Three years ago I watched a programme called Horizons which highlighted the pain and suffering of our pedigree dogs. Up until this point I was completely ignorant to the fact that dogs are bred purely for human vanity and their welfare doesn't come into the equation. I was shocked and horrified, to the point where my next dog was going to be a deliberately bred healthy version of what I loved - bulldogs. I opted for an American Bulldog - a longer legged, longer snouted version of the sq...

Here's page one of our second newsletter.  Page 2 will be posted next.  Your feedback is always welcome, so let us know what you think.  If you want to include something in our next newsletter, drop us a line.  Happy reading and happy riding!

Here's the second page of our newsletter.  If you'd rather receive the newsletter by email, drop us a line and we'll add you to the mailing list.  Happy reading and happy riding!

Would you give over your living room to your horse?  This horse owner in Aberdeenshire converted her living room in her semi-detached house in Aberdeenshire to stable her pony, after an argument with the stables where the pony was kept.  As you can see in the video, the pony gets to go out in the small front garden and has plenty to eat and drink.  However, neighbours are not at all pleased with the arrangements.  What do you think?  Would you make the same decisio...

This is a real tribute to those brave RNLI guys who rescued a wild pony after it fell 50ft off a cliff.  They not only face the perils of the sea, but also a very frightened and strong little horse.  There are also some great pictures of the rescue on this page: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089068/Amazing-RNLI-rescue-horse-fell-50ft-cliff-Welsh-coa...

This is seriously awful.  The poor horse had to be put down not long after this footage was taken.  The deformaties in the hind feet are so horrendous that the poor animal was actually walking on the coronet bands!!!  Totally unbelievable.  Why this woman wasn't actually jailed I don't know.  She was, however, fined £10k and banned from keeping all equines for 10 years.

What do you think of learning to ride on a horse simulator?  I was very sceptical, thinking this a very gimmicky, expensive waste of time.  

However, having had the chance to 'ride' a simulator recently, I was very surprised.  It's extremely sensitive 'in the mouth', which made me think that actually, this is quite a good way to help riders become soft in the hand.  Although the movement feels a bit clunky compared to a horse's natural movement, what convinced m...