This month I am going to talk about riding standards and if there is a link between fundamentally poor and incorrect riding and horse welfare. A starting point. In setting off with this topic the reader should be aware that I am basing my thoughts on what is now my fifth decade as a working equine professional. I have always made a lot of notes, particularly about the so called … [Read more...]

With retraining of racehorses a very popular topic currently I am going to extend this to my experiences with retraining horses that are not racehorses. For this, I lean on  my experiences in converting, or attempting to convert, a wide range of horses into Police Horses, over many years. I am going to look at horses from four disciplines. This all came about for me when … [Read more...]

Thinking of getting an ex racehorse… read on.  A brief history of racehorse re training in the Uk The first time I became aware of racehorse retraining in the Uk was via the great pioneering supporter of ex racehorses horses,my friend and the legend that is Carrie Humble. Carrie set up what I believe to be the worlds first racehorse rehabilitation establishment which was … [Read more...]

The light at the end of the tunnel for equestrians is finally here, with Covid 19 restrictions set to be eased and eventually lifted altogether… well that is what it seems, it could be great news…or is it.. according to my messages and workload some horse riders are experiencing some tremendous challenges, challenges which are unprecedented in the modern era. These challenges … [Read more...]

As we all move forward as best we can in these uncertain times I am giving over my monthly article over to a wonderful tale of success about a private riding client of mine. Karen Barnett NHS frontline .  Karen is a community matron in the North Liverpool region of The County of Merseyside in the UK and manages patients with chronic long term conditions both in their own homes … [Read more...]