The Working Horse - A Guide on Equestrian Knowledge with Information on Shire and Carriage Horses

J. Prince-Sheldon, Various

Description

“The Working Horse” is a fantastic guide to the horses of the British Isles as used for sport and work, including a wealth of equestrian knowledge on such subjects as breeding, breaking, ailments, history, and much more. Profusely illustrated with photographs and diagrams, this timeless volume is not to be missed by horse lovers and owners alike, and it would make for a fantastic addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: “Horse-Breeding in the British Isles”, “Heavy Draught-Horses: The Shire, The Clydesdale, and the Suffolk”, “Park Hacks and Carriage Horses”, “A Veterinary Vade-Mecum”, “The Conformation of the Horse”, “Principles of Shoeing”, “Diseases and Injuries of the Feet of the Horse”, “How to Tell a Horse’s Age”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on the care and maintenance of horses.

Sujets

• Pets
• Horses
• Sport équestre
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 16 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528767316
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE WORKING HORSE

A GUIDE ON EQUESTRIAN KNOWLEDGE WITH INFORMATION ON SHIRE AND CARRIAGE HORSES.

Edited by
PROFESSOR J. PRINCE-SHELDON
With a Detailed Veterinary Section by
L. H. ARCHER, M.R.C.V.S.
Copyright 2018 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Horses - Care and Maintenance
The horse ( Equus ferus caballus ) is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus . It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae . The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. We, as humans have interacted with horses in a multitude of ways throughout history - from sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, to working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment and therapy. Horses have also been used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. With this range of uses in mind, there is an equally extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colours, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behaviour.
Looking after horses is a time consuming, as well as moderately expensive task-only to be embarked upon seriously. Horses can consume approximately 2% to 2.5% of their body weight in dry feed each day. Therefore, a 450-kilogram (990 lb) adult horse could eat up to 11 kilograms (24 lb) of food! Sometimes, concentrated feed such as grain is fed in addition to pasture or hay, especially when the animal is very active. In practical terms, horses prefer to eat small amounts of food steadily throughout the day, as they do in nature when grazing on pasture. Although this is not always possible with modern stabling practices and human schedules that favour feeding horses twice a day, it is important to remember the underlying biology of the animal when determining what to feed, how often, and in what quantities.
Aside from these more basic requirements-food (and water), horse grooming; the hygienic care given to a horse, is a very important practice. Grooming is an important part of basic horse care, essential for horses used in competition. Regular grooming helps to ensure the horse is healthy and comfortable. At a minimum, horses are generally groomed before being worked, and are usually groomed and cleaned up after a workout as well. This helps improve the health of the skin and coat, decreases the chance of health problems such as thrush, scratches and chaffing-as well as giving the groom a change to check the horse s health, such as looking for cuts, heat, swelling, lameness or a change in temperament (such as depression) which could indicate the horse is sick. Importantly, it also helps form a relationship between horse and handler, which can carry over to other handling duties and riding. Horse showmanship is a horse show class that considers quality of grooming for as much as 40% of the total score.
Important aspects of grooming are hair trimming and clipping-variable by breed, region and discipline. Severely incorrect clipping is often considered a great faux pas in the horse world.
Common forms are bridle path clipping; where a section of mane, just behind the ears, is frequently clipped or shaved off. This allows the bridle to lie comfortably on the across the poll, and makes it slightly easier to bridle the horse, as the mane and forelock are separated and easier to keep out of the way. Fetlocks can also collect undesired amounts of mud, dirt, and burrs-and may be trimmed for practical reasons. The back of the lower cannon (leg) is also commonly clipped, also to remove long hairs. For a truly polished look, the coronet band (top of the hoof) is clipped to shorten the small straggling hairs that grow along the edges. In addition to basic trimming, many horses are body clipped in the winter months, to remove their winter coat. This can serve a practical purpose, as it keeps the horse more comfortable during work, and helps it cool down faster, as well as an aesthetic one. The same reasoning lies behind clipping the mane and the tail; at its most basic, brushing out foreign materials and tangles-yet for competitions, far more extensive grooming is common place.
An aspect as yet unmentioned, though especially important, is hoof care. Although many horses are quite healthy without daily brushing, lack of hoof care can result in various problems, which if unattended, can result in short or long-term soundness issues for the horse. Hooves need to be trimmed after four to ten weeks; otherwise they will grow too long and cause discomfort. The most basic form of hoof care is cleaning, or picking out the feet. A hoof pick is used to remove mud, manure, and rocks from the sole of the hoof-thus preventing thrush and stone bruises.
If the horse was not trained to pick up its foot when a person runs their hand to the fetlock and lifts lightly, most horses will pick up their feet if the tendons behind their cannon bone are squeezed. Most horse management guidelines recommend picking the feet daily, and in many cases, the feet are picked twice in one day, both before and after a ride. Hoofs can also be dressed and polished; dressing improves moisture content, in turn preventing hoof cracks, tender feet and lost shoes whilst polish is generally used for show purposes.
As a concluding note, farriers , the people who will carry out much of this work, are incredibly important, with an interesting history. Farriers have largely replaced blacksmiths (after this specialism mostly became redundant after the industrial revolution), and are highly skilled in both metalwork and horse anatomy. Historically, the jobs of farrier and blacksmith were practically synonymous, shown by the etymology of the word: farrier comes from Middle French ferrier (blacksmith), and from the Latin word ferrum (iron). Modern day farriers usually specialize in horseshoeing though, focusing their time and effort on the care of the horse s hoof, including trimming and balancing of the hoof, as well as the placing of the shoes. Additional tasks for the farrier include dealing with injured or diseased hooves and application of special shoes for racing, training or cosmetic purposes. In countries such as the United Kingdom, it is illegal for people other than registered farriers to call themselves a farrier or to carry out any farriery work, the primary aim being to prevent and avoid suffering by and cruelty to horses arising from the shoeing of horses by unskilled persons. This is not the case in all countries however, where horse protection is severely lacking.
We hope the reader enjoys this book.
CONTENTS

