365 Days in Horse Country – The Legend of Bayard    Fantastical horses have always made their presence known throughout the ages, appearing in the folklore of just about every culture in the world.  For the French, a magical horse named Bayard grew from French epic poems and became a legend in his own right.  He was known throughout Europe, with Italians calling him Baiardo and the Dut ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Trail Etiquette    Trail riding should be a relaxing and safe way to spend time with your horse.  One way to help make it so, is to practice good trail etiquette. When it comes to behaviour on the trail, you should adhere to some basic rules.  Follow these tenets and you, your horse, and other riders will have a more pleasant time. Approach slowly – Whe ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Eclipse  One of the most famous racehorses of all times was a 16 hand chestnut Thoroughbred stallion named Eclipse.  Eclipse was foaled in England on April 1, 1764 and named after the rare solar eclipse that took place on the day of his birth.  He was a direct descendent of both the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian – two of the three Thoroughbred fo ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Andalusian    The ancestors of the Andalusian were painted on cave walls some 25,000 years ago.  Although other prehistoric images of horses appear in European cave paintings, the images in Spain depict a horse that was lead by humans, not hunted by them.  For this reason, some experts think the ancestor of the Andalusian was the first horse to be domes ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Lipizzans of World War II      The Lipizzan, or Lipizzaner, breed is world famous for its talents in high-level dressage, made famous by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.  The majestic horses, which are born black, and mature to almost white, are muscular and athletic.  They originated in Austria, where they were developed by the Hapsburg monarch in ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Polo If you could play hockey on horseback, the game would be a lot like polo. A team sport, polo requires skill and bravery of the rider, and boldness and athletic prowess of the horse. The object in polo is to score goals against an opposing team. Each team has four riders. Scoring is achieved when a rider drives a ball into the other team’s goal. Riders ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Norwegian Fjord    The Norwegian Fjord is considered the oldest breed of horse in Norway, and it’s believed  to have descended from the ancient Przewalski’s Horse, which can only be found in zoos today.  Experts believe that the ancestors of today’s Fjords migrated to Norway and the Scandinavian peninsula around 4,000 years ago.  The Norwegians began selecti ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Feeding the Senior Horse  Senior horses are truly a joy.  They tend to be slow to spook, more cooperative, and just easy to get along with.  Older horses do pose some challenges when it comes to feeding, however. Some senior equines have difficulty keeping weight on.  Others tend to gain too much weight.  Most do not have the energy requirements they onc ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Museum of the Horse   Horses have been a part of human history since long before the first written word was penned.  Nearly every culture on the planet has been touched, and changed, by the existence of the horse.  It’s only fitting, then, that the horse should have its own museum; the International Museum of the Horse, located in Lexington, Kentucky. Ope ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Ringbone    When a horse develops extra bone in or around joint in the leg, the condition is called ringbone.  A potentially crippling ailment, ringbone can be upper ringbone affecting the pastern joint, or lower ringbone, affecting the coffin joint.  Of the two, high ringbone is worse as it causes more pain for the horse. The trouble with ringbone is tha ...