Horses fears

Most loud noises will scare a horse. One of the biggest fears of a horse is cars, since cars can be very loud and they are moving. So if you are in a car and see someone on a horse or in a carriage please SLOW DOWN, because if the horse tries to run away they could hurt a person or themselves. My horse Lily does not like roads at all, when ever we are near the road she rather wants to run across the road or not cross at all. She has had some bad experiences with cars, one day she got loose and went near the road a car stopped in the road and Lily who is curious about everything stuck her head in the opened car window, why the people opened their window is still a question I am asking. So then when she stuck her head in the window the people in the car got scared and speed away. So Lily got hit in the head by the car and got scared of the car going really fast. So thanks to those people I now have retrain Lily to get used to cars and the road. 
Some other things horses may be scared of getting on trailers, walking on bridges, clippers, blankets, injections, feet handling, walking in water, and there are a lot more. One of the biggest ways people help train horses to over come their fears is to make them walk over a tarp, since it is loud when they walk over it and does not look like the ground. People also may put a tarp over the horse. Horses may have a lot of fears but then can get rid of their fears if they are trained to, it may take some time but it is worth it to have a calm horse than to have a scared horse.

 

My Horses and farm

Duke (right) and Duchess (left)

 I live on a dairy farm with my parents and 2 sisters. We milk about 30 cows, have about 20 heifers, 2 sheep, 2 pigs, 2 horses, 3 dogs, 40 chickens, and too many cats. I own some of the cows and heifers because I used to show cows and after I'd show a cow I would then own her. We do not have any bulls on the farm unless they are newborn calves, but we sell them shortly after they are born. My family shares the dogs, sheep, pigs, and cats. I own the two horses, their names are Lady and Lily. Lily is Lady's daughter, Lily was born March 11, 2012 so she has just recently turned a yearling. Lady is about 12 years old, and has had 3 other foals, which I do not own. Lily is about half Appaloosa (which is my favorite type of horse) and truthfully I do not know what the other half is, since I do not know what her mother is. I also do not know who Lily's father was because I bought Lady when she was already pregnant. I used to own  2 Clydesdale's, their names were Duke and Duchess and they were half brother and sister. When I got them they were in their mid 20's so they were very old. So I owned them for about 10 years then they pasted away. So now I just have Lily and Lady and I hope to get more horses.

My Farm

    

What to do in a training session

 When you are training your horse you should have some sort of schedule every day such as:

1. Warm up (long trotting) for about 10 minutes
2. Review work, do something you have already worked on and something your horse knows, for 10 minutes.
3. Break, let your horse stretch, blow ( exhaling gently or forcefully though their nose) and relax, for 2 minutes.
4. New work, something your horse does not know or something that your horse is in the process of learning, for about 15 minutes.
5. Break for 3 minutes ( have a little longer break after your horse has done harder stuff). 
6. Review work, go back to something your horse knows very well and enjoys, for 10 minutes.
7. Cool down ( some long trotting and walking on a loose rein) for 10 minutes.   

It is easier on the horse when you break the sessions down like this and it is very important to let your horse have a break, especially on a hot day give them some time to get a drink. A horse should feel comfortable when they are training so the sessions are more enjoyable, and the horse looks forward to training instead of hatting it and never wanting to train.

When I train my horse Lily I usually make sure she gets a drink if she wants one, then we usually go out to a field and I run with her then walk. Then lately I have been making her jump over logs and go around barrels that I have set up in the field. She is good most of the time, but sometimes she refuses to go over a certain log, I don't know why. But since it is still winter I don't do too much work with her so she does not get too cold, and on days when the weather is bad I don't work with her, but of coarse she does need a break sometimes. 

Training Sessions

Lengths of a training session:

• Foal: train them for about 15 minutes and do this for about 5 times per week. Since they are still young they should not be gone from their mothers for too long.

• Weanling: train for about 30 minutes and do this 5 times per week. Obviously they are a little older so they should spend a little more time training with you.

