by Nikki Alvin-Smith

Just because you keep your horse in the backyard doesn’t mean he, or you, are second rate equestrian citizens or equine caregivers. In fact, the horse you see every day because let’s face it, you have to care for him, is actually likely to be better monitored and understood than certain others. That being said, professionals rely on their equines to provide an income. Either through progression of training for sale or competition, or for horse breeding activities or a lesson program. Which is perhaps why they know that keeping horses in their charge fighting fit, is important. Let’s look at how everyone can achieve that goal.

Size Doesn’t Matter

It’s not about being an amateur rider or being a professional trainer or competitor. Obviously for the latter their idea of a backyard venue maybe a 20-stall barn with an indoor arena versus the true backyard horsekeeper managing everything on a few acres, small paddocks and a couple of ‘neds’ hanging out together in view of the kitchen window. A true professional horse person knows It’s all about heart, and about knowing your horse and being aware of minute changes in his well-being, no matter how many horses are in their care.

Catering to horses on an individual need basis is hard to do in a large group setting such as a high traffic competition barn or lesson facility. If you are managing your horses yourself rather than relying at least in some part on others, then as long as you know what to look for and how to fix it, your smaller facility offers distinct advantages. But what do you know?

Weighty Issues

A common concern for the ‘at home’ horse, is that of weight. Regardless of whether caused by metabolic disorder, age, or wrong diet, the horse that doesn’t get worked is going to get chubby. Some more than others of course. Similarly a horse may drop weight or have trouble keeping its weight at optimum levels, which can baffle the horse owner who is feeding the equine what they believe is necessary.

Just like humans, obesity is a concern for all sorts of reasons especially those assigned to health. And similar things apply. Exercising the horse, especially one with either/or limited turnout time or room to exercise in a small paddock, means setting a regular work schedule. But then of course, it can be tough to be disciplined enough to stick to it. 

A key issue for ‘home life’ horses is the owner’s time to focus on more than just the care side of horse management. Busy lives means that priorities sometimes become just getting the mainstay needs managed during the week and catching up on a free weekend. Free that is, unless family obligations or errands take precedence.

There are many ways to manage your time and find time to ride and exercise your horse. Here are some ideas to help you along.

For the horse that has difficulty maintaining a good weight, the resolution to its problem is not going to be adding more exercise to the program. So let’s head into the issues of diet.

Nutrition and Diet

To assuage guilt for not spending enough time working horses, folks often compromise and instead go to becoming a horse treat vending machine. Not the best idea. The nutritional aspects of what you provide for the horse that has less options due to restricted grazing, becomes extremely important in keeping him fighting fit. For the horse fighting to keep weight on the treats offer a distraction but are not going to solve basic issues that are obviously occurring that shortchange his well-being.

While a horse kept at home and enjoying a quiet life may be subject to less stress than one that is forever on a horse trailer and competing somewhere, or always being prepped and ‘peaked’ to be at top performance level, it is still important to ensure the well-being of the horse’s digestive system is addressed with pre/postbiotics and necessary supplementation.

Grain, extenders or dry forage alone, may cut it for a while, but eventually an imbalance is likely to occur. This can cause acute or chronic issues with the animal’s overall well-being, and offering the right support is a necessity.

Test your pastures. Test your grain. Test your forage. The reality is that much of the diet we think our horse is enjoying simply isn’t being taken up in its system due to imbalances, or we aren’t buying the quality products we think we are. Reach out for products that are at a minimum NASC labelled, because at least then you know the company’s manufacturing and business practices such as accurate labelling are being audited.

Remedial Learning

Just like us, every horse is different and every individual’s needs varies. Nothing is static and we need to keep abreast of the research that is always ongoing on the topic of horse care, the same way we likely do about horse training methods.

The better we understand illnesses and disease and how it might affect the horse’s microbiome for example, the better we can take remedial action once treatment is finished or during the course of treatment to help the horse recover. We are not vets, but we do need to take an advocate’s stance to some degree because we know the day-to-day horse and how he acts, behaves, and when something is wrong.

