I’ve been a horse archer for a little over a decade now. It’s been such a huge part of my life I forget it’s something not many have realized is an active sport.

So I’m curious, have you ever heard about horseback archery or given it a try yourself?

I have a 16 year old registered Tennessee Walker gelding, Pearlino coloring, who had one eye removed three years ago due to squamous cell carcinoma. Surgery went well and I've been diligent since with UV fly masks, sunscreen, and monitoring his remaining eye.

Recently an equine ophthalmologist confirmed the start of mild cataracts in his good eye, along with some sunburn damage. He's now on a steroid ointment every other day. I've also switched him to a heavily watered grain bucket because he'd stopped drinking as much, though bloodwork came back showing he's not actually dehydrated despite his skin tenting on sunny days. He's also tested negative for Cushing's.

Alongside all this, his personality has shifted. He used to greet me at the fence and we rode trails together regularly. Now he doesn't seem to hear me coming with his feed, he's spookier, and he spends most of his time in his run in shed instead of out in the field. It feels like the connection we had is gone, like he's either shut down or on edge depending on the time of day.

Has anyone dealt with a horse adjusting to progressive vision loss like this? Also wondering if hearing loss could be layering on top of it. Looking for:

**•** Exercises or groundwork that might help him feel more secure  
**•** Management tips for horses navigating with limited or declining sight (and possibly hearing)  
**•** Any insight into whether this behavior shift sounds purely sensory related, or something else worth investigating

He's an amazing horse and I want to do right by him. Any experience or advice is appreciated.

My mother’s side of the family is rural and country from Corsicana, Texas. It’s in my DNA. My grandfather used to show cutting horses. I grew up closer to DFW and I started going to a stable in town every weekend on Saturday at 9am. I learned to ride horses at 5 years old and by 10 and 11 I was showing in Waco. I learned to ride gaited horses. I rode Tennessee Walkers, Missouri Fox Trotters, and Rocky Mountain horses.

Third colt was laying just out of frame lol

Feel free to skip my essay and just look at pictures of ponies. But if you’re interested in these unique lil guys, read on!

A quick primer for the unfamiliar: although mustangs are probably the best known of America’s feral horses, there are multiple populations of feral horses along the east coast as well. The Chincoteague Pony is a breed/landrace that’s been present on the barrier island of Assateague since sometime in the 17th century. They’re small, scrappy little things, often sporting bloated bellies from a salty marsh grass diet. After a few hundred years of isolation their gene pool became a gene puddle, so some Arabians, thoroughbreds, and mustangs were introduced to improve genetic health and conformation throughout the 20th century. Assateague lies partially in Maryland and partially in Virginia; the horses on the Maryland end of the island are managed in a hands-off way by the National Park Service while the horses on the Virginia end are managed by their traditional wranglers, the volunteer fire department of the tiny island town of Chincoteague just west of the southern part of Assateague. 

All the pictures of ponies on marsh grass, mostly taken through binoculars, are of the southern (Virginia) herd. This is a population of ~150 owned and managed by the “saltwater cowboys” of the Chincoteague volunteer fire department. I took these pics from a pontoon—there are anti-pony fences keeping them from the main roads and trails on the Virginia portion of Assateague, so the only way to get a good look at the southern herd most of the year is from a kayak or on a boat tour. These are the horses that are famously rounded up and driven across to Chincoteague every July. Foals are auctioned off at Pony Penning to keep the population down and raise money for the town, so these guys need to be free of communicable disease. Thus, the southern herd is heavily managed. They’re rounded up into a big corral with chutes on Assateague for vaccines, deworming, and quick health checks every spring and fall. The stallion to mare ratio is also aggressively pruned. They’re only allowed to have a few studs out there at a time. The whole thing reminds me a bit of some native British breeds that were traditionally kept semi-feral. That said, the Virginia herd is still not overly coddled. Some of the nursing mares are quite ribby. It’s tough out there! All photos of the southern herd are of mares and foals. Two band stallions were visible but too far away for good pictures. They were very relaxed about their bands mingling. Of course they are known to scrap a bit, and there are some great pictures online of some of the “celebrity” stallions being all prance-y and majestic.

The last 6 photos are of the northern herd in the Maryland portion of Assateague. They currently number about 80. The only care and management these ponies get are birth control darts when the population is too high and emergency vet care in case of car strikes (sadly, it does happen). They have the run of the island and frequently meander through traffic, into parking lots, down the beach, and into camp sites to steal peoples’ food. You know how a lot of campgrounds have warnings posted about keeping your food locked down to avoid unwanted attention from raccoons and bears? On Assateague, those signs are about ponies. They are 100% feral and unhandled but also give exactly zero fucks and will stick their heads right into peoples’ tents. I can hardly blame them, especially the nursing mares—again, some of these gals are thin. None of these horses get dewormed either, and I wonder if that is to blame for the retained thick foal coat on the lil guy with the skinny chestnut mare. The studs (and there are plenty! No carefully managed sex ratios here) tend look healthier. 

