Experienced backyard horsekeeper Joan Fry leads the prospective horse owner through the process of assessing suitable land; choosing a veterinarian and farrier; constructing and furnishing a small barn, paddock, and arena; purchasing a horse; and feeding and care. Of special value to both novice and experienced owners are the sections on feed, which take into account the most up-to-date nutrition research, and training the horse for safe and enjoyable trail riding. Written with encouraging cheer and plenty of “horse sense,” Backyard Horsekeeping leads the way to maintaining and enjoying your own horse on your own property.
Hay is for horses! Everyone knows that, but do you know how much hay they need? Or how much water? Did you know your horse can talk to you with his ears? Or that he can sleep standing up? Follow along with Athena the horse as she explains the basics of keeping a horse in your backyard. She’ll teach you the basic necessities of caring for your equine friend, from what kind of fencing you can use, to tips and tricks for keeping water thawed in winter weather, and even fun stuff you can do with your horse. Keeping a backyard horse can be fairly simple, and even if you have a tight budget, it can be done!
This practical book helps you interpret and connect the physical signals that horses display in response to their environment. These signals are evident in the everyday actions, gestures and attitudes that horses communicate to each other, but are often so subtle that they can go unnoticed by humans. This book aims to rectify that, offering horse lovers and equine professionals an opportunity to gain a unique insight into their 'horse's world'. Key features: includes detailed description of language signs of domestic horses, with a special emphasis on calming signals includes 275 pictures to visualize various language signs, calming signals, behaviour sequences and facial features presents communication ladders to show how a horse responds to incentives in his environment, and what signals he uses at certain moments contains tips on the use of the communication ladders and calming signals to improve the socialisation, training and wellbeing of your horse considers equine psychological stress from an environmental perspective, providing a valuable alternative to the current common clinical perspective. After reading this book you will be more astute in spotting calming signals, displacement activities, stress signals and distance-increasing signals, and better able to see which stimuli your horse can handle and which he cannot. This means you will know what to do to calm your horse before his stress rises to an unmanageable level. Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses is both fascinating and important reading for any equine veterinary practitioner, student or nurse, as well as horse owners and trainers.
Paddock Paradise is a revolutionary model for safe, natural horse keeping, hoof care, and the healing and rehabilitation of lame horses. The premise of Paddock Paradise is to stimulate horses to behave and move naturally according to their instincts.
Riding 2,000 miles on horseback from Montana to New Mexico sounds like a crazy but thrilling dream or pure hardship and exhaustion. According to Bernice Ende, the trip was all that and more. Since swinging her leg over the saddle for that first long ride in 2005 (at the age of 50), Ende has logged more than 29,000 miles in the saddle, crisscrossing North America on horseback - alone. More than once she has traversed the Great Plains, the Southwest deserts, the Cascade Range, and the Rocky Mountains. Along the way, she discovered a sense of community and love of place that unites people wherever they live. From 2014-2016, she was the first person to ride coast to coast and back again in one trek, winning acclaim from the international Long Riders' Guild and awe from the people she met along the way. Bernice Ende's memoirs are illuminated by accompanying maps of her routes and photos from her journeys, capturing the instant friends she meets along the way, and her ongoing encounters with harsh weather, wildlife, hard work, mosquitoes, tricky route-finding, and the occasional worn out horseshoe. Ende reveals her inner struggles and triumphs - testing the limits of physical and mental stamina, coping with inescapable solitude, and the rewards of living life her own way, as she says, "in her own skin." Saddle up and come along for the journey of a lifetime.
Keeping your own horses requires dedication, hard work, and a sincere interest in the well-being of your animals. This practical guide shows you how to design efficient facilities and establish effective maintenance routines so that your horses can stay happy, healthy, and safe on even the smallest plots of land. Offering expert advice on barn designs, fencing options, and pasture management, Cherry Hill stresses the importance of understanding horse behavior and environmentally responsible land stewardship as integral aspects of a pleasurable and rewarding horsekeeping experience.
In Horse Housekeeping, Margaret and Michael Korda (she is a successful novice- and training-level eventer and he is the author of Horse People) provide everything you need to know to set up a barn of your own and care for your horse (or horses) at home. Authoritative, inspirational, highly accessible, full of common sense and down-to-earth advice, all of it based on twenty-five years of experience, the Kordas' book is a basic resource for anybody who wants to keep horses in a safe, content, healthy, and cost-effective way at home, from detailed lists of things you need to have on hand to the basic (and not so basic) dos and don'ts of horse care. Divided into such useful chapters as "Fencing and Paddocks," "The Barn Routine," "The Care of the Horse," "People," "Feeding and Caring for the Horse," "Tack," "Horse Clothing," "Equipment," and "Care for the Aging Horse," it is helpfully illustrated and written in a voice that is at once informative, supportive, and full of funny (and not so funny) stories about horse housekeeping. The Kordas offer a unique and reliable guide to horse care that not only will be invaluable to beginner and experienced horse owners alike, but also is astonishingly readable. They take you through the steps of deciding if having a horse barn is practical for you, including helpful suggestions on space-saving barn designs, creating pastures, building fences, sample exercise routines, the right feed, the basics of horse health care, and the equipment needed for both horse care and property maintenance. This detailed, user-friendly compendium of down-home wisdom, entertaining stories, and straightforward horse sense will help you to set up a barn the right way, so you will have time to actually ride your horse.
In this fascinating best seller, Cherry Hill explores the way horses think and how it affects their behavior. Explaining why certain smells and sounds appeal to your horse’s sensibility and what sets off his sudden movements, Hill stresses how recognizing the thought processes behind your horse’s actions can help you communicate effectively and develop a trusting relationship based on mutual respect.
Features new full-color photos and online resources Train, care for, and have fun with your horse If you're crazy about horses, this hands-on guide is all you need to giddy up and go. Featuring updates on breeds, boarding, nutrition, equipment, training, and riding, as well as new information on various equine conditions, this resource shows you how to keep your horse happy - and take your riding skills to the next level. Discover how to * Select the right horse for you * Feed, groom, and handle your horse * Recognize common horse ailments * Have fun in the saddle * Get involved in equestrian competitions
Are there silent, yet powerful, ingredients missing from most horse training techniques and riding instruction? In her research of horsemen and women who appear to have a gift with horses, Dr. Fay outlines the invisible things these equestrians do that make their interactions with horses appear effortless. As a research scientist and life-long equestrian, Dr. Fay spent more than two decades searching for scientific explanations for why some people are able to develop seemingly spiritual relationships with horses. She discovered that equestrians with this gift merely know how to use their natural abilities in a way that most of us were never taught. These abilities already exist inside of each one of us, so we merely need understand how to use them. But we also need to be willing to open our eyes and hearts and let go of what we believe is possible. Within the pages of this book, you will gain insights into how you can develop your gift with horses. You will learn how you are unconsciously "talking" to your horse through your mind and body. But more importantly, you will see how easy it is to turn these unconscious conversations into ones that are meaningful to your horse. This is not a book about animal communication. Instead, this is a guide to using the energy field, along with the power of your own mind and body to influence your horse in a gentle and quiet, yet highly effective way. The principles presented in this book work regardless of the type of horse you have or the discipline you ride. There is no need for special training gadgets because you already have everything you need. Once you begin to implement the principles and see the profound changes in yourself and your horse, you may never view traditional horse-training methods in the same way. Through real life stories and simple exercises, Dr. Fay guides readers to a greater awareness of their untapped abilities. She teaches us how to use our innate gifts to create a sacred space where communion with the horse occurs naturally and spontaneously.