Be proactive and include some quality social media for a change – in the form of watching reels or videos from professionals in the realm of horse nutrition. Explanations should be simple and easy to follow. You are not in grad school. You’ll still have time to enjoy the rest of mass media. The right resource can definitely improve your knowledge and help you keep your horse fighting fit. And know when he truly isn’t.

Don’t rely on Facebook or other media ‘friend groups’ for answers unless they are a qualified source. There’s a lot of poor advice out there. A bit like the nonsense advice that when a hurricane is coming stick your valuables in the dishwasher to secure them from water damage, it can be hard to figure out what advice is good or bad when everyone seems to be jumping on a consensus and they are actually wrong. Keep your feet grounded in reality. Not speculation.

Grand Meadows Nick Hartog, has been involved in the supplement industry for decades, and I was thrilled to see his recent ‘short burst’ video series called Supplement Savvy. He has crafted it in small segments that makes the information easy to assimilate and he covers so much stuff, that even the most advanced trainers among us learn something new.

Nick Hartog tackles topics like EGUS {gastric ulcers} with a look at causative factors as well as remedial actions you can take to help support the ongoing well-being of your horses. If you haven’t already done so I urge you to check it out. You can find it under Grand Meadows media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Know the basics if nothing else. Nutrition can seem complicated but explained in the right way it’s actually very interesting and of course makes all the difference to every horse’s well-being.

About the Author

Nikki Alvin-Smith is a seasoned freelance writer who loves to share her lifelong experience with everything horse, rural lifestyle, and travel. Her works have been printed in more than two hundred fifty equestrian magazines worldwide and her published articles number in the thousands.

A Brit who has called New York home for more than 40 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her experience as an international level Grand Prix dressage competitor, coach, and worldwide clinician, with a youth spent showjumping and foxhunting, provides lots of educational truths and fun moments to share with the reader. Additionally, she has been a horse breeder and importer of Hanoverian, Dutch and Iberian horses for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul Alvin-Smith, who is also a Grand Prix rider, operates Willowview Hill Farm, an organic hay farm and private dressage yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York.

Visit nikkialvinsmithstudio.com or horseinakiltmedia.com to learn more.

by Nikki Alvin-Smith

If you own a horse that has suffered in the past with metabolic health issues and is seemingly recovered, then you are probably feeling a bit down about how to find a meaningful and affordable way to mitigate the chance of repeat incidents. Flare ups of equine health concerns such as laminitis, cause emotional anguish, inconvenient changes in routine, expensive vet bills for treatment and may sideline your equine partner from the life you hoped he’d live with you. Extreme weather changes cause extra health stress on the horse. Periods of extreme heat and humidity challenge even the healthiest of equines to stay fit and well. Regions of the country such as the Northeast U.S.A., have recorded their own record-breaking weather metrics. 

There are many proven methods to assuage the likelihood of flare ups of metabolic disease in the horse, pony, donkey, or mule, depending of course on the exact and correct diagnosis and degree of debilitation suffered. But there are also many ‘not so proven’ suggestions that do the rounds online making it hard for the concerned horse owner to discern what actions to take to protect their beloved equine’s good health.The usual recommended remedial actions for horse’s that suffer from Equine Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Dysregulation or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction, are extensive. Add in a horse that has suffered from laminitis induced by these diseases, and the list grows exponentially. The goal is always to avoid laminitis, though laminitis is not always caused by one of these metabolic melt downs. Tick-borne diseases such as Anaplasmosis, and other bacterial or viral infections, and poisoning, can often induce fevers, thus can all be causative factors in laminitis. Once an equine has suffered from a laminitis episode, he will be more prone to suffer a repeat incidence of the problem.

The list of actions often advised from our esteemed veterinary colleagues to mitigate or control laminitis is as long as the horse trailer packing list for a 3-day show and is likely to include: control a horse’s nutritional intake with turn out in dry paddocks free of forage; offer no turnout; adopt strict diets including limited grain intake; test all forage for non-structural carbohydrate levels (or NSC which is fructans, sugars and starches) so these may be restricted; treat hay or forage by soaking or steaming it to limit its nutritional value and lessen NSC presence; artful administration of ‘special’ supplements that often the horse does not wish to ingest; specifically designed shoeing protocols; application of protective soft hoof boots and deeply bedded stalls. One the one hand these recommendations may all make sense, but on hand they can compromise the equine’s health in other ways. Sidebar: And we all know it’s tough to manage obesity in Equus, which predisposes the equine to metabolic issues in the first place, if he cannot freely exercise himself or be longed or ridden.  

