The Chinese Zodiac and The Horse Sign

I think everyone has heard of the Chinese Zodiac. What we know especially is that it is very different as the one we look everyday to.
The Chinese Zodiac has a important place in the Chinese culture, which is a very wast. The signs in it were used for a very long time now. Interesting is that the signs from the zodiac have been used in stories and folklore. These developed the different personality traits that were represented with each animal. That means that the horse has a very important place in the Chinese culture.
Horses are present in many Chinese myths . They represent horse tales, horse-like beings but also pony. We can find a lot of motifs of horses, which have their focus the horse or have horses as the protagonist of the action or in other cases they are represented as support. According to the cyclical Chinese calendar system, the time period between 31 January 2014 and 18 February 2015 falls unde the category of the (yang) Wood Horse.

The Horse Sign

The Chinese Zodiac consists of a twelve-year cycle, each year being associated with a certain animal. The 7th in the cycle is the Horse. The order of the beings-of-the-year is made to their order in completing a contest of racing across a river, in the so-called The Great Race.This race is done to see which of the animals, in which order, would be the namesakes of the twelve-year cycle. That includes to run, and swum, the finishing line being across a great river. The Rat and the Ox crossed easily enough (the Rat hitchhiking on the Ox back). Those powerful swimmers, Tiger and Dragon had little problem; nor did Rabbit, with a little help from the Dragon. The Horse, an excellent runner; but, not as good of a swimmer, would have been next -- but, the Snake having crossed the river by stowing away on Horse's hoof, doing a sudden dismount, gained the finish line, just in front of the startled Horse. Thus, it is said, despite the animal's general swiftness, the Horse finished the race only in the rank of the seventh position.

More you can read here!

In Chinese the horse is written like: 马 mǎ.

Years of the Horse were and will be:1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026

The Five Elements of Horse is Fire (Huo), which symbolizes enthusiasm and energy. The horse gives people an impression of independence and integrity. Its spirit is recognized to be Chinese people's ethos - making unremitting efforts to improve themselves with passion and diligence.

Lucky Signs for Horse:

• Lucky Numbers: 2, 3, 7

• Lucky Colors: brown, yellow, purple

• Lucky Flowers: calla lily, jasmine, marigold

• Lucky Directions: northeast, southwest and northwest

Things Should be Avoided:

• Unlucky Numbers: 1, 5, 6
• Unlucky Colors: blue, white, gold
• Unlucky Direction: southeast

Personality of the Horse:

People with Chinese zodiac Horse sign always impress people with dynamic, zealous and generous image. Endowed with many shinning points, they also have to face the weaknesses in characteristics.
 Strengths: Most of them are born with nice personalities, such as warm-hearted, upright, easygoing, so they usually have a lot of friends flocking around. Independence and endurance makes them more powerful, and they will never give in facing the bitter suffering. Positive attitude leads everything to a bright direction. 
Weaknesses: Loving spending is their problem, for they need a great amount of money to support social activities and decent dressing. Besides, frankness allows them to let out secret easily. Persistence is what they lack on the path leading to success. 

You can find more infos: here

So like the real animal, the people which are in the Chinese Horse sign are very great and interesting persons.

The Horse Behavior - Part II

Let's continue with the understanding of the horse behavior!

The herding instinct

This is very usual for the horses living in the wild. Although it will be very useful if it is taken in consideration also for the domestic horses. Normally they are sociable animals, and when taken from their herd, they will always bond with a surrogate. When speaking about a domestic horse, the surrogate will often be the owner. That is why it is very important for every horse owner to know everything about his animal.

When going with a group of domestic horses in the field, it is better to turn mares and gelding out separately. This will be a good advice especially in the spring, because then the mares have their season and geldings could show some stallion-like behavior. We can go out with one gelding and more mares, but it would not be a great idea to go with several geldings and only one mare.

