Free Spirit Equestrian recently listed two draft crosses for sale, her asking price is 60k for one and 50k for the other one. They’re Amish-bred, unpapered draft crosses that w/t/c, and trail ride. They’ve also been used in her lesson program. They aren’t trained in a specific discipline, and based on the sale videos, they plod around the arena with most trot to canter transitions cut out.

The part that bothers me is the way she presents these prices to her audience with such authority, that this is simply what horses cost now and buyers should consider themselves lucky to find a deal. To add to the greed, she’s now getting into the auction business and is hosting her own auction next year. If buyers become convinced that mid-five-figure prices are simply what it takes to buy an ordinary riding horse, that benefits sellers and auction businesses trying to move horses at those prices.

And here’s a side note I can’t get past: she recently purchased a reining performance horse with strong bloodlines and elite training for $50k. Yet she’s asking more for these draft crosses…

When large equestrian accounts repeatedly promote these prices as standard, they contribute to an environment where ordinary horses become financially inaccessible to ordinary people. Every time the baseline gets pushed higher, more aspiring owners are priced out of horse ownership altogether.

Horses are already expensive enough. We don’t need influencers with financial interests in selling horses and running auctions convincing everyone that a basic riding horse should cost as much as a well-bred, highly trained performance horse.

Yesterday the barn owner asked me if I could feed the stallions hay we have two 3-year-old Dutch harness horse x German warm blood stallions and they are super sweet their names are Truffle and Tulin as I was feeding trying to feed Tulin I was getting tense because I seen videos of stallions attacking for no reason (e.g Sox the stallion) and I got a little bit scared but he didn’t do anything. But I’m here wondering does anyone have a small or big fear of stallions after seeing people be irresponsible with them

Also heres a picture of them as yearlings playing

I'm looking into buying a KWPN Dutch Warmblood gelding with some serious bloodlines. He's by Chacco-Blue and has been competing at the 1.45m level with potential to move up.,

I've purchased horses directly from the owners before I found this one through a private broker he checks most of my boxes. He's got a solid competition record and looks great in the videos I've been sent. The asking price is pretty steep but that's expected for a horse with this kind of breeding and experience. The broker has been helpful so far. Sent over competition records and paperwork, videos, live calls with the horse gave me the Kibu connection even sent medical record of the horse and was upfront for everything.

My main concern is that I've only dealt with the broker and haven't spoken to the actual owner.I know a PPE and proper sale contract are a must. I'm just not sure how much checking people normally do before getting to that stage.

Would you guys insist on speaking with the owner first or is working with a broker who has a good reputation enough? Don't want to be that buyer who makes everything a headache but I'd rather ask now than regret it later lol.

RoryMoo’s clinic wrapped up today. Unsurprisingly, he was a STAR.

They really threw everything at us over the course of 3 days. Smoke, sirens, FIRE, moving vehicles… It was so cool to see Rory’s confidence build each day. He took everything in stride and even when he was unsure he was so brave and tried his hardest for me 🥹

The man walked through fire for me. The bar has been set.

Horses are truly amazing. I feel like I KNOW that but I also feel I spend so much time with my own doing our usual routine (lessons, toodling around, etc.) I forget just how incredibly trusting they are to partner with a rider. This clinic shook up the usual for us and placed us in situations which required steadiness, patience, and a buttload of trust. All of the horses in the clinic showed up and showed out. They were all incredibly brave even when overstimulated.

And trust me, if the video gives you any idea, it was plenty overstimulating 🤣 even for us humans.

I am so proud of Rory. This kid is going to go so far. I’m fortunate to be along for the ride.

Also, it’s in the video itself but heads up that it contains sirens and a dog barking. Do what you need to do for your ears and your nervous system (which includes not watching it at all, we won’t be offended!).

