Chaser Equine - Emma Fenwick

23/04/2025

16/04/2025

🐎I’ve got 1 space left for training on Good Friday at Sandfields Equestrian 1pm-1.30pm🐎

11/04/2025

For sale:
Stinger fly spray £15
Citronella summer spray £12
Apple lytes electrolytes £18
Acid ease £38

10/04/2025

Found this in an old book. Food for thought🐎

07/04/2025

For sale:
Treats £4
Citronella spray £12
Super so kalm £25
All brand new unopened stock

03/04/2025

I’m available for lessons on Good Friday, 18th April at Sandfields Equestrian.
Poles, gridwork or flatwork 🐎🐎 pls msg or comment to book in 😊

02/04/2025

Raffie and his shadow!

31/03/2025

Few stock items for sale all brand new unopened.
Vits and minerals £20.
Acid ease £38.
Super so kalm syringes £15 each
Can deliver locally.

14/03/2025

The only clean-ish part of him 🙄

22/02/2025

Stock for sale, all brand new. Please message if you would like any information on the products.

15/02/2025

I have availability over the next few weekends for lessons and coaching either at Sandfields Equestrian or I can travel locally to you.
Happy to help with flatwork, poles, grids or showjumping. I also have experience helping riders with fitness planning, equine nutrition, dressage test riding and working through rider and horse confidence issues. Please give me a message if you would like more information 🐴😀

14/02/2025

Happy Friday!!🐴🥕🥕

26/01/2025

Back on again 🙌both of us very scruffy but feeling like I’m sitting effectively again. 🏇

22/01/2025

I have availability for lessons this weekend at Sandfields Equestrian 🐎🐎
30 mins private £20, which includes arena hire. Please message me for further details

21/01/2025

I have two 1.5kg pouches of vitamins and minerals for sale. £20 each, can deliver locally.

18/01/2025

Louis was very tired after the dentist yesterday 💤💤 can’t believe the old boy is 22 this year 😱
Thankyou James Arkley Equine Dental Services

13/01/2025

Why trainers PUSH horses TOO FAST

Klaus Balkenhol explains, "Although breeders have created a better horse, the market has created a demand for a stronger, healthier, more powerful horse. It's easier to sell a horse that looks like a carefully developed eight-year-old, and not like a three- or four-year-old just beginning his career. If you force it, you can get a three-year-old to physically look like a developed eight-year-old. Too many colts remain stallions which, if approved, promise breeders higher prices as three-year-olds. Now 250 to 300 young stallions are presented each year, when only 40 or 50 will be approved.

Few breeders have the sense to geld the yearling stallions and leave them on the pasture to mature naturally. Instead, yearling stallions are brought into a stall, fed too much grain, and at three, look like six- or seven-year-olds. They have muscle mass, but not enough bone structure to support it. They look mature from the outside but aren't . . . and when started to work, degeneration sets in. Competitions also create pressure to push horses too fast as competitions are now scheduled throughout the year without any breaks."

Common Mistakes In Pushing Too Fast
Tightening the noseband: "A horse resists by sticking out his tongue. Tightening the noseband too much puts pressure on the nose and on the poll. If it is necessary to tighten the noseband very tightly, then something has gone very wrong in the basic training of the horse. The horse cannot be relaxed, the first step on the training scale," warns Klaus.

Specializing too early: "Drilling every day in the indoor arena is too intense for the young horse. It's very important, especially in the first two years of training, not to specialize the young horse. Training should include a variety of activities, including trail riding, which is good for the mind as well as building strength with hill work. It should include jumping, either free or low jumps under saddle, including small natural obstacles on the trail, and cavaletti. A variety of work will allow the horse to stay mentally fresh and to enjoy his work. Only when the horse is happy can dressage become art."

Not checking tack frequently: "Saddle and tack need to be checked constantly for proper fit and adjusted as the horse's body changes with growth, and as his fitness improves with the training. If the noseband gets too low, for example, and the skin between the noseband and the bit is rubbed and becomes sore, this causes the horse discomfort and loss of relaxation. Regularly check for sharp edges and bit problems in the horse's mouth and teeth."

Working too long: "The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller. Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse."

Riding when the horseman is tense: "Horses are particularly sensitive to the rider's mood. A rider shouldn't ride if she is under undue stress or doesn't have the time to ride. If the rider has a bad day, give the horse a rest day or go for a relaxing trail ride; don't work in the arena. The horse mirrors the rider's mood."

Not praising the horse enough: "The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing. If the horse offers piaffe, for instance, because he's excited, praise him for it. You shouldn't stop the lesson at that point nor make a big deal out of it. If you don't want piaffe, quietly urge him forward into trot, but you should NEVER punish him for offering the piaffe. - Klaus Blakenhol

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography