Differences in other countries

[Lyle]

I LOVE this thread! I think it's really important to be aware of the management differences between countries, there's a lot to be learnt.
In Australia...
-Horses (unless and unruly stallion) are all tied to the side of floats/trucks at competitions. We park with enough space to allow this safely, and you don't bring a horse out unless it ties well!
-Unless in a very rural area, vets are fairly accessible. They are, on a whole, excellent. However, I feel here in Aus we are a long way behind the UK in terms of BF techniques to improve hoof syndromes, like Navicular. Too many vets still unable to recognize the poor hoof pathology which is the cause of the Navicular, and how BF could correct this.
-Majority of horse live out, 24/7, all year round. Some people will box overnight during winter, however it's too hot and stuffy in summer. They are better in a shady paddock.
-'Show' horses (ie hack classes etc) are kept stabled under lights on a timer, to give the illusion of a 'long' day, to prevent blown coats, instead of clipping. The rest of us clip!
-winters are mild temperature wise, however can be wet. 'Summer' lasts from late spring until late Autumn, and is hot! So lots of 5am alarms to ride before the heat!
-In my state of Victoria, there are three avenues of competition: Pony Club (until 25), Equestrian Australia (Which is the 'official' avenue, and literally costs you an arm, leg and your soul to be able to afford to compete) and the final alternative, created in defiance of the EA's ability to cripple grassroots riders, HRCAV (Horse Riding Clubs of Victoria. You can join an active club which holds rallies, or one which simply provides you with membership in order to compete. Very fair points system and level assessing keeps everyone where they should. Huge range of disciplines and levels, eg dressage goes right up to Med/Advanced.)
-There is no division between professional and amateur in EA. In my first EA80 eventing comp when I was 12, I was beaten for first place by an Olympic representative. The Pro's pretty much bring a truckload to events and will often walk away with the rug from every class they enter.
-Prizes are great! Money is non-existant. It's super common, even from PC level up, to win a lovely embroidered woollen rug for your efforts. Makes the usual 3 hour trip home easy!
-There are only 6-7 Eventing comps in Victoria for each season (Autumn/winter) (spring/summer). Be prepared to travel 4 hours each way to get to an event, and back it up the next weekend with a 3 hour trip the other direction.
-Our horses wear tail bags when in the paddock
-Aussies love big brass buckles on their bridles, thanks to Wagners Saddlery and Mal Byrne saddlery (google if you love pretty bridles!)
-We have one major chain retailer who is corrupting a generation of riders to believe cheap gear and crappy indian leather bridles is acceptable.

That'll do for now!!

 

[Lyle]

Oh! Hoof care!
-Anyone can buy a rasp and hoof knife, and go nuts. Farriers don't have to be registered, instead you find out about a 'good' farrier via word of mouth. Majority though have done a farriery course ( which is 4 years) and then apprenticed. There are some who are registered Master Farriers, who on a whole are great, but others are truly abysmal. A lot of horse owners in Aus can't recognize a good job from a bad one, instead they base the quality on how long the shoe lasts!!! Truly horrifying. Those who compete are pretty diligent to keep horses on a 5-6 week cycle. Anyone can go to a course and trim. I trim myself, and it's the best thing I've ever done. I'm so aware of my horse's hooves and if anything changes I recognize immediately. I'm considered 'lucky' by my fellow riders that my horse 'can go' barefoot... like it has nothing to do with the regular road work, stony trail hand walking and regular trimming!! People consider crummy feet as crummy feet, that that they unchangeable, and accept the horse won't last long, which is truly sad.

 

[Lyle]

towing!
Anyone can tow, you don't need a license. unfortunately, this means a lot of people are woefully ignorant of Tare, GTM and GCM. There is a fad at the moment of cheap, chinese import floats which have all the bells and whistles (including the kitchen sink) and stalled for 3 horses. People happily load up these behemoths with their 3 WB crosses and enough stuff for 4 days, and head off. They don't understand that their GTM and GCM won't actually allow this at all! Hopefully when the chinese import thing dies, we will move back to reputable float manufacturers who are aware of these things, and will openly discuss them with clients. The floats are getting scarily huge and I hope this fad dies soon!

