Final blog.

Hey guys I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! I also hope this blog gave you a new perspective on horse back ridding, and you've learnt allot of new horse facts! Writing this blog has been allot of fun. I hope you found it very useful and interesting. Thanks for reading!
-Katelyn Samson

Riding during the winter

When you're riding during the winter there are a few thing you should keep in mind. First of all, when it's cold out horses usually tend to be more energetic and hyper. Therefore if you're used to using a crop or spurs they may not be needed on cold winter days. Also when it's cold and snowing out you should always be wide awake while ridding. There could be patches or ice on the roof that could fall off randomly and spook your horse, therefore, you always have to ready for anything. Secondly, during the winter you have to be sure to warm up your horse well, he/she will be cold and stiff. Therefore, it's very important that you take at least 30 minutes to loosen up his/her muscles and get his/her blood flowing before you start jumping or doing other difficult exercises. Thirdly, after you've ridden your horse he/she is going to be hot from being worked, therefore, once you've taken his saddle off it's very important that you put on his/her winter blanket as soon as possible. Otherwise your horse could get catch pneumonia or become very sick. Also during the winter you shouldn't leave your horse outside for very long. If you put your horse out check on him/her every so often since there are most likely going to be ice patches on the ground and if your horse if running he/she could slip on them and injure themselves.

Horse back ridding in the summer

When you're riding on hot summer days there are a few things you should keep in mind. First of all, before you go for a ride during the summer you should always put fly spray on your horse; either spray it directly on your horse or spray some onto a cloth and rub it on your horse if he/she doesn't like sprays. The reason you should always put fly spray on your horse in the summer is because it's during the summer when all the flies and bugs are out and about. Flies, horse flies, horse bees and other bugs will bite your horse during your ride and could get your horse very annoyed which would result in a very unpleasant ride. You can buy fly spray at your local tack store or simply make you own!

1. 

   Things You'll Need:

   • 4 oz Avon Skin So Soft
   • 1 oz Citronella Oil
   • 12 oz Vinegar (white or apple cider will do)
   • 12 oz Water
   • Spray bottle

   Mix all ingredients in spray bottle and shake gently to combine. Now you're ready to use it!(http://www.ehow.com/how_2090046_horse-fly-spray.html)

   Secondly, don't over work you're horse when it's hot and humid. This evidently wouldn't be good for him/her and he/she could get a heat stroke. Don't stay out in the sun for longer then an hour. If you're cantering and jumping be sure to give your horse a break regularly to catch his/her breath. Also when you're done riding ALWAYS cool down your horse. You should never put a hot sweaty horse into his/her stall!

   Finally, when you're finished riding sponge off your horse where he's sweating the most, generally the saddle area and where the bridle was sitting behind his ears. You could also just bathe your horse if he's very hot and sweaty.

Western ridding or equestrian ridding?

If you’re looking to get in shape and work hard. Then equestrian ridding is for you! As far as I'm concerned equestrian ridding is allot better then western ridding and I’ll tell you why:
Equestrian riding is more exercise compared to western. Show jumping is more exercise compared to barrel racing. Jumping requires a great amount of balance and coordination. When jumping you have to carry your horse over the fences using your muscles to get him to jump up and over the fences. A show jumping course takes about 2 minutes to complete, which requires a lot of leg and stomach muscles since they have to remain tight. You and your horse have to equally work hard in order to jump well. Barrel racing is simply steering your horse around two barrels, the horse does the majority of the work; you don’t have to be balanced because western saddles have a horn to hold on to. Barrel racing only takes about 20 seconds so you aren’t on your horse as long. Second of all, in equestrian riding you have to keep heels down at all times while riding where as in western you don’t have to do that. Keeping your heels down for a long period of time is hard on your calf muscles. So therefore it will make them stronger. Finally, Equestrian riding requires more muscle strength. Equestrian riding requires the rider to post in the trot and steer the horse with both legs and hands. Posture is very important in shows, where as western riding is done entirely in sitting trot (no rising) and the horse is steered by the reins which are held in only one hand.

Equestrian riding requires more strategy and intelligence as opposed to western riding. First of all, Equestrian riding requires a lot of memorization of courses for shows compared to western which is simply doing different gates. For show jumping you have to memorize up to 18 jumps and calculate the distance between each jump to get the right strides going into the fence. Also you have to make sure you make your turns correctly so you have enough time to get correct footing to the following jump. Also in dressage you have to memorize your test. If you go in the wrong direction or don’t do the proper transitions you will be disqualified, so memorization is very important. For western shows, reining and roping you simply have to be able to walk trot and canter you horse. There is no memorization involved. Second of all, Equestrian riding requires hand eye and leg coordination, where western riding is simply sitting and using your legs. When your riding equestrian you have to look where you going to let the horse know where to go while using your right rein to steer (right hand) your left rein to control the pass/energy (left hand), your right leg to create energy and your left leg to keep him bending in the correct position and to prevent his butt from turning out. All of these things must be used at the same time to work effectively. Western riders simply have to use both their legs to create the horses’ energy and use both reins to stop the horse (by pulling back on the reins).
If your want to start ridding but not sure what types is best for you, you should definitely try equestrian ridding, it's fun, allot of exercise and will help you develop good hard working habits.

