Pony riders use western type bits for a similar reason they use spurs. Bits and spurs are used to draw the horse’s attention to a command from the rider and to get it to respond promptly to that command. You apply pressure thru a bit to a horse’s mouth. You hold that pressure just long […]
Are there any real doubts that horse riding is an skill? It takes experience, interest and the right attitude. You need to not simply love animals but likewise dedicate your daily life their attention. Your horses become equally as crucial to their owner’s lives just as if they were their own family members. If you […]
Stress in horses can cause 1 or 2 health problems, but the good news is that it can be simply spotted and controlled. Stress triggers the release of cortisol, the hormone responsible for ‘fight or flight’ reactions. While this is nature’s defence mechanism at work in natural settings, it can cause disaster in domestic environments. […]
If you’ve been very long time pony person, you most likely have experience with horses that spooked at something they saw, heard or smelt. If you have a lot of young horses, you’ll have had this sort of experience frequently. Some horses are literally capable of facing just about any situation with equanimity, while other […]
Is your horse favouring his front feet? Does he seem to be having problems with flight patterns? How does a ride on him feel presently – comfortable or not? Is he stumbling or tripping over his own feet? What about his attitude, is he exhibiting obvious changes in attitude? And here is the big one: […]
Like with such a lot of things in life, your decision on whether you get a horse like you’ve always wanted to will be affected by economic factors. Can you afford to get a pony, and beyond that, are you able to afford to maintain a pony? It is very hard to give definite answers […]
One of the questions that is asked of me most often in the context of horses is: how often do I wash my horses? My own opinion is that horses could do with a load less washes. I see a bias in horse owners to overdo it. They virtually seem to wash their horses because […]
This article is going to attempt to give the reader a good idea of what the disease laminitis is, and its identified causes. It must be clarified nevertheless , that there’s a lot that’s unknown about this illness. It is understood that laminitis affects old as well as young horses. It affects horses that are […]
Each time the season changes, we deworm our horses. Some pony owners don’t even wait for a change of season. They deworm their horses every month, each week, and often, for a couple of days continuously. I find this a shocking piece of negligence. I presume these horse owners act on the assumption that it’s […]
The white line illness that troubles horse hoofs appears to have become something of an epidemic. White line disease causes corrosion of the inner hoof wall. Unless early action is taken, white line disease builds up until it brings about a full break between the hoof wall and the laminae, which ends in coffin bone […]