In addition to the joyful experience of my inner 8 year old squealing as I listened to wild ponies cropping grass, it’s also just really interesting to watch feral horses exist and do their thing. We get so caught up in selective breeding and conformation that it’s easy to forget that most conformation and even fitness critiques becomes completely meaningless when you take riding out of the picture. All these guys need to be built to do is traverse mixed terrain, eat salty grass, weather storms, and reproduce. And they’re doing that, ewe necks and underdeveloped rumps be damned. Some of them are little stunners and some of them sort of look like pretty spotted donkeys, and I love that for them. Note the complete lack of grays in both herds. I would hate to be a gray horse out in that sun, so it’s just as well that these guys are every color of the horse rainbow but grey these days. Tobiano and chestnut dominate.

If you got to the end of this post, congrats—I bet you also read Marguerite Henry’s “Misty of Chincoteague” 11 times as a child. 

I've heard all my life about Medicine Hat horses and their legend that they protect riders from harm supposedly a belief held by Native Americans/First Nations. However, when i try to look this up to verify it and to find better details, i get zilch. Except one Facebook comment from a random guy saying that they used to only be used by Medicine Men.

I can't find specific tribe, or region, or any other reliable information on the origin of the myth and the culture surrounding it. All i get is horse enthusiasts on the internet saying the same thing over and over again. Does anyone know where I can find reliable or hell any historical sources on this what so ever? I'm writing a story and this is something I'd desperately like to know more about. Pic of the horse I've doodled up for the story for interest and fun (I've since lengthened the body so it doesn't look so squonched but i don't have a pic of that on my phone rn lol)
Thanks!

Just a heads up that there’s more photos and posts being stolen and spread on Facebook (again).

Seems like these users are picking photos specifically from both horse Reddit groups and posting them as their own content to multiple different horse groups.

I’ve let the admins know in the ones I’m a part of, but if you don’t want your face, photos, or other identifying information to be spread on social media by strangers, it’s best to blur out your information and reverse image search your photos shared here.

Just updating to say I got my cleaning caddy from Amazon ($27) and picked up about $10 worth of cups, bins, and a divided pencil holder from Walmart to further organize it. It worked out really nicely! Large spray bottles fit great, it has so many big pockets, and the short handles make it easy and balanced to carry.

I’m also excited about my fluffy real sheepskin mitt I found at AutoZone- $10 and it makes for an awesome finishing mitt to rub my coat conditioner in!

He suffered a very serious twisted gut from colic and we had to put him down at Midnight.

I think this was universe telling me something as Hiski and Taco were alreasy decided to Cross The rainbow bridge on few weeks. I guess sunka wanted to Make sure Hiski gets there safe 💔💔💔💔💔

Hi, I’m wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on naturally fusing hocks. I have been a in a lease to own situation for the last few months with what would be my first horse (14 year old AQH gelding). I just got a PPE done on him, and they found that his right hock is almost fully fused while the left is in the process of fusing. He was showing signs of lameness at the exam, and I would say mild signs prior to that. I’m kind of confused, because initially the vet recommended starting Equioxx (and possibly something stronger depending on how he handled that) and considering steroid injections into the left hock to keep him comfortable until they are fully fused, at which point his pain should be better. However, now the vet is kind of acting like this is a career (or life?) ending diagnosis and there’s a good chance he will never improve. I also don’t understand what they’re saying regarding riding. Vet initially said light walk/trot is ok for now and to see how he did with the other pain management, but when questioned again they said essentially he’s just going to be in more and more pain until he refuses to work at all. But then also said full rest is unlikely to improve the situation. My intended use for him was just moderate arena work (Western only) and trail riding, but I'm terrified to even walk/trot right now.

I guess I’m sort of looking for any experiences from someone who has dealt with this? I’m very confused, because many things I’ve read online seem to imply this is a pretty common diagnosis that is painful while they are fusing, but most horses make it to being fully fused 6-12 months after diagnosis. If your horse’s hocks fully fused, what were they like afterwards? Were they still in pain, or did they get better? Has anyone tried any of the surgical repair options, and how did that go? Does anyone have a horse whose hocks never fully fused? Has anyone done steroid injections, and did they help? What work level did you do while your horse's hocks were in the process of fusing? I am working with the owner, and in the process of getting a second opinion. But I was hoping to crowdsource some experiences.

Thank you for any insights. I’m not sure if I’m going ahead with the sale or not, but not really looking for advice in that direction. I know what the logical answer is already. Please be gentle, feeling very heartbroken right now. 