• Yearling: train for about 30-60 minutes, and train them 3-5 times per week. Since they are only a year old they should spend more time with you and getting used to you, but you don't want to work them too hard so if they are training for 60 minutes only train them 3 times per week.

• 2- year old: train them for about 60 minutes, and do this about 4- 6 times per week. Your horse should definitely not rely on their mother any more, and their training should get more serious. 

• 3- year old: training is up to 90 minutes, and train them for about 4-6 times per week.

• 4- year old: train them for up to 2 hours and keep on training them about 4- 6 times per week.

• 5 to 20- year old: training could be up to 1- 4 hours, do this 2- 6 times per week

Training sessions with Lily: My own experiences with training my filly, Lily, have not been quite so easy.  Lily is kind of a little brat, some people would call her "spirited"!  I always have to be on my toes when I enter her stall, watching for a fast moving foot or a horse butt aimed in my direction.  I never can be sure when she turns around if she wants to be scratched or she is aiming a hoof at my knee!  As for training her for 30 to 60 minutes, I don't think it is possible. Her attention span is much too short to expect her to do what the books say she should do. When she doesn't want to work, she can be as stubborn as a mule.  Her first birthday was yesterday and I am waiting for some better behavior.  If she would just stop biting and kicking the heifers she is corralled with both my Dad and I would be happier! She is very good at bossing the heifers around even though they are all twice her size, I guess it is because a cow can't bite back! She has let the heifers out on more than one occasion by chasing them through the fence and 8 heifers running wild down the road are nobody's idea of fun, and it always seems to happen when I am at school! Poor Dad!

Secretariat

      Secretariat is an American Thoroughbred born March 30, 1970 died October 4, 1989. In 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years. A horse can become a Triple Crown winner by winning three different series of races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Secretariat set race record time in all three events in the series- the Kentucky Derby his time was 1:59.4, the Preakness Stakes was 1:53, and the Belmont Stakes was 2:24. Even today no horse has beaten his records, he is considered to be one of the greatest race Thoroughbreds of all time.

     Secretariat’s sire is Bold Ruler and his dam is Somethingroyal, he was born at The Meadow in Caroline County, Virginia. Secretariat was a large chestnut colt, who got the nickname “Big Red”. He was owned by Penny Chenery, he was trained by Lucien Laurin, and he was mostly ridden by Ron Turcotte, he also raced with Paul Feliciano, and Eddie Maple. Secretariat raced in Chenery’s Meadow Stable’s blue and white checkered colors and his groom was Eddie Sweat, who Secretariat spent most of his time with. Secretariat was approximately 16.2 hands tall and weighed 1,175 pounds.

    The story of Secretariat began with a toss of a coin between Penny Chenery and Ogden Phipps. Phipps and “Bull” Hancock came up with the coin toss. The toss is where someone could pick the foal they wanted out of three foals: the unborn foal of Somethingroyal and Bold Ruler, a filly out of Somethingroyal, and a colt out of Hasty Matelda. Phipps won the toss and took the filly from Somethingroyal and Penny Chenery got Somethingroyal’s unborn foal and the colt. On March 30 at 12:10 Somethingroyal had a colt that was red chestnut with three white socks and a star with a narrow blaze. The secretary at Meadow Stable’s Elizabeth Ham came up with the name Secretariat.

    At first he did alright in races, his first race he finished fourth at the Aqueduct Racetrack, and then he started to win more and more races. Then everybody figured out what his trick was. Secretariat would stay in the back, in last place then he would pass all the other horses then taking first place and win the race. After winning many races he was able to race in the three races to win the Triple Crown. Secretariat’s biggest competition was Sham who was also racing for the Triple Crown. At first it did not look as if Secretariat would win the Kentucky Derby because the race before the Kentucky Derby (the Wood Memorial) Secretariat got third place. This was due to a large abscess in his mouth. Then at the Kentucky Derby it showed that he was better since he took first place. Then the next race (the Preakness Stakes) he won first place again. Many other horses before Secretariat had won these two races but were never able to win first in the Belmont Stakes. This caused a lot of people to think that Secretariat would not win the Belmont Stakes because the track was longer than the track in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Secretariat was known for being a fast horse not a distance horse, so many people thought he would not win, but he surprised them and won.

