Top 10 Facts About Horse Senses

Quick post today gang as I have to get stuff ready for hunting tomorrow, go shopping and then I have a date with a farmers daughter tonight.

1. A horses sight, hearing, smell and touch are all better developed than humans.
2. Horses respond to touch all over the body – especially on their ears. They can sense a fly landing on any part of their body abd use their tail to flick it off.
3. A horse’s eyes are set apart on either side of its head. It has a good view of its surroundings – except directly in front of its nose and directly behind its tail.
4. Horses have large ears that rotate 180 degrees.
5. The ears of a horse can indicate how it is feeling. If they are laid back and flat it is felling aggressive.
6. Using smell alone, horses are able to recognise humansand animals they are familiar with.
7. Horses are also sensitive to smells in their environment, such as dung, dirty troughs, musty feed, bad water and certain plants.
8. The whiskers that grow from a horse’s muzzle and around its eyes are used to feel objects around them and should never be removed.
9. When a horse is cold it will feel cold to the touch behind its ears.
10. Horses have a good long term memory. A horse will often remember where it got a fright and will continually shy at that place.

I Love This Time Of Year

Sometimes a picture really does speak 1000 words.

How To Ride A Horse

Okay so I haven’t posted anything interesting this month so I thought you might enjoy reading a little extract from a guide that I am working on titled how to ride a horse and other novice horse guides.

Horse riding is a sport, and like all sports to be good you need to train, practice and show dedication to improve. I must be honest when I first started I thought that all I would have to do was learn to sit on a horse. I was so wrong. While I always maintain that anyone starting to ride a horse should seek professional guidance I have tried to outline some of the most important points for beginners here.

Like I said, the most important thing is to find yourself a good horse riding instructor or someone who has been riding for a while to help guide you. It’s one thing reading all these tips online, but it’s always easier if there is someone with you to help put them into practice.

How To Mount A Horse

Placing your hands on the saddle wither, place your left foot in the stirrup and push up and swing that right leg over the back of the horse; be careful here not to kick the horse.

Great now you have mounted the horse. Now gather up your reins and it’s time to check that the stirrups are the right length. To check if your stirrups are the correct length, dangle both your legs and check that the stirrup reaches your ankle. You should be able to slide your foot into each stirrup, only moving your foot up a couple of inches. If you move your foot further then adjust the length and continue.

Great, Now You’re Ready To Ride

Remember how your mother always said “walk before you can run”? Well the same goes for riding a horse; to walk your horse slowly – squeeze your legs and the horse should move off. Riding a horse isn’t like it is in the old westerns – kicking the horse will just aggravate it and make it numb. Walking like this on a horse is known as a four beat gait. It basically means that the horse will place one foot down at a time and always has three feet on the ground. It’s important when you are first starting out riding to have the correct posture. While walking on a horse be sure to keep your heels flat, your back straight and your chin up. A good riding instructor will help you with this.

Great so you’re embarking on your first horse ride but now I know what you’re thinking – how do you stop this beast? When stopping, pull back on the reins and lean back slightly so your weight is shifted onto your bum and heels. Now your horse has stopped, don’t forget to pat him to help build a bond and rapport.

After you have become comfortable with all this it’s time to check the girth. You should be able to fit four fingers between the girth and the horse – if you can fit more, then you must dismount and tighten the girth.

Now that you can go forwards and stop the horse you will want to start turning. There are two main types of reining – English and Western. Without going into too much detail (as I am saving that for another day) English riding you use a bit rein and pull slightly in the direction you wish to go; this turns the horses head and turns the horse. Western riding uses neck reins which you slide the reins in the direction you wish to go. This puts pressure on the opposite side of the horses’ neck and turns the horse.

Great so we are really making progress and it’s worth taking some time now to practice all of this under the supervision of an instructor. Once you are comfortable with being able to walk, mount, turn and dismount it’s time to get a little bit more advanced.

Trotting

Same as walking just slightly faster and the horse only has 2 feet on the ground at once. If we want to keep the technical theme going it’s often called a two beat gait (as oppose to walking which is a four beat gait). Once your horse is walking squeeze again and the horse will move into the trot. Now this is where riding gets a little tougher.

Your horse will bounce around and you will try to go with it, you won’t be able to pick the rhythm up at first so just try to relax and you will soon sync with the horse. Think of it as up, down, up, down to the tempo of the horse. You only need to rise about an inch. Again slowing is a case of sitting back and pulling back on the reins.

