ZF Equestrian

27/05/2026

🐴 LIVERY SPACES AVAILABLE ! 🐴

Due to horses retirement we are opening enquiries for livery spaces at ZF Equestrian .
Assisted DIY - Full livery
Sorry we don’t offer full DIY

⭐️ We currently have space available on our well located, spacious, friendly and inclusive yard just outside Thame.

⭐️ Livery packages include ⭐️

💎 Large stables with good air flow.
💎 Turn out, bring in and feet picked out.
💎 Hay, straw/ Abios included
💎 Basic hard feed included.
💎 All year turnout in secure paddocks with excellent grazing.
💎 Large (30x60) outdoor floodlit arena with dressage markers and a full set of show jumps on an all weather surface.
💎 Solarium with hot and cold water wash box.
💎 Monarch horse walker
💎 Direct access to farm land and local hacking.
💎 Gated entry and secure tack room.
💎 Physiotherapy treatments and Sports massage treatments available at extra cost (included with Rehabilitation livery).
💎 Friendly, positive atmosphere to suit everyone from happy hackers to competition horses.

⭐️ We have a wealth of experience with all types of horses, training and rehab. Also a fully qualified and insured Animal Physiotherapists and Equine Sports Massage Therapist on site.

⭐️ We also offer:
- Rehabilitation and box rest livery - Holiday or short stay livery
(availability dependent on spaces)

⭐️ Full exercise programmes available. Bespoke to your needs. Ground work, lunging and ridden schooling. We will create a program to suit you and your horse.

⭐️ Please Text and/or Call Zoe on 07516760706 to have a chat, ask questions and discuss your Intrest
⭐️ please do leave a voicemail if calling and I will get back to you ASAP.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

24/05/2026

Due to horses heading off to retirement we have spaces becoming available. Please contact me for more detail.

29/04/2026

Poison hemlock and Queen Anne’s lace can look similar at a glance, but confusing them can be dangerous.
Poison Hemlock is highly toxic, while Queen Anne's Lace is commonly known as wild carrot. Both can produce white umbrella-shaped flower clusters, which is why people sometimes mistake one for the other.
The fastest field clue is the stem:

Poison hemlock: smooth, hairless stem with purple blotches or streaks

Queen Anne’s lace: green stem covered in tiny hairs or fuzz

Other useful differences:

Height: Poison hemlock can grow very tall, often much taller than Queen Anne’s lace

Flower shape: Queen Anne’s lace often forms a tighter, nest-like cluster

Center flower: Queen Anne’s lace may have a small dark purple floret in the middle

Odor: Poison hemlock can have an unpleasant smell when crushed

Important safety note: do not rely on a single feature, and never eat wild plants unless identification is certain. Poison hemlock contains dangerous toxins that can cause paralysis and can be fatal if ingested.
When in doubt, admire from a distance.
Source: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (2023), Poison Hemlock Identification and Management.

10/04/2026

“He’s not in pain, we’ve had everything checked.”

If there is one phrase that will set me off faster than any other, it's this one, and I used to be someone who would say it.

You may have had a vet check, the dentist, farrier, physio and saddle fitter out, but that does not mean your horse is not in pain, it does not mean they are free from discomfort, it does not mean that the behaviour isn't stress related.

What it means is that you've checked all the tick boxes in your head and drawn the conclusion that it's ''just them''.

But the uncomfortable reality that a lot of people don't like to sit with is that your horse is communicating, and you aren't listening or understanding.

Horses communicate with us all the time, in tiny, sometimes unnoticeable ways if you aren't paying attention - a slight hesitation to go forward, tightening the jaw when you pick up the reins, the ears that flick back and stay there a bit too long, the tail swish, the head toss.

Those are whispers, and they are really easy to ignore if the horse still ''does the job''.

So we keep going, we kick on, we put the jumps up, we enter the test, because you've had 'everything checked'.

Now they're resisting, they're hollowing, bracing, refusing to go forwards.

We label it quirky, attitude, laziness, mareish, spicy, sharp and we kick on, we pick up a whip, put on some spurs, buy a titanium mask, swap the bit.

