Posts Tagged ‘no doubt’

Feeding Your Horse

A good sound knowledge in horse feeding is important for any horse owner. Even if your horse is stabled and fed by the staff at a yard, you ought to have a basic understanding of horse nutrition. A healthy horse fed a proper diet is a horse that will have the balanced energy to suit you.

If your horse is lacking in energy he may seem lazy to you, but have you looked at his diet? Are you feeding him enough of the right food? A diet consisting mainly of hay or grass is good for a horse living out in a pasture. Of course if that same horse is exercised on a regular basis that hay should be of high quality, good protein, and no doubt he would be having a grain too.

Besides low energy, a horse on an incorrect diet would lose weight, or gain too much weight. Both can lead to health concerns and problems, which usually would result in a veterinary visit and fee.

Feeding a horse more than hay obviously costs more, but you truly save on money in the long run. Horses that are worked need more than hay to replenish lost calories, to maintain his health and to repair the body. No different than humans who are not simply couch potatoes.

Pleasure horses that are ridden infrequently still benefit from grain. You can purchase grain or pellets that are best suited to your horses needs. Today feed bags have several labels which tell you the type of food and ingredients. Foods have been specifically developed for broodmares, senior and junior horses just to mention a few.

Knowledgeable staff at a yard and your veterinarian can further assist you in choosing the correct diet. You want a content, happy horse, but perhaps not a highly strung, spirited race horse between your legs…

Depending on your horse’s lifestyle, whether a competition horse, a companion horse or a pleasure horse there is a diet to match. Diets help you get the best performance from your horse. Supplements may or may not be necessary, if you are competing in a showing class on a regular basis, your horse may very well benefit from a supplement that adds benefits to his coat.

Feeding truly makes a difference to horses from birth up. You want a good healthy happy horse, read up on horse nutrition and find the correct diet.

Horses. Get information on buying, owning and caring for your horse, learn about Feeding Your Horse. Learn about your horses anatomy.

Author: Benjamin Wise
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Understanding Your Horses Coat Colors and Markings

When you first see a horse in a field the most identifiable feature is the color of his coat. No doubt the first thing you learn after the word horse is his color. You certainly do not need to learn to identify every single horse breed, but knowing the colors and markings on a horse will help you distinguish between horses.

As a manager on a stud farm I was in charge of 150 horses that grazed the land. During the breeding season we would also have a number of other horses come and stay for a while. More often than not the visiting mares would be grouped together with our own.

I would be able to identify every single animal without needing a name tag, just by their color and markings. You may not need to know a dozen horses, perhaps only one, but knowing the color and markings gives you helpful knowledge.

When you are in a stable yard and a horse breaks loose, you can call attention to the urgency of the situation. If you said there was a black horse running loose, the yard manager may well know that the black horse is a stallion and other horses would be in danger, not just the loose horse.

Coat color and markings of horses is determined genetically. There are about 20 different coat colors, some are clearly defined like black and others are part-colored or broken such as spotted.

Unless there is a specific need for you to know all the colors and variations, knowing the basic usually suffices. I can not say that anyone in 25 plus years has ever looked at me weirdly because I called a dapple grey horse just plain old grey.

Besides the general body color of the horse it is also good to know the markings on a horse. That way when you are around horses you can tell them apart. If you are told that the brown horse in the field is for sale, and there happen to be 5 brown horses grouped together, it certainly would be helpful to know what else sets him apart from the others.

Markings are usually on the legs and face and mostly with white colored hairs. A horse with a white face or blaze has a large area of white, particularly on the nose. These horses would greatly benefit from a daily application of sunscreen when the temperatures are high.

There are basic leg markings on a horse known as socks or stockings which are general terms as to the length of white. More specifically for identification purposes the markings are named to where the white hair begins and ends on the leg. Some horses may have white on all four legs, others may have only a single sock on one leg and still others may have none at all.

A horse that is all one color, like chestnut, with no white distinctive markings on the face or legs can still be identified from other horses by less noticeable markings such as whorls.

Whether you are a beginner rider, a horse admirer or someone that works with horses it pays to know the color and markings of horses. It certainly makes identifying one horse from another a piece of cake.

Horse Guide.

Get information on buying, owning and caring for your horse, learn about horse coat colors and markings. Learn about Horse riding safety.

Author: Benjamin Wise
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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What is a reasonable commission to pay for the sale of a horse?

A person I know who owns a livery yard will shortly complete the sale of my horse for around £3000. It may be that I will have to decide for myself how much to pay for the work done to effect the sale. There were no direct advertising costs involved but the seller talked to a number of potential buyers who have looked the horse over and no doubt asked questions. I want to be fair if I must decide the amount to pay.

