* * *
Horses and people have long worked as one.
They’ve formed a strong bond when all’s said and done.
Horses were hunted by cavemen as prey.
Farmers learned later to make them obey.
All horses are treated (you will find this fact fun)
as if they were born on January one.
A foal is a horse who is less than one year.
A yearling (surprise!) is a year – is that clear?
A filly’s a female who is less than four.
A mare is a female who’s four years a more.
A colt is a male horse who is less than four.
A stallion’s a make who’s four years or more.
A dam is a horse who is also a mama.
A sire is a stallion, a horse’s papa.
A gelding is a word that people use for
a male who can’t make foals anymore.
* * *
Before we go on, it is good I suppose,
to look at a horse from its tail to its nose.
The top of the tail is what we call the dock.
Then haunch and stifle and gaskin and hock.
Hip, lions, back, flank, withers, poll, crest.
Now take a deep breath and go on with the rest.
Neck, jaw, and chin groove, forehead and foretop,
nostril and muzzle – is it time to stop?
No! Our look at the horse can’t be rated complete
until we have looked at the legs and the feet.
Hoof, coronet, pastern, knee, and fetlock,
elbow and cannon then back to the hock!
Nerves under horsehide can feel a fly creeping.
A tail fends off flies by swatting and sweeping.
Eyes set on the side, as with all those that are prey,
see predators coming from far, far away.
Legs made for running help horses to hie.
Flat hooves keep them steady on wet turf or dry.
Most horses we ride – this will not be big news –
have hooves that are guarded by strong iron shoes.
Horse hooves, like your nails, are made up of stuff
that doesn’t have a feeling. Oh, hoof stuff is tough!
A farrier trims horses’ hooves with a file.
Horses should have this done every once in a while.
He heats up horseshoes until they are hot,
then nails them on tight.
Does it hurt? It does not.
Horses step out or move, at a number of rates.
Walk, trot, canter, gallop. We call these steps gaits.
* * *
Standardbred horses can move at a pace,
a fast gait they use when they run in a race.
The Icelandic pony has what’s called a tolt,
a swift gait that’s smooth with nary a jolt.
Both Standard and Icy, these two that you see, are what we call breeds.
What are breeds? You ask me.
They are horses who mix with similar mates
and give birth to foals who have the same traits.
This breed is a Clydesdale. It’s bred to be big.
The Falabella is as small as a six-month-old pig.
The Clydesdale, we know, measures eighteen hands high.
The Falabella is seven. What a cute little guy!
The Quarter horse is bred that started out West.
It’s easy to handle and herds cows the best.
Appaloosas are horses that are covered with spots.
Native Americans liked this spotted breed lots.
In the sandy Sahara, the Arabian’s a prize.
It has grace and speed and a delicate size.
Arabians now live the whole world round.
Where there are horse lovers, this breed can be found.
With large eyes and nostrils and a dainty muzzle, it’s easy to handle and happy to nuzzle.
The Fjord (FEE-ord), from Norway, can deal with rough weather.
They say it is stronger than good, tough shoe leather.
Australian stock horses – sometimes called Walers –
came Down Under with British settlers and sailors.
Connemara ponies go on great riding tours
of Ireland’s fair marshes and its rolling moors.
These hunters and jumpers – so the story goes –
swam from Spanish shipwrecks. But who really knows!
The Lipizzan horse from the Spanish Riding School
can dance and prance nimbly – so elegant and cool!
A Lipizzan’s proud, with a beautiful mane,
crossbred from Arabians and horses from Spain.
The school is in Austria and has won worldwide fame.
It’s half – Spanish horses inspired the school’s name.
The Morgan is smart and learns quickly how
to pull rigs, plow the fields, run a race, herd a cow.
Thoroughbred is a horse born and bred for the track.
It carries a jockey upon its sleek back.
It runs in big races of worldwide renown
like the Ascot, the Epsom, and the Triple Crown.
Mustangs roam wild on the wide-open plain.
They’ve never known saddles or the feel of the reins.
* * *
Bit, reins, and saddle are what we call tack.
Reins and bit on the head, saddle over the back.
There are western saddles and the English kind.
The difference between them let us bear in mind.
Western is made for the cowboy’s long haul.
Engish is for hunting and jumping and all.
On English, we post and we must learn the knack
of rising up off of the trotting horseback.
We stick to the western and we do not rise.
Either English or western is great exercise!
Now out on the saddle, the reins and the bit.
You hard riding cap – you can’t forget it!
The judges are waiting. It’s time for the show.
So pick up the reins … giddy up and let’s go!