    After the Triple Crown Secretariat ran some more races which he did well in. He sired more than 600 foals. Then in 1989 he got laminitis which is an incurable hoof condition and he was put down after a month of treatment, he was 19 years old.

Teeth and age

 

• Age one: All temporary teeth are in which are the incisors, premolars, and first molars.There are no signs of wear around the edges.
• Age three: Large permanent central incisors have grown in, the smaller teeth around them are still only temporary. The wolf teeth and first and second permanent molars are present.
• Age five: All the baby teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth, this is known as a full mouth. there may be a little wear.
• Age ten: The incisors start to angle forward. There's a notch on the upper corner incisors from where they meet the lower incisors. There will be a lot of wear and you can see the Galvayne's Groove.
• Age twenty: Teeth are noticeably longer and angled farther forward. The gums have receded a little and the Galvayne's Groove has descended.

 

Dental problems

• Irritation of the gums, which can be caused by sharp seeds, other food caught between the teeth, swelling from injury, weak tissue which is found in older horses, or irritation from equipment.
• There may be tartar buildup, which is usually found on the canine teeth. Usually pellets and mashes do this, grass and hay don't tend to.
• Lampas which is where there is swelling of the fleshy lining of the roof of the horses mouth, this is more common in younger horses who are not yet used to hard feeds. This usually is not a very big problem.
• Tongue injures, there may be bruises and cut on the tongue which could be caused from the horse biting their tongue accidentally, this could cause serious bleeding. 
• Retained caps, this is when aged baby teeth do not detach properly as permanent teeth come in, this may cause swelling of the gums, pain, and even a sinus problem.
• Uneven or sharp edges, if there are sharp edges the points may jab into the horse flesh in the mouth. This may cause swelling.
• Losing teeth, obviously horses will loose teeth with age, but it sometimes could cause a problem. Most teeth will deteriorate and fall out on its own, if there is a problem call the vet.     

Tips for healthy hooves

• Handle your horses feet so they grow accustomed to it. If your horse is used to you touching their feet then it will be much easier when the horse has to get their feet trimmed, get shoes on, or get treated for problems. My foal who is going to be a yearling soon is still getting used to getting her feet touch, she is good with her front and her back legs still need work. When they are that age it is good to get them used to being touched on their feet instead of trying it when they are older and they already have the bad habit, thrust me it will take a lot longer and be more dangerous if you wait.
• Their hooves should be cleaned daily, if a horse has a rock or another small object they may end up with a bruise or a corn, and may limp. You need to remove mud and manure so your horse does not get any infections. Since it is March and snow is melting it is even more important for you to clean your horses hooves. In winter and spring it is important to clean their hooves, their hooves could get ice in it and pens and pastures are wet and muddy, so pay close attention to their hooves during this time.
• Use your hands to feel if there is any areas with heat in the hooves or swelling in the lower leg area, this may be from an injury or an infection. 
• Look at the whole hoof is the hoof strong and healthy or brittle and weak? Are there cracks nicks, or even bruises? Also look at the length of the hoof, if a hoof grows to long it may begin to split or make the horse walk differently. If the hoof does look long it is time for a trim. One time it was time for my horses hoof to be trimmed and I waited then one day her hoof had a split in is and she was limping. After a horses hoof is trimmed is it is not unusual for the horse to limp a couple days later especially if their hoof was too long, because they get used to walking on their hoof with it being too long.

     

Infectious diseases horses can get

Botulism:

• Cause: from spore forming bacteria which is found in the environment, but mostly found in soil.
• Effects: there may be nerve damage if it is not treated immediately.
• Treatment/Prevention: Vaccinations will help prevent it, and get rid of feed if there is bird poop in it.

