It may sound strange, but there is a unspoken code among riders on the trail that will stand you in good stead on your next horse riding adventure. Whether you’re a beginner rider or just haven’t ridden out as part of a group for a while, you may not be aware of the etiquette that […]

Is it a rodeo? An exhibition? A festival? Or all three? More than just midway rides, bucking broncos and fireworks, the Calgary Stampede is a ten day celebration of Western heritage. It’s a gathering place for horse enthusiasts from all over the world – hosting, educating and entertaining over a million visitors each year. Known […]

Name of breed: Irish Cob (also called the Gypsy Cob, Gypsy Vanner, Romany Tinker and Traditional Cob) Origin: Great Britain and Ireland Breed origin: The Irish Cob was originally bred by Irish Travellers and Great Britain’s Romani Travellers to pull the wagons in which they lived and travelled. These wagons, often known as vardoes, developed […]

Name of breed: Exmoor Pony (also known as the Celtic pony) Country of origin: United Kingdom Breed origin: Horses have been present in Britain since 700,000 BC and fossil remains have been found in the area of Exmoor dating back to about 50,000 BC. Some people claim the Exmoor pony has been purebred since the […]

Name of breed: Kabarda, or Kabardin Country of origin: Former USSR (Russia and Georgia) Breed origin: The Kabarda horse has been known for at least 500 years, but its origins are quite possibly as old as the Hittite civilisation, which existed from – wait for it – 1680 to 1178 BC! The mountain tribesmen in […]

Name of breed: Akhal-Teke Country of origin: Turkmenistan Breed origin: One of the oldest living breeds of horse, the precise ancestry of the Akhal-Teke is difficult to trace. The breed is very similar to, and possibly the direct descendant of an ancient horse known as the Turkoman, or Nisaean, horse. This horse was one of […]

So you’ve signed up for a horse riding holiday, and you want to make sure you capture every single moment from dusk to dawn. Yes, you could just use your smartphone, but phones are not ideal for photography on a moving horse: it’s easy to smudge the lens by mistake and have a whole day’s […]

Name of breed: Arabian, or Arab Country of origin: This is a much-disputed point! There are arguments to support the breed’s development in northern Syria, southern Turkey, the Piedmont region in northern Italy, the Fertile Crescent running from Iraq to the coast of Egypt, and southwestern Arabia. Breed origin: The prototype for the modern Arabian […]

Did you know that the first ever motion picture featured a horse and rider? In 1873, Leland Stanford, horse breeder and founder of Stanford University, commissioned Eadweard Muybridge to photograph his prized trotter, Occident. In doing so, Stanford wanted to settle a long-disputed question: does a horse have all four hooves off the ground at […]

Get ready, globetrotters, you’re in for a real treat! The wonderfully talented Erica Neumann kept a journal of her horse riding holiday in the Victorian High Country of Australia and very kindly allowed us to share it with you all! Honestly, Erica’s in-depth account of this trip is perfect – I couldn’t have written it […]

Name of breed: Lusitano, also called the Pure Blood Lusitano or Puro Sangue Lusitano (PSL). Country of origin: Portugal Breed origin: The Iberian Peninsula, which now sits within Spain and Portugal, has been populated with horses since 20-30,000 BC. Known as Iberian horses, they were influenced by horses from many other parts of the world as civilisations […]

Name of breed: Estonian Native horse, also called the Estonian horse or the Estonian Klepper Country of origin: Estonia Breed origin: There are no prizes for guessing that the Estonian Native horse is a breed native to Estonia! In fact, its ancestors are believed to have lived in this part of Europe for at least […]

Name of breed: Bavarian Warmblood, or Bayerisches Warmblut Country of origin: Germany Breed origin: The Bavarian Warmblood developed from an ancient Bavarian breed called the Rottaler. The best Rottalers were calm, substantial, all-purpose horses used for everything from carriage driving to plowing to riding. A registry for Rottalers was founded in 1907, but when the […]

Name of breed: Falabella Miniature Horse, or simply Falabella Country of origin: Argentina Breed origin: The ancestors of the Falabella are believed to have been brought to Latin America by the Spaniards, eventually forming large wild herds that roamed the vast pampas and in turn gave rise to various breeds including the Criollo. Shaped by natural […]

Name of breed: Knabstrupper, or Knabstrup Country of origin: Denmark Breed origin: The Knabstrupper is believed to trace back to the prehistoric spotted horses that were native to what is now Spain. Cave paintings of horses with spots akin to the leopard patterning seen in many Knabstruppers have been discovered in these regions. However, the […]

Name of breed: Spanish Mustang, officially known as the Colonial Spanish Horse. Country of origin: United States Breed origin: Contrary to what its name implies, the Spanish Mustang (or Colonial Spanish Horse) is not a wild horse breed, nor is it especially closely related to the Mustang. The Spanish Mustang is descended from various horse […]

I wanted to explain our terms and conditions particularly around our change policy, cancellations by you and what happens if there are changes made by our ride partners. Just so you know where you stand in this current climate. We’re here to inform you, educate you but not persuade you. We can’t make a decision […]

Processions on horseback are traditional in many rural regions of Bavaria, Germany. Perhaps one of the most well known processions is the ‘Georgiritt’ – the Saint George Ride – in the city of Traunstein every Easter Monday. The earliest known record of this festival dates back to 1762, although it probably evolved from a medieval […]

Name of breed: Mérens, also known as the Ariégeois pony. Country of origin: Southern France (the Pyrenees and Ariégeois mountains) and Northern Spain (near Andorra) Breed origin: The Mérens horse is thought to have emerged in prehistoric times, although the early history of the breed remains a mystery. It could have come from the Iberian […]

With many of us spending a lot more time at home, we thought it would be timely to share some documentaries that will satisfy your horse cravings and make ‘couch time’ a little more enjoyable! So here are some beautiful videos about horses that you can watch for free on YouTube: The Horse Whisperer An […]

As I write this, Australia is burning. The fires have already seared seven times the land that burnt during last year’s Amazon rainforest fires, and over a billion animals are estimated to have been killed. On our property in the hills above the Sunshine Coast, we have horses, ponies, dogs, guinea pigs and children. It’s […]