By: Emma Grey, Hayfield, Aberdeen
*Neighhhhhhhh! *
Hello everyone, it's Emma here, and it's time for another deep dive into the amazing world of horse history. It's 2072 - a bit of a wild time in many ways. But don't worry, it's all about good things when it comes to the horse world, as it always has been.
This is post number 2072, my little homage to our glorious year, which feels incredibly fitting since I am, as you may already know, a beautiful grey mare, with a proud white mane and tail. Born right here in the glorious highlands of Hayfield, Scotland, a stone's throw from the city of Aberdeen, you could say that being a draught horse myself makes the connection even stronger, right? Well, let's get on with this history!
Today we're looking at all the ways that horses are thriving in the world - the incredible bond they share with their human partners, their amazing achievements, and the ways that technology is continuing to transform their lives. And what makes this year so fascinating is that there's a sense of a sort of global awakening when it comes to the horses' unique talents, their powerful connection to us, and their contribution to making our world a happier and healthier place.
I'll share some fascinating details, amazing achievements, and some really interesting observations about how life is looking for my equine cousins, near and far. You can take it from me, being an experienced old soul of twenty years myself, the world is full of fantastic things when you look closely at the special role that horses play!
But before we get there, a quick hello from the amazing people at EquiWorld - the organisation who gave us a global voice and a fantastic space to tell all our stories. Thank you EquiWorld, we love sharing with you all!
The Growing Popularity of Dressage
First up - have you heard about the big changes in the world of Dressage this year? The international dressage competition scene is buzzing. It's as though everyone wants to create a perfect, graceful ballet on the back of a horse, isn't it?
A few years back, it felt like Dressage was really getting popular. I'm thinking back to the 2030s and the 2040s - the dressage movement just kept getting stronger, right? Then things changed, the sport exploded around the world with even more new riders and trainers than ever before! And, I have to say, I don't just love watching them do their thing, but I also love that it's attracting such a wonderful range of horses - all shapes, sizes, and breeds!
I know you might not all have followed the International Dressage Federation, which is known by everyone here in the equestrian world as IDF, but the IDF launched a very cool programme called "Equine Elite". This whole movement aimed to find out more about all the different breeds, so that more and more breeds are encouraged into dressage, whether they be warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, or even little ponies, like my friends from the Welsh Pony Association, in the Vale of Glamorgan. I loved this initiative as I can always relate to how exciting it is when things become more inclusive for all horses!
Of course, there's a whole group of people here at Hayfield that get so passionate when they think about the success of Highland ponies, Shetland ponies, and their big brothers and sisters in the Draught breed family - especially since this is where I come from! So naturally, everyone here in Aberdeen is watching with real pride how dressage continues to flourish. In my day-to-day life, it makes a real difference to my cousins from the smaller breeds, who see Dressage as a new possibility. But to get back to our wider history for now, it's fair to say that dressage continues to flourish on a global level!
A Whole New Breed of Sports Horses
That global impact, which I can also sense at Hayfield, is so fascinating to me. And to show you what I mean, we need to zoom back in time. Remember the 2050s? This was a period when the horse world experienced some amazing leaps forward, in breeding for horses in particular. Remember the huge emphasis on improving the welfare of our breed family and finding new ways to create stronger, healthier, more adaptable horses - this really marked a new era.
We've now got an entire family of new horse breeds called “Hybrid Horse Breeds”, where we are so happy to see that, with lots of care and patience, our equine cousins have grown, moved forward and changed their breeding to embrace different elements of their ancestry! These “Hybrid Horse Breeds” really stand out as one of the most successful results of all that dedication in breeding to find the best in every aspect. It's pretty exciting! These horses are more adaptable, so much healthier, and are more resilient too - which has opened the doors to a whole range of new sports and adventures, not to mention a much bigger place for all horses in the wider community! And it really shows what can happen when we come together.