Because horses tend to be very sociable and form bonds, they will show their attachment in several ways. One of them is grooming. In doing so, they stand head to tail and chew up and down each other's neck and back. It is understood that when one of them stops grooming his friend, the other one will do the same. This type of grooming is very good because it includes removing parasites and of course growing the friendship. In the summer time, it is very normal to see horses that have bonded by standing head to tail, swishing their tails to keep the flies away.

Reacting to danger

Reacting to danger is a crucial point in knowing your horse behavior. It is very important for you to know how your horse will react when dealing with a potential danger situation. When you will learn that, it will be the most exciting experience when you will go out in the field with your horse.

Domestic horses ,when out in the field, will keep their basic herd instincts. When going out with more domestic horses, they will mostly stand and graze close together. If a horse is apart at a distance, normally is a sign that something is wrong and should be investigated. Dealing with danger situations, the horse will be frighten and will run away. So, if one member of the herd feels something unusual and starts to run, the other ones will run too. This is very good to know when riding along with more people. It is very important for everyone on paying attention to his horse, but also to the surroundings. It is better to see the danger or potential unusual things before your horse, because then you can prevent any accident. If you keep your horse calm, the other ones will also be calm.

Horses are very used to leaving in a herd, and they communicate very good using their body language, like ear movements and vocal sounds. They sleep standing up, like this they are prepared to run in every moment when danger is around. When some horses lie down, normally  will be one or two standing up, like a guard. They will be the first to alert everyone if needed.

Horses spend most of their day gazing. Their stomachs are kept half-full all the time. That is because if something appears, it is better not to run with a full belly.

Horses have a life based on feeling it is always better to run than to fight. This is why, their vision is nearly 360 degrees. The distance between the eyes and mouth will allow the horse to see all around when grazing. Although they like better to run, if they are cornered and have no way to run, they will defend by kicking and biting.
Again it is very important keeping in mind the strong herd instinct also on domestic horses. 

TIPS:

• if a horse lays its ears back, usually means that it feels threatened and be ready to show aggressive behavior.
• it is not a good idea when removing all the horses from a field but one. He will show signs of distress and will try to rush up and down the fence line. This will make the others angry. He reacts like that because being in a herd is like being in a safe place, and when apart from his companions, he feels vulnerable.
• when horses display aggressive behavior toward each other, is usually between stallions.

Hope you will find this helpful!

You may want to see also:

• The first part

The Health Benefits of Riding a Horse

Before cars were invented, people always used horses to travel. Because of that everyone knew how to take care and ride a horse. In our days, we are not depending anymore on these animals. We are considering riding a horse only as a recreational activity.
Among a lot of health benefits of riding a horse, the most obvious of them are:

• strong core
• strong legs,           

but there are also some less obvious benefits, like:

• a boost in confidence
• meditation

Very important is that horses are used in therapy for mentally disabled children.
According to Health Fitness Revolution's top list of the health benefits of riding a horse are:

• Body Awareness: riding a horse works the core muscles that stabilize the trunk: the abdominal and back(because when you are riding a horse your upper part of the body must be straight) and pelvic muscles(because when you are riding a horse you have to hold on by clenching the legs). However, it is not just about the strength of the core, but also about the coordination and stability. As you will try to ride more, your body will learn to move with the horse and it will be easier.

• Quick Thinking: riding a horse, which is such a large, powerful, wonderful animal with a strong personality, every moment having something on his mind, can be a full-body workout. This will make you engage your muscles you never used before. You are also continuously adjusting to the form of the horse.

• Coordination: riding involves doing all sorts of movements at once, in order to guide properly your horse. Because of this particular thing, therapeutic riding programs for the sight-impaired had shown a lot of success.

• Core Strength: riding a horse involves an isometric exercise. That means that you are using specific muscles to stay in certain positions, for keeping your balance. Because of that, the postural strength is a major point when riding and the posture of riders improves even in day by day activities.                                       

• Muscle Tone and Flexibility: riding a horse works out beside the core muscles, also inner thighs and pelvic muscles. During your ride, you often need to maintain a squatting position, constantly having to adjust to the cadence of your horse. Because of that, your muscle tone and flexibility will improve visibly.

