Blog

Buying a horse for yourself is difficult enough, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. But when a friend asks you to help them find the ideal partner for their child, the challenge level shoots off the scale.

After negotiations between mother and 12-year-old daughter, we struck a compromise. It was a bit lik...

Even those who don’t know one end of a horse from another have probably heard that showjumping stars Nick Skelton and Big Star are retiring, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON.

The announcement flooded across websites and social media and made mainstream TV. That’s important, just as it was when our dressa...

There was plenty to set racing fans’ hearts fluttering at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. But for me, the most emotional moment wasn’t seeing Sizing John power home to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Instead, it was the sight of eight wonderful ex-racehorses being paraded by the...

Riders who choose not to compete are often looked on as inferior to those who do, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. Even worse, they often look on themselves as second class citizens of the horse world.

We’ve all heard it: “I’m just a happy hacker.” Maybe you even say it, with the accepted tone of self-d...

New research from Japan shows that riding improves children’s ability to learn, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. This reinforces something Feedmark customers will take for granted – that horses are good for us. Scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture have found that riding activates the sympathetic n...

As I am sure you all know, life in a racing yard is a little like being on a plane ride in the middle of a massive storm: large areas of turbulence which are rather stressful on the nerves, followed by brief periods of calm where you disbelievingly think things might be OK after all! No sport can pu...

Hello! Can you believe it’s nearly Christmas?! I haven’t even started my present shopping yet, though I am considering not buying Ben anything as he keeps not turning me out on account of the ‘mud’ – unbelievable! We have been getting in the Festive mood here, with the yard Christmas party last w...

Horses that spend so much time in the stable have greater exposure to challenging particles, generated by forage, bedding, dried mud, and scurfy coats. These particles are inhaled, and in a healthy environment they will be trapped by cilia and mucous in the upper respiratory tract, and removed. If t...

Winter often means that horses are confined to their stables for longer than usual, and in periods of bad weather, some horses may have to be stabled for days on end. While some horses don’t seem to mind living in, for other horses it can be very hard to adjust to 24 hour stabling, and they can bec...

  Nibbet has a pony tale with a happy ending Twelve years ago, Christine Spiby bought a beautiful Welsh Section B pony called Wicksop Jim Nibbet for her grandson, Joshua. As often happens, Joshua became more interested in football than in ponies and it was decided that rather than see Nibbet becom...

I cannot believe it’s already the middle of October, 1151 successful kilometres ridden this season, but where has the time gone! I’ve been very fortunate to ride some very special horses this year; Elayla, Burfield Goodie Two Shoes, Penhwnllys Samala De Mons and Nahzira bint Chantanz. They all had v...

Alice has asked me to take over the Feedmark Blog this month, as I do have the rather more impressive literary skills, naturally. For those who don’t know me, I am Hi Dancer, and I am a VIR (Very Important Race horse). An experienced age of 13, I am the heroic victor of 18 races, including a 9 lengt...