Sam Taylor Equestrian Services

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Sam Taylor Equestrian Services, Horse Trainer, Colchester.

Horse Riding Instructor ● Jumping and Flatwork Lessons ● Mobile Groom ● Horse Clipping and Trimming ● Bespoke Holiday Cover Service ● Groundwork and Handling ● Long Reining ● Lunging

08/11/2026

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺 Lest We Forget 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

04/11/2026

A chilly but busy day today. I've taught some lessons, done some clipping and had regular cover boy George to look after today.

One of my morning riders was complaining she was cold, I soon warmed her up and she had a fantastic lesson. An afternoon rider was feeling a little nervous after a mishap with her young horse. I listened to what happened and came up with a plan. She finished her lesson smiling and feeling much better. Confidence is fragile, and it's an honour to be trusted to help.

Leo had an Irish clip. He lives out and is ridden around three to four times a week. An Irish clip will mean that he doesn't get too hot when working, but can still live out comfortably without having to pile loads of rugs on him.

Regular cover boy George was mucked out, poo picked, hayed, watered, yard swept and medication sorted for the next few days.

Every day is always very different with my job and that's just one reason why I love my job.

02/11/2026

If ever a client deserves a shout out about how amazing they are, it's this lady right here.

Eight weeks ago Laura and her beautiful mare Dusty both ended up underneath a lorry. The driver wedged them with no where to go on a single track lane between a grass bank and his massive HGV lorry. Dusty is the most honest mare I've met and she managed to leg yield up the bank to safety but unfortunately the bank gave way and she slipped underneath the lorry along with her rider. Shockingly once Laura and Dusty had managed to free themselves the lorry driver just drove off - don't worry, he will not be getting away with this.

Dusty suffered some pretty nasty wounds and Laura was battered and bruised too. In true horse woman style though Laura ensured the vet was called and Dusty was sorted out before she even thought about herself.

Dusty is more or less healed now from her physical wounds and has been roughed off for a few months to rest and recuperate.

Laura was ready to get back in the saddle a few weeks ago so decided that Harvey who is Dusty's field companion could come out of his semi retirement.

Three weeks ago Laura was threatening to be sick all over me and thought she couldn't do it. We make a fantastic team though and while I wasn't certain I was safe from being covered in sick, I was absolutely certain that Laura could do it.

Fast forward to today and I'm definitely safe from being covered in sick. Laura has been back in the saddle most days. She's been on a hack with Harvey, we've had several lessons and today we were doing raised poles and canter work with huge smiles.

We've still got a long way to go, but I know Harvey will be just the confidence giver that Laura needs and in a few months time we'll start gently working with Laura's precious girl Dusty again.

29/10/2026

Blanket clip with legs off and a half head for regular clipping client Hamish this morning. He's 25 years old now and I've clipped him for an awful lot of years. I'm always well looked after by Hamish's owner when I'm clipping - tidy safe working space, good coffee and lunch is always provided and very much appreciated.

Next on the clipping list is Prince who is another regular of many years. He has just had a cushings diagnosis this year so I've a feeling I'll be seeing him a little more often than usual in the future .

28/10/2026

I had the brilliant Bill for clipping today. I've known him a very long time and he's an absolute dude! I should have been seeing his owner on one of her other ponies for a lesson, however a tree had blown down in their riding area so a last minute change of plan was needed. Bill was hairy, itchy, and getting a bit a warm as the days are still mild - it made total sense to clip him instead.

Now I know a lot of clipper people would have refused to clip Bill as he was in no way clean. Grubby horses cause more wear and tear on my equipment, my blades blunt faster and the quality of the clip is not as good as it is on a clean horse. I don't like clipping horses that aren't clean as a rule and will add on a dirty horse charge if they are really dirty. Just sometimes thought, there are exceptions and today was of those times.

I was happy to make an exception today for several reasons. There's no running water at Bill's yard, so bathing him would have been a mega mission. Bill is an older boy now and he was super hairy - even if there was running water he would have taken ages to dry and would have probably gotten very cold too. Also, it was last minute so Bill's owner didn't have time to even think about getting him clean. I appreciate that she found me something else to do rather than cancel me. Bill's owner is as brilliant as Bill too - she pressed a little extra money into my hand without even been asked which more than covered the dirty horse charge which I was happy to waiver given the last minute change of plans.

Here's the best bit though, my trusty Heiniger Xplorer cordless clippers tackled that thick dirty coat and feathers with ease. I took it just a little slower than usual and made sure I used plenty of clipper oil to keep the clippers and blades running smoothly at all times - my favourite clipper oil has always been clippersharp's fine clipper oil.

Bill is now feeling so much more comfortable and less itchy now and he stood like an absolute dream during his clip.