Practice really does make perfect and after a few hours of riding you will be into the groove of things. Try to keep your posture – keep your heels flat, you’re back straight and your chin up.

I wasn’t sure if I should add this next section in as it’s for slightly more advanced beginners but I thought I might as well just to keep the balance of this article.

Learning To Canter

A Canter is something that should only be tried after a couple of months of riding a horse, when you know more about riding and how to stay balanced. To ask your horse to canter, squeeze your outside leg while having it back a bit and squeeze with your inside leg. At canter you should sit back slightly, when you feel you’re sitting back too much, you are sitting back just enough. Or you can go into a half seat when you canter, which is a modified two-point. The two points is the jumping position.

Learning To Gallop

Galloping is the fastest way to ride a horse and kind of the next step up from the canter. Once your horse is cantering squeeze your legs and your horse should pick up speed. The riding position is a lot like cantering just quicker.

Learning to ride a horse is one of the most enjoyable things that I have ever done in my life, it provides you with a unique way to keep fit and see the countryside. When you are first learning to ride it is best (as I am sure you are sick of hearing by now) to get a knowledgeable friend to help but if you are looking to take it seriously then it’s best to hire an instructor who is qualified to teach you about how to ride a horse.

What A Posh Party Really Looks Like

Most people think hunting and they think post. They think of guys called Tim, public schools and farming. Hunting isn’t so much about the sport as it is about the social side of things. I like to think we know how to party.

Here are two of my friends from hunting about 10 seconds away from passing out after last weekend (which got rather messy).

I am still hungover so excuse this short post, really I only wrote it to cause embarrassment to a select few. Father Jack would have been proud of us.

A Favour For A Friend

Ok, ok I know I haven’t posted anything interesting this month but you guys don’t know how busy I have been with cubbing and everything else going on. I have also been bringing a few horses on that I need to get ridden this year so that I can enter them into some point to point racing (for those who don’t know you need to hunt the horse 5 times before you can enter them into the point to point).

Anyway I have been helping my friend sell his horse as well but it seems that nobody is buying at the moment which is a shame as it’s a lovely IDXTB. She is very kind and genuine, loves to please and is easy to do, all in a snaffle. Would go affiliated jumping or eventing. Won unaffiliated jumping and working hunter classes. She jumps all fillers, hedges, ditches ect.. off any stride and she will always help her rider and sort herself out proving to be very brave. She hunted last season in Ireland and had manners to die for, going for 1st or last to the fence. Schooling at novice level with straight, balanced paces in a nice outline. Hacks out alone or in company. Very uncomplicated allround horse with clean limbs and extremely straightforward to ride. Easy to box, shoe, catch, a friendly horse to own with no vices and open to vet.

She is a pretty big horses at 16.2 horse hands but at only 6 she is a pretty good horse. I thought there would be more interest in her but alas not. Anyway if anyone is interested there you can click here to see the advert at horse deals.

The Week A Head
Ok I know that already one day has gone but I have tonnes to do. I need to go and get a new dinner jacket and trousers plus the shoes (as a delightful young lady left a lasting memory on my current outfit). It’s my mothers birthday so I really should take her out for lunch and I think because of this my younger brother will be in town so I guess I should set something up with him.

The trouble with my brother is that he has been in London all of 2 years and now thinks he is some big city big shot, he has seemingly forgotten about his country roots and now even turns his nose up and hunting and shooting. I think one lunch with him is all I can take till Christmas, where I will be forced to be pleasant to him and no doubt the bimbo that he brings with him. Still if I can’t be polite on the very day that our Lord Jesus Christ was born, when can I?

Well I am off out tonight to a function, I am planning on getting very drunk and sleeping with a yummy mummy that I have had my eye on for a while.

Take Care

Johnny
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Guest Post – Advice on how to Successfully Selling your Horse or Pony

As some of you may or may not have guessed by now I am one of those people who will do anything for their friends and when a friend told me that he had writen an article as part of his new book I was only too happy to let him guest post for me. If you want to find out more about his ebook “Things You Should Know About Buying Your First Horse” then click the title on the left and have a read. Anyway without further a-do here over to Paul.

