Petsmu

Looking for the perfect pony? Who isn’t? Good ponies-those who can teach kids the ropes when it comes to horsemanship-are said to be worth their weight in gold.

What exactly is a pony, by definition? How does it differ from what we call a horse? Well, a pony is, in fact, a horse. Ponies are a sub-classification of light horses, which are those used for riding. The main difference between a pony and a horse is that a pony is under 14.2 hands. To this end, just about any horse who meets the height requirement can be shown in pony classes. However, there are certain breeds where all the individuals registered must meet pony requirements. These are called pony breeds.

Like other horse breeds, pony breeds vary in size, color, and gait.

Shetland

While this breed originated in the British Isles, it is now quite popular here in the United States. The Shetland has the distinction of being the smallest of the ponies. While it is certainly possible to learn to ride on a well-trained Shetland pony, their small stature means they are quickly outgrown. They also have a fairly bumpy gait, which makes them not so ideal for riding. But don’t worry, American Shetland ponies have certainly found their niche! As very fancy driving ponies, you can usually find them pulling carts, carriages and buggies. One of the best things about Shetland ponies is that they are able to grow really thick winter coats. To this end, they are ideal ponies for people in cold climates. According to breed standards, Shetlands can be any color, including multicolored patterns such as the Paint horse.

Welsh

Welsh ponies originated in a part of Great Britain known as Wales. Welsh ponies are considered among the best of the riding ponies, and are known for their smooth gaits and tractable, willing natures. According to breed rules they come in four sizes, which range from 12 to 15 hands. But wait, you say, doesn’t a pony have to be under 14.2 hands in order to be classified as a pony? Good catch! In fact, three of the sizes are actually pony sizes. Horses of the largest Welsh size are considered “cobs,” or small horses. A cob can be just about perfect for a rider who has outgrown their pony, but is still too small for a horse. Because of this the versatile Welsh pony breed is not only ideal for children, but many adults on the small side have enjoyed Welsh cobs as well!

POA

POA stands for Pony of the Americas. This breed was founded in the United States in 1956. Original POAs were developed by cross-breeding Shetland Ponies with Appaloosa horses, as well as Quarter Horses and Arabians. POAs share the breed characteristics of their founding stock, and range in height from 11.2 hands to 13.2 hands. Because of their Appaloosa heritage, they come in a wide variety of coat patterns. POAs work well for both riding and driving.

Connemara

The Connemara is an Irish pony that has Arabian horses in its ancestry. Connemaras are known for being one of the taller pony breeds, as many of them stand in the 14.2-hand range. Connemaras are often gray or black, although registry rules also allow them to be brown, bay, or dun. Connemaras have very smooth gaits, are willing learners, and are often very athletic. They excel in a wide variety of disciplines, from riding to driving, and are well-suited to both children and driving adults. Continue Reading »

Horse trailers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Take into consideration the size of your horse(s) and how far you will be traveling with them when you are searching for a new trailer. Allow your horse to get used to the trailer a few weeks in advance of taking him somewhere. This helps to calm and relax him. A horse that walks into a dark unfamiliar trailer that resembles a cave and then feels it is motion beneath him will not be very happy or calm when you arrive at your destination. Show your love and concern for your horse by giving him the assurance he needs. This means get him use to a surrounding that he is not familiar with as of yet.

Horse trailers can be equipped with lots of things and a wise idea would be to suspend a hay net close so that your horse can have a nourishing snack throughout the trip. This is especially important if the trip is to be a long one. Make sure that the hay net is within reach of the horse’s mouth but not so close that he is likely to get his neck or his mane entangled in it and then injure himself trying to get out of it.

Horses need to be transported in horse trailers that are designed and arranged with them in mind as opposed to the people who care for them. Make sure you carefully inspect the inside of the trailer to ensure that your horse could not get hurt on anything at all, especially if he gets restless. This includes any holes, cracks or splinters. Make sure that all breast and tail bars, as well as partitions are padded to allow for the comfort of the horse or horses.

Despite your best efforts, you may have horses that are reluctant to enter the trailer and they may require a little bit of encouragement. Horse trailers that have a lightly colored interior, as opposed to a darker one, tend to be more inviting to horses. Continue Reading »

Trying to pin down the moment at which horse and human history were first entwined is like trying to name the inventor of the wheel. The domesticated horse looms so large in human culture, and casts its shadow from so far back in time, that we may never know much about its origins.

We can say that the horse’s first confirmed appearance in human culture is a dramatic one: the still-haunting Paleolithic cave art of 30,000 BC, of the sort found in places such as Lascaux, France (though the estimated date for Lascaux’s paintings is closer to 16,000 years old). But these were wild horses, hunted in all likelihood for meat.

The next clear picture we have - no pun intended - comes from evidence of chariot burials around 2000 BCE, though evidence is mounting to suggest a date slightly further back: in the Eurasian steppes of 4000 BCE.

In that rough, cold, open environment (centered on what is now Ukraine), archaeologists find evidence of the use of bits in the 6000 yr old remains of horse teeth. (Other evidence from this era and area includes the appearance of horse bones in human graves - apparently cowboys weren’t the first to insist on being buried with their loyal steeds.)

A bit later in the archaeological record - 2500-2000 BC, in Hungary - we find remains of horses whose size, as well as the range of physical variation between each other, attest to the likelihood that horse breeding and breaking was already affecting the species’ evolution.

By this point in history, evidence of widespread domestication of horses already abounds: breastplate harnesses, an expansion in the horse’s geographic area (perhaps suggesting human adoption of the animals), references to horseback writing in ancient Mesopotamian documents, and, less appetizingly, layers of concentrated horse poop (suggesting the presence of corrals, unless ancient wild horses naturally observed the same group-bathroom-use practices as contemporary American women visiting dance clubs).

Though much of this evidence arises over a large area in a small space of time, suggesting a picture of many contemporaneous but unrelated breakthroughs in horse domestication rather than one culture “discovering” the horse’s usefulness and teaching this secret to others, it’s still possible that one particular culture got there, so to speak, before all others.

It may have been the Botai culture of Kazhakstan (3500-3000 BCE) - their garbage deposits contain a great many more horse bones than do those of any previous known culture, suggesting that they had more success in hunting wild horses for food, which would seemingly require rudimentary transportation technology, such as, well, horses to ride! On the other hand, say some archaeologists, they may have done their hunting on foot.

Another candidate may be the people who inhabited the coastal steppes of Ukraine north of the Danube delta; these folks’ graves include beads made of horses’ teeth, plus polished stone mace-heads sculpted into the shape of horse heads. (But, as we know already from those gorgeous Lascaux cave paintings, the use of horses as symbols of grace, beauty, power, probably predates their domestication by a healthy distance.)

Finally, there are the Khvalynsk people of the Volga region of present-day Russia, whose graves yield evidence of ritual sacrifices of horses (wild or not?) as long ago as 4800-4400 BC.

Another intriguing scenario: prehistoric horses were once widespread in modern-day North America, but they all died out around 8000-9000 BC. The modern horse is entirely descended from those ancient pre-horse species who crossed from American to Eurasia before the last Ice Age, and, given that the same environmental stressors thought to have killed off the American horse were also felt, to a lesser extent, in Eurasia, it’s possible that horses would have died off there too had they not been domesticated.

An especially ironic possibility, this, especially in light of another, unrelated theory: that the North American horse died as a direct result of humanity’s emergence - they were hunted to death. Perhaps humanity took away with one hand and gave with another.

About the author: TRP Services offers Thoroughbred horse racing and horse racing tips online for horse racing handicapping and those who love thoroughbred horses for the horse racing tracks.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com