Your Horse – August 2026

Summary

Jude Lumb's Chacgolda PS takes the cover of Your Horse August 2026 (Issue 546, £4.75), photographed by Victoria Adams, under THE BOND BUILDER — Create a horse who wants to work with you. The cover also carries Ride Like Ros Canter, Pony Power, four exercises every ex-racer needs, how horses unite families including the royals, and a riding hat and gloves worth £160.

The news pages carry the year's most urgent story: flu sweeping the New Forest herd, the first outbreak there in 30 years, with about 5,000 ponies roaming that cannot practically be vaccinated. UK flu cases stand at 135 for the year, with more than 40 in June alone.

Strangles is reported at 288 cases, averaging 52 a month. Spillers found owners feeding no balancer fell from 20% in 2025 to 5% in June 2026. Editor Aimi Clark opens on her love of ponies, and pony expert Sam Turner and his 14.1hh Billy Whiz reach grand prix dressage.

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Content Guide

▸ News

Flu sweeps the New Forest
Semi-wild New Forest ponies have equine flu, with cases confirmed in two common areas. About 5,000 ponies roam the forest and cannot practically be vaccinated, so the virus is expected to run through the herd. Andrew Parry-Norton of the New Forest Commoners Defence Association says the disease can only "run its course," warns the public may see coughing or snotty-nosed ponies, and urges reporting to the Verderers of the New Forest office. This is the New Forest's first flu outbreak in 30 years. Call the Verderers rather than assuming someone else has reported it.

Show checks and UK totals
New Forest and Hampshire County Show, 28 to 30 July, will check every competing horse's passport and bar unvaccinated entries; Royal Cornwall, Royal Bath & West, Great Yorkshire Show and British Dressage, British Eventing and British Showjumping events have similar checks. The UK has recorded 135 flu cases so far this year, with more than 40 in June. Check your horse's vaccination date before you enter anything.

Strangles rising
Vets report rising strangles, with 288 diagnosed cases at an average of 52 a month. EIDS's Abigail McGlennon urges the four "ates": vaccinate, isolate new or returning horses, investigate early clinical signs, and communicate confirmed cases to other yards and EIDS. Magpie Centre Riding for the Disabled Association West Norfolk, near Downham Market, entered a six-week voluntary lockdown after a horse tested positive. Last month Your Horse reported up to half of owners did not know horses can be vaccinated against strangles. Ask your yard what its isolation policy is this week.

Feeding survey
Spillers' 2025 weight-management survey found 20% of owners fed no supplement or balancer; the June 2026 Spillers Slimmers' Club survey puts that at just 5%. Mars Horsecare nutrition content manager Vanessa Allen is quoted. Better feeding is the one health trend with a number behind it. Check whether your own horse gets a balancer.

▸ Editor's Letter

Aimi Clark on ponies
Editor Aimi Clark opens on her preference for ponies, remembering New Forest ponies from childhood, and notes her household has four generations of residents. She introduces pony expert Sam Turner, known for taking his 14.1hh Billy Whiz to grand prix dressage, at p42, and interviews adult pony riders about downsizing at p48. Grace Olson writes on adult horsey fiction for the National Year of Reading at p16, with family riding at p10, royal riding archives at p14 and the Ros Canter feature at p28. A 14.1hh pony at grand prix is the fact that sells the pony pages. Read her letter before the features.

Reader notice
TG Jones stores, formerly WH Smith, plan to close, and readers are directed to subscribe at p24, the Kelsey shop at shop.kelsey.co.uk/your-horse-magazine, the store finder at frontline-group.co.uk/store-finder, or local newsagent ordering. Distribution changes hit readers before they hit magazines. Order your next copy directly rather than expecting it on the shelf.

