The Challanges Of Caring For Your Treasured Horses

An equestrian would know that horses are definitely hay burners and consume much of one’s budget. That’s why, in financial as well as other aspects, it is difficult to keep and care for just one—how much more if you’re a ‘horse addict ‘ and have a herd?

Well, sometimes we permit ourselves to get something really expensive as a reward to ourselves. That can be 1 explanation why you would go buy quality pony, a costly and gifted steed good at reigning and well-suited for dressage. So let’s say you go buy one. But then, you realize reining isn’t for you. So you don’t really have much use for your horse’s talent while you continue to spend for her feed and work for her care. You choose to put out feelers for anyone who might be interested to buy her. Meanwhile, you continue to feed her your own special recipe and give her bodywork but at the back of your mind you are still thinking of selling her to someone else. Well, don’t be shocked if next time you come sit near her she’ll give you a slap on the back of your head and blow snot at you at least ten times as if to say, “Come on, wake up. You bought me as a reward to yourself, now you want to sell me… this relationship is supposed to go both-ways, I am your dream horse and you’re my dream owner.”

And when your horse does that to you, you will get the message even if you don’t excel on animal communication classes (you’ll be able to find animal communication resources all around the Web).

Regardless of if your steed has a Shao Yin character (one of the five horse type characters) —one that’s eager on pleasing folks, although that’s a pretty assertive message from a Shao Yin sort of horse.

But you don’t have to hang around for your steed to offer you the snots. Think carefully and remember, she was meant to be your reward and can not be such all by herself; she wants you to transform her into your dream equine partner. If she is not as tough as the remainder of your herd, then perhaps you need a different type of coaching for her.

That can be a difficult task to meet, so just consider it as another chance for you to grow. Of course , there’s much more to being an equestrian than dreaming of dressage or pony riding, galloping, and reining all day.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Developing A Good Seat Is Crucial To Horse Riding Success

Getting your own pony should come with sufficient reason—you must either want her for horse riding or for sport or you see horseback maneuvers as an art form, or some other reason along those lines. No reason can be decidedly wrong, it is simply that the reason for your getting horses would then affect how you go about owning one. A horse that’s suitable for your motivation is essential: an occasional ride would entail an aged, well-broke pony; a challenging equestrian sport will need a talented competitive steed; and those who wish to see moving, stylish art would need horses talented enough for dressage.

In relation to but irrespective of your reason or motivation behind being an equestrian is the requirement to find out how to relax, balance, and flow with the movements of your pony. This is not solely for the potency with which training is done and activities performed, but also for the comfort and health of the horse involved. And an important key element in achieving balance, relaxation, and a flowing connection between pony and rider, is the rider’s seat. The more trained and educated your seat is, the better you become at handling your horse and her reactions and actions.

Without a seat that works independently from your legs and arms, not to mention your voice, you will not be able to adequately control your equine partner. You can enforce cues through vocal commands, and gait speed thru your arm and leg movements, but ultimately the quality of the horseback experience would be lackluster. And even the leisurely rider anticipating weekend pony riding activities can benefit immensely from a productive seat. The first step, balance, is not got thru forcible means. First, you find your centre. As long as you know and control your center, balance can become as familiar as 2nd nature. And together with finding balance, you gain a level of relaxation that would enable you to explore what body movements, regardless of how apparently insubstantial, can influence your pony to a point that it can become a natural and effortless command.

As an example, hold your breath and your body would naturally clam up—so too would your horse. In extraordinary cases when you clench your jaw you’ll find your pony will clench hers too. With steady flowing harmony, as is necessary in dressage but is similarly beneficial in even straightforward pony riding, you’ll find that your horse will mirror your actions and bodily motions.

