Barn Animal Vignettes

I watched as the flashes of orange lights from cars raced past me through the city, and knew there were no signs of any possibilities that there would be a place to keep a horse. I lived in northern Virginia near Washington D.C., where the city was filled with gigantic, tall office buildings with gray and gloomy windows. I could smell the gasoline and smoke coming from the cars’ exhaust. I felt the cool breeze as cars whipped past me, and the air tasted like millions of littered cigarettes on the side of the road. However, there were some horse stables, but they were far away, and the payment required for horseback riding lessons was a ridiculously large price. Of course, that never stopped me from continuously asking

Horses are trained by Heidi’s interns in basic dressage and jumping, very different from their past of galloping counter clockwise around a racetrack.

Omg! I am going to have so much fun snowboarding! Today in my life I am at a super cool place. It’s in the UP and it’s called Ski Brule. It has all the snow hills you could possibly think about. I could never stop imagine me going down the hill and be so proud of me. But hopefully I don’t break any bones in my body. Because I still have basketball in the winter. But after I just took a soft energize nap. Then… We arrived. OM to the G! It was exactly what I imagined. The people gliding through the snow with their cool snowboards and their ski’s.

Leading the horse to the adjoining pasture, Jackson buttoned his coat, put on his gloves, pulled his stocking hat over his ears and put his cowboy hat over the top Since it was March and there was still a good bit of snow on the ground, he didn’t intend to go far, it was too cold for that. All he wanted was to get the feel of the horse and see how well he responded to him as a rider. For his first ride, he already had quite the audience on the other side of the fence. He mounted the horse and had quite the audience on the other side of the fence for his first ride. Taking the reins, he mounted his horse and queued him into a walk using his voice and legs. Once they were going he put the horse through his paces, first at a trot and then a full

There is a trail down the road in Delaware where I enjoy taking my dog for a walk. It is a beautiful, five-mile loop traversing cornfields, thick patches of forest, steep hills and flowing streams; a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of the suburban lifestyle and spend some time amongst the peacefulness of nature. It is not a complete escape, however, for I am not the only person that knows of the trail- it seems to also be a favorite of horseback riders. Often times I will encounter a rider or two at some point during my walk and, without fail, I will be in awe of the size and majesty of the horse. What an incredible, gentle beast it is. Standing next to a horse, you cannot help but gawk at the bulging, toned muscles and long, agile legs. It is truly an athlete with a rare combination of strength and speed. Yet, they are gentle and kind and have therefore been joined at the hip with humans; today, nearly all horses have been domesticated. So I find myself

Seven nights ago I arrived at Red Dillon’s homestead. Before sleeping that night I dined on a bowl of red chili and a cup of coffee while Red Dillon went over the agreement, he made with the agent from the reservation. After Red finished reviewing the agreement he urged me to have some more food to prepare for tomorrow's bronc riding lesson. That next day I only managed to ride two horses and before being thrown five times, but I learned how to ride with skill. Each horse has a pattern and I can gauge their pattern to find my timing and rhythm to control the broncs. By the end of the week I managed to ride two horses in succession to a complete standstill and I felt accomplished, although Red immediately set up the corral after

In the space of two years, Kristine Hewlett was thrown from her mare, Cher and broker her back both times. The accidents occurred while Hewlett was at her riding lesson on her mare, Cher when the horse suddenly spooked. After having such bad luck with her horse and both of her injuries Hewlett still vows to ride again. “She said, ‘I have thought long and hard about my future but I love horses and I want to carry on taking lessons.’”(Evans) Kristine Hewlett is so passionate about her love for horses that even after suffering not one but two broken back injuries she still vows to ride again. “But despite her second scare she has vowed to carry on riding.”(Evans) For most people one broken back would be enough to stop them from living their dreams but not Kristine Hewlett. Hewlett’s second broken back injury has made her even more determined to get back on and be successful. “Kristine Hewlett was flung from nine-year-old mare Cher in November and suffered a spinal fracture but she has vowed to ride again.”(Evans) Kristine Hewlett is very confident in her own ability to have a solid recovery and get back on. Though Kristine Hewlett has had her fair share of injustice she has overcome this injustice through passion, determination, and

"Nothing is quite as beautiful and awe-inspiring as a horse," once observed the Panamanian author Melissa Forney. That statements, interpretation is that theirs numerous of people that aspire to possess their personal horse. According to Melissa Forney, "learning to ride, enjoying long trail rides, and forming a loving friendship with a horse can be a dream come true, and is the mentality that countless of people have regarding horses. Notwithstanding the evidence additionally reveals that possessing a horse of your own will require a lot of service, substantially, making sure that your horse's stall is vigorous and spotless Attaining a horse entail limitless of hours of supervision every week.

