All horses, regardless of when they were actually born, are considered to have a common birthday of January 1. This is one of the reasons most horsemen don’t like their foals to be born late in the year: Even if a foal is born on December 31st he or she will have their first birthday the very next day.

So there’s your answer, we are all celebrating our horse’s birthday on 1st January regardless - assuming we don’t have a hangover of course!

Yes, an intriguing story and nothing to do with illusionist David Copperfield.    You can find out all about it here

Sunday, May 24, a group of trail riders set off from Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena.  During the ride, Lilly (pictured), a 5-year-old buckskin mare, slipped and lost her footing.  Her owner, Leslie Boyle, fell — and Lilly ran off.  So were is she?

Find out the full story and see her picture here

No one can have missed all the press about the breakup of Jordan and Peter.  Jordan has plunged into black moods since Peter, 36, dumped her after she was snapped flaunting her chest and flirting with horse-riding coach Andrew Gould.  Well, she was always know for her love of horses, but not necessarily for her association with her horse-riding coach.

Read the full story here

There is a major problem worldwide about what to do with unwanted horses and really there are just four options

The best remaining options for unwanted horses include:

1. Market the horse privately through websites, riding stables and barns, feed and tack stores, local and regional horse magazines and publications, veterinarians and farriers, horse shows and organizations.

2. Take the horse to a rescue organization.

3. Sale barns can provide an outlet for horse sales, but owners have little control over who buys the horse, where it will go or its selling price.

4. Euthanasia can be a difficult decision but a better alternative than neglect or prolonged suffering.

One of the primary factors contributing to unwanted horses is the lack of education people have about taking care of the animals or knowing about the costs and responsibilities of taking care of a horse before they get one.

So if you are undecided as to whether you want to buy your own horse, think carefully, research waht it will cost and more importantly if you have the time and funds to look after your horse once you’ve bought him or her!

Barrel Horse Training

Barrel horses are mostly stubborn, ringy, and they hardly listen to their riders. Because of this, many horse trainers have second thoughts in training them. If you were given a chance to train barrel horses, will you take up the challenge?

Well trained barrel horses have a cutting edge, ready to run barrels, and most especially, they have high energies. However, there is no reason for you to treat barrel horses like machines. Treating animals kindly is very important and there should be no room for cruelty.

You don’t need to train your horse to run barrels everyday. During the training, why don’t you try doing other things like trail rides? Taking your horse out for a ride, doing nothing and just having fun is an excellent training tool as well. By spending a fun time with your horse, your animal friend will be reassured that his life is not just about barrel racing; and that he can do fun things as well. This is another good way of using up your horses extra energy.

Consider putting yourself in your horse’s place. If you are required to work everyday, you will soon feel bored and exhausted. You will end up stressed out. The same thing happens to your horse. If you work him out everyday, he will eventually feel upset and uninterested.

During training, you need to train your horse to jump on the barrels. When you notice that your horse is tired, take him in front of the barrel and stop. Just stand and rest in front of the barrel. This gives your horse time to look around. He can explore the rest of the arena without actually running around. This breaks up the pattern of just running and jumping all day long.

As a horse trainer, you should learn a lot about your horse. You need to treat him as a friend. Every day, when you go out training, make your horse feel that he’s still your friend; spend time together without actually working out the lessons.   

Before starting out the training sessions, make sure that you know a great deal about the barrel horses. You can read books, magazines, or other online resources. You must be aware that in order to become a good trainer, you must continue learning. By working with your horses, you will also learn a lot of things from him. Always keep in mind that horses should be treated kindly. You can’t get him to follow you by constant whipping or hitting. Being cruel to horses and other animals are punishable by law. As a trainer, you should have patience whether you’re handling your own horse or that of others. Make sure that the horse will not encounter any injury during the training sessions.

All the equipments you’ll need in barrel horse training should be ready. Make the environment an ideal place to learn for the horse. Bonding is usually the first step to training the horse. When your horse is already comfortable with you around, you can now introduce the lessons. Training your horse takes time and you need to invest a lot of energy, time, and effort. By being patient and determined, you can train your horse to become one of the best barrel horses ever.

Good luck with your training. Soon, you will see your horses competing in the various barrel events.

I am sorry not to have mde a post for a while, but I have had to look after my family.  But hopefully things are back to normal, that is until I read this article about 74 dead horses being found at a ranch.  That was the bad news.  The good news is that 211 have been saved.

Read the full story here

I was reading and interesting article all about horses hooves today and I thought it would make a good topic for today’s blog entry. All too often we give them a cursory once over with the hoof-pick and that’s that. But bearing in mind that they should be given much more attention than that I thought the advice given in this article to be priceless.

It said that if you are proactive daily taking regular care and most importantly observing and taking in the state os the hoof, then you’ll notice the subtle changes taking place before clinical symptoms, and more serious problems, develop.

And what could be more true. So do it now - it’s never too late.

If you want a good book on horse’s hooves, then I have one you can download straight away.

Check it out here

In horse training, it is not a good idea to use force. Even if the horse will follow you, it is not a reliable move. There isn’t one ‘best’ training approach. As mentioned earlier, horses are unique animals and you must identify the best approach that suits the horse’s personality. Some of the famous horsemanship masters known today are Pat Parelli, Dennis Reis, Buck Brannaman, Tom Dorrance, and Ray Hunt.

Good horse trainers don’t just concentrate on one training technique; they strive to learn as many horse techniques so that they can choose the appropriate approach for each horse they train. If one of the famous horse training masters visits your area, why don’t you check them out? It’s an opportunity that you shouldn’t miss.

It’s natural to make mistakes especially if you’re a beginner. If you make mistakes, don’t be ashamed and instead, learn from it. Trainers handling troubled horses need a lot of patience and determination if they want to be successful in the training program. This type of horses is difficult to handle and if you’re not careful, you could get hurt. If there are troubled horses, then you can also find horses that learn easily. Again, find the best approach that you can use in the training program.

Horse training definitely involves using your common sense. Without it, you may be in trouble. Even the great masters started out as beginners. Learn everything you can about horse training. Handle the horses properly and earn their respect and trust. This ensures a smooth training program.

When you’re into horse training, you need to find the best approach suitable to your horse. Some approaches work better than others and it all depends on the horse’s learning capacity. The learning pace of each horse varies; some learn faster than others and there are also those who are too stubborn to learn. Studying your horse’s personality is vital so that you can choose the best approach to use.

Beginners are advised to seek the help of professional trainers if they have doubts as to their abilities as a horse trainer. In order to be an effective horse trainer, you should be creative, a thinker, and most of all, use your common sense.

Horses are herd animals. If you try to observe a herd of horses, they usually eat all throughout the day, groom, and sleep; challenge one another to gain position in the herd, and play. It is important that you study the behavior of the herd so that you can incorporate the knowledge you’ve gained into the horse’s training program. Since each horse is unique, you will need to devise a training program suited to its ability or personality.

Most people think that a stallion leads the herd but they are wrong. In fact, a mare serves as the herd’s leader. It is the duty of the stallion to inform the herd when there is danger or when there’s a threat of marauding stallions. The mare leader on the other hand decides when it’s time to eat, the place where they can eat, and discipline other horses who are at fault. The whole herd respects the mare and supports her decisions; the herd also trusts their lives to the mare. So you see, in the training program, you should act as the mare herd leader. You must be able to win your horse’s respect, trust, and support.