Posts Tagged ‘Forehead’

My horse, Misty, Is Black and Has a perfect lightning bolt on her forehead. Usually horses just have some squiggles on their forhead, but she has a perfect lightning bolt. And shes kind of frisky and jumps around and is kind of wild. Does the bolt mean something?

A Beautifully Built Head and Neck

Arabian horses have a distinct beauty that is cherished today, just as it was centuries ago in the Middle Eastern desert by the ancient Bedouins. This beauty is not only cosmetic but the Arabian horse’s build also give it some great advantages.

Let’s take a look at the head and neck of the Arabian:

o A refined, wedge-shaped head that is finely chiseled
o A broad forehead
o Large, lustrous eyes that are set far apart
o Large nostrils
o Small ‘teacup’ muzzles
o Lips that are fine and thin
o Ears that are smaller in stallions and of good size in mares. They are set evenly together and they have great flexibility.
o The skeleton of the head is characterized by a relative shortness of skull, slender lower jaw, and a larger size brain area within the skull.

The Arabian’s head has always been considered a thing of beauty and the Arabian’s face really sets it apart from other horse breeds.

The majority of Arabian horses display a distinctive concave or “dished” profile. Also, many Arabians have a forehead bulge between their eyes, known as the Jibbah. The Islamic people believed the Arabian horse was a gift from Allah and that the forehead bulge held his blessings. From a physical standpoint, the forehead bulge gives the Arabian extra sinus capacity, a plus for endurance. Another characteristic that helps with breathing and endurance is the arched neck with a large, well-set windpipe set on a refined, clean throat latch. This high-arched neck often signified courage to the ancient Bedouins and Islamics. The cheek bones are spread wide apart at the throat, typically between five or six inches. This enables the muzzle to be drawn in without compressing the Arabian horse’s windpipe, and permitting the animal to breathe easily when running. As you can see from some of the characteristics that an Arabian has in its head and neck, this horse is built for long rides and running.

A Powerful Body, Bred to Perfection

Arabian horses have a broad chest and a short, but strong back and sloped shoulders which give them power and floaty gaits. In general, all horses that are bred to gallop or run need a good length of croup (posterior or backside) and a good length of hip for proper attachment of muscles (as a rule, both go together). Typically, a good-quality Arabian has both a relatively horizontal croup and a properly angled pelvis with good length of croup and depth of hip (or length of pelvis) to allow agility and impulsion. Of course, within the Arabian breed there are variations:

An Arabian horse with wider, more powerfully muscled hindquarters is more suitable for intense bursts of activity such as reining.

An Arabian horse with longer, leaner muscles is better suited for endurance riding or horse racing.

Size and Colors

Arabian horses typically stand between 14.1 and 15.1 hands (57 to 61 inches) tall. Of course there will be an occasional horse that is over or under this. Therefore, all Arabians, regardless of their height, are classified as horses even though 14.2 hands is the traditional cutoff height between a horse and a pony. A common misconception is that the purebred Arabian isn’t strong due to its smaller height. Their bone density, though, is much greater than that of many other breeds. This gives the Arabian breed physical strength that is comparable to many taller animals.

For color, Arabian horses are bay, gray, chestnut, and black and sometimes roan. Common markings on Arabians include:

* Stars, stripes, or blaze faces
* Snip noses
* A white foot or more, or white stockings

Arabian horses that appear white are actually gray since their skin is black. White hair on horses grows out of pink skin. Arabian horses follow suit and any white markings found will show white hair growing out of pink skin.

A Pleasant Disposition

Arabian horses are well known for being affectionate and bonding well with humans. This goes back to their early history with Bedouin tribes in the Middle Eastern desert. The ancient Bedouins and Arabian horses lived inter-dependently as a means of survival. The Bedouins often prized these animals and sheltered them from the harsh elements of the desert by keeping them in their family tend. A strong bond formed and through the centuries, the Arabian breed has kept its gentleness and its willingness to learn and please. This makes purebred Arabians perfect for activities such as riding and showing and it makes them a perfect horse for children and families to enjoy. Having such a mild and gentle temperament makes Arabians one of the few breeds that the United States Equestrian Federation allows children to exhibit stallions in nearly all show ring classes, including those that are limited to riders under 18.