Sleeping Sickness:

• Cause: a virus that is carried by mosquitoes. There are three different types: Eastern, Western, and Venezuelan.
• Effects: usually very serious, but each strain has different effects.
• Treatment/Prevention: Vaccinations will help prevent this, and if they do get this consult vet on how to treat.

Influenza:

• Cause: viral infection.
• Effects: there may be respiratory disease and a fever. it is very contagious and does not respond to antibiotics.
• Treatment/Prevention: vaccines for prevention, and call vet if the horse has this and they willl tell you how to treat.

Pneumonia:

• Cause: bacteria in lungs.
• Effects: rapid and shallow breathing, coughing, wheezing, rattling noises in lungs, fever, discharge from nostrils, and badly smelling breath.
• Treatment/Prevention: keep horse away from other horses, have horse in a warm barn, with fresh and clean water. Good nourishing feed to eat.

Rabies:

• Cause: spread by saliva of infected animals to uninfected, or by biting or licking wounds or lesions of an infected animal
• Effects: the two most common signs are difficultly swallowing and drooling.
• Treatment/Prevention: vaccines to prevent, all horses should be vaccinated for this.

Tetanus:

• Cause: toxin produced by a bacteria in the digestive tract and in soils with lots of animal manure.
• Effects: destroys nervous system and paralyzes breathing muscles.
• Treatment/Prevention: Vaccination to prevent.

              

How to prevent/ minimize diseases

• Vaccinate all of your horses. Only vaccinate your horse against that are well known in your area. the vaccinations should always be given when your horse is healthy and not stressed.
• Keep horses in a safe, healthy and stress free environment. If a horse is stressed them may become sick. Horses do not like loud noises, crowding, extreme temperature, not enough water, to much exercise, exhaustion, and other types of stress. 
• Do not let your horse drink from other water tanks other than their water tank. Such as if they are at fairgrounds or on a trail rides. Diseases can be spread from horses drinking other horses water.
• Keep feed and water supplies clean and uncontaminated.
• Minimize exposure with strange horse, because another horse may have a disease that you don't know about and they may give it to your horse.
• If you get another horse for the first two weeks keep it isolated from other horses, just to make sure the horse does not have any diseases. So put the new horse in a separate pen till you are sure the horse is healthy.
• If a horse becomes sick then you should separate the horse from your other horses. Especially if the horse has a contagious disease, so the infection does not spread.       

 

Plants toxic to horses

Horses will usually stay away from toxic plants, but if a horses pasture is lacking good quality grasses then a horse may start eating other plants so they feel full. If a horse eats a toxic plant they may have an immediate reaction or they may just have mild discomfort. Some plants toxic to horses are:

• Black Locust: which is found in Norther Texas and south-central and eastern US. The effects are colic, diarrhea, dilated pupils, altered heartbeat, depression, or death.

•  Bracken Fern: this is found all over the world. the effects are neurological problems which is due to repeated consumption over a few weeks.

• Boxwood: which is very toxic to horses. it is found in Northern America and Western Canada. Effects are colic, there may be blood in their manure, or respiratory failure. 

• Buttercup: which is very well known. there flower is the toxic part. it is found all over the world. there may be some diarrhea and it may cause severe blindness.

• Castor Bean: it is found in most of Mexico and in central and southern US. Only a few beans can kill a horse, the seeds can cause colic, diarrhea, sweating, or their heart may be racing.

• Chokecherry: they are only poisonous when the leaves are wilted. They are found throughout North America except in some parts in southern in the US. the effects are death.

• Alsike Clover: Found all over the the US. the effects are photo sensitivity, chronic poisoning causes slobbers, depression, colic, or liver damage.

• Dogbane: is usually never eaten. It is found in the US. Effects can be staggering, bloat, convulsions, elevated pulse, but usually if they eat it they will die.

• Foxglove: which is very toxic but is rarely eaten. found in most of the US and Canada. horses may have colic, bloody manure, frequent urination, a loss of appetite, abdominal pain, or an irregular heartbeat.

