Posts Tagged ‘Love’

I’d love to save up for a saddle but the thing is.. I don’t own my own horse that would need one. I have a mini, and of course he doesn’t need one. Suggestions?

Piano is the second most played instrument behind the guitar, and like the guitar the way we learn to play the piano is drastically changing.

Just like the way we communicate with others and do our banking have been changed by the Internet, the methods we use to learn new skills are changing as well.

It could be learning the guitar or how to swing your golf club better to break 80 we’ve never had so much knowlege at our finger tips. You can get a piano course for less than $20 bucks a month and teach yourself how to play faster then ever before.

Since it is so easy to find instruction, lessons and videos for just about anything you can think of we’re faced with a multitude of choices which makes learning anything some what difficult.

Here’s how it used to work, let’s say you wanted to shoot a lower golf score. To do this you’d find a teacher, take lessons and practice a lot. Today you can hop on YouTube, watch a few videos and at the same time find a beginner piano lesson video as well.

Our span of attention to things is shrinking and it takes a special type of person who can focus in on a task as hand to get it done. Most of us who want to learn something new fall in love with the idea of it but can rarely, if ever get past that stage because something else catches our attention before we ever get the chance to learn the first thing we were interested in.

I don’t think anyone will argue that we have made some great advancements such as shopping online, world wide communication and some productivity growth, how ever what are the side effects of all this speed and knowledge at our finger tips?.

Could it be that we’re breading a society where ADD will become the social epidemic of the next generation?.

So i havent really ridden that much over the cold spurt we had in montana (probably about once a week) and its starting to get warm again now im out practicing every day. What is the best weekly program to get a barrel horse back into shape and ready for the competitions? i have a plan sorta worked out by my trainer but i would love to get some more ideas from everyone and kinda develop my own

I am 17 years old, I am still in high school, and I just fell in love with horse jumping competitions.
I really want to learn how to ride a horse, and maybe one day try to compete.
But I don’t want it to be a waste of time, especially in my senior year of high school.
I know people usually start to train when they are kids, is it kind of too late for me to start?
Thank you very much.

My apologies to the horse forum for this not being about live critters, however, I didn’t get much help from the hobbies and crafts section.

I would love to get involved in model horse showing. There are some shows coming up within driving distance.

How do I get started? How are they judged? Do I have to modify a model to enter it?

Is there a "class" for rare models, like Julips?

I’m planning on getting a horse, I would like to know what breed(s) of horses would be good for a first timer like me? I’ve ridden English saddle and i love it, which breed of horse would be good with that too? And also, what would sum up all of the costs in preparing for all the necessities in getting a horse?

You’ve done the searching, you’ve combed the classifieds, you’ve test ridden several horses and you’ve settled on THE ONE. What do you need to do now? Write the seller a check, load up and head down the road? You can… but depending on what you want to do with the horse, your level of long term commitment to the horse and your goals for the horse, a pre-purchase exam might be money well spent.

What is a pre-purchase exam? A pre-purchase exam is a series of tests performed by an equine veterinarian that determines the horse’s current soundness and health and can identify problems that might affect future soundness. There are few things more heartbreaking than having your perfect horse go lame or have some other problem that turns him from your best riding companion in to a lawn ornament. A pre-purchase exam is best performed on a potential purchase prior to falling completely in love with the horse and deciding that you can’t live without him. The pre-purchase exam is requested by the buyer, the buyer contacts a veterinarian of their choosing and the buyer is responsible for all costs incurred from the exam. It is usually recommended that the buyer select a veterinarian that is not the seller’s usual veterinarian, both to eliminate conflict of interest and to not put the veterinarian in an awkward position of potentially reporting negative results which might cause the sale to fall through for his client.

When your veterinarian shows up to perform the pre-purchase exam, the first thing he or she should ask is what your intended purpose is for this horse. What do you want to do with him? Are you looking for a trail horse that will go on leisurely rides 2 or 3 days a week? Or is your ultimate goal with this horse to be a high end competitor in your sport of choice? A good veterinarian will take this information in to account when evaluating a horse for you and this information will influence the final report made on this horse.

There are three main types of pre-purchase exams: a basic pre-purchase, a full pre-purchase and a breeding soundness exam A basic pre-purchase exam entails a complete physical exam and lameness exam. A full pre-purchase typically includes x-rays and often other diagnostic measures such as a routine blood panel. Breeding soundness exams are performed on animals intended to be used as breeding stock and are often performed in conjunction with a basic or full pre-purchase exam.

