Compassionate Riders - Happy & Healthy Horses!
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...
Hoof care / Hooves / Horsekeeping / Practical tips
by Michele Stuurman · Published May 7, 2022 · Last modified May 8, 2022
How would you like a job that is often dangerous? And very hard on your body? On top of that unpredictable, and needing a lot of knowledge, technical skills and physical strength? Horse hooves need maintenance. Doing hoof maintenance for a living – as a farrier or a barefoot...
Dressage / Riding / Riding skills / The rider / The seat and aids / Training
by Michele Stuurman · Published April 30, 2022 · Last modified May 1, 2022
The goal of riding is easy, don’t you think? If you jump – your horse should get over the fence without touching it. If you ‘do dressage’, your horse should do all the movements and do them in the right place. Unfortunately, as most riders have found out, it’s...
Ethics / Horsekeeping / Riding / Training / Welfare
by Michele Stuurman · Published August 20, 2020 · Last modified April 10, 2021
Do you ever wonder if your horse is happy? Some people think animals have no feelings at all. Philosophers and scientists have been debating this question for centuries. For me, the answer is easy. I am around horses a lot. And I think they clearly show a lot of...
Hoof care / Hooves / Horsekeeping / Practical tips / Training
by Michele Stuurman · Published April 10, 2020 · Last modified April 10, 2021
It’s less work to keep your hoof trimmer happy than to find a new one! It is not easy finding a good hoof care professional (or ‘hoof trimmer’, as we say around here in Norway). And most good ones have more than enough to do. In other words: if you...
Enjoy the ride!
Michele Stuurman