Then you get the explosions, the fly bucking, the leaping, the sideways canter, the tanking off after a fence, the rushing to get to the fence.

And what do we do? We post it online. People laugh, people like, people share, people praise the ''amazing seat'' of the rider and what they don't see is a horse screaming, trying desperately to communicate and not only being ignored, but being pushed for more.

Horses do not go from fine to explosive overnight. They whisper, the ask, they insist, they shout and then they scream, and somewhere in that time, we missed it - or we dismissed it, because we've 'had everything checked'.

Everything is not everything. Pain isn't always obvious, stress shows up in different ways, discomfort doesn't always show up on an x-ray…and even if it's not pain, it's still communication. Confusion, stress, overwhelm, fear. This isn't 'misbehaviour', this isn't personality traits or character.

Horses do not wake up with an intention to misbehave, they are not capable of 'choosing' a behaviour knowing the consequence, but instead of listening to the scream, or hearing the whisper, it's quicker to put on a flash, change the bit, tighten the noseband, buy a supplement and give them a label.

Listening properly requires us to question ourselves - our riding, our management, our expectations - and that’s the bit people really don't like.

None of us are perfect, I'm certainly not, but I'm learning and I don't intend to every stop. The moment you really start paying attention to your horse, you realise just how succinctly and discreetly they communicate.

If you hear the whisper, they never have to shout.

20/01/2026

01/10/2025

19/09/2025

Morning Wisdom!! ❤️🐴

20/08/2025

The fundamentals of any treatment plan can be divided into two areas (physical management and pharmacological management), and the same applies for lameness treatments.

Although there is a lot of focus on drugs, the physical management of the condition is just as important as pharmacological intervention. Every treatment plan differs from horse to horse, but as long as the lameness doesn’t increase, a general rule of thumb to maintain the physical side of treatment is to keep the horse active. You can do this by:

✅ Maintain active movement with low impact exercise
✅ Spend extra time warming-up
✅ Avoid working on hard, concussive surfaces at any pace faster than a walk
✅ Keep the horse’s weight under control, to avoid extra pressure on joints from excess weight
✅ Talk to us and your farrier to make sure there is a good hoof-pastern axis in order to equalise weight distribution throughout lower limb

Treatments should be tailored to every individual patient with you, vet, farrier, physiotherapist, nutritionist and trainer. Give us a call to discuss your specific options.

02/07/2025

13/05/2025

🐴 LIVERY SPACES AVAILABLE ! 🐴

As some of our rehabs are heading home we are opening enquiries for livery spaces at ZF Equestrian .
Assisted DIY - Full livery
Sorry we don’t offer unassisted DIY

⭐️ We currently have space available on our well located, spacious, friendly and inclusive yard just outside Thame.

⭐️ Livery packages include ⭐️

💎 Large stables with good air flow.
💎 Turn out, bring in and feet picked out.
💎 Hay, straw/ Abios included
💎 Basic hard feed included.
💎 All year turnout in secure paddocks with excellent grazing.
💎 Large (30x60) outdoor floodlit arena with dressage markers and a full set of show jumps on an all weather surface.
💎 Solarium with hot and cold water wash box.
💎 Monarch horse walker
💎 Direct access to farm land and local hacking.
💎 Gated entry and secure tack room.
💎 Physiotherapy treatments and Sports massage treatments available at extra cost (included with Rehabilitation livery).
💎 Friendly, positive atmosphere to suit everyone from happy hackers to competition horses.

⭐️ We have a wealth of experience with all types of horses, training and rehab. Also a fully qualified and insured Animal Physiotherapists and Equine Sports Massage Therapist on site.

⭐️ We also offer:
- Rehabilitation and box rest livery - Holiday or short stay livery
(availability dependent on spaces)

⭐️ Full exercise programmes available. Bespoke to your needs. Ground work, lunging and ridden schooling. We will create a program to suit you and your horse.

⭐️ Please Text and/or Call Zoe on 07516760706 to have a chat, ask questions and discuss your Intrest
⭐️ please do leave a voicemail if calling and I will get back to you ASAP.

Looking forward to hearing from you.