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<title>Horse Information and Resources | Horse Breeds | Horse Care</title>
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<description><![CDATA[Horse Articles and Information  - Useful Articles related to Horses: Horse Breeds, Horse Care and much more.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:24:09 -0500</pubDate>
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	<title>10 Ways Horses Build Character in Children</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse/10-Ways-Horses-Build-Character-in-Children.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:24:09 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[1. Learn Responsibility - Horses will teach your child responsibility very quickly. Make sure that your child does all the work involved in caring for the horse. Everything from feeding, cleaning stalls, grooming, saddling and riding. Children will want to ride but they may not always be eager to do the work. However children almost always fall in love with the horses that they handle and they will want to take as good care of them. Once they know that the horse depends on them and that in order to ride they have to take good care of the horses, they will learn to be more responsible in other aspects of there life. 2. Learn Trust - Horses must be able to trust their handlers. One of the first things that your child will learn about handling and riding horses is to be trustworthy and dependable, because if the horse doesn&rsquo;t trust its handler it will not obey him/her. This can be a very valuable life long lesson for your child. 3. Learn to be Open Minded - Every horse is different and will have to be handled differently. A good horseman never stops learning, even experts and trainers will admit that they learn something new everyday from their horses. Horses will make your child realize that learning is an on going process that never ends. This can transcend into other aspects, such as school and relationships. 4. Build Confidence - Horses are large and intimidating, so naturally it takes a lot of confidence to be able to control one. Letting a your child handle a gentle horse will do wonders for their confidence. Most people are naturally a little bit timid, especialy a child of horses because they are so big. By handling a gentle horse children will overcome their fear and learn that they can safely handle and control the same animal that they were once had great fear of. The better your child learns how to handle the horse, the more confident he/she will become. When children do well with the horses that they handle, their confidence goes up and their self esteem improves. They now realize that this huge creature they were once afraid of is a beautiful and loving animal. 5. Learn Patience - Horses are like children themselves, and training a horse is much like teaching a child. When your child has become a confident and skilled rider, letting them help train a horse will be an excellent experience for them. Horses require a lot of patience because training a young horse involves a lot of repetition and time. This is a lesson that will follow them in all aspects of life. 6. Self Discipline - Horses take a lot of time and work, so your child will have to be dedicated to learning how to ride and handle horses effectively. I have found that dedication is rarely something that children lacks when it comes to horses. People, especially young people, have a natural attraction to horses and enjoy spending time with them. However, because horses are a lot of work your child will soon learn self discipline. For example, instead of sleeping in in the morning, they will be up and out feeding and cleaning. Horses must be fed twice daily and have access to fresh water at all times. Their stalls must be cleaned regularly and they must receive regular exercise. This will take a lot of time, but most people find that it is worth it for the time they get to spend riding, or just being with horses. 7. Teaches Sensitivity - Horses can be very sensitive creatures. They have keen senses, and can sense if someone is afraid, angry, happy, etc. They communicate with body language and are very sensitive to their handler&rsquo;s body position. Because horses are so sensitive, the handler must be also. The handler must be able to tell how the horse is feeling and why it is behaving the way it is. The handler must learn to interpret the horses body language and to communicate effectively with the horse using its own language. When a horse misbehaves, the handler must decide whether or not the horse is doing so out of fear, stubbornness, anger, pain etc. and must respond appropriately. 8. How to Learn From Our Mistakes - When your child first starts learning to ride and handle horses they will make a lot of mistakes and will learn quickly not to make the same mistake twice. That is what horsemanship is all about. When a rider makes a mistake he/she cannot deny it. They must acknowledge the mistake and correct it. The rider must move on after correcting the mistake and not dwell on it. Handling and riding horses will teach your child to use their past mistakes to improve their future horsemanship skills and this will tanscend into other aspects of your childs life. 9. Learn Respect - Children will learn to respect their horses and themselves. Horses are large, dangerous creatures and they demand respect, yet in order to be handled safely they must also respect their handlers. By learning how to handle a horse, children will become more respectful of there horse and its nature. By being trustworthy, confident and responsible your child will earn the respect of there horse. 