Feel well, stay well

With more than 30 horses to look after, there’s rarely a quiet day on our yard. But their welfare is always our priority and, even though there’s a lot to do every day, we never compromise on taking the time and effort to get to know each and every personality, so we can cater to their individual needs and keep them happy and healthy.

Getting to know the horses in every aspect of their lives is important, from turnout preferences to feeding requirements, but we also pay particular attention to learning about their bodies. You can apply all of these little checks to your own horse – try to make them part of your routine so they become a habit. Feeling over your horse’s body doesn’t take long and it’s so worth it if it means you can stop a problem in its tracks.

Top tip

Desensitising horses to being touched all over is really important. We need to know all about their bodies, so getting them used to this from a young age is a big part of our process.

Initial checks

When we get ready to ride, the horses have their feet picked out in the stable before coming out into the cross ties. One of my main rules on the yard is that when the feet are picked out, we always run our hands down the horse’s legs to check for any lumps or bumps. By doing this, we become familiar with what’s normal for the horses, which means we can quickly feel for anything that might be wrong.

As much as we’d like to spend hours pampering the horses to make them look their best, in reality we don’t have time to do this before every ride so that’s saved for bigger occasions. I like to make sure the horses look respectable, though – I don’t want to be caught out hacking on a grey covered in poo stains!

Did you know?

Emily, my head girl, keeps track of everything. From individual rugging requirements down to planning shoeing cycles so they don’t affect event preparation – everything is meticulously organised and analysed to keep the horses at their peak.

Top tip

Make sure you check your horse over when he comes in from the field, too, as this is where he’s most likely to pick up any issues or injuries.

Check out more of Pippa’s essential pre-ride routine in February Horse&Rider – out now!