When you are choosing horse riding equipment for the first time you will probably want to stick to the basics. Buying only what you need when you are starting is a good idea as you will soon learn what is necessary as your interest for the sport develops. However buying poor equipment will probably stop you from learning to ride properly so always buy the right horse riding equipment.

Helmets

Helmets are essential horse riding safety equipment. The right sort of helmet will keep you safe in the event of a fall. Never skimp on your helmet or purchase something second-hand, always buy the best. Take someone more experienced along if you are unsure about choosing a helmet that fits you properly.

Horse Agistment is a term derived from the old English laws of agistment, where a cattle owner pays a land owner to graze cattle on their land. This practice first began way back when the King would charge the people money for grazing their cattle on his land. These days, however, horse agistment is simply when a horse owner pays a land owner to keep the horse on the land and allow it to graze. Having said that, there are also a lot of variations to these agreements.

Equestrian sport has got to be one of my favourite “horsey” related sports. My main reason for becoming fascinated with this was I enjoyed watching Princess Anne, HRH of Great Britain competing, and subsequently her daughter Zara Phillips. What I didn’t realise for a while was just how long equestrian sport has been around and how it began. The history of this sport dates back over 2000 years and began with the Greeks using dressage to train their war horses.

War horses continued to be trained by using dressage and later on three day events were introduced to test their stamina further. These events consisted of Show Jumping, Cross Country and Dressage.

EQUINE DENTIST: Horses need dentists too! At least once a year, some horses require to have the equine dentist “float” his teeth. This removes sharp edges so that he can chew his food properly and be comfortable with the bit.

Service the trailer at least once a year. Check the brakes, tires, tire pressure and all hitch welds and bolts carefully. Make certain that the floor is solid. Practice driving, backing and turning. Practice using the mirrors. Mirror use is difficult to learn and of utmost importance. With proper mirror use however, you can easily back your trailer into a space only a few inches larger than it is.