Horse Coaching That Pays Dividends

February 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

Horse owners are faced with an unfortunate hurdle in the form of tight budgets. Since it’s all about being practical and saving as much as you can—even trained horses are not going to as many horse shows as they would before the financial crisis. So what do you do if your own a horse, still desire to become involved in horse riding, and still wish to do some equestrian training? Well, you circumvent the issue through improvisation.

A great way to know how best to improvise is to grasp what goes on in your locality, of course, in terms of horses and horse riding. Making an investment in training enables you to turn your mares into performers instead of just great steeds for pony riding and that is a fantastic outcome… particularly if it pays off handsomely. And that’s the reason why you have to know what’s going on in your area. Know what activities horses are most often utilized for within your immediate locality and train your horses for such activities. A mare that may perform what’s needed of it really is a sale waiting for a buyer. That’s one way to continue making profits from what you love doing.

As we are already discussing coaching horses for pony riding where horse riding is the norm and trail riding where trail riding is the norm and such like, you might find that some horse activities particularly in the Colorado region and other areas of similar topography often see riders on horseback roping and shooting. Now since we’re being practical and if that is what they do in your neighborhood, you’d still need to capitalize on that… but how?

Well, you can start training your studs and mares with lariats and pistols. You are not going to go off roping and shooting them, but doing equestrian coaching using those things as tools. Fundamentally, you are going to want to teach them to be safe mounts used to both tools being utilised by their riders.

Obviously, a horse that is comfortable with a rider swinging ropes around has selling value, especially in parts where roping is widespread. Ropes are not as imposing as a gunshot, but your horses may still have some unfavorable reactions to them.

Pistols, on the other hand, are totally unnatural and would be completely new—and traumatic—to your horse. That is why in parts of the country where hunters shoot off of their horses, training your equine friend to be a trustworthy mount that is used to pistols and shooting would make your horse real valuable property. But again, the difficulties arise in training them.

Training with lariat, and particularly pistols, are dangerous and could be completely new to you as well as your pony. So don’t hesitate to get pro help. But again, do what you can with what you have—barter with an equestrian who does roping and horseback shooting to get the best deal.

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

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Warmblood’s Are The Horse Breed Of Competitive Edge

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

To suspect that a horse breed that did not exist 60 years back would become a genuine legend! Yes, I’m talking about the Belgian Warmblood or BWP, which has surpassed celebrity standing within such a short period of time. The breeding of light weight horses was historically restricted in Belgium, as the country wished to maintain the pureness of its famous Braband strain. It was only in the early 1950s that the government relaxed its prohibition and the Minister of Agriculture gave his approval to a breeding project that concerned horse breeds from every part of Europe. The Warmblood was an outcome of this project. The 1st horse of this breed was born in 1953.

The Warmblood has acquired incredible success in sports arenas, particularly in disciplines like dressage and show jumping. It is a horse with strong conformation and rude health and a large tight body featuring broad hindquarters and strong hind legs.

The Warmblood has an average height of 16 to 17 hh.

Belgium’s horse breeding program is tightly controlled and breeding is permitted only with horses that meet draconian standards. The program has produced powerful bloodlines including names like Big Ben, Darco and Sapphire.

When they reach the age of 3 or 4, Warmblood stallions are put thru a Hengstenkeuring or analysis test; this test judges the horses ‘ conformation and loose jumping abilities. The horses are than inspected and evaluated by expert vets before the final phase, when they’re considered for performance when under the saddle. Only those horses that get thru this test successfully get cleared for breeding. While mares are also assessed, they are not the subject of analyses under the saddle.

The Warmblood BWP registry hopes to breed horses of attractive characters that are a joy to ride, and may also be used to take part in global equine events. Two facets of the breed that have been given great concern are health and conformation.

Warmblood horses sport a variety of colors like chestnut, grey, black, bay and brown, and some pintos.

As a robustly healthy and versatile breed that has achieved great success as dressage horses, show jumpers and all round sport horses, the Warmblood breed has gained worldwide renown. The Warmblood is typically the horse to beat in most equestrian disciplines.

Inside a bit more than half a century, the Warmblood’s versatility has made it one of the planet’s most accomplished in-demand sport horse breeds. This breed has made a massive impact in nearly every equestrian discipline, and looks superb for lots more in the future.

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

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Cleaning Your Horses Udders Or Sheath

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Excited about getting your mare into equestrian training suited for dressage? An old adage reminds of crossing bridges when you’re there, and if you and your equine partner have just met, you’re some distance from the dressage bridge—you’re probably still at the holistic pony care and health maintenance bridge. Before starting on excellent coaching regimes and horse riding expeditions, you first have to learn how to care for your mare and her grooming and hygiene wants. Take cleaning her udders as an example.

If you have been feeling out your horse, you ought to know she is both proud and sensitive. She’ll easily go fight or flight on any danger or discomfort—even just the perception of it. And almost all of the time, particularly for horses that are relatively new to their domestic dwellings, the source of both danger and discomfort is you. And if you believe you’ve seen your mare get sensitive when you touch her ears or mouth, try jumping on her udders.

You want to establish you are not going to hurt her. From there, you make her get used to your touch, irrespective of where you’re touching. The whole process needs patience, and isn’t a one day deal. You’ll have to patiently work on getting her comfy to the routines for days until she ultimately gets it. Before starting, know 2 things: practice patience and always reward her positive responses and improvements, and always stay safe—that is, away from places she could kick your head off.

The steps to making a pony let you touch her is to begin at places you can already touch, and carefully work your way to the part that you want her to become used to. Say you wish to train her to not react negatively to your touching her ear. Then start stroking her face where she allows you, then gradually work your way to her ears. Move your hand quick enough so that your hand brushes her ear and moves away before she’ll react, gradually slowing down until you can touch her ear, then hold it, and do whatever with it without her reacting. Always reward your pony for responding correctly, even if it is just for not pulling away. The same general process applies for your horse’s udder. Only before you get there you’ll need to make her comfortable with you touching nearly every other part of her body first.

Know that she will most likely unleashe on you if you rush the task. So work slowly. To be safe, always stay next to her shoulders as if to mount and start on a horse riding spree, so if she steps away with her hips and kicks out you either can not be reached or have sufficient time to scram. Holding her head toward you through her reins also helps, so that you can partially restrain her when she starts reacting.

As in equestrian sport where you do not ride with just your bare hands, you also don’t clean your horse—any part of her—with just your hands. So be sure to introduce whatever it is you’ll be using to clean your mare’s udders to her the same way you did with your hands. And don’t use cleansers that will irritate her.

Most horses need sheath or udder cleaning only four times each year and others might need monthly cleaning. You can do it yourself or let a vet do it. Even if you select the second, you can still have to go through the motions of coaching your horse to let folk touch her sensitive areas. Vets can help in giving pointers when you make a decision to do so.

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

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Tips For Pony Chiropractor Treatments

February 28, 2012 By 2 Comments

There may come instances where a sudden condition in your horse’s backbone may require the special services of an equine chiropractor, but leaving all the horse bodywork to professionals alone may not be the best idea. Actually for horse riders and trainers, it’s advisable that they learn bodywork and apply some DIY bodywork to horses that have afflictions that may be healed through these practices. Naturally, an equestrian can not ever be as good at the bodywork as a licensed and qualified pro is, but what an expert can achieve in single sessions, an equestrian can achieve thru consistent and earnest efforts.

Let us take a look at it this way, if a certain condition can be remedied by a horse bodywork pro 100% in one session, you as the trainer or owner of the horse can do the same, only not in one session. Being only partially informed and no expert at the bodywork, in a session you can achieve about, say, 10% of what a professional can do. What this means is that though you are no one-shot wonder, you can still perform the same bodywork and yield similar results if you could do it ten times. Learning and developing bodywork abilities makes you a certain % as effective as a professional in bodywork, meaning at last you may not even need the services of a pro unless something extreme occurs or develops, you only need to improve and be consistent in your DIY bodywork sessions.

You may well think this means more work for you as the coach, but since you already perform equestrian training and general medicare for your horses, why not pitch in some regular bodywork for the horses that need it? Consider it, you’re with your horses most of the time anyway, if not for horse riding, for general care. You are the one who can apply such a regime most efficiently. And, you can help ailing steeds ultimately become good for pony riding again or for sport and heavy activities.

Doing the bodywork your self is rewarding in itself. You further develop what bodywork abilities you already have and thus improve the effect of your DIY bodywork sessions, you improve your relationship with the affected pony each time you do it and your horse appreciates you better and better for it, and you get to relentlessly cure most physical malformations and anomalies in your dear horses.

The key to this is continued learning thru watching bodywork DVDs, attending available classes and clinics, and always putting what you know in practice. Also, never giving up on the effort is essential—just being a harbinger of relief for one horse will start her on the way to getting better.

Realize there will continue to be instances where you will need a pro to do it for you, but thanks to your work of doing it DIY, these instances will be few and far between—which is better for you and your horses.

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

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Improvise And Extend Your Horse Training Outcomes

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

While the majority of the economic and financial concerns of recent years and their effects have mostly subsided, many still adhere to a cautious sense of convenience, having learned thru hardship first hand Caring for and training your horses are still just about as costly as before the commercial crisis. Not a huge amount of equestrians have the budget to accomplish what they desire with their horses, but interrelated costs haven’t dropped much at all. So what are we to do in the face of mandatory practicality and limited financial reach? Improvisation.

