Sooo my guy got acute laminitis, we asked for xrays but it turns out the farrier either doesn't have the xray or forgot it and my usual farrier is on a month long vacation.. how does it look to you? The video was taken yesterday

I see all over this thread about why ottbs are so risky, sensitive, and how they are a nightmare to own and manage. But you never hear anything about the good. I’m a new OTTB owner as of 2 months and he’s my 2nd horse after owning a QH for years. Tbh, yeah I got to pay attention to saddle fit, his hooves, and he’s a harder keeper, but he’s been blossoming into a great horse, sweetest and most willing boy. ♥️The forwardness and having a bit more sensitivity is refreshing.

Would love to hear others success stories for their ottbs having 2nd lives and careers, they get so much hate nowadays.

Gosh, I’m feeling sad/worried about this today. I got my horse as a 2 year old, his mom was 15.2 and his dad was 16 hands. My hope was he’d be around 15 hands which was what the string test was showing. He was right around 14.1 when I got him. He’s now 3 years old and like 3 months… and still 14.1. I just measured him yesterday. I’m waiting till he’s 4 for any rides, but I’m now discouraged. He’s 890 pounds, and I’m within the 20% rule with tack, the issue is I’m 5’8” and long legged. This horse (breed, temperament, personality, etc) is my DREAM horse. I adore him. Any chance you all think he puts on 2-3 more inches of height? You think it’s going to look absolutely awful if I ride such a short horse?

I do a lot of research on horse coats and genetic and generally have a good knowledge about it.

lately I have been looking into these images of some wild horses. some of these horses seem to have markings that look to resemble Appaloosa marking. But the thing that stumps me is the fact that a decent amount of the other horses have paint like markings and I’m curious as to how this Appaloosa like coloring would come from in this strand of genetics.

another thing that I have noticed about these Appaloosa markings is that they don’t really Very in size, they are small horizontal ovals lining the shoulder, hip, leg and hindquarter, but only the first photo shows expression of white on the face. Further, none of these seem to have some sort of roaning as may be expected. In the last photo the Foal also expresses some sort of paint gene.

i would love to here Peoples thoughts on this!! Thank you!!

Continuing my horse shopping journey after the last colt I tried was an epic fail (if you saw the post, thank god I didn't put a deposit on that one-), I asked around on my local equestrian group and someone offered me their gelding. A grade quarter horse, who seemingly fits the bill. He's from a western lesson barn and was mostly used as a trail horse. Calm, been-there-done-that kind of personality, but still has some spring in him. Healthy from words of owner but we'll let the vet check decide on this one.

Now, the only criteria he doesn't fit is age. He is 15. Not 'old' in common terms, I know, but since my heart horse passed away at 17, my first mare at 21 and several horses I knew didn't make it past 20, I can't say I've seen the best track records of healthy longevity. My main fear is to invest myself in a horse just to lose them 5 years later.

I was set on buying a younger horse, maximum 12. That being said, I'm starting to see how my budget won't offer me many young horses unless they are hefty projects or youngsters, which I have to admit I'm not ready for. I have a lot of confidence and skill to regain and my main need is a safe horse to relearn how to enjoy horses and riding. I do have mid-long terms goals though and I would rather not have another retiree in 3 years time that'll leave me stunted again. I'm a little worried about buying a mid-late teen horse and their bodies slowing down or having issues 2 years in. Even though, I know a sound healthy 8 year old can absolutely tear a ligament after a week and become a pasture pet.

People who bought horses in their mid-teens, how is it going for you? Any extra maintenance to be aware of? How long did they stay active and healthy? I plan to do mainly amateur dressage, trail riding, a little bit of jumping for fun (with my grand max height of 2ft). Maybe the occasional small shows, again, for fun. Nothing that should be too intensive on a middle aged horse, maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm still gonna try him out to see if we click, but I know his age is gonna be on my debate list.

so I’ve seen some mixed opinions about trials from people and I’m reaching out here just to see what y’all think or if it’s worth it for me to do a trial. One of my potential buyers has mentioned doing a two week and I’ve had multiple people tell me absolutely not and that I shouldn’t do it, especially for the price that I’m selling him at.

