THRIVE FEED BLOGS

One of the most important truths in horsemanship is this. The horse you love is still a grazing, roaming, social prey animal, but it is living in an environment created almost entirely by people. In the wild, horses move many miles a day. They eat small amounts almost constantly. They live in stable social groups. They rest in short cycles. They respond to life through instinct, movement, and connection. In domestic life, that world changes completely. Meals arrive twice a da

Condition, Comfort, and Common Sense Across North America Winter is rarely hardest on the healthy adult horse. Winter is hardest on the edges. Older horses, thin horses, horses with worn teeth, and horses with limited reserves carry winter differently. Across North America, senior horse care is where winter management becomes most important. The goal is not panic. The goal is thoughtful support. Older Horses Have Less Margin A younger horse with a full coat and good body cond

The Quiet Winter Problem Across North America When winter arrives, horse owners focus on blankets, hay, and shelter. But one of the most important winter issues is rarely discussed until something goes wrong. Water. In cold weather, horses often drink less, sometimes far less, and the consequences are entirely predictable. Winter management is not only about warmth. It is about hydration. Horses Commonly Reduce Water Intake in Winter Cold water is less appealing. Frozen troug

The Real Winter Threats for Horses Across North America When people think about winter, they think about temperature. They worry about freezing air. They imagine horses shivering in snow. But in reality, cold air is rarely the primary problem for a healthy horse. The real winter threats are not always the cold. The real threats are wind, wetness, and exposure without choice. Horses Handle Cold Far Better Than Most People Expect A healthy horse with a natural winter coat is ex

If there is one idea that separates real horsemanship from superficial control, it is this: Training is not the suppression of reactions. Training is the management of thresholds. Every horse lives on a continuum of arousal. At the lower end, the horse is regulated, available, and capable of learning. At the upper end, the horse is neurologically overridden, operating from survival circuitry rather than trained response. The difference between those states is not attitude. It

One of the simplest ways to become a better horseman is to understand this: A horse cannot see the world the way you do. And some of the most dangerous misunderstandings in horse handling come from ignoring the horse’s blind spots. Horses Have Wide Vision, But Not Complete Vision Horses have an extraordinary field of view. They can see far more around them than humans can. But wide vision comes with trade-offs. There are areas the horse cannot see clearly, and those areas mat

One of the most important lessons in jumping is also one of the hardest for humans to accept: The horse needs rhythm more than it needs control. Most rider errors at fences are not caused by lack of effort. They are caused by over-interference. Humans want precision. Horses need consistency. Jumping Is Not a Last-Second Visual Decision A horse does not approach a fence like a human approaching a step. The horse cannot look straight ahead with human clarity and then make a fin

The modern horse lives in a world it did not create. It did not choose confinement. It did not choose meal feeding. It did not choose rich pasture surges. It did not choose stables, rugs, hard ground, artificial schedules, and human expectations. The horse never asked for the modern world. And yet it lives in it with extraordinary tolerance. Horses Were Built for a Different Life The horse evolved to: Graze steadily Move continuously Live in herds Digest fibre Respond to natu

One of the greatest misunderstandings in horsemanship is the belief that all horses think and respond the same way. They do not. A horse’s behaviour is not random. It is not simply training history. It is not just personality. Much of what we see in a horse is evolutionary adaptation, survival strategies shaped by the predators that formed them. When you understand this, training stops becoming a battle of wills. It becomes an act of reading the horse correctly. Horses Were D