Here are some articles on horses, I hope you find them fun to read as I did.
.Paso Fino Horses
by: Shannon Margolis
The Paso Fino Horse is one of the world's most exciting breeds giving the smoothest ride in the world and attracting many riders.
The gait of the Paso Fino Horses is unique and for those of us with bad backs, bad knees, and many other problems caused by years of riding, the Paso is the ideal choice. The movement actually eases stiffness in joints and promotes good circulation. There are many things you can do with the Paso Fino Horses. They are such good weight carriers and have superb stamina, so endurance is one of their talents.
The questions that we are most often asked is why are the Paso Finos so special, and why do you love them so much? The Paso Finos are very versatile, and easy to train. The thing with the Paso Fino Horses is that they touch your heart and once they have done this there's no getting them out of your system.
They are so loving and generous. They are small horses with big hearts and big personalities. In the years I have been around these horses I have never met one with any malicious tendencies. But you can never truly understand the magic of the Paso Fino Horse until you have ridden one. The Paso Fino Horse has an isochronal, 4-beat gait, which is totally natural. This is what makes these horses so amazing. As it is a natural gait, nothing of the movement is forced, making it a smoother ride.
Not only do the Paso Finos gait, but they can also trot and canter, which shows the versatility of the breed. The Paso Fino Horse is very balanced in gait and can carry an amazing amount of weight.
The three speeds of the Paso Fino Gait are:
Slow - FINO - the movement of the legs is very fast, however the steps are short and rapid. Therefore there seems to be a great deal of energy and activity, but a very slow forward movement.
Moderate - PASO CORTO - With the speed of a working trot, this gait covers the ground more as the steps are larger than the Fino movement.
Fast - PASO LARGO - This is the speed of canter. It is the fastest speed of the gait. There is further extension of the steps, which means they can cover more ground.
The Paso Fina Horse developed in Spain through the Barb, which produced the Spanish Jennet, and the Andulasian. Columbus transported the horses to what is now the Dominican Republic. Subsequent explorers took them to Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba, Panama and Mexico.
These stunning horses range in size from 13.2 hh to 15.2 hh and are in every colour.
The Paso temperament is kind and gentle. Once experienced, these horses become seriously addictive. We were the first to introduce these horses to Britain and we are the foremost stud with an internationally approved breeding programme.
We hope that after meeting them you'll love them as much as we do.
Breaking A Wild Mustang
by: CS Swarens
Wild Mustangs are a legendary part of Historic America. They represent the very essence of freedom and times when life was simpler and less hurried. Despite some myths, they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. They are also one of the most affordable methods for people to own a horse when other options fail.
Almost every child has dreamed of owning a horse at one time or another. However, for quarter horses, thoroughbreds and many other "popular" breeds, it is not at all uncommon for prices to start in the thousands of dollars. Mustangs can be had for a fraction of that cost. Unfortunately, many people have misconceptions about the Wild Mustang and often, ignorance and a little bit of work is the only thing that is truly preventing these people from owning their very own horse.
Some people think that it is necessary to break a horse. This may be true if you just want a horse that knows how to do nothing more than play follow the leader in a long string of horses. However, if you want to really experience the full joy of riding on a horse rather than just warming up a saddle while it happens to be on the horses back, try training the horse instead of breaking its spirits completely.
Training a horse may take a little more effort than simply breaking it but it has many benefits which many riders otherwise miss out on completely. If you truly want a magnificent horse and a piece of Americana all at the same time, follow these simple steps and you will find yourself with much more than just a magnificent ride. Be ready to work but do not despair, within a week, you should be able to ride your newfound friend just about anywhere.
Make sure that you do not give the Wild Mustangs any oats before you begin working them. In all honesty, you should not even give them too much alfalfa at first. The reason for this is that in their natural environment, most truly wild mustangs do not enjoy a diet overly rich in proteins. Giving a wild horse nothing but timothy hay or even alfalfa too rich in proteins will cause the horse to suffer from colic and suffer unnecessarily. A good blend of alfalfa with a little straw is often the best diet for your wild mustang ... at least until it gets used to eating well.
You may need to place your wild mustang in a small stall to get the bridle on at first. Once you get the bridle on, use nothing more than a hackamore at first and attach about thirty feet of soft rope to it. Never rap the rope in your hand or around your hands or you may lose more than you bargained for. Keep the rope loosely in one hand so that you can drop it or release it quickly if your wild mustang bolts or panics.
