Lessons Your Horses Will Teach You

Whatever their age or riding experience, or shortage of it, all homo sapiens find horses entrancing. Horses are some examples of the most beautiful, aesthetically appealing creations. Their physique is imposing and their spirit is one of a kind. You may find this difficult to believe, but constant exposure to horses can help build your character.

Horses teach us to grow our psychological horizons. We develop some beneficial character and personality characteristics thru our interaction with them.

Confidence: Horses help to build up self esteem. To begin with, the size differential can be intimidating: they’re in the 1,000 pound plus category and the average human rider is in the 100 pound plus category. It takes a lot of initial guts to mount, ride and control a horse. Most humans, at least in the initial stages, feel fear at the size of the horse. As they develop confidence with horses, they also find themselves more confident in life’s other situations. Regular exposure to horses is certainly excellent for self esteem.

Responsibility: Horse care thrusts lots of responsibilities on the carer. Pony care is an enormous task that demands patience, endurance and tolerance. It is man’s work attending to a horse’s daily wants, for example grooming, feeding, cleaning of stalls and maintenance of riding gear. As you go thru these jobs, you have frequent occasion to reflect on the horse’s dependence on you. You do it as you love your horse, and you wish to ensure you provide him with the very best living set up. It is no different from looking after your kids. Both jobs need the shouldering of tons of responsibility.

Patience: Horses can frequently act like little kids. It needs a lot of coaching to make a horse behave just the way that you need him to. You cannot teach your youngsters the ways of life in a day, a week or a month. It takes years, and actually, the method of teaching and learning never comes to a close. Educating horses is no different. It cannot be done in a day, and it never truly ends.

Sensitivity: Horses are very attuned to the moods of their riders, handlers and trainers. They can tell if you’re contented or miserable, angry or placid. You aren’t going to be a good pony rider and handler unless you demonstrate the same sensitivity toward them. You have to be able to guess correctly whether a specific bout of misbehaviour from your horse is due to some streak of defiance or obstinacy, or essentially to some discomfort or fear or anger that has to be attended to.

Trust: The perfectly behaved horse that’s responsive to every command is a pony that trusts you perfectly. The perfectly behaved rider or handler who knows the way to extract the maximum from his horse is a human being who trusts his or her pony perfectly. Dependance is mutual, and neither can adequately meet the other’s expectations without a whole lot of trust.

Tolerance: The woman or man who has handled horses regularly knows that each of them has a completely unique, awfully individual character. Each horse should be handled differently. Each reacts to our cues in its own particular way. Time spend with horses is time expended learning toleration. The lessons in open mindedness we learn from horses will serve us in all other side of our lives.

Horses share a common animal tendency: they rarely repeat mistakes. But as their riders and handlers, we want to point out their mistakes occasionally without flying into harmful rages.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses

Why Use A Seasoned Farrier With Horse Navicular Syndrome

Though Navicular Syndrome is normally called navicular illness, it’s got to be diagnosed and treated like you would any syndrome as opposed to an actual disease.

This syndrome can trouble diverse points of the horse’s feet.

This syndrome is an extremely common reason for horse lameness, especially in the front legs. It is rarely seen in the rear legs. It appears to target horses in the age range four to nine years.

Some horse breeds seem to be more subject to navicular syndrome, and different breeds react differently to its onset. For example, the warmblood breeds can completely pay no attention to the same syndrome that cripples quarter horses.

A few conjectures have been propounded about the root causes of navicular syndrome. At first it was said to be a condition similar to arthritis due to excessive and sustained impact on the horse’s front legs. Latest research would appear to indicate a hereditary factor where the syndrome is derived from inherited defects in conformation. Recent study has also identified some pony types that could be more susceptible.

There is proof also that clumsy trimming or shoeing also speeds up the incidence of navicular syndrome, as can work schedules that are too demanding or call for sustained travel on very hard surfaces. Getting the pony to do hard work for which it hasn’t been properly prepared and trained in advance can also induce the condition. Horses with very high body weight to foot size ratios are also more susceptible. It in addition has been seen that poor diets also accelerate the onset and progress of the condition.

