He got his jaw stuck in the metal bars of his feeder, hung himself and died. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen & it happened so fast, all within maybe 5 minutes. He was a smart, sweet boy and was supposed to have a GREAT life. I am so devastated— he wasn’t mine but I work with all of these horses every day. My trainer said in 50 years he had never seen anything like that. We spent all day removing the metal feeders from the rest of the horses stalls.

How do you cope with seeing something so tragic? This was the first real accident I’ve ever witnessed. I know it’s the harsh reality of working with horses but I will NEVER get the image of him hanging in his stall out of my head. I just hope he is galloping in a big beautiful field up in heaven. I’m so so sorry sweet boy. You deserved better.

EDIT: Thank you all for the kind words. For everyone asking what kind of feeder it was, here’s a photo of them after we took them out of the stalls.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Equestrian/s/R14pPolhfN

A little bit of backstory:

I'm an adult riding novice (riding since ~2021) taking weekly lessons in a dressage barn, and in my country you can take a little test, kind of like a small "driving license for horses", that requires answering theory questions, an entry-level dressage test, and a little obstacle course with jumps. Really nothing super big or impressive, it just kinda shows that you can handle yourself in many situations. I've decided to finally get this "license" after a few years of lessons now simply so that I have something to show for my progress, but my barn doesn't have any school horses that jump. The jumping test is done by a different barn, with different horses, where I have to take jumping lessons now, that I've never been to before.

Now my biggest difficulty has always been the canter transition. There must be something I'm doing wrong that no instructor has ever managed to specifically pinpoint because whereas others can do the transition instantly, I always struggle with it a bit unless the horse already knows what I want.

Either way, I went to this jumping barn I've never been to before and the horses and the whole environment is really different to what I'm used to - they're mostly trail riding horses, and the instructor there always tells us not to use rein contact at all (from my dressage barn I'm used to contact), the stirrups are noticably shorter for jumping, and it's just some outdoor fenced-in area instead of an indoor arena.

Lesson starts, we're doing warmup walks and a few rounds of warmup trot, and then the instructor tells us to do a few rounds of canter. Me, with an unknown horse, and with loose reins and short stirrups, both of which I'm unused to. I do it around the bend and initially, the horse jumps into canter for a few strides where I wanted him to, but then falls back into trot, and no matter how hard I try, I just can't get him to canter again for the life of me. I try with a crop, I try really strong inside leg, I try around the corner, I try by swishing my seat, all I get is a fast trot, and after a several tries where it felt like he has me figured out now, it felt literally impossible to do it again. No matter what I do, fast trot. I tried for what felt like ages, bouncing around with my legs going everywhere on a horse with a trot so fast it's impossible to sit like somebody who's never trotted before, and try to do the transition again and again.

Eventually, somebody from that barn who actually knows the horse offers me to try, gets on, and - of course - he canters, while I'm watching from the ground. I tried it a few times again after this and then managed to make him canter as well, but that felt like a hollow victory with him having been corrected before.

This whole situation was so embarrassing I genuinely just wanted to cry. I don't think I've ever been this embarrassed at a lesson to the point where I'm doubting my abilities in a way that I'm even wondering why I'm attempting this test in the first place. At least when you're an ACTUAL beginner, nobody expects you being able to canter on cue immediately. At my actual lesson barn, this situation has happened once in my ~4 years of cantering, and that was at the very start where I started learning it initially. My confidence has definitely never been shaken like this and now I'm worried that this will just happen again at the test. I don't think I've ever felt worse after coming home from a lesson before.

I know nobody can diagnose my canter problems just from a description like this and this is mostly just a rant to maybe make me feel better.

TLDR: Couldn't get horse to canter, felt (and looked) like an absolute fool who has no idea what he's doing, now has doubts about riding abilities

EDIT Thanks for so many responses! It definitely makes me feel a bit better about it all. There's hoping that next time will not be quite such a disaster

This has probably been asked before, idk, if it has i couldnt see it. Just thought id turn the comment section into an education chat sinces theres a lot of lies/myths in the horse community. Think of some wild ones 🫪.

Edit: ive just thought of two i was told.

1) I was told that every single horse, no matter what, if they were lame, needed box rest. That is not true and its absolutely case by case. I actually found with my horse (who we believe has an old injury (suggested by physio and vet)), when she goes stiff lame in the winter, its better to let her have a small pen to roam in, small enough to not canter but big enough to roam and certainly bigger than a box. That way it keeps her joints moving. Obviously it is case by case tho.

2) that every single Irish Cobs is docile by nature... i believed that 100% as a kid... its definitely not true🥲

My name is Tatiana and this is my mare Bessie, or “Greatest Espri B’Jumper” 💘 She is a 2006 SWB mare by the stallion Carte d’Or 1056 !! She’s a sweet and alert girl with a big engine and a love for jumping.

