Horsemanship Journal Library

Breeding your own foal is understandably an attractive proposition. You know the mare, and as it’s generally thought that 60% of the foal (temperament, conformation, etc.) comes from the mare, this seems like a good way forward. However, it’s not a cheap way of getting your next horse.

There are two main things that a horse will innately do to alleviate any pressure. They will either do what they think you are asking them to do, or what they feel they need to do to survive.

Western pleasure - is there cause for concern or is it all a fuss about nothing?

It starts with a guy recording a Western Pleasure class at Congress on his phone; he uploads it to Facebook. Before long, the footage is being shared worldwide. Why? Because the western pleasure class, it seems, is scrutinised more than any other western riding discipline. 

Having followed the social media flurry of comments in 2017, we decided to ask Western Horse UK readers what they thought. 

The results are certainly interesting but first let's be clear this isn't the most scientific study, 70 respondents are not representative of the feelings of the whole western community in the UK. There is likely to be some bias, as those most passionate about a subject are more likely to take the time to respond to a survey.