At 5:30 this morning, Dobi lost his fight with a strangulating lipoma.

There are no words that I can write to explain how much he meant to me, and will always mean. We were supposed to have so many more years together, but his body betrayed him in the most evil way possible. 23 years old was not old enough.

Dobi, you made my life infinitely better, and I’m so sorry that you didn’t get the death you deserved. You should have gone at a grand old age, with the sun on your back surrounded by your friends after a long and happy retirement. Not in a hospital room in agony.

Always and forever my best and greatest friend.

Dobi (Sole Invader) 1st January 2003 - 15th October 2026

Looking for fun ideas! This will be his official first horse .

I am a lifelong horse person. I started dating my now husband when we were 18 and broke. He’d never even met a horse before me. In college I volunteered at barns and did anything with the possibility just to ride. My husband sacrificed his own hobby (soccer), to surprise me with my first part lease on a horse I loved when we were 20. When we were 24 and freshly married, he was fully supportive of our first ever horse. My horse dreams would have never been possible without him. And then about 2 years ago he surprised me again by informing me he’d been secretly taking riding lessons so we could go on an equestrian vacation (which was super fun by the way and he did amazing). Basically, I am so incredibly lucky to have such a supportive spouse.

Fast forward a few years, we are financially stable and own 2-3 horses at a time. I have a personal horse and then usually have 1-2 project horses that I get (usually) out of awful situations, keep for around 9 months to a year to recover, build back up, get vet care, and put some buttons on them before finding them homes. He’s so supportive and loves to come along but this is definitely my hobby. He has always talked about maybe eventually us finding him a horse so we can each have our own horse, but then backs down saying concerns about how he knows project horses are a hobby of mine and another permanent horse would decrease the horses I can have as projects at a time. Until, beginning of this year, the horse we got in, my husband adores. Oscar is this man’s whole world. he’s at the barn with me multiple times a week just to see and love on this horse. I’ll look up and he’s just bareback riding this horse all over the property, totally smitten. He got a little choked up a few weeks ago when he asked me when we were selling Oscar and that he respects that rehabbing horses and finding them forever horses is my passion, but this one (in his words) “is really going to hurt”.

On reflecting on it, I’ve decided to keep Oscar. We financially support 3 horses at a time generally, and going from 2 project horses to 1 at a given time is fine by me. I also enjoy Oscar, but I see just how much he and my husband have bonded. So, I want to do something cute to give him Oscar. Oscar is papered, so maybe signing over papers? A name plaque? A silly giant bow? We are taking Oscar and my horse trail riding to the river with friends next week, maybe something there? Any ideas I’d love! I know he’s going to be so tickled about the whole thing. This is his first horse and a hobby he’s supported me so much through and I want to make a big deal about this :)

She is a Lourens X Paradiesvogel mare, one of the best horses to ride in. Her outstanding willingness to work and quick trainability is out of this world. I loved to work w her...

His paperwork says sorrel but I thought he was chestnut, what color is he?? (One pic on a cloudy day and inside with lights)

I have a 14yr old Haflinger that I’ve had for about a year, with hopes to show low level hunters/jumpers and do drag hunting (second-third flight no jumping) but ever since he went lame during the summer (from being cut too short) my trainer said I should never jump or even do ground poles with him ever again, because he’ll apparently never do good since he does not have the perfect jumper physique. She believes he’ll instantly Disintegrate if he ever does so, is he really that bad that he can’t even do poles anymore?

I'm already riding biteless.

Let's go max and remove everything

I have never owned a horse and don’t have any experience with them but I love to see cute and funny videos of them on social media. Sometimes comments will say “oh stallions are so extra” or this breed is always like that or things like that.

The best thing I can compare it to is like the common stereotypes surrounding huskies (hyperactive, chatty, escape artists) or golden retrievers (just enjoying life, your gentle bestie, silly and goofy and curious) which are often very true tor those breeds.

Do horses have common stereotypes for their different breeds and if so, can you share some with me? Share a story if you have one!

So I had Ice again today, but he was noticeably not in a good mood. I made do with it and acknowledged that it was probably something I was doing as well. Then it became time to trot and it was just not good. My trainer had me drop my reins, as many of you had suggested, and it was very challenging. I crumpled, lost balance, and lost some confidence. I know bad rides happen. This sucks tho lol

What can I do to not do whatever the hell this is? In the moment, I feel like there is absolutely nothing i can do to prevent myself from bouncing up in the air, and all I want to do is be able to post like other riders. Just feeling super discouraged.