Afflicted front feet start contracting at the heels and the frog. The appearance changes to a sort of boxiness, and affected feet seem to shrink in size compared to healthy feet.

Suitable farrier methods concerning a wide shoe that engulfs and protects the heel are the most effective cure for navicular syndrome. Particular attention must be given to the shoe’s toe, which should really be shaped such that it facilities easy operation. A sustained programme should be run for a minimum of four to six weeks to ensure recovery.

Often, it is a good idea to entrust the handling of horses with navicular syndrome to seasoned farriers, because raw farriers may not be up to the task. We are taking about farriers, as an example, who are specialised in remedial (orthopedic) work.

If you’re availing of the assistance of a expert farrier who you don’t call typically, try to get your regular farrier to be present when the specialist is at work. This way, the expert has a qualified assistant, and your normal farrier gets to learn new things and very useful. As your normal farrier begins to grasp the techniques of handling navicular syndrome, he may at some point soon reach a stage where he’s quite capable of resolving syndrome-related issues himself. That is going to benefit both him and you, as you don’t have to call an expert who may not be from your local area, nor do you have to pay him thru the nose.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers http://horsehorses.net/

Why Use A Seasoned Farrier With Horse Navicular Syndrome

Though Navicular Syndrome is normally called navicular illness, it’s got to be diagnosed and treated like you would any syndrome as opposed to an actual disease.

This syndrome can trouble diverse points of the horse’s feet.

This syndrome is an extremely common reason for horse lameness, especially in the front legs. It is rarely seen in the rear legs. It appears to target horses in the age range four to nine years.

Some horse breeds seem to be more subject to navicular syndrome, and different breeds react differently to its onset. For example, the warmblood breeds can completely pay no attention to the same syndrome that cripples quarter horses.

A few conjectures have been propounded about the root causes of navicular syndrome. At first it was said to be a condition similar to arthritis due to excessive and sustained impact on the horse’s front legs. Latest research would appear to indicate a hereditary factor where the syndrome is derived from inherited defects in conformation. Recent study has also identified some pony types that could be more susceptible.

There is proof also that clumsy trimming or shoeing also speeds up the incidence of navicular syndrome, as can work schedules that are too demanding or call for sustained travel on very hard surfaces. Getting the pony to do hard work for which it hasn’t been properly prepared and trained in advance can also induce the condition. Horses with very high body weight to foot size ratios are also more susceptible. It in addition has been seen that poor diets also accelerate the onset and progress of the condition.

Afflicted front feet start contracting at the heels and the frog. The appearance changes to a sort of boxiness, and affected feet seem to shrink in size compared to healthy feet.

Suitable farrier methods concerning a wide shoe that engulfs and protects the heel are the most effective cure for navicular syndrome. Particular attention must be given to the shoe’s toe, which should really be shaped such that it facilities easy operation. A sustained programme should be run for a minimum of four to six weeks to ensure recovery.

Often, it is a good idea to entrust the handling of horses with navicular syndrome to seasoned farriers, because raw farriers may not be up to the task. We are taking about farriers, as an example, who are specialised in remedial (orthopedic) work.

If you’re availing of the assistance of a expert farrier who you don’t call typically, try to get your regular farrier to be present when the specialist is at work. This way, the expert has a qualified assistant, and your normal farrier gets to learn new things and very useful. As your normal farrier begins to grasp the techniques of handling navicular syndrome, he may at some point soon reach a stage where he’s quite capable of resolving syndrome-related issues himself. That is going to benefit both him and you, as you don’t have to call an expert who may not be from your local area, nor do you have to pay him thru the nose.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers http://horsehorses.net/

The Joy Of Learning Horse Riding

Studying how to ride horses is no big issue at all, though learning to ride horses well is something else altogether. There’s a whole lot of tutors and training institutions out there, and like with the rest, they come in numerous degrees of trustworthiness. You’ve just got to take the trouble of looking thru the net, a telephone book, some yellow pages, or a stable close by. Good trainers teach you not just ways to ride well, they also help you relate to your pony.

