Sport Psychology For Horse Riders

I saw this video earlier and found it interesting so thought I would link to it on here! It is about the use of sport psychology in dressage and how it has helped one rider in her performances. I found it quite interesting and might look into this more in future posts as I enjoy psychology.

Sorry I haven't been posting very much but I have been busy looking for jobs. Also we have not had very nice weather to take photos recently, the other day it was OK and I remembered to take my camera to the farm but it had no battery in it! Trooper is doing well and has been well behaved whilst being schooled. He has been coughing every now and again so I am going to order him some more Winergy Ventilate as that helped a lot last time.

Love Laura
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Top 10 Tips On Keeping Your Horse Safe On Bonfire Night

With bonfire night approaching I thought I would do some research and collect "my top 10 tips" on keeping your horses safe on bonfire night. Fireworks can be very frightening for horses and may lead to injuries. Here  are my top 10 tips in no particular order.

1. Keep your horse in it's normal routine. If it is normally stabled over night then keep it in and if it is normally in the field then it may stay out as long as it is not close to a firework display area.
2. If stabled, check the stable for any potential items that may cause injury if the horse becomes spooked such as nails. If your horse is staying in the paddock then do the same, check the fencing is not broken etc.
3. Make sure there is someone experienced with the horses if you know fireworks are to be set off. Your presence may have a calming effect on the horse. 
4. Find out when local displays are being held so you can be prepared. If you do have worries about firework displays it may be worth speaking to the organisers as the RSPCA have said that some firework displays have been altered where there has been risks of causing distress to animals.
5. If your horse is very spooky it may be better to talk to your vet about sedation.
6. Playing music or having the radio on may help to mask the sudden noise from fireworks.
7. Try to remain calm yourself as if you are stressed the horse can sense this.
8. If possible don't ride while the fireworks are being set off.
9. If there is a bonfire being held near the yard then check the emergency fire procedures in place on your yard.
10. In the morning check the fields for any fireworks or Chinese lanterns that may have landed.

Love Laura
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Product Review; K*TY Jodhpurs

I recently bought two pairs of jodhpurs from the Equestrian Clearance website (click here to see the jodhpurs on the website). The jodhpurs are made by the brand K*TY or KTY (I am not sure how you write it!). I decided to buy jodhpurs from this brand as this is the same brand that made my steel toe cap jodhpur boots and they have been really good. When I bought the jodhpurs they were £12 each, they have now gone up to £17.99 but are still cheaper than their original price of £25.99.

I ordered a navy and a brown pair, they both look really nice and have the KTY symbol on the back at the top. The colour did rub off slightly before and during the first wash but the actual colour of the jodhpurs has not faded and they still look in good condition. The material does have a very slight shine to it so if you don't like this then you may not like them. I ordered my normal dress size and they fit perfectly which is also good. They also have a zip pocked on the front on one side. The jodhpurs are well made and comfy and I think they are really good value if you are after a cheap pair to wear around the farm!

Love Laura
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Facebook GIVE-AWAY; Joules Notebook!

Just a quick post to let you know I am giving away another of the Joules notebooks on Facebook! All you have to do is "like" The Horse Talker's Facebook page and comment on the photo of the notebook saying which of the Joules products you like, for example their polo shirts!

http://www.facebook.com/thehorsetalker

Love Laura
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Autumn's Here

Here are some photos I took of Troops in the field today, excuse his muddiness!

He is staying in his stable over night now and he has 2 haynets filled with haylage over night. The blue one is double wrapped and the red one is only half full. We gave him this amount of haylage last winter and it worked quite well with keeping his weight down.

Also, sorry to finish this post on a photo of Trooper's bum, but his tail is looking amazing at the moment! I have been saying for months I need to write a post on Prize by Equisoothe as we have been using it all summer and his tail looks amazing! As he has sweet itch it has never looked this good at the end of summer despite trying lots of different things and equisoothe has really helped!

Also I have handed in my dissertation draft now so hopefully I will be able to write posts a bit more regularly!

Love Laura
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