365 Days in Horse Country – Peruvian Treasure    In the farmlands of Peru, where land stretches out for miles and the majestic Andes rise in the distance, a breed of horse was created to help plantation owners survey their estates; the Peruvian Horse. The history of the Peruvian Horses goes back to Spain in the time of the conquistadors.  The Spaniards, who conquered the Peruvian Inca ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Horse with Wings He is as white as the snow, as graceful as a swan, and as magical as they come.  He’s Pegasus, the winged stallion of Greek legend. Pegasus came into existence when he sprang from the neck of the hideous Medusa, a deity of the underworld with hair of hissing snakes.  Pegasus’ birth occurred when Medusa was beheaded by the hero Perseus w ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Maintaining Beautiful Manes and Tails      Long, flowing equine locks give a horse a wild and romantic presence.  The quality and quantity of a horse’s mane and tail are largely the result of genetics, but you can do a lot to help things along while at the same time spending quality time with your horse. To get your horse’s mane and tail in their best poss ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Competitive Cow Cutting    The sport of cutting cattle is as colourful as its origins on the wild North American Frontier.  Cutting is the singling out of a designated cow from the herd of approximately thirty head of cattle.  The horse and rider team separates the cow from the group and prevents it from returning to the other cows.  Not as easy as it soun ...

365 Days in Horse Country – ANNOUNCEMENT – Horse Internal Systems and Horse Environment  We’ve talked before about improving your equitation and horsemanship skills by partaking in clinics in your area.  As a firm believer in the power of knowledge, I always encourage this kind of participation.  To that end, It is my pleasure to inform you all of another clinic coming up in the Innisf ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Hardy Haflinger  The Haflinger ia an attractive little horse that hails from the Austrian and Italian Alps of Europe.  Named after the Tyroleon mountain village of Hafling, these hardy mountain ponies lived in the Alps during the Middle Ages.  They spent their lives among the winding, narrow paths of the steep mountains, plowing fields, pulling logs, and ...

365 Days in Horse Country – When Horses Sleep     Many people think that horses never lie down.  This must mean they sleep standing up, right?  The truth is that they do lie down, and yet they also sleep on their feet. Unlike humans, horses don’t need eight to ten hours of sleep a night.  Because they are prey animals, nature designed them to be able to function well on very little s ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Spanish Mustang When the Spaniards first came to the New World, they brought more than swords and a lust for gold with them.  They also brought horses. Bred to carry soldiers for days on end through rugged terrain, the horses that came with the Spaniards to Mexico eventually found their way to what is today, the southwestern United States.  From there, ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Cattle Drives    In the mid-nineteenth century, cattle drives were common ways for a cowboy to spend days or weeks.  Moving cattle was an essential part of a cowhand’s job.  Cattle needed to be herded from winter grazing lands to summer ones and vice versa, as well as to the auction yard when their time was up. Even with all our modern technology, old-fashi ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Rearing     From the human perspective, one of the scariest maneuvers a horse can execute is rearing.  When a horse stands on her hind legs, lifting her forefeet off the ground, the rider fears for his or her life, and with good reason.  Rearing horses can easily flip over backward. Rearing can be caused by the following factors: Spooking Reaction to a ...