An ex-trainer and Grand National-winning jockey has been given an eight-year ban from working in racing following a hearing by an independent disciplinary panel.Maurice Barnes was also handed a 5,000 fine and cannot apply for a licence for a period of eight years.The hearing related to 10 charges, seven of which were welfare concerns.The welfare charges included failure to seek vet advice and treatment when needed, depriving a horse of water in the run-up to a race and the use of a broom as a means of grooming a horse.The retired trainer was also deemed to have driven his motorised gator in a manner that would frighten or intimidate horses going on to the gallops and used diluted household bleach to treat wounds sustained by horses in his care.Other charges related to staff safety, a failure to keep equine medical records and failure to notify the British Horseracing Authority over the euthanasia of a horse.The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) said it was grateful to the independent Disciplinary Panel for its time considering the case and approving the sanctions against Mr Barnes for multiple breaches of the Rules of Racing.British racing prides itself on ensuring all horses are afforded the highest standards of care, both on the track and at home, and its clear in this case that Mr Barnes fell well short of his welfare responsibilities as a trainer, said a BHA spokesman. Some of his conduct towards horses in his care was simply unacceptable and has no place in our sport.The BHA has always and will continue to take allegations of poor welfare extremely seriously, and it is therefore right that Mr Barnes will now be unable to hold a licence or work in horseracing for at least the next eight years and has received a substantial financial penalty.Mr Barnes conduct first came to light following a report made via British racings anonymous reporting service, RaceWISE. We encourage anyone who witnesses wrongdoing in British racing to report it, which can be done confidentially via WhatsApp, text, email and phone, with full contact details available at britishhorseracing.com/RaceWISE.We will now await full written reasons from the Panel before issuing any further comment if necessary.Lead image by ShutterstockMore from Your HorseHow to prepare for autumn with your horseNervous out hacking? Hypnotic language you need to start usingStrip grazing delivers a steadier supply of nutrients than free grazing, research findsColic vet advice: signs, diagnosis and treatment optionsThe post Former trainer who fell well short of his welfare responsibilities banned for eight years appeared first on Your Horse.

If you look at a horses diet, it can be surprisingly easy to focus on the bucket.Which feed should you use? Does your horse need a balancer? Should you add oil? What about supplements? Does your horse need more energy for work?But before you start worrying about what goes in the feed bucket, there is a much more important question:Does your horse have an appropriate forage-based diet?Continue reading Why Forage Should Be the Foundation of Every Horses Diet at EquiPepper.

If you look at a horses diet, it can be surprisingly easy to focus on the bucket.Which feed should you use? Does your horse need a balancer? Should you add oil? What about supplements? Does your horse need more energy for work?But before you start worrying about what goes in the feed bucket, there is a much more important question:Does your horse have an appropriate forage-based diet?Continue reading Why Forage Should Be the Foundation of Every Horses Diet at EquiPepper.

