Dating for horse lovers and countryside blog

Thank you for visiting the countryside blogs section of horse lovers dating. Though we are primarily a dating site however the fondness for horses and love of countryside are almost intertwine so we will not be limiting our blogs to horse and dating alone, we will also bring new, information and opinion about countryside matters to your attention. We welcome comment and contribution from our readers. You are also most welcome to contribute to the blog as a guest blogger. We hope you find this blog useful

Countryside Blog

Logging with horses

Up to the early sixties it would not have been an uncommon sight to see
horses working in British forests logging timber.

Over the years however, modern machinery began to replace horses and by the
late sixties no horses were working in forestry any more.
In some parts of the country, notably the Lakes and the Scottish Borders,
the old traditions had been kept alive and began to experience a revival by
the 1990’s.

Holme Lacy College in Herefordshire was one of the first Colleges offering
courses in timber extraction by horsepower.
Landowners rediscovered the benefits of having horses do the work rather
than heavy machinery, as the damage done to Flora and Fauna by the animals
is minimal.
Horses can manoeuvre felled timber out of dense forest without damaging
standing timber or compacting the soil.

There are many types of horse breeds used for this work: Belgian horses,
Brabbant, Percherons, Dales, Ardennes, Highlands, Shires , large cobs and
Clydesdales.
The British native horses have unfortunately proven to be less useful for
this type of work, as they are mainly bred for the show ring nowadays and
have become far too big in size.

A horse can pull 11/2 times its own body weight and is perfectly capable of
dragging a tree trunk weighing two tons.
Most horse handlers use collars to allow the horse to use it’s strength most
efficiently.
Breast collars as used in carriage driving are 25% less efficient for
dragging timber. Unlike horses pulling carts and carriages, most horses that
work in the forest do so without blinkers, as they need to be able to see
the terrain that surrounds them for their own safety.

Atypical working day of a timber logging horse would consist of six hours
work, divided into three hour shifts with a two hour break in between.
There is now more work available than qualified loggers (human and equine)
can cope with and the British horse logging charitable trust is offering
training opportunities to interested men and women.

Anybody interested in horse logging in Britain can go to the horse loggers
website: www.britishhorseloggers.org or support the charitable trust on:
www.britishhorseloggerscharitabletrust.org to keep this fascinating old
tradition alive.

Countryside Blog conservation, envinroment friendly, Logging with horses, low impact timer logging

Stunned horse owners, trainers and stable hands visited the blackened site Sunday where a barn fire killed two workers and 43 horses at a harness-racing track in southwest Ohio.

Warren County fairgrounds officials quickly hired excavators to pile up twisted metal and charred wood debris and remove the horses’ bodies late in the aftermath of the early Saturday blaze that quickly consumed Barn No. 16 at Lebanon Raceway.

Fire investigators have ruled out criminal intent, but indicated they haven’t determined what caused the fire. Warren Fair Board member Chris Lutmer said officials wanted to quickly remove the horse remains to ease anxiety — he said for most owners and workers, the horses were like members of the family.

source/full story: msnbc. msn.com/id/34303653/ns/us_news-life/

Horses 43 horse die in fire

Steeplechase and hurdle racing are some of the most exciting horse racing sports, quite popular in UK and many other countries. The adrenaline rush for the horse and rider are immense, so also is the risk of injury and possibilities of sudden death of either horse or ride or both.
Some animal welfare experts have long argued that it is a cruel sport, horses are said not to be keen about jumping. It has been demonstrated that wild horses rarely jump obstacles they come against. The argument against banning Steeplechase and hurdle racing has not succeeded until recently that it. For the first time anywhere in the world a state in Australia is banning Steeplechase and hurdle racing from 2010. The story is told much better by BBC, excerpt from BBC website follows:

The decision follows a comprehensive review of the sport and has been welcomed by animal welfare groups.

However, members of the racing industry have reacted with anger, calling it “unbelievable” and “appalling”.

Racing’s governing body in Victoria had conceded that the sport was in decline because of mounting safety concerns.

Furious response

Animal rights campaigners have described racing over hurdles and fences as not only shameful and barbaric but “morally wrong”.

An official review of the industry last year recommended a raft of new safety measures, all of which were adopted by authorities in Victoria.

Despite the changes, the fatalities have continued, with eight horses dying in races this season.

The deaths prompted an urgent investigation, which has resulted in the banning of the sport.

It has drawn a furious response from some owners, trainers and jockeys.

Steeplechase events in Victoria will go on for another year in an attempt to soften the impact of their abolition on those involved.

Neighbouring South Australia, the only other state in the country that allows jump racing, has said its programme will continue and hopes to attract trainers and horses from Victoria.

However, officials in South Australia are not celebrating and have expressed deep concerns about the long-term viability of their steeplechasing industry.