 

[NaeNae87]

I am in Western Australia and this is relevant for that area I am in...

we seem to be very lucky in the UK to have ready access to vets who specialise in horses, with most of us registered with horse-only vets. People just over the water in France struggle to find that level of expertise, and there's someone in Bahrain with the same problem. There are quite a few horse only vets in the horsey areas... outskirts of the metropolitan area. Once you get further than 2 hours from the CBD, you hit problems. But that is due the the majority of our population being so centralised.

other countries don't seem to be able to insure like we can. We have horse insurance, rider insurance, instructor insurance, club insurance.... We get rider insurance with out Pony Club or Equestrian Australia memberships. Those that don't compete, don't tend to have themselves insured though. A lot of competition horses are insured, but again, those who just ride out or on weekends, don't tend to have insurance.

our vets use box rest a lot more than overseas vets. Box rest (stabling) is used for serious injury - suspensories, tendons, colic surgeries, etc but a lot of our horses live in paddocks 24/7 or are paddocked during the day as our winters are very mild. My horses don't actually have stables that I could confine them in (I would have to move them and pay agistment (board, livery)

we use hats a lot more and body protectors for ordinary riding are practically non existent. Hats are quite common, but body protectors aren't really used unless riding breakers or going XC.

we have a bigger emphasis on turnout than lots of European countries. In Aus our horses are turned out for quite a lot of the day, if not 24/7.

when I lived on the continent, ponies were rare and children learned on horses and were taught proper dressage right from the start. Ponies are common, but the standard of riding is not as high. Riding school taught kids don't tend to ride as well as those who get private lessons from instructors. I have friends who have been riding years longer then me and are purely taught in riding schools that I ride a lot better than - seat wise, hands, position etc

I think I read that in France you can't compete a horse that isn't registered to a breed society, but I hope I'm wrong about that, since I own a fabulous horse whose breeding is unknown and it would be very unfair to exclude him from competing. Not the case in WA. You can compete up to EvA80 in eventing, Novice Dressage, 90cms in SJ (i think) without being registered with Equestrian Australia - breed society regos only matter if you are doing breed shows or have a stud

I also think I read that before you can compete in France you have to belong to a recognised riding club and have been assessed as capable. I'm not sure about that one. In principle it's a good idea, but what if there's only one club in your area and the person who runs it hates you? Any one can compete upto a certain level, once you get there you need to meet certain eligibility requirements (MER's).

people in the Republic of Ireland will happily hunt a three year old where most people in the UK would throw up their hands in horror at a three year old doing even the lightest of days out with hounds. Most horses are backed at 2-3, then sent away to mature. You cannot compete on a horse or pony until it is 4.

Britain is the only part of Europe where it is normal to turn away a horse after backing it. In Aus this is quite common. We handle, mouth and back a horse before turning it out to mature.

The US call rugs blankets. We have blankets in the UK but they are either exercise blankets for use when riding, or for under rugs with no straps on the blanket. We call them rugs and exercise sheets (exercise blankets) are not all that common.. it's not really cold enough for them

 

[ycbm]

A BIG thank you to everyone contributing to this incredibly interesting thread.

 

[MagicMelon]

people in the Republic of Ireland will happily hunt a three year old where most people in the UK would throw up their hands in horror at a three year old doing even the lightest of days out with hounds.

Britain is the only part of Europe where it is normal to turn away a horse after backing it.

Hunting a 3yo is crazy IMO, research shows horses aren't mature enough physically to cope with this sort of activity so at this age so I dont see how there's an arguement. It puts me off buying a horse from Ireland.

I've also never understood why its "normal" to chuck a horse back into a field after backing it. Why? The only reason for this I think would be if you back a horse too young so you want to get on it while its still very naive, then turning it away to mature and then its easier to get back on. Personally, Id just wait until it was mature enough in the first place before backing and then just getting going.

On the point of the US using blankets as opposed to rugs, they have loads of differing words for the same stuff - they just like to be different Ive spent quite a bit of time in the States and noticed they travel their horses in far bigger trailers than we do, usually open sided. ie. just bars so you can easily see the horse standing in it - normally the horse is tacked up and just standing there with no partitions at all and no travel gear on. They're far more relaxed about it than we are here. They also go on about their "two point" position a lot... They ride far more leaning forwards than we do, especially in "hunter" classes which aren't really the same as ours here. They seem to jump a lot smaller than we do here on an amateur level, a horse jumping 1m over there is worth a fortune.

