[grayfalls]

Hello all -
It’s been a bit of a pain reading Horse Illustrated when most of the content is clearly written for people who have their own horse or ride most days of the week when someone like me can only ride once a week and then do some volunteer work at barns on the weekend (which mostly involves tacking up, mucking out or leading horses around used for the kids in therapy). I do not have all these options to do groundwork, trail riding, special training or work on riding outside of lessons as these magazines often tend to discuss, which is obviously a big setback in my riding but it's not financially realistic for me to own a horse.

Are there any equine magazines out there that offer plenty of content to people who ride horses but don’t necessarily own one?

 

[Chevaux]

I personally have not heard of any. However, this might be an opportunity in the making if you are so interested. You could act as editor and get contributions from actual riders, vets, trainers, etc., that provide articles about how to start it as a hobby, what to look for in a lesson barn, what to look for in a trainer, what to look for in that first horse purchase when a person is finally ready, venues and so forth; you'd need advertisers I'm sure to help with publication costs, a marketing strategy and distribution plan (unless you went entirely web based) - it would probably be a lot of work but otherwise it just might be a fun and creative thing to do.

 

[IndiesaurusRex]

I understand your pain. I've found that here in the UK, Horse and Hound can be pretty good for non horse owners. It's more of a news and results magazine - I often skip a lot of the results stuff, but it is great for updates on welfare and veterinary issues and news, and industry news. It also has a rather large section on horses and properties for sale, which I can spend a rather long time drooling over ;-)

 

[bkylem]

Quite similar in efforts to be as close to the animals as possible without having the finances to own one of our own. I attend weekly private lessons and typically stay at least an hour before and after each session just to be near the horses. I muck, clean, tack, rack, muck, muck and muck. I could almost be an "event mucker".
I actually enjoy the magazines as I want to know as much as possible and it allows me to feel closer to the horse owners ( so very fortunate) as well as to the horses themselves. It's like sharing a language.
Even within this forum I have learned a great deal about the seemingly endless world of hoof care and how imperative it is to the health of the horse and it's ability to be ridden. I have also learned that owning a horse can be a bit bittersweet depending upon unexpected bills, questionable BOs, quality farriers etc.
I dearly want a horse someday, but I think the reading helps me prepare for that day.

Read, ride and enjoy your life !

 

[DancingArabian]

Well, think about it -- what are you interested in reading about? What do the other magazines give that you're not interested in reading about?

Medical journals would be one, but they sound really dry.
Chronicle of the Horse has a lot of showring news.

 

[grayfalls]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Chevaux - I hadn't even thought of that before, but that sounds like an absolutely brilliant idea. If only I had more freetime to start such a fantastic project as that!
I think the difference between a regular horse magazine for horse owners and my 'ideal' type of magazine is that regular horse magazines talk as if you have all the time in the world to work with your horse. It implies that you have enough time to be able to do groundwork, teach your horse tricks, make horse treats, train your horse for trail obstacles and many other things that quickly add up to multiple hours a week. It's hard to apply so many concepts to a single half hour or hour-long lesson that someone like myself would be taking. I think if there were to be a magazine for non-horse owners, it would talk about things like Chevaux mentioned - lesson barns, instructors, etc. I think it would also ideally discuss ideas to talk to your instructor about getting in some extra time to work with a horse or talk about volunteer opportunities. I think it would also be fantastic if a magazine were to frequently talk about fitness outside of the barn. Exercises you can do to improve your riding without needing a horse, stretches to help get your heel down, etc. It would still include things such as grooming, riding tips, horse behavior and all the other fancy stuff that comes with a regular magazine, but with the idea of time and availability in consideration.

 

[LadyDreamer]

How are your writing skills? Why not write a few articles and pitch them to existing horse magazines. It would be much "easier" to get articles published than a whole magazine.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[jaydee]

I don't think you'll find a horse magazine that doesn't have some articles that are aimed at owners but even those can be useful knowledge to store in case you do ever find yourself being a horse owner
The Horse & Hound is good for all horse industry info and the UK Horse and Rider magazine has lots of articles that can be used by someone who's only riding is lesson based in a riding school The US Practical Horseman magazine also has some really informative and interesting stuff in it

 

[Corporal]

I guess I'm confused. When I was just renting horses, before I took HuntSeat lessons and years before I owned horses I had a subscription to "Western Horseman." Even though I didn't have my own horse I wanted to learn about them and about riding. I enjoyed the reading and I didn't feel left out, except that I had a burning desire to be a horse Owner.
I have discovered over the years that these magazines "recycle" their stories and after a few years I find myself reading them again, written by someone new, with pretty much the same information.
What are you looking for in a horse magazine?

 

[Cacowgirl]

One of my favorite magazines ( in years gone by) was Horse, of Course! Equeus was all bout the horse, but I found it a bit dry, because it was so scientific. Now, I get copies of the popular magazines from the library & just skim the articles that are of interest to me-if there's something about showing-which I'm done with, or about working cows-I skip it as I'm not a bit interested. There are so many different things to do with a horse-& sometimes it takes awhile to find your favorite part of the picture.

 

[Roperchick]

Equus? I personally like Iitbut its similar to HI.

Western horseman ks good too but its more country life than horse.

 

[Sahara]

Eclectic Horseman and Equus are the only 2 I read.

 

[Saddlebag]

That's as bad as a local club that has the word saddle in it. There are many horse lovers who think you have to ride to belong. I presented this to the chair that the name be changed. It fell on deaf ears. Now they are struggling for membership. Duh!

 

[ponypile]

Depending on where you are and how old you are I'd recommend Horse Canada. I'm from Canada so I'm not sure about it's availability in other countries. It's also directed at a younger (teen) audience. I read it a lot when I was a teenage, when I was new to horses and didn't have my own. It has less exercises and activities to do with your horse, and more general horsemanship and horse society articles. Things like blanket fitting, breed specific articles, events like the olympics, hoof care, etc. I learned a lot from it, and it's easy and lightly written.