GlenOlive Equitation

07/06/2026

Balance, strength, coordination, rhythm, straightness, relaxation…

I could go on and on- have a look at the poster to learn more. Polework is an important component of our training in the GlenOlive arena - and winter is a great time for pole sessions!

We were lucky yesterday when Meg, our new grazer, turned up with some lovely coloured poles to add to the collection!

If you are keen to join a group or want an individual pole session- message me.

26/05/2026

20/05/2026

When we assess a horse’s welfare, we tend to think about functional aspects such as; feed, water, shelter, turnout, social contact and veterinary care. Rarely do we stop to ask about how the handler or rider is feeling when they are in the horse’s environment.

Yet handler/rider emotional state is a variable that directly affects how a horse feels and behaves, and is therefore a critical consideration when assessing their welfare.
Read more on the NavigateWelfare site:
https://lnkd.in/ebqp4di3

14/05/2026

Social contact is more than just being able to see another horse. Even if horses are in separate living spaces (for grass intake management for example), they will still find ways for physical contact. Allo-grooming is a comfort behaviour, a social behavioural need, as well as having functional reasons such as maintaining skin health and fly control.

Rugs create a barrier to horses being able to groom as they need to - so if horses are rugged for management or climate reasons- its important to get them off as much as possible for enabling normal social interactions and positive mental health.

11/05/2026

Our gorgeous GlenOlive Donkeys (and friends!) - Bonita and Chino - just two of the world’s awesome 44 or so million long eared equids left that deserve to be celebrated on World Donkey Day!

Sadly unlike the two much loved chubby Donks living their good life here at GlenOlive, millions of less fortunate donkeys are inhumanely killed every year in support of the Donkey Skin Trade- a global market for donkey skin for the production of ejiao. Eijia is a key ingredient in many traditional Chinese health remedies and its made primarily from the collagen found in the skin of donkeys.
If you don’t know about this horrendous tradecand consequences for some of the poorest people and communities in the world - and what you can do -
read more here: https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/end-the-donkey-skin-trade

02/05/2026

Mikki’s Kintail Equine experience! Lucky girl had an awesome holiday 😀

30/04/2026

Being out of action due to shoulder surgery is frustrating and I’ve been reliant on a lot of good people - especially my long suffering hubby to help with the horses, donkeys and all!

We are very grateful to Laura and Ali of Kintail Equine for having Mikki horse to stay there for the past few weeks, introducing her to their hills and looking after her so well!

29/04/2026

28/12/2025

I’m selling my lovely dark brown WOW dressage/showing saddle. I used to love hacking in it too because it so comfy! The seat is size 2 (18 inch)- with lots of padding in the right places. It has DWG flaps (with stitchline and tabs, for those familiar with WOW saddle terminology!) . It’s an older model, but in great condition.

The main thing is that it’s very adjustable to suit your horse and your needs. I have a range of headplates (gullets) available and the flair system can be customised for your horse either by a WOW fitter (and there are great fitters available locally) or by doing it yourself with the WOW fitting kit and instructions that come with the saddle!

It’s a beautiful saddle and well cared for. I just don’t have any use for it.

If you are interested or know of someone who is- then message me for a chat and I’m happy for you to bring your horse here to try it!

I would like to clear my tack room so only looking for a fair modest price.

22/12/2025

Professor Nat Waran OBE Last week (December 14-18th 2025), I had the privilege of delivering a couple of invited talks at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Equine Welfare Foundation's inaugural conference on 'Applying Science to the Care of the Thoroughbred Racehorse'. The first of these required me to refl...