Britain’s smallest horse
A pony so tiny her owner can pick her up in her arms is laying claim to the title of Britain’s smallest horse . To read the full story click here
Britain
Different Elements of a Saddle
Let’s get straight down with the various components that make up a saddle and what to look for.
• Seat: Remember, you want a saddle that will allow you to sit the stop. First of all the seat of the saddle should lay close to the horse’s back. The closer you can get to the horse the better. Anything more than a couple inches above the back is too high.
Also, the lowest part of the seat should be the “middle” of the seat. This low part is called the “pocket”. If the pocket is too far back you’ll be forced against the cantle. Too far forward and you’ll slide up on the swells.
Beware of too small a seat. You need enough room to slide forward and back a little. The average size woman usually needs a 16″ to 16 ½” seat. The average man, 16″ to 17″. Also, I personally like a seat that is built up in front. This gives a more secure ride. However, the pocket should still be in the middle of the seat.
• Horn and swells: In reining your rein hand needs to be able to move unobstructed. Too high a horn or swells will get in the way. I’d want the horn no higher than 3″. And the swells no higher than 7″. I also like the horn to be small in diameter. In a cutting saddle, I like the swells to be a little higher, around 8″. And the horn to be tilted a little forward. Actually, here on the west coast, a lot of folks will show their reiners in a cutting saddle.
• Stirrup Leathers: This is one of the most critical parts of the saddle, yet the most overlooked. You want the stirrup leathers hung as far forward as possible. Ideally right behind the swells.
The reason is simple. To be able to stay balanced on a horse that stops and turns hard, you’ve got to sit down in the saddle. I mean way down. If the stirrup leathers are hung too far back, your feet will be behind your center of gravity and cause you to fall forward.
The result will be a loss of your balance which causes the horse to come out of the stop. Also the stirrup leathers and fenders should be made of fairly thin, flexible leather. For precise leg cues, you don’t want a lot of bulk between your leg and the horse.
• Cantle: Don’t buy one of those buckaroo saddles with an 6″ high cantle. It’ll hit you in the back. Quite a few of the “trail” saddles also have a steep, high cantle. Stay away from them.
• Rigging: How your saddle is rigged is extremely important. And no compromise on rigging should ever be made when choosing a saddle. The saddle you want should have a Full-Double rigging.
Some horses might be ok with a 7/8 rigging but never, ever buy a saddle that is ¾ or center-fire rigged. Saddles that are rigged with less than the “full double” rigging will slide too far forward on the horse’s back.
Look at the way a horse is built. The narrowest part of his underline is right behind the front legs (girth). This is where the cinch automatically wants to go.
If a saddle with a ¾ rigging is placed in the correct position on a horse’s back, the position of the cinch will be back towards the horse’s belly. It will just naturally migrate forward to the horse’s girth, taking the saddle forward with it.
I also prefer the rigging Dee to be either in-skirt or dropped 3 or 4 inches below the swells (called a dropped rigging). This allows for the tree to pull down more evenly on the horse’s back. Both will be less bulky and give you closer contact with your horse, too.
• Tree: Make sure the tree fits your horse’s back. If it’s too narrow or too wide your horse won’t be comfortable. Double check to be sure there is enough clearance between the horse’s withers and the gullet (a minimum of 1″).
A big problem with a lot of saddle trees, is that the bars don’t have enough curve to fit the horse’s back. If your horse is a little sway-backed and the saddle tree is real straight, your horse is going to get a sore back.
When in doubt about a saddle, have a knowledgeable trainer take a look at how it fits your horse. His opinion might save you and your horse some grief.
Frightened race horse flips and kills rider
An exercise horse-rider died Sunday when the horse he was taking for a walk became startled for no apparent reason, reared up and landed on him at Golden Gate Fields, racetrack officials said.
Ignacio Ramirez, a 58-year-old who went by the nickname Nacho, was a 30-year veteran at Golden Gate Fields and appeared to die almost instantly, according to Robert Hartman, general manager of the track.
To read the full story click here
Pigeon fever takes toll on local horses
For several weeks, Cherie Conner of Estacada has spent four hours each day treating abscesses along the chest and belly of her gelding quarter horse afflicted with a rampant bacterial infection called pigeon fever. Her horse first exhibited symptoms three weeks ago.
“I haven’t a clue how he got it,” Conner said. “The lady that feeds him noticed a bump on his chest that was really rock hard. He never had a fever, but he has had seven abscesses break open on his stomach.”