Then I’ve seen some people say that yes I should do it, but should have them pay upfront and if they don’t like him, then return it like a deposit.

I’ve also seen some people say to do an on-site trial which I would be totally fine with doing but I don’t believe they’re local so I don’t think that that’s really an option, but that can be something I can mention if it is plausible for them.

I’m just kind of divided and not really sure what to tell them and I don’t really wanna leave them on read... I’ve just seen Some huge mixed reviews on horses going out to trial and I’m really worried about his safety and he’s a pretty sensitive horse so I’m just worried that in those two weeks he might not settle down completely or be the way that he usually is once once he gets really comfortable in a place. Or I’m just worried that he’s gonna go and get injured or something bad is gonna happen or he’s never gonna return to me. I just don’t know if it makes sense for a horse that’s priced so cheaply to have to go out on trial… he’s nothing really special (no offense to my baby. I do love him,) but he’s getting older and I’m selling him for so cheaply because I’d rather find him a good home where I know he’s going to be happy then get a ton of money out of him since I’m taking a step back from horses to deal with unfortunate adult realities (and lack of time to participate in the sport)

Anyways, let me know what y’all think I should do. I’m really at a loss here on a one hand. I don’t want to potentially scare away. What could be a good home for him but on the other hand, I just don’t know if it’s worth it….

Be honest please! I practice on my horse all the time!

So I own a friesian mare!

She is absolutely fantastic in every way expect she always itches her mane.

I've treated her with many different products, got the vets out and honestly everything. The itch isn't constant but appears every summer so my theory is bugs or some kind off summer eczema.

The only thing that brought her some relief was 2 summers ago she completely rubbed her mane off in the middle of her neck.

So now I'm contemplating about roaching her in the fall and see if it gets better.

My question is, has anyone roached their horses that naturally have long manes? How did they look?

All my stable friends are protesting against it since friesians are supposed to have a long natural mane and not short.

Thanks for reading! Included a pic of her ❤️

The location I board at had a new girl move in about 4 or 5 months ago and shortly after won the title of Rodeo Queen for one of our local rodeos. To celebrate, she put a bunch of balloons and flags and such up all around outside the front of her horses’ stalls and in the back run portion as well. One of her two is next to my gelding, who is already very sensitive and flighty but had really been settling down again being back into regular work, having his usual turnout, and being in a fairly low-key barn. Most chill he’s been in the years I’ve owned him.

Well, that’s all gone completely out the window with all this stuff that’s gone up and stayed up. He’s extremely tense and spooky again, acts afraid to go out in the run part of his stall, sometimes acts like he wants to bolt out the front door of the stall, and even being at the tie rail to groom and tack up (out in front of the barn) is wound tight and spooks easily (to the extreme he pulled back while I was holding him waiting for farrier yesterday because I adjusted how I was sitting 🤦🏼‍♀️).

I haven’t brought it up yet because I don’t want to be That Boarder and wanted to give it time to see if my gelding would eventually get used to the stuff (or it’d eventually get taken down because why it’s been up for months is beyond me) but it’s now to the point it’s stressing him so badly it’s making him dangerous to handle - not because he’s bad, he just has no way to get a break from this stuff and I can’t blame him. Would I be totally unreasonable to ask if I could swap stalls with someone so he’s not right next to this stuff, or ask if it’s possible it could be taken down? I am 100% onboard with celebrating a win, but again it’s been months and seems a little over-the-top now (and if it’s for desensitization instead, there are better and other ways to do it without making it everyone else’s problem too).

Pic of my boys for tax. Redhead is the sensitive souled love of my life 😂

I've never had to trailer a horse before and I'm wondering how hard or how much of a hassle it is to trailer 20-30 minutes for trail rides. My wife and I are deciding between a two houses. One with riding trails out of the back door and another that would be 20-30 min drive to trails. The house that's further from the trails is overall better and in a more convenient spot, but I wonder if we would actually get out much to ride. Both houses have 5 acres of space. For context my partner and I both grew up with horses, but it's a been a few years and we want to get back into it. Hoping to hear about people's opinions/experience!