Country Sports Steeplechase and hurdle racing banned

On Sunday the 22nd of November my daughter, her friend and I went to an
introduction to driving event at Bromyard Equestrian Centre in
Herefordshire.
It was organised by the Hereford District Driving Group with the purpose of
reaching out to people interested in finding out more about carriage
driving.
Several of their members turned out with their horses and various vehicles,
and ponies and horses of all breeds and sizes where on show in the arena.
Each turn-out was introduced individually by Kay Walton (BDS area
commissioner for Hereford) and driven around the arena for us to view.
One of the carriage drivers brought her Dalmation along, a breed of dog that
has traditionally been used to accompany and guard the vehicle running along
under the back end of the carriage.

The spectators where then invited to leave the gallery and join the whips,
grooms and horses/ponies to have a chat, ask questions, pat the animals and
even have a ride in their carriages.

Sarah Wildy, LHHI carriage driving instructor then explained to us how to
harness the horse and put to the cart, demonstrated hands on by one of the
members of the group on her horse.
Meanwhile Kay was busy putting cones all over the arena, as the next part of
the demonstration included weaving through cones at some speed.
When the drivers had all completed this task, we were once again invited to
get on the carriages and join in the fun.

A great deal of enjoyment was had by everybody and it was certainly an
informative event for horse lovers of all ages.

Countryside Blog carriage driving

It is generally assumed that you cannot have too much of a good thing, well, there should be many caveat to that statement, especially if you are a horse or pony, left in a field with lush green grass to eat, yes, you can have too much of a good thing under these circumstances and that good thing is the very grass you are eating. Over eating, especially on green lush grass is one of the causes of Laminitis. Laminitis is one of the most common causes of lameness and disability of horses and ponies.

Experts argue that rich green grass itself does not cause Laminitis, however over weight/overfeed horses and ponies are more susceptible to Laminitis. Other cause of Laminites includes stress among other causes. Stress induced Laminitis could be triggered by overworking a horse that is unfit, prolonged travelling in hot or cold conditions, it is even said that some vaccination can stress some horses and ponies enough to induce laminitis.

The scope of this article does not extend to covering all aspects of the causes of laminitis; the article is just a basic introduction to it to help create more awareness about it in the horse and pony owning communities. As with all horse health issues, your vet is able to give you expert advice on how to treat your horse or pony for laminitis but as another saying goes, prevention is better than cure. If you can take action to reduce or completely eliminate situations or conditions that could cause laminitis in your horse, then take such action, this will not only help you keep your horse health but save you money on vet bills.

Before the article concludes, here are some misconceptions about laminitis. Some people say that if a horse drinks cold water after exercise, it may develop laminitis. Horse health experts disagree with this however it is still not advisable to give your horse cold water after exercise as this may cause colic. Allergies are also said not to cause laminitis nor heat in the animal’s foot.
Laminitis can also affect one foot or all feet; it is not confined to the front feet only.

Horses

International team of scientist from various lab all over the world has been working at decoding the genome of various animals of late, last week, it was reported that the genome of domestic pig has been full decoded, yesterday, it was the turn of the domestic horse.

The new about domestic Horse genome sequencing was announced in the journal of science, it is hoped this break through will help reveal information about how Horse was domesticated. The work reveals similarities between the horse and other bovids – the hoofed group including goats, bison and cattle. Some of the interesting revelation does not end there; the authors also found horses share much of their DNA with humans. Horses suffer from more than 90 hereditary diseases that show similarities to those in humans. It is hoped that studying this hereditary disease in horses could help bring a better understanding to the same diseases in humans.

The horse used in the DNA sequencing was an adult female thoroughbred called Twilight, her DNA revealed a genome that is roughly 2.7 billion nucleotides, in size, the researchers also examined DNA from a variety of other horse breeds including the American quarter horse, Andalusian, Arabian, Belgian draft horse, Hanoverian, Hakkaido, Icelandic horse, Norwegian fjord horse, and Standardbred breeds.

Horses were first domesticated between 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. They have been crucial to transportation, heavy lifting, moving agricultural equipment like plough and so on. Over time, as machines have become the chief sources of agricultural and industrial muscle, those roles have shifted to sport and recreational activities.

Horses American quarter horse, and Standardbred breeds., Andalusian, Arabian, Belgian draft horse, breeds, dna, genome, Hakkaido, Hanoverian, Horses, Icelandic horse, Norwegian fjord horse, thoroughbred

The summer is drawing to a close and it is time for horse lovers and owners to plan for the winter that looms ahead. Horses do require special care during these winter months so that they remain free of any illness or discomfort. Though they are very tolerant of cold weather and tend to favor the cold as opposed to heat, it is still advisable to get the basic care routine planned out so that you do not run into any problems going ahead.