But over and above all that, what can you do to set your equine up for success to help support an optimal health status, given the metabolic concern that is hopefully correctly diagnosed at the outset? Perhaps to even to have your horse return to a more normal existence in due course post recovery and rehabilitation from an acute episode? 

The Answer Is Simpler Than You May Think

Consider the adoption of a two-pronged approach to help defray the upsets of metabolic disease and improve their management. Equines that are prone to laminitis flare-ups often experience some level of inflammation in the laminae of their hooves during any major blip in their insulin levels. Obviously building a good hoof structure is a good starting point for soundness. Correct trimming/shoeing practices and the right nutritional support mean at least the horse is starting off on the right hoof. Most horse owners are familiar with the ‘Holy Grail’ of ingredients that are recommended for use when feeding a hoof supplement, namely biotin, methionine, zinc, and copper. But to address the likelihood of slight inflammation in the hoof laminae that can occur during laminitis flareups, a formula that includes MSM is a good idea. Consider Grand Hoof Pellets that contain 5000 mg of MSM in addition to the four recommended constituents mentioned above, as a means to assuage the inflammation nemesis.

In addition, the use of the right postbiotic supplement can also aid the horse in maintaining his metabolic balance. How? Metabolic disease issues in the horse starts with inflammation, and this is caused by a rise in cytokines. What is a cytokine? Principally the cytokine is a chemical messenger protein in the immune system, that tells the body’s immune cells what to do and when. While there are several types of cytokines that regulate different cell functions, they are extremely important in the manner they message cells to boost inflammation when a threat is perceived such as a bacterial invader, or healing of damaged tissue is required. Cytokines can be pro-inflammatory types that trigger a boost in inflammation, or anti-inflammatory in nature that signal a reduction in inflammatory response. Bearing in mind that excessive immune responses will damage tissue, lowering the inflammatory cytokine activity that has gone awry is something that can help mitigate the health risks associated with the excessive inflammatory responses, such as we see in metabolic diseases. 

Sidebar: During the Covid pandemic, you probably heard of the virus causing a cytokine storm. This overwhelmingly occurred in people with compromised immune systems such as the elderly or sick (including those with diabetes or obesity concerns), and the results were devastating to witness. Excessive cytokine activity negatively affects many functions throughout the body. 

Anything that can be done to lower the level of these over-zealous inflammation messaging cytokines will thus benefit the overall health of the horse and reduce the inflammatory aspect of the metabolic upset.  Interestingly (though perhaps not surprisingly if you’ve done any research on postbiotics and their benefits), there is good research to show that horses fed the increasingly popular Grand Postbiotic show a statistical drop in cytokines when tested. 

Bear in mind that not all postbiotic products are created equal, so just throwing your money at anything on the market labelled postbiotic is not going to cut it. I’ll be delving into the subject of product integrity and postbiotic benefits in more detail in future blogs, so stay tuned. Including lots of other information on effective postbiotic ingredients and also the checks and balances to consider that will optimize the holistic approach to caring for our equine partners, including ways to save much money. But for now, be aware that the right supplement, one that has been proved to help lower the cytokine level that signals inflammation, is a good place to start. 

Set Your Horse Up For Success

If you can get ahead of the inflammatory flare ups and extinguish some of the nefarious unbalanced behavior going on in the metabolic upset or imbalance, then you can set your horse up for success. If you’ve ever had to stable a horse for months on end then you know how mind-blowingly hard it is to keep such a horse mentally stable and fit during the process. Remember those days and nights filled with following strict timelines to administer medications every few hours. The endless rituals of changing ice boots, and other equipment or topical applications to reduce symptoms of metabolic disease. Once you’ve witnessed first-hand the toll these and other treatment modalities inflict upon both horse and caregiver physically, emotionally and on the human side, financially, then you know how important preventing or controlling metabolic disease flare-ups is and appreciate any rational methods you can employ to help prevent them.