• Horsetail: this is more toxic to horses than to other animals, this is found all over the world. It depletes vitamin B which degenerates peripheral nerves.

• Jimsonweed: if a horse eats this the poison acts very fast. this is found throughout the US. effects are depression, excessive thirst, diarrhea, convulsions, or respiratory paralysis.

• Red Maple: which is found in eastern US and in Canada. the horse may become weak, be depressed, dark urine, renal hepatic failure, abortion, and sometimes death. 

• St. John's Wort: found all over the US and all over Canada. There may be some photo sensitivity, fever increase in pulse, diarrhea, and sensitivity to cold water.         

Reading a horses body language

You can tell what a horse is thinking by the position of their head and neck, their stance, their ears, and their tail and legs. You can tell if your horse is content and relaxed, friendly, alert, unfriendly, fearful, hyper, or sick.

Content and Relaxed: when a horse is relaxing they usually have one of their hind legs resting. Their head and neck in a lowered position. Their eyes may be somewhat closed, their ear look relaxed and may tipped to the side. Their muscles are relaxed. When a horse is relaxing it’s because they feel safe and secure.

Friendly: when a horse is friendly they tend to have their ears up and forward, their head is up and, their eyes look interested, but their muscles are relaxed.

Alert: when a horse is alert their ears are up and forward so they can hear clearly. Their head is up so they can see and their nostrils are open so they can take in scents in the air. They tend to be standing perfectly still but there is no fear in their eyes.

Unfriendly: when a horse is unfriendly their head is low and they are reaching aggressively with their muzzle. They may be showing teeth and have their ears back. Their eyes will be cold and glaring and their nostrils will be pinched and wrinkled.

Fearful: when a horse is fearful they look as if they are ready to flee. Their head and neck are up and alert. Their eyes are wide open and are looking at the danger. Their muscles are tense and ready if they need to start running.

Hyper: when a horse is hyper they are just playful and have confident facial expression. Their head is up and they are running around and their tail may even be up.

Sick: when a horse is sick they will be lying down or be standing still. Their ears will be back and their head 

down. If they do walk they may not want to walk and they may stumble. 

   

Parts of the horse

What horses don't like

       Horses don’t like to be scared, when a horse feels threatened or get confused they end up being fearful all the time and will panic. They will even end up being scared of their owner and may even try to hurt their owner.

       A horse does not like to be in physical pain, horses don’t like it when a bit is yanked because its hurts their mouth. They also don’t like it when a saddle is to small, or being whipped really hard. Some horses will suck it up but other horses will not tolerate it and will try to get rid of what is hurting them. For example if a saddle is too small a horse might bolt, kick, or rear.

        Horses don’t like inconsistency; they like to have routines and to know what is expected of them. They like to know if they have to behave a certain way, so they don’t like it when they get in trouble one day for acting the same as they do every day, it’s confusing.

        Horses don’t like to be surprised; they don’t like loud noises or people jumping and screaming around them. They may even be scared of small rustling noises. If they are surprised by a person then they may try to hurt the person because they feel threatened.

  Horses don’t like to be restrained and restricted, if a horse is in danger they can’t flee. They will eventually start to get used to it but if they are really scared they might try to get free and they may hurt themselves or you.

       They don’t like to be all alone, they like to be with other horses, horses may adapt to being alone if their owner pays a lot of attention to them. Horses like to be with other horses but they can also be put with other animals such as cows.

       Horses don’t like to be chased, since they are prey animals they really don’t like to be chased. Dogs may be small but when they are chasing a horse the horse see them as a threat. Even if a person is walking but following a horse the horse see the person as a threat, and the horse may flee or stay and try to fight the person.  

What a horse needs

1.             To avoid being injured or eaten by a predator: a horse is a prey animal, so throughout history the horse has survived of being wary of predators. The dog and cat families and humans are considered to be a predator of a horse. Horses are always very alert, wary, suspicious, have very good flight reflex, and they are ready to fight if they have to. Horses do not like to be chased or cornered; they like to stay in groups with other horses. Horses use sight, sound, and smell to know where danger is.
   

