Farriers – Custom shoemakers for your horse

Experts recommend that you shoe working horses, as it protects the hoof from general wear and tear, cracking and splitting. Some people prefer to save on the cost of shoeing, and have their horses bare foot, but this can only be done with strong healthy hooves and limits the amount of work that can be done on the road to a minimum.
Generally shoes are made of iron, it heats well and can be shaped at hot temperatures and also effectively takes on the wear and tear of heavy work. Alternatives include plastic, winged shoes that are glued on. These are lighter, but more expensive and not often seen.
You cannot just pop into TESCO or ASDA to buy horse shoes, a registered expert known as a farrier has to come and fit your horses shoes.
It is recommended that your farrier visits every four to six weeks to trim, and shoe your horse.
It is also important that your farrier is properly qualified, you can check his qualificatins, here are some to look out for; DipWCF or Diploma of the Worshipful Company of Farriers , FWCF or Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers. This is the highest quallification, and the mark of a profesional, AWCF or the Associateship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers .
First the farrier removes the dirt, and excess frog, and sole tissue, and clips the hoof wall. Once the hoof is the right shape and length, the iron shoes are heated and shaped and once they have cooled sufficiently they are fitted, and adjusted, then cooled and nailed on.
More details on hooves and hoof care can be obtained from your farrier, a knowledgeable person, or a good book.

Countryside Blog Farriers, Farriery, horse shoes, shoe horse

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The morning of the show dawned bright and clear as I loaded up my steeds and set off. In the trailer was a young pony, backed this spring, and an older, but no more experienced mare. We arrived, unloaded and made last minute preparatons. The show had ridden, driven and inhand classes, one to suit every person. Gradually the show ground filled up, and at ten o’ clock the classes comenced. I took my young pony into an inhand class, I thought he behaved very well, and, it was a condition and turnout class, but he was clean, and in good condition, but still came last. I like to believe that it was as the judge said, his mane was not up to standard. This can be explained by the fact that he has a chunk missing because he sticks his head through the fence to eat the alledgedly, tastier and lusher grass on the other side. I dont have a big problem

with that on its own, the problem lies in that half his mane goes as well! So, rather than a red or blue rossete, it was a pink fifth (last!) that I was looking at. Oh well, I thought he was the best to me, the judge had said he had some way to go, but would win lots of thngs in future. I hoped so.
All the other competitors were clean, welll turned out, and successful. My next class was a last minute entry ( five minutes before!) and it was open showing, which I really only entered to fill the places. We came third (last!) and, the judge seemed quite impressed with the sturdy black gypsy cob except it was a showing class, I forgot my hairnet (almost said haynet!!) and my hat cover was the wrong colour and my horse refused to stand still. Other than that, the judge adored us (haha!!!!!)
Then I had lunch, went to the cones course and watched the competitors. There were only three, but all did very well. Then came ridden veteran,then riding championships ( i wasnt in it, l hadnt achieved a high enough placing) Then came my last class, handy pony. My handy pony (?!!) is a horse, she was not very handy, and we only achieved second (to last!) because the last competitor did almost everything wrong. We moved the coat from peg to peg fine. I dropped the duck and I couldnt steer because i forgot my gloves, the reins were greasy and i was holding a whip, at the same time as trying (and failing) to steer and holding a fishing net. I suceeded in picking up the duck without dismounting, but the steward had to come and help me steer!!! i moved flag from container to container fine, just about got over the jump (only just!!!) and then through the bending poles. Then into a square of poles. My mare stood still for five seconds, then pranced about on the spot for the next five!!! we saluted the judge and trotted out of the ring. I struggled to hold the fiery girl while the judges analysed the results, and then I found out i came second (to last!!)
Perhaps not so much on my part, but alltogether the day was a huge success, and the cake stall alone raised £160.00 pounds!!!
The show is held annually, in july, in hereford, near leominster by KC and the hereford and district driving group (hddg). For more details, see their website; http://www.hddg.co.uk/.

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A phenomenon, a hinderance, or simply a survival mechanism? Eniola Odurinde looks into Fear.
Fear. Stress. Anxiety.
These are all negative emotions. People say that riding is the ultimate stress buster, but does the stress that you carry through the yard gate have an effect on your horse?
It does.
Horses can sense fear. They can feel the hand that holds their reins tremble. They can feel the quick pounding of nervous hearts and they can sense that something is frightening the rider. Horses are flight animals and we are their guides. Wild or feral horses survive in herds, but we have taken the place of the herd leader. If the herd leader is afraid of something, you should be afraid of it too. What the horses dont know is that what is (usually) scaring the riders is the horses themselves. At other times it may be a black binbag that the riders think the horses will be scared of, so they tense in anticipation, and the horses feel the rider tense up and spook at the black binbag because they think they should be scared of it because of the riders fear. It is a vicious circle, but many people dont realize the effect, and smack their horse because they think the horse is being naughty. The horse gets confused and does not quite understand, and the rider becomes even more fearful because they anticipate the ‘bad’ behavior.
Some riding school horses are used to the negative, anxious vibes that they receive from beginners, but most horses, especially young ones are extremely sensitive to these vibes.
If you are suffering from stress, be it over a divorce, or a hard time at work, you must not take it through the yard gate with you. Breathe deeply. Even though it sounds obvious to keep breathing, sometimes people just stop breathing. To avoid not breathing, sing a catchy, happy tune such as you are my sunshine. When you get to the yard gate, breathe deeply and close your eyes. Visualize your problems, grab them and stuff them in a bag. Seal the bag so they cannot escape and put it aside. Then enjoy the time spent on the yard.

Countryside Blog horse riding, ride without fear, riding tips

Once the horse is 100% comfortable with all the harness it is time to long rein him in full harness. Once he is comfortable with this, attach traces to his harness and have one person lead him amd another two to hold the traces. The leading person trots the horse along and the other two people hold on and get ‘pulled’ along. Some people recommend getting the horse to pull a tyre, but these can bounce and hit a horse’s rump or legs causing him to take off. If you do choose to use this method great care should be taken to ensure there are no bumps to spook the horse.

Some people get the horses to pull railway sleepers, others prefer to use hay bales.

One person should get the carriage near the horse and bang and clatter it a bit to ensure the horse is comfortable with the noise.

Once your horse is ready, under the instruction of an experienced driver it is time to get your horse pulling a sledge. Your guide will take you through the steps of going about it correctly.

Once your horse is doing all of this calmly and confidently’ it will soon be time to put him to. But before you do this, get him used to the shafts against his sides to avoid problems by getting two wooden poles, old broom handles will do, and stand behind him ( out of the kick zone of course (even if you trust him with your life, he may still be spooked by wooden poles touching his sides)). Carefully rub the poles against his side, to recreate the effect of the shafts.

Once all of these steps have been sucessfully completed, the time has come to put the horse to. For this activity you need at least three people, one to hold the horse, and the other two to carefully lift the shafts over the horses back and gently slide them into place.

Once you have him put to, slowly walk him forward so he can feel the shafts against his sides.. With time and careful handling, you will soon be able to put weight on the carriage and then you will progress to actually driving the horse, teaching him to obey your voice and rein aids and you will be truly off and away!!!

good luck and happy times with your hose!!!

top tip: you will go so much further if you talk to your horse. Dont feel stupid about it, say whatever you like in a calming tone and he will trust you much more.

For more information on carriage driving visit http://www.hddg.co.uk/ to check out other carriage driving aspects and events

Your can read part one of this article here.

Countryside Blog carriage driving, training, young horse