Hi everyone! My mom and I are both lifelong equestrians who take one big trip a year & I’m looking for recommendations. For reference we’ve ridden multi-day treks already in Iceland, Patagonia, and North Carolina, other fast paced rides in Oregon, Colorado, and Madeira. We’re both advanced riders, comfortable with all gaits and terrain (rivers, roots, rocks, through herds of guanacos, we’ve done it).

This year we’re looking for something luxurious, relaxing, and horse-centered! Current prospects are central/western europe or western canada/US. My mom would like something with a spa/treatments available, and I want something that centers horse culture/where it’s not just an option. We both want rides that are not simply nose-to-tail, and include all gaits. Must be easy to get to from the US (i.e. one layover at most & <10hrs total).

We don’t mind moving locations, but this year, are looking for beautiful accommodations instead of camping. Bonus points if we could hike/there are mountains nearby. Small groups are fine, but we’re also open to arranging private tours. Let me know if there’s anything that blew you away!

Picture of our herd in iceland for tax :)

The weather in England has been horrible the last few days and I want to know if anyone else gets to winter, looks out the window and goes "nah, not riding today" because it's spitting rain. I do that. And my horse also hates the rain. She gets so grumpy in it 😂. So instead of riding, I'm sat in the hay barn beside her field, hanging out with her, staying dry. 😂. I did ask if she wanted to go for a ride (we do the ask and consent thing) and she gave me a mare glare and walked away when i offered the saddle... so I guess that's a no lol 😂.

He’s a 4 year old ottb. I’m in hunter/jumper and am interested in adopting him.

I’m concerned about his walk. I could be wrong but I feel like his hind legs kinda bow out?

As an equestrian hunter/jumper I'm currently horseless and basically if you give me unlimited access to an animal with four legs, I will teach it how to jump over things!

I taught my childhood dog jumping and I made an agility course that he excelled with. He was a huge fan of taking jumps, and he even independently would choose to jump over obstacles in our yard and the woods when I would hike with him! I made a number of unusual obstacles that he enjoyed. Jumping through a swing on the swing set. Jumping over my legs. Hopping over a chair. I would point at anything and tell him to jump and he would just do it! He was thrilled.

Even when he was 12 years old (tibetan terrier) and he went to the vet, she exclaimed over how well muscled he was! I told him that he was an agility course dog. She loved that.

I had a German Shepherd mix for over a decade, I tried teaching him agility obstacles, but he was much too fast and overly excited for it. I removed the obstacles before he got the chance to injure himself! But he was game for it. He also broke a few things before I decided to move on to a different task 🤣

These days I have a young cat who is a supreme athlete. She requires lots of play time every day to burn off that energy. We play fetch a lot.

Last night I became inspired to stack some objects in my bedroom and make a training course for her 🤣 I threw a toy for her, she jumped over the jump, and then I called her back and she got a treat. She jumped over it maybe 10 times before my other cat came in and started hogging the treats.

But yeah, that's just me! My lifelong love of jumping extends to any animal in my vicinity who is currently bored, has a bit of energy, and has four paws capable of taking obstacles on!

Anybody else siphoning their enthusiastic jumper dreams on two other animals? How's it been going! 🤣

My mare has pulled a chunk out of her mane, and it’s gotten so much shorter since getting her (first pic is now, second is when I got her in February). I’m addressing her itchiness, and have her on some skin and coat supplements. This chunk happened while it was braided, so I’m hesitant to braid again. At this point, I’m tempted to just roach and start over. But I desperately want it to be long and healthy again. Any tips would be so appreciated!

I recently had my horse saddle fitted and have no idea how to read this paper. Is anyone able to help me with what size I need to look for with a new saddle. Thank you

For an assessment I have to write about this horses shoe and pad, but for the pad I can only find Open Toe Caudal Support Pads and I’m not sure if this is the correct name or if there is a different term for it.

Hi everyone, does this look like the start of a couple of summer sores?

This probably sounds like a funny question, but I’m genuinely asking lol.