   A horse that is alert

   
   
   2.   To eat and drink for survival: in the wild horses for about 12 to 16 hours of the day, domestic horses will eat for about 16 hours of the day. Wild horses eat about 25 to 30 pounds of pasture and grass hay since they are always on the move. Domestic horses do not eat as much; if they do eat too much they will get sick. Domestic horses drink about 5 to 10 gallons of water a day; they usually drink more water in the summer than the winter. Horses like cold water than warm water. They also salt and minerals in order to replenish electrolytes. 
   
   
   

   

   3.      To breed: Domestic horses all have the sexual urges but they are not allowed to breed whenever   they want, usually. Horses obviously need to breed so they do not all die out but humans do not want them to become over populated. 
   4.      To be social and have routines: Horses like to stay in groups. It is best if you have a horse to  have another horse because they like to have another horse to be with. You may have another animal for the horse to be with. I have two horses and I also live on a dairy farm so my horses never get lonely, they usually are in a pasture that has cows or heifers in it. Horses also like to have routines; they like to do things at about the same time every day, especially getting fed. Horses need to be fed multiple times a day, and if they are on pasture you need to regulate how much they get so they don’t get sick.
   

    Horses in a group

     

The Different Breeds

There are more than 150 breeds and types of horses in the world today. The development of each of them has been influenced by man. When they where domesticated that then resulted in selective breeding and more nutritious feeding. Both of those things increase the size and quality of the horse. The biggest influencing factor was the work which man required their particular horse to perform. The terms coldblood and warmblood are used to describe horses. Coldblood is the heavy draught breeds. Warmblood is the lighter, riding type of horse. Some of my favorite types of horses are:

·         The Appaloosa: their spotted coat colouring traces back to stock imported by the Spanish Conquistadores. This spotted horse became particularly prized by the Nez Perce Indian tribe. The word Appaloosa is derived from Palouse country, an area named after the Palouse River. Following the defeat of the Indians by the US army the Appaloosa escaped being slaughtered and became scattered all around the US.    

·         The Clydesdale: is Scotland’s breed of heavy horse. They originated in Lanarkshire through which the Clyde River runs. They began to evolve during the second half of the 18^th century when Flemish stallions were used to improve the stock, descended from the pack animals, of local farmers. Shire blood was used in the breed’s development; the Clydesdale and Shire are believed to be of the same origin.

·         The Paint: they are found all around the world, but are mainly known to be associated with the North American Indians. This horse can be known as a paint horse or a pinto. The terms Overo and Tobiano are used to describe the two different types with in the breed.

·         The Palomino: Throughout history humans have prized horses with a golden coloured coat. Golden horses are referred to in Homer’s Iliad and in Norse legend. In Spain Queen Isabella encouraged their breeding and in Spain they are sometimes referred to as “Isabella’s”. Palomino horses are mainly associated in North America; they were introduced by the Spanish Conquistadores.

  

Horse history

The modern horse which is known as equus caballus, belongs to the family Equidae, which also includes zebras and asses. The Equidae are placed in the Perissodactyla which the rhinoceroses are also in. They have descended from the Condylarthra, a group of primitive, long extinct mammals which were the ancestors of all hoofed mammals. The evolution of the horse has been over a period of about 60 million years. The history of the horse starts with the Eohippus which is also called the Dawn Horse, which is known to have lived in North America about 54 to 38 million years ago. They were an animal no larger than a small dog; the Eohippus was designed to live in the forest. They had four toes on its fore feet and three on its back feet and they had pads similar to a dog.  They had small crowned teeth to eat leaves. Then about 37 to 26 million years ago started showing distinct changes: their legs became longer, the back straighter, and the whole body larger, one of the toes on the fore foot disappeared, and their teeth started to change. Then the environment started to change and this made their teeth change, it made their necks longer, and they also their single toe and hoof began to evolve. Then the horse family became more complex, the Equus is the genus of the modern horse finally emerged about a million years ago.