A little more than a year ago, my beloved equine partner, Andrew, died. Andrew was loved by many, riders, trainers, and grooms alike. In his 26 years, he had taught countless riders what it was to be a champion in elite company. At 1,250 pounds and standing at 16.3 hands, he was a great teacher to small children and veteran riders alike.

On that sad day when I put word out on Facebook that Andrew had passed, I got scores of responses from his multitudes of fans. I felt it was very important to share the sad news with all those who had loved him and was so moved by the response! I can’t express how supported I felt by all those touching comments shared from near and far away. It was so comforting to be able to share my grief with so many.

What makes your service or product unique? You do! Get your story out there; let people get to know you. Most of all, tell you horse’s stories. Every horse has a story to tell for each day of his or her life and people love them. So get them out there!

If you wish to supply more energy to your horse without significantly increasing his overall feed intake, using a high fat / high fibre feed can be an excellent way to accomplish this. While we humans struggle to keep our diets as low-fat as possible, fat has a different focus when it comes to the horse, because it’s only in recent years that we’ve recognised the value of raising the fat levels in an equine athlete’s diet.

The human diet contains far more than the maximum 30% fat that’s recommended for good health. The horse’s natural diet in contrast contains almost no fat at all. Forages and fibres contribute none in their natural form, and most grains fed to horses contain only between 2% and 3.5% fat overall. While this does leave the horse at low risk for cardiovascular clogging, it does mean that traditionally carbohydrates have been considered the obvious and ‘natural’ energy source for performance horses, and fat was rarely considered – beyond that little splash of vegetable oil that’s considered good for a shiny coat. Only in the last couple of decades have we begun to realise that fat is also a very valuable energy source, and one with distinct advantages.

Knowledge is power. I often say that no matter how much you know, with horses, it is never enough. What you don’t know will trump your education. The more we share our knowledge, information, and connections, the better prepared we will be to serve our equine partners. Social media provides this service with little more than a laptop, tablet, or smart phone. 

Google any horse related subject or look up videos on Youtube and you’ll find countless posts to your query. For example, Google different techniques for braiding manes and find several videos tutorials for a variety of styles. I can be entertained all day looking for horse related Youtube tutorials and I always pick up tips that stick. 

One of my favorite online resources is How To Market Your Horse Business found on Facebook. This site is operated by horse trainer, Randi Thompson from North Carolina, USA and keeps its fans informed on all things to do with Facebook marketing. Randi posts great videos on everything from how to post a cover image to understanding how to toggle between personal page and your business page posting. She also produces and participates in dynamic and informative webinars.

These marketing webinars have been so helpful to me for my personal marketing strategies and that which I do for clients. Questions like how many posts per day to be effective, what kind of content is powerful, where to get it from and what time management tools are helpful? Such sites and webinars increase my social intelligence while increasing my production value incrementally.

How many of us have had a moment where we’re on our horse and having a lovely schooling session or a ride out and the horse does something… It may be a look, a little spook, even as simple as his ears disappearing and pointing onto something in the distance and you feel you ‘lose’ him a little. At this point depending on past experiences and confidence levels you’ll do one of two things…

The confident rider goes ‘get over yourself you fool’ closes her legs and trots on. The rider who may not be so confident or has had past experiences they can’t forget may go ‘Oh my, he’s going to insert bad thing here and then this chain of events will occur and it’s all going to end VERY badly’.

I love social media! I love how it unites us. I am in awe of how it enables people to share knowledge, achievements, frustrations, joys, heartbreaks, and most of all, mutual support.

This sharing enriches our lives and expands our individual worlds. It alleviates the isolation which often accompanies horse work. I love how it has given us a place to intellectualize horse talk and the unlimited sharing of the love of Equus! 

The proliferation of mass media, internet included, has meant that opinions have also been more easily expressed and this is good in general. Horsemanship, like everything else, has also taken advantage of this expansion of communication and the shrinking of the globe, in most cases to good avail. One can now accumulate knowledge on horses, breeds, their care and many other good things within seconds, and while this does not replace practical knowledge, it is important to say that not being well read on these matters could be counter productive. 