10. To Have Fun - Last but certainly no least, your child should have fun and enjoy being apart of the horse life style. You don't want to put too much demand on your child, you need to let them have fun with there horse as well as know when its time to be serious. I hope the information provided here will help you realize how important it is for you to find a creative yet fulfilling way for you to teach your child all aspects of owning and caring for a horse.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Parasites</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse/Horse-Parasites.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:23:25 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[Many parasites can infect your horse, and some are entirely unpreventable. One such parasite is the bot, transmitted by the botfly. This fly lays its eggs on the skin of the horse, which is then transmitted to the mouth by licking. The parasites eventually move to the stomach attach themselves to the lining and feed. This can cause problems with digestion and obstruct the passage of food. After nine months, the larvae leave through the feces and borrow into the ground where they become adult botflies. There are a few anti-botfly sprays available on the market, but currently almost all horses are infected with this parasite. Bloodworms live in the blood of horses and feed on the nutrients there. They pass through the digestive tract and back into the horse through the grass it eats. Severely infected horses become weak and anemic. It is recommended horses receive frequent de-worming treatments. Roundworms migrate between the stomach and the lungs, stealing nutrition from developing foals. Foals should be treated approximately two months until two years of age keep these worms in check. Pinworms can cause the horse severe anal itching as they congregate and look for a surface for the horse to contact. Infected horses often have bare patches around the tail from constant rubbing. Fortunately, they can be killed with similar drugs as other parasites. Besides administering de-worming drugs, horse owners can prevent a horse's infection by keeping their environment clean, throwing away old hay, and not allowing water to accumulate and become a home for parasites.]]></description>
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	<title>Trailering Your Horses Safely</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse/Trailering-Your-Horses-Safely.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:22:57 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse</category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse/Trailering-Your-Horses-Safely.html</guid>
	<description><![CDATA[There&rsquo;s a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and you&rsquo;re planning on being there with your horses. However, it&rsquo;s been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and you&rsquo;re a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible. Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. There&rsquo;s very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey? How to Ensure Safe Trailering If you&rsquo;re out of practice, or if you&rsquo;ve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer. The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along. Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills: 
-Turning with your trailer. -Backing your trailer. -Parking your trailer on a grade. -Stopping the trailer rig suddenly. Ready for the Highway After you&rsquo;ve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, you&rsquo;re ready to test your skills out on the road. Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, you&rsquo;re ready to travel any distance with your horses. Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation ]]></description>
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	<title>All About Buying Horses</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse/All-About-Buying-Horses.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:22:15 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[It isn&rsquo;t like going down to the candy store and picking out what you want. Neither is it like going to a pet store and buying the gold fish or the pretty little kitten that catches your eye. Buying a horse is serious business and you need to be aware of it before you go out and get one. Getting a horse is just the first step to a lot of care, expense and time. So let&rsquo;s first take a look at what all can go wrong with a horse so you get a clear picture of what you&rsquo;re in for. First of all, horses eat a lot and you also need to be prepared to spend a lot on their grooming, bedding and tack. Besides this, you also need to have them shooed and make sure they get their vaccinations. But what is most important is how to buy yourself a good horse. For that, let&rsquo;s do a process of elimination. Don&rsquo;t buy a bad tempered horse as chances are he&rsquo;ll always be that way. Some bite, crib, kick or chew the edge of the stall. Some are not trained and though they might just be okay on the basics, they would still be green broke which means that though they might let you put on the saddle, they would not be able to