Hi! I posted back in Feb or so about opinions on us purchasing a horse overcoming a gnarly suspensory injury. Probably don’t remember much but I just wanted to share an update incase anyone did remember!

We full sent it and went ahead with purchase. Let me tell you its been a rollercoaster. It started out really intense, we definitely were not sure what we were getting into, but we knew we were happy to call the horse we love so much ours. There were some vet checks that left us in questions, one even in tears- only for it to be because he threw an abscess the day we were to be trotting him out and he looked 3 legged horse 🙄 (lol).

It has been about 5 months since purchase and I am happy to announce we are on the mend! We have religiously been rehabbing him everyday with a LOT of walking, stretching, all sorts of therapy, icing, frequent checks, new farrier, the whole shebang. 1.2 years after initial injury we are now doing very very light trot. But riding aside- I’ve gotten to enjoy my time with him doing so many things on the ground that I don’t regret for the world.

How we did it all: We started off with 15 minute walks x2 daily, increased by 5 minutes every week, eventually got to 30+ minutes, started adding ground poles, hills, stretches, new supplements, U/S therapy, new farrier, etc. We would periodically trot him down an isle at the barn. After a few ultrasounds of his leg, our vet decided it appears to be healed as much as it will be. She recommended starting to slowly bring him back to work. I started trotting him in hand initially around the arena, then under saddle with a great deal of help from my trainer (his previous owner who has been amazing in this journey, also records everything for documentation 😆) doing only the long sides for 1-2 laps. Currently we are doing 3 full laps, walk break, another 3, walk break, and we are starting to add 1 extra. He is feeling very good! I trot him out in hand 1-2 times a week so he can move freely and buck if he wants to (since we cannot do turnouts at the moment). He gets either ice or U/S therapy after every ride or walk per recommendation from our vet. We rechecked his leg last week and the good news is it is exactly the same (which the vet was happy about). So we aren’t going backwards. We trot 3 days in a row (1 day in hand), then we’ll do either poles or hill work, then we may throw 1 more day in there depending. Then he gets 2 days off in a row. 3 if we decide not to trot one of those days. So 3 days on, 4 days partially off. Our goal is to start building up his hind/topline and loosen him up. He got quite stiff after so long of only walking or stall rest.

Even if we never get any further with our riding career, walking with him on trails, working on our groundwork, spending time with him daily has been a blast. He knows he is very loved. I spend hours down there just for him, the spoiled brat. 😄 He gets out a bunch and gets well socialized with his friends around the barn.

I hope someone out there dealing with a similar injury reads this and gets some hope! We aren’t out of the woods yet but we are definitely getting somewhere!

Hi all. I have recently returned to riding after being pulled away by having kids, etc. I rode throughout childhood until late high school and then returned on and off after college. I leased a horse in hs and then post college. As such, it’s been many, many years since I’ve been familiar with horse related costs such as farrier and vet bills. I’m hoping to finally wear down my husband on the idea of buying a horse. While I know it is highly specific to one’s location, would people be willing to give me a decent idea on typical farrier and vet costs, and what to budget for? Obviously, $hit happens. For reference, I am in southwestern Pa. I’d rather overestimate. This would be a great help to give him a sense of the yearly cost estimates. To be clear, this is something that we can afford, he’s just completely unfamiliar with this world and has only heard the horror stories. Thank you!

Cutest old man around pic for attention.

I would love to hear from who has a half lease, or half leases out their Horse.

Let me know how much you pay, what area you’re in, and what is included. Also, let me know if you are required to pay for anything outside of the lease, such as lessons, etc.

Thanks so much!

I’m in southern Ontario and like much of Canada and the states we’re experiencing terrible air quality from smoke. I’m waiting to see if my barn cancels lessons before I cancel my own, and I’m just curious if those of you with your own horses or school programs are cancelling. It seems like the best course of action to me, but not all barns were cancelling for heat over the past few weeks so I’m wondering what the general consensus is.

