Stirrups Equestrian Services of Derbyshire

10/09/2026

31/08/2026

A horse that’s head tossing, opening its mouth, evading the bit or fighting the contact isn’t necessarily misbehaving.

It may be trying to tell you something.

Yet one of the first things people often do is tighten the noseband, strap the mouth shut, change the bit or add more equipment to stop the behaviour.

But stopping the horse from showing discomfort doesn’t make the discomfort disappear.

This photo is a perfect example of why checking your horse’s mouth and teeth matters. 🦷🐴

Sharp points, hooks, ulcers, damaged teeth and other dental problems can make having a bit in the mouth extremely uncomfortable. Then we get frustrated when the horse tosses its head, opens its mouth, refuses the contact or becomes difficult to ride.

Before asking, “How do I stop my horse doing this?”

Ask, “Why is my horse doing this?”

Check the teeth. Check the mouth. Check the bit and bridle fit. Look at the whole horse and rule out pain before reaching for stronger or tighter equipment.

It baffles me how many horses are labelled naughty or difficult when they may simply be trying their hardest to say:

“Something hurts.”

Listen to your horse. They can’t speak, so behaviour is one of the ways they communicate. ❤️🐴

27/07/2026

⚠️ Hard ground warning ⚠️

The recent extended period of dry weather has really caused the ground to harden up. Are you aware of the risks of riding on hard ground?

🐎 Exercising your horse on hard ground can cause concussion-related lameness issues. When the horse’s hoof meets the ground, it’s subjected to a great deal of concussive force.

When the ground is softer, it absorbs some of the impact and provides cushioning to the foot - but the harder the ground, the less force is absorbed and the more stress on the horse.

It’s not only ridden horses who are at risk of concussive injuries from hard ground - any retired oldies who like to show you they’ve still got it by galloping round their paddock can also do themselves some damage! If this sounds like your horse, consider bringing them in a little earlier than usual.

Shod horses are also at greater risk from hard ground than unshod horses, as unshod horses actually absorb some of the concussive forces through their frogs.

Hard ground can cause injuries like:
🔵 Jarring injuries
⚪️ Tendon and ligament injuries
🔵 Bruised soles
⚪️ Splints
🔵 Concussive laminitis
⚪️ Pedal bone fractures

You can reduce the risk by:
🔵 Trying not to work your horse on hard ground too often
⚪️ Choosing softer surfaces for jumping where possible
🔵 Apply cold water after hard work
⚪️ Maintain your horse’s overall fitness/strength
🔵 Listen to your individual horse

29/05/2026

Why are so many horses being “mis-sold”?

I’m not entirely convinced they are.

You go and try a horse, in its home environment, with people it knows, in a routine it understands. You like what you feel. Maybe you go back and try it again… same place, same setup. It all feels good, and you think this is the one.

Vetting passed and you bring your new horse home...and then everything changes.

New yard. New field. New stable. New people. New routine. New smells, sounds, expectations.

You give them a day. Maybe two. Sometimes not even that.
Then you get on. New tack, different bit, new arena, people watching.

But suddenly, you’re not sitting on the same horse you tried.
They feel different. Tense. Sharp. Spooky. Not quite what you remember.

So now you’re on edge. Watching for everything. Questioning every step, every reaction, every feeling.

And this is where it starts to unravel.

Because what we often forget, or maybe underestimate, is just how big that upheaval is for them.

We’ve taken them out of everything they know, everything that felt safe and predictable, and dropped them into something completely unfamiliar… then expected them to perform exactly the same, almost immediately.

When they don’t, it’s easy to assume something’s wrong.
That the seller wasn’t honest. That the horse isn’t as advertised.

And so the horse gets labelled ''not as described''. The lucky ones are sent back, the unlucky ones are sold on, some going on to boomerang from one place to the next.

But what if the problem isn’t that the horse was mis-sold…
What if it’s that we expect instant consistency from an animal going through complete change?

Horses don’t just arrive and slot neatly into our expectations. They need time to settle, to understand, to feel safe again. They need space to adjust before they can show you who they actually are.
If we don’t give them that, we’re not seeing the horse we bought, we’re seeing a horse trying to cope, and that’s a very different thing.

Maybe the question isn’t “why are so many horses being mis-sold?”
Maybe it’s… are we giving them a fair chance to be the horse we thought we were buying?