Posts Tagged ‘spending time’

Nowadays kids seem to spend much of their spare time inside. They are either on the computer playing games, surfing the web, text their friends or watch TV instead of spending time outdoors. Outside sports and group activities are great, but the lessons horses can teach children are priceless and last a lifetime.

Word of warning: Horses are addictive. Once bitten, your child will think of nothing else. However, this addiction is a good thing.

Some things that Horses Teach Children are:

Responsibility. Horses have needs and they depend on us to take care of those needs. They require constant care which include feeding, grooming, and exercising. Horses will also let us know when those needs are not being met. Under supervision, a child can learn how to take care of their horses needs which teaches them responsibility.

Patience and Understanding. Horses seem to respond to children faster than they do with adults. They often test us to see what they can get away with in the same way a child will test us. With patience and understanding, horses show you that they want to please you. Most horses are curious by nature and they seem to know that this small person is special. Even high strung horses tend to be more gentle and forgiving toward a child. For some strange reason, many children have absolutely no fear of the gentle giants.

Horses teach children unconditional love and loyalty. Many horses are like big puppy dogs. They will nicker a greeting when they see their favorite friend. Often they will nuzzle you searching your pockets for a treat or lower their heads for a rub or a kiss. This builds a strong bond based on love and loyalty.

Horses give children confidence and freedom. Shy children will often gain confidence in themselves when riding or working around horses. There are many specialized camps and programs that use horses for handicapped or emotionally distraught people…adults and children alike. Riding a horse can teach a handicapped person balance and coordination. This gives people a sense of freedom they can not find anywhere else.

Horses give friendship. Many children find it difficult to talk about their problems and emotions to other people. A person can pour their heart out and talk about things that bother them to their horse friends. Many children may find it difficult to talk about some things to other people. A Horses friendship provides an outlet and a sounding board for a child to talk about some issues that bother them. Horse people provide a strong bond with one another through their common love of horses.

A horse will teach children many valuable life lessons. Horses will give a child confidence to be anything they want to be. And horses will give them lifelong friendships.

As a child, horses were my lifeline. They taught me all of the above and much more. Horses kept me off the streets and away from the many bad influences that tempt children growing up. I am forever thankful to all the horses in my life. Today, horses continue to play a huge role in my life. The Horse Center is filled with information about horses. Visit our Horse Tack Guide to learn about some of the Horse tack your Mini, Horse or Pony uses.

Author: Mary Kay Wade
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Many of the following mistakes made with horses were ones I made over the last 40 years, but luckily for me, some of them were tales I’ve heard from other people. Hopefully, readers can learn and avoid some of these problems themselves if they haven’t already made the same mistakes!

Not paying attention to a horse’s body language can be painful. Standing behind an alpha mare brushing her tail was no problem until another horse walked into her space. She gave warning to the other horse by laying her ears back and shaking her head, but the warning was ignored by the groomer as well as the other horse, and the next action was a kick. Unfortunately, it didn’t land on the transgressor but on the groomer’s leg and taught her to pay attention to what was going on in the immediate area and to pay attention to her horse.

Not giving a new horse time to settle in and get used to new people and new facilities can start a new relationship off poorly. A young horse was hauled about 600 miles to a new owner who took it off the trailer, saddled it, and proceeded to try to go for a ride. The next several months were spent trying to sell the horse that bucked the rider off. It pays to be considerate of a new horse and let it get adjusted.

Horses need to learn to move away from pressure instead of leaning into it which they tend to do naturally. If you slip up and let the horse into your space uninvited, a foot underneath a hoof may occur and it sure helps to have a horse that will move away from a touch on its side instead of leaning even harder on your foot!

A scared horse is not going to go willingly up to or by something it’s afraid of. Forcing the issue can lead to a spin and bolt, squirting by the object as fast as possible, or even lead to rearing and other evasion tactics. Spending time letting the horse face the object and doing advance and retreat, moving its feet and letting it gradually drift near the object but not forcing it to get closer will get better results.

A horse that is touchy about its feet and legs can really get upset if it gets tangled up in vines, ropes, or a fence. Many serious injuries to legs could be avoided if the horse had been gently and slowly desensitized to a rope touching and retreating around its legs. Leg injuries take a long time to heal and require a lot of intensive doctoring which means time and money.

Cinches loosen after being tightened initially. Getting on a horse without checking the cinch can land one in a pile on the ground, or if they loosen after getting on, can cause a wreck while riding. Saddles under a horse’s belly are not something most horses have been desensitized to, and that can lead to a real rodeo kind of action.

Horses that don’t readily give to pressure can step on leadlines and jerk their heads up so hard that snaps and hardware might break. Or they might get a leg over the leadline and take off. Holding on to a horse’s lead at that point is fruitless. They can drag you and you have no leverage to turn them. You might as well let go at that point. Teach the horse to give to pressure laterally, and down.