Dr. Shakyra Rosario, a new veterinarian at Eagle Fern Equine Hospital, said her office has received reports of at least 60 horses in Estacada this fall with pigeon fever.
Read the full article here
Read the latest Newsletter about horse’s skin and what it tells you by clicking here
A Minature Horse Helps The Elderly
Maggie is a visiting therapy horse who, along with her owner, Nancy LeBaron-Kiley, 55, of Conant St. in Danvers, makes frequent visits to nursing homes and facilities for the elderly, disabled, and the deaf and blind. Each year they visit the retirement community, Brooksby Village, in Peabody, the Beverly Home for the Deaf, The Beverly School for the Deaf, and many others, sometimes even going to New Hampshire. They also walk to raise money for different charities such as the Arthritis Society, with Maggie wearing a small bucket around her neck for donations.
At only 33-inches tall, the 4-year-old grey and white pinto horse can walk around these facilities greeting patients and guests in need of a furry friend
Your Horse’s Teeth
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The teeth of the horse are divided into two main
groups:—
(1) Molars or grinding teeth.
(2) Incisors or biting teeth.
There are also the tushes or canine teeth, which are two in number on each jaw and would appear to be of no use in the horse. Tushes are usually entirely absent in mares, and in geldings are cut at about four and a half years old. They occupy a position between the incisors and the molars.
Between the tushes and the molars is a space without teeth, and this part of the mouth is known as the bar and is the part where the bit rests.
There are twelve molars or grinders in each jaw, and these teeth perform the work of grinding the food and are of great importance to digestion. Anything wrong with these teeth impedes not only digestion but also affects the condition and disposition of the horse.
Horse’s Teeth
Having told you about my friend Jonathan, the Equine Dentist, I thought it might be helpful to tell you a little about horse’s teeth.
A normal adult horse has a minimum of 36 teeth. It may also have up to four wolf teeth and/or canines. Of these, there are six upper and six lower incisors, which are used for tearing grass and other forage. On each side of both jaws, it has three pre-molars and three permanent molars (cheek teeth), which it uses for grinding food. The grinding surfaces of these cheek teeth are called tables. They are not horizontal though, but tilt downwards and outwards at 10-15 degrees. The upper jaw is about 25% wider than the lower jaw, which moves in a circular motion, bringing the cheek teeth tables into contact.
By the time a horse is five years old all it’s teeth should normally be through and the gums should be a healthy pink colour with no bruising.
Horse’s teeth and much more are topics of the 140 page book “Looking After Your Horse” itself part of my mega pack of books which include my “Introduction to Horseback Riding”, “Grooming Guide”, “How to stay safe Horseback Riding” and much, much more. Check out what this package includes here
Tetanus Death Review Findings
You won’t want to miss this report if you own your own horse. Believe it or not, young horses are more susceptible to the dangers of tetanus than older ones.
Read the full bulletin here
Get Off Your High Horse!
Did you know that this expression dates back to the 14th century? John Wyclif records that in a royal pageant persons of high rank were mounted on “high horses”, meaning that they rode the so-called great horses, or heavy chargers used in battle or tournament. The custom died, but the expression remains. “To ride the high horse” means to affect arrogance or superiority, to act pretentiously, so get off your high horse means stop being arrogant or pretentious.
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Do you know the origin of this well known phrase or saying? Well, as you probably know, it means “don’t be ungrateful when you receive a present”.
As horses age their teeth begin to project further forward each year and so their age can be estimated by checking how prominent the teeth are. This incidentally is also the source of another teeth/age related phrase – “long in the tooth”.
The advice given in the ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ proverb is: when given a present, be grateful for your good fortune and don’t look for more by examining it to assess its value.
As with most proverbs the origin is ancient and unknown. We have some clues with this one however. The phrase was originally “don’t look a given horse in the mouth” and first appears in print in 1546 in Heywood’s “A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tonguewhere he gives it as “No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth
Heywood is an interesting character in the development of English. He was employed at the courts of Henry VIII and Mary I as a singer, musician, and playwright. His Proverbs is a comprehensive collection of those known at the time and includes many that are still with
- Many hands make light work.
- Rome wasn’t built in a day.
- A good beginning makes a good ending
and so on.
These were expressed in the literary language of the day, as in “would yee both eat your cake, and have your cake?”, but the modern versions are their obvious descendents
So now you know! But if you have a better explanation, please send it to me (info@anyhorseback riding.com)