In being able to find your balance and relax on horseback your seat will start to naturally follow the motions of your pony. When your seat and your horse move as one, you are better equipped to control your partner’s movements thru your seat. The point when this happens is eye-opening: an easy change in position or even change in energy can tell your pony to slow down or speed up. But this is only the beginning of a long road in using your seat as a important tool in horse riding and sport.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

How To Train Your Horse To Lift Her Foot

Horse riding isn’t all about riding—a giant lump of it is about looking after your horses. Taking care of your horses ‘ feet is one of the most pressing and challenging jobs you need to perform to maintain the horses ‘ overall health. Being proud creatures and particularly protecting of their appreciated hooves, horses won’t easily let you pick their feet up. You’ll find that more frequently than not, going about it haphazardly would finish up with you being kicked stupid.

Horses that have undergone intensive equestrian training all commenced with the fundamentals, and among the fundamentals of caring for them is caring for their feet. It will not be straightforward to get them to lift their feet up for you, but with enough patience and if you follow these steps, you’ll soon win.

The key things you want to remember are Restraint, Repetition, and Reward.

These three regularly surface in several facets of equestrian training—especially when doing basic actions. When it comes to making your horse raise her feet for you, you will need to apply all 3 repeatedly. First things first: work in an enclosure where you can get to work safely, and start with the front legs. You want to ascertain if you want more control of her. If you do, put a bridle or halter on her. The process entails repetitive steps of making her become used to your signals (without stomping on you). Run your hand down from her shoulder to her foreleg. Usually nothing happens yet, and if the usual holds, ask her (utilizing the reins naturally) to step back in order to shift her weight. When she does, release the rein and let go of her foreleg and reward her. Repeat this until she shifts her weight when you place your hand on her foreleg.

The following steps are the same, only applied to different, possibly more delicate areas of your horse’s feet. When she consistently shifts weight when you place your hand on her foreleg, advance your hand down to her cannon bone. She’ll shift her weight back for sure. Restrain her from doing this. When her foot leaves the ground (even a little), release the reins and move your hand away and reward her with praise or strokes. Repeat this process until she’s ok with you holding her foot after she shifts her weight when you touch her foreleg.

When you begin to be in a position to lift the whole hoof off the ground without getting yourself kicked back, don’t push your luck. Set her foot back down as soon as her toe lifts, release restraints, and reward her. Each other try keep hold of the suspended foot longer. If you believe you can safely restrain her from pulling away or putting her foot down until she relaxes, then do so. Otherwise, just let go and reward her.

The hind legs are a different matter, as some horses simply are not used to lifting up their hind legs. Almost all of the time its more difficult. The same process of restrain, reward, repeat is followed — only this time you start with getting her familiar to shifting her hips away from you. From there, work your way until one of her hind feet leaves the ground. A note of caution though: the back legs are stronger than the front, and some horses are natural born kickers. If you believe you need to run her through a deadening program such that she does not kick your head off when you touch her back legs, then by all possible means, do so. Remember the closer you are to a horse the less impact a kick has.

Restrain her just enough to let her to know your objectives, reward her for each correct response, and repeat the process until it sticks. Basically, that is what equestrian coaching is all about.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs

Trusting Pony Instinct On Feed And Supplements

How are you feeding your horses? Are you force feeding a uniform feed regime to all your horses without leaving them any freedom to choose? If so , it’s about time you retire such a feeding practice and start trusting in a horse’s inbred senses that they might typically depend on. Many an equestrian has a stringent training regimen not only for safe and disciplined pony riding , but for a sport as definite and accurate as dressage. The issue is when an equestrian’s strict coaching regime influences his holistic health care for his horses such that he also gets really stringent when it comes to feeding them. Sure, he would probably know plenty about horse feed, but a stud or mare has its instinct guiding it—and they’re usually right on the money.

The perfect feeding regimen is something close to a correctly supplemented free choice feed environment. There are headstrong steeds out there that will not take a bite of anything you force them to take. If however you let them become used to free choice feeding routine and you think that giving them freedom to choose is affecting their health negatively, then introduce supplements to their feed. What our equine buddies might be really averse to are those unpleasant shots and additional medicines we mostly rush off to administer when they get out of condition.