• Stable Strength: before any of us starts riding, we also have to take care, clean and feed our horse. For that, working in a barn strengthens your muscles and increases cardiovascular capacity.

• Mental exercise: riding a horse brings you also many mental benefits, you did not imagine till now. Not only that you learn a lot about yourself as you experience time on a horse, but also it gives a meditative effect, because of the constant focus on riding and staying on the horse. Beside being a great exercise, you will also benefit on having a connection and bond with the animal. We should not forget about the peace of mind that comes along every time you ride.

Thank you very much for reading this article! If you have opinions or something to add, please do so...

The Horse Behavior

Having a horse is easy. The hard part is to establish a bond with him and to try to understand his behavior. Once you get used to observing his behavior, you can better understand what are his needs, when and why he gets scared.

As we all know, the most basic instinct for any animal (for horse too), is to survive and to reproduce.
Out in the wild, horses live together in so called herds or "harems". Any herd is led by a dominant stallion and he usually has a dominant mare. It can also be that there are 2 or 3 mares he protects and breeds from. He has a close bond with them. In this way the tend to for long-lasting relationships and will try to make the herd/harem a secure environment.

The Harem

Once a dominant stallion has selected his "harem" (his dominant mares), most probably he will not look for new mares. Studies have shown that the average size of a harem is 5: the dominant stallion, 2/3 mares and their offspring. The boding process is not restricted between the stallion and the mare. It can happen that 2 mares will pair off and become close friends, grooming together. In the same way, young stallions that did not yet established their own harem will stay together, forming bachelor groups. Within the herd/harem, the weakest members, will often tend to attach to a dominant member, trying to stay close to them. When doing so, they will be left alone by the bullies and will always have a good food supply. 

                                                                ...TO BE CONTINUED...


You may want to see:

• The next part

Grooming a Horse ... Part II

Let's continue with the Grooming Kit!

5. Plastic/Rubber curry comb - extremely useful when you want to remove the mud and dried sweat. Also very good for stimulating the skin and for bringing grease to the surface of the coat.

6. Rubber grooming mitt - similar with the rubber curry comb.

7. Cactus cloth - a piece of hairy sackcloth. It is used to remove dried sweat and mud from all over the body. If it is cleaned, it will also bring a beautiful shine to the coat.

8. Metal curry comb - used only to clean the body brush. DO NOT USE it on your horse!

9. Hoof pick -  used only for cleaning the feet. The best way is to move downward from heel to toe, like this you will prevent damaging the frog or heels.

10. Mane comb 

• long tooth comb is used for combing out the mane and tail. 
• a short tooth comb is used to pull the mane
  

...To be continued...

You may want to see also:

• The first part of this post
• The next part of this post

Pfingstfest in Bavaria

I already told you about this bavarian tradition (here). I have some pics to show you guys from this years event.

Grooming a Horse

Regular, thorough grooming is necessary to keep your horse clean and healthy.

This also stimulates circulation, keeps your horse looking good and can help to build a relationship between the two of you. By doing this, you have a perfect chance to check your horse over for any lumps, bumps, or heat, and because of this, you should not wear gloves when grooming so you can feel any abnormalities. You should always tie your horse up before beginning this.

Grooming kit:

1. Body brush - is a soft-bristled brush that removes dust and grease from deep down in the coat. It is rarely used on the grasskept horse, and always used in conjunction with the metal curry comp.
   
2. Dandy brush - is a hard-bristled brush that removes caked mud and sweat from the coat, and is the primary tool used for grooming the grasskept horse. The dandy brush should not be used on the mane and tail because it will break the hairs.
   
3. Water Brush - ideal would be to have 2 water brushes:

• one to use it when you are finished with the grooming. This way you can take all the remained dust off the coat and you can arrange the mane on a side of the neck.
• the second one you can use only when you want to clean the feet
  

                                                              ......TO BE CONTINUED.....