As a part of your schooling, you’ll probably receive a lot of info on different riding styles and different saddle and gear types. Most saddles belong to either the English or the Western riding styles. You also get saddles for trick and stunt riders and for a hundred other purposes, but as the novice rider you ought to be interested in the most simple of saddles: a riding saddle without pointless bells and whistles. The right saddle is an absolute must for a safe, total riding experiences.

Horse riding lessons come in various packages. It depends on why you want to learn to ride horses: trail, cross-country, barrel racing, jumping, racing, obstacles and sports riding. Obviously, you can ride for the sheer pleasure of it. Good riding establishments imbue you with the completely correct methods and aspects. They teach you the correct way to do events like dressage; they also teach you everything you need to know about the many bits of kit and tack used on horses. They give you exposures to the best strategies to use to groom your pony and show it.

To begin with, you should be just interested in becoming a good rider. You achieve this aspiration by enjoying yourself. You need to liberate yourself and get a handle on it. You can select riding faculties that give you thorough training in riding basics. Once you have mastered the basics, you can decide on other equestrian abilities you want to pick up.

Whatever you decide to do, learn to enjoy yourself. You learn best when you are having a good time. Take your time in looking around to see what is available at different establishments. Do some web research, talk to and dig around with other folks that are into horse riding. You might well run into some person who leads you to the ideal destination, where you can not only take riding lessons, but also get some education about dressage and events, horse gear and equipment, perhaps take part in a few greenhorn shows and generally have a whale of an excellent time.

It is up to you to choose the circumstances in which you may learn how to ride horses. If you’re about to get married, you might have your honeymoon at some exotic location that offers solitude, the moon and 2 horses for you and your better half. You kill two birds with a single stone.

There is no activity as pleasurable as horseback riding. Whether or not you are learning solely to ride, to ride in shows and whether you intend to get your own horse or not, horse riding is fantastic fun, engrossing educational and electrifying excitement.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses

The Benifits Of Understanding Horse Personality Types

A call from an old horse-owning client of mine took me over to his farm to have a look at Bertie, his barrel-racing gelding. It was my first meeting with the gray quarter horse. I was told that he had been inconsistent in latest runs, way below his regular standards. Bertie tensed up and glared at me from a high and rigid head when I approached him. His defiance made my job of diagnosing his state difficult; I made up my mind to perform some network chiropractic actions and judge his reactions.

His posture modified by the time I had finished some moves. He started breathing shallowly and his head started to sag. After some more moves, his head was quite low and he began to lick and chew. I did not receive a single glance from Bertie, nor did he even acknowledge my existence in any other way during my time with him, but he stunned his owner by acing a barrel race the following day. He appeared to perform well above his normal standards.

Over the next one or two years, I found Bertie now and then. After a few years, he was sold to someone that was not among my clients, and thus, I didn’t see him for a few years. Bertie did not last long with his new owner. The woman resold him to a professional tutor on the condition that the tutor would not let children ride Bertie. Even though she wasn’t well versed in equine temperament types, she realized Bertie was too quickly and too difficult for even a professional kid to handle.

The tutor sold Bertie to some kid. When the kid’s parents got to know about the nature of pony they’d bought for their child, they tracked back to Bertie’s original owner, who purchased him back. She got him barrel racing again. It took a while for Bertie to get back to his old ways , but shortly he was winning again.

Generally, Bertie was made of sterner stuff, and he didn’t have much of an issue with the rather demanding rodeo life. Nevertheless while taking part in a barrel race in Alibene, TX, he was beset with a rather severe impaction colic. He had just travelled from East Texan humidity to the aridity of Northwest Texas, and hadn’t had enough water. Rather ironically, Bertie’s tolerance to agony was extreme, and he showed no symptoms of colic until his state had reached a really advanced stage. He was brought to a local veterinary clinic, where he spent the night on IV fluids and heavy treatments of analgesics.

