"The love for a horse is just as complicated as the love for another human being... If you never love a horse, you will never understand." (Author Unknown) … [Read more...]
Riders needs a minimum of leading competence
Some typical scenes: Pony and kid: The pony tugs the kid to the next clump of grass. Rider, horse and lunge: The horse pulls on the lunge and finally the rider follows the direction of movement of the horse. Horse, rider and vet: The vet needs to intervene because the rider is not able to run the horse fast enough. … [Read more...]
Movement, pasture, social contacts: Species-appropriate husbandry for horses
But what is species-appropriate husbandry? For many years horses were forced to live in tiny stables. Sometimes there were so small that the horse could not even turn around. Some horses never had contact to other animals and rarely spent any time on the pasture. … [Read more...]
Sweet itches – an allergic reaction to insect stings
A sweet itch (also called Summer Itch or Queensland Itch) is an allergic reaction of the horses´ organism to the saliva of an insect. Every horse can exhibit the symptoms of a sweet itch but this disease can also be inherited. … [Read more...]
Road traffic security for horses – how riders can prepare their horses for the streets
Only few stables are in the middle of nowhere and nearly every horse needs to get used to cars and traffic noises. Horses should already get used to these environmental elements in the first years of their lives. In best case the pasture is located directly next to a street – then the horse automatically gets used to the noise and speed of the big cars. … [Read more...]