While the age of horse-drawn plows and carriages have passed, many horses are still used today for work purposes. Horses can be found working with people and for people in a variety of places.
Riding for people with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities in the United States was established in the early 70s. The movement of riding a horse mimics the three-dimensional motion of actually walking for people who are unable to do so. Riding enhances muscle development …
Horse ownership continues to increase in popularity. While horses are still used for some agriculture enterprises, most horses are used for pleasure riding, breeding or competition such as showing or racing. The horse has played an important part in America’s heritage. The horse continues to play an integral part in providing a recreational outlet and creating income for individuals interested in professional employment with horses. Most horse owners will testify that their passion and love for the horse is why …
Gaits such as the running walk, slow gait, pace and rack are considered artificial gaits, however they are very natural to specific breeds of horses.
Artificial Gaits
Download this video! Artificial Gaits of Horses (23 MB)
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Navicular disease is an injury of the navicular bone of the front foot. Conformational faults or injury are the most common causes of navicular disease. A straight pastern and shoulder or small hoof will increase the concussion on the navicular bone, causing increased friction between it and the flexor tendon, resulting in injury.
Horses worked on hard surfaces are at greater risk to acquire navicular disease, which usually affects horses in their prime working years (ages 6 to 10). A …
When a horse backs naturally without interference from the rider they perform a two beat diagonal gait. The back has a similar hoof pattern to that of the trot, only backwards. The footfall pattern of the back might be the right front moves with the left hind and the left front moves with the right hind.
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Evaluate your stallion to be sure he is physically ready for the breeding season.
A breeding soundness exam of a stallion includes not only examination of various seminal …
A mare’s fertility can be influenced by a variety of factors including her health, age, and reproductive anatomy. In addition, stallion fertility and technician skills all play an important role in successfully breeding the mare.
Dr. Kathy Anderson, University of Nebraska, presents information on fertility …
Basically, the role of a breeding stallion is to impregnate mares. This means producing semen containing adequate quality and numbers of spermatozoa to fertilize a mare’s ovum. Spermatozoa are produced daily in the seminiferous tubules of the stallion’s testes. The testes are housed in the protective covering of the scrotum, which functions to regulate the temperature of the testes. Temperature regulation is important because abnormal rises in temperature — such as those caused by injury or infection — will decrease …
The vast majority of stallions are hand-mated naturally or collected for artificial insemination. While total conception rates are no less with pasture breeding, most mare owners require specific breeding dates so that expected foaling dates can be accurately calculated.
Conception rates are highest when mares with reasonably good fertility are mated to stallions which meet high fertility standards (semen volume, sperm concentration, and percentage of live sperm).
Mares with unknown or poor reproductive histories should be evaluated by …