Over the past decade and half there have also emerged many schools of thought on horsemanship, some very well thought out and executed and others not so distinct and clear as to what they want to say and more importantly to whom. On the one hand we have schools of thought and information that are highly useful, positive and instructive, and on the other hand we have a great deal of 'I-am-better-than-you' attitudes or 'bashing down others' perhaps to look good. In a sense there is a great deal of equine snobbery going on out there, with self appointed experts.

Horses have adapted well to demands placed on them by humans. Sweating allows horses to cool themselves after sustained bouts of exercise and for the majority of horses, this mechanism works well. The exception may be in hot, humid weather when horses have the most problems because the sweat does not evaporate, which delays any cooling.

Instead, the sweat stays wet on the coat. As long as horses are trotting or cantering, it is not a problem because the wind cools them. But, as the horses slow to a walk or stop, humidity can present major cooling problems because the wet coat acts as insulation, holding all the heat in.

Rider position……I can almost hear the little groans already. We’re often very quick to blame our equine partner for things going wrong in our training. I often hear comments like ‘he won’t flex left’ or ‘he never picks up canter right’, or ‘he leans on me so heavily’. Ruling out issues such as pain, conformation and training playing a part for your horse, I’d like you to think about your position as you ride. If your horse was ‘magically’ taken from underneath you would you land on your feet with your knees soft and absorbing the shock? Would you fall on your butt? Or would you fall on your face? Neither of the last two are particularly appealing options and certainly show that you’re not sitting in a correctly balanced position when you’re riding. If that’s the case HOW are you riding things like rising trot or transitions? How is your horse able to carry you comfortably? The simple fact is that for your horse to be able to give everything we ask of them we need to be sitting on them correctly so that they CAN offer the work we’re seeking.

While I stumbled into owning horses first hand when I was 18 and my brother had suddenly died, leaving me 6 horses to care for, my family owned race horses since I can remember. Then a hiatus of many years followed in respect of ownership, till I met my wife, a renowned Hall of Fame horsewoman and owning horses for pleasure and shows began. Looking back I could say what I learned and continue to learn in the past three years has been an eye opener.

Many young people come and ask about horses and yes there are books on the subject and DVD's etc, but there is a certain feel of horses that comes with time and yet one can never definitively say one is an expert. We learn each day from the horses, and the day we stop we stagnate into the smell of our own egos. Yet what would one tell the youth of today who wish to be involved with horses.

As an over all advice one would say that opinions about horses, horsemanship and sports on horses are perhaps far too many, each as vocal as the other. However, as a foundation and a good beginning there are some important lessons we learn. While there are many facets to horse ownership and care a starting point has to always be the horse itself.

For the young people I would say follow the Three 'R's".

Respect your horse and develop a relationship with the horse that it also respects you.
Read your horses mood. Just like people they can wake up from the wrong side of the stable, or be more spooky than normal.
Relate to your horse. Be with a horse because you want to be with him, not to show off to your friends, or have a horse as a fashion statement.

These three basic guidelines will set the tone of our relationship with the horse. 

The other aspect of learning with horses is then about finding the trainer who can guide you through the basics and eventually through the finer points of riding either for pleasure, or for the sport you choose.

The choice of trainers is also a choice of a personal chemistry with a trainer, its a matter of style of the lesson which is unique to each trainer. Indeed the difference between great teachers and just average teachers relates to not only to their passion for the horse but also their passion to teach. Some wonderful sports people actually have been useless coaches, as indeed a number of great coaches in some sports have never really played the sport. 

Also remember not only is each sport highly specialized but also different breeds of horses have different temperaments, so how you deal with a warmblood in dressage may vary in the finer points from say an Iberian horse. As a newcomer do not get bogged down in the all the high stuff and the debates that go on at that level. Listen to your horse and you will know when you are building a relationship or destroying one. 

Young people are enthused with the images of gold medals and accolades but they must know there is more to being with horses then winning ribbons. Indeed if the winning comes on a horse that has enjoyed the competition and the thrill and has carried you through the experience with relaxation then enjoy and embrace that experience. But as a young horse lover remember not all horses win ribbons and sometimes the horse that never won may well end up being the horse that gives you the most joy. 