follow the signals a well-trained horse should know! Check the horse&rsquo;s health as well. If the legs and hooves aren&rsquo;t strong, all the horse could perhaps manage would be a slow walk around a ring carrying a child and not a fast gallop on a race track as you had fondly imagined. After all that, it&rsquo;s time to look at the positive side. You need to find the horse just right for you &ndash; so how do you do that? Be cautious when you are buying one through the newspaper or at an auction. It would be better if you were to frequent horse events or shows and ask around there. Here, you might get a good horse where the owner who is very competitive has just graduated to a flashier, faster horse and the old horse could still be very dependable and great as a first horse for you. Once you kind of decide on a horse, don&rsquo;t be impulsive. Ask around a bit about shows, events or competitions that it has entered. Many tend to observe horses and will tell you if it has a bad temper or tends to balk at the popular jump at shows &ndash; the chicken coop. Maybe the grapevine could even tell you whether the horse is healthy or not. Don&rsquo;t be in a hurry to hand over your cash. Then it&rsquo;s time for the vet. Let him test the horse&rsquo;s hearing, teeth, eyesight and heart. He can even tell you how old the horse is, approximately. He will also inspect the horse&rsquo;s hooves and legs, looking for leg splints, swollen hocks or thrush. Now thrush, a hoof infection, can be dangerous and usually occurs when a horse stands in wet, dirty bedding for a long time. Then, last but not least, you have to make sure the horse is a good fit as far as you are concerned. You could tack him up just so you know if he has any bad habits, then mount him and go through the paces. Keep an eye open for flaws like not obeying commands or not being able to change leads. True, some habits can be corrected by a trainer but there&rsquo;s nothing like getting a trained well-behaved horse for the first time.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Training Facts And Maxims</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse-Training/Horse-Training-Facts-And-Maxims.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:21:06 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse Training</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[To the uninitiated horse owner, there are timely facts about horses they should know. In fact, when someone first gets a horse these timely facts should be studied and learned. These timely facts come from the Jesse Beery horse training manual. Jesse Beery was a famous horse trainer from the 1800's. Interestingly, Beery's training methods are as powerful today as they were when Beery was alive. Timely Fact #1: Make your horse your friend, not your slave. Timely Fact #2: Almost every wrong act of the horse is caused by fear, excitement or mismanagement. One harsh word will increase the pulse of a nervous horse ten beats a minute. Hoses know nothing about balking until forced into it by bad management. Any balky horse an be started steady and true in a few minutes. I never found one that I could not teach to start his load in fifteen minutes and usually in three. Timely Fact #3: Intelligent horsemen have learned that kickers, biters and balkers are natural results of abuse, that not one horse in a hundred is vicious until made so by cruelty; that whipping a horse is as mean and senseless as whipping a baby, and that the most useful, obedient and long lived horses are those treated from birth with kindness and common sense. Timely Fact #4: The whip is the parent of stubborness, but gentleness wins obedience. There is no such thing as balkiness in a horse that is kindly treated, and that gets an occasional apple, potato or sugar from his master's hand. Timely Fact #5: When a hose is afraid or excited, quiet him by kind words and caress. An excited horse is practically crazy and to whip him is dangerous, foolish and cruel. I have known a single blow of the whip to balk a spirited horse. Whipping a balky horse is barbarous and only increases balkiness.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Training 101</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse-Training/Horse-Training-101.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:20:37 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse Training</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[Each horse is different in how it learns and how it reacts to outside stimuli. Certain methods of horse training may apply to some horses, but it does not mean that it will be effective to all breeds of horse. To start horse training you must develop a communication system with the horse. This might take time. In the same way as children may not fully grasp the idea of things at an instant, baby horses in training may not get every pressure, pat or way of holding the reins at once. When you apply a certain pressure, you expect a certain response. During horse training, you must make the horse understand that a certain pressure should elicit a corresponding response. We don&rsquo;t expect full compliance in the beginning, but as time goes by, these actions will be part of the horse&rsquo;s vocabulary. Throughout the course of the horse training, one by one these actions will be added to his vocabulary. But these actions should still be broken down into minute details that the horse can take in one at a time. Learn how to pace