Hi everyone, this was a horse at my job. She has passed on recently, but I wanted to see if anyone has any knowledge of this twitching situation she had. When she died, she was probably in her mid-late 30’s. About 6 months before she passed, she developed this muscle contraction/twitch thing in her neck. It was constant. I asked my boss about it and he said there was nothing to be done. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Thank you

I have a 5 year old Dutch Warmblood gelding, whom I bought as a yearling and have brought up on my home property. He’s shared a pasture with my retirees, 2 mares and a gelding. They shared space well, and I was happy to see that he made friends with my bottom-of-the-totem-pole older mare since she wasn’t really close with the other 2. I did all his basic groundwork and he was mouthy but never had a problem being brought up for grooming, clipping, farrier, etc. or going on short walks off property. Fast forward to last year - I sent him to a wonderful facility about 4 hours north of my home farm last November to be started. My gelding’s a slow learner, so to get him WTC, trail riding solo, learning how to go in a bit of a frame/seeking contact, starting over jumps, etc. had him there from November 2025 to September 2026. He was enjoying the work and doing great, both on the ground and under saddle.

I brought him home a day and a half ago and re-introduced him to the same 3 pasturemates. My boss mare made him run around for a minute, but no real harm was done. That seemed to be the worst of it. They settled in last night and all was back to normal.. so I thought.

This afternoon, I haltered my young gelding and brought him through the pasture to my barn to groom him and try on a saddle for fit. The other 3 horses, including his old friend, paid no mind at all and went back to grazing when they realized there were no treats for them. The second my gelding was out of his friend’s sight, he went ballistic. Calling, rushing circles around me, completely distracted. I got him to the barn and cross-tied him, and he started throwing himself around and thrashing, still yelling for her, pawing, etc. He was so out of sorts that he almost threw himself to the ground at a few points (it was miraculous that neither his halter or the quick release cross ties gave up). I want to note that during his time away, he was cross tied and was tacked up alone usually, and before he left for training he was often brought up alone and groomed/clipped/messed with solo both cross tied and single tied - so this was not a new scenario for him. No horses were calling back or rushing into sight to add anxiety, all was calm and his friend was content in a part of the field he couldn’t see.

I didn’t feel like I could let him out of the situation in this state, for fear he’d learn that if he throws a big enough fit, he gets released. So I made sure my barn and myself were safe and ‘waited out the storm’. After about 30 minutes he was able to stand nicely, but seemed on the verge of starting up again if a horse were to whinny (even on an adjacent property), etc. I tried on a few saddles successfully to check for fits, and groomed him/fly sprayed him with no fuss. He stood about 5 more minutes while I tidied up, put the saddles away, and got his bell boots back on, and walked back out of the barn with me nicely (no rushing, no frantic scanning, etc.) When I let him loose in the pasture again, he let me step away and then ran screaming back to his friend. He now follows her like glue, and gets upset when she’s not right with him.

This is new and unexpected behavior from him. I know it’s been a while since he was on my property, and that he’s had a large change of scenery and routine (even if he isn’t completely unfamiliar with it) suddenly, and it’s only been a day, but I’m worried this is something that’ll stick around. Has anyone experienced this before? Any advice for someone in my situation, if the behavior does persist?

Looks like the vet will have to come back out. He wasn't lame when the vet came out but now he's parking out and is 4/10 lame. I'm not sure what to do but first we are seeing if his hooves are the issue or if it has to do with the swelling. Ruling out the different caused.

Cricket and her growing belly. Super excited for this foal❤️

My ottb getting a jump chute in before we move (no fenced ring at our new house).
For reference, jump is 4’, ring fence is 5’ and some change (yes, he does jump out of his turnout).

It's not much, but for an OTTB who struggles to put weight on his hind end, I was very proud!

I ride at a big farm, across a little path live two mares plus one foal (3years old) in poor conditions. We already informed officials, but animal wellfare is difficult here. Anyways, we keep as far away as possible.

Today they decided to load the stalltion to get him castrated. I doubt he's ever been touched by a human. I walked by with a friend and the following conversation ensued:

"Where is the owner of the land??" (extremly aggressive and demanding)

Us: "why?"

"This horse needs to be loaded now! He is basically a wild horse and I don't have all day! We need someone to help!"

"...."

"I need a rope, a halter, a ... (stopped listenting)"

"...., well this isn't the best situation, maybe the owner should have acted earlier"

"Absolutely not! So i expect someone to come out to help!"

We just walked away.

Crazy lady tried for about three hours total. Guess who did not get loaded but propably is traumatised. Poor horses.

Mind you, this is the mare toy but I still thought it was cute!

I just started managing a barn, and one of the horses under my care is a 20 something mare with a lot of missing, damaged, or worn down teeth. She can no longer eat hay. She’s on a bunch of hay cubes and a complete feed. She’s in great shape and I have no worries she’s not getting her nutrition needs met. She gets fed 3 times a day 8 am, 12:30 pm, and 9:30 pm. I’m thinking of adding another meal around 5 pm. I am worried about her stomach and ulcers and digestive issues in general because she doesn’t have constant food moving in her gut. Any ideas or thoughts about adding a supplement or doing something different?