Other factors like breed, the age of the horse and the inherent health of the horse do influence the manner in which the horse shapes up during the winter. As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to understand the nature of your horse and prepare your self sufficiently in advance to ensure your pet leads a comfortable existence during the winter months.

The body condition is assessed by feeling the horse over its ribs for any untoward lumps and also through a complete perusal of the body using both hands and eyes to detect any abnormalities. Since the overgrowth of winter hair can conceal any problems, it is crucial to do a labored assessment.
Having done the checking, the starting point of the winter care has to be the hygiene along with proper and adequate immunization before stepping into the winter months. Once the body is free of all fleas or parasites and the horse is properly de wormed, the horse will be able to weather any hardship. Getting a vet to visit is also a worthwhile exercise so that you are able to jointly plan out a health schedule that is customised for your horse.
Another practice is to precondition the horse and prepare it for the cold season. Towards that objective, if your horse does over feed and puts on some extra fat, it is beneficial as it acts as an insulating medium and also accords energy reserve if needed. You therefore need to provide for this extra fat by making appropriate changes in the diet much before winter. Read more…

Countryside Blog

Horse carriage driving

Carriage Driving

A very popular equestrian sport gaining rapid ground is horse carriage driving. The reason is that most people can learn the skill and the experience itself is a very exciting one. The feeling is one of immense exhilaration and control upon watching the horses pulling the carriage with the reins in your hand.

For those just starting out, the accent should be on finding an experienced horse well versed in pulling along the carriage. This will enable them to get to know the different nuances of horse carriage driving. In addition, the one starting out should take the assistance of an expert driving mentor who would be able to provide guidance to make a good start. This sport may be exciting but can be fraught with danger if the ropes are not picked up properly at the right stage. Some are of the opinion that they can get a horse to pull a carriage pretty easily within a week or so. Nothing can be more exaggerated and farther from reality.

So what exactly is this sport and how does it evoke such a following?

Cajoling and orienting a horse to pull the carriage is no mean task. It needs tremendous patience, planning and intuition to know how things are going along and take proactive steps to combat any problems that may crop up along the way. You need to build a trust quotient with the animal to get the best out of it and that is why there is a requirement of somebody experienced to stand by you during this process. There is no room for exuberance or experimentation of any sort.

Some of the common reasons for accidents occurring in this sport are as under:

* The driver lacking in skill and ability
* Some carelessness & a casual approach on the part of the driver
* The driver not understanding his horse and lacking the animal sense
* The horse or pony itself not being trained adequately
* Sudden bout of indiscretion or a temperamental outburst on the part of the animal
* The carriage itself malfunctioning
* Inadequate fitting of the harness

While you have a good choice of equines of various breeds and it is a purely a question of personal choice as to what you end up selecting, some of the time tested breeds such as Hackney, Morgan do have the edge over other breeds. In the ultimate analysis, it is the love for carriage driving that motivates people to select any breed and not many are very particular about it.

As a broad rule of thumb, it is advisable to keep away from horses that have the tendency to stomp or bolt as these suggest a problem with the temperament of the horse and may not be suitable for beginners. Generally, people always wish to only drive the horse they already have in their stable and have owned it for some years. But they need to evaluate whether their horse would be up to this task and should not take the chance of thrusting the animal into this sport without a proper evaluation of its capabilities and physical condition.

Country Sports carriage driving, countrysport, horsemanship

Current economic climate is making families and institutions tighten their financial belts. Individuals, companies, local councils and the government are coming up with innovative ways to make money or save money.
One council in England has taken to selling off premium parking space on ebay auction, thus raising more money that it otherwise charges via normal parking meters. Another council is to introduce EasyJet style, no frills council tax to save individual who uses less council services money off their council tax.
By far the most innovative and interesting from a countryside blog viewpoint is the scheme introduced by Brighton and Hove council to cut its £25,000 grass cutting bill, a scheme called Urban Shepherd scheme.

The Urban Shepherd scheme borrows sheep from farms in East Sussex, eager volunteers are trained to look after the shepherd while they graze on council estates and schools, this is said to have significantly reduce the council grass cutting bill from £25,000 a year to about £1,800.
£1,800 being the cost of training volunteers shepherds. The added benefit of the scheme is that city children who would not normally have had contact with animals are exposed to grazing sheep. Sheep are also said to be better for the environment at keeping grass short, unlike lawn mowers, they graze selectively, does not kill small wildlife lawn mowers would have killed.

The scheme is extremely popular with residents; the council now has a waiting list of eager volunteers ready to go on a day course where they learn basic shepherding skills such as how to round up a flock of sheep and what to do in and emergency.

Countryside Blog rural council, save money, urband shephard