Horse Grooming Supplies – What You Need For Trimming Around the Eyes and Ears

Should I trim around my horse’s eyes and ears?

Clipping the hairs of the horse’s eyes and ears is a controversial topic. There’s no doubt that a horse with close clipped ears and eyes has a pretty face, but those hairs are there for a reason. Before trimming these sensitive areas, decide what you need to clip, and then make sure you have the best tools for the job in your horse grooming supplies.

The ears

The horse’s ears have two kinds of hairs- soft fluffy coat hairs that run along the edges of the ears, and thicker, more wiry hairs that grow inside the ears. The soft external hairs can easily be clipped away, and that’s a good choice to make the horse’s head look neater without losing the protection of the thicker internal hairs. To clip these soft hairs out, a good set of hand clippers are ideal.

To trim the soft external hairs of your horse’s ears, start by folding the ears over in half lengthways and just trimming the long hairs that poke out. Run the trimmers with the lay of the hair to prevent getting rough edges, and simply smooth out the long stray hairs that stick out. This will be enough to give most horses a neat and tidy appearance for all but the most demanding show rings, and still give your horse’s ears the protection they need from flies, dust, and dirt.

The hairs inside are essential to keep out dust and flies. Unless you are showing and the rules demand it, don’t trim inside your horse’s ears. If you absolutely have to, choose the quietest horse clippers you can find. Hold some tissue over the base of the ear to keep the hairs from falling inside the ear, and carefully trim along the surface of the ear. Once done, you will have to protect your horse’s ears yourself – this means keeping your horse’s ears protected from flies and dust, and even from stable bedding which can get inside and cause infection or injury. As the hairs grow back, your horse will be prone to minor infections; you need to make a regular practice of rubbing your horse’s ears with a gentle antibiotic cream to keep them healthy.

The eyes

Like the ears, the eyes have two kinds of hairs. This time though, the long, wiry hairs are less significant. These can be clipped back to tidy up the horse’s face, and most horse’s won’t miss them. The short, soft hairs around the eyes – the horse’s ‘eyelashes’ are essential to protect the horse’s eyes from dust and dirt. Like with the hairs inside the ears, don’t clip these off unless you are absolutely required to for show ring standards.

In any case, clipping around the eyes needs to be done carefully – it’s not something that should ever be done with scissors. A good pair of hand clippers is an essential part of your equine supplies to prevent any risk of injury to the horse’s eyes.

Which clippers should I use?

If your horse is sensitive about its face. choose a battery powered or rechargeable model for quiet operation, and so you don’t have the cord flapping around your horse’s face. If your horse is pretty good about clippers, the benefit of a corded model is that you don’t need to replace batteries or remember to recharge it. You’ll want a model that is light and fits your hand well, because you need to be accurate when clipping around the eyes and ears. Choose one that has a small blade, for a neat and careful finish.

As always, choose clippers from a reliable manufacturer like Wahl, Oster, or Andis. You want to be sure your clippers are safe to use, have a good warranty, and that you can easily get replacement blades – dull blades are dangerous when clipping sensitive areas like eyes and ears!

Here’s some good choices for precision clipping from the top manufacturers:

  • Wahl horse clippers. The Wahl Touch Up Animal Trimmer is a great battery operated trimmer for small touch-ups and precision trims. It uses AA batteries, so they’re easy to replace, but it isn’t rechargeable.
  • Andis horse clippers. The Andis Lightweight Cordless Horse Trimmer is easy to hold and use. It’s not for big jobs or tough hairs, but it’s perfect for touch-ups and trimming the eyes and ears.
  • Oster horse clippers. The Oster Pro Cordless Trimmer is rechargeable, and has a precise blade for carful trimming of sensitive areas. It’s lightweight and comfortable to use, and has one of the narrowest blades available, so you won’t make any mistakes!

If you do trim the hairs of your horse’s face, you will need to take extra precautions to protect him from pests and dust. Keep the eyes and ears clean with a damp sponge, and make sure you apply a gentle insect repellent or use a fly net to protect your horse from flies and other annoying insects. Keep a watchful eye for any infections, injuries, or ingrown hairs, and treat these quickly. And remember to look after your horse clippers – keeping the blades clean and sharp will keep your clippers one of the most useful tools in your horse grooming supplies!

This is the third in a series of five articles on horse grooming. This article is an easy to read, well written guide for trimming around your horses eyes and ears. Not only does it provide specific guidance but also makes recommendations on the right horse grooming supplies for a safe and good looking result.

