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Horse Bits and Reins

How do I get my horse to go on the rail correctly?

Whenever I try to get my horse on the rail. She will do it just fine but with her nose completely pointed towards the rail. Pulling on the outside rein a bit and using leg pressure to keep her at the wall doesn’t work. She ends up completely ignoring the leg pressure and going to the inside of the arena, off the rail. She doesn’t really need to learn how to respond to leg pressure because she responds to it wonderfully doing anything else (such as circles) but my horse always has her head completely pushed into the wall. Any help?

If your using any kind of snaffle bit (O ring, D ring, full cheek) then DO NOT USE INDIRECT REINING this will only serve to confuse your horse, because that not the way they are meant to be used (they work on direct pressure on the corners of your horses mouth).

I had a trainer who had me do this with my horses and it only made the problem worse. I have also seen other horses really messed up because riders used indirect pressure with snaffle.

What worked really well for me was practicing circling onto the rail and keeping the horse bent that way. I also will to a lot of side passing onto and off the rail.

You also want to make sure that when your asking for bend that you don’t jerk on the horses mouth, or pull to hard because the horses Natural reaction to a jerk is to jerk back.

You might also check your bit for sharp edges that might be making your horse uncomfortable, and you might try a different kind of bit, like some type of curb so you could use indirect pressure.

If you are planning to buy a horse, it is essential to consider expenses involved in buying a horse plus the costs implicated in keeping a horse. Below is an estimated guide of the expected costs concerned with keeping a horse.

Field Rent

Some people such as the farmer generally have the fields available on rent for horses, which are also very reasonable at about $10 per week. The horse owners are themselves responsible for the maintenance of the field as these fields usually have the least facilities. Horse owners mostly prefer to keep their horses at a Livery Yard as these yards are well maintained and facilitated completely including the schooling arenas, tack rooms, jumps, muckheap, etc. Grass Livery costs about $20-$25 per week, DIY Stabled Livery costs about $30-$40 per week, and Full livery costs about $100-$150 per week. There are extra charges for the duties or the extra care of the horses kept there.

Hay, Shavings and straw

The horses kept on the grass livery hay do not need to be fed generally except in the winters when the grass is scarce. The amount of hay needed depends upon the size and the type of the pony. Probably some hay would be needed for the horse for about five months in a year, which will cost about $10 a week. In case of the stabled horses, hay is required all through the year to balance for the scarce of grass while stabled and this will cost about $10 a week all through the year. In addition, some form of stable bedding is required, usually straw or shavings are used for this and this can add a further $10-$20 per week to the costs all through the year.

Feed

The quantity of feed necessary will depend on the size and type of the horse, its work out routine and whether it is at grass or is stabled. A resilient horse or pony living out all the year and only getting light work out may need less amount of feed. A horse doing regular exercise may need some solid feed and a stabled horse, with customary exhausting exercise may need some extra feed all through the year which costs about $5-10 per week.

Insurance and Vet’s Fees

Every pony or a horse needs yearly inoculations against Tetanus and Influenza and are estimated to cost about $35 per year for the vaccination and about $35 consultation charges from the vet. Veterinarian fees in cases of accidents or illness can be expensive, thus it is beneficial to get your horse insured rather than paying out several hundred pounds for an incident. The expenditure of insurance to cover veterinarian’s fees may vary according to the type of cover taken and the price of the pony or the horse but generally can be expected about $20-$40 a month.

Farrier

Keeping a horse require regular visits from the farrier as horse’s feet grown continually and need trimming. This may cost about $50-$55 for shoeing the horse and about $25 for trimming per visit.

Dentist

Every visit of a dentist may cost about $50-$70.

Extras

Though the major regular costs are mentioned above, there are many unexpected expenses also, such as purchasing medical items for small cuts, shampoos; repairing of rugs and tacks etc.

Cost to Keep A Horse

How much does it cost to own and keep a horse?

How often do they need to be ridden and the stable cleaned out etc?

How much roughly would it cost for 1 horse to be kept in a stable (run by other people)?

Thanks so much for your help

depending on your area it can be between 300-700$ just call stables in your area so you know which end of the spectrum it is for you. also i ride my horses daily but they are at home so it is easier for me. when i used to board my horses and work i did a lease with a non horse owner ( i found her on craigslist she responded to my ad) you have to have a well mannered well broke horse to do this and the teenage girl paid me $200 a month to go out and ride my horse 3 days a week so it offset my boarding cost. I would just call around and as long as you can spend time with your horse 3 days a week i think you should be fine

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