365 Days in Horse Country – Born to Trot: The Standardbred    Although Thoroughbred racing is the most watched equine sport, harness racing is not too-distant second in North America.  The horses that pull the sulkies down the track, trotting or pacing at speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) are Standardbreds. The Standardbred was developed in colonial America, when people preferr ...

365 Days in Horse Country – ANNOUNCEMENT – Daily Health and Basic First Aid Clinic    It was just the other day that I wrote about partaking in worthwhile clinics in your area!  As it happens, one such clinic just came to my attention.  As promised, it is my pleasure to bring the clinic to your attention such that you might consider availing yourself to all of the knowledge that the cl ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Escape Artist!    If you have one of these creatures, you know all about them: the escape artists!  With dexterous lips and smarts beyond what their equine brains should possess, these Houdinis of the horse world manage to find a way to escape out of being tied up or enclosed more times than not. Escape artists learned how to untie knots and unhook lat ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Attend a Clinic  Not everyone has the financial resources to hire a full-time trainer, but thanks to the many clinicians who travel around to teach horse owners, you don’t need deep pockets to learn. Attending a clinic is a great way to build your horsemanship skills and find new ways to solve problems with you horse.  Clinics specific to certain discipline ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Driving      Most people no longer need horses to pull carriages for transportation in this modern world, yet this use for our equine friends is alive and well. Driving is not as popular as riding, but it’s still high on the list for many equestrians.  This elegant discipline harkens back to a time when horses were the only way to get from one place to an ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Hay Storage    Keeping Horses on your property means storing bales of hay.  The amount of hay you store at any one time depends on how many horses you have, and how much room you have to store it. The key when storing hay is to keep it dry.  When water penetrates a bale of hay, mold quickly grows.  This mold is toxic to horses and can make them very sick.  ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Przewalski’s Horse    Wild horses roamed the plains of North America and Europe during the last Ice Age, and became extinct some 30,000 years ago.  But you can still get a glimpse of what that prehistoric equine looked like if you take a gander at Przewailski’s Horse. This endangered equine is actually extinct in the wild and can only be found in zoos and pr ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Drill Teams    Go to just about any major horse event, and you’ll see a drill team performing on horseback.  Drill teams are usually twelve or more riders who perform as a group in a series of patters, to music.  Drill teams sometimes carry flags, and they always wear matching uniforms.  Horses in a drill team may be e same breed or colour, but they may als ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Hitting the Trail    Few activities are as relaxing as riding a well-trained horse down a beautiful woodland trail.  Trail riding is the most popular pastime of horse owners, and if you’ve ever participated in this activity, you know why. Although most rail riding is done in open, undeveloped, natural environments, horse owners in developed areas also take ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Safe Tying  Horses can get into trouble quickly and easily.  One minute they are quietly standing, and the next they are trying to rip the hitching post out of the ground.  That’s why safe tying is so important.  Here are some essential rules for safe tying.   Never tie your horse by the reins.  If your horse pulls back, she could break her jaw or do othe ...