A round corral is preferable but not an absolute necessity. Take your wild mustang out and run it in circles. Do not just run it one way but be sure to alternate directions so that the horse does not develop problems with its legs. Keep it running around in circles until it is hot, sweaty, tired and just beginning to foam at the mouth. After two or three days of this, the horse should be used to you placing the bridle and hackamore and will be ready to run some more so will likely fight you much less.
After you have run the horse a couple of times, begin placing a horse blanket on its back and secure it with a cinch strap. You do not want a lot of weight on the horses back but it will not be ready for a saddle just yet either. Be certain not to leave any loose strap or anything else hanging down around the horses feet. If anything flashes quickly in front of its face or dangles across its feet, your mustang may bolt. Take advantage of this time to get your horse used to the curry brush as well. After a good run, your horse may even get to enjoy the brushing almost as much as it does running. Again, you may want to try this while your mustang is in a small stall. The two main reasons for doing this are so you are not in danger should your horse panic and so that if it does panic, you are safely outside where you can get away until it quits fighting you.
After your horse becomes used to the blanket, you will want to try a saddle. After you run your horse and it is good and tired, place the blanket on its back and then while still in the stall, place the saddle on its back. Place the stirrups up over the saddle at first so that they will not be bouncing off the horses side. You and the mustang will both fare much better. After you have the saddle firmly cinched, let the stirrups down. Do not worry about cinching it up too tight as you will not be riding it just yet.
After you do this a couple of times you will be ready to start the final steps in getting your horse ready to ride. Try putting the saddle on the third time with the horse in the stall as usual but before you go running. You should still be using the hackamore at this stage and now more than ever, it will be important not to wrap your rope around anything you are not ready to lose. Take the horse out and let it walk with the saddle the first time. Do not run it as the stirrups may very well cause the horse to panic.
Continue this way until your horse is comfortable with the saddle on its back and then run it a little. You will not have to run it as hard as before but you do want it running with the saddle on before you ever attempt to go riding. After this though, you are almost there. Make certain to curry down the mustang after each ride. By now your horse should be more familiar and more comfortable with you and the entire experience.
After you have done this a few times, you should notice your wild mustang calming considerably and perhaps even looking forward to the time you are spending together. Increase the protein intake slowly as you work the horse more but remember that it will need time to adjust to the food as much as to the saddle. By doing everything in this way, it may take a little more time but your mustang will retain much of its wild spirit while befriending you and learning to trust you.
Once you can do all of this with your horse comfortably outside of the stall without fear of reprisal, you are ready to begin riding. The wild mustang is a wild, mystical and marvelous animal. Work with your wild mustang a little slower and with a bit more patience and you will have a ride that is the envy of all your friends.
Applying Dressage To Hunt Seat: Two Instructors Find Value
by: Ron Petracek
Twenty years ago, when a western reining trainer admitted that he took dressage lessons to improve his horse’s reining, his fellow cowboys thought he had lost his mind. Some 20 years later finds several hunt seat instructors actively using aspects of dressage in their training.
Christy, a hunt seat equitation instructor, commented that if you look at the old hunt seat equitation videos and photos of students instructed by George Morris and others, the horses are in a training level dressage frame.
Celine, a hunt seat/balanced seat instructor, noted that dressage is the basis of all riding. “Classical dressage has its roots in cavalry riding in war; whereas hunt seat has its origins in long cross country rides across fields on a hunt. Hunt seat was adapted for the show ring,” she said. She noted that combining the elements of hunt seat and dressage brings balanced seat.
Christy uses the rider-based training that she received from her dressage instructor for her hunt seat students.
"At their first lesson, I put them right on the longe line and take away stirrups and reins immediately," she described. "I spend a lot of time helping them build independent hand, seat and leg in exercises on the longe line before I have them ride on the rail."
Christy has found that by doing so, the riders have feel and balance more quickly. "Beginner issues like steering just seem to fall right into place even though they've spent their first several lessons on the longe line."
Celine also likes to apply dressage concepts early on in hunt seat education. “I start right away with rhythm and balance, teaching the student how to sit with balance. Then I address how the horse moves and how to find the horse’s natural rhythm. When you apply the concepts of dressage early on, students have greater ‘feel’ for their horses.”
