When I was three, we lived in Lunenburg and we’d often walk down to the waterfront. The town always liked to keep an older style theme to it. A horse drawn wagon would make its daily rounds across the cobblestone streets offering tourists and local’s rides. The man who ran it was nice, and I remember him stopping the horses to let my mother, aunt and I say hello. My mom was nervous but I looked up at the Belgian horses with confidence. She said “aren’t those horses huge honey!” I said “I guess”. Truth is, even to this day I remember having no fear of them, and yet I was startled by a spider or a barking dog. I never really thought about that day up until this point, but maybe even then I loved horses, maybe this wasn’t something by chance but rather something that I was born to do, and be.

What I would like you to do now it give me a chance to share this passion with you, so you may see perhaps a bit of what I do. I will try not to make it boring, but I can’t grantee it will be overly exciting. Give me a chance to teach you about horse breeds, their care and how each one has its own individual talents and personalities. I would also love if you’d listen to some of my own experiences and what I’ve learned. My goal for the end of this is that you might recognise how we can be united with these beautiful animals, and not have them work for us but rather we work along with them.

I’ve worked at many places and I’ve hated watching the horses being pushed past their limits. I know that they are animals and should most certainly be kept under control though. Just like I’ve seen horses that had owners so strict they were stripped of their personalities I’ve seen ones who would completely take advantage of their size and strength over humans. Just like they, we need to not be too harsh nor to giving, but try and understand them as I am sure they do to us.

A quick horse dictionary

Broodmare-A female horse which is used for breeding

Cold blood- A horse breed which is calm and slow, typically a heavy horse

Colt-A male horse under the age of three

Feral-A horse which was once captive, now have been released or escaped

Filly- A female horse under the age of three

Foal- Any gender of a young horse

Gelding- A male horse that who been gelded/ castrated, he can no longer reproduce(A gelded horse will make him easier to manage and a better pet. As well, he can be put at

pasture with female horses without the worry of impregnating them.)

Hand (hh)- A measurement of the height of a horse from the ground to its withers, one hand is four inches ex. 14 hh=56 inches 15.2 h= 60 inches

Heavy horse- A work horse used for pulling, heavy lifting, generally over 1200 lbs

Horse- An equine animal over 14.3 hh

Hot blood- A horse breed which is known to be more temperamental and have high energy, typically a light breed

Light horse- Any horse/pony which is used for mounted work, has a slight build normally is under 1200lbs (depending on height)

Mare- A female horse over the age of three

Pony-An equine animal under 14.2 hh

Stallion-A male horse over the age of three who can reproduce

Warm blood- A horse breed which is good natured and has a valued amount of energy, may also be a mix between hot and cold bloods parents (ie Arabian mother+ Shire stallion= A warm blood foal)

Wild horses-Horses which have never been tamed by humans, the only wild horse breed left are called Przewalski wild horses

Tack- The horses harnessing (bridle, saddle, saddle pad, boots etc)

Colour guide

There are over 100 different horse colours, so I am only going to explain some of the basic variations and combinations.

Paint horse colours-Piebald- A black and white patternSkewbald- Any colour aside from black, with white patchesTobiano-White with colours patchesOvero-Coloured with white patches

A Piebald tobiano horse A skewbald Overo horse

Common solid colours-

Bay-brown with a black mane/tail and some black hair, varies between light and dark shades of brown

Black-All hair on body/mane/tail is black

Chestnut- Body is covered in red hair and never have black points but may have white. Variations are flaxen-have a lighter mane/tail then the body, Liver chestnuts have a darker shade of red, sorrel is generally a lighter shade of chestnut

A Bay horse A Chestnut horse

Grey- People often mistake white horses to in fact be grey. Grey horses are born dark, then become lighter as they grow. To distinguish a grey horse from white take note of the skin, if it is grey, it is a grey horse.

Brown-Brown horses have brown fur, mane and tail.

Roan- White hairs mixed with another colour, chestnut hair and white make strawberry roan, black and white make blue roan

A Strawberry roan horse A Grey horse

Dun- This is a more primitive looking variation, its coat has a tan colour and will often have a dorsal stripe and zebra looking stripes across the shoulders and legs

Palomino- a golden coloured horse with a cream mane and tail

A Dun coloured horse A Palomino Horse

Riding Variations-English

English riding is generally preformed on light horse’s, they are typically either hot or warm bloods. The tack has been designed to allow the horse free movement and is built so that it can feel the rider’s aids when being ridden. Many of the English riding styles have been developed throughout European countries. The horses are taught to be very sensitive to leg aids and to have a loose mouth on the bit. Quite often you will see foam coming from the horse’s mouth while it is being ridden. Though it may look like the horse is uncomfortable, the foam is actually a great sign for the rider. It means that the horse’s mouth is supple and he is accepting the bit, if a horse does not foam there’s a chance that he is trying to fight the bit and isn’t relaxed. Some of the riding styles that are English are dressage, show jumping, cross country.

