Horse Rider UK – April 2026

Summary

Horse&Rider UK April 2026 (Issue 683, 4.99 pounds) opens with a six-page laminitis science update drawing on Royal Veterinary College research, and pairs it with Horseworld's case for track-system turnout. Meg Elphick's eventer-proven plan for building a fit, strong horse anchors the training lineup.

Issue 683 of Horse&Rider UK, dated 19 March to 15 April 2026, is built around three cover lines: laminitis research, rider safety, and getting horses fit and strong. Editor-in-Chief Louise Kittle leads with a 16-page safety special covering hats, body protectors and air jackets, while the laminitis block runs across pages 62 to 67 with the latest on insulin dysregulation and the Royal Veterinary College's four-year pony study.

Training features cluster around clinical animal behaviourist Anna Haines on p56, who reads subtle refusal signs as communication rather than naughtiness, and BHS Stage 4 coach Nina Gill on p24 with a four-line layout using just eight poles. Eventer Meg Elphick frames the season's fitness push, and Hickstead winner Gemma Stevens returns with a three-fence tramline grid for jumping straightness on p38.

Horse care runs deep: track systems from Horseworld, Dr Noori Husain on equestrian mental health, Fizz Tickridge-Marshall on safer leading, plus rehoming advice from seven UK charities including Redwings, Bransby Horses and World Horse Welfare. There is a 998-pound giveaway pool, a year's Thunderbrook feed worth 500 pounds to two readers, and reader horse galleries from Kathryn Ovenden, Dee Lamplough and Rachael Wallace.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover & Major Features

p.62 · The science of laminitis

A six-page plain-English guide built on Royal Veterinary College research names three laminitis pathways (endocrinopathic, sepsis-associated, supporting-limb) and ties them to insulin dysregulation and equine metabolic syndrome. Actionable takeaways: body-condition-score fortnightly, keep a muzzle on for the full turnout window to prevent gorging, learn the digital pulse as a routine check, and ask your vet about annual PPID testing for older horses. The Royal Veterinary College's four-year never-affected-pony cohort study is flagged for future prevention work.

p.44 · Strengthen & condition

Eventer Meg Elphick, with 10 Badminton Grassroots placings, builds a fit-and-strong season around forage-first feeding, a balancer or ration balancer for vitamin coverage, and a fitness mix of interval training, jumping gridwork, polework and in-hand stretches. Actionable takeaway: audit your horse's weekly exercise honestly before adding intensity, build rest days into the plan, and consult your vet, physio and instructor together before bringing a horse back from injury.

p.32 · Move on up

A step-up dressage block covering improved canter through medium-to-collected transitions, direct canter-walk-canter changes with inside-leg support, and the introduction of walk and canter pirouettes via diamond shapes and travers-shoulder-fore alternation. Actionable takeaway: avoid teaching flying changes on long lines or diagonals; use a short-side demi-volte to keep the canter bouncy before asking, and switch to canter-walk-canter simple changes if your horse loses the idea.

p.56 · The feedback loop

Clinical animal behaviourist Anna Haines reframes refusals as communication, splitting the message into five causes: pain, fear, confusion, emotional overload and lack of physical ability. Actionable takeaway: log subtle early signs (tail swishing, slowing, turning away, refusing treats, upper-eyelid triangulation) before they escalate, book a vet investigation first, and respond with a pause-and-investigate habit rather than riding through the no.

▸ Riding Technique

p.24 · Polework patterns

BHS Stage 4 coach Nina Gill of Fancy Footwork Equestrian sets out an eight-pole layout built from a centre square, offering four progressive lines covering parallel-pole straightness, accuracy over pole-junction points, and suppleness work on changes of bend. Actionable takeaway: ride a square turn off the track before the poles, check your own straightness with a phone-on-fence video, and use the 9m between poles for upward and downward transitions to slow a rushing horse.

p.38 · Straight forward

Hickstead Eventer's Grand Prix winner Gemma Stevens builds a three-upright-to-oxer grid using tramlines spaced at least 1.5m apart, with poles on the floor before adding fences. Actionable takeaway: place tramlines on the approach and getaway to stop drift between fences, add a soft pole in the middle of related distances to lift the stride, and keep sessions relative to your level rather than chasing height.

p.50 · Taking the lead

Herefordshire livery yard owner Fizz Tickridge-Marshall (ex-Hartpury, Jonjo O'Neill, Carl Hester) walks through four handling scenarios: leading to and from the field, leading from the off side, leading two horses together, and a horse that pulls away at turn-out. Actionable takeaway: when a horse barges, stop, face him, ask two steps back, then resume; carry apples or carrots to keep a puller stationary while you remove the headcollar; and use a bridle over the headcollar if you cannot hold him.

▸ Horse Care & Welfare

p.8 · The Year of the Horse

Seven facts about the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, which runs from 17 February 2026 until 5 February 2027, including the legend of the Jade Emperor's river race, the lucky numbers, flowers and colours, and a list of equestrian birthdays in horse years. Actionable takeaway: if your horse was foaled in 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966, 1954 or 1942, expect a symbolically high-variance year.

p.10 · With horses in mind

Thames Valley psychiatry resident Dr Noori Husain, who sits on the British Horse Society's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Board, sets out the SEPSIG sports-psychiatry agenda and the case for horses as mental-health intervention. Actionable takeaway: aim for the NHS-recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity a week split across riding, walking or lungeing; if you are struggling, the Riders Minds website and your GP are the practical starting points she names.

p.21 · Rescue remedy

A round-robin panel drawing on HorseWorld, Redwings, The Mare and Foal Sanctuary, World Horse Welfare, Retraining of Racehorses and Bransby Horses, covering initial rehoming fees of 60 to 500 pounds, premises checks on water, fencing and grazing, trial visits and ongoing annual follow-ups. Actionable takeaway: ask the charity about horses not yet online when you apply, expect a yard visit before approval, and budget for all day-to-day costs even though the centre may help with rug sizing.

▸ Regulars & Safety

p.88 · Complete safety guide

A 16-page rider-safety supplement covering hat standards and the difference between jockey skulls and peaked helmets, BETA Level 3 body protectors, air jackets and field-safe headcollars. Actionable takeaway: check your hat carries the right standard stamp for your discipline, replace it after a significant impact, and try a body protector on over the clothes you actually ride in before buying.

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Editor's Take

The April 2026 issue lives or dies on its laminitis block, and Horse&Rider UK delivers: the science-of-laminitis feature, built around Royal Veterinary College research and emerging adiponectin work, names three laminitis pathways and gives owners specific actions such as fortnightly body-condition scoring, muzzle wear through the full turnout window, and digital-pulse checks. Anna Haines's feedback-loop piece and Meg Elphick's eventer fitness plan are unusually usable, both anchored on named coaches and rideable progressions. Where the issue stumbles is sheer ad weight; giveaway pages, sponsored nutrition inserts and Stock Track six-item pulls break reading rhythm on every turn. Best for owners managing spring grass, returning eventers and anyone shopping for a new hat or body protector. Skip if you want clean feature-only reading.

Strengths
• Six-page laminitis block cites specific RVC research and concrete risk-reduction steps owners can use.
• Training features pair named experts (Gemma Stevens, Meg Elphick, Nina Gill) with progressive, rideable exercises.
• 16-page safety special explains hat testing and standards without marketing fluff.

Weaknesses
• Ad density remains very high; multiple full-page inserts interrupt every feature.
• Some Ask the Experts answers on hacking anxiety and lorry choice feel padded with stock phrasing.

Verdict: Recommended — Strong spring laminitis research and named-coach training features offset by heavy ad density.