 

[Allie374]

SHYSMUM... I am in very rural france, stunning creuse.... I posted on page 3. I am sorry, i put a video link for my video horsey blog, and have been asked to put it back on. Stupid vids, but shows the area. This is horse heaven... hardly done the same ride twice in 2 months. My french is coming along well now, fab peeps and lingo. Our whole farm cost less than a new caravan btw. X

Its youtube, allie, a horse and a dog in france.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJN9-Ktnlr2i6Wv7kAxnaDSnkunpj9TQ2

 

[Desert_rider]

My inlaws have a small holding in rural southern Egypt and we keep a horse there and many of the immediate neighbours also have horses.
Turnout is virtually unheard of, most horses are kept tethered or boxed. Sometimes people will build a small pen but land is precious and kept for growing crops.
Hay is non existent and most horses are fed a hard feed of Sorghum seeds with chaff and plenty of fresh alfalfa\lucerne. Sometimes people feed the leaves of the sugar cane plant in replace of the alfalfa at certain times of year.
Horses are normally broken young at around 2 years of age and like someone up thread mentioned, colts are rarely gelded. This causes few problems, although the donkey stallions that are also kept are another story and will fight almost to the death if given an opportunity!
Most are shod although rather more crudely than the UK, it is normally cold shoeing.
There are many working animals in the area so the vets specialise in these animals, mainly equines and camels but also livestock. Poor people can get free treatment for working animals through a charity. The mobile vet visits a central point in the village every week and people can take there animals to him.
People that keep non working horses normally train them to dance to perform in local competitions and at fairs and festivals. Many send them to trainers in the capital at quite some expense and the training methods are questionable. It is a very male dominated affair and they perform in traditional dress, both the man and the horse.

 

[SpringArising]

Some of the main things I learnt from living in France with horses:

- Initially, people will think you're mad for rugging your horses. Then they realise you're English and they sort of get it.

- You will not for the life of you find anything close to a decent feed merchant.

- The standard of riding is (generally), pretty atrocious.

- It's not unusual to see hat-racks of horses being used in riding schools.

- The shows are no-where near as diverse/varied/regular as in the UK.

- People are generally more brutal with their horses. They are not pets, they're simply a hobby for a lot of people.

- Stables are sometimes FILTHY, but no one thinks anything of it (unless you're at a specialised livery and not a riding school).

- Kids very, very rarely have their own pony. If you have your own pony/horse in France and you're a child/teen, people are usually quite shocked.

 

[ironhorse]

It does doesn't it? I had never thought about it before, to me it is normal. We live 6kms from town, all the parking lots at the stores have hitching rails for buggies. Frequently there are ridden horses hitched up outside the saddlery too - mine included. We were in town yesterday and there was a wagon and pair of belgians outside the feedstore. It is a very cool town

We're western riders in the Uk and have visited Texas/Oklahoma a lot on holiday. One of the best things we ever saw was the ranchers' horses tied up outside the cattle market in Amarillo while their owners were inside bidding; they even had their own area of the car park alongside all the pickups and trailers. We also saw horses tethered outside bar in Bandera - the bar is called Harleys and Horses and they have dedicated parking areas for each!

 

[shugmx]

As I said in a previous reply, I live in Ireland and would not hunt my 3 year old or 4 year old. We in Ireland are as clued up as the rest of the world how to do right by our horses. But, of course there are people who will hunt 3 year old's as there is a market for them, which seems to be mainly in Britain, these tend to be people who are making a living from this sport. So please do not assume all in Ireland do not have knowledge of how a horse matures. Please remember as in your country with dealers who are only interested in money we too have them but it is a small majority. We must have some good knowledge when we breed some of the best horses in the world and have top riders in Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage.

 

[ShadowHunter]

Good Morning!

I've only ever lived in NZ - so my only comparison is what I read on here:

- Very few horses here are stabled.
- Insurance is rare.
- In the UK you seem to hack a lot on the roads, which we don't do so much here.
- We rug and bandage as opposed to blanket and wrap.
- Being so far from the rest of the world, we don't have the variety of horse breeds that you do in the UK and Europe. The UK natives, Haflingers and Icelandic's for example are quite rare. Gypsy Cobs arrived about 10 years ago and I can remember the first ID' turning up in the 90's. European WB are still outrageously expensive.
- If you go hunting here, expect to jump barbed wire and they hunt hare.
- You don't need any qualification to set up as a farrier, trimmer, trainer, coach or instructor, dentist, physio, osteo, chiro or nutritionist.
- Chaff, barley and oats are, for the most part, still that and don't have a "brand". As for chaff with molasses ...

I'm sure there is plenty more ...

Very interesting thread and quite eye opening really.

I intend to move to NZ eventually so thank you for posting ^ and if anyones got any more info, it would be interesting to know.

