Queen Elizabeth II is known as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. While she ruled the Commonwealth for 70 years, her passion for horses goes back much further. As a keen rider and racehorse breeder, Elizabeth II was a true horse woman. From a very young age, she was captivated by horses, receiving her first riding lesson at the age of 3 at the Buckingham Palace Royal Mews. At the age of 4, she was gifted her very first horse: a Shetland pony named Peggy, a present from her late grandfather, King George V.

Over the years, the Queen […]

The incredibly sad consequence of Russia’s attack on Ukraine has caused a mass exodus of the Ukrainian population – with over 3.7 million people having fled the country in the past few weeks and now seeking refuge abroad. Amid all the horror of this humanitarian crisis, pet owners have struggled to bring their animals with them, and with over 100 000 domestic horses in Ukraine, many horse owners are also faced with extremely difficult decisions. In a remarkable coordinated effort, the international equestrian community is stepping up to help Ukrainians and their horses evacuate and support them through these […]

Debates around where domesticated horses came from has been a hot topic in the horse world for many years. For a long time, we believed that our modern equine friends originated from Przewalski’s horses, a rare and endangered ‘distant cousin’ subspecies native to central Asia’s steppes. However, a 2018 research publication by Science revealed compelling evidence of bridling, including bit marks on teeth remains of Botai horses, originally from a region North Kazakhstan, approximately 5500 ago. These findings suggest that Botai horses shared close proximity to humans long before Przewalski’s horses were around.

Surprisingly, DNA analysis and […]