She noted that in everyday hunt seat, she sees horses just going around the ring in the gaits, walk, then trot, and then canter. "The riders barely understand how to circle correctly. In many cases, you see trainers just focusing on jumping. Flatwork just becomes a term meaning getting the horse warmed up enough to jump," she said. “When I go to some of the large local hunt shows, I’m amazed that riders aren’t balancing their horses, or even riding them correctly through a turn.” She described watching strung out ponies in a hunter class. “They got over their courses by the grace of God.”
“I was aghast by the strung out, unbalanced approaches to jumps and the rushing and diving over each fence,” she said. She finds that dressage helps her riders gain a balanced and rhythmic approach to fences.
She described one hunt seat student she had recently met who had no concept of getting the horse to work back to front or flexion though she had her own horse and was taking lessons with her instructor for five years.
“When she sat in on other lessons her friends were having with other instructors, she felt she was missing out on a world of education with her horse. She said her lessons just revolved around her instructor who called out ‘heals down,’ ‘shoulders back,’ ‘posting trot,’ etc.”
Celine uses dressage to focus on the points of the ring by keeping the horse correctly between and in front of the rider’s leg. “How do you get your horse from point A to point B, not A to D?” she explained.
“When you focus on riding every stride, as in dressage, your hunter or equitation horse will always know what you want,” she explained. “You can circle, go straight, change gait, jump and make it look so easy, balanced and fluid. Riding hunt seat this way gives the horse the correct muscle development, impulsion and work ethic."
Careers with Horses
by: Ron Petracek
If you are anything like Robert Botine Cunningham-Graham, Scottish horseman, writer, and adventurers, then you know that there is no heaven without horses. If you eat, sleep, and breathe horses, then why not parlay all your time and effort into a career in the horse industry? Can you imagine a better way to spend your days?
Surveys done over the last several years show that there are 7 million horses in the United States today. And according to American Horse Council figures, the horse industry supports more than 1.4 million full-time jobs. There are a variety of careers in the horse industry, from hands-on jobs like large-animal veterinarian to jobs that support the industry, like feed and supplement distributor. There are jobs in breeding, showing, health, education, product manufacturing, research, recreation, and service industries to name just a few that come to mind. And one of these areas is most likely just right for you!
So, how do you find a job in the horse industry that is right for you? Well, before you start randomly sending out resumes to every horse-related employer you know of, you need to spend some time considering the type of career you want. In many cases, you'll have to come up with a plan that will lead you to that career. As wonderful as it is that you want to be a large animal veterinary technician, no one is going to hire you without the right credentials. In other words, like most worthwhile pursuits in life, you are going to have to spend a little time and effort to reach your goals.
So, are you ready? Answer these few simple questions and you'll be on your way to finding an equine career that is right for you:
* What do I want out of a horse career? Do you want daily contact with horses, or are you interested in working in a supporting field without daily contact? There are pros and cons to both. A supporting role may offer you a higher income, regular hours, more job stability, and better benefits, but a hands-on career gives you flexibility and the ability to work around your favorite animals every day. What is more important to you? Think very seriously about your own interests, abilities, and personality. It won't hurt to spend a few minutes writing down why you want to work with horses.
* What experience and education do I currently have? There is no teacher like experience, but is it more important than education in the horse industry? That depends on the job. For those seeking skilled hands-on positions like trainers, barn managers, and riding instructors, the more time you've spent around horses the better. Other choices, such as equine vet, writer, public relations expert, or lawyer require a college education and additional training.
* What experience and education am I willing to get to achieve my career goals? If you require experience and education to break into a career in the horse industry, you need to have a good understanding of how much time and money it is going to cost to reach your goals. Do you have the time and money to spare, and are you willing to do so?
* What income do I need? Most people work in the horse industry because their love of horses supercedes their love of money. Many hands-on jobs provide minimal pay and benefits just for the pleasure of being around horses. Salaries improve with higher-level hands on jobs, and support jobs often pay the most and offer the best benefits. Before you make a commitment to a career, know how much money you need to live. Then do some research to find out if your career can realistically support you.
* Where should I enter the industry in order to have a good chance of meeting my goal? Whatever career track you are pursuing, enter the industry in a job that you can handle with your present skills and experience. Getting in over your head may not only prevent you from advancing, it is dangerous! Once you've figured out your entry level, you can work your way up as you gain experience.