Blackhill Eventing

28/07/2026

Using livestock as dressage arena letters. “At the Limousin cow, circle right 20 metres”

24/07/2026

Ahhh, the good ol days! No health and safety back then, as we galloped ponies in headcollars along verges to bring them in and turn them out each day. Hacking for miles and hours with no phone, and somehow always making it back alive 😂
Sweat rugs that were basically giant string vests. Anti-cast rollers. Jute rugs. Petal over-reach boots. Body protectors that made you look like a woodlouse, with the ‘thong’ strap 😵‍💫😂 Horses never seemed to go lame, summers lasted forever and sometimes, just sometimes, I think it was easier and more fun back then.

What are your favourite memories of ‘the good old days’?

I feel like ​only horse kids born pre 2000 will understand this one!

Classic nostalgia right here with a young Nia and her Welsh pony, Princess ♥️

​Looking at this throwback photo got us thinking about how much horse care (and equestrian fashion!) has changed over the years. How many of these can you check off your list?

​✅️ Riding in classic rubber riding boots, that felt like ovens in the summer and often required multiple people to remove them after a long day's riding
✅️ Hacking to shows and fun rides, not boxing there and still having a fresh pony!
✅️ Thatching a rug when your pony got wet
✅️ Velvet hats with no straps or a thin bit of floppy elastic
✅️ Or worse, hats with chin straps leaving you with a spotty chin 😬
✅️ No safety stirrups, just slippy, cold metal
✅️ Riding out for 6 hours with no mobile phone - just be home in time for tea!
✅️ Heavy canvas rugs that became concrete when rained on
✅️ String girths
✅️ No-stretch breeches, so unflattering, so cold in winter and hot in summer 🤣

What nostalgia have we missed?

19/07/2026

I presume it’s because of the heat or something…… 😂😂

11/07/2026

Happy World Horse Day!

I love horses. I always have. They have ruined my life and broken my heart (and numerous bones), but they have given me everything too. I have been lucky to spend my life with them-they have taught me so much, and continue to do so.

They are incredible animals. Selfless, generous, complex. Deeply intelligent. They understand far more than they are given credit for.

They are also often a MASSIVE AND EXPENSIVE TIME-CONSUMING BALLACHE, so I just choose to cling on to the positives lest I go fu***ng mad altogether…..

06/07/2026

I mean…..it’s pretty accurate 😂😂

04/07/2026

How is everyone?

I had one of those weird ‘full circle’ moments this week when I attended a haulage event at Stoneleigh. Myself and the child flew in from Dublin to Birmingham on Tuesday, and we had such a great time.

Lawrence David are an HGV trailer manufacturing company in the uk, and they were exhibiting at the event. Way back in Y2K when I still had big plans to be the next Lucinda Green, I grabbed any opportunity I could get to move myself along a bit. Lawrence David happened to have a side hustle event yard, and I spent that year with them in Peterborough.

If you had told me that 26 years later, I’d be visiting their stand at a haulage expo and in a haulage capacity, I would have said you were mental. But here we are 🤷‍♀️😂 It’s a funny old life really.

I completed ‘nostalgia Tuesday’ when walking back to the car across the river in the photo. Waaaaaaayyyy back when I was 14/15, I used to play a bit of polo (very badly). After club chukkas were over at Stoneleigh, we used to ride ba****ck down to that same river and swim the ponies to cool them off. Memory lane, and all that jazz.

Meanwhile back here in 2026, Ping is in great form. We have slightly given up doing any proper sideways rectangle of judgement stuff, in favour of mainly hacking and sometimes a bit of jumping. Ping also has a new hobby which she is loving-she is a part time ranch horse now 😂😂 Turns out the cowboys were on to something there, as it is a lot easier to check and move cattle on a horse 🤠🤠

24/06/2026

Coblife had a tooth removed today. It was a little loose when she last had her teeth done over the winter, but today our fab dentist proclaimed the tooth to be now really quite loose indeed. A quick bit of dentist wizardry, and out popped the offending item.

Horse teeth are the coolest thing ever. The roots are giant, and I can never ever get my head around how heavy each individual molar is. It’s wild.

Coblife’s tooth is very worn down on the front flank. Fab dentist explained that as the tooth loosens and movement increases over time, this is what happens until the tooth eventually loses its functional positioning. Due to coblife’s sprightly appearance and energetic attempts at escape and homicide, we often forget that she is actually quite….erm….*whispers quietly*……. old.

Anyway, don’t feel too sorry for her. She didn’t seem to mind having the extraction done at all, and I’m sure she will be back to trying to eviscerate me again tomorrow.

Thank you fab dentist. You are the very best 👑

Also-apologies for the shouting husband/screeching sheep.

23/06/2026

A great post! Most important point there for me is-

DONT F**K WITH THEIR BASIC WATER.

Electrolytes are important BUT!
Too much salt/electrolytes in water or feed will dehydrate your horse in already difficult conditions. A curious thing about an even mildly dehydrated horse is that it now will not drink. This is a slippery slope that no one needs to find themselves on.

Slop mashes are amazing, and are my go-to in hot weather or when travelling. You can buy a pre-made one if you like, but you can make it up yourself too. A mug of coarse mix in half a bucket of water usually does the trick to top up fluids. Some people use sugar beet water, others use apples. Your horse will no doubt instruct you as to their preference 😂

I do have cheap office fans mounted high on the walls in the stables, so the horses can come in if need be. At the moment there is a bit of a breeze so they are staying out. Ping and Bear are on restricted grazing as my laminitis app is bing-bonging constantly.,

How are you guys managing your horses in the very hot weather? Any top tips or things you recommend? Please share in the comments.

How not to be a moron in a red heat weather warning.

1. Don’t ride your horse when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun. If you need telling the exact temperature of ‘too hot’ then you’re already an idiot and unfortunately I can’t help you. Use common sense. Key point, if you’re already sweating - don’t. A week off won’t kill you or your horse but justifying riding to the Facebook police might well do.

2. Bring your horse in or leave them out. Pick one. Commit to something for once in your life. Don’t outsource basic decision-making to Facebook strangers who think wind direction causes laminitis. Go stand in your horse’s stable, then stand in the field, and use your brain to decide which feels less like living inside a kettle. And if they’re not used to being in and they’re going to stress, don’t.

3. If you can get a fly mask on your horse, put one on. If you can’t, don’t. Unless you particularly enjoy chasing a horse around a field trying to Velcro a hat to his face in 35 degrees.

4. If they’re sweating, wash them off. Scrape it off or leave it on, stop over complicating things Sharon and wash the damn horse.

5. Water is not optional. Make it plain, make it fresh, make an additional bucket fancy with electrolytes if you’re feeling like a wellness influencer—but don’t f*ck around with their basic water.

6. Electrolytes and salt in feed are great—turning dinner into a sodium-themed buffet is not. We’re aiming for “recovered horse,” not “walking sea pickle.”

7. And obviously… don’t travel your horse for fun in a heatwave. This is not the week for a spontaneous outing to an unaffiliated pony patting clinic. However, if your horse is actually unwell and you need an emergency vet, yes—travel them appropriately and sensibly to a vet. Just don’t be a total spanner.

Didn’t really think this needed to be said but apparently Facebook is now used over common sense. So here’s the official guide, you’re welcome. I’m off to marinate in a puddle of my own sweat. ☀️

23/06/2026

And there you were, thinking coblife’s talents only extend as far as assault and battery, and attempted murder.

This morning, she added ‘precision peeing’ to her repertoire. She filled her feed bowl, and judging by the bone dry ground all around it, did not spill a drop.

I was begrudgingly quite impressed.