Wilmington, Ohio Pumpkins and mums set the scene in the R+L Arena at World Equestrian Center Wilmington (WEC) for the first Hunter Derby Friday of the 2026 Fall Classic Series. In the end, Richard Rinehart and a new face in his barn, MTM Encore (Arko III x Oboras Emmy), topped the $10,000 Shires Equestrian USHJA National Open Hunter Derby. We havent had her very long.Source

Maybe you joined NF+ because you want better groundwork. Maybe your horse has started doing something that has you standing in the arena thinking,Okay...now what? Or maybe you are not trying to fix anything at all. You just want to become a more educated, capable horse person.Good. You are in the right place.There are a lot of videos inside NF+, but the goal is not to sit down one weekend and attempt to watch all of them. Your horse would probably prefer you came to the barn anyway.Instead, think of NF+ as a horsemanship resource you can keep coming back to. Start with the skill you need today. Learn the thinking underneath it. Spend enough time with one trainer to understand their approach. Then branch out, compare ideas and follow whatever catches your attention next.Here is how we recommend using NF+ to grow your horsemanship.1. New to groundwork? Give yourself a starting point.If groundwork is relatively new to you, start in the Groundwork collection, particularly with Chelsea Canedys Two Weeks to Better Groundwork.Chelsea gives you a place to begin instead of sending you into the arena with a rope, a horse and a vague instruction to work on your connection.Over two weeks, you can work through core skills like leading, personal space, moving different parts of the horses body and becoming more aware of how you use your own body and energy. Watch a lesson, try it with your horse and return for the next piece.The point is not to collect a bunch of groundwork exercises you can perform on command. You are learning to communicate with your horse from the ground and, just as importantly, starting to notice how your horse responds.Once you start noticing those details, horsemanship gets a lot more interesting.2. Learn the exercise. Then learn the reason behind it.Sometimes you do not need an entire masterclass. You need an idea for this afternoon.That is where the How-To Exercises collection comes in.Use it as your practical toolbox. Browse for exercises you can take straight to the barn, especially when you need something concrete to work on with your horse.Then resist the urge to stop there.An exercise becomes far more useful when you understand why you are doing it, what response you are looking for and how to adjust when your horse does not respond the way the demonstration horse did.Because, naturally, your horse has not watched the video.That is where the rest of the NF+ horsemanship library starts working together.3. Spend some serious time Inside the Horses Mind.This might be one of the most important collections in NF+ for anyone interested in horsemanship.Because there is a big difference between knowing how to perform an exercise and understanding the animal you are performing it with.Inside the Horses Mind gives you a place to study the behavior underneath the training. You can learn more about how horses perceive their environment, what motivates them, how they experience pressure and how fear, anxiety, curiosity and confidence can influence the response you are getting.Tik Maynards Understanding Horse Behavior is a particularly good place to start. Tik looks at how horses experience the world and why behavior that can look silly, stubborn or inconvenient to us can make perfect sense from the horses point of view.Then keep exploring.Listen to Dr. Stephen Peters talk about the equine brain and the neuroscience of learning. Spend time with Josh Nichols work on the horses emotional needs. Explore conversations around feel, communication and horse behavior from trainers working across disciplines.This collection is less about giving you a script and more about improving the questions you ask.Instead of only thinking, How do I make my horse do this?, you start wondering, Why am I getting this response in the first place?That question can take your horsemanship a long way.4. Go deep with Josh Nichol.At some point, we recommend choosing a trainer whose philosophy interests you and really spending time with their work.Josh Nichol is a great person to do that with.His Relational Horsemanship content moves beyond isolated exercises and into how you understand the horse as a whole. Start with Understanding Your Horses Needs and continue into his work around the horses body, pressure, fear, self-carriage and common training struggles.Then watch him problem-solve in real time in his Horsemanship Case Studies.Josh's Review My Ride sessions are especially useful because you get to see him look at real horses and real rider questions, from herd-bound behavior and mounting problems to posture and connection.That is where studying a trainer becomes more interesting than copying their techniques.You start to understand what they notice first. You hear the questions they ask. You see which details change their decision about what to do next.Eventually, you are not just learning Joshs answers.You are getting better at finding your own.5. Use Tik Maynards library like a horsemanship encyclopedia.Then there is Tik.If you have a horse problem, there is a decent chance Tik has made a masterclass about it.His NF+ library covers horse behavior, groundwork, play, confidence, young horses, spooky and anxious horses, trailering, OTTBs and the everyday training situations that make perfectly competent horse people question every decision they have ever made.Start wherever your horse takes you.Have a spooky horse? Go into Training the Spooky or Anxious Horse.Your horse feels overwhelmed in new environments? Try The