Maybe if Bertie’s owner had known that he was a classic Metal pony specimen, the colic impaction might have been prevented with the right kind of care. The key Metal pony organs are the lungs and the massive guts, and great care must be taken to keep these organs in peak condition. Bran mashes and water-soaked pelleted feed are wonderful diet options for any pony with a hydration problem. Another awfully advisable option to stop impaction is to scale back on hay if reduced water content is seen in dung.

For the moderately dehydrated horse, electrolytes combined with food or fed in a paste will encourage the pony to drink. This won’t work with horses affected by grim dehydration. Metal type horses need to be watched with eagle eyes because they tend to continue performing with apparent normalcy even when they’re impacted.

Metal type horses utilized in competition should be given sufficient lung and lower bowel support with Equilite’s Bleeder’s Mix. Bioflavanoids in Bleeder’s Mix are good for the lungs, while the mucilaginous herb mullein, also a part of the formula, moisturizes and comforts the big intestines.

Bertie recovered soon enough from that specific impaction. He was meant to win lots more races before one day he extremely unfortunately bowed a front leg tendon. The scar tissue that resulted visited awful pain upon him, and while he continued to limp around, it was shortly obvious that he would never recover. His owner put him down to alleviate him from the constant agony. Bertie was a typical Metal type: he had a hard, give-no-quarter temperament and the physical capabilities to go with it. He knew what he had to do and did it well. He was consistent in performance and was undemanding.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers go here

Exercises To Boost Your Pony Balance

In the films, even beginners jump onto horses and ride them away expertly, at warp speeds. In the real world, a novice who attempts something similar to that will find himself biting dust in awfully short order. What you see in the flicks is pony riding expertise which has come with years of practice.

Balance is the most vital ingredient of top riding talents; if you don’t have balance, you will be biting dust every other minute.

I’ve got some proposals below for you on exercises that may help you perfect your sense of balance. These exercises are most constructive for beginner riders.

Almost all newcomers receive their first riding lessons on saddled horses. Ever done bareback riding, without saddles? I know of plenty of trainers who think about this to be the swiftest and most productive way to boost rider balance. Though it can appear to be a little bit of a dangerous venture, it is actually pretty safe when It is correctly supervised. These trainers really believe in beginning novices off on horses without saddles.

Saddles create a area of comfort that makes riders just a bit sloppy. The riders have tools they can depend on, like stirrups, cantle and saddle horn. These tools help them stay on the pony, without really doing much to boost his sense of balance.

When you are bareback riding, there is no buffer zone between you and the pony, and you have got to learn the difficult way to stay on top as the pony moves. Lose your concentration and lose your seat.

Here is a practical guide on the way to improve balance.

When you start bareback, your trainer begins your first lesson by steering your pony through a smooth, straightforward gait that will let you adjust at your own speed. The slow easy pace will be maintained until you are completely happy with it.

You ought to be sitting straight, with your heels down and eyes looking ahead. You could have some notion of how your muscles work to maintain body balance. You should be relaxed and at ease.

Try to absorb the flow of the horse’s movements. Go with its rhythm, let it influence the movements of your very loosely held body so you do not get tensed. You’ll have some problems to begin with, but with continued practice, you will get a grip on it.

Another advantageous exercise while on horseback is stretching your arms out like they’re wings. When you do this, you are forced to utilize your hips more to balance yourself, and this is a useful lesson for you. It helps you sit straight, without mooching or leaning onto the horse’s neck or making a grab at its mane. Once you feel comfy riding with your arms out, go to the next level by moving your arms in circles (not so massive) and swinging them from one side to the other.

Sooner or later, your tutor will put your pony on quicker gaits, and each time this occurs, repeat your arm exercises. Keep it up with the trot and the canter. Each gait’s speed will decide its difficulty level.