Why I love horse back ridding!

I love horseback riding for many reasons. First of all, horseback riding is a great form of fitness. For you to perform well in competition, both you and your horse need to be in the best physical condition. Since you are sitting on your horses back for a long period of time you have to be well fit and thin to make his job as easy for him as possible. Knowing this will encourage you to stay fit and exercise frequently. Also Studies have shown (www.wikihow.com) “Novice riders who ride once a week will begin to develop the correct muscles and suppleness”. Riders will maintain fitness by riding frequently. Riding may appear to be easy but it actually requires a lot of work. It will improve leg and arm strength as those are the parts of the body used the most while riding. These muscles are what controls the horse. Horseback riding will also improve stomach muscles since it requires a great amount of balance, which requires your stomach muscles to remain tight. Second of all, horseback riding is a good bonding experience. Bonding with your horse is very important. Without a good bond between you and your horse, you will find that you’re limited as to what you can do together. You must communicate with your horse in a way he/she will understand, giving him/her treats when he/she’s good, giving him/her praise and patting his/her neck after a good jump, brushing him/her etc...These things will show your horse you respect him/her and he/she will respect you in return. When you have developed a good bond with your horse he/she will depend on you, allow you to ride him/her and he will be your best friend. With a good bond you will develop trust. You have to trust your horse and he/she will trust you in return. Horseback riding is a dangerous sport whether you’re jumping 6 ft fences, racing or simply barrel racing, you’re putting you and your horse at high risk of possibly getting injured if something were to go wrong. This is why it’s very important to have trust and confidence in one another. Finally horseback riding is a fun activity. Horseback riding lessons are often done in groups, therefore you will get the chance to meet new people and make new friends. You will be able to do your everyday barn chores with friends such as trail riding, grooming, mucking etc… Doing these things in groups will make them more interesting and fun, since you will be able to socialize while doing them. There are many games played on horseback, such as polo. Polo is a team sport played on horseback, the objective of the game is to score goals against an opposing team. Polo requires two teams of four. The game is played with a small ball made of leather, the ball looks similar to a small football. The players hit the ball using a stick with a long thick handle and a head like a hammer. The game requires a fast flexible horse to allow you to get the ball and get points as quickly as possible. Your horse is constantly running up and down the field following the ball, to allow you to hit it and get it into the net.

What to do if your horse becomes lame

There are many things that can make a horse lame. If your horse gets a severe or even minor injury he/she could go lame. If for instance your horse breaks his/her leg, injures their hoof, gets sick or breaks/hurts another bone on their body, they could also become lame. When a horse goes lame it means that the horse isn’t able to do what they were used to do. You're horse's injury could get better and he/she could go back to being normal or he/she could stay lame forever. It all depends on the horse's injury; some injuries can be healed while others will never get better no matter what you do to help them. If you think your horse is lame, you want to make sure you still go out and visit him as often as you usually would. You probably shouldn’t ride him or make him work too hard, because that could make the injury worse. You should walk you horse around a lot with a lead rope to so that he still gets some exercise, and gradually makes his leg (or whatever is injured) stronger and maybe healed. Also you should gradually make your horse do different gates. This will help work the problem area and make it less severe. If your horse is lame, you should apply ointment to his injury often: this will help with the pain and will also help the healing process.

Horse markings

There are a few different types of horse markings. Horses of the same breed generally look identical. But there are a few ways you may be able to distinguish them. Some horses have markings such as stars, stripes, white face, blaze, and snip. These markings are usually white no matter what the colour of the horse may be.

Stars are always found somewhere on the horses forehead. They can be big or small. The reason there called stars is because they're a patch of white hair in the shape of a star.

Stars look like this:

Stripes are found on the horses face. They are a single line that goes from just below the horses forehead to his/her nose, a stripe is always thin.

This is what a strip looks like:

A blaze is also a strip that goes down the horses face starting from the horse's forehead. The blaze is similar to the strip but is a bit thicker and longer, unlike the strip, the blaze covers the horse's nose as well.

The blaze looks like this:

A snip is similar to a star but is found on the horse's nose. It's a little patch of hair in the shape of a circle, diamond or star on the horses nose.

This is what a snip looks like:

Socks are found on the horses legs and are either long or short. They look similar to socks (that’s how they got their name). Socks can go from the horse’s ankle to their hoof. Socks can be on either one, two, three or all of the horses legs.

This is what a sock looks like: