Ask the Collective

i train/take care of a young green horse, and recently started riding him but he is verry lazy and barely moves forward. and i dont know how to get him more active. i use a dressage whip to give a tap if he needs it but i try to do is as little as possible, and i prefer to not use spurs. but i dont know what to do. i know that he isnt in pain and he can go faster, just not while riding. any tips please??? also the moment i praise him with pats or words he stands still. (i know my riding isnt perfect and the halter is there for a reason)

My horse Roni is the absolute worst when it comes to fly masks. I bought him this new one and it didn't even last him a full day! What are your best, most robust fly mask recommendations?

I posted a review on the shop 6 days ago but haven’t received any points for it yet, did anyone have this happen?

Hey I am hoping that someone here can help me because I am really confused. I received a pair of damaged breeches which I am now trying to exchange for a new one. I set the return process up on the website and then received a return receipt via email. But where do I get the return label? Also, will my item be exchanged? I ordered the breeches with a sales code which is not applicable anymore. I’d appreciate anyone who can help!

(Apologies if this seems like spam, but I wanted to post this question separate from the cooler one so it wouldn't be a lot to read.) Many of you probably saw my bareback post, so this may seem like an odd question. However, one of the horses I train is Paso Fino, which are completely gaited horses (they can't even trot at all). Gaited horses are super hard to fit with conventional saddles, and the dressage one that I've been using has been making her back sore. On top of her extremely PF "crazy" mind, this just isn't a good match as you can imagine. Buying a full saddle would be super expensive, and as I suspect she has DSLD, her riding career is going to be very light until she reaches the point where she cannot comfortably be ridden. I'm looking into Signum Omega's Paddle because stirrups can be attached and it's close enough to a saddle, but it should work much for the mare because it doesn't have a tree. Do any of you have any experience with them, or know of other bareback style pads like SOs? I'm willing to look into the other SOs if you think they're better than the paddle.

What are the best coolers in your opinion? I'm looking for one that's in the budget (about $110-) that's durable, easy to clean, and especially in summer heat, doesn't leave the horse sweating for an hour while it's on the horse (slight exaggeration, but still). I'm totally fine with buying a summer and a winter cooler if I need to, I just need something that's comfortable for the horse, not crazy expensive, and does it's job well over a long lifespan. :)

Am I the only one that cant open the notifications? Today I've recived about 5 notifications but when I click on them it just says "Page not found". I have tried looking around the collective to find it, but cant seem to find it anywhere.

Do you remember, how much you’ve spent when you were taking home a new horse? I am talking everything new: tack (including saddle), vitamins, stable accessories, first aid kit, brushes, etc. I am getting over the 6k limit and I didnt even buy the rugs yet 🫣