A horse that is uncomfortable with a badly fitting saddle, too tight girth, or other physical pain such as chiropractic issues may be ‘spooky’ in response. Spooking may also be an indication of vision problems. What makes a horse spook? For horses, spooking is a natural response to being startled Read more…
Rearing up can be a defensive horse behavior as a result of fear, perhaps when faced with another horse, a person or something that surprises them. Horses may rear up as a way to express their dominance (particularly stallions) or to show that they are objecting to being restrained. How Read more…
The dictionary definition of scope is extent or range. When riders speak of a horse’s scope, they are referring to the horse’s ability to jump fences easily. A horse that jumps with little effort and great power is thought to have scope and considered to be scopey. What does it Read more…
When training for discipline, you need to go to the circle shaped arena located behind the arena with the barrel racing, and collect each star. Lastly, for strength training you need to go to the arena with jumps and try collecting the stars to level up. What is discipline in Read more…
Its roots are in the Old Norse word “fylja” for female foal, that evolved to the Middle English word “filli” and is also similar to the Old English word for foal. The French word “fille” has similar roots. In English, a slang way of saying girl may be to refer Read more…
How to Trot on a Horse for Beginners From a walk, gently squeeze your legs to ask the horse to move into a trot. Don’t be afraid to hold on to the horn or front of the saddle to help steady yourself. Trotting may feel awkward, until you get the Read more…
Milkshakes, or bicarbonate loading, is a procedure that began in Standardbred racing in the 1980s, then migrated to Thoroughbred tracks. Loading of bicarbonates neutralizes the buildup of lactic acid, which causes fatigue in the muscles. What does milkshake mean in horse racing? Despite the fun-sounding name, milkshakes are anything but. Read more…
What is napping? Napping is a behavioural issue where a horse is reluctant or outright refuses to move in the direction you want them to go. This may take many different forms such as spinning around, rearing, bucking, or planting themselves and refusing to move. How do you ride a Read more…
On a new bucking horse, the strap around its flank causes a tickle, or at most an irritation (but so does any new piece of equipment on a new horse – even a saddle). What do bucking straps do? A “flank strap” (or, “bucking strap”) is used to encourage the Read more…
Once the palate is displaced, the horse is unable to breathe sufficiently to sustain exercise, and the displacement leads to rapid slowing or stopping of breathing accompanied by a loud guttural noise on expiration. What is a displaced soft palate horses? Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) describes the Read more…