A High Intelligence to Boot

Arabian horses are classified as a “hot-blooded” horse. Even though they are in the “hot-blooded” category, most Arabians have a natural tendency to cooperate with humans. This category includes other refined, spirited horse breeds that are bred for speed such as Thoroughbreds. Like other hot-bloods, the sensitivity and intelligence of Arabians enable them to learn quickly. It also enables riders to communicate with Arabians more easily than other horse breeds. Thus training them is typically easier than other horse breeds.

A Perfectly Engineered Horse

Throughout the ages, romantic myths and stories have been told about Arabian horses that give them near-divine characteristics. The ancient Bedouins and Islamics considered these horses perfect, prizing them for their unparalleled beauty, sturdiness, stamina, high intelligence, and friendly nature. Virtually unchanged through careful breeding, Arabian horses still exemplify these same characteristics today and their popularity continues to grow.

Randy Meyer, along with his family, are well-respected breeders of high-quality, beautiful purebred Arabian horses on their farm, Red Oak Arabians. They usually have fine quality Arabian horses for sale at all times.

Author: Randy Meyer
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Horses have a very old lineage covering millions of years, and many different terrains. It isn’t so surprising, then, to learn that horses are found in an array of colors and patterns, with a host of different markings. By familiarizing yourself with the names of horse colors, patterns, and markings, the two lists below will help you to intelligently spot, name, and discus horses among your peers. For beginning riders, it will be comforting to know that when your trainer asks you to saddle up the buckskin blaze, you’ll never have a quizzical look on your face, or wonder if you should ‘fess up’ that you don’t know what she means.

Markings
Terms to describe marks on a horse can be divided into facial and leg areas. People around horses often describe these white marks as ‘chrome’, a rather funny use of the word to refer to variations seen as attractive additions to a horse’s appearance.

Here are some facial chrome feature descriptions:

A star is a white spot on the horse’s forehead.

A stripe is a narrow white strip that runs down the center of the horse’s face, from the forehead down the bridge of the nose.

A snip, I suppose, is a part of a longer stripe. It’s a white spot on the muzzle, on or just below the area between the horse’s nostrils.

A blaze mark is a wide white area that starts at the horse’s forehead and ends along the bridge of the horse’s nose.

Bald refers to a horse with a large amount of white on the face that starts above the forehead, runs along the front of the face to the muzzle, and extends beyond the bridge of the nose to the sides of the face.

The main kinds of chrome on the legs include:

The coronet band is a small white band just above the hoof.

Half pastern means a white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends halfway up the pastern. Think of the pastern the horse’s equivalent to the upper part of a human foot, and the white marking on the horse would be equivalent to a human wearing white footlet sock.

A sock is a larger white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends about a third of the way up the leg.

A stocking, then, is a white marking that extends from the hoof to the horse’s knee, or hock if the stocking is found on the back legs of the horse.

Half cannon is a white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends halfway up the middle of the leg. Consider it to be between the length of a horse sock and a horse stocking.

Colors
Gray: A gray can be nearly white to dark gray or everything in between. Many gray horses will have dapples, which are circular, indistinct spots. In those cases, these horses are called ‘dapple grays’. Most gray horses are born dark and develop their gray color as they age.

Bay: Bay is a rich brown color on the body with a black mane, tail, and legs. Bays can be dark tan to reddish brown.

Brown: In the world of horses, the color brown describes a very dark brown animal, often with a lighter brown around the muzzle, flank or inside of the upper legs. The mane and tail of these brown horses are black.

