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...

Working horses long hours The reality of living year around in the North-East USA is that snow and cold weather are coming to visit. This year has been particularly difficult for working the horses in our care, as the temperatures have been wickedly cold and snow has been on the ground for many days since November 15th - before winter season was even supposed to begin.  This coyote in our side field, is also perplexed by winter. On the hunt for something to eat...   For folks that are setting up a horse facility, the indoor arena is not something to overlook when mapping out needed structures. It will earn its keep (given you maintain it well and properly utilize it). We have conducted many lessons, training sessions, and clinics under its roof, among other things. As equestrian professionals that offer dressage training services 365 days of the year, hubbie and I are well-used to schooling horses all day and sometimes into the evening hours if necessary.  The very first ...

I knew I would have to write about the loss of Tiberio Lafite aka Tigger at some point, but didn't really expect it to take me 2 months.    Our beloved partner since buying him age 5, through to his elderly statesman years at 26, Tigger brought much joy to our lives and gamely adapted himself to all our human demands.   Many horse owners know that sinking feeling, when you find your horse laying down unable to get up. The moment when the world literally stops for a second, and everything seems to be happening in slow motion, as your brain fights to figure out what to do next to do the right thing. For us it was a sultry, humid day in July. Paul went out to the fields to do an a.m. check of the water troughs and see that the horses that had enjoyed the freedom of a night outside in the paddocks and were all AOK.  From the windows of our home and the security system we have in place, we had already seen the horses were all up and about doing just fine by all appearance...