 

[Allie374]

It would be brilliant to have round the world videos of horses and areas ! Anyone up for it ? Should it be here or a new video, piccie thread.

 

[Enfys]

It would be brilliant to have round the world videos of horses and areas ! Anyone up for it ? Should it be here or a new video, piccie thread.

Make it a new thread in Gallery I think. Looking forwards to seeing that.

I can offer lots of Paso Fino videos, our countryside in this particular part of Ontario is pretty reminiscent of rolling hills in parts of the UK, with thousands of acres of oak woods (which is why this area is known as Oakhills) , wider roads, less corners, and without the patchwork fields of the British countryside, hedges tend to get in the way of snow and farm machinery

We also have lakes around every corner, with an estimated 2 million of the things in Canada we have to pack them in

 

[ycbm]

Great idea about the videos.



Another thing I thought of that I've read about the US, which I hope someone can confirm? Apparently, there are absolutely ginormous competition venues, and the horses live there for long periods and the owners commute to compete the horses instead of traveling the horses themselves.

Personally, I'd be bored witless by competing at the same place all the time, but I suppose if venues are few and far between, it's the only option.

 

[ycbm]

As I said in a previous reply, I live in Ireland and would not hunt my 3 year old or 4 year old. We in Ireland are as clued up as the rest of the world how to do right by our horses. But, of course there are people who will hunt 3 year old's as there is a market for them, which seems to be mainly in Britain, these tend to be people who are making a living from this sport. So please do not assume all in Ireland do not have knowledge of how a horse matures. Please remember as in your country with dealers who are only interested in money we too have them but it is a small majority. We must have some good knowledge when we breed some of the best horses in the world and have top riders in Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage.

I think we get your point that there are many people in Ireland who don't agree with hunting three year olds. Clearly no-one is talking about you or the people like you.

One the other hand, I've seen plenty of Irish hunters for sale at six or seven with several seasons under their belt which started at three, so it is not only done for the export market. Also, most people in England who I know who have bought an imported horse which has hunted at three would rather it hadn't. It isn't a selling point for them.

It's clearly, to me, a cultural difference between the UK and Ireland, though I am very pleased to hear that there are substantial portions of the Irish horse community who feel the same way about hunting a three year old as most of the UK

 

[Enfys]

It would be brilliant to have round the world videos of horses and areas ! Anyone up for it ? Should it be here or a new video, piccie thread.

Link to some fall pictures where I live ( booming metropolis of Stirling - Ontario )
Another difference, it is totally acceptable, normal, to ride your horse in a curb and a simple bit hanger here without everyone throwing their hands up in horror and shouting "School, school, school! Have lessons, why are you using an instrument of torture? You are cruel/useless" Curb bits are a huge soapbox subject of mine - different topic though.

https://forums-secure.horseandhound...?711124-It-is-so-very-pretty-here-in-the-Fall

... and a 100km away, from a camping weekend we went on in early September, totally different, more lakes, and swamp, Weslemkoon , how I love that name, even if I cannot pronounce it
https://forums-secure.horseandhound...09935-Trail-riding-weekend-Weslemkoon-Ontario

 

[Pennythetank]

It's clearly, to me, a cultural difference between the UK and Ireland, though I am very pleased to hear that there are substantial portions of the Irish horse community who feel the same way about hunting a three year old as most of the UK

I think there is also a difference in what people perceive as hunting for young horses. I live in Ireland and have worked on a breaking yard. Many of the mature 3 year olds spent 5-10 days hunting during their time at the yard. However what we would have called hunting was more like observing hounds whilst on a gentle hack. No jumping and maybe one canter, other than that they hung around a nanny horse at the back and most likely left after a few hours. By the end of their 5-10 days they might have gone through a gentle bank or ditch and spent a full day out. However they would never have spent time up the front or crossed serious country.
For every horse that was hunted, there was one that didn't, either because it wasn't physically/mentally mature enough to handle that type of excitement or the career its owner had in mind did not feature hunting. Some of them would have come back as late four year olds, ready to be introduced to hunting (they would go out witht he three year olds) andsome wouldn't.
Please don't tar us all with the same 'hunting a greenie means baiting them across bogs for 5+ hours and half of them will be crippled by the age of 7' brush. Sure there are people who do that, but most people I know see hunting as part of an all rounders education and not something to be undertaken lightly.

 

[ycbm]

There is obviously some sensitivity in Ireland about some of the hunting that is done with three year olds. This thread is for people to explain the differences in different countries and your explanation of the three year old hunting you have seen in Ireland is very interesting, thank you.

