Animals Back in Action

18/09/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18orrbrQBH/

15/09/2025

Wow what a generous prize pool! Just for taking a photo with your lovely NSC saddle!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B2oyMpPqY/

WE’RE GIVING AWAY $2000…And We Need Your Photo. Ready for your chance to win big? We’re giving away a massive $2000 in NSC store credit and we want to see you and your favourite NSC saddle! For the first time ever, our store credit can be used on our ENTIRE range, including a brand new...

11/09/2025

Great team work 👍

https://www.facebook.com/share/19Kcg6hWAZ/

11/09/2025

I love how many bits are available now to try and will always let the horse tell me which one they like best in their mouth. There are so many aspects to bit fitting. This is a great illustration of a few of them.

https://www.facebook.com/share/166Np3fJLH/

31/08/2025

Our week away in Taupo for the North Island Secondary School equestrian Champs was a good one as it always is.
🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎
I am back to work as of Monday Sept 1st. Please get in touch if you would like to make a booking or just to confirm a current one. Either PM me here, text me on 0221910012 or email me at [email protected]

23/08/2025

Busy Saturday. Ticking off a few final jobs this morning, and catching up with smiling faces in the sunshine at the Wairarapa Jumping Group show hunter practice day. Then home for an afternoon preparing for a week away in Taupo at NISS. Dandelion lost some hair and the float gained some.

05/08/2025

One to read all the way through. We shouldn't need science to stop cranking the horse's nose shut, it does reinforce why though, the results are horrendous. Over 300% increase in pressure in a tight nose band compared to the 2 finger fitted. And 1 finger tension looses a full hoof space out of the stride length. Plus trigeminal nerve pressure, which in humans (neuralgia) has been recorded as causing 50/50 on a pain scale!

New research shows cranking the noseband hurts your horse's gait.

There are always many opinions about nosebands. Too loose, and a trainer might call it sloppy. Too tight, and it becomes a welfare concern. There are studded and crank and chain and traditional, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos designed to keep our horse’s mouth shut, but what is best for the horse? Is cranking that extra hole doing more harm than good?

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science examined the impact of noseband tightness on pressure and performance. The results are eye-opening if you believe that a tighter noseband means better performance in the ring.

Most riders are familiar with the standard: leave two fingers’ space beneath the noseband. It’s even outlined in guidelines from the FEI. And according to the study, 85% of riders say they know this recommendation. But when researchers actually measured the fit using a standardized taper gauge, only 15% had their nosebands adjusted to the proper tension.

The vast majority were too tight. Sometimes dramatically too tight.

The Hidden Pressure on a Horse’s Face
In the study, eight horses were fitted with a simple cavesson noseband and tested at three settings: a standard two-finger fit, a snug one-finger fit, and a cranked-tight zero-finger fit. Under each setting, researchers measured facial pressure and evaluated gait.

- The one-finger setting increased pressure on the nasal bone by 54% over the two-finger baseline.
- The zero-finger setting? A staggering 338% increase in pressure.

Imagine trying to do your day job with a belt cinched tight around your nose and jaw. Now add that your success relies on body movement, and you have no way to say, “This hurts.” That’s similar to what the horse might feel like being asked to perform in a fully tightened noseband that more than triples the force exerted on its face.

Unfortunately, changes to tack and equipment don’t typically come solely from the perspective of the horse’s comfort. So let’s look at performance as well.

In addition to pressure data, the researchers measured each horse’s trot stride. As the noseband got tighter, the stride got shorter—by a lot. On average:

- Horses at the one-finger tightness lost 6.2% of their stride length.
- With a fully tightened noseband, stride loss jumped to 11.1%.

In real-world terms, that’s about 24 centimeters, roughly the length of a hoof, disappearing from every stride. While that may not sound dramatic at first, consider how it compounds across a full course. Shorter strides can mean rushed distances, flat movement, and a horse that never quite gets to “flow.” In the hunter ring, 24 centimeters could be the difference between pinning in a highly competitive under saddle class.

And this wasn’t just about stiffness or resistance. The study found a statistically significant negative correlation between noseband pressure and stride length. In short, the tighter the fit, the shorter the step.

Sure, a longer stride is helpful in the show ring. But this research highlights deeper concerns about what that level of pressure does to the horse’s face and nerves. The noseband sits directly over sensitive structures, including branches of the trigeminal nerve, which help regulate posture and proprioception. Excessive pressure here doesn’t just hurt. It may also interfere with the horse’s balance and coordination.

