18 Horse Instagram Accounts
to Follow in 2018

I’ll be honest, Instagram is my jam. If there is one place on social media where I can connect with like-minded people and be inspired by their pictures and stories, it’s not Facebook, but its “cousin” Instagram.  If you have not yet fully embraced Instagram, it’s like short form blogging with REALLY amazing pictures. Last year one of my top ten most popular posts was 7 Horse Instagram Accounts to follow in 2017. So this year I thought I’d up the ante and share 18 more accounts I think you’ll adore.

A post shared by Susan Friedland-Smith (@saddleseekshorse) on Jan 19, 2018 at 7:57am PST

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I follow over 1,000 accounts–I know, it’s a little excessive–ranging from some of my favorite authors to brands I love, so here are just a few of the horse-themed accounts I enjoy. You might also enjoy them! Go ahead, and check them out.

@alex_bauwens Katniss is not fictional! Alex Bauwens, the blonde bombshell from Chicago, now based in Scottsdale, Arizona has one of the most exciting Instagram accounts around. When she’s not shooting arrows off her horse at a gallop (mounted archery is her thang!), she might be doing trick riding, driving, reining, jumping, or showcasing her incredible artistic abilities. When she’s not training horses, she is potentially drawing or painting them for clients. Alex is a professional artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. And I could go on and on but just go check her out and you can thank me later. 🙂

@brittsabbah If you like eventing, buckskin dapples and newborns, you will love Southern Californian Britt Sabbah’s Instagram account. She is a new mom and got back in the saddle only nine days after her little nugget came into the world! Oh, and besides her superhero-esque flying Louie (the aforementioned buckskin), she has two adorable miniature horses. Britt is also a US Equestrian ambassador.

@breyerscs  Raise your hand if you had or still have Breyer horses. I got the bay Running Stallion as a gift when I was in elementary school and thus the model horse obsession began. If you want to see Breyer horses taken to a whole new level of awesome, check out this account. All I can say is if you weren’t paying close attention, you might mistake some of posts as actual real life barn scenes. In fact, you might have barn envy at some of the stalls and equipment. (There’s also an affiliated Etsy shop where you can buy these to-scale Breyer jump standards!!!)

Mother. Animal massage therapist. Author. Blogger. Entrepreneur. These words describe Heather Wallace’s @timidrider account. Heather’s blog and Instagram focus on natural health and wellness, but also reveal her personal journey returning to horses as an adult. Spoiler alert: she recently bought a darling blue roan Welsh cob named Ferrous. I think Heather and her three kids will have to rock, paper, scissors to figure out who gets to ride first. You might also enjoy her humorous little book The Equestrian Handbook of Excuses.

@theeceequestrian If you are unfamiliar with Taylor and her GORGEOUS gray gelding Donny, you’ve got to check them out. Donny is not just a looker and sweet hunter, but a total snuggle bug. Taylor has positive energy that just bursts off her posts. She also is a vlogger and does product reviews (I’m trying not to be jealous she got a Pixio robot camera for Christmas–to video her rides)  I’m a huge fan.

A post shared by The East Coast Equestrian (@theecequestrian) on Jan 19, 2018 at 11:20am PST

@eqglobetrotter Jennifer Sims (aka The Styled Equestrian) has a new project for 2018! She is merging her love for riding and travel by visiting some bucket-list destinations to experience horse adventures and other cultures. She recently traveled to Mexico and has some other national and international destinations next on her list. (But more on that in a future blog post!) And she continues to sport her excellent riding outfit of the day ensembles (#rootd) on this new account and her main account.

@frugal.filly Kait, who has her own equine media management biz and does product reviews on her blog The Tailored Mane, is a huge proponent for horse rescue. And to top it off, she has the cutest puppy Sammy AND her mom is really into succulents (#succulentsrule) and has an account @succulentkim. You will especially love Kait’s videos of her exuberant horses in turnout. I laughed and couldn’t get over this one of her pony jumping the huge dinner bucket. Kait has a huge heart and hopes to combine her love for horses with a way to reach out to hurting people. Follow this young equestrian with an exciting future.

@georgegunnphoto Like gorgeous foxhunting photos? Or do you just yearn for the British countryside? Then follow this acount.  A recent post had a scene of foxhunters in the snow–I had never seen a foxhunting photo quite like that before–really unique and beautiful. George Gunn is based in the UK but does photography around the world for field sport, equines and commercial lifestyle.

A post shared by GeorgeGunn (@georgegunn18) on Oct 16, 2017 at 4:33am PDT

@griffind_dressage If you crave a highly-curated dressage feed, this is THE Instagram account to follow. Isabel Werth makes a strong showing on various mounts, but if you keep scrolling you will find the young man and passionate dressage lover behind all the fabulous photos. Griffin keeps a low profile, but inspires his followers with piaffes and pirouettes, extended trots and, of course, canters. He is a promising young dressage rider with an unlimited future.