I still think that even with the gentle hunting you describe, that there is a cultural difference in the percentage of people who would even sit on a three year old's back for three, four, five hours in other countries.

I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong, just that it's different.

The only UK hunt I've ever been on with a three year old in the field resulted in a very public ear bashing for the rider!

 

[ycbm]

Link to some fall pictures where I live ( booming metropolis of Stirling - Ontario )
Another difference, it is totally acceptable, normal, to ride your horse in a curb and a simple bit hanger here without everyone throwing their hands up in horror and shouting "School, school, school! Have lessons, why are you using an instrument of torture? You are cruel/useless" Curb bits are a huge soapbox subject of mine - different topic though.

https://forums-secure.horseandhound...?711124-It-is-so-very-pretty-here-in-the-Fall

... and a 100km away, from a camping weekend we went on in early September, totally different, more lakes, and swamp, Weslemkoon , how I love that name, even if I cannot pronounce it
https://forums-secure.horseandhound...09935-Trail-riding-weekend-Weslemkoon-Ontario

Great pics

 

[Shady]

one of the other things i've noticed in France is the amount of horses that live alone, it's normal in my area and certainly in the next dept over to pass a field with one lonely looking horse, it seems when i've questioned that if one is all you need, one is what you have, i'm fairly certain that would not be deemed acceptable in the UK?

 

[horsimous]

I visited my friend who was out in Germany and went and did her horse for a week...

The yard was very well equipped with large indoor school with full jump set, gallery, bar, horse wash down and heat lamp area. The stables adjoined the indoor school with a corridor between them so everything was indoors. Each stable had a window the horse could look out of and those who paid more had their own adjoining sand pen so the horse could go in and out. There was some grazing in the summer. There was a massive covered horse walker with a lunge pen inside and an outdoor arena. The riding surfaces were first rate. The tack room was full of passier, stubben, kieffer and some absolutely lovely tack. The horses were all pretty stunning and the riders all had very good seats. Some held onto their horses heads a bit too much but the standard of riding was very high. The whole place was immaculate, God forbid if you tacked up in your stable and forgot to pick out your horses feet before heading for the arena... A definite no no!

There was a big step down into the stables initially but the horses were not mucked out each day. Instead, more straw was added every day on top of any droppings. This continued until the horses were stepping up into their stables at which point all the stable partitions would be raised up and folded up and then the lot would be cleared with a tractor and the process would start again. My friend got looked at as if she was mad for trying to muck out each day.

The horses had hay and oats, no mixes or anything else but they all looked very well on it.

It was easy to pick up a very well bred horse from a farmer at a not bad price although I expect that has changed now.

Really enjoyed my time down there and even got to ride some of the other riders horses which was a real treat.

The horses had one rug for everything and the locals thought it funny that my friend changed her horses coat for some pyjamas each night.

 

[Phemme]

I'm at the bottom of NZ with horses on my own land, so it's much the same as keeping horses at home anywhere, you make all the decisions and do all the work
We seem to have a huge amount of repurposed racehorses, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, though bias against them is still fairly well represented in the 'wanted ' ads(usually by those special people expecting a 16hh 5-8 year old experienced, competitive, conformationally perfect and attractively marked saint you can put your grandmother on for 'free or "cheep"'). I have access to plenty of good, qualified farriers and trimmers(mine are barefoot) and specialist equine vets are available locally.
Keeping horses here without your own tow vehicle and trailer or horse truck is not really a thing that happens, it's just too impractical and it's a hassle.
Stabling horses outside of the racing industry isn't terribly common, some people who compete or hunt in winter might keep them in overnight. Insurance isn't really a thing for the hobbyist.
Getting good grazing down here is mission impossible and the reason me and my partner bought a house with land. Livery isn't a thing in my area at all, there are no "yards". Often the horse grazing that is offered has no facilities, no shelter and no grass, but it will still be snapped up very quickly. It's more common not to have an arena than it is to have one even among longtime horsey people.
Turning out on rough hill country for winter is still a viable management strategy and means you have a somewhat fit horse to ride next spring.

My experience in Wales (worked on a yard for a year) really contrasted with keeping horses in NZ, but I was on a 'more money that sense' type yard with a lot of very dithery, pedantic and narrowmonded people who seemed to have their horses as pets, because they certainly didn't ride much at all. I'm sure that's not generally representative There were a good many unfit, soft and fat horses there!