And there comes a time, especially for horses undergoing equestrian training for such sport as dressage or physically demanding activities, that they do develop an illness of some sort. When they do, go on and take a veterinarian’s prescription, but do not expect your pony to gulp it down with pleasure. The first thing to do is to try regular doses of anything prescribed. If in all your earnest efforts and methods of administering it your pony seems to get a way not to take it—from leaving just the pills and eating up everything else in her feeding box to gulping it down and spitting it out as soon as you turn around—then there just could be a sound reason why.

If you have been coaching a specific mare for some time now, then you know she has her own temperament—but her hardheadedness isn’t due to merely a peculiarity in her disposition. Trust her instincts like she is doing, and you will see. If she indicates a certain bent to eat more of a particular feed, then let her do so. You might be shocked she gets better on her very own choice of feed even without the drugs. Or she might take the medication when she’s going through the indicators of her illness, and hates it when she’s not. Obviously, she knows what’s helping her along when she’s ill and when it’s required.

Just as a pony trained for sport affords you the advantage of easy and delightful riding, you can at least afford them their right to trust their instincts.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs

How Well Do You Understand About The Forms Of Horse Racing?

As one of several oldest racing sports, the horse racing is spread across the world like a fire. So in just about every region different technique and style of horse racing is carried out. The horse racing sports are renowned from roman periods as sport of kings. The latest type of horse racing is generally associated with the gambling and betting acts.

The modern horse racing system was introduced in twelfth century along with some advancement took place in eighteenth century in England. The next step was the constitution of rules, regulations and standards in connection with the horse racing. Then following various kinds of horse racing are launched in various parts of the world. The apparent about this sport is that it was a part of Greek Olympics.

The different forms of horse racing can be found in various countries like in America, South Africa, Australia, Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan and some European countries.

Among the most used and renowned form of horse racing is Thoroughbred horse racing. In this kind of racing the jockey is perfectly mounted to a horse and they enter the horse racing competition. The weight of the jockey is borne by the horse.

The flat and with the jump are tow subtypes in this kind of racing. The hurdle horse racing can be played by the horses which are especially coached for the reason that he is required to cross the road blocks on the lower level along with the fences in between to win the race.

The second type of horse racing is harness racing. In this particular type the two wheeler cycles or carts are pulled by the racing horses within the game. This is known as as racing with sulkies. However this isn’t the typical type of racing. It is done on distinct occasions. The fit and healthy horses can take part in it because they have to pull the cart and the jockey on it with them in order to complete the race. The weight is very hefty and needs specially skilled horses.

The Horse racing is pretty well-liked and ordinary in certain countries. As a result big racing tracks are formed in a variety of 33 countries. For the normal flat racing there are more than 90 racetracks in various states.

The horse racing is linked with the betting and gambling acts in some of the countries. However in some states it is strictly not allowed. Special laws are passed in the interest of stooping the betting task during the horse racing. However, if it is authorized as per the laws of the certain country, you’ll be able to enter the betting activity and get hold of profits from it.

The KW Saddlery shop offers the finest horse equipment. Check-out the custom-made saddles for sale to have a trouble-free horse riding experience.

What You Should Know AboutSwamp Fever

Ever heard about swamp fever? The correct term for this major horse infirmity is Equine Infectious Anemia, or EIA, and it’s much more major than just anemia. Though occurring in far less frequency than it probably did many years ago, this illness remains one of the most lethal and most severe among known equine illnesses.

The Virus:The pathogen that causes EIA is sort of unique, as it is the first of its kind for which a special condition is defined: antigenic drift. This basically means the pathogen can freely change its form to become untouched by antibodies—basically incurable. More bad news: EIA is passed on by insects such as horse flies and deerflies, as well as instruments that can carry affected blood from one horse to another.

Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Prescription:EIA has 3 stages: the acute stage, the subacute stage, and the protracted stage. In the acute stage symptoms appear—listlessness, swelling belly, chest or legs, fever, and loss of appetite. There are examples where the pony could go on to show no symptoms a month after she’s infected. Even basic drills like horse riding would be inadvisable, as after diagnosis the pony should be kept away from other horses in isolation, and in some states mercy killing is the prescription. Besides, infected steeds wouldn’t have the energy for equestrian sport anyways. 2 to 4 weeks after initial symptoms show, as much as 50% of steeds with EIA die. Those that do survive acute stages enter the prolonged stage, where more fevers, weight loss, and the anemia sets in. Diagnosed steeds may appear healthy, but can easily fall prey to the illness in a year, and symptoms can resurface when under stress.

The Coggins ‘ Test: A 95% accurate way to test horses for EIA is thru the Coggin’s test, developed in the 1970’s by Doctor Leroy Coggins. As the virus changes its form to be all but invincible to antibodies, identifying the pathogen in tests is most unlikely, so what the Coggins ‘ test does is identify the presence of antibodies that are meant to fight the EIA virus. When tested and an adequate presence of EIA antibodies are found, then the pony in under investigation is diagnosed being with swamp fever.

Precautionary Measures: While different states have different laws referring to EIA and its preventive measures and measures to be taken when a steed is diagnosed with it, pretty much all states require isolation of your horses. Aside from government bodies ‘ cares though, an equestrian should also:

-Dispose used needles and never share them between horses and always sterilise tools after use.

-Use pesticides and other effective insect control methods, as well as keep stables and stalls and other enclosures clean and hygienic.

-Quarantine and don’t breed horses that are infected, unhealthy, or under suspicion of having EIA.

-Always have Coggins ‘ test performed for events and places where horses will co-mingle.

-Keep new horse species away from the rest till a negative Coggins ‘ test result.

-Follow laws of the state about EIA.

EIA is one of the most substantial disorders that may end the career of an otherwise proficient pony, and there are worse implications to having the infirmity than easy retirement. Therefore , one crucial task of an equestrian is to guarantee her horses are kept away from the suffering that EIA can inflict.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs

Selecting The Right Riding Spurs

Riding spurs have been utilized for decades as a way of sending signals to horses without having to make any sounds or sudden movements. We’ve all seen the western pictures where the riders use spurs that are decorated with a spiky metal star at the rear, spinning around as they ride the pony. Nevertheless this type of riding spur isn’t actually applicable for most sorts of present day horse riding. Selecting the right spurs is important.

There are two different sorts of riding spurs and which one you should invest in depends upon which type of horse riding you may use it for, and whether you’ll need any spurs at all. For youngsters and/or younger riders, spurs are basically useless since the rider’s legs will not reach far down on the horse to apply the right pressure with the spur.

The “English Spur” is sometimes used amongst dressage and equestrian riders. This is a rather more refined form of spur that’s utilised to send extraordinarily subtle commands to a horse that are almost invisible to the non-professional observer.

If you are in to Western riding then the more flashy sorts of spurs are the ones you should be taking a look at. These are the characteristic cowboy spurs with gold or silvery metal at the back that makes rather a lot of noise. These are very unsuited for any kind of competitive dressage or equestrian riding.

The long part that is attached to the spur is called a shank. Now, depending on what sort of horse riding you’ll be doing you will have to use different sorts of shanks. This is due to the way in which the rider’s legs are placed when they sit in a saddle. For Western riding the legs of the rider will be pushed forward and slightly to the sides. So this means that the shank must be curved inwards for the spur to have any effect on the horse.

Its equally important to understand that if a horse rider is employing a Dressage saddle or an English saddle, the legs will be down on the sides. This means that the shanks will only need a slight angle on them to be able to poke the horse when required.

Something to keep in mind is to be very careful when using spurs. Wild and unexpected pokes in to a horse can make it aggressive and irritated and in the worst case scenario harm the horse. Use the spurs with care until you are an experienced rider and know just how hard you can push the spurs.

Nick Jacob is a longtime content author publishing articles on a wide variety of subjects including travel, sport and medical subjects.

Townend Online is an equestrian clothing and tack shop for all competitive riders as an example stocking Sprenger spurs and other expert equestrian equipment.