Another problem with horses that don’t know how to give to pressure is that they may learn to set back when tied and fight the lead until they break loose or hurt themselves. Teaching them to give to pressure is crucial and also it helps to “tie” them so that if they do have another pulling back moment, they line will feed out gradually instead of breaking or injuring the horse. This works well on a panel fence with a long line looped around a couple of the panel rails. Loop it enough times that it doesn’t come loose too fast but few enough times that it won’t be completely stationery. A twelve foot or longer line will probably be enough to give the horse the space it feels it needs without it coming completely untied.

Girths can break. They often do so at the most inopportune time, such as when your horse is running away with you after being scared by something. Perhaps it is the extra energy they put into the effort to escape that causes the failure of the tack, but it pays to check your equipment and repair or replace any that is worn. It also pays to have taught your horse that the word WHOA means “Stop, Now!”

Once you’ve had some of these things happen to you, it becomes obvious that you should have done something different and you will take steps to see that they don’t happen again. If you haven’t experienced any of these problems yet, you’ve either had great mentors to teach you or you haven’t had a horse for more than a few days and can learn from others’ mistakes.

Bonnie and her husband own Gemara Farm Foxtrotters located in Barnesville, Georgia. They currently have nine fox trotters of their own and practice natural horsemanship with them, and Bonnie coaches others. There are usually some fox trotters available for sale. http://www.gemara.homestead.com

Author: Bonnie Martin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Many people are under the impression that you can just train a horse and that is all you need to do to get your horse to do anything you want. While training is extremely important and proper training will take you a long way with your horse, there is one element that almost always goes unmentioned. If you want to develop a close relationship with your horse, there is no replacement for spending time alone with them. Now, I know that might sound strange but horses need a close bond with their owners to develop a sound trustful relationship. Once you develop this mutual trust, the bond will last forever. Horse trainers/owners spend hundreds of hours working on control but very few know that spending a small amount of leisure time with them can have a dramatic effect on their attitude.

Have you ever gone out to get your horse and they avoid you like the plague? You have to consider how the horse feels when they see you coming towards them. If they feel like you are just going to put them through another torture session, chances are they will not be looking forward to it.

I would like to offer a simple technique that I have learned and I believe this can be beneficial to you as well.

1. Take your horse and put them in their stall or small pen (Example: 8′ x 10′) and take something small for you to sit on like a water bucket turned upside down or a short stool.

2. The quieter the area is, the better.

3. If you have have other horses, put them somewhere else first so the horse you are bonding with can’t see them.

4. Do not take treats, hay, brushes, or any other sort of bribes to get the horse to pay any attention to you. You want them to act voluntarily.

5. Remove the rope and halter and toss it outside the stall where they can’t see it.

6. Take your bucket or stool and set it in the corner of the enclosure and have a seat and just wait.

7. Don’t make eye contact or show any interest in your horse.

8. At first, just ignore them.

9. The horse may ignore you too at first, especially if you had a hard time catching them in the first place.

10. In a short period of time, your horse’s curiosity will get the best of them (typically less than 5 minutes) and you’ll find them wandering over to see what your doing there as this is not your normal behavior.

11. At first, don’t even raise a hand and make sure your posture appears relaxed and non-threatening.

12. Your horse may walk away briefly but don’t worry, they’ll be back (they can’t really leave anyway).

13. Let the horse check you out.

14. If the horse begins to show any signs of aggression, stand on top of the bucket for a moment and look large but remain passive.

15. Once you feel your horse has accepted the situation and feels comfortable, you may slowly raise your hand and pet your horse briefly.

16. You may even find that your horse will turn around and back up to you. As long as this is not aggressive in nature, the horse may acting out of instinct and stand guard as they do to each other when one wants to lay down. This is their protective nature and they all have it in them.

17. After doing this for about 15 minutes, your horse should be really calm and the bonding process will have begun.

18. After the session is complete, show your horse some love by rubbing them and showing your appreciation. You may even go fetch them a little treat, carrot, or apple.

19. Repeat the practice about twice a week while NEVER showing any signs of aggression or control during this period.

20. Your horse will soon realize that just because you’re around them, you not necessarily asking them to do anything but asking for a little mutual trust.

The Bottom Line: If you can spend 30 minutes a week with your horse and develop a trusting bond, then your actual training will be a lot more pleasant for you and the horse and you can avoid any fear the horse might have had without this bonding procedure. There may be a time when something spooks your horse or you end up on the ground (heaven forbid), but it sure would be nice to see that your horse doesn’t run off, but actually comes to you to see what’s wrong. Respect and a little conditioned-response can go a long way in establishing a bond that will last a life time. A happy, un-threatened horse makes horseback riding an extremely pleasurable experience and one you can both enjoy.

Happy Trails!