Advice on how to Successfully Selling your Horse or Pony

Your choice for a new home for your pet will be a caring, stable home, regardless of why you have chosen to sell them. Word of mouth is an effective way of informing people that you have a horse for sale. If you know people who are horse lovers, you will most assuredly want to let them know of your intentions to sell your horse. Word will travel to other friends of horses who live nearby. Once word gets out, you may hear that someone you know, either directly or indirectly, is seeking to buy a new horse. It is always comforting to know that your dear pet is in the care of someone you know will provide a healthy home, which is a consequence of selling to someone you know.

The Equestrian Press is another superb source for spreading the word of your intent to sell. Ponies and horses of all types are listed in the classified sections of such equestrian magazines as; Horse & Hound in the UK, Horse Trader in New Zealand, and Horse & Rider in the USA. Online websites such as HorseQuest in the UK, Equine.Com in America, and Horse Deals in Australia, also now offer a resource to sell your horse.

When writing your advertisement, it is vital not to exaggerate your pet’s abilities or expected promise. Do not sell your horse as an Olympic dressage champion if his true calling is something much more mundane. It is important to choose the right people when attempting to sell your horse, or this can become a much more challenging, lengthened procedure. All applicable information should be contained in your ad including your horse or pony’s age, height, it’s level of training, and the amount you are asking for. Bloodline particulars are sometimes useful when your horse is of good breeding. A high quality picture of your petshowing detail is paramount.

Be sure to showcase your pet in the best light, when you have a prospective buyer.

As if readying him or her for a show, always clean and groom your horse with care. It is beneficial for your horse to look their best.

Present your horse in the stable or field so that the buyer will be able to observe your horse’s behavior when hitched and tacked up.

The next thing your prospective buyer will want to observe is a riding demonstration. This short ride should include letting your horse walk, trot, and canter. If your horse has the experience, showing several jumps is also appropriate.

It will also be helpful to demonstrate how your horse will behave when {taken out into|handled out in the open, through the countryside and on roads.

Your buyer will most likely ask to take a short ride to see for themselves how the animal behaves.

It will probably be hard to finally break the attachment with your beloved pet. Be sure that your goodbyes are said before the new owner arrives to pick up the animal and focus on the fact that your horse will be loved and cared for. In the event that you will be purchasing a new horse friend, you have many new experiences to look forward to.

Let me know what you think about this dynamic young blogger, because I am thinking about taking him on to help me write some posts on this blog and letting him join me as a co-blogger.

View of The Morning

What Is A Bombproof Horse?

Has it seriously been two weeks since I last posted? Well so much for me dedication to this blog and fox hunting. Actually it’s horses that have been keeping me so flipping busy – getting ready for the up and coming fox hunting season. However a friend of mine gave me an idea for a blog post earlier today when we were talking about bombproof horses. He asked – what is a bombproof horse?

Police horses will also be trained to be calm around crowds, while racehorses may be trained with a mockup of a starting gate. I am simply telling you not to do it. Some common bombproofing tools include: tarps, umbrellas, hoses, bells, sticks, watering cans, things with strong odors, and distinctive sounds.

If the horse expresses unease or nervousness, the trainer speaks in a low, reassuring voice and retreats until the horse calms down again. Bombproofing techniques are used extensively with police horses, along with race horses, horses which will be shown, and children’s horses.

It may take several tries to bring the object up to the horse, at which point the horse should be allowed to smell and see it. I’m just being tidy. In the case of a physical object, the trainer approaches the horse from the side with the item in hand, moving slowly and confidently. Although the process may become frustrating, the benefits of a bombproof horse are well worth the effort, as the horse will be able to confidently handle unusual situations, and a bombproof horse will also command a higher price when it is sold, if this is a concern.. That’s based on what I’ve been seeing. I’m intent on getting a new apart. Particularly is ideal for amidst.

Ideally, all horses should be bombproofed for safety. Horses are trained to handle unusual sounds and smells through a slow ratcheting up of exposure, in much the same way that they learn that individual items are harmless. The bombproofing process starts with either restraining a horse in cross ties, or turning the horse loose in a small, enclosed ring. Bombproofing is also known as desensitization or sacking out.

The goal is to slowly and gently introduce a horse to things which might frighten it, without actually frightening the horse.

During the process, it is important to remember that horses are hardwired to be afraid of unfamiliar items, with centuries of evolution telling them to flee from unknown or mystifying objects. Perhaps I can try to do the same old things about it when they can. It can take months to train a bombproof horse, and bombproofing may be combined with other training, as the horse learns ground manners and eventually comes to accept a rider. I do judge that I should like to provide more details.