Confidence Advantage, which looks at how horses learn to process challenging situations rather than just endure them.Trailer loading becoming the bane of your existence? Tiks trailering work breaks the issue down beyond the trailer itself, including groundwork you can teach before you ever ask the horse to walk up the ramp.Working with a young horse? There is a full young-horse masterclass.Want to understand Tiks overall philosophy? His Four Building Blocks to Better Horsemanship series explores observation, communication and the foundational pieces underneath his approach.This is where NF+ can become incredibly personal.You can follow the problem you have today and end up learning something much bigger than the problem you started with.6. Do not marry one method.This might be our favorite way to use NF+.Go deep with a trainer.Really study them.Then go learn from somebody else using the NF+ library.There is enormous value in understanding one persons philosophy well enough that you can see the whole picture. There is also enormous value in hearing another respected horse person explain the same issue from another angle.Josh might make you notice one thing. Tik might notice another. Chelsea may give you an exercise that helps you put an idea into practice. A sport trainer may talk about the exact same principle using completely different language.You do not have to decide that one of them has The Answer.Horse people have been learning this way forever. They rode with one trainer, audited another clinic, watched someone work a tricky horse, read everything they could get their hands on and kept adding to their understanding.The best education is rarely one straight line.NF+ lets you do the same thing, with an unusually large group of horse people available in one place.7. Leave the horsemanship collection.Yes, really.Some of the best horsemanship lessons inside NF+ are not labelled horsemanship.Watch Ian and Amy Millar train sport horses. Spend time with Will Coleman. Watch Steffen Peters work through flying changes. Study Peter Wylde, Anne Kursinski, Karl Cook or another trainer from a discipline outside your own.Do not only watch the exercise.Watch the horse person.How do they react when the horse gets something wrong? How much do they ask for at once? What do they notice? When do they change the question? How do they prepare a horse before asking for something harder?Your goal is not to ride exactly like twenty trainers.It is to expose yourself to enough good horsemanship that you start developing a much richer understanding of your own.That is one of the biggest advantages of having an entire education platform instead of buying a single course.8. Work on the human half of the partnership too.We could give you every groundwork exercise on earth, but unfortunately you still have to bring your own brain to the barn.Horsemanship is not only about understanding the horse. It is also about noticing what we bring into the interaction.Fear. Frustration. Expectations. Confidence. Breathing. Body awareness. The day we had before we got to the barn.The horse gets all of it.That is why Ride Well, Live Well belongs in your horsemanship education too.Cassandra Ogiers Reflective Horse meditation series, for example, includes guided practices designed to help riders become more present in their bodies before and around their horses. Other mindset and audio content inside NF+ can help with nerves, confidence, goals and the mental side of riding.You might come to NF+ looking for a horse-training solution and realize there is something useful to work on at your end of the lead rope too.Rude, but helpful.9. Use NF+ when something happens at the barn.This is where the library becomes especially useful.Do not only open NF+ when you have an hour to study.Open it when your horse gives you a question.Your horse suddenly will not load.Your young horse has become pushy.Something that was easy last week is suddenly difficult.Your horse is spooky in a new environment.You have started noticing that the same training issue keeps appearing in several places.Search the library. Browse the Groundwork collection. Head into Inside the Horses Mind. See if Josh has addressed it. Check Tiks library. Look for a How-To exercise you can try.NF+ can be something you use alongside the horse you already have, not a curriculum you have to complete before you are allowed to apply it.10. Come back six months later.This may be the most underrated way to use NF+.Rewatch things.A lesson that feels useful today may feel completely different after six months of riding, another horse, a few mistakes and several new questions.You will notice things you missed.An idea you were not ready for may suddenly make perfect sense. Something you thought was about groundwork may turn out to be relevant to your riding. A video you originally watched because of one horse may become invaluable with another.Horsemanship education compounds.Which is also why Member for Life makes so much sense for this library.You are not buying NF+ because you need to watch 1,300+ videos right now. Please do not attempt that.You are giving yourself a resource you can return to as your horses change, your goals grow and your understanding deepens.Today you might need Chelseas groundwork program.Next year you might need Tiks OTTB work.Then you might find yourself studying Josh Nichol, getting ready for a competition with a sport masterclass, doing a guided meditation before a ride or revisiting a horse-behavior lesson because a completely new horse has just handed you a completely new question.That is the point.Member for Life gives you one payment, no renewals and access to the NF+ library available when you join, so you can keep learning from it for years to come.Your horse will keep giving you new homework.You might as well have a very good library.