▸ Training

p.28 · Ride better with Ros Canter — The Ros Canter principles you can adopt too
The cover's Ros Canter feature sets out the habits and principles behind her success that any rider can adopt. Champion habits are worth more than champion results. Take one principle into your next schooling session.

p.34 · Confident clears — Nailing a 12ft canter
The training piece takes the guesswork out of showjumping distances by nailing a 12ft canter. Distance is the jumping problem riders blame on the horse. Practise one 12ft canter stride on the flat today.

p.36 · Progressive schooling — Four exercises for a Thoroughbred
Four exercises put a Thoroughbred on the road to success, the cover's ex-racer promise. Ex-racers need schooling plans, not sympathy. Ride one of the four this week.

p.42 · An adult approach to small athletes
Working with a pony to reach its full potential, with Sam Turner and Billy Whiz. Ponies are not small horses and should not be trained as such. Adjust one exercise for a pony's stride.

p.48 · Why big isn't better
The gains from choosing a pint-sized mount, with adult riders on downsizing. Downsizing is the decision more riders should consider. Ride one pony this month and compare.

▸ Features and Care

p.14 · Royal riders — Royal riding archives
The archives yield decades of royals enjoying life on horseback. Royal photographs are the lightest page in any issue. Look at one and name the decade.

p.16 · Read yourself happy — Grace Olson
Grace Olson argues for swapping scrolling for storytelling with a good horsey novel. Reading is the winter habit riders forget. Start one horsey novel this month.

p.58 · The art of longevity — Katie Jerram-Hunnable
Her advice for keeping a veteran happy under saddle continues from the July issue. Veteran advice is the most useful thing a monthly prints. Ask what your veteran still enjoys.

p.62 · Raise a horse that wants to work
The bond-builder cover strand, on inspiring a willing partnership. Willingness is the training outcome riders rarely name. End one session while your horse is still trying.

p.68 · Beyond the joint — Joint injections
Medicating a limb needs a whole-horse approach, with the pros and cons of joint injections. Joint medication is the decision owners make without full information. Ask your vet what else needs treating, not just the joint.

p.74 · Look beyond the plait
When preparing for a show becomes pressured, and what to do. Show pressure is the part nobody writes about honestly. Name one thing that pressures you at a show.

▸ Experts and Gear

p.82-88 · Ask the Experts
Barefoot, stereotypies, biosecurity and feeding are covered, with hay or haylage, forage quality, climate change and correct "as fed" rates. Expert pages are the reference readers keep. Check your hay against the forage quality advice.

p.94 · Spray bugs away · p.98 · Fly defences · p.100 · Comfort in the field
Fly repellent ingredients are decoded, summer fly defences explained, and fly rugs tested by the team. Fly control is the summer welfare issue owners under-manage. Put a fly rug on before turnout, not after the first bite.

p.92 · New releases
New horse products are rounded up. New product pages are advertising dressed as news. Try one item before you believe the copy.

▸ Offers

A D&H riding hat and gloves worth over £160 from Mulmet is the cover gift at p26, an Agria Blenheim Horse Trials day out with £600 of vouchers at p90, and six issues for £25.99 with two Zebra Products gifts at p24. Check the closing date before you enter.

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Editor's Take

The flu news is the reason Your Horse August 2026 matters: the New Forest's first outbreak in 30 years, about 5,000 unvaccable ponies, Andrew Parry-Norton saying it must "run its course," 135 UK cases and more than 40 in June, plus passport checks at the 28 to 30 July show is reporting with dates and totals rather than concern. Strangles at 288 and the four "ates" is the practical twin. Weakest is the cover: The Bond Builder promises a training philosophy and the source gives only the title, and the four ex-racer exercises, the Ros Canter principles and the royal archives are all announced without body text. The fly rug and repellent pages are advertising. Buy this for the flu and strangles pages; the cover story is a promise.

Strengths
• Flu gives 5,000 ponies, 30 years, 135 cases, 40 in June
• Strangles gives 288 cases and the four "ates"
• Spillers gives 20% to 5% with named survey dates
• Billy Whiz at 14.1hh in grand prix dressage

Weaknesses
• Bond Builder cover story has no body text
• Ros Canter and ex-racer pages are titles only
• Fly and rug pages are largely advertising

Verdict: Recommended — the flu and strangles reporting, weaker cover story.