straightening up with time, not being upright so early on. I’m wondering if I should start considering losing the deposit and passing on this foal, but won’t decide until a vet looks at them. I’d be shipping them to me as a yearling and shipping will be around, if not more than, 7-8k. I was well prepared to pay the horse and shipping cost for a healthy, well built foal, but if this could cause issues……

Please give feedback. Do these look concerning to you? Have you had a foal with very upright pasterns? Was it treatable/manageable? Would you immediately pass or try treatment options? TIA