Previous studies have shown that pressures as low as 32 kPa can damage tissue. In this study, the tightest noseband setting reached an average of 115.8 kPa. That’s far above what’s been associated with pain or injury in other species. That number isn’t just theoretical. It’s happening under tack, often unnoticed, every day. And unlike overt lameness, this kind of pressure flies under the radar, making it easy to miss, but just as impactful.

🔗 Read the full article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/07/30/new-research-shows-cranking-your-noseband-hurts-your-horses-gait/

🔗 Read the full study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080625003120?via%3Dihub

01/08/2025

A well written post for an important discussion

Today I've put on my brave pants because equine welfare is important to me.... as is being kind, compassionate, supportive and understanding to my fellow riders. This topic is emotionally charged, but it's a conversation that is necessary and sticking our heads in the sand won't help ourselves or our horses.

🧠 Fat Shaming vs. Equine Welfare: Let's Clear This Up 🐴

In the equestrian world, conversations around rider size can quickly become uncomfortable. But here's the thing: talking about load limits isn’t about fat shaming — it's about equine welfare. There’s a big difference between targeting a person’s body shape and discussing what a horse can physically carry without risking pain, injury, or long-term damage.

📣 Your amount of body fat or how much you weigh does not need to be discussed. In fact, a tall muscular person can weigh more than a shorter person who has higher adipose tissue (bodyfat).
This is not a conversation about anyone’s worth, appearance, or character. It’s about physics and biomechanics (which is measurable and does not change), and the welfare of our horses.

📊 The Research Is Clear
Multiple studies support the 20% rule: horses should carry no more than 20% of their bodyweight, including tack and rider. Beyond this point, horses begin to display observable signs of stress and unsoundness — regardless of how balanced the rider is or how well the saddle fits.

🔬 Key Findings

✅ Clayton (2020) found that even with a balanced rider and appropriate tack, horses showed increased gait asymmetry, higher heart rates, and signs of discomfort when load exceeded 20% of their bodyweight.

✅ Greve & Dyson (2013) observed that exceeding this threshold often led to lameness, saddle slipping, and altered movement patterns, even in well-conditioned horses.

✅ Powell et al. (2008) demonstrated that horses carrying 25–30% of their bodyweight had significant increases in muscle soreness, heart rate, and fatigue compared to those carrying 15–20%.

⚖️ Yes, There Are Other Factors Too
It’s not just about the numbers. Factors like the age of the horse, their back health, fitness level, the type and duration of activity, and rider skill and balance all matter. A fit, skilled, and light rider may impact a horse less than an unbalanced one — but weight is still weight, and the research shows even the best riders cannot eliminate the risk once past the 20% threshold.

🤝 No Room for Bullying
There is absolutely no place for abuse, bullying, or humiliation of riders. Conversations around appropriate rider-horse matching must be sensitive, kind, and thoughtful. It’s essential to create space for honest, supportive discussions without shame.

🐴 But We Must Do More to Protect Our Horses
Our horses can’t speak up when they are struggling. It is our duty to advocate for them, to keep their welfare front and centre, and to ensure they are not placed in situations where physical harm is inevitable.

If you’re unsure whether you're within your horse’s safe load limit, consider:

✅ Weighing yourself and your tack

✅ Knowing your horse’s actual weight (not just guessing)

✅ Speaking with a vet, bodyworker, or qualified saddle fitter

✅ Exploring different breeds or horse types that better match your riding needs

🥰Let’s keep these conversations kind, factual, and horse-centred.
Protecting our horses is not up for debate.

09/07/2025

It feels like its been forever since Ada has had a chance to enjoy her favorite west coast beach. Love dry winter days

07/07/2025

Thanks to Carterton Pharmacy for donating these luscious gift boxes. There are 2 chances to win one in prize draw 1 and 2 of our raffle.

07/07/2025

Rosie is part of the team going to Taupo this August to represent Kuranui College with the equestrian team. Get in touch if youd like to support her and the other riders by buying raffle tickets

Our first raffle is under way with 3 prize pools to choose from. All filled with fantastic goodies. $5 a ticket or $10 for 3. Go all in for one or spread your chances across the 3. Your choice which raffle you enter.
Contact us here with a comment, via the Face book messaging, or buy tickets from one of our team members.
We are so grateful to all the businesses who have donated prizes to help us along with our fundraising, we couldn't do it without everyone's help.

18/06/2025

The girls are ready for the winters day