Obviously, simple solutions such as administering the Grand Hoof and Grand Postbiotic products aren’t going to bring the risk of flare-ups of laminitis in the horse to zero. Neither are they likely to completely control health issues caused by metabolic diseases. But doing every bit you can to help minimize any negative impact from metabolic disease and laminitis, however the latter is induced, makes sense. In my career as a horse breeder and Grand Prix international level competitor, I’ve had horses suffer from a variety of metabolic issues and sidelining a horse from living a ‘normal’ equine lifestyle and of reaching its full potential is heartbreaking. Each individual equine presents a different challenge to ensure it receives the best supportive and preventative health care protocols. The research into solving these issues is always ongoing, but if we can positively influence and thus improve a single aspect of a horse’s chance to stay healthy or get healthy, then as horse owners, we are all going to try. It’s reassuring to have more ‘tools’ in the toolbox to help us keep our horses as happy and healthy as possible. 

About the Author

Nikki Alvin-Smith is a seasoned freelance writer who loves to share her lifelong experience with everything horse, rural lifestyle, and travel. Her works have been printed in more than two hundred fifty equestrian magazines worldwide and her published articles number in the thousands.

A Brit who has called New York home for more than 40 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her experience as an international level Grand Prix dressage competitor, coach, and worldwide clinician, with a youth spent showjumping and foxhunting, provides lots of educational truths and fun moments to share with the reader. Additionally, she has been a horse breeder and importer of Hanoverian, Dutch and Iberian horses for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul Alvin-Smith, who is also a Grand Prix rider, operates Willowview Hill Farm, an organic hay farm and private dressage yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York.

Visit nikkialvinsmithstudio.com or horseinakiltmedia.com to learn more.

by Nikki Alvin-Smith

Through many decades of horse breeding, advanced level horse performance competition and training and worldwide clinician giving, I’ve learned that despite all our best efforts it seems that horses do best with an uncomplicated lifestyle. What do I mean by ‘do best’? Horses seem to stay healthier longer and do better both mentally and physically when they are not over-managed. The proverb: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” could even be applied in some instances I’ve seen during my travels where an over-zealous approach to horse care clearly results in a poor outcome for the animal. 

Most horse aficionados realize that Equus enjoy living in proximity to other members of their genus, and that good gut health and mental well-being can be achieved by allowing the wee critters access to good grazing and granting them freedom of movement. The need for dry forage options as well as grass, hoof and dental management and deworming/vaccination protocols do enter into the equation. Perhaps because I grew up in England, my viewpoint toward the more ‘down-to-earth’ approach in horse care (both figuratively and literally) was heavily influenced by how my horse career began. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by all manner of equestrian activity – from my toddler years sitting on a wall watching the ‘smithy’ that lived and worked at his forge outside his home three doors down at any opportunity, to teenage years living in the rich and verdant Buckinghamshire countryside that was awash with horses and a myriad of riding disciplines. 

Rural life offered a varied experience; horse shows and gymkhanas with my first riding partner, a donkey called Sage who lived until age 38 and riding borrowed neighbor’s ponies; riding prestige Grand Prix showjumpers under the watchful eye of a noted professional (who also trained the New Zealand team in their off-time from The Horse of the Year Show who arrived by helicopter every afternoon); and fitness training high energy foxhunting horses riding them for miles and miles on winding country lanes.

Horses were rarely bathed, grooming was the ‘de rigueur’ method for cleaning a horse and keeping it’s musculature and skin healthy. Hay harvests only happened once a year, when the seed heads were small and fine on the timothy stalks given the weather obliged. All hay bales were small and man-handled. Mother Nature was the only curator of the hay quality, aside from some Spring manure that was spread on the land, the packed mish-mash of bedding leftover from the cattle being kept inside barns during winter months. Amazingly despite the sincere high value of the horses, all were kept outside in a herd set up. If you wanted to ride you set off with your wellies on and navigated the usually muddy gateways to secure your beast that was required for riding and training activities. Admittedly the weather variances in England were not as extreme as I’ve come to know them in the U.S.A., but persistent rain and dampness levelled the playing field a bit regarding tendon/ligament injuries to horses that occurred during workouts or turnout shenanigans due to mud and poor footing, and arthritis was kept at bay mostly by the incessant movement of the horse in the large fields.