Heiniger Equine UK ● Clippersharp
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

24/10/2026

You might want to turn the volume down before watching this - I'm loud when I teach 🤭📢

This young lady deserves a post all of her own to say just how awesome she is. She didn't really get to ride her pony in the first year of owning her as she popped out a little surprise foal. So this year has been her first proper year of really riding and to getting to know sweet little cob Jazzy.

A couple of tumbles this year have sometimes meant confidence has been fragile. This young lady never gives up no matter what and between us we always figure out a way to move successfully forward. I believe in her and her pony, and she trusts me to tactfully challenge and bring out the best.

This is a little snippet of today's lesson after a few weeks off riding due a tumble. I actually couldn't be more proud of this little lady.

Hope you're all having a super but soggy Saturday, and don't forget the clocks change overnight. An extra hour in bed sounds good after this wet day.

I really hope this winter is kind to us, I know we'll all soldier on and endure whatever we're faced with and emerge on the other side in the spring.

22/10/2026

What a beautiful autumn day compared to soggy yesterday - I absolutely love days like this.

This morning has been super busy. The clippers have been out with a hunter clip for a lovely Connemara pony called Dante, who belongs my awesome vet. It was Dante's second clip of the season and his third one is already pencilled in the diary.

Next I arrived to clip the pony in the photo of this post who is called Freddie and he thinks he's absolutely hilarious. He needed his feathers off and blended into his upper leg hair and a good mane tidy up. There was lots of work going on on the yard, so I clipped in the field gateway quite happily with Freddie's field companion Vinnie watching over us on quality control duties as he nuzzled my back - which actually turned out to be quite a nice massage!

I'm between lessons now finishing my Contigo mug of tea and sending out a few clipping appointments. It'll soon be time for me to hit the road again - I've got two more lessons to fit in before the light begins to fade.

I love having busy days like today full of the best clients I could wish for.

18/10/2026

This little mare is the sweetest girl ever, but my goodness can she move on the long reins when she wants to. The sparkle that was injected into our most recent long reining session was caused by a tractor working in the field next door... the very same tractor that she had been happily grazing next to and not in the least bit bothered about😂

So we took the opportunity to stand in the Autumn sunshine, have scratches and take pretty photos. Once the tractor had gone we continued with our long reining session beautifully, with just enough sparkle and managing not to leap in the air.

09/10/2026

I've been getting lots of clipping enquiries recently which is fantastic. I don't advertise my little business - only what you see on this page, and by word of mouth recommendations.

When contacting me for clipping the type of message I most commonly recieve is:
"Hi can I have a price for clipping please."

What would be really helpful is, if in the initial message you could include the following:
●Location - what3Words location is super
●What type of clip is required
●Details of extras - mane and tail tidy up etc
●If you have electric - no problem if you don't!
●What the horse is like like to clip
●If we need to tie in with the vet for sedation
●Your availability - especially if it's limited

Thanks to everyone who has been returning to me for clipping year after year - some of you have almost completed your second decade of me clipping your horses! Also, thank you so much for all the recommendations, they are always much appreciated.

Dolly has recently had her second hunter clip of the clipping season and I'll be seeing her again in November - she's absolutely one of my favourite clients.

04/10/2026

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday, many of you will have already ridden this morning and some of you will be riding this afternoon or evening.

I'd like to ask you all a question. How often do you check your tack? I mean really check it and check that it is still safe for use and doesn't need repairing or replacing.

Now I'd like to ask you to check your tack before your next ride. Then check it regularly going forwards.

Take a look at the first picture - its a near side flexi stirrup. Looks like a lot of stirrups I see on saddles day after day. Nothing really jumps out to you that there's anything wrong with it.

Now take a look a picture two - the same stirrup, photo taken just moments after the first one. The only difference is I've moved the rubber that was covering the flexi hinges. Flakes of rust fell off as I exposed hinges that were no longer safe for use. You wouldn't have expected to see that amount of wear and tear by looking at the first picture - would you?

The following pictures are the off side stirrup of this pair. Unfortunately on Tuesday one of my riders found out the hard way that these stirrups were at the end of their life. When having our last canter around the corner the outside stirrup broke. My rider fell and their next stop was the accident and emergency department at Colchester hospital. Unfortunately my rider badly broke their wrist and now has an awful lot metal work in it. Sounds pretty awful doesn't it, but in actual fact it could have been so much worse.

This was no ones fault, equipment can and does fail through wear and tear. Yes it could have been avoided if the client had checked their equipment, and my goodness they feel so bad that they didn't check it. Why would they though? Picture one doesn't raise any suspicions about what's underneath.

I have full permission from my client to post these images - it is a reminder to us all that we must check the condition of our tack and do so regularly.

Now come on - go and check your equipment folks and ride safely.

Address

Colchester

Website

http://www.equestrian-services.co.uk/

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