Silver Oak Farm

06/01/2026

05/30/2026

One of Germany’s top dressage riders explains the importance of a supple, submissive horse and how to develop a swinging back.

05/29/2026

Christoph Hess – Dressage is harmony and balance Posted on October 27, 2025October 29, 2025 by horsemagazine Story – Chris Hector & Photos – Roz Neave Christoph Hess retired in 2016 from his position as head of the Education section at the Warendorf Centre for Education and training in Germany...

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

Balance, self carriage, and the importance of rider position Posted on February 10, 2021February 11, 2026 by horsemagazine Words Chris Hector, pictures Ros Neave Carl Hester talks about the development of Valegro’s balance, self carriage, power and expression, and that elusive quality, positive te...

05/28/2026

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?

05/27/2026

A very good question was raised on this dehydrated fawn and his ears not being curled back. They asked whether or not that meant he was okay or not. Which is an excellent question because most people think that curled or straight ears are the only indicator of a healthy fawn verses one in need of help.

Here is why I DON’T rely on the "curled ears theory" as an indication of whether or not a fawn needs help..

Sometimes when fawns are dehydrated, the tips of their ears will curl back. But, sometimes they won't. I've received both (ears straight and ears curled) and they've been dehydrated. I've also received completely healthy, hydrated fawns with ears curled back. This is why I say not to use that as the only indicator of whether or not a fawn needs help.

I usually tell people to look for the 3 B's .... Bugs, Butts, Behavior.

Bugs: any parasite (flies, fly eggs, maggots, ticks, ants, fleas, etc) visible on the face or body.

Butts: dirty butt from diarrhea or tarry stool.

Behavior: walking around crying, searching for mom, following people or pets, weak, lethargic, stumbling or falling down, laying on its side with legs out to the side, etc.

A healthy fawn that is being cared for by mom will not be up wandering around. They will stay where mom put them and lay with their legs curled up underneath them and with their little head down and remain silent.

If a fawn (especially one under 4 weeks old) is up walking around searching for mom, crying loudly, has visible parasites or injuries, is weak or lethargic, stumbling or falling down, following you or your pet around, has a dirty butt, is thin or emaciated, or if you see a deceased adult nearby... it needs help.

Healthy fawns (ones that are being cared for by mom) know to stay where mom placed them. They may stand up and stretch or even move out of or into a sunny spot... but that's about as much movement as they'll do.

***things to notice on this fawn as signs of needing help: see how wrinkly his skin is? That is a sign of malnutrition and dehydration. He also had a dirty butt from diarrhea, and he was found wandering around and crying out. He also has a bit of a underbite... which can prevent him from being able to latch on correctly (which is sometimes why fawns are abandoned... a fawn unable to nurse is a fawn in jeopardy). In the wild, babies need to latch on and nurse quickly because the mom deer doesn't want to attract predators to the fawn by spending too much time with them, so when she shows up to feed, its all business.

~Jamie @ GGWR