Spotted: Spotted horses feature one of several different coat patterns that often consist of oval, egg-shaped spots. These spots can be distributed throughout the body or limited to the horse’s hindquarters and hips.

Black: For a horse to be truly considered black, he must be jet black with no light areas anywhere on the body, including the mane and tail. A fine, black horse in a sunny pasture is truly a poetic spectacle.

Dun: A dun horse has a gold, reddish, or tan body color and a black or brown mane and tail. All duns have a dark stripe down their backs. Roan colored horses are believed to exist within the family of duns. A subset among the roans are the grullas described as a mousy grey dun.

Buckskin: A buckskin looks very much like a dun but without the dark stripe along its back. The color can be anything from light to dark tan, always with lower black legs, a black mane and tail.

Roan: This term describes a horse who has a dark background color that’s intermixed with white hairs. The head and lower legs of the roan are usually darker than the rest of the body. Roans come in different colored patterns, most often red (white hairs mixed with chestnut or red hairs) and blue (white hairs mixed with black hairs). Many quarter horses fit this description.

Palomino: A golden yellow body with a white mane and tail is characteristic of the palomino coloration. This color horse comes in different patterns, depending on their breed.

Chestnut: Chestnut is a distinct reddish color covering the entire body. The mane and tail are usually the same color, although some chestnuts have what is called a flaxen or a blond mane and tail. Chestnuts come in different shades, from very light (called sorrel) to very dark (called liver).

Pinto: A pinto horse is marked with irregularly shaped patches of dark color against white or, sometimes, white irregularly shaped patches against a darker background color. The dark patches can be just about any color, including palomino, chestnut, bay, buckskin or black.

None of us were born an old hand around the ranch, rodeo or show arena. If you find the information above useful at this stage of learning, print a copy to have nearby. It will help you get a verbal handle on what your peers and trainers are saying.

Tanya Vorgan believes in the easiest way to learn — to teach others as she is learning. Her many interests have lead her to many exciting experiences, but sometimes nothing compares to the richness of quiet moments in which to reflect and grow. Tanya is also among those committed to the never-ending quest for the perfect cup of coffee, which for her begins with the best bar none Bunn coffee makers.

Tanya recommends going for the richest black gold possible with a Bunn coffee grinder and your choice of coffee bean. You won’t believe the difference fresh ground coffee in your kitchen will make.

Author: Tanya Vorgan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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I often hear riders at the basic levels say that their dressage horses are collected. I assume they’re confused and are actually talking about connection as opposed to collection.

But since I run across this confusion a lot, I want to take some time to explain how to evaluate whether or not a horse is collected.

Many people think that when a horse is collected, he just takes shorter, slower steps. But you can shorten a horse’s strides without actually collecting him.

Think about three things in terms of collecting any gait.

1. The steps are shortened, but the rhythm and tempo stay the same as they were when the steps were longer.

2. The center of gravity must shift back toward the hind legs. That is, there is a loading of the hind legs. In nature, a horse has approximately 60% of his weight on his front legs and 40% on his hind legs. As you collect the horse, you gradually shift that center of gravity back to the hind legs. As a result, the horse begins to take more weight on the hind legs so his forehead can be lighter and freer.

3. When a horse is collected he bends the joints of his hind legs. As a result, his croup lowers and his forehand elevates. Look at the top of his withers and compare it to the top of his croup. In this balance, he’ll have the silhouette or outline of an airplane taking off, or a seesaw where one end is pushed down and the other end goes up.

It’s very important you don’t get fooled into thinking that a horse with a high head and neck carriage is necessarily collected. That’s because if the horse is “hand-ridden”, the rider can lift his head and neck up. But if the rider does this, the withers will stay low. And if the withers are low and the croup is high, there is no collection.

So when you evaluate whether or not a dressage horse is truly collected think about those three things–a shortening of the frame, a loading of the hind legs, and the relative height of the top of the withers to the top of the croup.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques?
Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence?v Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach?
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Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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