You may want to see:

• The second part of this post
• The last part of this post

Kötzting's Whit Ride in Germany

Kötzting's Whit Ride or "der Pfingstritt in Bad Koetzting" (in german language)

Kötzting's Whit Ride ranks amongst the biggest mounted pilgrimage processions in Europe and goes back to an incident in 1412: A man lay dying in the village of Steinbühl about seven kilometres away from Kötzting and asked for the comfort of the church. But the priest was not prepared to go there without protection.     So the young men from Kötzting accompanied the priest spontaneously on his visit to the dying man.

   

After their return unscathed they vowed to repeat this ride each year. Thus it has been carried down, so that every year on Whit Monday some 900 riders form a procession riding and praying through the blooming Zellertal to Steinbühl on their festively bedecked horses and in old traditional costumes.

 
The riders´procession  

 
At 8 a.m. on Whit Monday, accompanied by the ringing of the church bells, the riders leave the town praying on festively bedecked horses. The procession is led by the cross bearer, followed by lantern bearers, fanfare players, a spiritual officiator with sextons and servers. Riding behind them is the "Whit groom" with his two best men.  

The previous year's Whit groom carrying the market town banner, with his best men and representatives of the young men end the official head of the procession. The remaining riders follow. Many of them bear memorial banners that they have received for their long years of participation in this pilgrim ride. One of them carries the venerable county banner. On the way, the riders say their rosaries.
 

The officiator preaches the gospel at the four stations. At the end of there journey, a church service for the riders is held in St. Nikolaus, the Whit riders' pilgrimage church in Steinbühl. After a rest for the horses and riders the procession returns to Bad Kötzting.

• source: http://www.bad-koetzting.de/110.html

Choosing and buying a horse

When you buy a horse, it is likely that you will have it for several years. Because of that it is very important you are buying a horse that is suitable for you, your circumstances, your knowledge, and your ability.
For the novice or first-time owner it is a good idea to take along an experienced friend when viewing a horse. Often they will spot something that you overlook.  It is also helpful to make a list of points that you want in a horse before you even start looking. You can then focus on the type of horse you need and ignore ones you don't need. Buying a horse can be a lengthy process and you may spend months looking at different kids before finding the one that suits you best. However, it is well worth taking the time to do this rather that rushing in to buy something for the sake of it. 
When looking at horses, it is often what the seller does tell yo that is important, so try to ask as many relevant questions as possible in order to find out as much about the horse and its history as you can.

• this short description was made according to "The Encyclopedia of  Horses & Ponies" by Tamsin Pickeral

The anatomy of the Horse-Part II

Something about a good conformation

The first thing when judging a horse's conformation is to identify what type or breed of horse you are looking at. Every breed has some special characteristics that you should search for, and mainly if you do not find them, there is some kind of conformational fault. For example, Arabs have a high-set and carried tail because they have one less vertebra in the back than other breeds. Therefore, if you are looking at an Arab horse, and it had a low and poorly-set tail, then it is safe to assume that this is an area of poor conformation

Next, you should know what sex is the horse. Mares invariably have a slightly longer back than geldings, and it is a good idea to don't forget this. Secondly, you should know how old is the horse too. A very old one sags naturally in the back and will have lost muscle tone. This point is also very important in discussing the conformation.

The head: should appear to be in proportion to the rest of the body. The ears should be alert and pricked. The horse should have a broad and flat forehead (a bulging forehead may tell you he has a bad temper and he is unpredictabil), with large "kind" eyes well apart to allow good peripheral vision. The nostrils should be large enough to allow for maximum intake of air, and the mouth should be neither too long, but also too short. A horse with a very small mouth may be difficult to fit bits to, and one with a long mouth can often be strong and a "puller". The incisors of the top and the bottom jaw should meet exactly at the front of the mouth, with the top jaw somewhat wider than the bottom jaw. There should be at least a fist-sized space between the 2 bones of the lower jaw, indicating unrestricted room for the start of the respiratory tract.

