For
those of you who recently signed up for my mini-course or bought my book
“Introduction to Horseback Riding” you will be receiving this fortnightly
Newsletter for the first time. I like to bring you regular items of
interesting news, together with tips and techniques to help you get more as
much pleasure as possible from your horse and from riding.
If
you would like to read previous issues of my Newsletter, please go to
www.anyhorsebackriding.com scroll to the bottom of the page and click on
"Horseback Riding Resources".
This
will take you to a page with links to all parts of my site, including my
blog, which contains a whole variety of useful articles, news items and
reports. My blog is a new feature of my site and worth visiting
regularly.
Horse of the Month - It could be
Yours!
I am
keen to publish stories and pictures of your horse on my "Horse of the
Month" page. If you would like
your horse featured send your story and a photograph or two to
info@anyhorsebadkriding.com Please add the words "there are no usage
restrictions with these photographs" - then visit the site each month
to see if your details are on show! Imagine how proud your friends
will be to your horse (and maybe you too) featured on a popular website!
So
now onto the latest news stories:-
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A simulated horse complete with televised
arena aims to take riding tuition into the twenty first century
mechanical bay horse captured the crowd's attention at Badminton
Horse Trials last week. The horse simulator enables a rider to
experience the sensation of the horse at walk, trot and canter while
navigating it around a televised dressage arena. "You have to ride it
with your legs," explained Alison Miles of Equitech. "And you have to
set up correctly for the corners. But it can do all levels of flat work
and can be used by anybody and everybody."
David Watson, a vet for 50 years and a long-standing British Horse
Society member rode the simulator at Badminton: "I thoroughly enjoyed
the experience and found it to be a realistic piece of machinery," he
said.
For full details click
here |
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The Northern Counties QHS, an American Quarter Horse
Association-approved show will be held May 12 to 14 at the Tehama
District Fairground.
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The American
Quarter Horse is a breed of horse originally bred specifically
to race the quarter mile. It is commonly believed to be the world's
fastest horse, some having been clocked at 55 mph at the finish line
in racing events. It is today equally well known for its performance
in rodeos and horse shows. The compact body of the Quarter Horse is
well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in
roping, reining, cutting, working cow horse and other stock-horse
events. Riders are also known to show Quarter Horses in English and
Hunt classes, although these types of events are traditionally
dominated by Thoroughbreds and Warmblood crosses. Also known as
"America's Horse", the Quarter Horse is the most popular breed in
the United States. They can also boast the largest breed society in
the world, with over 4 million Quarter Horses registered worldwide.
Interested in visiting the show? Read how
here
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Just a little horse At more
than 200 pounds, he isn't your typical stray.
About 7 a.m. Monday morning, a miniature horse was found in the yard of a
home near Woodlands -- about 50 km northwest of Winnipeg -- trying to play
with four full-sized horses living on the property.
For full details click here
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Diana McInnes tries to feed the miniature horse that recently turned up
in her yard. If she keeps him, she'll call him Littlest Hobo
(C.PROCAYLO, Sun)
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Beginning
Horseback Riding Lessons Offered for Youth and Adults
Beginning English Horseback Riding classes for youth and adults are being
offered by the Johnson County Park and Recreation District starting in early
May. All classes take place at Windaway Stables, 23000 S. Switzer Road,
Bucyrus
For full details click
here
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Doctor is stable in new business
What started as a childhood hobby has become a full-blown business
for internist Dr. James Lee Miller.
He started riding horses when only a child, but had to stop in
college because of the busy life of a medical student. After the
"ribbon cutting" Saturday at his new 20-acre barn in Olive Branch,
Southwind Stables, Miller can ride anytime he wants, and he hopes
others will too.
"We hope to develop the characters of our young people while
developing fine skills in jumping and riding," said Miller, who
lives in Midtown Memphis and practices in Arkansas.
Miller gained his inspiration for opening the stables from his
niece, Emma Miller, 15, who came into his custody in 1998 after
her father, Miller's brother, died. She had a passion for horses
that has lasted through the years.
For full
details click
here
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Now for this week's tips
and advice
Weaning
The biggest thing that is going to
happen next to the little beauty is that he has to be weaned from his Mum.
This happens at about 6 months, when
he is separated from his Mum. Now, like any child he’s going to be pretty
frantic about this, so if you can wean 2 or 3 foals together this helps a
lot as they have each other for comfort.
There are two main weaning
techniques adopted by horse breeders:
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Abrupt Separation – The dam is taken as far away from the foal as
possible, such that she is not within eyesight (and preferably earshot) of
the foal
-
Gradual Separation – The dam is either kept in a next-door paddock or
permitted to visit the foal daily for increasingly shorter periods of
time.
Advocates for both schools
make strong arguments as to the validity of their preferred method, but as
with most debates choosing the "one correct path" may not be so simple.
Abrupt
Separation
Breeders that follow the
abrupt separation method will either move the dam or foal out of eyesight of
their former partner, and preferably out of earshot when possible. They
believe separating the foal from the dam "cold turkey" is very stressful at
the start, but ultimately is the kinder gesture since you do not prolong the
pain by incessant reintroductions to the foal's desire. To form an analogy,
gradual separation could be viewed the same way as offering a recovering
smoker a cigarette, or worse lighting one up in front of him. Sometimes a
clean break is far easier than reoccurring exposure to temptation.
Gradual
Separation
Gradual separation can
actually be further divided into two sub-methods:
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Allowing the foal to visit his dam daily, but limiting the duration of the
visitations more each day until eventually they are permanently separated
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Separating the dam and foal completely, but placing them in adjacent
stalls or paddocks such that the foal cannot feed, but he can see and talk
to his mother
I do not like the first
type of gradual separation since a one-on-one visit permits the foal to feed
and the mother-child pair to continue a physical relationship. Severing the
mother-child bond in such a manner will be a prolonged and painful
procedure; for every step forward you take towards weaning the foal, you
take a step backwards by reintroducing the pair. I strongly believe once a
foal is separated from his dam, it should remain that way.
The second type of gradual
separation does have some positives worth considering. Advocates claim that
by allowing the dam and foal to see and talk with each other, you're
allegedly lessening the level of stress for the foal during those first
days. Meanwhile the foal is unable to feed from his mother, so he's learning
how to live independently and will eventually decide his mother next door is
no longer so important. To form an analogy, gradual separation would be akin
to teaching a child to swim slowly over time, rather than just toss him into
a pool with a "sink or swim" mentality.
So Which Is Correct?
The answer to this will
probably depend on the circumstances surrounding your foal, the stable and
your availability.
Personally I prefer the
abrupt separation style because I do not wish to prolong any pain caused to
the foal, nor do I want to encourage any lingering reliance on his mother
(or any other horse for that matter). I also view the weaning period to be
one of the most potent times to develop a human-horse connection with a foal
– rather than allow the foals to place their trust in fellow horses, I'd
rather that trust be placed in me. So when I'm abruptly separating a foal
I'm not just isolating him entirely; instead I'm diverting his source of
companionship away from his dam and towards me.
Once you are satisfied that you have
achieved the weaning process the foal can be turned out into a field. At
this point you have started your foal off along a great voyage of discovery,
because this is where the real training starts!
In later newsletters we’ll cover:
Leading the horse, stopping, starting, walking and turning to name but a
few!
Do let me
know your most pressing questions and I will try to address them in a future
issue of this Newsletter. Also please do send in your photos and
stories of your horse, but do NOT forget
to add the words “there are no usage restrictions with these photographs”.
Warmly
Roger
Bourdon
Author of
“Introduction to Horseback Riding”
http:www.anyhorsebackriding.com
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