Animaroo | Breeder Business

How well does your horse stop?

Does he just slow down and eventually
stop?

Does he stop at all?

The most important thing a horse
should know is how to stop.

Some argue the most important thing
a horse should know is how to move forward.

I understand that thinking but in my
book, the stop is the biggee because a good
hearty "whoa" can save your life.

If your horse isn't very good at it,
then you're just askin' for trouble.

Here's a good way to get a great stop.

After you get your horse to stop, do
this...

"Back him up

Horse Health

Many new horse owners are completely unaware that horses need to be vaccinated regularly, just as other pets do. However, since a horse is so large, providing these animals with preventative health care may be even more important than it is for dogs or cats. After all, you can't exactly tuck a sick horse into a corner of the bedroom at night to keep an eye on him. When horses are sick, their owners often end up bunking on a nearby hay bale.

Luckily, there are plenty of measures already in place to help you keep your horse as healthy as possible. You should begin by having your veterinarian give your healthy horse a health exam. This allows him to easily spot minor changes in your horse's physical appearance and blood work during future exams that may be caused by illness or disease.

Getting Your Horse to Trust You

It is possible to ride a horse that is uneasy around you, but it is much more enjoyable to ride a horse that trusts you completely. However, getting your horse to trust you is not always easy, especially if he has been abused in the past.

If you have a horse that is a bit shy and uneasy around you, but hasn't been abused, it may take a bit of time to get him to trust you, but it is certainly not impossible. First, think about how you approach him. Make sure you don't make sudden movements and be sure that you always approach your horse from the left. Show him anything in your hands, even if it is only a hoof pick, before you try to use it on him.

Tacking Up and Mounting Up - Getting Ready to Ride a Horse

So, it's time for your very first horseback ride and you just can't wait to jump on that horse's back so you can gallop off into the sunset. However, before you ride off on your horse, you will need to tack him up and then you will need to figure out how to actually get up there.

When you tack up a horse, you should start by fastening his halter to the crossties before you do anything else. Once he is properly secured to the crossties, it is time to move on to the next step, using your body brush and your hoof pick. Lift up each foot and clean it to be sure that there are no pebbles lodged in the hoof. Then, brush your horse's back and sides to be sure that there is no dirt on his body. Once the horse is wearing a saddle blanket and saddle, even a little dirt can create sores on his back. These two simple grooming steps are extremely important, since they help you make sure that your horse is comfortable while you are riding him. After all, an unhappy or uncomfortable horse is not a safe horse.

Reading a Horse's Body Language

If you've ever been the victim of an horse bite, you may think that the attack came out of nowhere. However, if you knew how to read an animal's body language, you would probably have seen one or two tell tale signals that may have enabled you to avoid being bitten. Just like other animals, horses have body language that can let us know whether they are feeling happy, sad or frightened. Reading your horse's body language can help you have a better relationship with him and may even help you avoid being injured.

One of the first things you should look at when you are trying to judge your horse's mood is his ears. A horse will move his ears forward, back or even to the sides depending on his mood. While his ear position alone won't always tell you exactly how he is feeling, when you combine the way he is holding his ears with the way he is arching his neck, twitching his tail and moving his feet, you will be able to find out exactly how he is feeling.

Feeding your pets responsibly

People aren't the only ones who have a problem with weight control. Many of our pets, almost 25 per cent, are overweight, with many of these medically considered as obese. Why is this happening? Are our pets also becoming victims of the electronic age?

As we become more prone to using short-cuts in every day life; remote controls, microwaves, dishwashers, etc ... one would assume that we would have more time for the simple pleasures in life, such as - walking the dog. But no, that does not appear to be the case.

Even though we are managing to do these tasks in a much quicker time frame, we are just as quickly finding new things to fill the extra time. Yes, the advances in technology have provided faster ways of doing things but technology has also created many more things to do. We now spend a lot of time indoors, especially in front of a monitor; whether it be a computer monitor or a television monitor, many hours are spent staring at a screen.