The head should be "well set" to the neck, meaning that the horse should not be thick in the jowl and gullet region, which would restrict flexion. The neck should be long enough to allow for a "good length of rein" m with a well-developed top line and a gentle curve from the withers to the poll. In this direction, the length of the neck should be equal to one-and-a-half times the front of the face to the lower lip. The neck should be  also "well set" to the shoulder, being neither too low nor too high.

You may want to see also:

• The first part of this post
• The last part of this post

this short description was made according to "The Encyclopedia of  Horses & Ponies" by Tamsin Pickeral

Have you ever been to Romania?

Romania Land of Choice!

So I already told you about a beautiful city from Romania, named Alba Iulia. I want you to tell something about the hole country.
Romania is a country not so big but not so small....from eastern Europe. It has a various relief, it has the Carpathian mountains that somehow protect the beautiful inside area called Transylvania. Well you may heard about it about the Dracula's Tale. In this region you can see a lot of castles in with Vlad Tepes (the real person from whom we have this tail of Dracula,but he was not really exactly as described there). Going further we find a plain area in the south and in the right we have the Danube Delta and the Black See. We can also add that the southern border is mainly made from the course of this big river, Danube, that comes from the Black Forest Mountains in Germany and crosses 10 countries and four capitals.

Here you can see a short description of Transylvania --->>>click here!!!

Here you can see a short description of Danube River --->>>click here!!!
                                                                                         and also --->>>click here!!!

For more about this country and tourism tips              --->>>click here!!!


You can also try to see the Wild Carpathia short movies that have several parts

• The first part                              --->>> here!!!
• The second part                         --->>> here!!!

And so on...

Besides this a great experience is driving on 2 mountain roads: Transalpina and Transfagarasan.Some say...the best driving road in the world is the Transfagarasan. Other say the best one is the Transalpina. What do you think? 

click here!!!

Also if you visit Transalpina you will be amazed of the free horses on top, near the road and also about the donkies.

For a beautiful horse slideshow --->>> click here!!!

The anatomy of the Horse - Part I

The skeleton of the horse is intrinsically linked to the horse's performance, well-being and appearance. It supports the body, maintains body shape, allows for movement, and provides points of attachment for the muscles and tendons. 

Conformation

1. How tall is a Horse?

Horses and Ponies are measured in units called "hands". One hand is the equivalent of four inches or ten centimeters. For example if we have a pony that has 15.5 hh (hands high) that means 15 hands and 5 inches high. Whether being measured in hands and inches, or in centimeters, the height is always taken from the ground to the hightest point of the withers, and for an accurate reading, the horse should be measured standing on a flat level surface, and without shoes. 

    2.  Conformation

The conformation of a horse is the way the horse has been put together, which is effectively the bone structure beneath the skin. A horse can be described as having "good conformation", meaning that he is considered to have been put together correctly, and in proportion and balance for the job he has been bred to do. On the other hand, "bad/poor conformation" describes a horse that has certain weakness in its frame, and that may lead to injury, or at the very least, an impaired ability to do his job.

   3.  Condition

The condition of a horse is governed by several factors like:

• what type pf work he is doing
• what he is fed
• his state of health
• how well he is being looked after

So taking in consideration, a horse that is eventing fit, in good health and eating the correct amont of food, will have good solid muscle development, and could be described as being in "good/hard condition". Also, a well-fed, healthy horse that is not working hard, and , therefore, does not have well-developed muscles, cold be described in "good, but soft condition". To the untrained eye, it is easy to mistake a horse lacking in muscle development and having poor conformation. The same is with an overweight horse with an excess of fatty tissue around the stifle and on the crest can be mistaken for being of "good conformation". 

As a conclusion it is very important to not forget that "conformation" and "condition" are two totally different things.