with each individual horse. Training is something that should be done slowly and surely. You must also learn how to &ldquo;speak&rdquo; to your horse in a way that it will be able to comprehend. This manner of speaking would mean fewer words and more body language. Horses are herd animals. They learn well by imitating the leaders of the herd. You should be that &ldquo;leader&rdquo; your horse will follow. Patience is a key in training your horses. You must also take into consideration that no one, animal or human, learns well when under stress. You should not force lessons into your horse during horse training. They don&rsquo;t appreciate the yelling and whipping, especially if they do not know what all the harshness is for. Unlike humans who can speak their minds, horses resort to more physical responses. And you certainly wouldn&rsquo;t want your horse to whirl, kick, strike and do out of hand movements. You must create an environment wherein the horse can learn on its own, aside from the horse training that you give it. It is also important to see the difference between having been able to teach the horse something and it just accepting it. If a horse is relaxed when you do something, this does not necessarily mean that it is trained. This might just mean to it as another thing a human being normally does. Resistance at first is needed in order to see that the horse recognizes that something new is being taught to him. The horse&rsquo;s daily training routine should not be based on a set of particular things you want to teach to the horse. It should be based on how your horse reacts to your actions. Don&rsquo;t teach something new to it without reviewing what it already knows. Most importantly - don&rsquo;t force your horse to go on horse training if it doesn&rsquo;t feel well. A good routine does not only maintain the horse&rsquo;s attention level, but also its comfort level.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Training: Stop A Horse From Running Away</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse-Training/Horse-Training--Stop-A-Horse-From-Running-Away.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:20:04 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse Training</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[Running away, like all other habits, is caused by improper and careless handling. It only takes three or four experiences of this kind to make a horse unsafe to drive, ride or work. The driver is never sure whether he will get back with the whole rig or not. This is not the only bad feature of having a runaway horse, for the driver never knows when he will be thrown out, in making a quick turn, or running over some sort of an obstruction and either badly shaken up, or, possibly crippled for life. I would rather risk my life behind a kicker or shyer any day, than behind a runaway before he has been properly subdued and with no means of control except the lines. A great many runaway horses have had the most severe jaw-breaking bits used on them. Most drivers imagine that if they put a severe jaw-breaking bit on the runaway horse that they have a means of control. They continue in this belief until the horse becomes frightened or sees an opportunity to run off, and then, in spite of the action of the jaw-breaking bit, the horse runs away and smashes things to pieces. I have seen horses' tongues almost torn from the mouth, sometimes hanging by a very small piece of flesh or muscle, caused by the use of harsh bits, in the drivers' effort to restrain them. There is only one way to overcome this habit and that is by a complete subjective treatment. You must overpower his strength and convince him that you have control of him even under excitement of any kind. However, you should never start to train a runaway horse without having one or two helpers on hand, as you will need them at practically every stage of the game. According to Professor Beery &ldquo;the treatment for a runaway is similar to that used in subduing a shyer. He should have racket made all over and around him, and anything he is liable to frighten at should be used about him and he should be drilled thoroughly on the commands &ldquo;Whoa,&rdquo; &ldquo;Steady,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Get Up.&rdquo; Be sure he is aware of the fact that struggle as he will, you have complete control over him, under any circumstances, and at any time.&rdquo; Special bridles can also be used to help train and dissuade a potential runaway, especially one that is not confirmed in the habit and has shown an inclination to run only once or twice. In a great number of cases all that is necessary is to compel him to stop at your will, and he will become so discouraged that he will give up the contest. The use of the Second Form War Bridle is usually sufficient to overcome the habit, if it is not fully developed. When a horse shows a desire to run, the driver, by a few quick jerks on the cord, gives the horse severe punishment across some of the nerves leading to the brain, and has him under control within a few feet from where he first started. To find out how to train a runaway and how to make the special bridles visit http://www.HorseTrainingResources.com.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Training: How To Stop A Horse From Balking</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse-Training/Horse-Training--How-To-Stop-A-Horse-From-Balking.