Compassionate Riders - Happy & Healthy Horses!
Help! Are these hind hooves too short? This urgent question was sent to me by a young woman who has been traveling some months. When she came back home and went to see her horse, her first reaction was that the hind hooves were looking ‘weird’ – too short,...
Horse care / Tack / Welfare
by Michele Stuurman · Published February 29, 2024 · Last modified March 18, 2024
Is bandage use in horses now forbidden?!? Should you stop wrapping up your horse? In this blog post you will find out all about the background of this development. And many tips about what you can do instead, to keep your horse healthy and happy. Fashion comes and goes...
by Michele Stuurman · Published February 21, 2024 · Last modified February 28, 2024
My apologies if the title of this post puts certain thoughts in your mind. Icy weather? Time for some helpful studs in your life!? No, I’m not talking about the human type of studs. (Although they might come in handy – especially if they can do some laundry!). It’s...
Do you know how to ride the best working tempo on any horse? If yes, this will help a lot in keeping your own horse healthy and happy. Even better: it will help you improve every horse you ride! In our earlier posts, you could read why it’s so...
by Michele Stuurman · Published January 11, 2024 · Last modified January 14, 2024
Can my poor horse be outside in really cold weather? And wait – why is there a picture of a moose on this blog page? Aren’t we talking about horses here? Our home, Raaken Farm, is in the south of Norway. Recently temperatures have been dropping to -25....
50 Easy last-minute holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for riders – something we all need in these hectic weeks! Here you can find gift ideas for every person on your list. From your horse-mad child to your ‘stable sister’, and from little stocking stuffers to big-ticket items. Even if...
Smash your shopping – find 12 useful gift ideas for every horse and rider in this blog post. Christmas is only a few weeks away…. Start thinking about your shopping now. And use the Black Friday-sales to find great deals for everybody on your list. Those with two legs,...
What is the best working gait for YOUR horse? In our last blog post we discussed Working Gaits. And how important they are in training your horse the best way. In this post you can find examples to give you an idea how this can vary from horse to...
Want to keep your horse healthy? Then it’s not just about how long you should walk, trot and canter. The question is if you ride the RIGHT walk, trot and canter. How fast or how slow you ride can make a huge difference. Hurry or wait – what is...
Contraction (2): How to easily recognize this hoof problem Our last post discussed the work of an english veterinarian, Bracy Clark (find it here). Bracy Clark did some very interesting experiments with horse hooves. One of the things he showed with these experiments was that shoeing over time will change...
Hoof care / Hooves / Horsekeeping / Welfare
by Michele Stuurman · Published October 12, 2023 · Last modified October 19, 2023
Contraction (1): What an experiment from 200 years ago can teach us today… More than 200 years ago, a young English veterinarian realized that many horses in use were suffering from a certain hoof problem. A problem that caused (amongst other things) sore feet, stumbling, short steps and lameness. He...
Enjoy the ride!
Michele Stuurman
Icy weather? Time for some helpful studs in your life!
February 21, 2024
