Classical Dressage Art in Motion

   The Top 5 Things to Gift Your Horse (And Yourself!) - Advice from Grand Prix Trainer Nikki Alvin-Smith    Nikki Alvin-Smith with home trained Grand Prix Tiberio Lafite aka Tigger     As as seasoned horse breeder and equestrienne as well as international freight forwarder shipping horses worldwide, I've learned a few things along the trail. Not least is how to make life just that little bit better for horse and human.    Like most horse aficionados, when it comes to horse ownership I am often caught between budget dilemmas and tussles with time management. Here are the top five things to gift your horse, and yourself, to make the very best of your horse ownership experience.   1. Freedom Of Movement With Company Makes Life Better   For a creature of such size with a genetic predisposition to roam and graze, the horse presents a challenge in modern day methods for horse keeping where space is at a premium. Provisi...

  For those of us that are horse owners who call Upstate New York home for 12 months a year, 2025/2026 winter has been full of challenges.  Despite the best of preparations farms have been waist deep in snow or ice since mid-November. Just getting from A to B has required fortitude. High winds, white out conditions and no real break from bitter cold down to -35 degrees F for days on end has made this winter seem eternal and we can't wait for sun and warmth. It has been decidedly not fun. And yet, the horses don't seem to mind this weather much at all.     Eventually the sun has come out, and the temperatures have warmed to almost freezing on the occasional day during February. Roll on March! Thankfully the weather pattern is supposed to go to a more 'normal' program in the next few weeks. But of course as its March, that means more snow. Here at our farm at Willowview Hill Farm, we are fortunate to enjoy the benefit of a sturdy Morton built indoor arena. We put it up...

This winter has been particularly severe across parts of the U.S. and from our corner of the world in Upstate New York, we can certainly attest to that. Ever since mid-November the snow has covered the fields most days. A few brief breaks from snow cover didn't last long. Additionally the ambient temperatures even without the wind chill factor have been well-below freezing.  Despite horse owners best efforts to stock up for winter with hay and dry forage supplies, many barn owners can already see their supplies diminishing at a faster rate than normal. Horses need hay to keep warm, and grain substitution is simply not a good idea as it increases the risk of colic and does little to help equines stay warm. Though too much grain can make them hot to handle. At Willowview Hill Farm, our organic hay farm in Stamford, New York, we currently have plenty of hay supplies available for sale. In fact, to help horse owners out we've discounted our precious 2nd cut, which will also help u...