I’m an adult beginner who’s been riding for a little over a year, taking lessons twice a week. I’m comfortable at the walk and trot, can canter, and have started jumping small courses. But lately, I’ve been wondering whether I’m just fundamentally bad at this sport.

I feel like I’m constantly struggling with things I should know how to do by now. Whether it’s recognizing the wrong canter lead, controlling a horse that’s getting too strong, maintaining my position, or keeping a horse straight through a line of jumps, something always seems to go wrong. Heck, I’m even still struggling to make sure I’m on the right diagonal. :/

I’ve had a string of particularly discouraging lessons recently, and while I occasionally have a good ride, it feels like the bad ones by far outnumber the good. I’ve also tried different instructors, so I can’t really attribute everything to one teaching style!

I know riding is difficult and progress isn’t linear, but I’m starting to wonder whether there’s a point where you have to acknowledge that you might just not have a natural aptitude for something.

I genuinely love horses and want to be a good rider, but I’m getting increasingly frustrated with myself. I think my trainers are frustrated and confused by how slow I am at picking things up, too. I see other riders progressing, and I feel like I’m struggling with the same basic issues over and over again.

So my question is: Is it actually possible for someone to just be bad at riding, despite consistent lessons and genuine effort? Are there people who simply never become competent riders?

I’m not looking for reassurance or people telling me that everyone progresses at their own pace. I’m genuinely interested in hearing honest perspectives, especially from instructors or people who’ve been riding for years. Have you ever encountered someone who just couldn’t seem to get it, no matter how hard they tried?
Thank you!!!

I have been really sick for about a decade with Cushing’s disease. I’m finally recovering after bilateral adrenalectomy and feel strong enough to finally be back on my beloved mare,Luna, who I have had since I was 4.

Now. I’m not advocating for AQHA. I think they’re icky as an org since the whole slaughter stance thing back in the day and not trying as hard as the jockey club to minimize slaughter. however, look at their show earnings. You get big money in futurities and sire sweepstakes. I get the idea of how it’s funded by the sire owners themselves partially, but how is rodeo and aqha batting so heavy with earnings while basically no other breed organizations can come close? why can’t others replicate?

Lots of disclaimers: First, photos are literally just a moment in time. Maybe it was a bad jump? Maybe it was an awkward moment (lord knows there are many awkward photos of me in existence and I'm certainly not jumping almost as high as I am tall on a very large animal with opinions of it's own - some moments are just awkward no matter what).

Also, clearly I am not a professional photographer and these photos are from different parts of the jump.

But I still feel like it could be interesting to compare positions of high level riders all over one jump!

ETA:

Apparently I is old, and older than I thought, because the title I gave this post came across harsh. I did not intend that!

In my old mind, "critique" means point out notable things, either good or bad notable. It is not the same as "criticize".

My intention with this post was for people to point out good and bad things, not just bad things (and as they're all jumping super high and there were no falls, they got it done, and that's a GOOD THING). Not just criticize, because "critique" means a completely different thing to me.

Clearly, my title and description were flawed.

My pics are also flawed.

Still going to leave this up because I think the pics are fun and I don't hate the responses or discussions

I suspect the answer is no. But here’s background. I’ll try to keep it brief.

I am at a tiny backyard style boarding facility. There are 8 horses on property, 2 belong to the owner and her 22 year old son. The rest are divided up between 4 of us. So there are 6 riders/owners on property.

Small arena, so most of us are trail riders. Everyone ranges in age from 20’s-50’s. Everyone gets along VERY well. Sunday brunches every week, everyone pitches it, zero drama, etc. I genuinely like all these people and their horses. Since it’s small and we all work full time, we’re generally all out in the evenings or weekend mornings and riding together is super normal. Since we trail ride it’s safer with a buddy and since we’re usually all there around the same time (not planned) it’s very common for most to all of us to go out together. I’d say it happens at least 4 times a week

