Horse
The truth about Surrey’s obsession with horse masks
A saloon car pulled up opposite our fields and a man sat there looking at the horses with a bewildered…
How can we feed our horses when there’s no hay?
‘We’re closed for lunch,’ said the farmer, sitting behind the counter of his farm shop with a scowl on his…
My Twelve to Follow on the Flat
Combing through race recordings to try to find some fun horses for Spectator readers this summer, I have been struck…
The ugly truth about natural horsemanship
The rope riders came down the driveway slowly, their horses veering this way and that, side to side, forwards a…
The poetry of Bryony Frost
Hearing that the Queen has both a real and an official birthday, a small boy asked the obvious question: ‘Does…
The horse with a taste for human flesh
Greville Starkey’s great victories as a jockey included the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Star Appeal at 119-1. In…
Why animals’ names matter
Pretty Man was a plump white pony in the forefront of a sad picture. The photograph showed the seizure by…
How I won €160 by mistake
My French friend André speaks perfect English and is the kindest of men. After reading last week about my futile…
The WFH community are finally walking their own dogs — with terrible consequences
Every time I get on a horse I have to face the likelihood that a dog, or pack of dogs,…
There were horses loose in a Public Sex Environment
The two horses looked like they had never seen anything like it. They had wound up in a dark car…
What no one tells you about owning a horse
When people ask me what I did during lockdown, I would like to give an inspiring answer, apart from growing…
The magic of Cheltenham Festival
Every time the Cheltenham Festival looms, I recall a remarkable experience. It was already 25 years since Dawn Run’s recovery…
The saviours of racing
I was once at a racing dinner in York where a distinguished clergyman in attendance was invited to say grace.…
How my new pony swept me off my feet – literally
‘This is the one I was thinking of for you,’ said the lady I might feasibly call my mother-in-law, in…
The battle for the future of Flat racing
The master plan in acquiring our flatcoat retriever puppy Damson was that as folk no longer with full-time jobs we…
The strange case of six missing horse rugs
The night after the fireworks display the barn was raided and our horse rugs were taken. Good job I’ve watched…
![[Photo: middelveld]](https://spectatorau.imgix.net/content/uploads/2019/10/2Novreallife.jpg?auto=compress,enhance,format&crop=faces,entropy,edges&fit=crop&w=410&h=275)
I’m getting another horse — but it’s not for me
Sitting on the train to Surrey, I was halfway home and texted the builder boyfriend to say when I would…
In the middle of our holiday came the phone call I was dreading
Just before Tara left us, the old chestnut mare used to enjoy standing at the bottom gate watching the sun…
The EU has banned a miracle cure for laminitis
Once upon a time, in a country that didn’t run itself, a horse supplement company invented a cure for laminitis.…
One to watch: the 5lb claimer Theodore Ladd
Newmarket’s wisest trainer, Sir Mark Prescott, once noted: ‘The greyhound is propelled through the pain barrier by its desire to…
Why female jockeys are a better bet
When Hayley Turner was made, she wasn’t just given a competitive spirit, a sensitive pair of hands and excellent balance.…
In praise of geldings
Boris Johnson, Remainers might like to be reminded, does sometimes change his mind under pressure. Some years ago, as editor…
Why the Derby is the ultimate test
There is a danger that memories of the 2019 Epsom Derby will be swamped by statistics. By training his seventh…
In praise of older horses – and their trainers
Newbury is as fair a test for a racehorse as you can get with its galloping track and a wide-open…
The truth is messy. Village gossip is even messier
An angry villager accosted me outside my house as I came through my front door. ‘You’re wrong about those horses,’…
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