Theres been a lot happening inside NF+ this year.Four major new Masterclasses have joined the library, Tik Maynards training collection has gotten even bigger, exclusive footage from FAULTLESS is now streaming, and The NOLLE FLOYD Podcast has had some seriously good conversations lately.Basically, if you havent poked around NF+ in a while, you have some catching up to do.Heres where wed start.Will Coleman: Developing a More Balanced, Adjustable HorseRide your horse from leg to hand.Cool. But what does that really mean when youre sitting in the saddle and your horse is either running through you, behind you, or somehow doing both at once?Olympic eventer Will Colemans new NF+ Masterclass gets into exactly that.Will breaks down how he develops horses that are balanced, responsive and adjustable, with a big focus on helping riders understand the communication behind the aids instead of handing them another list of instructions to memorize.And no, you do not need to be an eventer to get a lot out of this course.Dressage riders, jumpers and anyone who has ever been yelled "More leg!" at, will find plenty to work with here.The Masterclass also includes a companion workbook with chapter summaries, illustrations, key lessons and space to reflect on your own rides.Ian and Amy Millar: The Millar MethodThere are not many families in equestrian sport with the depth of experience of the Millars.In The Millar Method, ten-time Olympian Ian Millar and Canadian Olympian Amy Millar open up the training system their family has used across generations of horses.And spoiler: its not just about jumping bigger fences.Ian and Amy start with the pieces underneath everything else. Rhythm. Straightness. Responsiveness. Balance. Adjustability. Even how a horse is handled outside of the riding session.Youll see how they think through flatwork, coursework and the small responses that tell them when a horse is ready to move on or when its time to revisit the basics.Its a fantastic course for those actively competing, and it comes with a workbook as well.Steffen Peters: Building Better Flying ChangesA flying change can look like one movement.Steffen Peters makes a pretty convincing case that it is anything but.In Building Better Flying Changes, the six-time Olympian works from the quality of the canter and the horses response to the aids all the way through first changes, late changes, crooked changes and eventually changes in series.One of the best parts is seeing Steffen work through the imperfect moments.A horse gets excited. Another starts anticipating. A change is late behind.Rather than drilling it until everyone is annoyed, he looks at what is missing and returns to an exercise that helps the horse understand the question.Even if flying changes are nowhere near your current to-do list, there is a lot here about canter balance, straightness, responsiveness and self-carriage that applies to any discipline.Tik Maynard: Restarting the Off-the-Track ThoroughbredAn OTTB does not arrive as an untrained horse.They already have an education. It just happens to be an education designed for racing.That distinction sits at the center of Tik Maynards newest Masterclass, Restarting the Off-the-Track Thoroughbred.Tik follows three Thoroughbreds at three stages of the process: one recently off the track, one several months into retraining and one several years into a second career.He looks at how racing influences a horses expectations and responses, how to evaluate an OTTB before buying, groundwork, restarting under saddle, balance, canter work, jumping, adjustability and eventually competition.The course also includes conversations with an FEI veterinarian and an experienced stable manager around selecting and caring for an OTTB.So this is not just, Heres how to get them jumping.Its a much bigger look at how to understand the horse you have before deciding where you want to take them next.More Tik Maynard: The Confidence AdvantageTiks NF+ library has also continued to grow, because apparently one Tik course was never going to be enough.In The Confidence Advantage, he tackles one of the biggest questions riders have with nervous, reactive or uncertain horses:How do you help a horse become more confident without just pushing them through something until they stop reacting?Tik looks at thresholds, curiosity, preparation and the riders role in helping horses work through new situations.Youll also see Nolle work through herd-bound behavior with her own horses as one of the case studies.That makes this course especially useful because you get to see the ideas applied to a real problem with real horses, not a perfectly staged training scenario where everyone magically behaves.New Case Studies in Tiks Trailering MasterclassTiks Common Trailering Problems Masterclass has also expanded.The course already walks riders through trailer loading from the groundwork up, including exercises you can teach before ever bringing a horse near the trailer.Now there are additional case studies featuring Utopia, Gunther, Ruger and Yogi.Each horse brings a slightly different problem, which means you get to see Tik adjust his approach instead of