When deciding to go for a trail ride there is one important safety practice that is often overlooked. When riding in a group you should always keep at least one horse length between horses on the trail. Here's a story to illustrate my point. Learning from our mistakes A group of us were planning a […]

Note from HST Editor: While there are a variety of ways to protect America's Horses please keep in mind there is more than one way. This is one avenue. The issue of old, neglected horses is very sad. Do your part to help keep our Horses safe. ~ Karen Pickering America's horses need our protection. […]

Horse Safety is of utmost importance. When we're around horses for a lifetime you learn to read the signs your horse is trying to communicate. If we can channel our youth to learning safety before they start handling and being around horses on their own, it's a win for them and the horse. We should […]

Horse Safety in the barn is an often overlooked item. I recently moved to Colorado from Washington. While I was transitioning between the move from Washington and Colorado, our friends in Colorado agreed to take my horses until we found a place of our own. It was an incredibly generous offer and my friend made […]

Do you have grumpy horses at feeding time? You’ve just bought beautiful hay for your beloved horse. You groom him or her, love them and as soon as you bring his feed, he pins his ears or even shakes his head at you in a threatening manner. Now why would he do that? Some horses […]

Reduce the risk of taking an unnecessary fall from your horse Keeping your tack clean and oiled is one of the most important things you can do to stay safe in the saddle. It’s a task that we may avoid but consider what happens if an essential piece of gear breaks while riding or driving […]

Stay safe while loading and unloading your horse. It seems that horses either load easily or they don’t. I’ve had horses that climb the walls, paw, kick or pull back in the trailer. I usually try and find out ahead of time if a horse hauls well before loading them into my trailer. Another thing […]

Coming up on a horse can be a dangerous even if your horse isn’t aware of your presence. They cannot see directly behind and if you surprise them you may get yourself kicked. Obviously when working around horses the biggest concern is staying safe and not getting injured. Even a well-mannered, quiet horse can kick […]

They’re very small, nearly invisible. They hide in tree stumps, in trees, near trails, even on or under the trail. If you’ve ever encountered bees on a trail ride it cannot only be terrifying, but dangerous. I’ve only run across bees twice on a trail ride. Both times could have been devastating. The first time […]

Driving horses seemed to be the perfect alternative to riding when my mare, April, became too lame to ride much. I myself, suffering from a hip injury decided it was the perfect thing to do until I could resolve the painful issue of mounting and dismounting. I had a miniature horse so decided to put […]