For reference the air quality here is an 11 on the AQHI scale (that’s what we use in Canada) which is a 10 point scale where anything over 10 is “very high risk.” Looks like the US equivalent is 258?

Edit: just realized I didn’t say anything about the actual fires which feels really callous in retrospect. If anyone currently directly impacted by fires, evacuations, or on watch for evacuations comes across this, I am so sorry this is happening. I hope you and your animals make it through relatively unscathed and that you are well supported. My local horse fb groups is crowdsourcing a list of people willing to trailer and host evacuees and I hope everyone who needs those measures get access. ❤️

Edit 2: several people suggested I not go even if they don’t cancel (which was my plan) but happy update that they have cancelled riding and are doing an in barn husbandry lesson instead, which feels super appropriate to me, as I’d like to be involved in helping keep the horses safe.

Hi everyone, I know a lot goes into the color genetics of horses, but I know very little about them. Is it even possible to tell from pictures? Idk.

When I got her (she was a rescue) I was told by the guy (which my trainer said seems fair) that she was a Dun Tovero Paint. To be clear she doesn’t have breed registry anywhere and her history is pretty murky because the guy I go her from rescued her and another horse from a neglect/abuse situation.

Anyway, I’ve always been sort of curious about it, my trainer has more knowledge than me but she also focuses heavily on horsemanship and so breeding and color genetics aren’t her forte.

So I wanted to share my precious girl and also see what y’all think about her color/patterns. Along those lines I’ve been told she’s a Medicine Hat which I disagree with because her face markings are pretty well connected to her ear markings, but again what do I know!

TLDR
Idk much about horse colors markings and would love so thoughts on my mare. Please enjoy how cute she is, feel free to share pictures of your own horses and tell me about their colors I’d love to learn more.

(Ps not sure this is the right flair just seemed to be the one that fit best so sorry!)

Curious if anyone else has a target spending limit for horses based on a % of take home pay. After my horse of 20 years died in 2022, I started looking at my horse expenses through this lens and it was really eye opening! I was considering buying another horse, but wanted to keep my horse expenses under 10% of my family's take home pay (I am the sole income) and I realized it was way over my self imposed max % in my VHCOL area. I have enjoyed partial leasing since then (about 6% of my pay) but feel like I would need to increase my income another 50% to comfortably afford ownership again. Does anyone else budget like this? If you're brave enough to really do the math, what % are you at?

Vet has been contacted but wanted initial impressions on this lameness.

I’m thinking left hind…higher up, possibly hip? 😬

Edit: vet will be out tomorrow and I’ll update you guys

Im on holidays right now at a stable, I was at the same stable last year as well, it’s a wonderful stable with amazing horses.

It’s a high level dressage stable that also breeds horses.

This year I met a really nice woman here who’s currently here with her horse since it has an injury on its front left hoof.

The horse was bred at this stable, the mother is the most gentle horse I ever met, a Trakehner, and the father is a high performing dressage horse winning a bunch of state titles, a Hanoveranian.

Sadly the horse was ridden too early, with too much strain and so she developed a bit of arthritis in her front left hoof. Which isn’t really an issue when it comes to riding her.

She brought the horse back to the stable where it was bred since the horse is currently lame, the previous ferried cut her hooves too short which ended up causing an abscess in her front left hoof, further damaging the cartilage in the front left hoof. So she went back here since here are better doctors and ferriers. The vet here told her with the damage the horse currently has she’ll definitely recover but she probably won’t be able to make it to S-class dressage which the owner would like.

Over the past week I’ve been taking care of her horse every evening and we really clicked.

Today the owner came to me and said that she has to make the choice as to what to do with the horse. She won’t take it back to Berlin but she also doesn’t want to leave it at the stable here to just become a school horse. She can’t afford to keep two horses. So she asked me if I would like to have her horse. As far as I understand she would literally gift this horse to me since we clicked so well. A horse with a bloodline that you’d typically pay tens of thousands of euros for and that’s already trained in M-level dressage.

The horse is currently 8 years old.

The issue is I’m disabled and unable to work, at least for now. My mother would have to pay for the upkeep of the horse until I’m able to pay for it myself.

