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Horse and Rider Vacations
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Here's what to expect when you vacation on horseback. Some horseback riding stables have trails with trail guides for novice horseback riders. Horseback riding stables usually have rules posted for the safety of both the horseback rider and the horse.
Horse and Rider Vacations
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Educational Horse Facts
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Equines may be known as a mini, pony, light horse, or heavy draft horse and are classified according to their size.
Horses are measured in "hands". Every hand is about 4 inches. They are measured from the ground to their withers, where their neck meets their back, usually where the mane ends.
To be a horse, the equine is over 14.2 hands high, anything under 14.2 is considered a pony. Horses have approximately 175 bones in their body.
Arabian horses have one less rib, one less lumbar bone, and one or two fewer tail vertebrae than many other horse breeds.
Full grown horses weigh on average 1,000 lbs and have over 13.2 gallons of blood.
Educational Horse Facts
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Interesting Horse Facts
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The tallest documented horse was a shire gelding named Samson. He was 21.2 1/2 hands high!
In Guernee, Illinois it is illegal for women weighing more than 200 lbs to ride a horse in shorts.
In Raton, New Mexico, it is illegal for a woman to ride horseback down a public street with a kimono on.
In Hartsville, Illinois, you can be arrested for riding an ugly horse.
The record for the highest jump that a horse jumped was 8ft 1 1/4 inches.
The record for the most animals in a hitch (being driven) was 50 horses.
Interesting Horse Facts
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Benefits to Horse Care
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The general public loves horses, and it shows. Horses are currently the second most beloved animal. Riding is a noble sport and bonding with the horse will teach young students confidence, responsibility, and respect. Overcoming obstacles through communication introduces you to the effectiveness of body language and the use of the obstacle course at liberty.
Benefits to Horse Care
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Saddle Seat Described
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Saddle seat riding began in the United States, when smooth-moving, high-stepping horses were used by plantation owners to travel across their fields. All saddle seat riding is done on the flat never over fences.
Saddle Seat Described
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Barrel Racing
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Events at the rodeo include bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, calf roping and barrel racing. Little attention has been given to the barrel racing industry which continues to be one of the fastest growing equine sports. Once considered a sideline event of traditional rodeos, barrel racing is now an integral part of most PRCA rodeos. The cowboys introduced barrel racing into their list of events so their wives and girlfriends would have something to compete in at the Rodeos.
Barrel Racing
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Evolution of Horses
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Six million years ago lived the most direct ancestor of the modern horse, the Pliohippus. The Pliohippus was the first truly single-hoofed horse. It evolved about seven million years ago in the Pliocene period. The horse is said to have evolved from ancenstors of the Pliohippus. The ancestors toes and foot pads became the modern horses' ergots and splint bones, while the foot pad of earlier evolutions became the frog found in the hoof of modern horses.
Evolution of Horses
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Horse Racing
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Horse racing is an equestrian sport which has been celebrated for thousands of years. The racing of horses in harness dates back to ancient times with Chariot races in Rome. The sport virtually disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire.
Horse Racing
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Dressage Levels
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The levels of dressage are progressive, building on the training of the horse. Dressage riders can not talk to their horses it is against the rules in the elegant, stylized sport where all signals come through the hands or knees. The dressage method of riding develops the horse mentally and physically so that they're easier to ride.
Dressage Levels
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Horse Eventing
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The predecessor to eventing originally began as a form of endurance riding, without jumping or galloping. Originally developed to test the ideal military mount, eventing has evolved into a sport in which all levels of riders can compete.
Eventing
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Horse Shows
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Each year tens of thousands of horse shows and other competitions, large and small, sanctioned and informal, are held throughout the U.S.
Originally horse shows were informal displays intended to attract buyers and encourage the improvement of every type of horse. Now horse shows have evolved into a multi-million dollar industry.
Horse Shows exist for all different riding disciplines and they are often rated. More difficult shows generally attract more experienced riders. Some shows attract primarily local riders while others attract riders from a region. Depending on what discipline the rider competes in, horse shows are judged differently.
Horse Shows
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Equitation
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Equitation refers to classes where the rider's style is judged. In an equitation class, your horse doesn't have to be the smoothest jumper in the world, or the most elegant mover, the rider is the one being judged, and the horses' movement is irrelevant to some degree.
Equitation divisions range from beginner walk-trot through open equitation. In the flat equitation competition, riders are judged on how well they handle riding skills, such as walking, trotting, and cantering. Riders should be able to show precise handling of their horse at the walk, trot, and canter while maintaining proper equitation and control. A knowledgable equitation rider establishes a straight line from his/her elbow, through forearms and reins to the horses mouth. Shoulders are another common area for equitation faults. Some equitation judges will ask riders to answer questions on anatomy, tack, and equitation.
Equitation
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Leasing a Horse
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Many riders do not want the responsibility of owning a horse and they instead opt for a lease. A horse lease is different from a car lease in a number of ways. Horses can be leased both from individuals and stables. Individual owners may lease a horse to share the expense of board or vet bills, or they may lease a horse becuase they no longer have the time it takes to ride regularly. Stables may lease lesson horses or other horses as an additional way to earn revenue.
Many stables offer both a half lease or a full lease. With a half lease your riding availability may be reduced. With a full lease you get full riding privileges of your leased horse.
Leasing a Horse
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Dressage Competitions
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At the lowest levels, dressage tests are very simple, with the emphasis on basic training. At its basic level, if you make your horse move forward, or stop, you have performed dressage movements.
The ancient Greeks were the first to practice dressage in preparation for war. Developed by the Greeks for cavalry officers, dressage evolved as a means of controlling the horse in battle. Dressage was well rooted in the military world of horsemanship, as the value of this training method was recognized by the cavalry. Later, dressage was used on the medieval battlefields of Europe and as a form of art and entertainment in the courts of Renaissance nobility. The marriage of the two most powerful families in Europe during the Baroque period secured the future of dressage. Prior to the French Revolution, dressage was expressed in ways that emphasized extreme collection and agility.
Dressage Competitions
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Boarding a Horse
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Horses and ponies require a lot of care and attention on a daily basis. Sadly, too many horses are neglected as a result of their owners lack of knowledge, time or money to provide suitable care. New horse owners often assume that horses require little care, unfortunately horse care is more than just sticking them in a field.
It is suggested that the minimum acreage required to keep a horse is 1-1.5 acres per horse or pony on the property. Horses need land, they require regular excercise and open space. If you do not have that amount of land available consider boarding. Boarding a horse provides an alternative to new horse owners.
Boarding a Horse
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Horseback Riding
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The general public loves horses, and it shows. Horses are currently in the number two position in human attachment. Riding is a noble sport and bonding with the horse will teach young students confidence, responsibility, and respect.
Horseback Riding
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Horse Breeds
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There are around four hundred breeds of horses. These breeds can be classified into several categories: draft horses, ponies, light harness horses and saddle horses.
Horse Breeds
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Horse Riding Safety
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Studies by the Center for Disease Control show that horse back riding accounts for a large percentage of the serious accidents reported yearly.Based on numbers of participants injured, the most dangerous horse activity is riding for pleasure. Injuries occurred most in outdoor recreational areas, followed by commercial stables or riding schools. No amount of experience will protect a rider's head in a fall.
Horse Riding Safety
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Jumpers
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Jumper courses are very demanding, calling for technical accuracy on the part of the rider and absolute obedience from the horse.
Connecting with the horse from the hind legs, through the back to the bit will prevent most of resistance problems that horses have with jumping. As the riders head toward the jump, they focus on the rhythm of your horse's strides.
Jumpers
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Hunters and Jumpers
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Within the discipline of show jumping there are two distinct subdisciplines: hunters and jumpers. On a jumping course, it is up to the rider to cue the horse when it reaches the best take-off point. Connecting your horse from the hind legs, through the back to the bit will prevent most of resistance problems that horses have with jumping.
Hunters and Jumpers
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Horses from Regions
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Horses thrived and survived in various regions and climates. Each area developed distinct breeds with qualities that were vital to the people of that region. In many ways, horses changed the lives of the people they served.
Horses From Various Regions
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Basics of Horse Care
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Horses are amazingly beautiful and sensitive creatures. Horses require not only understanding and patience to have a horse as a pet, it also requires a whole lot of care.
Basics of Horse Care
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Understanding Dressage
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Dressage achieves balance, suppleness, and obedience with the purpose of improving and facilitating the horse's performance of normal tasks. This discipline is elegance in motion, where every movement made by horse and rider is choreographed to perfection.
Understanding Dressage
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