I want to own it free and clear. Generally, when training a horse, people think about situations and objects the horse might encounter. Do you want to avoid feeling forgotten?

Most horse trainers agree that working slowly and gently is the key, rather than hurrying the horse along. A bombproof horse is a horse which has been exposed to a wide variety of situations and sensory stimuli, making the horse much calmer as a result. By introducing horses to new and potentially scary things in a controlled situation, trainers and riders can teach their horses that these situations are nothing to worry about, making their horses more confident and safer to ride. It’s up for grabs. You must not seek out a pre-owned known that paints a picture of hereafter.

Sometimes it helps to bring out a buddy who is already accustomed to the item to demonstrate that the object is harmless. A bombproof horse will be able to approach a variety of situations with confidence, making riders, other people, and the horse much safer. People will enjoy sensible if it was that cool. It should be a top priority for that one.

On a side note my friend Sarah has just launched a rather splendid site for those of us interested in horse how-to’s. Think of it as a kind of Haynes manual for horses (I tease, it’s actually a lot better). Anyway feel free to surf on over to Horse How and if you tell her that I sent you I am sure she will be grateful to hear from you all.

I have waffled on long enough today, hopefully I wont be leaving it another two weeks until you hear from me again.

What is a Warmblood Horse?

A warmblood horse is a horse with a medium build, designed for sporting. Numerous sport horses around the world are classified as warmbloods, and these horses can be seen in action in a wide range of events, from three day eventing to dressage. The term “warmblood” does not refer to a specific breed of horse, but rather to a large and general group of horses which share a number of characteristics. Some typical warmblooded breeds include the Hanoverian, Trakehner, and Westphalian.

These horses are believed to have originated in continental Europe, and they may be descended from earlier forest horses which roamed Europe and were tamed by human settlers. Some warmblood breeds are quite ancient and justifiably famous for their many talents.

Many nations, including most famously Germany and Holland, have individual warmblood registries. These studbooks welcome horses from a range of breeds as long as they meet the warmblood standard, and in fact the requirements for these studbooks are often quite stringent. As a general rule, a horse which is registered as a warmblood must be very sound, with excellent conformation and generally good health. Horses of all colors are accepted in many studbooks.

The build of the warmblood combines endurance, strength, and immense muscle control. Many warmbloods are used in dressage, taking advantage of their elegant carriage and beautiful movements in the dressage ring to perform difficult maneuvers. Others are used as jumpers, hunters, and eventers, competing in events like endurance rides to prove their mettle.

Many warmblood horses are quite large, but they have a refined conformation, lacking the heavy build of cold blooded draft horses like Clydesdales and Percherons. As a general rule, the warmblood standard also includes very calm, intelligent horses who are known for being able to perform under stress and in a wide variety of situations. Depending on the training that a horse receives, it may or may not be suitable for beginning riders, with some warmbloods demanding immense control and skill from their riders.

Many breeders around the world offer warmbloods for sale, and these horses are as a general rule very popular. As registered warmbloods can sometimes be expensive, some riders seek out horses which did not quite meet the breeding standard, but who have many of the desirable traits of the warmblood. These horses can often perform very well in the ring, and they also make good trail horses, possessing the stamina, intelligence, and dynamic action which make the warmblood so popular with riders around the world.

Campaign against pro-hunting website backfires on LACS

I saw this over at Horse & Hound and couldn’t resist re-posting it here for you all to enjoy.

Tesco has removed adverts for its equestrian clothing range from pro-hunting website The Master’s Voice after pressure from the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS).

But the furore around the ads, which featured a blonde woman dressed in all black standing next to a horse, has seen traffic to The Master’s Voice website (www.themastersvoice.co.uk) boosted.

Editor Midge Todhunter said: “Clicks on the website seem to be growing every month.

“The ad was click-through marketing which wasn’t really working for us so I was planning to take it off the website anyway, but we did get a new advertiser on the back of all the publicity in The Mirror.

“We are not promoting anything illegal so I can’t see what LACS’s problem was with us.”

The story in the Mirror (on 27 July), which quoted LACS chief executive Douglas Batchelor calling the ads “horrendously stupid” and “inappropriate”, forced the multi-national grocer to can the ads immediately and blame its online marketing company, TradeDoubler, for placing them.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We don’t have a view on the subject. We have a lot of customers with sorts of different views.

“The ads were placed by our affiliate marketing company TradeDoubler. We didn’t place the ads.”

TradeDoubler was contacted by H&H but failed to return our calls.