Yes, we will still enjoy ourselves with slow pony riding, but many equestrian trainers still have burning desires to coach their horses for sport. And though not precisely for dressage level events, the game trainers want to compete in still comprise infrastructure and training methods that in turn need financial capacity—or at least creativeness and ingenuity to by-pass that. Indeed, with a little retrospection, bartering, and borrowing, a coach can do a lot with what’s at hand. Frankly, what you can cook up won’t be adequate to prepare for dressage, but your target is cheap horse activities that prosper even in such a constricted economy. Dressage does not precisely fit the bill.

So let’s see what you were given first. Retrospect. See what you have handy and imagine what you can do with it. If you’ve got a piece of flat land you use to house two or three corrals, why not change your point of view? Instead of corrals, why don’t you use the space to substantiate a coaching pen on good footing? But wait, though that is sufficient room for horse riding, is there anything you can train your horses for with it? Well, what about jumping?

You probably have equestrian friends who’ve got a couple of jumps scattered around. Borrow them. Set them up in the new training pen. Naturally, you will need to clear the space and set up the new perimeter. Doing so alone would take great time and effort, so barter with neighbors so they can help you. Do one chore for them in return for their aid. Now that everything’s set up, it is time to proceed with the jumping training.

But wait, there are a variety of different jumping difficulties and methods in the equestrian sport. Would one or two jumps be acceptable coaching material? Well, that depends. Here’s where ingenuity and creativeness kicks in the most—even more than when you looked at that piece of flat land and went on to transform it from corrals to a training pen.

You can train horses in several alternate ways to jump across hurdles using even only one jump. It’d be an experiment at most, but stick to your most trusty equestrian training methods. Consult specialists and more experienced trainers and breeders, and use other barriers and environs, like natural hurdles, when horse riding. This way, your horse can also put what she is taught into operation.

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.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Pony Training Techniques That Yield Positive Outcomes

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Say you have an outstanding horse, a champ at the equestrian sport you trained her to take part in. You’re happy with her and her achievements. Have you ever stopped to ask if she’s actually , really well-broke?

Stupid? Well, in fact , she’s a champ at what she does, and she’s never dropped a hint of being spooked or sensitive to what you do around and with her. Let’s assume you have even begun teaching routines proportionate to high dressage maneuvers and she has not disappoint you. Why would you suspect she is not well-broke yet? Just to be sure, try changing the environment or riding with other equestrian trainers and horse owners on a trail completely new to your horse. If she freaks out at even the most straightforward cues and spooks around other horses or folks, then you know she’s not well-broke, she’s just used to your routines, your commands, and your exercises (as well as the equestrian sport you trained her for) in environs she’s similarly used to. She might be a mare fit for her equestrian sport or for whatever activity she was trained for, but she’s not well-broke.

A well-broke pony can shift from his regular routine, say cutting for example, and continue with another activity and perform almost as well as he probably did with cutting in any environment without as much as a neigh of complaint. Well-broke horses listen to their trainers ‘ or riders ‘ commands and follow their cues without regard for the situation. Naturally, you have to train your mare to perform precise functions satisfactorily well and to develop correct responses to stimuli instead of just showing the ever-present flight or fight behavior.

To do that, your equestrian training routine, whether for straightforward horse riding or actual sport, shouldn’t rely solely on repetitive lessons taught in the pen but should also include sort of on-the-job coaching to be certain that beyond consistently achieving mastery of the manoeuvres you teach, your horse can also put them into practice as well as learn practical lessons you can not or don’t teach her in a pen. Introduce these straightforward out-of-the-box exercises to your mare’s routine to start her on the path to being really well-broke:

Gate work “Working a gate is a small model of equestrian training the depths of which you wouldn’t be well placed to imagine unless you do it. Your horse could well be nervous or spooked by contact with a gate she’s meant to snug up laterally to, and this is what you want to dispose of. From standing still next to a gate to adjusting position in single steps to shedding her reaction of moving away, there’s a lot of training to be undergone in gate work.

Log dragging “The theory is simple: use some rope or a lariat to drag a log behind you as you ride. This would teach your mare to not get spooked by things, animals, or folks coming up from behind.

Maintaining level of gait on trail group riding “Horses are herd animals. The difficulty is, when you are riding with other horses and riders, if your horse isn’t well-broke, when one of the riders gets his pony to modify gait and go quicker, your mare might wish to follow follow suit on its own. So teach her to repress that nature. You’ll need another horse and rider for this one.

While there are lots of more training exercises to guarantee a well-broke horse, these are examples of the simplest and most useful ones when you are starting. Take it slowly and remember to bring your patience with you.

