|
|
PythonPonyPalaces
MOD This Barn was viewed 214,565 times
Best Rank
1
| Best Jump
105"
| Winnings
1,979,924,428
|
|
|
|
|
PonyBox News Trending
It all started around November 2011 – I couldn’t tell you what caused it. Sometimes there is no cause – young horses are constantly going through phases, which are seldom triggered by anything at all – and this was just ...
10,483 Unique Views
|
|
|
It may sound surprising to say, but ‘showjumping’ is actually not all about ‘jumping’. When faced with a big course of jumps, the horse’s physical jump can only take it so far. What matters is what happens between the jumps; balance, impulsion, adjustability, and the overall qual ...
|
|
‘He wouldn’t hurt a fly’, you say? Check again. That swishing tail attached to your darling’s perfect bottom is actually a weapon of mass destruction.
Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the corpses of all his defenceless fly-victims lying in the dirt. If they’re not there, ...
|
|
The next day was what we’d all been waiting for: Cross country. As a 90cm entry, Finola was first to go, and with air-cooled eventing boots on her legs and the rubber Pelham in her mouth, she warmed up like a spring-loaded jack in the box, ready to burst out onto the course at an ...
|
|
I had two mounts at this show: My own horse, Finola, doing her first 90cm event, and a client’s horse, Pride, in her second event at 70cm.
Pride is a five year old mare, Appaloosa cross Warmblood, who I have been training for a few months. She was coming from her first event ...
|
|
Saddle fitters are the main reason that I have trust issues, and I know I’m not the only one. When it comes to saddle fitting, the best advice I can give you is this: Trust no one, not even yourself.
Unfortunately for us ignorant riders, saddle fitting is an art. Even qualifie ...
|
|
Now, as this series has taught us, it really isn't possible to completely ‘prevent’ back pain in horses. Any athlete – equine or otherwise – will take strain, and as riders, it is our responsibility to maintain the physical well-being of our horses (through the methods previously ...
|
|
Even though an infinite amount of reasons exist to ride a horse, I reduced this down to the top twenty reasons to ride a horse, as opposed to a dinosaur, flying saucer, or tap dancing polar bear.
#20 - A horse will almost never succumb to toilet humour. #19 - Unlike their ride ...
|
|
Mares are wonderful, amazing creatures. Although usually less ‘flashy’ than their male counterparts, it’s a well-known fact that mares frequently offer double the performance, and often put in twice the effort. Mares simply try harder, and this is what we, as horse people, love a ...
|
|
We now know how to identify and diagnose back pain in horses, but once you know what the problem is, what are you supposed to do about it? Luckily, there are a number of treatment options available to horses with sore backs, be it soft tissue injury, or a bone pathology problem. ...
|
|
As mentioned before, back pain in horses is shockingly common; in fact most horses – even the soundest of them – are likely to be experiencing at least a small degree of back pain simply from the strain of hard work. The rider’s job is to identify the signs of pain in the horse, ...
|
|
A horse with a sore back can react in a number of different ways, each varying vastly depending on the nature of the horse and the intensity of the pain. Time and again, when told of a horse that is acting even slightly out of the ordinary, the go-to response of any horseperson w ...
|
|
Believe it or not, an ill-fitting saddle is not the only cause of back pain in horses, although it is the leading one. Back pain can be caused by a number of different things. The following are a few prime examples. A rider who sits skew – as so many of us do – can cause the hors ...
|
|
When it comes to selecting a saddle, any knowledgeable horse person will tell you that this is a task not to be taken lightly. The fit of a saddle can make or break a horse’s performance, and a poorly fitting one can cause severe injuries to a horse over time. Choosing a saddle i ...
|
|
Have you ever ripped the head off one doll to pop it onto another, or forced a puzzle piece to fit where it doesn't belong? We all know the feeling, looking at something so familiar; yet thinking ‘that doesn't look right’. That is the feeling I get when I see somebody else on my ...