A lot can change but some things will always stay the same. My love for horses, geldings and those non destructible pants and boots apparently 🤣

I’m genuinely not posting this to hate, but I’m honestly confused and curious what others think. I follow a nonprofit horse rescue called Freedom Reins, and it seems like almost every day there’s another horse colicing or having some kind of major medical emergency. Then I saw her recent post about the outstanding vet bill, and it just got me thinking.

At some point, I feel like we have to acknowledge that not every animal can or necessarily should be saved, especially when quality of life and finances come into play. Animals don’t have the same understanding or fear of death that humans do, and sometimes humane euthanasia is the kinder option.

I also feel for the veterinary practice that is carrying such a large unpaid balance. From what I can tell, it seems like she’s running most of this rescue on her own, which has to be incredibly overwhelming.

I genuinely appreciate her heart and the time and effort she puts into helping these horses. I’m not questioning her intentions at all. I’m just wondering, is this how most rescues operate? Is it normal to take on this many medical cases and accumulate significant veterinary debt? At what point does a rescue have to make difficult decisions about what is sustainable?

So I am HoH (hard of hearing) been taking western riding lessons and my trainer is very understanding for my hearing loss but I feel like it is hindering my ability to grow and learn as efficiently as I could be due to not being able to be communicated with and corrected while riding. I have to come back to her every single time we need the next command or correction.
I’ve seen the CeeCoach rider-trainer headsets and those seem dreamy but out of my budget.

I am not the first rider who is HoH so I would love to hear how other riders have overcome this hurdle or how you’ve seen disabled riders handle this in the equestrian community??

I do not currently have hearing aids as my insurance does not cover them or anything to do with them such as the audiologist appts etc infuriatingly enough so I haven’t had hearing aids since I was a minor and even then I struggled due to them picking all the sounds and not particularly the sounds I needed if this pertains at all.

Thanks for any suggestions!!!

Horse tax included.

Not the best pic but honestly it’s almost impossible to make him stand still. 7 year old gelding. Breeding not recorded but on passport it says he is a warmblood

I wanna know if there's any equestrians that start work at 9am or later. Are we all supposed to be morning people or is that just a stigma in the industry to start before sunrise?! I'm a big fan of not feeding until 10.
Not sure if the post flair is the right one for this discussion, apologies.

I am just barely hanging onto my sanity. I have one horse, and I have to provide my own hay. I can't afford to keep her anywhere that includes hay, but I keep dreaming of being able to move her. In my area, it's becoming less and less common for boarding to include hay, and the ones that do cost almost as much as I make in a month.

After years of having my previous horse I finally got ahold of someone who reliably has hay so that I don't have to scramble to find some stranger on marketplace every time. I used to get a month's worth at a time, but now I get 3 months' worth at a time, and I'm about to start getting 6 months' worth just to avoid the stress of trying to order and taking out the money and hoping the weather holds out while I use my little truck to make like 10 trips to move it all out to where I can store it.

First cut went up to $10 a bale this year, not counting delivery, and now even securing delivery from my regular person is harder and harder. I've been reaching out with a month or more of hay left to make sure I can make it until they can come out. I feel like I have to follow up more each time before they actually come out. And I help stack and I tip, so I don't think it's a problem with me.

I just kind of came here to rant and see if anyone else struggles with this. Having enough hay is a huge stressor in my life. Once I get down to like 20 bales, I start to get worried. I have to set up an automatic text to send to the hay guy when I won't be thinking about it because othwerwise I'm starting to get too anxious to reach out. I feel like my life with my horse just revolves around making sure there is hay. Sometimes I even consider selling her so I can just breathe, but I had a bad experience last time I sold a horse, and selling would be like me officially giving up on the life I thought I'd have as an adult. Has anyone else ever been in this kind of predicament?

Hey all! I’m new to this sub but am seeking advice! I rode horses for 9 years before having to move to college, and the first year I did miss it but it didn’t weigh on me very much. However, just before moving for my second year of Uni I had to put my horse of 4 years down. Now more than ever I am missing both him and the sport. Unfortunately it would be incredibly difficult to get back into riding while in school for financial and logistical reasons. Does anyone have any recommendations for hobbies that are similar to the rush of competing gymkhana, but aren’t going to cost two arms and a leg?

