Horse Ownership and Training

  Let’s talk disciplines Why did you get your horse?   There are many different reasons to get a horse.   Some get horses to work on the farm to sort cows and access wooded areas.   Some purchase horses to trail ride and are good with just taking relaxing rides in the woods.   Other people purchase horses to show them.   There are several different disciplines that you can show in at horse shows.   Where I show horses, there are three disciplines that are shown.   There is the English riders, the Western riders, and the contesting riders.   English riders are also called hunt seat.   They wear tight pants called breeches, tall black boots, a white shirt and a suit jacket.   They show halter, rail work, patterns, and even jumping.   Western riders wear fancy clothes and spend lots of money on their clothes and equipment.   They show in halter, rail work, and patterns.   Another Western group is the Ranch riders who wear clothes that you would see on the ranch.   They are more the work

    Now that you have your horse and yourself ready, have you developed that trusting relationship with your horse?   So we have talked about working on the ground to test equipment, but working on the ground also helps develop that relationship with your horse.   Groundwork is essential to establishing boundaries and requiring your horse to respect your space.   When you are training your horse to lead, we think of the space around us as our bubble and the space around the horse as his bubble.   We teach the horse to respect our bubble and stay in his space.   When you are leading a horse, you initially want to start with your arm outstretched to teach the respect of space.   If the horse is in your bubble, they might step on you or push you around.   While working with the horse on the ground, you want to teach him to follow you and comply with your requests.   A halter and a lead rope are used when leading the horse.   You should never turn the horse into you but you should always

  One of the most important things a rider can wear is a helmet.   Helmet safety is essential in every sport.  They provide protection from injury in the event there is an accident or a fall.  Equestrians should follow these guidelines as well.  Wearing a helmet while riding a horse can protect the rider by reducing severity or eliminating the injury completely.  Horseback riding can be a dangerous sport and guidelines should be established to promote safety in horseback riding.  According to the University of Connecticut, “ each year approximately 70,000 people are treated in emergency rooms because of equestrian related activities,” (Riding Helmet Safety, n.d.).  Every rider knows that it is not a matter of if you will fall off, but when you will fall off.  Horses are not only large and fast, but they are decision-making animals of prey with a heightened flight response.  The decision-making instinct in the horse makes horseback riding a risky sport with the potential of unrecoverabl

  My horse is ready but what about me? So you have a horse and most of the equipment that you need to ride but are you ready?   So what you wear depends on where you are riding.   If you are trail riding then you need blue jeans, a shirt, and boots.   Jeans are thick so they protect the rider from getting saddle sore.   Riding in a saddle can cause your legs to chafe from rubbing on the saddle. It is important that you are protected when you ride.   Boots are important to protect your feet not only while riding but while on the ground.   Speaking from personal experience, boots are very important.   One year at the fair, I was giving my horse a bath and he stepped on my foot.   After fair was almost over, my mom took me to the doctor and my foot was broke in three places.   She thought that it was just sore because it was stepped on, but it was worse that sore.   I had survived the entire fair riding my horse and showing my hog with a broken foot.   Could this have been prevented?  

  So you are ready to ride but how do you tell the horse what to do?   Horses follow verbal commands and noises, cues from leg pressure, and by the bit that is in their mouth.   You can use word cues to tell the horse what you want him to do such as whoa to tell them to stop.   Leg pressure is used to tell the horse to turn, slow down, or speed up.   Bits provide a manual way to tell the horse what you want done.   There are several types of bits and each horse reacts differently to each bit.   Some horses need a more severe bit and others will listen to a mild bit.   The bits should not cause the horse pain, but should make the horse realize what the rider is asking.   A bit is attached to a bridle.  The bit is inserted into the horse's mouth and the bridle goes over the horse's ears.  Reins are attached to the bit and are used for controlling the horse.   The bit will apply pressure to the horse’s mouth and help him understand what the rider is asking him to do: turn, stop, g

