365 Days in Horse Country –  Practice Your  Mounting   Mounting is the first thing you tackle when you learn to ride.  After all, you can’t ride until you’ve mounted. Some riders are very adept at mounting, swinging gracefully into the saddle with hardly an effort.  Others struggle to hoist their weight up.  Some can only mount with the aid of a mounting block.  Most can only m ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Transitions   Everyone wants an obedient, attentive horse.  One way to get this is to practice transitions. Transitions take place when you ask your horse to go from one gait to another.  By asking your horse for transitions, you encourage him to pay attention to you.  If you ask for frequent transitions, your horse learns to focus on you as he awaits ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Nutraceuticals   You have probably heard of nutraceuticals, dietary supplements that provide nutritional effects but aren’t considered drugs.  Many people take these supplements, especially the more popular nutraceuticals such as Echinacea, St. John’s Wort, and Ginkgo Biloba. Horses can benefit from nutraceuticals, too, just like humans.  The most commonl ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  The American Cream Draft   The only existing draft horse developed in the United States, the American Cream Draft Horse, has been around since the 1800s.  The breed’s most unique characteristic is its light cream colour. Considered an extremely rare breed and listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the American Cream ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Endurance Riding Trail riding is a popular way to spend time with your horse.  But if you also like to compete, consider combining the two by getting involved in endurance. Endurance events are races that take place over 25, 50, or 100 mile (40, 80, 160km) trail courses.  The first horse and rider team to get to the finish line is the winner, although mos ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Grazing In-Hand     We are often so busy riding and training our horses, we forget to just spend quality time with them.  One way to do this is to let them graze in-hand. Grazing in-hand simply means that you let your horse eat as he would if he were wild but that he is wearing a halter and you are at the other end of the lead rope. Nature designed hor ...

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365 Days in Horse Country –  Catching Runaways   When horses break free from their confines, whether it be busting out of their stalls or pulling back when tied, all hell can break loose.  If other horses are around, they all react with great excitement.  It’s as if they are all cheering the delinquent horse on with encouragement. Most horses will quickly give up their newfound fre ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  El Morzillo Although mystery surrounds the details of the horses brought to the New World  by the Spanish conquistadors, one horse stands out as an individual.  His name was El Morzillo, and he was the favourite of General Hernan Cortes. A black stallion reported to be a great war horse, El Morzillo was Cortes’ mount then the Spaniards rode into present-da ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Equine Allergies   Horses can develop allergies much like people can.  They can be allergic to something in the air, something they are eating, or something that is coming into contact with their skin. Your horse probably has allergies if he is coughing a lot, breathing loudly, has hives on his skin, or gets frequent diarrhea or loose stool.  You should h ...