Category: Horses
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How to Unspoil a Barn Spoiled Horse
It’s been weeks since you went riding. Now you have time to ride this afternoon and there ain’t no one gonna stop you. Excited, you saddle up your horse and get on him. You get about 50 feet from the barn and your horse turns around and goes back – and you can’t stop him. […]
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How Proper Composting and Manure Management Helps Your Farm
Composting is one of the most important management items you can do on your farm. There are numerous reasons to do this, and they are all positive. Un-managed manure is a nuisance and can cause problems. Compost is an incredible resource with numerous health and economic benefits. You’ve paid a lot for all the feed […]
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How Far and Fast Can Horses Go?
Horses are live animals, not machines that can go on forever. They tire just like we do. However, some horses have shown amazing speed and endurance when asked to do it– here are a few amazing feats: In 1889 Dmitri Peshkov rode 5,500 miles from Albanzinski, Siberia, to St. Petersburg. The Akhal-Teke, a rare breed […]
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How to Teach a Horse to Ground Tie
Ground-tying teaches horses to have more respect of the human and patience. Your horse learns an enhanced respect for you, no matter where you are and at what distance you are from them. A horse that has refined this skill gives the appearance of being tied on an invisible lead rope. This is a result […]
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What Horseshoes Don’t Protect and What You Need to Do After Every Ride
The horseshoe is a wonderful invention. It protects your horse’s feet by putting a half inch of steel between his delicate hoof and the hard ground. The problem with horseshoes is they only encircle the perimeter of the hoof, leaving the inner portion of exposed. So, if your horse steps on a sharp object, he […]
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How to Pick a Kentucky Derby Winner – Or Not
Horse racing fans devise their own systems for picking the Kentucky Derby winner. My predictions for the famous May event are based solely on names – I completely ignore form, pedigree, jockey, or trainer, and have the losers to prove it going back a decade. Take the 2012 field. Since the 138th Derby fell on […]
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Why Horses Need an Annual Dental Exam
Although equine dentists cannot have their patients lie down in a reclining chair for easy access to those hard-to-reach molars, the field has progressed greatly. It is now possible to perform a root canal or a tooth extraction on a horse, just as in humans. In 1988, the American Veterinary Dental College was formed, allowing […]
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How & When to Halter Train a Foal
The introduction of a halter to a new foal and the entire halter education is a process that is the first and most critical of ingredients in their overall education that will last a lifetime. If that part of their education is missing or done incorrectly, they will lack the foundation for safe and secure […]
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Excess Mud & Moisture Can Hurt Your Horse’s Feet
I believe the most hostile environment for our horse’s feet is upon us. Mud season and the excess moisture it brings weaken our horse’s hooves, as well as create the perfect environment for fungal infections. I have seen far more damage to horse’s feet because of extended periods of moisture than I have from being […]
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When Does a Horse Get Old and Retire?
“Old Billy,” an English draft horse that died at the age of 62, is the longest living horse according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Although most horse owners know their hoofed friends probably will not make it into the record books for longevity, with a little TLC geriatric horses can live a happy […]