Author: Marcus Koll
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Learn Horse Riding – Proper Tuition And Guidance Is Essential

So many people love to learn horse riding; it’s not surprising there are so many riding schools popping up all over the place. It seems wherever you drive these days in the countryside you will see people out riding horses. Often they are experienced riders out exercising their horses and enjoying the experience. Just as often however, one can see youngsters under instruction from a riding school. Singly, in pairs, or in a longer string, paying obvious care and attention to their riding techniques, and also the requisite etiquette and safety factors, they form an endearing impression of country life.

Whether raw beginner or improver, it is always a great advantage to have a mentor who can guide up and coming riders in the safe and proper way to handle horses. A mentor is somebody who can be referred to at any time over such matters as riding techniques, care of horses, tack, riding development, and just to give encouragement and develop the passion. A riding instructor will teach all the basic skills etc., but a mentor becomes a long term partner in the whole equestrian adventure, often for life.

There is no doubt that prior to start learning horse riding much time can be saved by reading up on the basics of horse behaviour, technique, equipment, maintenance, and all the many pleasant activities available to horse riders. There are many books available that fill these needs very well. DVDs are also a very useful teaching aid. There are many things that can be demonstrated clearly and precisely on screen that are difficult, or very long winded by the written word. There are an ever increasing number of DVD courses reaching the market these days. However, besides formal riding instruction there is a whole world of informal guidance and pleasure to be had on screen via movies, news clips, sports events, etc. So much can be learned from observing horses generally, and watching others riding them.

Just as people who want to learn horse riding start out with very little knowledge of how to proceed, horses themselves also need to be taught how to accept the presence and weight of people riding them. To get them used to the additional weight and presence of somebody on their back, horses are trained by placing weighted bags on their backs. Once the animal has become used to this, the other necessary riding paraphernalia is gradually added. These are the saddle, halter, reins, etc. Finally, the horse has to be broken and trained into accepting live human beings actually riding on their backs.

When looking for a good place to learn horse riding it is mostly a matter of common sense and a little research. Often it is the case that people attend any particular riding school following the advice from a friend, or relative. Otherwise a quick check of yellow pages will throw up a list of potential schools. It is important to visit a few of those selected to see for one’s self how they operate. A lot can be learned from a 30 minute personal visit. First impressions are always important in the decision making process, and a clean, tidy, professional looking stables and teaching area will go a long way in persuading potential pupils. The attitude of the staff, how busy the place is, the fees, the encouragement received, will all contribute to the final decision.

To learn horse riding is a lifelong pleasure. It is only sensible to get the proper training to gain the maximum enjoyment from the whole equestrian experience. It all starts by reading up on everything found about horses and how to learn horse riding. The next important thing is to find a friendly mentor who will guide and coach for the whole experience. Then it’s time to start the best part of all, the actual horse riding experience. Be warned; for most people it becomes a wonderful life long adventure.

Learn lots more about learning how to ride horses at [http://www.learn-horse-riding.com]

Author: Stuart Honeysett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Horseback Riding Tips – Techniques & Tips Especially For the Beginner

Here you will find some horseback riding tips that are geared towards the beginner or aspiring horseback rider. Learning to ride a horse can be one of the most thrilling experiences of your life, as long as you do it safely. The payoff lies not only in the freedom of galloping across a field on the back of an animal, but also in enjoying the wondrous bond between human and horse. Did you know that knowing the basic horseback riding tips before taking professional lessons, cuts your learning curve in half? Find out some essential horseback riding tips from the pros here.

First of all, it’s good if you can get to know everything you can about horses – their breeds, colors, heights, etc. You also need to know the differences between English and Western riding styles. It’s good if you can get to know the horse you’ll be riding on. Likewise, the horse should trust you too.

One of the best horseback riding tips is: Always keep your cool. If you lose control of yourself, have no doubt you will lose control of your horse. A horse can sense if the rider is scared. Even if you are scared (and that’s normal) and you have no idea how you’ll ever stay on the horse, you cannot think that around your horse. You need to stay calm & relaxed (Hint: Fake it till you make it!) If you get a little scared, take a few deep breaths so that you can slow your heartbeat and relax yourself. Odds are, if you think you’re in control, so will the horse. Also, when you are finished riding make sure you dismount on the left side.

You will greatly benefit if you know some basic horseback riding tips & techniques before taking horse riding lessons. There are some good books out there that give you many essential horseback riding tips. Read them, follow the many horseback riding tips and tricks and you will quickly & easily learn the basic skills needed to ride a horse. Some of them are written in plain, easy to understand language with no complicated instructions. These books show you horseback riding tips and everything that you need to know to easily learn how to ride a horse for the first time. You’ll learn all the horseback riding basics…..how to approach a horse, what never to do, how to mount & dismount and much, much more. And, they have some of the most beautiful horse pictures I’ve ever seen! These books lay it all out for you, so that you will know exactly what you are doing…before you approach a horse.

Author: Sara Diamond
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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