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

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Pony Hoof Care Tips

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Younger geldings who’ve had shoes on for some considerable time would have difficulty horsing around with their still growing hooves. This not only hinders leisurely horse riding, but also equestrian training regimens. Luckily , there are boots available to help with the barefoot trimming situation.

Buying boots can cost twice as much as getting a shoe job, but in the long term it might be cheaper. Besides, having a horse wear shoes again would be defeating your own point of growing her hooves and coaching her for horse riding and equestrian sport barefooted. For huge and older horses, Old Macs work fine , but for younger geldings, you must consider the Cavallo Simple Hoof Boots. The Cavallo website has a neat list of instructions as well as a sizing chart to reference when finding the right size for your mare, but before you hop on over to the site, here are a few things you need to know:

1. The sizing chart could be unsound as it was designed to try to accommodate a wide range of horses and equestrians, so order boots a size smaller in comparison to the chart advocates. Also, the boots stretch with use, so buying a size smaller essentially makes for a comfortably fit boot purchase.

2. Hoof flare could be a problem when measuring your horse’s hoof size. Measure her hoof after a fresh trim.

3. Buy a few pad inserts. This in no way implies the online chart is off by two sizes, but you may need it anyway. Pad inserts also help forestall a snugly fit boot from rubbing the growing hoof. Without pad inserts, it’s best to fit the boot halfway onto the hoof, and let the horse step on it so her weight would drive her hoof in.

4. Let your mare break in the Cavallo boots slowly and in consistent measure—take her for a horse riding session for 20 munities the first time, then tomorrow for an hour, and 2 hours of equestrian training the day following, and the like.

5. More on being a practical buyer: when you receive the boots, before having your mare wear them, wrap a bag round her hooves to avoid dirtying or damaging the boots so you can return or replace them without any problems if necessary.

With Cavallo Simple Hoof Boots on, your mare which was initially limping and unfit for even horse riding would be trotting down the same trails she couldn’t even walk slowly barefooted on before. The boots also help to prevent a horse from developing a swayback, frequently caused by the horse rocking back and putting her weight on her hind legs to favor a sore front hoof. Depending on your area, you might need to look out for moisture build up that can soften growing hooves especially if you leave the boots on for longer than half a day. In conjunction with the Cavallo boot treatment, supplement your mare’s feed with Omega Sun enzymes that bolster hoof expansion like crazy. Soon enough, her hooves would be sufficiently strong to allow her stomp on trails triumphantly during horse riding, and achieve all the exercises set for her during equestrian coaching.

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 .

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Pony Health Care Starts With You

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to holistic pony health care, as an old adage goes: “nothing cannot be healed.” Whether, it is shortage of energy, a puny stomach, or a poor posture, there’s no condition that cannot be made better. But naturally, it needs a lot of active collusion on the part of the pony owner. An equestrian ought to know better than merely give up without exhausting all possible treatments, both traditional and alternative.

Often horses with a deteriorating condition are left that way by an ignorant owner. As an example, a colt with a very bad back owing to a hump on his lumbar regions, if unlucky enough to have an owner blind to how to treat him, would only deterioriate. Sooner or later—and much to the relief of the pony, the owner would sell or refer him to a better equestrian or an expert.

There are many ways to diminish our colt’s condition: Bowen type bodywork, network chiropractic exercises, acupressure, and even daily passive stretches. Done with efficiency on a constant basis, in about three weeks the body structure of the poor colt would have improved. Not right away obvious, in truth the hump on his back will still be gruesomely observable, but there’d be results already. The he would be more relaxed and more physically proportionate than when he was going through the advanced stages of his condition where he’d have looked hunched with a beer gut. Given enough treatment, riding him will become possible again.

This isn’t to promote a certain type of bodywork or another “do it yourself” or “how to” piece on curing a certain infirmity. The point here is that there is still hope that your horse can get better whatever its present condition or ailment could be. Not all horses are made well rounded and perfect, with a nicely built physique, strong limbs, and kitted out with tricks that may win a dressage competition. But their quality of life—and what they can do—can always be made better. And the pony owners have a huge role to play to bring this about.

More than learning and training for horse riding, owners should also learn and be an active participator in their equine partner’s health care. Learn the way to do your mare’s bodywork, even just the basics. Trim your own mare’s nails. If you can do a dental check, then that is far better. You could have other things worth doing and thus lack ample time to devote to learning every routine that is part of holistic care, but learning even just a few of them can make a big difference. Those other things you can’t do, ask somebody else to—someone schooled to accomplish the job. What’s important is that your pony gets the medicare it merits.

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.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

The Challanges Of Caring For Your Treasured Horses

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Developing A Good Seat Is Crucial To Horse Riding Success

February 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

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.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Articles Tagged With: , , ,