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.

Everything started to boil up in January 20 of the year 1917 when the delegates from various horse shows set up a meeting in New York City. The council was then governed by Reginald C. Vanderbilt. The council’s main goal was to unify all horse shows and to conduct clean competitions inside the horse show ring. They then solidified the organization under the banner of the Association of American Horse Shows and upon its initial meeting in the year 1918; exemplary organizers of the twenty six prestigious horse shows were all present. By the year 1924, the then twenty six horse show members increased to sixty seven.

By February 1933, its original name of Association of American Horse Shows, Inc. was altered to a new one, the American Horse Shows Association, Inc. It was in 2003 that the United States Equestrian Team merged with the United States of America Equestrian to form a new national governing body and the name United States Equestrian Federation or USEF came into being.

It is the USEF that provides an all out support to all equestrian sportspersons, establishes a clear future for all equestrians, and endorses international excellence in the horse sports field.

The United States Equestrian Federation or USEF formerly bore the name of American Horse Shows Association. USEF is the national foremost institution which handles the equestrian sports that there are in the United States. Among those equestrian sports which the Untied States Equestrian Federation administers include the eventing, dressage driving, hunt seat equitation, endurance riding, hunting, jumping, roadster, paralympic, reigning, vaulting, saddle seat equitation, trail, western equitation, and several other related equestrian events.

The job scope of the USEF is so vast that it is a recognized governing body in equestrian related activities. The following are the job functions and scope of USEF.

The breed shows such as the Lusitano, Andalusian, Arabian, Anglo-Arabian, half-Arabian, Friesian, Connemara, Hackney, American Saddlebred, Morgan, Paso Fino, National Show Horse, Shetland, and the Welsh breeds that are practically conducted in the whole of the Untied States are all governed by none other that the United States Equestrian Federation.

It is also the task of the United States Equestrian Federation to closely monitor the yearly points earned by the competitors in the horse shows and other related events. The points are actually accrued by the individual horse shows all throughout the year. USEF then renders special awards to the winners and their merits are based on the accumulated points. The points are summed up at the end of every year. The horse shows which are under the wings of the United States Equestrian Federation are rated with AA, A, B, or C ratings. The shows that earn the AA ratings are those which are considered to be the most prominent ones in the country and big prizes come at stake too. However, those shows which are rated with a C are those called local horse shows and of course, a lesser amount of money is specified for a prize.

The other governing organizations that work hand in hand with USEF are the United States Hunter/Jumper Association or USHJA, the United States Dressage Federation or USDF, and the United States Eventing Association or USEA. All of the competitions which are spearheaded by the abovementioned governing organizations are ruled by the bylaws set by USEF itself.

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What on earth is the world coming to when a prominent horseman is questioned about neglect of his horses??  It is incomprehensible to me that anyone can treat horses in that way, let alone any animal whether as a pet or not!  These people need to be ………!

Anyway, if you want to know more click here

Proper nutrition helps your horse grow the best possible hooves. Just like people, some horses naturally have better hooves than others do. Your horse may have great feet but if he does not the following information may help:

Grass and hay is the simple way.

Free choice grass-hay diet is as simple as it gets but the most beneficial for the horse. Horses that are moderately worked and exercised can get all their energy needs from free choice pasture or good quality hay.

Many nutrients are found in the ‘free range’ choice, such as zinc, sulphur, copper, phosphorus, calcium and more. If your horse has free-range access to grazing the horse will get all the nutrients it needs to grow healthy strong hooves.

Many horses do not have free-range access and if this is the case with your horse, you may want to supplement the horses’ feed with biotin. It contains all the nutrients your horse needs to grow strong healthy hooves. Most horses will benefit from this supplement. It is important to use this supplement for at least six months to a year. Because that is how long it will take for you to be able to see any of the benefits in new hoof growth.

Horses that work hard, such as endurance racing, sports, etc. may need a higher level of energy. You may want to fine-tune his diet with more protein and fibre. With any change in feed rations, it should be gradual; the rule of thumb is a 10% exchange over 4-7 weeks. Ask your veterinarian what the best feeding program for your horse’s nutritional needs.

Give your horse consistent exercise. Work on good surfaces, especially at walk and trot, which increases circulation to your horse’s hooves and promotes health and growth.

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I had an email a while back to ask me to provide information about horseback riding for seniors, so having found this article today, I thought I would bring it to your attention. A four-week recreational horseback riding session, will be offered April 3, 10, 24 and May 1 by the Horses of Hope Riding Center, rural Baxter Springs.

To find out more then click here




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That’s the message from the British Horse Society and with the continual rise in running costs,  the large increase in horses at sancturaries and taken to horse refuges, there’s never been a more important time to ask horse owners to consider whether now is the right time to breed.  With over 1.35m horses in the UK, the BHS has released a statement we should all take to heart. 

Read their statement here

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Wow!  This is very interesting.  There is apparently new evidence to suggest horses were domesticated over a 1,000 years earlier than first believed to be the case.

It’s amazing what science and archaeology can uncover these days - and I have problems working out what I did 20 years ago!

This is a fascinating article which you can read here