@horsesandheels_ Early in my blogging “career” I found Raquel’s Horses and Heels blog and was smitten. For one, Raquel is an amazing photographer and so her blog is really a feast for the horse lover’s eyes. And she really is like the Martha Stewart of the equestrian world (but younger, more glam, and way nicer than Martha). She cooks, does DIY, has impeccable taste in Western style AND has the cutest Pomeranian Mango who is a total diva. If you are looking for a cowboy boot expert, Raquel is your girl. Want a neat horse-themed craft idea like how to make a horse head succulent holder? Again, Raquel can show you how on her new YouTube channel. And one other thing, not only does she exude talent on the home and blogging front, but she is training her 3-year old Paint Fira, a barrel race prospect, on her own.

@ladyphotographic If you have been following this blog for a while, you probably know that I adore the photography of Vanessa Hughes (aka Lady Photographic) and have the good fortune of living close enough to her (she’s based in San Diego) to have struck up a real life friendship (she’s even let me take pictures with her fancy camera before!). Vanessa’s Instagram account is simply exquisite. Her equine photography and videography is special in a way that I can’t quite describe, so you’ll have to jump on over to the Lady Photographic page to see for yourself.

@lilybrhodes Lily is an inspiration. Period. If you’re not familiar with the US Equestrian ambassador and dressage rider’s story I can’t do it justice in this short amount of space, so you really need to follow her account first and then click this link to a recent Sidelines article about her. The extremely skinny version is this: Lily is a horse girl who had an ATV accident as a young teen in which she lost her right arm. Despite her life-altering event, she has persisted with an exuberance and smile and continues to ride and excel in her discipline. And her Paint mount Charlie is pretty darn adorable. Lily is like the Bethany Hamilton of the horse world. Amazing beyond words.

@matildebrandt Matilde, a horse crazy girl from Norway with a Friesian and Dole horse, will make you want to move to a place where dazzling snow and mystical green forests abound. Matilde, like Alex (see my first recommendation) also does mounted archery, trick riding and driving. She drives a sleigh! All of her horsey moments captured by camera charm her 244,000 fans (yes, that’s almost a half million–not a typo). And her trademark riding accessory is a hooded cape–how fun is that?

@modernequestrian Los Angeles equestrian Isabelle, and her tall, dark, and handsome Thoroughbred sidekick Bailey post enormously popular “view from the top” photos which show a bird’s eye view of mane, withers, saddle pad, half pad and belt, breeches and riding shirt ensemble–a unique #rootd perspective indeed! Once in a while she posts some pretty amazing throwback posts to her riding as a little tyke, and then there are a bunch of jumping posts too. You might remember the blog post I wrote about her when Knight got to do a little modeling. If you missed that, check out the post on getting to know Modern Equestrian.

@mpmsporthorses If jumping unicorns are your thing, you need to follow Melina’s account. Her stunning bay gelding Caraszini can leap the moon. The pair based in Florida will inspire you to new heights and you’ll want to steal Melina’s equitation (too bad that’s not really a thing–or at least borrowing). Melina does great jumping videos set to music–fun edits. You might like her Shades of Gray clip in which she rides four different gray horses.

@mylittleponyss If you want a short course on tenacity, you need to follow Krystina and get to know the story of her black Oldenburg gelding Levi. The synopsis is girl gets dream horse, dream horse is not a dream, but a persistent challenge, girl changes expectations and keeps going with said horse, switching disciplines for a period and learns valuable life lessons about hard work, grit and a lot of love. In addition to jumping all the big jumps, Krystina is a beautiful dressage rider. And she raised funds to help equestrian victims of the recent California wildfires! Last year her Instagram account had over one million likes (we think she’s on to something!) 🙂

@saddleseekshorse (That’s me!) If you want to follow a school teacher/equestrian who is trying to turn her OTTB into a fox hunter, or you  like reading horse books (I’m an author too!) and between the ears photographs and product reviews, follow me. 🙂 Thank you in advance.

@zintapolo Zinta, the polo playing model, has a really popular account because she is gorgeous, stylish, and has the coolest string of polo ponies. (My personal favorite is Bear and I want to clone him–read my account of meeting Bear in person.) But that’s not all! She’s a helicopter pilot! I am seriously starting to wonder if she’s a female James Bond. If you want between the ears shots of polo ponies and serious fashion inspiration, you’ll have to follow Zinta.

Thank you for reading this behemoth of a blog post. I hope you find some fun new horse Instagram accounts that you will enjoy in 2018 and beyond!

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