Colin Hayes: Champion Horse Racing Trainer

“If a horse becomes more beautiful in the course of his work, it is a sign that the training principles are correct.” Colonel Podhajsky. This quote is apt for champion trainer of thoroughbred racehorses, Colin Sidney Hayes (AM) (OBE), who has the credit of training 5,333 winners. Hayes obviously imparted the right training principles to bring home 28 Adelaide and 13 Melbourne Trainers’ Premierships.

In 1924, born in Sempaphore, South Australia, the passing away of his father when he was 10 years old, forced him to take up early employment becoming a boilermaker for the South Australian Electicity Trust. However, his keen interest in horse racing made him cough up £9 to purchase a steeplechaser named Surefoot, who Hayes’s rode as an amateur. One wonders if he gave it out as a good horse racing tip. Although his best placement was a third spot in the 1948 Great Eastern Steeplechase run at Oakbank, little did he know that it would spark the beginning of a long and glorious career as a trainer of thoroughbred horses and a long list of trophies including two Melbourne Cups in 1980 and 1986.

Colin Hayes was prompted by Surefoot to put his best foot forward and enlarge his business as a trainer, with the introduction of ‘Surefoot Lodge’, his first stable at Semaphore. Although this brought him his first trainer’s premiership in 1956, Hayes had bigger ambitions to breed winners and set up another stable 80 kilometers north-east of Adelaide, in Barossa Valley. His critics thought it to be a wrong move and considered the stable to be too far from the city area. However, the determined trainer formed a syndicate that purchased an 800-hectare property known as Lindsay Park. The land was conducive to raising horses with a very rich pasture and paddocks that were some of the best in the country. The property at Lindsay Park incorporated a 38 room manor made from marble and sandstone quarried from this property and built in 1840.

Colin Hayes’s move to Barossa Valley made him lose business from several owners, reducing his stable to 16 horses from a formidable 40. Undeterred by the loss, Hayes launched his first training session at Lindsay Park on 1 August 1970, a day which catapulted the trainer to fame which lasted for 30 years. Lindsay Park before long became the most successful training and breeding complex in Australian racing history.

On the 23rd January, 1982, a day that Colin Hayes’s will never likely to forget was when he managed in a single day to win 10 individual races and creating a world record. Training horses that won races became child’s play for Hayes, a playing field that brought money, accolades, and plenty of fame, making him a most sought after trainer, which was a sharp contrast to his early days at Barossa Valley.

The champion trainer’s incredible skills paid rich dividends with thoroughbreds such as Beldale Ball, who won the 1980 Melbourne Cup, and At Talaq, the formidable winner of the 1986 Melbourne Cup. Among the other thousands of fillies, colts, and geldings to be trained by the skilled hands of Colin Hayes is Rory’s Jester, winner of the 1985 Golden Slipper Stakes, and Dulcify, winner of the VRC Derby and AJC Derby. Colin’s sons, David and Peter, followed in his footsteps. Unfortunately, Peter Hayes died in a plane crash in 2001.

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Karen Cummings has 1 articles online

To read more about Australian Horse Racing, Jockeys Premiership, Horse Racing Tips, Bookmakers, Racecourses and more, go to Pro Group Racing and receive your free E-Book on How to Win at Horse Racing. ==> http://www.progroupracing.com.au

Horse Racing Handicapping Class and Pace Figures That Pick …

There are lots of ways to combine handicapping factors to find horse racing winners.  Two of the most important horse racing factors are class and pace.  Knowing how to combine them and spot good betting situations can lead to good payoffs on horses that may be under valued by the betting public.

Before we get into the method of combining them, however, let’s talk about each one separately and make sure we’re on the same page.  Class is perhaps the most difficult handicapping component because it is hard to define.  Some people think that it is best determines by simply looking at the purse amounts in a horse’s past races.  Others feel that purse value alone doesn’t tell the whole story.  For instance, you can start a horse in a graded stakes race, but that doesn’t mean it is competitive in that class.