 

[NaeNae87]

If anyone wants to see what competitions and stuff are like where I am from, check out my blog... Link is in the signature. I need to update it but have been busy.

On another note... Please, please, please check out this video (especially if you want to see what Harry Meade was doing on 12th December.. ). It's footage from a relatively new event in Australia (this is it's 3rd year), called Eventing in the Park and features some of Australia (and the world's) big names going up against some of West Australia's up and coming stars. This year we had Harry Meade, Shaun Dillon, Megan Jones, Wendy Schaffer, Jess Manson and Sonja Johnson battling it out for the chance to win a share in $140,000 in prizes - including a car for each of the class winners. This link shows "Love Eventing" (the EITP footage) as well as Darren's other videos, including "Pony Love", "I Bloody Love Dressage" and "All Equestrian Extravaganza" which are worth a look as they showcase competition over here in Perth, the most isolated capital city in the world. Enjoy x

https://vimeo.com/149126567

 

[Curly_Feather]

What an awesome thread! Thanks for all the contributions!
I’m from sunny South Africa.

- My horse is stabled in Gauteng, near Kyalami. It’s the heart of the equestrian community, and there are many excellent show venues within a 20 minute drive from our yard.
- Insurance is easy to get, and has extensive coverage.
- I’ve got a good farrier. Other services (physio, chiro, acupuncture, saddle fitting) are also available in abundance.
- We also have really good veterinary services. I’ve seen quite a lot of stable rest for injured/lame horses, but in the last few years (with some advice from European consulting vets) more people that I know are turning out or doing extensive walking rehab.
- There are one or two yards that stable all day, due to lack of space, but mostly it’s full turnout. The paddocks at our yard are really small, but it’s a competition yard, so the horses work 5 to 6 days a week, and go on the walker every day as well.
- We have a lot of cheap labour available in our country (floods of people looking for work from Zimbabwe, Malawi and other neighbouring countries), so we have a lot of full-service yards.
- There is not as much reliance on trainers at shows as in the US (from what I’ve read over the years). You’re lucky if your trainer can be there to help you in the warm-up. And holding the ring for a trainer who has a scheduling conflict? Absolutely unheard of.
- Because of African Horse Sickness, turnout in the summer is usually only from 9am to 4pm, because before and after that the midges that spread the disease are active.
- Tying horses up to stand is not something that you see often, because everyone has grooms to hold horses at shows, but I think it’s a great skill and would love to teach mine to tie.
- We don’t have divisions for amateur vs. pro riders.

 

[ycbm]

Well isn't this thread turning out great

The incredible mucking out in the stables in Germany. Take the stables down, what a brilliant idea! I have also read about a place with hatches in the floors, and the asked bedding is chucked down onto a conveyor belt below.

And in South Africa, no one bothering to teach a horse to tie up because labour is so cheap there's always someone available to hold it.

I've thought of several new business opportunities exporting gypsy cobs to various countries and 1m show jumpers to the US.

Thanks everyone!

Where have we not heard from yet ? Russia? India? Anyone?

 

[Allie374]

Loving the blogs and videos. X😀

 

[Booboos]

I've seen the conveyor belt thing in France as well it's brilliant. The belt runs outside all the stables so you throw the muck on it and it takes it out to the trailer.

Trainers are expected to help you out at shows for free, they are around all day long and help all their pupils. In larger shows there is a competition won by the trainer whose pupils win the most classes.

 

[Casey76]

I've seen the conveyor belt thing in France as well it's brilliant. The belt runs outside all the stables so you throw the muck on it and it takes it out to the trailer.

Trainers are expected to help you out at shows for free, they are around all day long and help all their pupils. In larger shows there is a competition won by the trainer whose pupils win the most classes.

The coaches we use charge 15€ per person per class to coach on the day of competition. It's a fabulous earner for them - usually on a Sunday. Some weeks they must earn more from competition days than for a full day instructing!

 

[laura_nash]

one of the other things i've noticed in France is the amount of horses that live alone, it's normal in my area and certainly in the next dept over to pass a field with one lonely looking horse, it seems when i've questioned that if one is all you need, one is what you have, i'm fairly certain that would not be deemed acceptable in the UK?

Sadly this is also very common here (in Ireland) with broodmares, lots of farmers have one broodmare. Our neighbour has two donkeys that are kept together for company, but keeps the broodmare on her own! I don't understand it at all. It does cause some trouble when I'm riding out as these poor things get wildly over-excited at the sight of another horse - and the walls of the fields are often not that great.