In a basic pre-purchase exam, the veterinarian will listen to the horse’s heart, lungs and gut sounds. He’ll examine the horse’s eyes, dentition (both the condition that the horse’s teeth are in and how well the horse’s teeth align), legs, joints and overall conformation and condition. He’ll likely ascertain the horse’s health history, such as whether or not the horse has had problems with colic or lameness in the past and whether or not the horse is current on his vaccinations and deworming. The veterinarian will then ask to see the horse move, both at the walk (in hand) and at the trot (usually on a lunge line). He is looking to see how well the horse tracks and whether the horse wings, paddles or interferes when he is in motion (signs that can indicate a conformational issue and can lead to unsoundness). He’ll also be looking for obvious or subtle signs of lameness. The next set of tests will involve using hoof testers on the horse’s hooves to apply pressure to very specific parts of the hoof and internal structures. Hoof testers can find signs of laminitis, stone bruises, navicular disease and other problems that may lead to the need for a career chance for the horse.

Once the horse has passed these tests, the veterinarian will move on to flexion tests. In a flexion test, the veterinarian will hold the horse’s leg in a flexed position, focusing on each individual joint or series of joints (hock and stifle for example) for about 60 seconds at a time. He’ll then ask the handler to trot the horse off in a straight line. The veterinarian is looking for signs of lameness following the flexion that can indicate an issue that requires further diagnostics such as x-rays or nerve blocks. It is not uncommon for a veterinarian to advise the buyer not to proceed with a horse that cannot pass his flexion tests as it often can indicate the presence of bony changes or arthritis.

A full pre-purchase exam has the same elements as a basic pre-purchase but also includes diagnostic radiographs (x-rays) of at least the front and rear fetlocks, front feet and hocks. Depending on the intended use of the horse, some practitioners will recommend radiographs of the stifles and knees as well. These x-rays will allow the veterinarian to look for bony changes such as arthritis, bone chips, high and low ringbone, navicular syndrome and OCD lesions that can all affect the horse’s performance and lead to future unsoundness. A full pre-purchase exam may also include bloodwork to rule out metabolic disease, thyroid problems or the use of masking drugs which may make the horse appear sound or sane at the time of the pre-purchase exam.

A breeding soundness exam is requested on a mare or stallion whose intended purpose is that of a breeding animal. For a mare, the veterinarian will perform a rectal palpation and ultrasound to make sure the uterus and ovaries are of normal size, consistency and free from any abnormalities. A vaginal exam will ensure that the mare has a normal cervical seal and is free from scarring or tears. The veterinarian will also look at the mare’s perineal conformation (whether her vulva is tipped in relation to the anus) and check her udders. Stallions will have their semen collected and evaluated, testicles measured and palpated and behavior noted.

Many times when a buyer is having a pre-purchase exam done on a horse, the question they are dying to ask is, “Well, did he pass or fail?”. In reality, the veterinarian is not there to “pass” or “fail” the horse and can only point out all abnormalities and potential causes for concern. Veterinarians don’t have a crystal ball and they do not have the ability to predict a horse’s future soundness; they can only report on what they see on that day. It is up to you, the buyer, to make the final decision on whether or not you can live with his findings.

Julia A. Patton, owner of Aviance Arabians in Loveland, Colorado (http://www.AvianceArabians.com), a successful breeding a sales barn, Julie has been breeding horses for over ten years. The long time breeding manager at a 350+ head Arabian horse farm, Julie brings current, hands on knowledge in the areas of breeding horses from stallion collection to foaling and foal handling. She also spent several years at Colorado State University as a project manager working on reproductive safety trials for pharmaceutical companies. From there, she went to Florida to set up an embryo transfer and frozen semen station for a veterinary practice in Ocala. Now the resident horse expert at http://www.horsesportscentral.com, Julie shares her passion for horses, horse sales and breeding in articles, blogs and posts.

Author: Julia A. Patton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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My family owned horses when I was younger so I grew up around them and I ride very well. When I am older, more financially able and have the time I would LOVE to own an Arabian. I dream about it a lot.
I just need to be realistic in my planning, so I need to know about how much it will cost each year to properly take care of my horse.

Thanks!