On a final note, as a horse lover we all are appalled when a horse is not treated well by somebody. Indeed our perceptions of what is acceptable and what is not vary but as a rule it is always best never to say in public a negative thing about something but rather to set an example of good caring horsemanship so that people will come to you for the change in their journey. When there is alot of noise out there remember the peace your horse gives you is what it is all about.

4 Tips to Winning With Horses

We’ve all heard people talk about their great big plans only to see them do little, if anything, to achieve them. Have you ever considered what you stand for and how that pertains to getting and staying at the top of your game? You are your behavior; do your behaviors identify you as a winner? Have you ever thought about it? Do you walk the talk?

We’re all familiar with this statement. I’m sure many readers will have heard it again and again in the stables, some of us are even guilty of saying it ourselves but always with one thing in mind - the safety of the person they are saying it too. 

‘Horses kick if you go behind them’? Is this really the message we want to portray to children and equine newbies?  We all know the risk of being kicked is there, so what can we say or do for a new enthusiasts to keep them safe when dealing with horses on the ground in particular when moving behind them?

I’m frequently on the sidelines at shows, events and riding club rallies. I’m often startled by the way people will comment on others and their horses. Nasty remarks in clear hearing of many people about the horse, the way the person rides, they way the combination looks – the list goes on and on. I wonder what motivates people to comment in such a way about someone they may not even know. This musing obviously assumes the combination is reasonably well matched, the animal is in good health and sound, the rider is not being unnecessarily harsh and the horse is not a danger to either the rider or bystanders.

I’m not claiming to be any sort of an angel. I am well known to roll my eyes at a combination where I don’t see the horse getting a chance to do the right thing either through a ‘gadget’ which doesn’t give a release or other riding and training methods which don’t land on the side of the horses best interests. I always try to be on the side of the horse and firmly believe correct training over time is of much more benefit than short-cuts commonly seen used which still result in a tight and unhappy animal.

4 Tips to Winning With Horses

Commitment requires self-discipline, self-discipline requires will power and will power improves with practice. You might set yourself tasks to practice strengthening your will power and self-discipline. Make yourself an assignment, some thing that you do every day for 21 days. 

Below is an explanation of the common ingredients used in horse feeds today – prepare to be shocked!

When you open that new bag of feed, what do you notice about it? In fact, how often do you actually check the ingredients listing, more to the point – do you know what you are really putting into your horse every day? Here’s a brief resume based on scientific fact, and it’s not what you will find written anywhere on your feed bag that’s for sure!

The Middle East in general, and the UAE in particular, have seen over the past decade a mushrooming of the interest in horses. The span of interest ranges from sports to pleasure riding and with it has come the proliferation of equestrian centers and stables; some well-built and others put together in small farms on the border of the desert. 

Indeed there is an interest in people to own horses, of that there is no doubt, but with it comes the need to understand the responsibilities that such ownership imposes on us. I recall many years ago the problem of retiring horses was becoming an issue in the country. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum set up the retirement farm in Hatta for horses, and without a doubt it is the best run facility for horses who have given their due to man. The professionalism and care that is exhibited at the facility is a wonderful story in itself. 

4 Tips to Winning With Horses

Commitment means you’re going to do the work everyday regardless of the weather, your health, your level of fatigue, how much homework or other obligations you may have. Commitment means you do it when you don’t want to. Commitment means everyone can depend on you because they know if you made a commitment, you will be there. Likewise, your horse knows he can count on you. 

4 Tips to Winning With Horses

Winning begins with your attitude. Do you really want to win? Are you sure? It sounds like a no-brainer but winning requires something that you may not be willing to give. Are second place or also ran status acceptable or are you willing to put forth the extended effort to get the win? Winning starts with honestly considering this question.

The past month something quite phenomenal happened in the world of Equestrian sports. Great Britain won its first ever Dressage Gold medal at the Olympics with Charlotte Dujardin winning the individual Gold and Team GB wining the Team Dressage Gold. Barely a few weeks later at the World Endurance Championship HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makthoum won individual Gold and Team UAE won Gold too. One would ask why was this a phenomenal achievement?