Horse Blog

The Akhal Teke breed of horses have survived hundreds of years, mainly thanks to the efforts of their owners, i.e. the warlike Turkmen tribe called Teke, who used the horses during wars waged with their neighbours. The Tekes avoided cross-breeding them with other horses in order to keep the marvellous features of the breed.

Heres my top 5 list which identifys if you are a horse addict. Enjoy!

This describes perfectly my recent rides on Picken.. She has truly become my equine soulmate; we both love to leg it out and cover country. Not always the case (at least for me ) When I first got her and was a total newbie rider, it was a fearful experience; and she had my number immediately. Through time and training (mostly mine) we are much more in synch. I do know that she will always have her "testing me " days where as Patrick and I say... she makes us be creative. Her life started on the race track, and while I purchased her after her racing days... she's 100% registered throughbred An elegant mare.

The horse you see her with here, was a confirmed and dangerous biter who had torn the shirt right off her father’s back. They had kept him because he was excellent under saddle, but it was getting more difficult to justify the risk.

Throughout history, horses have performed many difficult and important jobs. Beyond their role as a reliable mode of transportation (the true definition of horsepower) they’ve been “employed” as ranchers, farmers, soldiers, police officers, teachers, athletes, sight guides, tour guides, and the list goes on.

Industry and technology has changed the work expected of the horse but that does not mean they are no longer useful. The required work of horses may not be as it once was but they are still very much needed. Though many horse related professions are not considered a need for the existence of mankind these professions are still an important part of our economy. There are also a few important jobs we have given the horse that can only effectively be accomplished by this animal.

Posted by sierra on 13 Feb 2007 at 09:06 pm | Tagged as: Horse Health, Horse Breeds

We have an American Standard Bred Mare named Clancy, who to the best of our knowledge is around 14 years old (We have had her for the last 5 years.) She is a beautiful and strong mare, but she has got serious attitude. She is contrary and difficult for me, and even worse for others. She would buck, nip, and flatten her ears just to let us know when she didn’t want to do something; which was often.

Once you have joined the Noni Horses community, you can start your own blog and upload your horse pictures to the Horse Photo Albums.

Little did Pride (17yrs old) know that retirement from horse logging for a percheron meant catering to 10 kids at one time......the very next day it increased to 11.

Actually, that’s a lie. It all started on my 9th birthday, when my then-best-friend Karen gave me a book about a girl and her horse, titled creatively, “The Race”. It was part of a series. After I read all 10 books in the series, I was totally hooked on the whole pony thing, and for the next few years I borrowed every single book (literally. And some more than once.), fiction and nonfiction, that the Kentwood Branch library had to offer about horses, horse care, horse breeds, horse feeding & vetting, and horse showing. I drew countless pictures of horses. I collected plastic horses. I plastered every square inch of my bedroom walls with horse posters. I painted a horse mural on my closet doors. I was forever trying to convince my dad that really, the shed in the backyard was big enough to house a horse, and truly, neither the neighbors nor the city of Grand Rapids wouldn’t care if we violated zoning laws and kept one back there. He didn’t buy it. So, at about age 15, I gave up.

This is an American Cream draft horse, the only draft horse breed developed in the United States. Alas for the breed, it was developed in Iowa in 1911, at the tail end of the draft horse’s reign in the field; in a very short time tractors replaced them, and many of these heavy horses ended up at the glue factory.

As for the French, they were the least ambiguous, the most dedicated. The leader of their group of racecourse volunteers was Jacqueline Ripart, a wiry woman in her 50s (I’d say) who has documented and collected DNA samples from horse breeds all over the world. It was she who decided several years ago to revive the traditional At Chabysh celebrations after the long interval during which they were banned by the Soviets. And it is she who’s leading a sustained effort to preserve the Kyrgyz horse breed before its characteristics are completely lost to crossbreeding.

The castration of a male horse is a simple surgical procedure with few risks. Sperm cells are produced in the testicles, matured and stored in the epididymus, and transported via the vas deferens to the ejaculatory site. Gelding removes the testicles, epididymus, part of the spermatic cord, and the covering of the testicles. With gelding comes an immediate cessation in the production of sperm cells, yet newly gelded horses have impregnated mares. This is due to the presence of the ampulla, a sperm reservoir at the end of the vas deferens.

In the Tyrolean mountain regions of Germany a small draft breed was developed over the centuries. The Haflinger horse is still in active service, both in Europe and the USA. Mennonites and Amish favor the breed and are now the main supplier of breeding stock. The Haflinger suits their style of farming, with small fields and plentiful time to do them justice.

I first encountered a Haflinger while on a ride with a former friend, Lisa Murphy, and her daughter. I was impressed with the stocky and muscular frame of the beast. Lisa said that the horse was one of her favorites. It seemed to be very even-tempered and friendly. It couldn’t gallop as fast as the other horses present on the ride, but trotted well and was amiable.

Like a well-trained pet, Star can shake hands, roll over and play dead. He can also run like the wind and wear a saddle with style. Star is one of the champions of a rare equine breed developed in Appalachia at a time when people needed horses that were sure-footed enough to cross steep trails, brawny enough to pull a plow and gentle enough to give rides to children on lazy Sunday afternoons.

Now the mountain pleasure horse is becoming a favorite with trail riders nationwide, selling for as much as $150,000.

New England Equine Medical Surgery Center is being opened by three doctors who currently work at the Rochester Equine Center, which is closing.

Equine Cushings disease is caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland, which is responsible for the production and regulation of hormones. Symptoms include a long, shaggy coat that does not shed, excessive drinking and urination, laminitis, a tendency for recurring infections in the hoof (foot abscesses), and a loss of muscle mass, especially along the topline and rump.