CHAPTERS
-HORSES
I Horse-Breeding in the British Islands
II Heavy Draught-Horses : The Shire, The Clydesdale, and The Suffolk
III Park Hacks and Carriage-Horses
-A VETERINARY VADE-MECUM
IV The Conformation of the Horse
V Principles of Shoeing
VI Diseases and Injuries of the Feet of the Horse
VII How to Tell a Horse s Age
-HORSES.

CHAPTER I.
HORSE-BREEDING IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. *
What has been Done, and What Remains to be Done-Lessons of the War-Conditions of the Horse Supply in 1874-The Earl of Rosebery s Committee-Its Results-Establishment of Horse-Breeding Societies-A Revival all along the Line-The Hunters Improvement Society and Premiums for Thoroughbred Stallions-Transfer of the Queen s Plates-The Royal Commission on Horse-Breeding-Horse-Breeding in Ireland-Horses for the Army-Statistics as to Horse Supply-Importations.
DURING the last thirty years there has been a decided revival of interest in horse-breeding in the United Kingdom. In this country the improvement of breeds of live stock has been almost exclusively the result of private enterprise, the State support of the industry, which prevails on the Continent of Europe, having been absent. From time to time Parliament has passed measures intended to promote horse-breeding, mainly with a view to the production of remounts for the cavalry and other mounted branches of the army; but these have been of an inconclusive and intermittent description. Many of our monarchs have shown a liking for good horses, and some of them have rendered valuable aid by making importations of animals which have exercised a considerable influence in improving the breed. They have also given King s and Queen s Plates for racehorses, subsequently awarded as premiums for stallions. The Turf has been the leading agent in the improvement of the blood-horse, and in this there has been weakness as well as strength, especially since the distances of races have been made shorter and the weights lighter. The hunting field has also had an important influence, because this department of Sport has always commanded, at high prices, many of the best animals. The Agricultural and Horse Shows, too, have given a decided stimulus to the breeding of superior horses; and since the establishment of breed societies and Stud Books great progress has been made in many directions.
What has been Done.
But in spite of all this, much yet remains to be done as regards the breeding of high-class horses for riding and driving, because, especially with respect to valuable harness-horses, a large number of them are imported from European countries and from Ameri