As I clambered up the equestrian ladder here in the U.S., and my husband and I (also a Grand Prix rider in dressage) began horse breeding and importation of breeding and performance stock, our attitudes and actions in horse care shifted to a more ‘hot house’ affair. Horses in training were turned out briefly each day and ridden twice or even three times a day for exercise; aside from breeding mares horses were kept in individual paddocks when turned out or hand-grazed in some cases as an alternative. Horse care became an intensive business. 

Various potions were secured to bathe the horses and keep them clean and replace the oils lost in their coats by the frequent washing; all manner of feed supplements found themselves into the feed room carefully lined up on a shelf and sealed, sheltered from heat and individually measured and fed to each equine; the vet was on constant call, proffering services for every field side technology and alternative therapists employed on a regular basis to provide massage and acupuncture treatments and other modalities. But it didn’t stop there. Holistic feeds and supplements were explored as adjunct treatments for perceived horse health and rider issues. Forage quality problems were discovered and attempts made to rectify with more feeding ideas. Sprays for insect control were implemented. Varietal clinics and intensive training retreats both home and abroad were taken throughout the year accessing the renowned masters of equestrian sport. It was a quest indeed.

But then another transition came – one also earnestly sought. The Hudson Valley location was surpassed by the place we now live in the tranquil Catskill Mountains of New York. And with it came a sincere change of heart. For all the efforts to keep our horses calm and collected, fit and well and on the top of their game or reaching their full potential, it seemed for every problem we thought we solved we created another one. We began to acknowledge that a simpler life wasn’t better just for us, but also for our horses. Perhaps it was the rise in popularity and sincere talent showcased by our British colleagues at the Olympic level and the way they kept their horses – or perhaps it was a final understanding of what had been hinted at countless times before during visits with iconic eventers such as Bruce Davidson or Ginny Holgate, or some of the German team members branching out to start keeping their performance horses at pasture. 

Whatever it was it had us pulling shoes off horses and learning how to barefoot hoof trim our equines, joining what was then just one other F.E.I. competitor that we knew of at the time to compete in that level on horses not wearing metal footwear. Our equines were put back together in appropriate herd situations and spent most of their time living outdoors. Footing in horse competition arenas became a hot topic internationally. Soon our field gateways and indoor and outdoor arenas were topped with special products to mitigate any mud issues or roll of material underfoot (though we still stuck with natural based products), and we began to home-produce hay following a Farmer’s Pledge employing organic growing and harvesting methods. And yes, the barrage of media promoting every ‘fix’ piece of horse tack was ignored. Bridlewear and simple bits (which actually we had always embraced), saddles and rider’s kits only contained items that made proper sense for horse and rider comfort. The feed room became less crowded with supplements, and a simple formula for supplementation was adopted based on real science. 

Thankfully the equine feed supplement industry underwent some much-needed changes too with monitoring of quality control and provenance of ingredients becoming possible thanks to the NASC, and supplements became better understood and formulated as a result. This allowed us to approach supplement feeding in a much more targeted manner. This meant we could save money as we came to realize that more was not better and advertising claims became less common. In fact we learned it was not beneficial to our horse program to simply follow the herd, buying highly-publicized brands as ‘leaders’ or go with attestations from people inspired by their high level of exposure to paid pharmaceutical sources, that limited our viewpoint. We could now better rely on our own research and understanding.

Hay and pasture and soils were tested for their bio-diversity and nutritional value. Feed rations for grain were cut down substantially, and a carefully formulated feed supplement was administered as a mineral/vitamin and prebiotic/postbiotic boost for the equines’ microbiome health when necessary. Vaccines were used with a judicial eye, and full-on grooming time and protocols were back instead of bath time except in extremely hot weather. The pure horse breeds we had been registering and developing for over 25 years were shelved for a mixed genetic approach, going from purebred Hanoverians to Dutch/TB/Percheron crosses, and finally Dutch/Andalusian/Lusitano designs. We had gone full circle. Riding/training and producing horses based on their abilities and virtues of the breeds, without prejudice to their brand or flavor. It was how we had begun our riding careers – it was all about the individual horse and the chemistry we could develop.