Owner, we’ll call Susan, who lives there, is in her 50’s. Truly lovely lady. Takes incredible care of our horses. I adore her and her ground skills are great. Unfortunately, if she was a good rider, between time passing (she took a 20 year riding break) and maybe lack a good riding background, she is not a confident or good rider. I say that as kindly as possible. She had two horses. One is a kill pen OTTB who is not safe and currently just decompressing and putting weight on and ground work. Her other horse (Bailey) is a lovely 5 year old and her son’s favorite horse. She considers him a beginner horse. In my opinion (and everyone else’s), he’s a green broke 5 year old who needs miles. Good horse, but his age and the fact we have to ride 10 minutes through the city to the trails means that he’s intermediate and she’s over horsed. In her head, she’s a rusty advanced rider, and he’s a beginner horse. In reality, I think she’s a nervous and rusty beginner rider and he’s an intermediate horse.

On property, we have three horses I would truly consider dead broke, beginner safe, husband horses. I own one of the three. Both myself and the gal who owns the other two have repeatedly offered her to ride ours. She can ride ours, we’ll find a different horse (6 riders, 7 ridable horses on property, again, all of us are very close). I would consider the rest of us intermediate to advanced riders. We repeatedly suggest her son ride Bailey and she rides one of our trail masters. Or that we can ride Bailey and they can both ride trail masters. But she keeps saying she feels most comfortable with Bailey and she wants to ride HER horse. Which is fair.

Our rides are pretty much all walk. Especially if she’s with us. If she doesn’t come, we’ll throw in some trots or canter but generally we’re all just chatting and walking. The issue is just walking, she falls off at least half of the outings. Last night was the 4th time out of 6 trail rides THIS MONTH where she fell off. Bailey simply turned around too fast (he was stopped, rotated his butt around to look at someone else’s horse not in our group that was behind us at a ways and she fell off into a cactus. He wasn’t even walking).

It’s at the point where myself and most of the barn doesn’t want to ride with her anymore. She’s a lovely person but the risks are high, she’s over horsed, we’re all constantly babysitting, and it’s just simply not fun knowing at some point she’s gonna fall off, react big, and it’s gonna be over and we all have to go back. Plus, because she fails like 75% of rides, everyone is nervous. So we’re all trying to figure out a way to either force her to ride a safer horse OR communicate that she just can’t ride with us. That unless she takes lessons or starts riding extensively in the arena, we don’t feel safe riding with her. Is there even a good way to communicate this? I know her son has tried and she just will not listen because he’s “a kid”. We’ve tried to approach with “build you confidence” approach and she just won’t hear it.

I started jumping recently (few months). This video has 3 examples of jumps. This horse loves jumping and jumps even by himself when turned out. On the first jump I almost fell as I think I got the distance wrong, while the other 2 felt fine though he seemed uncomfortable (just excited about jumping?). I have a trainer but I wanted to hear other opinions on what I'm doing right and wrong. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I recently started some groundwork/ liberty work with my OTTB. He is 8 and I have had him since he was 5.

We’re late starting and while we have competed a lot and there are no behavioural and in saddle issues requiring groundwork, I wanted to start Liberty and groundwork as a way for us to bond and connect!

So far he’s really enjoying it … he likes it when he is challenged and has to figure things out but loves it EVEN more when he gets lots of pats and praise for doing something right.

So far we can do the following on a rope with a halter (with no pressure - it’s just there as a just in case as we don’t have a round pen unfortunately!!) :
- step forward and step back with me
- quarters out and in while standing
- match my energy, I.e., he will stop, walk and trot with me when I’m beside him
- ground tie

We aren’t aiming for anything big, but I’m wondering if there’s any next steps you guys would suggest? Doesn’t have to be anything crazy, I just think a day or two a week of groundwork/liberty work would be a great low impact activity to add to his routine that will not only benefit his brain but also his groundwork in general!

Only limitations are… I am boarding so the work I do is in an arena. While it is big, I can’t have him off the rope when others are there, understandably. But there are times I can try to be there when it will be empty.

Looking forward to hearing suggestions!