If you want to define class accurately, perhaps you need to determine whether a horse was able to challenge the eventual winner at any point in the race or if it ran behind, how far behind it ran.  An example would be a horse that maintained a 5 length deficit, running 5 lengths behind the eventual winner of the race, throughout the race.  Such a horse might well be a good bet if dropped one or two levels.

That is why I like to determine class by identifying some point in the race that the horse did in fact challenge or run with the horses who finished on the board.  A good rule of thumb that I have found is that any runner finishing within two lengths of the winner must be considered as capable of competing in the class of that race.

A horse that was within two lengths of the front runner at the half call should be able to drop a tick or two and compete with lesser horses.

Therefore, to use class and pace successfully, I look for a superior pace figure at the half, or early stages, and then a significant drop in class.  A horse who raced within two lengths to the half and finished off the board that is now dropping from a $20,000 claimer to a $15,000 claimer may well be competitive.  Such a runner who is dropping from a $20,000 into anything below $10,000 has an excellent chance of winning.

Naturally, this is not a one factor play and you still have to apply other handicapping rules and methods, but it is a start to identifying real contenders.

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Bill Peterson has 1 articles online

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill’s handicapping store.

Managing A Horse That Rears

One of the equine failings hardest to set right is rearing. It can be fatal for both rider and horse, and at its very finest, could be a horrifying experience for the rider.

To cure a pony of his rearing habit, you have first got to work out why he does it.

A lot of noise is generated about tie downs being the ideal solutions. Other proposals laud martingales and “popping”. Tie downs and martingales don’t address the main cause, they just touch on the symptoms. They essentially refer to the technique of forcing down your horse’s head if he should rear. Popping involves slapping a rearing horse between his ears, to give him the impression he hit his head on something when he reared. Various ideas about popping advise using rolled up newspapers, although where the rider suddenly is going to get a rolled newspaper is not explained. Some more exotic recommendations advise hitting the pony on the head with a bag full of water, so that the pony gets the mistaken concept he has been hurt and is bleeding. Again, this would suggest that each time you ride, you take along a plastic bag full of water.

In fact horses rarely rear. You can confirm this by watching wild horses, or maybe horses in a paddock. They rear only when at play or in a fight. Horses are fight or flight animals, and prefer to flee from perceived danger. If the pony feels forced to battle, he uses biting and kicking as his weapons. You can well understand that rearing is not an inborn reaction to any kind of circumstance.

Well then, what does make a pony rear? A horse rears in response to a heavy hand, or as a reaction to a bit that’s not fitting well and isn’t comfy or injuring him. If the horse has wounds or other problems in his mouth, that can cause rearing. In such cases, a horse rears as a reaction to agony. A pony also rears out of frustration if he is in a stressful situation and finds no way out of it. Whenever your horse rears, inspect his mouth and his teeth straight away and change his bit to the softest one you have on hand.

Reading and stopping rears

Generally, you can make out if your pony is about to rear. If he is at ease and moving as you need him to while on the bit, he is not going to be rearing. If he does intend to rear, he will telegraph his desire early: he’ll back up and go down in a crouch on his hind legs. When faced with this scenario don’t pull back on the reins; bring the horse’s head round in either direction and give him a leg cue in that direction. He’s going to move that way and forget rearing.

If your horse does rear, what do you do?

At any cost, avoid pulling back on the reins. Maintain your legs in normal position and see if you can lean forward. Put your hands around your horse’s neck and hold on. As he hits ground after his rear, nudge him forward in a new direction to discourage another rear. If you get the impression your pony is going to flip over, get your feet out of the stirrups and get off the horse by sliding down his back. Horses that flip over should be handled by a professional, as they can be deeply dangerous.

Always use soft hands on the bit and keep your pony going forward. Make sure you have a bit that will not chafe unnecessarily, and ensure your horse’s mouth and teeth are in healthy shape. Generally, leave it to the professionals to deal with a pony that has a bias to rear.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse blanket