365 Days in Horse Country –  Narragansett Pacer    Wild animal species aren’t the only living things to become extinct.  Horse breeds can also go the way of the dinosaur.  That is what happened to a horse called the Narragansett Pacer. The Narragansett Pacer was a U.S. breed that developed in the 1600s, reportedly in Rhode Island.  No one knows for sure how the breed was created, al ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Bran Mash   On days when the weather is crisp, doting horse owners like to give their horses hot mash to eat.  The theory is that it helps keep the horse warm while giving him a nice treat. Whether a hot mash really does anything to help keep a horse warm is up for debate, we do know two things about hot mashes; they make horse owners feel good, and horse ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Charisma    One of the greatest champions in the world of three-day eventing was a 15.3 hand, dark bay gelding named Charisma.  Born in 1972 in New Zealand to a Thoroughbred stallion carrying some Percheron blood and a Thoroughbred mare, Charisma was known for being easy to train from a young age.  He demonstrated his jumping prowess early on when, as a ye ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Practice Your  Mounting   Mounting is the first thing you tackle when you learn to ride.  After all, you can’t ride until you’ve mounted. Some riders are very adept at mounting, swinging gracefully into the saddle with hardly an effort.  Others struggle to hoist their weight up.  Some can only mount with the aid of a mounting block.  Most can only m ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Transitions   Everyone wants an obedient, attentive horse.  One way to get this is to practice transitions. Transitions take place when you ask your horse to go from one gait to another.  By asking your horse for transitions, you encourage him to pay attention to you.  If you ask for frequent transitions, your horse learns to focus on you as he awaits ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Nutraceuticals   You have probably heard of nutraceuticals, dietary supplements that provide nutritional effects but aren’t considered drugs.  Many people take these supplements, especially the more popular nutraceuticals such as Echinacea, St. John’s Wort, and Ginkgo Biloba. Horses can benefit from nutraceuticals, too, just like humans.  The most commonl ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  The American Cream Draft   The only existing draft horse developed in the United States, the American Cream Draft Horse, has been around since the 1800s.  The breed’s most unique characteristic is its light cream colour. Considered an extremely rare breed and listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the American Cream ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Endurance Riding Trail riding is a popular way to spend time with your horse.  But if you also like to compete, consider combining the two by getting involved in endurance. Endurance events are races that take place over 25, 50, or 100 mile (40, 80, 160km) trail courses.  The first horse and rider team to get to the finish line is the winner, although mos ...

365 Days in Horse Country –  Grazing In-Hand     We are often so busy riding and training our horses, we forget to just spend quality time with them.  One way to do this is to let them graze in-hand. Grazing in-hand simply means that you let your horse eat as he would if he were wild but that he is wearing a halter and you are at the other end of the lead rope. Nature designed hor ...

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