Horses are usually investments—meaning they have to be taught to do what they’re intended to do so their owner can profit from them. Whether that’s trail riding, straight forward horse riding, show jumping, eventing, or dressage, owners need their investment to pay a return. A common mistake is to expect the investment to repay too quickly.

A good equestrian knows how to read her horse’s expressions. Because before you can teach your mare dressage actions or even just enjoy riding her, you must implant the fundamentals in her first, which entails her understanding you and you understanding her. And our equine pals can’t exactly tell us how they feel—we have to read their expressions. We’ll take the practice of basic roping for instance.

It is not hard to find a roping teacher or lesson thanks to roping clinics. Trainers who set up such clinics often provide manuals or at the very least advise the owner to accustom their pony to ropes and prepare the animal for the actual roping clinic.

Come winter cut back on the pony riding and equestrian sports and concentrate on your horse’s feed—or just how much she needs. Because when such seasons are near, you know your hard keepers are going to be harder to feed than they already are.

All horses are influenced by a range of physical and emotional factors—thin horses more than others. Some of the more significant contributing factors are teeth, calorie needs, stomach parasites, and stress.

When it comes to holistic horse health care, as an old adage goes: “nothing can’t be healed.” Whether, it is lack of energy, a puny stomach, or poor posture, there is no condition that can not be made better. But of course, it takes a lot of active participation on the part of the pony owner. An equestrian ought to know better than merely give up without exhausting all possible treatments, both conventional and alternative.

Horses have similar traits to humans, and a number of these may be employed to overcome our equestrian training problems and learning blocks.