You can also do some ’round the world’ exercises which are really fun. Try them out under your trainer’s supervision when the pony is standing still. Switch from a forward-facing riding position to facing one side, then the rear, the opposite side and back front again. As you get more experienced at it, you can begin to do it while your pony is in motion; you obviously start with the walk and work your way up.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers click here

Tips To Efficient Towing Of Horse Trailers

You would be wise to pay heed to the tips given below if you are new to, or comparatively unskilled at, traveling with a pony trailer in tow.

1. Exercise patience! You cannot drive as quick with a trailer in tow as you can drive without, so accept that fact and drive appropriately. Give yourself a lot of time to get to your destination, and ensure your scheduling includes some time for contingencies. Don’t subject yourself to the pressure of having restricted time to get to your destination, and don’t let traffic on the road pressure you in any fashion. If you see a traffic tail-back behind, pull over where you will find a convenient spot and let the congestion go by.

2. Cars with manual transmission allow better driver control. Use your gears strictly in accordance to the terrain, the slope and speed regulations. If you will be traveling over rough country, a 4×4 would be preferable.

3. Stick to the lower gears if conditions are wet and slippery.

4. You’d be far better off driving a diesel-driven auto. Diesel powered engines give you more torque at low speeds.

5. If you find your trailer rocking, swaying or snaking from one side to the other, or alternatively giving an unbalanced feel, establish that your load is evenly distributed regarding weight. As far as possible most of the weight should bear down on the trailer’s axles.

6. Be certain to permit sufficently for trailers that are broader. Don’t forget there is a greater probability they may bump the kerb or drop off.

7. Make all possible arrangements for improving your sight lines when you’re towing a trailer. You ought to have larger rear view mirrors on the towing automobile to help see better past the trailer.

8. Before hitting the road, you should have 1 or 2 other ways to get to your destination planned out. You don’t need to get stuck in a bottleneck or road closure. Have contingency plans for break downs and unexpected emergencies. Make sure your spare tires and tire changing hardware are in full working condition. Superior preparation means superior coping capability.

9. Plan and execute regular breaks on extended journeys. During the breaks, carry out a thorough inspection of the trailer and its contents.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers click here

Difference Between A Horse Running And Lengthening Stride

I often see confusion in people over horses ‘running’ and ‘lengthening’: they can’t tell the difference between the 2. In this post, I’m really not only going to explain these 2 terms, I will also shed a bit of light on 2 other terms: ‘medium gaits’ and ‘extended gaits’.

Running

When your pony reacts to your cue to lengthen frame and walk and the result is that his speed (rate at which the rhythm repeats) gets quicker, your horse is not increasing. He’s running.

Increasing

When your horse lengthens effectively, he’s essentially stretching out his frame and stride as much as he can without changing his rhythm or speed, at a slightly early part of the coaching (the 1st level or thereabouts). What this achieves is that each stride covers more ground.

Lengthenings derive from working trots and canters. The horse is usually in what could be called ‘horizontal balance’ while on working gaits, and he is going to remain that way while extending. By ‘horizontal balance’ I mean that the horse’s topline just about is parallel to the ground.

Medium gaits

At a medium gait, your horse will have lengthened his frame and stride moderately without changing rhythm or tempo. A medium gait falls between a collected gait and an extended gait where length of frame and strides is concerned, and has a rounded movement as compared to extended gaits.

Medium gaits arise from collected gaits and therefore the horse’s balance differs substantially from what it is with lengthenings. The horse’s topline is more curved than it seems with an extending. More like a compressed spring being held in the front with leg driving the hindquaters forward.

Extended gaits

When your pony is in an extended gait, he has lengthened his frame and strides to the maximum, without changing rhythm or tempo.