This documentary focuses around the life of a young teenager who strives to become a professional horse rider. Despite growing up in a typical asian family, comprising of classic parents who wanted her to do the generic-type of job, such as an manager or a businesswoman, her unwithering passion for a set of beautiful mammals makes it so that she is prepared to throw away anything in order to reach her goal.

On observation, Chloe presented with limited knowledge and insight relating to equine and horsemanship skills. For example, she asked for a halter to assist with connecting to the horse and when provided with one, she was unable to independently place the halter on the horse’s head. She asked if the horses were wearing shoes, rather than investigating herself. On

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom running out to Kelsey. In that moment, I suddenly knew what I needed to do. With a clarity that I can’t remember having before that day, I became focused and knew what needed to be done. My mom had rushed to my sister’s side, but that had left my three year old sister, Katelyn, on her pony unattended. I quickly trotted my horse towards her, dismounted, took control of both horses, and helped Katelyn off her pony. The ambulance would soon be arriving and I had to get all the horses, including the spooked mare, into the stable. A spooked horse can be extremely dangerous if no one takes control. My task was clear. I was the one who needed to corral that mare. I swallowed my fear and approached the mare. The mare’s wide eyes told me that she was still spooked and could be unpredictable. My mom’s words came to mind, “Get in front. Take the lead.” While still holding the reins of the two other horses, I reached out and grabbed the mare’s dangling reins. With Katelyn a few steps ahead of me, I led the three hoses to their stalls. When Katelyn was safely sitting on a bench where I could see her, I still had to remove the bridles and saddles of all the horses, who could have easily rejected my awkward and inexperienced handling. The ambulance and rescue workers had now arrived, and I knew that soon my mom and Kelsey would be headed to the hospital. The responsibility for the

Behavioural development in animals undergoing domestication is characterized by changes in the quantitative rather than qualitative nature of responses (Price, 1999). When being ridden McGreevy et al., (2009) found that horses may be that at their most dangerous (e.g., when bolting and bucking), ridden horses have simply reverted to responses within the predator model. This is interesting because it suggests that no matter how ethologically parallel in-hand work may be, a ridden horse can later revert to these counter–predator responses, seemingly confirming that ridden work may not be emphatically within, the horse’s ethogram. It could also suggest that whatever performance enhancing products are used, will the horse just revert back to these behaviours regardless. This shows that when the dialogue between horses and humans is consistent there is a positive correlation with relaxation and rapport. Inter-specific communication may help the horses overcome their fear and therefore reduce the tendency to use counter-predator responses. When the horse shows something of its own intention, it is often seen from a human perspective to be undermining the human-horse interaction. What horse people erroneously consider examples of reasoning in their horses, turn out to be excellent examples of trial-and-error

I disliked having to wait. As soon as the final nail was hammered in, my mother took me to the closest ranch, which was 45 minutes away, in order to purchase a horse. It was a rather old place surrounded by overgrown grass and wobbly white fencing, but lovely nonetheless. My mother talked to the owner as I marvelled over the beautiful horses grazing in the lush, green fields. Their names were engraved in a metal slate on each of their hooves. I ended up deciding on a chestnut thoroughbred named Dugan. I chose him because his black tail was the only one that fell freely out of all of the horses. The rest had theirs folded into smooth braids or intricate twists.

Although, Straight Line was hurt, I refused to give up, I endlessly searched to locate a replacement horse. Thus came Princess, a buckskin mare that I borrowed from an acquaintance of my sisters. My mother and I traveled to Goodland for a little test run and at the end of the day we hauled her home. Thrilled is not a word I would use to describe the idea of running on her, but what choice did I have. I needed a horse, any horse to ride at the finals, since Straight Line was no longer able to run. Princess and my personalities clashed, there is only room for one princess and I already occupied that position. Trust me when I say that typically mares have bigger attitudes, than most teenage girls. Even though, I gave it my best shot, considering my situation, we just could not find a rhythm together. Despite of my efforts, I knew it was going to be a long week as I unsaddled her after the worst practice that I had ever had. Consequently, I remember walking to the barn from the arena and feeling the blood run down my leg from clobbering the barrels. I had bruises, all up and down my legs, from plowing into barrels during our one and only practice. Finals were approaching fast and I could

Ever since I was a child I knew that I wanted to work with animals. Horses, in particular, have always fascinated me. After much begging, pleading, years of convincing, and always working hard to save up money, I convinced my parents to allow me to buy a horse. To me, Indie was the most beautiful quarter horse I could have ever dreamed of getting. Since our purchase of Indie, we have acquired another horse, Sherman, and a pony, Tucker. Although the horses have always been hard work, they were worth every sweaty hot summer evening of mucking out the stalls and frigid winter mornings of carrying water to the trough in order to avoid freezing our hoses. After all, I used to dream of being a veterinarian and helping all kinds of animals in some way.