THRIVE FEED BLOGS

Trust is not loud. In horses, trust arrives quietly. It is not a dramatic moment. It is a series of small signs that your horse feels safe in your presence. Many owners miss these signs because they are subtle. But they are some of the most meaningful gifts a horse can give. A Soft Eye The soft eye is one of the clearest indicators of safety. A horse that blinks normally, carries a gentle expression, and looks present rather than vigilant is telling you: I am okay with you. S

There is a simple sentence that can change horsemanship forever: Your horse is not giving you a hard time. Your horse is having a hard time. So many struggles between horses and humans come from misinterpretation. We assume defiance. The horse is experiencing difficulty. Horses Do Not Misbehave Like Humans A horse does not wake up planning to be difficult. It does not plot resistance. It does not try to ruin your day. Horses respond. They cope. They communicate through behavi

One of the most moving things about horses is how much they try. Even when they are uncomfortable. Even when something is not quite right. Even when their bodies are carrying more than they should. Horses do not complain the way humans do. They endure. They offer. They keep showing up. And that is why good horsemanship begins with noticing. Horses Are Masters of Quiet Effort A horse will often continue working while sore. Continue responding while tired. Continue participatin

One of the most valuable skills a horse owner can develop is knowing the difference between a horse that is quiet and a horse that is truly relaxed. Horses can stand still while stressed. They can comply while tense. They can appear calm while internally braced. So how do you know? One of the simplest and most honest indicators is the eye. The soft eye test is not sentimental. It is biological. The Eye Reflects the Nervous System A horse’s eye is not just a window of emotion.

One of the most misunderstood things in horsemanship is the difference between a horse that is brave and a horse that has shut down. To the untrained eye, they can look the same. Both may stand quietly. Both may appear calm. Both may “do the job.” But internally, they are worlds apart. Bravery Is Presence A brave horse is still mentally engaged. It is aware, but not overwhelmed. It may feel concern, but it remains connected. Bravery looks like: Soft eye Normal breathing Willi

Every horse owner will face it. A sudden spook. A sharp startle. A sideways jump. A moment where the horse goes from calm to alert in a fraction of a second. In that moment, what you do next matters enormously. Because spooking is not just about the stimulus. It is about the recovery. And humans often make it worse without meaning to. First, Understand What a Spook Is A spook is not disobedience. It is not disrespect. It is the horse’s nervous system reacting to uncertainty.

Every horse owner experiences it. A horse that is normally settled becomes reactive. A horse that was confident yesterday is suddenly jumpy today. And the instinct is to think: “He’s being silly.” “She’s being naughty.” “He’s just acting up.” But horses do not change without reason. When a horse suddenly becomes spooky, it is often the horse telling you something. Here is what to check before you assume it is behavioural. 1. Pain, The First and Most Important Question Discomf

One of the most misunderstood things in horsemanship is the way spooking changes from day to day. Owners often say: “He was fine yesterday.” “She’s being silly today.” “He’s just acting up.” But horses do not spook in a vacuum. Spooking is not just about what the horse sees or hears. Spooking is also about what the horse is carrying inside. A Horse’s Startle Threshold Changes With Burden Every horse has a threshold. A level of resilience. A capacity to process the world calml

One of the most important things to understand about horses is this: A horse reacts before it reasons. That is not poor training. That is biology. Equine hearing and the startle reflex are part of an ancient survival system that kept horses alive long before humans ever climbed on their backs. Horses Hear the World Differently Than We Do Horses have highly sensitive hearing. Their ears are designed to detect faint sounds across distance, because in nature, sound often arrives

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

Few things frustrate horse owners more than a spook. The horse jumps sideways. Stops abruptly. Startles at something that seems ridiculous. And the human response is often: “He’s being silly.” “She’s being naughty.” “He’s just trying it on.” But spooking is rarely mischief. Spooking is usually visual caution. The Horse Sees Differently Than You Do Humans are forward-facing predators. We see in detail straight ahead. We interpret objects quickly. Horses are prey animals. Their

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

One of the most overlooked truths in horsemanship is this: Horses do not see the world the way humans do. We assume they look forward like we do. We assume they understand obstacles visually the way we do. But equine vision is fundamentally different, and that difference explains a great deal about hesitation, jumping confidence, and spooking. The Horse’s Eyes Are Built for Survival, Not Detail The horse is a prey animal. Its vision evolved not for reading fine detail in fron

One of the clearest signs that something is wrong in a feeding system is not found in the feed itself. It is found in the horse’s behaviour at feeding time. A horse that is calm around food is a horse that feels secure. A horse that becomes frantic is a horse living under pressure. Feeding time should never be a frenzy. Horses Were Not Designed to Rush Their Food In nature, horses graze. They do not bolt meals. They do not fight over buckets. They do not live with sudden feed

One of the most important facts in equine nutrition is also one of the most overlooked: The horse’s stomach was not built for meals. It was built for grazing. This single truth explains an enormous amount about modern digestive and behavioural problems in domestic horses. The Horse Was Designed to Eat Almost Continuously In nature, a horse does not eat breakfast and dinner. A horse eats steadily. Small amounts. All day. The horse’s digestive system evolved around that constan

One of the most common modern mistakes in horse care is the belief that more is always better. More feed. More energy. More scoop. More supplements. More calories. But horses are not machines. And their digestive systems do not reward excess. Often, more feeding creates more problems. Horses Were Built for Steady Intake, Not Large Meals The horse evolved as a grazing animal. It was designed to eat slowly across the day, not consume large concentrated meals in minutes. The dig

Walk into any tack shop or scroll through the horse world online and you will find an endless promise: This supplement will fix it. Calm him. Build topline. Improve hooves. Boost immunity. Support joints. Enhance digestion. The modern horse industry has become a supplement culture. And yet horses have never been more complicated, more sensitive, and more metabolically burdened. That should tell us something. Supplements Are Not Foundations A supplement can be useful in the ri

Modern horse nutrition often revolves around one obsession: Calories. Owners worry about calories for weight. Calories for performance. Calories for senior horses. Calories for condition. But the horse was never built around calories first. The horse was built around fibre. The Horse Is a Fibre Animal A horse is not designed to be fuelled like a machine. It is designed to live on forage. Its digestive system evolved for: Continuous fibre intake Slow fermentation Stable microb

Inflammation is one of the most misunderstood forces in modern equine health. People often think of inflammation as swelling after an injury. A cut. A strain. A visible event. But the more common problem in domestic horses is not dramatic inflammation. It is chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation. Quiet. Persistent. Costly. Inflammation Is a Burden, Not a Crisis A horse can carry inflammation for months or years without obvious outward signs. It does not always limp. It do

One of the great confusions in the modern horse world is the way people talk about energy. Owners want energy. Competitors want energy. Feed companies sell energy. But most people fail to ask the most important question: Is this energy, or is this anxiety? Because they are not the same thing. And horses pay the price when we confuse them. True Energy Is Calm and Sustainable Real equine energy is not frantic. It is not hot. It is not explosive nervous motion. True energy is: S