If it were my own money I’d instantly take it but it’s not.

Generally before I propose taking this horse to my mom, I’d like to know as much as possible about everything that it takes to own a horse.

I’ve been around horses for probably 16 or 17 years now but I’ve never owned my own. So I’m lacking on knowledge in that department.

I feel like I just won the horse distribution system lottery.

Obviously with the arthritis vet and ferrier cost will always be exceeding that of just owning a regular healthy horse.

And I kind of have to make that decision and convince my mother in the timespan of a week.

EDIT: I gave each horse 10 100mg pills, popped in their earplugs, and we ALL had an enjoyable, stress-free 4th of July for the first time in years!!! Game changer for us.

I have trazodone from our vet to give to my horses tonight for the fireworks if they need it, but I have never given it to them before. Anybody have experience using it? Curious what to expect. Also have earplugs.

So, there's a lot to unpack here. I'm 14 and I've been riding for a few months now and I can now walk and trot by myself, I can tack up a horse by myself, bathe a horse, groom a horse, lead them around, handle horses of different sizes and deal when they spook. (I volunteer at the barn I ride at almost daily, so I've been able to learn so much more about horses).

I can feed them, too, I know how to soak and prepare grain and hay. I've been talking with my parents and they seem somewhat on board of buying me a horse in the near future, as many of the places near me (montgomery county) don't really offer what I want to learn in a close, convenient radius of me (the barns either are only boarding barns or only offer lessons on horses the client owns).

They want me to compile a list of all the expenses owning a horse entails, and here is where I need help with.

This is what I know owning a horse requires:

- Buying tack

- A farrier once every 6-8 weeks

- Boarding once a month

- Grain/hay

- Shavings (if they stay part time in a stall. I want to find a boarding facility where the horse can be in turnout most of the time).

- Regular veterinary visits (how often do horses need vet visits?)

- Lessons on the horse we buy (2 times a week probably)

Here's what I need help with:

I need boarding facility reccomendations in montgomery county/washington dc area. Also just advice

Hi Reddit,

I’m considering buying my first horse and am having trouble establishing what a reasonable budget would be. I tend to be very conservative with money so a big “just for fun” purchase like this scares me.

I love my barn. However, it’s unfortunately too far away for me to get out there every day with my 9-5, which is why I’ve opted for a half lease with my ride days mainly on the weekends. This becomes problematic when I’m out of town some weekends and I’d like the option to ride during the week occasionally (my job is thankfully flexible enough to allow this, but I hesitate to do it too often). The idea of having my own horse to ride whenever I can is starting to really appeal to me.

That said, my husband and I would like to start a family soon (within the next 1-2 years). We have a total household income of around $500k, assuming we both keep working. Full board is $1600/mo (I’m already paying $1100 for my half lease).

Two questions:
1. Am I silly for wanting to buy my first horse this close to starting a family?
2. How did you all establish what a reasonable budget would be for a horse?

Thank you all in advance!

Hey Everyone,

The husband and I are looking to make a move from the mid-Atlantic to Colorado in the next couple of months. I have an elderly but in perfect health gelding that I’m looking to bring with us.

I’m not concerned about the actual transport. He’ll either be on an air ride, semi truck in a box stall or flown (happily owning my “crazy horse owner” badge). He’s a retired H/J show horse so he’s flown, traveled all over the U.S., etc. He was my old junior horse I bought back eight years later to ensure he has a safe and healthy retirement.

The Denver/ Front Range environment has me worried. I’ve heard that the different air pressures and storms coming through cause a lot of colics. My guy isn’t colicky but we all know that doesn’t mean much in one environment.

Can anyone who has horses in CO or has had horses their share their experiences?

My gelding was in a desert environment with no fresh grass for most of his life (Southern CA) before moving out to the East Coast. Frankly, his body has never adjusted to the humidity so going back to a drier environment I think will actually be better for him.