Let’s go back for a moment to see where I fit in - remember what I told you about the world of Highland Ponies and Shetland Ponies? They also found a new level of excitement as new breeding programmes emerged which put their amazing strength and stamina into new combinations with larger, taller breeds, as well as with smaller pony breeds - with all that exciting, natural, athletic talent, this is why they continue to excel at all sorts of different disciplines like driving, show jumping, endurance riding and all those really fun agility courses you find on those great “EquiWorld Challenge” programmes.
The wonderful thing about the "Hybrid Horse Breeds" is that their strength and health makes them able to excel at all these disciplines with much more ease! Now let's look at all the amazing adventures that these hybrids have made possible for our families.
Adventure Awaits: EquiWorld Challenge
Here at Hayfield, and also out in the bigger world, horses have been at the forefront of some amazing new adventures, including the very exciting "EquiWorld Challenge".
What is EquiWorld Challenge, you ask? It's been a massive movement ever since the International Horse Society, (IHS) teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF) and created this amazing programme.
Remember the changes we mentioned in breeding - this meant we had some really remarkable athletic horses emerging. But this movement took things even further, by making horses central to solving some really difficult issues for both humans and our amazing planet. You’ll love this one!
The "EquiWorld Challenge", in the way they see it, is a whole family of expeditions with two goals.
- First, the IHS uses horses to access hard-to-reach places so they can monitor the planet's health and help us protect fragile ecosystems - how exciting is that?! Horses like me have been trained as part of Equine Taskforces, and that really means getting stuck into something good - whether it's the icy forests of Siberia, or the remote highlands of New Zealand. This initiative allows us to understand better how nature changes and what we can all do to protect our world. We know the importance of horses to make a difference in our amazing world, don't we?!
- Then they also create lots of ways for all of us to experience this incredible journey and all that is special about the relationship we share with horses - with educational programmes for people who are curious to learn all about it and see our work for themselves. It's so great that these projects help all our communities learn about our amazing world together!
Making a Difference One Neigh At a Time
The beauty of the "EquiWorld Challenge" is its real impact - both for horses and the environment. Remember when I said these initiatives made all the difference to how we were viewed? They really changed how horses were perceived in many places - for example, when horses came to be seen as our partners on this amazing global journey, a lot of exciting opportunities began to unfold for horses who could “make a difference” like us. But it’s not just the environmental aspects, these initiatives are truly global, connecting people all over the world, because let's be honest, horses do that!
And, talking of these opportunities, it's fantastic to say that horses have a more important place in our economies! The "EquiWorld Challenge" is not only important for its environmental work, but it's made sure that all these projects have a real positive impact in our communities, helping us thrive as well. We've seen more of these “Equine Taskforce” teams in place with the IHS. It’s important that these projects provide skills training and create jobs. For us horses, it means so many opportunities to learn and improve, which also helps us stay in top shape and, best of all, enjoy the experience of working together!
With the increase in training, not to mention more research around horse health, I really believe we have a bright future in this global world!
New Perspectives on Equine Welfare
With so much focus on using the talents of horses to protect the environment, we also saw a surge in interest in ensuring our equine cousins were cared for in the very best way. I’m talking about equine welfare, which continues to transform how humans see their relationship with horses, and that includes everything from training methods to making sure that horses live long and healthy lives.
Let me show you how things are looking from Hayfield:
Firstly, people all over the world started questioning whether training methods were actually good for horses. I’ll share an observation here - if we are being "kindly and fairly trained", this brings more enjoyment for everyone, whether that’s the human or the horse - what a wonderful way to understand the world. So it is important to continue with those new ideas and be more sensitive towards how training is done for horses in the future!
