Riding Horse

years, I worked as the Equine Program Director of a newly formed therapeutic riding program for children and teens. Our focus group was those who were either adopted, in the foster care system, or in a kinship scenario. Repeatedly, I saw MAJOR improvements in so many vast areas of the kids that I was working with, even though I was taking a similar approach with all of them. I saw one child that dramatically…

ever wondered how rodeo contestants don’t have any fear towards riding the animals they ride or risk getting seriously injured for a few minutes of fun? Rodeo is unique in the world of sport that consists of many different things, not just about winning or losing. Rodeos are competitions that are defined as judged or timed events, but mostly timed. The judges events consists of bareback riding, bull riding, and saddle bronc riding. The timed events consists of barrel racing, tie down roping,…

Equine-Assisted Therapy “The horse evokes some form of emotion in all of us. In Western cultures the almost tangible yearning of prepubescent girls for a horse or pony companion is undeniable. The thundering of hooves as galloping horses race for a finish line can bring whole nations to a standstill. The gentle enquiring tickle of a nostril can produce the hint of a smile in the most disabled child. Jones (1983) suggests that the horse is a symbol of ‘human spirit and freedom’.” Horses have…

5 Helpful Tips to Try to Avoid Falling Off Your Horse If you own your own horse or even just ride horses, you’ve most likely fallen off or had that almost fall that you were sure you were going to be gone. And if you haven’t ever, well I don’t know why you’re reading this, you just need to keep doing what you’re doing! Now, I’ve been riding ever since I was 6 and let me tell you, I have hit the ground too many times to even count! My coach tells me it will make me a better rider the more I fall…

I love my horse, so much that sometimes it seems like he may even be the center of my life, but, hard as it seems to imagine, there was once a time when I was scared of my horse or/and any horse for that matter. It all started on a warm summer day, my family and I were out for a ride on our horses, we stopped at a neighbors house to visit and their youngest daughter Mckenna wanted to ride along. Since they did not have their own horse and she was too young to ride alone, they let her ride with…

compasses to find designated objects the fastest. Dave and I aren’t fast, but we had fun doing this a couple times. We also took a trip with the horses down to see my Mom on the farm. We had fun riding the horses around in the pastures. Recently, Dave rolled our truck and totaled. We will need to get a replacement before we can do more travelling with the horses. Again, Dave was fortunate and had no injuries. A lot of my time this summer was spend gardening. I love growing flowers and…

boots. A refreshingly chilly breeze blows through the arena with the smell of rain. In my right hand is the rope, folded over twice so that it doesn’t drag. The clic-clack of the horses hooves die away as he walks in behind me and I can feel his warm breath on my elbow. This is what I wait for all week. I walk the horse into the center of the arena and start to warm up. We back up a few steps, I put pressure behind his shoulder so he steps one back leg over the other, and then I flip the rope…

is that rodeos/contestants are cruel towards the animals. “A cowboy mounted his horse. Right next to him was a small caged enclosure. As soon as the gate to the cage was opened, a timid looking calf came sprinting out. The cowboy riding his horse followed the running calf and lassoed it. In a second, the calf came crashing down to the ground with the lasso pulling it by the neck. Swiftly, the cowboy dismounted the horse, ran to the struggling steer, and in one quick movement tied its front legs…

The role of the horse has changed and evolved a lot over time in many ways. Horses were once only wild animals that live in herds and roam around big, spacious green lands. These animals were once only used for their meat as a source of food and their hides were used for clothing blankets to keep people warm. Horses were later domesticated to be used as transportation and a source of farm labor. Since they were domesticated horses have shown people how smart they are. Horses show an…

Horses have been a significant part of my life for as long as I can remember. At the young age of three, my horse-enthralled mother already had me in the saddle. However, my passion for horses did not take off from here. I willingly spent days with my mom at the barn and participated in local shows, only to set aside my equestrian aspirations for seven years to pursue ice skating. After this, however, I returned to the equestrian community, and dove head first. Throughout my life, horses have…