The take home message from these endeavors for us is clear. Our home-produced (proudly many from birth to Haute Ecole) horses have enjoyed great health and lived long and useful riding careers with minimal interruption of work due to injuries or medical concerns. They have been well-rounded animals that engaged happily with each other and with their human partners, whether on the ground or in the saddle. Willing and compliant, exuberant and happy critters that enjoy living life the way they probably should, as simply as possible. Perhaps that’s a good life lesson for us too.

Sometimes it’s good to step back and take a hard look at what we are doing and why – give it a shot. You may be surprised at what you discover.

About the Author

Nikki Alvin-Smith is a seasoned freelance writer who loves to share her lifelong experience with everything horse, rural lifestyle, and travel. Her works have been printed in more than two hundred fifty equestrian magazines worldwide and her published articles number in the thousands.

A Brit who has called New York home for more than 40 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her experience as an international level Grand Prix dressage competitor, coach, and worldwide clinician, with a youth spent showjumping and foxhunting, provides lots of educational truths and fun moments to share with the reader. Additionally, she has been a horse breeder and importer of Hanoverian, Dutch and Iberian horses for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul Alvin-Smith, who is also a Grand Prix rider, operates Willowview Hill Farm, an organic hay farm and private dressage yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York.

Visit nikkialvinsmithstudio.com or horseinakiltmedia.com to learn more.

by Nikki Alvin-Smith

Through my years of horse breeding and training and competing at advanced level competition, I’ve learned many methods to ensure that our vintage performance horses stay strong and healthy.

As most horse folks know, it always seems that just when you get your horse exactly to where he needs to be training wise, something errant happens that causes him to go off track and it can be hard to bring an older horse back to full strength.

Here are some tips to help you keep your ‘old horse active and useful into and through his vintage years, based on things I have learned.

The Start Matters

It’s normal practice for horses to be started at very young ages in the racehorse and Western world of equestrian practice and sadly the early start can do much damage to the horse and sincerely negatively affect its longevity and usefulness as a riding animal.  As a horse breeder for over 20 years I can attest to the notion that while you do want to get the young horse well-mannered and obedient from a young age with daily handling and short lessons on patience and good behavior, working them under saddle should not start too early.

Try to be patient with the work schedule and performance demands you make of your youngstock. Make sure the biomechanical development of the horse, such as closing of knee plates, spinal process growth and overall mental and physical elements are properly progressed before intensive training starts. Slow and steady gymnastic development truly does win the day.

A horse that is well-ridden all of its life, and carefully developed with good training, will usually last longer as an active riding partner than one that has been subjected to poor horsemanship either in the saddle or in its care. That being said the noble horse nature often shines in a particular horse, that seemingly will push through even the most devastating of injuries or human actions to come out the other side sane, sound and sensible. Horses are truly amazing wee beasties.

Age Is More Than A Number

It is critical that you don’t overlook the signs of aging as they appear in your horse. Age is more than a number indeed, and just because a horse is 10 years old or 20 years old, doesn’t mean that it will automatically follow a defined pattern of degradation. Genetic influences, workloads and exercise history, exposure to disease, illness or injury, stress and current fitness levels, and of course diet, all combine to contribute their part to the equation of age.

Be vigilant and look for classic signs of weight fluctuation, poor digestion, poor hoof, skin or dental conditions, joint soreness and metabolic changes.

Offer The Right Support

Changes in feed, supplements, forage and grazing will all likely be necessary as the horse ages up. The essential nutritional aspects of the equine diet will need to be addressed on an individual basis. Consider bloodwork checks, attentive farrier care, fecal worm counts, tack and equipment evaluations for fit and comfort, and a full veterinary check up on an annual basis to help stay ahead of any issues that may arise.

