Jackets – part 3

I’ve just been to what can only be described as a well run, well kept, tidy riding stable. It’s not big – only a dozen horses or so – which obviously helps keep the neat appearance, but the buildings are in excellent condition and the whole accomodation is well protected against the elements. Imagine then, […]

Oh dear…!

Having posted the photo yesterday of three horses well wrapped up against the warmth cold I thought no more of the article – until I was confronted by this sight this afternoon: Just what use this jacket is, I don’t know – it certainly doesn’t do what it is “intended” to do. But even more […]

What’s wrong here?

So, what is wrong with these pictures? It seems a perfectly normal scene – horses grazing in a field, jackets on to protect against the cold. To all intents and purposes, the horses are doing alright – but the temperature is nearly 10˚C. Why then, do these horses need jackets? They have a perfectly natural […]

Hippica v. Nature

Once again I am very grateful to Pierre Enoff for an evocative piece of filmwork. This movie can be found on YouTube but is not playable in certain regions because YouTube, like iTunes and other America-based services (and some Europe-based ones), does not seem to realise that European legislation requires that services available in one […]

A Head of the Herd

Often we are tempted to keep our horses separate from others because they will bite and kick each other. And it is certainly infinitely preferable that the introduction of a new member to a herd should be done gradually and not that they are all just thrown together. But a problem often seen at small […]

Winter is here (on paper!)

So the winter has begun; well, according to the meteorological calendar, at least. Our weathermen mark the change of seasons on the first day of March, June, September and December – it makes it easier on the statistics than the infinitely variable 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd of the month 😀 Our horses (were […]

Keeping Warm

I got home yesterday afternoon to see two horses in the field next to the house wearing blankets! It was 15˚C… Why on earth anyone should put a blanket on a horse when it is that warm is beyond me. Even Full-blood Arab horses are quite capable of withstanding temperatures well below freezing (it gets […]