using the same method over and over again.Thats one of the things we love most about Tiks teaching.There is no do these three steps and your horse will load forever fantasy here.You learn how to look at the horse, figure out what is happening and choose your next move from there.Now Streaming: Exclusive Cuts From FAULTLESSTraining videos are only part of whats happening inside NF+.FAULTLESS takes you inside the world of top-level show jumping, and NF+ members now have access to exclusive cuts from the series.These extended and behind-the-scenes pieces give you more time with the riders, horses and people behind the polished rounds you see in the ring.Because as every horse person knows, the interesting part is usually everything that happened before they walked through the in-gate.Coming This Fall: NOLLE FLOYD: UNBRIDLEDAnd this might be the most personal thing weve ever made.In NOLLE FLOYD: UNBRIDLED, Nolle hits the road with Lady and Galano for a new documentary series exploring the horse-human relationship from a much more personal angle.Across North America, she meets horsemen, equine therapists, psychiatrists and communities with very different relationships to horses.The series asks bigger questions.Why do horses become such a huge part of our identity?Why do we keep choosing this life even when it is expensive, exhausting and occasionally involves standing in the rain holding a horse who has suddenly decided the mounting block is deeply suspicious?And what are horses giving us that we sometimes struggle to find anywhere else?UNBRIDLED is raw, personal and much less interested in pretending anyone has all the answers.Two episodes premiere publicly on October 19, with the complete six-episode season available exclusively on NF+.New Conversations on the NOLLE FLOYD PodcastThe NOLLE FLOYD Podcast has also had a particularly good run lately.If your barn commute could use a few new episodes, these are worth adding to the queue.Steffen PetersIf you enjoyed Steffens NF+ Masterclass, his recent podcast conversation gives you another side of him.The conversation moves beyond riding and competition into the person behind six Olympic appearances, then comes back to the training itself.Steffen talks through young horses, self-carriage, contact, groundwork and the approach he takes when developing a new horse.Basically, you get both sides: the rider everyone knows and the trainer thinking through the details.Kasey Perry-GlassKasey Perry-Glass spent years inside elite dressage.Her husband, Dana Glass, starts colts.Those two worlds have influenced each other more than you might expect.Kasey talks with Nolle about perfectionism, groundwork, knowing when to end a training session, separating physical issues from behavior and what happens when you finally reach a goal you have spent years chasing.There are a lot of moments in this episode that will follow you back into the barn.Ashley AvisFilmmaker Ashley Avis, director of Disneys Black Beauty and Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, joined Nolle for a conversation about the horses who disappear from view after their riding careers end.They talk about horse auctions, wild horses, advocacy and Ashleys Lost Horses campaign.It is less how do I ride this exercise better? and more what responsibility do we have to horses once they stop being useful to us?A very different conversation, and an important one.And Because Horse People Love Merch...Yes, weve been making things for your closet and tack trunk too.The NOLLE FLOYD shop now has Team Mare and Team Gelding sweaters, because apparently choosing sides is part of horse ownership now.There are also stickers for the laptop, water bottle, tack locker, trailer, or any other surface that could use a little more horse-person energy.And if Team Mare vs. Team Gelding isnt the hill youre prepared to die on, theres more apparel for the horse people who have strong opinions about things like turnout and putting the horse before the sport.Basically, consider this your permission to wear your barn opinions outside the barn too.Shop NOLLE FLOYD merch One Library. A Lot of Ways to Learn.NF+ has never been about giving you one trainer and telling you that person has the answer to everything.Because, respectfully, horses would never make it that easy.The library gives you access to riders, horsemen, veterinarians, psychologists, grooms and trainers across disciplines so you can compare ideas, watch people work through real problems and find tools that make sense for the horse standing in front of you.There are now more than 1,300 videos across jumping, dressage, eventing, groundwork, horse behavior, rider mindset, horse care and more.Some days you might need an Olympic rider explaining balance.Other days you might desperately need Tik Maynard and four horses who have opinions about trailers.Both are in there.Become an NF+ Member for LifeAnd right now, theres another way to access all of it.NF+ Member for Life is one payment of $399. No renewals.You get ongoing access to the NF+ library available when you join, including the new Masterclasses from Will Coleman, Ian and Amy Millar, Steffen Peters and Tik Maynard.Which means you can take the course you need today, forget half of it because your horse immediately invents an entirely new problem, and come back six months later when you need it again.That feels a little more realistic to us.One payment. No renewals. Your NF+ library for years to come.Become a Member for Life