You may want to see:

• The second part of this post
• The last part of this post

• this short description was made according to "The Encyclopedia of  Horses & Ponies" by Tamsin Pickeral

The Spanish Riding School Vienna

The world of Lipizzans!

In one of my trips I arrived in Vienna. It is a wonderful city full of history, parks and a lot of things to see and do. As I was going for a walk in the city, I discovered The Spanish Riding School, right in the middle of the town, in a place called Hofburg. I didn't had much time, but I went to the "Morning Exercise", which they do every morning from Tuesday to Friday between 10:00 and 12:00. I think it was the greatest way to start my day. I was really amazed about their beautiful white horses, as they were accompanied by classical Viennese Music. I could see the specific strengthening and building up of the muscles, the horses natural movements, which were developed into the perfect figures of the "High School of the classical Horsemanchip". 

The most important thing is that they have only Lipizzans, which are Europe's oldest horse breed.They are bread from Spanish, Italian and Arab bloodlines, very intelligent and lively, with their classic physique and grace. These horses are perfectly suited for the representative style of the High School of Classical Horsemanship.

There you can also see the performances of those incredible creatures.You will be very impressed to really see the result of years of training of horse and rider in more than 70 classical performances a year.

Another great thing is that you can be apart of a guided tour, behind the scenes of this incredible school. You can have an insight into the most important areas and the stables.

For more infos --->>>click here!!!

A wonderful city and an equestrian opportunity

Horse riding in a historical city : Alba Iulia

Alba Iulia is a not so big town in Transylvania, Romania. It is the place where The Big National Reunion had place on 1st of December 1918 which made possible the final union ,of Transylvania and Banat (two romanian regions that were first independent) with the Romanian Kingdom.

For more historical details --->>>click here!!!!

For more pictures and events --->>>click here!!!!

Being a historical city, we can here be part of a lot of events presenting it's legacy. This includes various horse parades with roman soldiers and remakings of different important fights that also include horse riding. Besides this you can also go and take horse riding lessons with some great horses.

Kizoa slideshow: Cetatea Alba Iulia - Slideshow

Horse myths

Myths...

From the early beginnings of men, myths remained, describing the pure and proud figure, the speed, strength, courage and grace. No other domestic pet created such of  a fable as the horse did.
In China the oldest myths speak like the horse was a divine creature. The people worship him and the emperors came to him asking for counsel.
In Japan the legend says that the sun goddess sent her brother to teach men farming. He was killed and from his head came to life a horse.
Arabs considered the horse the most precious gift made by the creator of the world.
Greeks thought that the horse was made by Poseidon, when he came from sea and put his trident on to earth.
And our list can continue, but the important thing is that "The Horse" had a big impact on the men king from its beginnings.

The history of :The Horse

Horse Evolution

Can you imagine a world in which horses of all kind of colors, shapes and sizes (even a bit larger than a small dog) were present everywhere? Well, nowadays, horses are just one small part of an huge family tree that spans millions of years. Unfortunately a lot of branches of the horse family are now extinct.
About 55 million years ago, the dog-sized "Hyracotherium" (known as the first members of the horse family), were present through the forests in North America. Along their history, most horses remained small, but when the climate conditions changed, new species rapidly appeared. That is how some of them became larger and had the familiar hooves and grazing diets that we call today "horses". Only those branches survived to the present days.

Must see Horse Movie(Part 1)

Black Beauty

I think everybody knows this movie even if he/she just heard it's name. Made in 1994, it has an Adventure, Drama and Family genre. It is a captivating story about the fates of horses and the people who own them, how they are more interested on money or on the pure heart of their horse.
It is a really must see movie with a lot of beautiful horses.

For more details --->>>click here!!!

Great horse show

Cavallo Classico

For those who have the chance to go to one of these shows I can assure you that you will not forget it for a lifetime. This show combines an orchestra, with a band and around 100 horses that will make you feel like you are dreaming.

For more details visit the official site ---> click here!

Also you can see other people reviews on their facebook page ----> click here!