My daughter has been showing at a schooling show series for 4 years. They run a 5 show series from October to March and last weekend was the first of the 2026-2027 series. She has shown in showmanship and riding classes. The riding classes she's gone from walking only (even in the walk/trot classes) to going out and just absolutely nailing the walk/trot. She wants to do walk/trot/canter but because she's 10 she's not allowed. In the showmanship classes she's gone from barely remembering the pattern to having it nailed down as we're finishing up helping her get ready. She had just finished getting herself ready and I was switching the halter when my friend captured this picture. And to me this just shows it all. I am so incredibly proud of her.

i rode all throughout my childhood before quitting in high school, but now I’m getting back into riding! i can’t ride super often so i supplement with insta/youtube and i’ve noticed that everyone online rides in tall boots now? i just have a pair of paddock boots, and i might get half chaps, but when i was younger tall boots were only for my IEA shows.

wearing tall boots in a lesson is so foreign to me, im wondering if the culture has shifted or its just a internet thing. one woman bought tall boots after just 4 lessons. they’re so expensive and uncomfortable to break in why would you do that to yourself 😅

maybe we were just broke lol, i’ve been out of it for 7-8 years.

With our local weather it gets cold and wet. It was 40 today but so moist when I went out this morning to check my horses both were soaked and shivering. Both my shoulders are bad, normally I towel dry and use fleece coolers but it takes HOURS. And i obviously won’t blanket wet horses. I have never used a horse dryer, I know no one who does. But tomorrow I’m picking up a used heater horse blow dryer. I don’t know what the horses will think of it. Am I nuts or is this a good idea lmao? We’re expecting a gnarly winter and I’m having major hip surgery that’s leaving me non weight bearing for 3 months in a few weeks so someone else is going to need to be able to dry and blanket my horses and towel drying is just a bitch. I figure it would be good for that too. It’s a Circuiteer II Hot Blower-Dryer at a terrific price. Someone give me the good bad and ugly lol! I do feel a bit crazy.

Last November I purchased a sight unseen 4 year old OTTB by the recommendation of my trainer at the time. I had been riding for about 12 years and took a huge 5 year gap and came back to riding for about 4 months. Looking back this was not the best choice for me, although I am a good rider he is/was so green. I was trusting the judgement of my trainer and was so excited to be buying a horse I sort of ignored the red flags in the situation.

All that said, the horse arrived and while he really is a good boy he is incredibly green and was barely restarted/maybe only jumped a few fences. I lost basically all my confidence due to just being anxious mixed with my old trainer pushing both of us way too hard

Fast forward to June of this year I moved to a new barn and new trainer who told us we definitely need to step back to rebuild confidence in us both. It is going well and he’s made so much progress and his flat work is really coming along well. Jumping is hit or miss. He does well trotting jumps but rushes the canter jumps and can get crazy heavy on the forehand. So my trainer suggested I start riding an older horse at the barn to give me a chance to work on myself and figure out my jump position. The older horse is a lovely 16 year old OTTB who has really transformed my riding and I’m starting to have fun riding again.

My trainer had a conversation with me about what I want in riding and what training would look like with my now 5 year old horse. When I bought him I wasn’t as informed as I should have been with bringing along a young horse nor do I really have the skill to do it well, although this young horse is very sane and safe it’s going to take a while to really get him going. So she suggested maybe buying the older horse I’m riding (he’s for sale) and selling my younger horse.

At what point do you say this isn’t what I thought I signed up for and find your horse a home he needs? I’m really emotionally attached to him he’s so sweet and such a good boy but in reality I’m quite inadequate for him. He also has a track injury that will limit him on how high he can jump. I feel like such a bad person for wanting to sell him and buy the older horse that is helping me so much and I’m having fun on. There’s so much shame and guilt around selling horses and I’m feeling that. Advice?

I fell… well got bucked off a horse today and landed on my foot…. Ended up breaking my lateral tibial plateau fracture. A lot of the time surgery is required and other ligaments like acl, meniscus etc get messed up. Won’t know forsure yet. How do I remain hopeful? I was finally getting back into riding and doing a working student position…. Found other ones to add to my schedule. Life was finally better. Now I just feel really lost. Horses helped me regulate mentally and gave me a purpose and yeah. Also I’m nervous about eventually going back as well because I wasn’t able to get back on. So getting over that anxiety? Has anyone been through that?

This poor baby had to go to the clinic yesterday because it was moving strange and almost falling a lot. They found some issues with its cervical spine and spinal cord. Now time and medication have to show if this horse will be able to live a healthy life. So sad - it is such a pretty and friendyl baby!

Hi there, I’ve noticed my horse sometimes opens his mouth when I try to do a simple change or half halt in a line. He is currently in D ring double jointed snaffle with a peanut link.
A friend of mine suggested a Mullen mouth because all the movement might be upsetting him, so I’m going to try that but I was curious if everyone’s thoughts on how we could make him more comfy.
He is an ex-barrel horse and still can sometimes be a little strong so I still need some sort of brakes, also we show hunters so it would have to be legal for that!
I added a video as an example of when he opens his mouth in the line, when I do a simple change, and he opens his mouth a little toward the last jump as well.
I do keep his noseband loose and I’m not really interested in using a flash on him.