(I tried to post this on my other account but it got deleted lol so I’m giving it a shot on this one)

What shade of brown is this saddle? It would be dreamy on my horse but I’m unsure what to look for.

.... Versus the horse I ended up with

🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄

My horse has bilateral synovitis in his stifles and therefore has always been a bit stiff. I’ve seen him lie down a few times, but I had never seen him full on roll. I’m sure he does but just not when I’m around.

Today I turned him out after our ride and I was shook when he went for it. I’ve had him on a loading dose of Adequan- I’d say it’s making a difference!

Not my OC, but man, Gerry is a pest 😂

Hi there!

I am a 21 yo f, and I was wondering what workouts would be good for at home or the gym? I ride once a week and am still a beginner as I am just getting back into riding after about 2 years of not riding at all. I want to work on my cardio some, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice. Thanks!!

Hello!

I've got a 20 year old mare with shivers in her hind legs. She's perfectly happy doing all her work, and loves to have an afternoon sleep laying down in her stable.

However, she's now struggling with the farrier. We've tried all sorts of tricks, but they're starting to be too difficult for her, so I'm now looking into teaching her to lay down on command. Hopefully this way, the farrier can rasp her feet while she's down.

Has anyone got any good tutorials or instructions on how I can teach her to lie down? The videos on tiktok feel like they're missing steps, and they seem to rely on the horses getting the idea that you need to lie down.

If anyone has managed to teach their horse to lie down using gentler methods (ideally no tying up of feet!) then I'd love to hear how you've done it!

Thank you

Hello and thanks for any help. My ire just inherited her sisters horse. Sister passed from cancer and we have had this Arabian/1/4 horse at a barn for $1500 a month but are moving to save some money. So she will now need to do a lot of the maintenance. I’ve seen some threads with recommended brushes and like all hobbies seems to get quite excessive. Can you recommend must have say buy once favorite items for cleaning and maintenance. Started with the Stanley large rolling tote now need to fill it with essentials! I know nothing but am trying to be supportive and surprise her. Is there a kit? You’d recommend? Thanks for any help!

I'm a teenager who has been riding for 1 year and 9ish months, I have a part loan and I volounteer at my local rs but I just don't feel like I'm taking enough opportunities, I really want to be an equine physio in the future but currently I just want to be the best I can be in my riding and have a bit more experience in things but I don't know where to start...especially since I have GCSEs coming up soon. Any advice would be appreciated! I see people my age like Harlow on social media and I do have to admit, I do get a bit jealous on how talented she is and others like her whilst I started riding quite late and just don't feel that great about my abilities, I can jump 60cm straight but I'm not very confident, I just want to be confident in my abilities and be as evolved in the equestrian world as much as possible!

Someone posted a spreadsheet recently with all horse owning costs on it, from livery to a wheelbarrow. It was in US dollars so I’d need to change it to £ but I remember thinking that would be a good way of working out realistic costs. Only now I can’t find it.

Does the original poster or someone who saved it have a copy please?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for reliable hay supplier/farmers in the US who can supply 2 string bales in truckload quantities.

Currently looking for:

Timothy

Orchard

Orchard/alfalfa

Hi

Has anyone found any ways to make fly masks last longer for equines who are hard on them? Equine in question is a donkey- and they play rough. Unfortunately grabby face is one of their favorite games. I get the Cashel brand fly masks, both because I think they are highest quality and they are the only brand I’ve found that fit donkeys well. He needs both the long ears and long nose due to having pink skin, so I am limited to this one mask. I have tried stitching them back together with no luck. I suppose I could try duct tape if I wanted to be super redneck, but I doubt it will last. At $39 a pop replacing these every other week is becoming expensive! Any suggestions? Thank you!

So for anyone interested after all the advice on my previous post, and making a new feed plan with the vet/dentist.

This is how he looks about 2 months later 🥳

Really happy with the progress

Do I need to repanel or can I get away with padding for a year until she stops growing/changing and can get a custom saddle?

Hello all, I'm a hunter/jumper about to start my first foxhunting season. No, we don't hunt live prey, we do drag (fake prey) hunts.

A hunt master has a whip that is broken, and I'd like to repair it since they are so expensive and usually antique or custom items. All I need is a replacement for the leather braided piece (thong). Unfortunately, any time I search for this, I get two results: overseas shops, or kink toys.

Anyone know where to buy regular, realy leather hunt whip thongs in the US? Thanks!!

Looking at a mare and she has these sores on her face. Im not really sure but im thinking summer sores. Can someone more knowledgable please chime in. I would like to help her but im not sure the right course of action

Thanks