Today’s marketplace is chock full of varietal offerings to address the specific nutritional needs of the older horse. From joint supplements to digestive aids, there is a nose to tail solution for seemingly everything. Do your own research and don’t just rely on Google reviews or the local vet preference. Choose equine feed supplements that are properly formulated. Look for the NASC seal as a good starting point.

While an ‘all in one’ bucket solution may work for some horses, an older horse will likely have very specific issues that need to be addressed. Don’t fall into the trap of over-supplementing. Target the issue and address it with accuracy.

The horse’s immune system will falter as he ages, and boosting this with pre and postbiotic supplementation is generally recommended. Get involved with learning about the science-backed product lines and follow a logical protocol for your individual horse’s needs and be guided by science not by emotion in your decisions.

Walk Don’t Run

Older horses appreciate a good walk. It helps them to gradually loosen up stiff joints and muscles and cool down times after work are an important component in minimizing/removing lactic acid build up for any horse. As walking is so good for horses, if it is possible to offer regular hand grazing at shows/events and turnout when home, the horse will maintain much better mental and physical condition than one that is stabled for endless hours.

Useful Life Changes

If you own an advanced level competition horse there will inevitably come a time when your partner can no longer perform at the same level. A change of life in a show horse can be a challenge for it to adjust to and sticking it out in a field is not the best solution, unless it is medically necessary to abandon riding it altogether.

My husband (who is also a Grand Prix rider) and I, have trained many of our homebred and imported horses from birth to Grand Prix. While for some horses bringing them from our private yard as a show horse to a lesson horse under our supervision, it is not always a suitable transition for every horse.

Consider your horse as an individual. For some equines going from being ridden and trained on a daily basis by a rider that has subtle aids and knows what they are about, a horse that can operate on the lightest of aids, to being bamboozled around a ring by a neophyte rider, would be a disastrous experience.

As coaches/clinicians we fully realize the benefits that a schoolmaster horse can provide to a student. Funny enough, sometimes the complete neophyte rider is a better option to sit on a piaffe on a trained horse, than one that believes they already ride at a certain level and become overzealous in their actions and aids.

Earnestly evaluate your particular horse and it’s retirement options. One Grand Prix horse we made, Tiberio Lafite aka Tigger, could simply not be settled working under my husband without going full force forward trying his very hardest to work at maximum capacity, regardless of whether my husband asked him to do less. For Tigger it was best to simply not work him in an arena except for a slow walk up for exercise during inclement weather. As for him an arena meant going full throttle. But walking out on the trail he would be quite content. Though he was never going to be a beginner ride or be happy being ridden by someone without the all-important independent seat, Tigger went on as a riding horse well into his 25^th year and never had an unsound day in his life.

Every horse is different. Some horses will happily adjust to less work and a quieter life, while for others it will drive them quite mad. For all good reasons keeping your senior horse as active as possible for as long as possible is a sound idea. As long as his comfort level can be properly maintained.

Refresh and Renovate

It is smart to re-evaluate your senior horse’s needs regularly and to refresh your ideas and renovate the program for work and care of ‘this old horse’. Always pay attention to what your horse is telling you – don’t assume misbehavior or bad behavior stem from a miscreant intent, but rather that something is making your equine partner less comfortable than usual.

In the care and management of an older horse, ignorance is not bliss. Well – not for long anyway.

About the Author

Nikki Alvin-Smith is a seasoned freelance writer who loves to share her lifelong experience with everything horse, rural lifestyle, and travel. Her works have been printed in more than two hundred fifty equestrian magazines worldwide and her published articles number in the thousands.

A Brit who has called New York home for more than 40 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her experience as an international level Grand Prix dressage competitor, coach, and worldwide clinician, with a youth spent showjumping and foxhunting, provides lots of educational truths and fun moments to share with the reader. Additionally, she has been a horse breeder and importer of Hanoverian, Dutch and Iberian horses for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul Alvin-Smith, who is also a Grand Prix rider, operates Willowview Hill Farm, an organic hay farm and private dressage yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York.

Visit nikkialvinsmithstudio.com or horseinakiltmedia.com to learn more.