A major investigation has highlighted the suspected large-scale trafficking horses across Europe using falsified documents and manipulated microchips.Between 8 and 9 September, nearly 200 officers and representatives of different authorities took part in the operation across Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.Identities and histories of horses were allegedly manipulated to allow them to be moved and resold across the continent. Horses are suspected of having been fraudulently resold under falsified identities, while others may have been diverted into the food chain.This undermines the traceability systems designed to protect animal welfare and food safety and could result in horses not intended for human consumption being illegally sent for slaughter, said a spokesman for Europol, who supported the operation.The operation saw authorities carry out 24 searches, where more than 1,000 horses were checked.Evidence seized during the searches is now being analysed and investigators are working to establish the final destination of the animals. The investigation remains ongoing.More from Your HorseHow to tell if a horse is happy: behaviourist reveals 13 key signs9 essential things to get right when youre taking care of a horseEssential guide to horse health insurance and vet fees coverWhy are horses more prone to colic in the autumn?The post Major investigation highlights suspected horse trafficking across Europe appeared first on Your Horse.

Wilmington, Ohio The Standlee Sanctuary hosted the first $35,000 Buckeye Grand Prix of the 2026 Fall Classic Series Saturday evening at World Equestrian Center Wilmington (WEC). Robert Barton set a track that the field of athletes mastered, as nine combinations moved on to the jump-off phase. Christina Kelly put the pressure on with The Diamond Edge Groups Victoire VD Windeweg ZSource

New government guidelines, issued by the Scottish Ministers under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, have shared best practice for equine welfare. Among the recommendations, which include aspects of daily care, feeding and nutrition, handling and training, and veterinary care, is daily free movement, which does not include ridden work.Advice also includes the need to provide positive experiences and the importance of social interaction, as well as responsible breeding and buying and selling.The New Scottish Welfare of Equids Guidance document shares what is expected of horse owners as a minimum, but also how they can go beyond this and put their horses needs at the centre of their management decisions.World Horse Welfare were among the originations who helped create the guidelines, which they described as a fantastic collaborative effort.The guidelines set out what is expected of everyone caring for horses but also explain what owners and keepers can do to truly give their horses a good life, taking a holistic, whole-horse approach and considering their mental as well as physical wellbeing, said World Horse Welfare Field Officer John Burns. Its key to take into account how horses experience the lives we provide for them and not just view decisions through a human lens.Feedback from horse owners across Scotland informed the development of the guidance and responses highlighted a number of key themes, including limited awareness of the old Scottish Codes of Practice amongst owners and professionals. Respondents were strongly in favour of updating the Codes and for them to include mental wellbeing, social needs and quality of life alongside physical health. By developing this clear, accessible guidance, which draws on the latest expertise from leading vets, allied professionals and equine sector specialists, the Scottish Government is leading the way on supporting horse owners and keepers to know exactly what their responsibilities are and how they can go above and beyond that, in line with the latest evidence on what makes a good life for a horse, as seen through the horses eyes, added World Horse Welfares Head of Public Affairs, Kim Ayling.Following the launch of the new Scottish Welfare of Equids Guidance, wed urge policymakers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to take note. Defras Code of practice for the welfare of horses, ponies, donkeys and their hybrids was launched in 2013 and weve learned a huge amount since then about how horses learn, their needs and how they experience the environment around them.The Scottish Equine Guidance Document can be viewed on the Scottish Government website.Lead image by ShutterstockRelated contentHow to provide a stabled horse with the three Fs (and why its so important that you do)7 ways to enrich your horses environmentHow to tell if a horse is happyThe post Daily free movement included in governments new equine welfare guidelines appeared first on Your Horse.