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:19:36 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse Training</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[Balking is one of the most aggravating habits that a horse can have. You&rsquo;re ready to go but the horse is not and probably will not be for a while. This is a challenging part of horse training. A balky horse usually stands and looks back, as if it expected something to happen from the rear, and he is seldom disappointed, for the driver usually makes the air hot with a volley of words and the hissing of the whip. His words have absolutely no meaning to the horse and naturally he becomes more and more confused and his senses more and more blunted. It would be better instead of yelling and slashing with a whip to sing a song and step to one side and slash the fence. The horse's confusion would change to astonishment and he would probably move off. No horse balks simply because it wants to stand. There is no reason for a horse balking the first time; several repetitions of the cause, followed by a succeeding act, becomes a habit, and the habit remains when the cause has long since ceased to exist. Balking is a confused, inactive and almost insensible condition of the mind that happens when the horse is faced with two conflicting problems. For example, if a strong willed horse wants to go to the stable and you jerk back to pull him on another direction these conflicts can confuse him. Since he can think of just one thing at a time, he becomes confused and sullen and stops. If the first stroke or two of the whip does not attract his attention to something else others will only lock his mind and make him all the more insensible to his surroundings. In another example a young ambitious horse is hitched by the side of a slow, sluggish horse. The command &ldquo;Get up&rdquo; is given and the ambitious colt leaps forward, promptly, only to jerk on his tender shoulders, and mouth, because the old horse did not obey at once. When this is repeated a few times, he becomes confused, because he was jerked for going forward and whipped for going backward, and, in his confusion, he could only stand and prance. This is same as when a man of keen intellect, who is an entertaining talker in ordinary conversation, freezes when asked to give a speech. He becomes unable to say a word, and so confused he could hardly tell his own name and not know enough to sit down. It is something of the same condition of mind the balking horse gets into. It would be brutal to abuse the man because his mind became inactive in the new surroundings, and it is still more brutal to abuse the balking horse with his lesser mental powers. But that&rsquo;s exactly what many do. The solution may surprise you, as may much of the advice given by Professor Beery in his series of books on horsemanship. Some is common sense but some expert advice makes you wonder how it would ever work, but it does. The way to stop a horse from stopping or balking is just as he is telling you by his eyes and ears and motion of the head that he is about to stop, say &quot;Whoa&quot; firmly, and give a powerful wrench on the lines. By stopping him before he stops of his own accord, you have disconcerted him and thrown him into a thoughtful mood. When you feel that you have his attention drawn from balking, give a confident &quot;Get Up&quot; and at the same time a side pull on the line. Naturally, there&rsquo;s more to it than that, especially if you&rsquo;re dealing with a horse confirmed in the habit so you should visit http://www.HorseTrainingResources.com for help with this and other horse habits.]]></description>
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	<title>Horse Care &amp; Training Tips</title>
	<link>http://www.guides.HorseTraderInn.com/info/Horse-Training/Horse-Care---Training-Tips.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:18:04 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Horse Training</category>
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	<description><![CDATA[Do you own a horse? If so, then you have questions about the care, feeding, shoeing, cost, etc. of horse ownership. The least expense of owning a horse, is the actual purchase. Once you have bought your horse, then your expenses begin: shoeing, de-worming, vaccinations, training, boarding, etc. Horse Training Tip: Timing Say you're trying to teach your horse to give to the bit. When he gives you must instantly release the pressure. There are times I've seen people keep pulling on the reins &quot;after&quot; the horse gave to the pressure. No release, no learning. The problem with that is the horse doesn't learn that he'll get a release. So if you keep pulling, there is no timing, there is no release, and you end up with garbage. Soon, the horse may fight you for control. If he gets no release, then why comply. It is the release that teaches! Timing is everything. Currently I am training my mare with the Parelli methods of Horse-Man-Ship. I have seen the Parelli's in person, and just watching them, gives me goose bumps because of the love, language and leadership that I witnessed with my eyes. It was incredible. I want that kind of relationship with my mare, and I am doing everything possible to achieve this goal. Visit the website to find out more useful information and tips on horese care and horse training. I will be putting the descriptions of the 7 Games here soon.]]></description>
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