A special anatomical feature of horses called the stay apparatus allows horses to sleep standing up. A stay apparatus is a group of tendons and ligaments that work together so that the horse can remain standing with little muscular effort. Do horses get tired of standing all the time? Most Read more…
Occasionally, unavoidable accidents can happen, and horses can experience muscle strains or sprains when being ridden. Always walk your horse for a bit when you first start a ride. You should transition into more extraneous riding slowly so that you help them loosen up their muscles, preventing injury. Do horses Read more…
Lift the upper lip of the horse and look at the gums above the teeth (also called the mucous membranes). Mucous membranes should be a healthy pink, shiny, moist and slippery. If they are pale, dry or tacky this can indicate dehydration. What color should the mucous membranes be in Read more…
Child’s Pose. From tabletop, sit back towards your heels, stretching your arms out in front of you, hands planted on the ground. This stretches your back and sides and is a great restorative stretch after horse riding. It can help relieve lower back pain and relax the muscles along the Read more…
Horse’s eyes are situated on both sides of his head, which is why he sees almost everything on the back and on the sides – the vision is flat and out of focus. Much clearer he can see what is in a triangle in front of his muzzle (three-dimensional sharp Read more…
By walking the last couple of miles on the return leg of the trip, you also avoid reinforcing the dangerous tendency of some horses to pull, jig, or race back to the barn. Always offer water after you dismount and periodically during the first half-hour or so after your ride. Read more…
You don’t technically need a saddle to tame a horse. You do need a saddle to ride the horse after you’ve tamed it, though. If you skip this step, you’ll still be able to lead the horse around and breed it, and sit on its back without controlling it. Saddles Read more…
Considered the “Lord of the Plains” due to their expertise on horseback, the relationship between a Comanche warrior and his horse was one of respect, endurance, speed and skill. Comanche boys learned to ride before the age of six. Men hunted on horseback targeting game from deer and rabbits to Read more…
Generally, no. Literary evidence mostly indicates that Mongol horses were unshod, at least with metal. However, some horses’ hooves were shod with skins during the time of Genghis Khan, and there is evidence that metal was sometimes used by Mongols in the west and during Kublai Khan’s invasions of Japan. Read more…
approximately 8,000 years ago. Hippidion and other South American equines became extinct approximately 8,000 years ago. Why did horses go extinct in South America? A perfect storm involving a rapidly warming climate and the arrival of predatory humans finally led to the extinction of the South American horse and other Read more…