Minimalist Equestrian

By Sarah Southwell

For many horse owners the answer is probably yes.

Horse enthusiasts are bombarded constantly with advertisements, and advice from others on how to best care for their horses.

Everyone has a favourite brand of feed. Favourite brand of tack. Best trainer, best farrier, best vet. Most amazing etc... etc... It makes it difficult to distinguish what is right, what our horse needs, are we doing too little???

Take a closer look, our horses are typically over/or underweight. Under/or over worked. Everyone seems to have some form of foot dysfunction (cracks, flat footed, can’t live without shoes). The chiropractor/ massage therapist/osteopath is on speed dial.

Ulcers, insulin resistance are common place. Behavioural problems that never seem to go away, or morph into different ones are the norm in any barn.

We don’t have horse problems. We have balance problems. We lack balance in our lives, our bodies, our minds and our soul. So we over care for our horses to make up for it. Our horses are simply the mirror.

Let’s take a quick look at North American culture. Collectively we are either overweight,