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Conquering Horse Riding Fear

Invariably, fear rides with you when you’re horse riding. You may not be aware of it, but it is there. And why shouldn’t it be there? If a rider weighs a median of 150 pounds (wild guess), a horse weighs an average of 1,000 pounds. I want you to understand and accept that in feeling fear, you are just one of a group. There’s very little unique about you, but be aware that courage isn’t the absence of fear. Bravery is the conquering of fear. Courage is doing something that has to be done in spite of the potentially paralysing results of fear. Your battle with fear should not be aimed at eliminating it, you can’t. Your battle should be directed at conquering it.

What is it that you can do to stop your fear from excluding you from enjoying your equine experiences to the maximum? I’ve got some answers for you below.

Fear makes you fret about what is going to happen, which implies you are projecting into the future, instead of concentrating on the present. You are more focused on what might occur, instead of what is happening. At such times, do you bother to remind yourself that that 99% of people’s fears never come to pass? It makes you wonder why folk burn so much energy and stress themselves out over issues that have the barest of outside prospects of coming to be? Your simplest way to combat fear is by staying in the here and the now.

Stick to the current time by engaging as many of your senses as your are able to. Open your ears to the relaxing rhythm your horse’s footfalls create. Let your eyes banquet on the scenery moving by. Allow your hands to feel the reassuring texture of your reins. Wrinkle your nose over the smell, and let salted sweat pucker your mouth!

Rub in some emotion, too. Think of times past that had you in rapture, that relaxed you, calmed you, made you feel confident. Whatever it was, a sunset, a morning jog, your pet dog squirming with pleasure as you scratched him, live it over again in your mind’s eye.

Recreate that joy and experience them once again by utterly opening up your senses and adding some positive memories to the mix, you’ll rid yourself of the temptation to think about the future (an activity controlled by your brain’s left side, which is also where fear resides) and keep both your feet forcibly planted in today. Keep the right side of your cortex engaged.

This system of shutting out the future and so shutting out fear can be used with practically any activity aside from pony riding. Make it a habit that you use whenever you feel fear, uneasiness or nervousness.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers go here

Counting Horse Strides When Jumping

A question that I receive often from my scholars is: when do we start counting strides? When used right, counting strides is an especially practical tool that can help you and your pony make light work of a sequence of jumps. I indoctrinate my scholars to follow this rule of thumb for counting strides: do so when you come across related lines of maximum eight strides. Lots of jumper/hunter courses include several jumps of this length. Hunter courses typically are comprised of a couple of related distances requiring counting. You do come across courses in big jump fields with lengthier lines that really must be counted, but they are mostly designed for top bracket horse riders.

Jumper courses differ moderately from hunter courses where stride counting is concerned. Jumper courses permit more creativity on the issue of the amount of strides you take with your pony. The maximum 8 rule typically applies; nonetheless jumpers can add strides or subtract them dependent on their horses’ stride spans, the event type and the class of competition. Usually horses need to gallop in jumper speed classes, and this lengthens their strides, and thus, decreases their number.

Judgment is subjective in hunters, and footage signs, if provided, can help define the number of strides required of any pony. When a course planner shows a line to be seventy-two feet long, he intends that horses take 5 strides over that line. Judges are conscious of this and use this info to help in determining the standard of competitors. A pony that appears to zip down a 72′ line would always have a shorter stride than a horse that appears to ramble down. At these events, stride counting is an absolute must because it helps you adhere to what the judge will be looking out for. You know where you stand when you do 6 strides in a 72′ line and fail to pin well.

There are numerous interpretations to bending lines where there is no footage posted. Where there is no footage posted in long lines, judges will undoubtedly anticipate that competitors may vary significantly in stride totals. The same line could see rivals totalling nines, tens and even elevens. In unmarked long lines, judges often do not hold competitors to any prescribed number of strides.

The complicatedness of horse riding events has grown as time goes by. Stride counting is pretty much a requirement in today’s world of equine events. In this post, I have hardly covered the fundamentals of stride counting. I would stress on learners it’s essential they get together with knowledgeable instructors to ‘walk courses’ riders get experience from every course ridden, and soon they’re going to reach the stage where stride calculations become 2nd nature.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers go here