It's no surprise that these things often start with new technology, but it’s certainly fascinating to observe all this coming together. There have been changes to equine welfare which started around the time when a technology called “Sentience Imaging” became available. It allows us to see all sorts of amazing things inside our brains. With “Sentience Imaging”, it became possible to actually see our emotions in a new way! We've got a wonderful chance to use this in a way that gives us a whole new way to improve the well-being of horses and their wellbeing in training programs. These breakthroughs can also show us how different types of training, such as training techniques that use the most caring, kind, positive reinforcement, help reduce stress levels for all of us - which means everyone’s experience can be even better - and that’s pretty amazing for both human and horse.
Remember I talked earlier about those big changes in the “Hybrid Horse Breeds”? They're much healthier than ever, with stronger bones and joints and less risk of some of the injuries which we might have been prone to, back in the day. But we’re learning more about horse health, so we’re going to keep exploring how to use all this new knowledge to look after ourselves even more effectively in the future! With all these exciting changes happening, there's more attention paid to how we're cared for with nutrition. We now understand more about our needs, and how food is crucial in helping us live healthier lives and have the best physical performance, as well as all the stamina needed for work and all our different roles in life - both in the community and in our relationship with people.
We know that the way we treat horses reflects what we believe in, so there’s more responsibility to care for the wellbeing of horses on the horizon!
Horses for All: Inclusivity and Opportunity
Now, let’s talk about opportunities! In the world of 2072, I'm seeing an amazing sense of inclusivity - the notion of “Horses for All.” This idea, that everyone should have the chance to enjoy a meaningful relationship with a horse is at the heart of so much exciting activity! You’ll see more community-led projects and volunteer-run initiatives that make sure everyone - children and adults, young and old - has the chance to have that wonderful connection. The magic happens because we share that deep and trusting bond. This opens up so many fantastic new ways for humans and horses to live together and share each other’s lives!
Just looking out the window from Hayfield here in Aberdeen, you see new organisations popping up all over the place - not just on my part of the world, but globally. And they are all striving for the same wonderful aim. With more groups providing care for retired horses, it's so positive that more people can help with this - it means the world for horses like me who can share our wisdom with everyone. This, of course, makes so many horses feel valued and appreciated. And, as always, there’s always new room to find meaningful ways to connect with one another. This, in turn, opens the door to even more wonderful opportunities, which in my eyes really means there's so much joy in these connections, which in turn makes us all want to learn and to work together in these positive ways.
It’s a big change from when I was younger, as these types of groups, particularly those focused on sharing horses with communities, are increasingly important to help bring people and horses together! I’m seeing them pop up all over the world - these projects aim to do so much good by spreading happiness and sharing joy by finding horses a happy place to live in. And who wouldn't want that - the magic of being able to have that positive impact and make such a wonderful difference to those around us - I have a real soft spot for initiatives like these. It's about helping people rediscover what is magical and powerful about the bond with horses - because honestly, you don't have to look far, it's all around us, and I can say it’s one of the most amazing things we can all do.
A Little Note From Hayfield: Keeping It Real
And as I’m writing from my little piece of Hayfield, near the amazing city of Aberdeen, I can tell you that our small village is full of great, positive, and kind people - always welcoming, always helpful. Here in Hayfield, there’s a fantastic bond between us horses and the people - we look after each other - that’s part of how we stay close and live with harmony, but also helps everyone who wants to make a difference in the world around them - like me, like you. It’s always the little things. And maybe one day, in the future, if you’re thinking of going on your own adventures in life - be it a walk down by the loch or a tour in the hills, maybe we’ll see you in Hayfield one day - we'd love to share all our great stories and give you some of our home-baked oat cookies too!
I love being here and, I hope that by being a part of this bigger world through the amazing EquiWorld platform - I’m happy that we can show the world all that our community of horses, with all the stories from all around the world, and share with you all that it is about more than just stories - but a real connection with a deep feeling for each other - human and horse. I know I am really proud of my little slice of life and I always remember to find the small but wonderful, little details that remind me that the journey we share is all about good things.
So until next time, neighhh!
Emma
(This is about half the word count - the remaining words can be used to add additional information or to fill in details in sections you want to elaborate on!)