 Once  the horse is brushed and hooves are clean, you are ready to put the saddle pad on the horse.  This is to protect the horse from the saddle.  It offers additional padding so that the horse is comfortable when the rider mounts.  There are different types of saddle pads that en be purchased depending on what you plan to do with the horse.   Some saddle pads offer shoulder support to keep the saddle from causing too much pressure on the shoulder.   There are shock absorbing saddle pads that absorb some of the shock from the rider so that it is all not on the horses back.   There are fancy pads for showing and there are plain pads for trail rides.   Finding the right pad is important to the horse.   Style can be purchased in every type of pad.   Saddle pads need to fit the horse and the saddle.   The pad should cover the horse’s back and should hang out below, in front, and in back of the saddle.   This keeps the leather of the saddle from rubbing on the horse and causing sores.   In

  Once you have developed some trust with you horse, the next step is brushing the horse.  There are different brushes for different tasks.  A curry comb, is a metal device with serrated edges that is good for getting dried mud and manure off of the horse.  If the mud is really caked on the horse, a bath or spot washing with a bucket might be a better choice than the curry comb because the curry comb could pull clumps of hair out with the mud.   A soft bristle brush is used on his face.  There is a brush for his mane and tail.  It there are burrs and tangles in the mane or tail, using baby oil will help loosen up the burrs or tangles without ripping or cutting them out.   A hard bristle brush can be used on his body.  It is important to use all of these tools each time you plan to ride.  The horse must be clean of mud and manure.  If clumps of dirt are left on the horse, when the saddle is tightened, it could cause the horse pain and make sores on them.  Next you need to make sure the

  So you bought a horse, now what?   You will have to work on a relationship with that horse.   This relationship starts by building trust.   The relationship between the horse and rider is important to the success of riding.   There is more to riding a horse than just putting on a saddle.  Preparing the horse for the ride is just as important as the ride itself.  Establishing a trusting relationship with a horse is essential to a safe ride.  Trust is earned by doing groundwork the horse.  You should never just jump on a horse and ride it.  There should always be some groundwork before you start so that the horse knows that you will take care of it.  If there is not any trust in the relationship, the horse may not tolerate the rider.  So, before you ride a horse, you must start with building trust.  There are several steps to building that trust, which also prepare the horse for riding.  The most important step in building that trust with your horse is spending time with the horse. 

Once the daily essentials are taken care of, you have other expenses for your horse.   You will need a dry place to store the feed, supplements, and hay.   This can be done in a barn or shed.   You must make sure that the grain and hay are kept dry and free of mold.   Mold can be detrimental to a horse’s health.   You will need pans for them to eat out of and a watering trough, to keep water available at all times.   Horses love attention and one way to start building trust with your horse is through grooming.   There are several grooming tools that can be used.   A curry comb is good for shedding and getting mud and manure off of your horse.   There are soft bristle brushes for their face.   A hard bristle brush is used for their body.   A mane and tail comb and brush are used for their mane and tail.   A hoof pick is needed to make sure there are not rocks in their hoofs and to keep them clean.   You will need lead ropes and halters to catch and lead the horse.   If riding is in you

  When first making the decision to own a horse or ride a horse, you need to understand the work, effort, and expenses that result from working with horses.   For some, the cost of the horse purchase may be something easy to handle, but all the other expenses that come from horse ownership can be overwhelming.   Owning a horse is not a decision to be made lightly.   You must understand that horses are much like people with all of the required care that goes into horse ownership.   First there needs to be adequate pasture and shelter for the horse.   The next monthly expense is feed.   Depending on the pasture and growth of the grass, it may be necessary to supplement hay all year round to allow the horse adequate roughage.   Horses are grazing animals, so they eat grass and/or hay all day long.   This can get expensive if there is not enough grass to support the horse. Supplements may be necessary for your horse as well.   Just as we take vitamins and minerals, horses may need suppleme