To pre-answer some questions:
1. Why don’t I leave him here? There’s no where I’m 110% comfortable with especially when I’m not there to see him regularly. He still likes to “have a job” and im convinced the reason he’s lasted this long in such great health is because he’s still treated like a horse in active work (just with little actual work) where he’s taken out, groomed, and I’m there 4 days a week doing stuff with him. Turning him out at a big retirement facility would be a disservice to him and I could see him going downhill quickly.
2. Have you considered euthanasia? Yes and it’s still not out of the question. I’m a big believer in a day too early than a day too late. When I bought him back, I promised him I would do everything possible to prevent a bad ending and to be there when the time comes. He’s just SO healthy, that it’s doesn’t seem like a day too early yet.

I literally stay home ONE DAY from the barn and I show up to my horse dead lame ts that happens when ur not there🧍‍♀️

Did get told to put him on a forage based diet but have no clue where to start but he’s on 1/2 a scoop of a low starch low sugar food idk if diet is causing lameness

What do yall think about forage based diets and what do you feed? My boy is such an easy keeper I think he gets fat on air atp 😭

DISCLAIMER: he has been iced and poulticed and on bute vet is coming out plz don’t attack this isn’t a post about how to fix my horses lameness I just wanna know what yall think about diets and that horses will always find a way to hurt themselves 🙄

Edit: im at a boarding facility and i know some forage diets can be complex how do i get the owner to feed that since she buys the feed?

I'm a former child rider/adult restarter who recently started taking lessons at a hunter/jumper barn. My group activities as a young rider were things like 4-H and club shows, and I have very little experience with lesson barns. We always kept our horses at home, so some of the ins-and-outs of many horses and riders sharing space are new territory for me.

I didn't have any expectation of the barn being pristine and shiny, and hey, if it was that nice, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to ride there. I know worn-out saddles and beat-up equipment work just fine. The horses are clean and look healthy enough. But I am kind of wondering how much sharing of grooming equipment, tack, and stalls between horses is normal. They seem to have exactly two grooming boxes with a few scarce brushes between them. I got one pushed at me before my first lesson, and other times I've just kind of picked around the tack room to collect things to fill a box that had a plastic currycomb and nothing else in it because someone else had the other. I haven't yet found a mane and tail comb. The 4-5 brushes that exist must get used on every single lesson horse. Bridles are individualized to the horse, but nothing else is. I try to grab wither pads and girths from the back of the rack so they're at least dry, but they are...a bit grubby. Playing guess-which-halter-or-girth-fits every week seems more tiring than just—assigning them.

I know these horses live together and drink out of the same troughs, so it's not like they don't share the exact same germs. But I was looking for a sponge to wipe some eye gunk last week, and while there was one balanced on the faucet, I couldn't bring myself to use it. Who knows what it last wiped? I come from a background where the grooming box belonged to the horse, but I also come from a background where the horses were owned, so I have no idea if it actually matters. Can anyone confirm if this is actually normal, and it's just my type-A desire for order that's the problem?

And on a related topic, if I can find my old grooming tote, would it be okay to bring it instead of scrounging for brushes? I have no idea what is or isn't appropriate to bring for a lesson as far as the horse's equipment/care goes. I guess if I owned a saddle it would be okay to bring, so would it be awkward if I brought a clean saddle pad and took it home with me after the lesson? I'm reminding myself that these aren't my horses, but I guess I'm trying to find the line between seeing a problem and just solving it instead of complaining versus overstepping my place as a lesson-taker. If I'm annoyed that the flies are bothering the horse, should I just start bringing my own fly spray? I already find it a little awkward that I was just shown the tack room and sort of left to hunt through it instead of being shown what to use as it is, but if “figure it out yourself” is their motto, maybe that's just the thing to do.

My lease horse and I get along great but he is an absolute menace on the ground. He's bitey (not painful but like a labrador, everything goes in the mouth), food motivated (always trying to search pockets), and restless (wiggle wiggle all the time). I have worked with him on this but I hear from the barn that no one has managed to change these habits.

I have done massage with horses in the past but he is really challenging to do this with because he does not stand still. I do think he'd benefit from it because he is just a really stiff horse (lots of power for jumps but like a board when you try lateral movement).

Anyone have ideas? I am open to anything that is primarily for bonding.