Stable & Hoof · The reference
Find the answer you came for.
Breeds, riding, daily care and the partnership. Follow a question or find something for a horse lover.
76 results
- The partnership
Horse years in human years.
Every converter gives a different answer, and the harder problem is the number you type into it.
- The daily round
How do you muck out a stable?
Mucking out means clearing droppings and wet, soiled bedding from a stable and keeping clean, dry bedding down.
- The daily round
How do you pick out a horse's hoof?
Picking out a hoof means using a hoof pick to clear stones, mud, and dirt from the sole and frog.
- The partnership
How long do horses live?
Many horses and ponies now live into their 30s, the British Horse Society says, and a 2011 welfare review agrees, though no body publishes an official average.
- Dreaming of horses
How much does a horse cost?
The purchase price of a horse is usually the smallest part of the true cost of ownership.
- Dreaming of horses
How much does a horse weigh?
Around 180 to 200kg for a Shetland, 450 to 500kg for a Thoroughbred, and over a tonne for a big Shire. Your own horse is easy to estimate at home.
- Choosing your horse
Hunter horse portraits and prints
Bone, substance, day in deep going: the British hunter is a type that survives.
- Choosing your horse
Irish Sport Horse
Tough, kind, brilliant over a fence: the working amateur's eventing horse.
- Choosing your horse
KWPN Dutch Warmbloods
Ster, Keur, Elite: the Dutch sport horse studbook and its earned predicates.
- The partnership
National Hunt racing, and what the horses jump.
The hurdle height everybody quotes is the height of the panel, not the height of the jump. The regulator's own specification says so.
- Choosing your horse
New Forest pony portraits and prints
Hampshire-born, semi-feral, the British family's native pony.
- Choosing your horse
Paint Horse
Tobiano, overo, tovero: every Paint Horse is visually unique by genetic design.
- Gifts for horse lovers
Personalised or ready-made?
A ready-made horse artwork can be a thoughtful gift. So can a name print or a favourite photograph. The useful difference is what you know about the recipient, what they would enjoy using or displaying, and how…
- Choosing your horse
Piebald or skewbald: what is the difference?
Piebald is black and white. Skewbald is white with any other colour: brown, red, bay or chestnut.
- The partnership
Point-to-point horse racing, and the jumps season.
The amateur end of British jump racing, and the only racing in this country legally tethered to hunting.
- Horse gifts
Pony gifts
The best pony gift for a pony-mad child is their pony, by name: on a print for the bedroom wall, on a mug, or as a portrait from a photo. Every piece is made to order.
- Choosing your horse
Quarter Horse
America's working stock horse: sprint speed, cow sense, the dominant breed of the global horse register.
- Choosing your horse
Shetland pony
The smallest British native pony with the biggest personality on the yard.
- Choosing your horse
Shire horse
The Shire is the British heavy horse: stallions stand at least 17hh, it was bred for the plough and the brewer's dray, and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists it as At Risk.
- The partnership
Showing ponies with the British Show Pony Society.
What the society offers its members, written by the society itself: the shows, the qualifiers for the national finals, and the Areas that run it locally.
- The daily round
The daily round
The parts that never make the photos: feed, rugs, the muck heap, and four hooves that need doing whatever the weather is.
- The daily round
The horse rug guide.
Many horses stay comfortable without a rug until it drops below 5°C, the British Horse Society says. Clipping, age, condition and wet, windy weather change that, and the published weight charts disagree.
- The partnership
The partnership
What the work turns into: the disciplines you might take up, and the length of the road you are on together.
- Choosing your horse
Thoroughbred horse
A Thoroughbred is a horse recorded in the General Stud Book, bred for racing and prized for speed. Most go on to a second career after the track.
- Custom horse portrait from your photo
Turn a horse photo into a portrait in a painted style: how it works
Upload your horse’s photo, choose one of five styles, and select the result you want to print. After email verification, you can generate up to three free, watermarked previews per day. This guide explains how …
- Choosing your horse
Warmblood horses
Hanoverian, KWPN, Trakehner, Holsteiner: the European sport horse register family.
- Choosing your horse
Welsh pony portraits and prints
Four Welsh sections, four different ponies: the breed family that runs British Pony Club.
- The daily round
What are the types of horse rugs?
Horse rugs fall into a few main types (turnout, stable, cooler, and fly) each suited to a different job.
- The daily round
What do horses eat?
Horses are built to eat forage first (grass, hay or haylage) with hard feed added only as needed.
- The partnership
What do you do with a horse passport when the horse dies?
The passport must be returned to the organisation that issued it within 30 days of the horse's death.