|
|
This part of ‘The Bit Dictionary’ explores numerous common mouthpieces found in snaffle bits. Finding the correct mouthpiece, along with the correct action, is of the utmost importance to the horse’s comfort and performance. This list shows a number of options of mouthpieces comm ...
|
|
The following is a list of various popular snaffles, how they work, and for what purpose they are best used. This article explored only the sides of the bits, and not the mouthpieces. The action of any bit becomes very different based on what mouthpiece is used. Read on in the ne ...
|
|
When it comes to bitting, you always want to go with the softest option possible. A horse’s mouth is extremely important, and you want to keep it soft so that you have a clear connection with your horse, and can use light, subtle aids. Anybody who has once ridden a school pony ca ...
|
|
This article serves to handle that one part of every dressage test that I – and most riders I know – dread with all our hearts. I’m sure you know the feeling. The stunning rhythmic trot, the perfect square halt (And here you start thinking ‘Yeah! Show me those eights!), and then ...
|
|
This article was inspired by my own fantastic event horse, Bronze, who – like most eventers – is eating a lot of high-energy food, and doing a lot of work. Basically, Bronze is a machine, and his main operating function is to bear down on a course of big, solid jumps like a freig ...
|
|
I recently noticed this magnificent article pop up on Ponybox asking whether or not I wear makeup to the barn. I don’t see that it’s any of the article’s business, but I’m going to answer the question anyway. I do not, and in this article, I’m going to address exactly why.
Fir ...
|
|
The weekend of April 20th saw my official showjumping debut for 2013. Since the South African Junior Championships in December, my horses were given a well deserved holiday, before slowly building back up to competition standard.
Finola already had one jumping show under her ...
Related PonyBox News Articles:
|
|
The weekend of April 20th saw my official showjumping debut for 2013. Since the South African Junior Championships in December, my horses were given a well deserved holiday, before slowly building back up to competition standard.
Finola already had one jumping show under her ...
Related PonyBox News Articles:
|
|
Foolproofing is a task so impossibly difficult that it often evades even the most brilliant minds of our time! You see, in order to foolproof a horse, a person must endure incomprehensible suffering, and take on tasks so impossibly difficult that they’ll have you sweating from th ...
|
|
Have you ever gone horse boot shopping, walked into the tack store, and found yourself bombarded by so many different kinds of boots that you’re just about ready to run for your life and put your poor horse in Crocs instead? Well, if not, then you’re clearly not doing your boot s ...
|
|
A trakehner is a type of cross country jump consisting of a pole suspended over a ditch. These jumps often prove a huge problem, especially for up and coming eventers, simply because of the intimidating nature of the fence. When riding into a trakehner, it is difficult not to thi ...
|
|
An arrowhead is a type of skinny built in a triangular shape, so that the horse must jump from the narrow point of the arrow over the wider end. Arrowheads can be particularly tricky jumps for riders, because the point of the arrow draws in the rider’s eye, and this is so narrow ...
|
|
In this article, I will be explaining to you how best to ride your cross country course between the fences. Keep your eyes peeled for part two, which will look more closely at how to ride each individual type of fence.
In cross country, one of the biggest challenges is always ...
|
|
It has recently come to my attention that my horse, Moony, is exhibiting certain qualities that some may class as ‘vampiric’. In fear of an outbreak of equine vampires, I have decided to write this article to raise awareness. If you suspect that your horse may be a vampire, watch ...
|
|
We all know how harmful bullying can be in real life. Correct me if I’m wrong, but... Isn't that the reason a whole lot of us are escaping here to the Internet in the first place? Don’t look at me like that, you know I’m right. Anyway, this is the Internet, and on the Internet, a ...
|
|
The question I pose to you today is a sensitive one, but one that all of us will inevitably face at some point in our riding careers: when is it okay to quit?
Those of you who know me will know that I’m a firm believer in a ‘never say die’ and ‘never give up’ kind of attitude. ...
|
|
|
|
|