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....the Summary

I wanted to make you guys a summary of my posts about what tools we need when grooming a horse. 

The horse is a loyal, intelligent, majestic , gorgeous.... I could go like this for ever...but mostly of all very clean. And so should we try to keep it as clean and as healthy as we can. In order to have all the satisfactions that this beautiful animal could give us, we should firstly be very careful on how we treat him.

Kizoa slideshow: Grooming kit - Slideshow

Grooming a Horse...Part III

Let's continue with the thing you need for grooming a horse...

11.  Wisp or massage pad 

• a wisp is normally made from a woven rope of hay, which is knotted together. It is a good idea to clean it before every use. 
• a massage pad is made of leather and has a strap on the back.

Both of these are used together with a stable rubber. It amends the muscle tone and also gives a beautiful shine to the coat. When you will raise the pad, the muscles will tense. When you will bang down and give a gentle stroke with the rubber, the muscles will relax. If you keep it in a steady rhythm, the muscle tone will be improved. This massage should be done only in areas like quarters, thighs, and the neck, and should avoid the bony areas.

12. Sponges - a really good advice wold be to have 2 of different colors.

• one for cleaning the eyes, mouth and nose
• the second one for cleaning the dock area

13. Stable rubber - it looks like a drying-up cloth and it is used at the end of the grooming. It will give an extra beautiful shine to the coat.

14. Sweat scraper - it has a curved rubber piece on one side and a metal piece on the other. It helps a lot at removing excess water, after you have washed your horse. You should use the rubber side for the bony areas and the metal one over the body (please be careful when using the metal side).

15. Hoof oil - it is used for the feet to create a beautiful shine.

16. Shampoo - sometimes is better to use a special equine shampoo for the tail.

17. Scissors - are used for general trimming and must(!) have a round end.

18. Grooming machine - are a lot of types, but basically are like a vacuum cleaner for taking all the dirt away. But please be careful on using them, cause they may scare your horse.


Hope you will find this helpful!
See also the first 2 parts of this post:

• First Part
• Second 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

Spring is here!

Spring has come! A lot of flowers everywhere. Everybody loves blooming threes, green grass and of course in this background beautiful horses. Hope you will enjoy my little video! Wish you all a nice weekend!

Beautiful weather!

Beautiful weather has come!! Great weather for riding! Tell me where will you ride this year?

Pfingstfest in Bavaria

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

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Friends!

I hope you will have a beautiful Easter and everything that you wish for!