Stuffed Animals

Take Your Horse to His Enclosure: Introduce him to this place and just let him be! Once you have got him to your barn or pasture, let him get accustomed to the surroundings. Stay around him when he is exploring his new residence and don’t forget to feed him well. Let him know that you are going to be there for him.

Groom Him: Groom your horse slowly, especially in the initial stage. Horses are sensitive, they would understand your touch and your motive. Grooming as an activity will create a bonding between the both of you and help you connect.

Spend More Time with Him: The main step to get to know your horse better is by spending more time with him. He is like this new person you want to be friends with. The more time you will spend with him, the more you’ll get to know him better.

Observe How He Socializes with Other Horses: A horse is a highly social animal, hence observe how he gels with his other mates. Understanding this behavioral type will help you understand what’s going on in his mind when he behaves in an unusual manner. Also, it is believed that when a horse molds his behavior by adapting it from a trained horse he learns faster.

Be Gentle: Don’t yell or try giving him commands immediately, give him some time. Let him get used to your style of teaching and training. A horseman should know neither fear, nor anger. ~ James Rarey

Communicate Well: Horses speak in a different language but you can totally understand it, and that would require time. Talk to your horse like you would want to. Give him a name and call him with that often. Even when you are trying to talk to him use repetitive phrases like calling out the name of the horse food that he eats, and familiarize him with terms like walk, ride and race. It is said that, horses can’t talk in the human language but they can speak if you listen.

Take Time to Judge Him: Horses are really fast to respond to any stimuli. So take your time before to judge your horse and categorize him. The more you let them free you’ll understand their traits better. Once you know how he’d react in different situations, you can keep your tricks ready and use some strategies to influence him.

Understand Your Horse & His Personality Type: Horses are divided into two type of personalities overachievers and sensitive. Over achievers are usually horses who try to anticipate their master’s action and often react before even receiving the commands. These horses are highly independent and are often misunderstood by those who are new to horses. The art of controlling such horses lies in learning the act of dominating them. The other personality type is sensitive. Such horses are great followers of commands and allow to take charge easily. However, they are called sensitive because they can get upset for something as small as a loose shoe or a harsh command. You’ve gotta watch out, as they can get impulsive.

Wood Fencing: A very old yet safe fencing ideas for horses. Horses often try to reach through the boards on a wooden fence to eat the grass on the other side; placing the boards close together and keeping the height appropriate will prevent them from doing so.

Electric Fencing: Electric horse fencing is one of the cheapest and best fencing ideas for horses and uses electrical wires that are embedded inside a highly visible strand of white plastic called as hot tape. For permanent horse enclosures made of wire, use T-posts or wooden posts with tightly-stretched smooth wire or mesh, topped with a single strand of electric wire. The posts for horses can be spread out widely up to 50 feet or even more when using a high tensile wire with one or two lines. You can create temporary fences from fiberglass rods made to accommodate electric wire or tape as well. Horses can often sense when the fence is electrified and when not. To teach the horse to respect the fence, walk him up to the fence and touch his nose to it. This will deliver a mild electric shock and the message that the fence is a barrier to be respected. Alternatively, you can have a solar powered fence, cause it costs nothing to run.

Smooth Wire Fencing: Smooth wire, either twisted two-strand or single strand, is one of the most inexpensive materials for creating a permanent horse fence. You can use a minimum of three strands, and many people prefer four or five, spaced 8 to 10 inches apart up the post.

Meshed Wire Fencing: It is more expensive than the smooth wire fencing, but a very sturdy material to use to prevent the horses reaching through the fence in any way. Making the fence 6 to 8 feet high is one of the good horse fencing ideas. Also, make sure that the posts used to hold the wire mesh fencing are large and sturdy; choosing posts with an 8 to 12 inch diameter will ensure that the fence stays along and that ongoing maintenance needs will be modest and affordable.

Barbed Wire Fencing: Its is one of the most economical fencing ideas you can opt for. A roll of barbed wire is what you need with T-posts and other necessary equipments such as fence clips as add-on’s. But try avoiding using barb, since many horses have died from tangling with the barbed wire. It’s always better to stick to smooth wire, wire mesh, electric wire, vinyl or stout boards.

Recycled Fencing: You could use farms as a replacement for fences. A chain linked fence is a great recycled horse fence. If you could reuse the materials you have used to make the horse fence, then don’t hesitate and go ahead. What is required is man power for clean up and labor. Read the rest of this entry »

It can be difficult to know how to correctly school a horse and even the most experienced riders need some help and guidance every now and again. Like everything if you do not have constant reminders and tips on how to improve you cannot get any better. I’ve written the following article to help anyone needing more information on this topic. I received most of my knowledge from great magazines on horse topics.

Don’t forget that you cannot gather your horse up too quickly when you begin your schooling. You must first have your horse relaxed and extending out into the bit. Appreciate that the horse needs to extend and be forward in his movements before you then gather him up to school. Firstly I would walk him round on a long rein with his head low. Do this in walk, trot and canter. Remember not to rush this as this is the key to good schooling. Once he has worked like this and you have slowly gathered him up start to think about doing school patterns which will flex his spine. Consider flexing him into the corners and releasing on the straight.

In general schooling he should do this but make sure you over enforce it so he really stretches through his neck. Complete 6, 15 and 30 metre circles and change the rein several times so that he stretches through on both sides.

     Meaning of the Name
     The name ‘mustang’ has been derived from the Spanish word ‘mustengo’, meaning ‘ownerless beast’ or ‘stray horse’. These Mustang horses are also called wild horses because of their reckless nature. In fact, the word ‘feral’ suits them even better, which means wild and menacing.

     Mustang Horse History
     The Mustang horses that rambled across the North American grasslands in prehistoric times were referred to as dawn horses. However, at the end of the last ice age nearly 12,000 years ago, the Mustang population was wiped out from the American land. For several thousands of years, the American land was void of the thundering sound made by the hoofs of the Mustangs. Conquistadors from Spain once again introduced Mustangs to the American terrain in the 16th century. By the mid 1800s, there were millions of Mustangs rambling across the American land.

     Symbol of the American West
     The United States Congress in the year 1971 honored the Mustang horse with the title of “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.” A federal law was also passed in the same year regarding the ban placed on capturing, harming or killing Mustangs freely roaming on public land.

     Mustang’s Temperament
     The Mustang is known for its intelligence and independent spirit. They have a mind of their own and do as they please. Their rugged toughness and endurance is truly remarkable! The amount of stamina they have is also amazing. Although wild and unpredictable by nature, these horses can be trained and tamed by patient and experienced handlers. They can be trained for horse racing, equine shows and competitions. Read the rest of this entry »

      To a woman, a horse is just an extension of their family, why else would a woman get up at five O’ clock in the morning and go outside in the freezing cold to feed a horse and clean out their stall? There has to be a great amount of love involved for anyone to do that. Many women see their horses as not only members of their families, but also as their best friends.

     Many women could easily spend hours in the barn telling their horse about all of their problems or other events that are happening in their lives. This is because horses are great listeners, much better than most men.

     Men cannot help the fact that they do not listen well. All men know that their ears are not able to hear the frequency that a woman voice is produced in, however; they are very skilled at listening to a sports analyst when they are predicting the outcome of a game. This is why most men cannot remember a single thing that their wives tell them, their ears cannot determine what is being said. This is similar to listening to someone speak in a different language; you can hear sounds, but you have no idea what is being said. Read the rest of this entry »