Police horse Chester

Not all horses are pets, some are working animals who look forward to a well-earned retirement.

However, whatever your equine does during the day, whether it's walking around their field with friends and keeping the grass down, or helping human co-workers undertake important tasks, they deserve a comfortable place to sleep at night, good quality horse rugs for different seasons, the right food, and enough exercise.

One horse we're sure gets looked after very well, who got into Bolton's news recently, is Chester the bay.

He's a big police horse who was helping his rider show a trainee mounted police officer and their steed how to patrol the town centre.

But despite having a serious job, we're pleased to see that Chester still has time for his fans. In this case it was five-month-old Logan, who was held up by his mum so that he could give the horse a pat.
The majority of horses love getting attention from people and enjoy being shown affection. The best way to do this is to make sure they don't want for anything necessary for their health and happiness.
Horses should always have access to clean water, suitable food, shelter from the elements, and only the correct horse equipment should be used to look after them.

Photo © Stuart Grout via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Apprenticeship Open Morning at Lavant House Stables

Lavant House Stables in Chichester, West Sussex, is holding an Apprenticeship Open Morning tomorrow for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 who are interested in having a career working with horses.

From 10am to 1pm, youngsters will be able to come to the stables, meet the horses, and the team who looks after them, as well as find out what a job working with horses entails.
The stables run a professional programme which enables those who enrol to work towards achieving NVQ levels 1 and 2 – which are equivalent to 5 GCSE's at grade C and above.
Some of the lessons will involve learning to ride the horses safely, and others will teach students stable management, providing them with valuable skills such as how to use and store horse equipment properly.

The Lavant House Stables even have horses and ponies for sale, so anyone who would like to own their very own equine might find their ideal animal.
However, if you do purchase a horse or pony, it is very important that you have a suitable stable to keep them in, a field for them to get the exercise and freedom they need to be happy, as well as the correct horse equipment with which to look after and ride them safely.
Dogwood London can help you find riding hats, saddles, boots, as well as other useful gear such as gloves, bridles, and horse rugs. Have a browse of the online store today!
Photo © will g via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Horse equipment = high fashion

The fashion world has always had an obsession with riding clothing and horse equipment. Here at Dogwood we are often asked to supply our products to high fashion institutions such as Vogue and Ralph Lauren.

In this week's Sunday Times Style magazine, the whole middle section is dedicated to equestrian inspired clothing featuring the likes of celebrity hair stylist James Brown and model Rosemary Ferguson surrounded by their equine friends along with ranges from various high streets with distinctly horsey themed Autumn collections.

So rather than being ashamed of having to nip to the supermarket or pick up the kids in your boots and breeches, you should instead hold your head up high.
And if anyone dares question you, just reply "it's high fashion don't you know."