While many of our horses do some kind of work for a living, the work usually consists of a couple of hours a day, three to five days a week. Many of our horses are ridden far less than that, and we don’t really think of them as working for”P>While many
Accepted wisdom in the horse world tells us that an average light horse weighs about 1,000 pounds, or 450 kg. A draft horse, upwards of double that. But does that rather arbitrary figure really mean anything? After all, what is an “average” horse?
A huge amount of time, effort, and money often are invested in the preparation of horses for various athletic events, including Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing, three-day eventing, steeplechasing, dressage, hunter-jumper events, reining,
For first-time horse owners, getting a new horse can border on the overwhelming. You have to find a suitable boarding barn or create adequate stabling on your own property and buy tack, grooming equipment, cooling sheets and/or blankets. Yo
In the last issue we considered some of the adaptations that occur in horses during training. To recap, we know that improvements in cardiovascular and muscle function occur quite quickly after the onset of training
Most will agree that thorough preparation of a horse is key to success in athletic competition. With spring hopefully just around the corner, this is an opportune time to discuss conditioning. Of course, the nature of a conditioning program will
I need to put weight on my skinny Thoroughbred. Would beet pulp be a good addition to my horse’s diet?
We are ready for a new season of fun riding or competing. The question that must be answered at this point is this: How ready are our horses? In some cases, the answer is that they are kept ready all year long.
The good news is that horses are naturally well-equipped to weather practically everything that winter can dish out. They are far more tolerant of cold conditions than we poor hairless humans are; in fact, horses tend to be far more stressed by heat
The growing interest in endurance riding has encouraged participants with different levels of prior horse experience to become involved with the sport. However, if equine athletes are asked to perform over distances for which they have not been appro
A skinny horse is not a pretty sight. With ribs protruding, and hip bones threatening to serve as a hat rack for the next passerby, he gives an immediate impression of ill health… and it’s no illusion. A too-thin equine is one who has no energ
Rusty’s been your faithful companion for many years, and he never seemed to show any signs of getting older…until this past winter, that is. One morning, you looked at him and noticed that he had dropped some weight, and that he didn’t
The aging process takes its toll on all working horses, but the rate of attrition can vary significantly. In this, horses are similar to humans. We all have met the person who is barely past middle age and because of mental, emotional, or physical
The average lifespan of a horse is said to be about 24 years; but as with humans, a horse’s chronological age isn’t always a good indicator of how old he really is. Some horses still are active at the age of 35, while others suffer significant signs
But because forages are not high-energy feeds, the athletic horse’s diet needs to be supplemented in order to provide enough energy for him to perform at peak capacity. Traditionally, this is done by feeding grains, which are rich in carbohydrates
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