Dressage is the riding style which asks the horse to perform elaborate movements which aren’t often seen in the wild. However, the goal of the rider is to have the horse have the same free movements as he would in the wild. The horse must be easy tempered and willing, he must also be more sensitive to the rider’s aids then in the other riding styles. The style began in Greek Calvary, where the horses were taught to respond better to its rider. Now horses can be seen mastering collection-the horses movements are done in a slower, forward motion. A piaffe- Trotting in one place or vary gradually moving forward. Extended gaits- The horse puts much of his weight into extending the front legs, while keeping a nice bend in the poll. Half pass- The rider brings the horse across the diagonal facing forward but crossing its legs between strides to have it move sideways.

Half-pass Extended trot

Cross country Is the riding discipline which requires a horse with high stamina and a jumping ability. The course mimics the outdoors with water jumps, dirt jumps, logs and various decorations. The trail is 6 kilometres long and may be flat but may also have hills and valleys. Cross country was once a part of a 3 phase endurance test along with steeple chasing and roads/tracks but since has been put into eventing competitions which are generally 3 days and consist of cross country, dressage and show jumping

A typical cross country jump Water jump

Show jumping is the equestrian sport in which the rider asks his horse to ride over a series of jumps. Though they may be spread out, there

may also be several in a row. Like other jumping saddles, it has a deep seat and a more forward side to support the riders knee when he leans forward to the jump. Show jumping was first developed in England in the 18th century when new regulations for fencing were put on owners with large plots of land where they used to fox hunt.

A typical show jump horse show jumping

Riding Variations-Western

Western riding was first created by the Spanish, it later then came to the United States through Spanish cavalry. Unlike English, the bridle has no nose band and the horses bit is normally visually seen past the jaw, the saddles have what’s called a “saddle horn” in the front, used to tie ropes around when the rider is guiding other horses or cattle. The saddles are fairly bulky and have a high back support; they are also carved with intricate patterns. When cowboys first developed the style they would carry a lasso or lariat in one hand and hold the reins in the other. This resulted in today’s riders to carry on the tradition of only riding with one hand. Western horses are trained to react and turn to slight pressure from the reins touching their neck, rather than through the bit as seen in English.

Reining is known as the western sister to dressage, the rider asks the horse to follow subtle commands for its movements. All of the movements are preformed in a lope, meaning a relaxed canter. Some of the moves portrayed are a sliding stop-The horse runs at a full gallop then puts all his weight into his haunches to stop suddenly. Spins- the horse is halted when is begins to rapidly pivot on it hind legs until it has spun four times. Flying lead change- This can also be seen in dressage, when in the canter, the rider asks the horse to change its leading rein for change in the opposite direction.

Sliding stop Horse doing “spins”

Barrel racing requires the horse and rider to enter the arena with three barrels one at the far end directly in front, one to the left and one to the right. The rider brings the horse to a full gallop and runs a clover shaped pattern around them. The winner is the rider and horse who is capable of running the barrels the fastest without knocking them over. When it is time to compete the rider shouldn’t have much work to do because the pattern that the horse runs will never change. The horse knows where he needs to go and that he needs to do it as fast as possible.

Barrel racing pattern Horse barrel racing

Pole bending has 6 poles that are places in the ground of an arena in a row. The horse and rider run up one side of the arena, weave down the poles, back up, then around

the other side of the arena. The competition is judged on which horse can run through the poles the fastest. The horse is allowed to knock a pole over but a horse that doesn’t is seen as being much better

A horse pole bending Pole bending pattern -->

Horse racing requires a horse to gallop or trot as fast as it can over a certain distance. The horse is typically large and muscular, but his rider and tack is as lightweight as possible. Many jockey’s are required to ne under 115lbs and around 4 ½ feet tall. Horse racing is one of the largest equine markers due to betting and the high value put on the horses.

The most common breeds used for racing are the thoroughbred (gallop) and standard bred (trotting) though Arabians, Paint’s and Quarter horses are all common as well. Flat racing is done on a flat surface made of dirt, grass or sand. Steeple chasing as the same as flat racing except course also involves jumps, therefore the horse and rider must be trained for jumping. Horse racing is the one of the oldest forms of horse competition.

Standard bred racing Thoroughbred racing

Steeple chase