BHS Scotland has enjoyed some exciting events lately as we all trot into a rather typical Scottish summer – cold winds and a slight lack of sunshine so far.

A memorable trip to the Isle of Lewis to see BHS Western Isles was perfect, with an evening event at the beautiful Lews Castle, followed by a day of coaching at Lochside Arena.

This multi-use community run facility always impresses having stabling for a dozen or so equines and is the perfect place for camps and training. The arena would not run without volunteer support with local pitching in on repairs and maintenance.

One of the things we are doing on Stornoway was – with the help of BHS Lothian's weighbridge – weighing all the equines we met. It is important to know a horse's weight for several reasons – any dose of medication or wormer is calculated on your horse’s weight, as is the maths around how much we carry in our vehicles when we transport our horses, including how much forage to feed.

Everyone should seek expert advice from their vet or equine nutritionist if your horse needs to lose or gain weight and it would be fair to say that on the Isle of Lewis the lovely horses tended to be in general slightly overweight.

As we discussed with the owners, this was a bit of a concern given that the grass was just starting to grow, but actually most of our candidates were about a '3' on a fat scoring chart, so they all received an especial In Great Shape rosette.

Maintaining your horse at a healthy fat score can be difficult, so it’s important that we recognise and praise the efforts of those owners/carers whose horses are kept healthy.

Twenty-two lucky riders took part in a Coronation Ride as guided by Louise McClounie, estates co-ordinator of the Prince's Foundation at Dumfries House and taking in the beautiful grounds of the Kings’ Dumfries House Estate, including riding past the main house, arboretum, Adams Bridge, and Duchess of Rothesay Avenue. It included afternoon tea and was a special and memorable occasion.

We also held our spring camp offering opportunities for riders to experience expert coaches, have some great fun with like-minded people and a chance of xc training. Whether regular competitor or a happy hacker, our BHS Accredited Professional coaches tailor the camp to meet individual needs. Attendees are split into groups determined by experience and confidence levels of both horse and rider (novice rider right up to the more advanced). Riders experienced 5 hours of coached sessions across the weekend, in flatwork and jumping including cross country. Whilst the emphasis was on improvement and education everyone worked hard, enjoying good food, great facilities and excellent company it was great.