Sherry Marshburn has been working with horses for over 20 years. She now runs a small ranch, called Paints of Texas Ranch with APHA paints outside of Austin, Texas. We buy,sale, breed and train horses. If you would like to see more article or tips on horses, such as buying, selling, training, or general care, please go to http://www.paintsoftexas.com or e-mail sherry@paintsoftexas.com

Author: Sherry Marshburn
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Spending time with your horse not only enables a close bond to develop between you both, but it also enables you to learn how your horse responds to situations and how they are in themselves. In time you will learn your horse’s body language. A happy horse will generally appear calm and be responsive to you. He will keep a low head, relaxed jaw and have soft eyes. A happy horse will seek affection from you and show respect by not invading your personal space. When a horse yawns this is not a sign of being bored, but a sign that he is calm and relaxed. You can tell by the way a horse holds himself if there is something wrong; a troubled horse will be reluctant to stand still and will hold his head high with a tense jaw and darting eyes. When a horse is anxious, you must let him settle in his own time without trying to force the issue – otherwise he could end up feeling trapped and even more stressed.

Grooming your horse gives you the opportunity to check him over regularly. You should perform regular inspections of your horse’s teeth, eyes, hooves and shoes as well as keeping an eye on his droppings. Any change in the normal should be reported to your vet at the earliest opportunity – any delay could cause you extra worry, expense and a potential claim on your horse insurance. It is also important that your vet has regular worming and vaccination appointments set with you. If you rotate medications you stand a better chance of killing off as many different types of worms and parasites as possible and also giving less time for them to build immunity. Colic, heart and immunity problems can all be caused by lack of suitable medication. It is important that your horse is vaccinated against rhinoneumonitis, influenza and encephalitis. Tetanus and rabies are also advisable, but not essential. If you are a regular with the horse trailers at horse shows etc, your horse may need to show a negative Coggins test, which is for a serious equine virus called equine infectious anaemia (EIA) for which there is no cure or treatment.

Having regular farrier visits is also essential for a happy and comfortable horse. It is important for your horse’s comfort, mood and performance that you do not allow his feet to get too long and unbalanced. Your horse will need his hooves trimmed by a farrier at least every eight weeks; sometimes more often is necessary.

Your horse will need a blanket or coat during the wet and cold winter months and during the summer, a fly protective horse sheet or mask is advisable. If your horse is prone to lathering during or after exercise then it may be best to use a horse cooler until he has calmed down. Drinking water directly after exercise could put a horse’s body into shock. When you have been exercising your horse, allow him to cool down sufficiently before a meal. After eating you should give your horse at least an hour before exercise.

Horses need to have a purpose, whether it is riding, showing, therapy, carriages or dray. Horses love to be needed. It is important for a horse’s sense of purpose and focus that he receives regular praise – especially when young – for performing simple tasks such as simply standing still or in the right place. As horses are naturally inquisitive animals, they will become more brave, positive and confident the more new experiences you introduce to them.

A horse is a beautiful and magnificent creature that deserves a good home for life with excellent care. As a horse owner you have a responsibility to provide the best healthcare possible for your equine companion.

Keeping a horse can be a very expensive business, and without good horse insurance provided by a specialist equine insurer, it is possible to quickly run into financial problems if your horse should become sick or sustain an injury. Providing the very best for your horse will reap you the rewards of love, loyalty and devotion from your equine companion.

Compare or buy AFI Horse Insurance online – Professional Horse and Rider equine insurance specialist. We take your horses insurance seriously

Author: Stephanie Andrew
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The simplest way to form a relationship with your horse is by spending as much time as you can with it. These animals are really smart and they can show plenty of love and even make a bond. In the animal kingdom there are 2 significant animals that are truly faithful to men : horses and dogs. Many legends and stories that have been told across the ages obviously support this claim.

If you want to practice horse care you must make sure your animal is healthy both physically and mentally. as your horse is experimenting well being you are caring for your horse in the right way. Horses are beautiful animals that may leave anyone with their jaws on the floor thanks to their unique properties. Ages gone when horses were wild they groomed for themselves and were very healthy. Today the domesticated horse is extraordinarily conditional on the human for its looks and general well being.

It’s imperative that owner looks out for his horse by feeding, grooming, and exercising it with horse training techniques. All this may be done on a day basis. It all boils down to how much cherish and care the owner expresses for their horse when they take a horse ride. Horses are actually sensitive to expressions of love and love by their master.

You should have a well provided stable for your horse, here is where you will sponge, clean and comb it frequently. Horses seek for the interaction with their master extremely much like the dog does. Spending time with your horse is an absolute must if you like to form a bond with it. Horse boarding stables may be a good option if you don’t have the time.

When you leave a horse alone for too much time it may become actually aggressive and short tempered. You may want to talk to it slowly and lovingly if this is the case, they can reply to this impulse straight away. In brief horses need human love for their well being.