December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 December 2001 January 2002 Animal INKlings

Horse INKlings
Volume 3 Issue 1
December 2001

Welcome to the first issue of Horse INKlings for 2002. Its aim is to provide interesting, entertaining and useful information about the horses with whom we share our lives. Please let me know what you think.



=========================
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
=========================

"Anyone who is concerned about his dignity would be well advised to keep away from horses."
                                                          -- Duke of Edinburgh

===================
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
===================

Winter Blanketing Tips

• Have a second blanket. The one your horse is wearing is sure to get wet or torn. If the temperature takes a real nosedive, use both.
• A pasture horse with a full winter coat is probably better off without a blanket. If you do blanket your horse, make sure you take the blanket off and groom him periodically to prevent skin diseases.
• A blanket that doesn't fit properly can cause soreness. Many blankets are too big in the front. You can often improve the fit by having the front sewn closed. (Horses quickly learn to accept a blanket being put on and off over the head.)
• Don't put a winter blanket on a wet horse. Make sure she is cool and dry first to avoid chills. Keep a hair dryer in your tack box. It takes awhile, but it works.

This month I want to talk about two books for your reference shelf: The Horseman's Illustrated Dictionary by Steven Price and The Complete Book of Bits and Bitting by Elwyn Hartley Edwards.

Price's dictionary is excellent and poor at the same time.

When I first looked at it, I was impressed. It's attractively laid out, comprehensive and well-illustrated. Here's your source for the meaning of words used in the context of horses. Are you an English rider who has wondered what western riders meant by a leak? Or a western rider who has wondered what an in-and-out was? This book will tell you. It defines terms from racing, foxhunting and specialty equestrian sports as well as ordinary English and western riding. It will tell you that Buttermilk was Dale Evan's horse and that Federico Caprilli was an Italian horseman credited with the development of the forward seat.

At the end of his introduction, Price says "Although every effort was taken to make this book as accurate as possible, if an error of fact or judgment slipped in, let me apologize in the spirit of Samuel Johnson: When asked how he came to define 'pastern' in his dictionary as 'the knee of a horse', Johnson replied, 'Ignorance, Madam, pure ignorance.'"

Samuel Johnson had an excuse -- he didn't have much to go on when he compiled his Dictionary of the English Language in 1755. Any number of sources would have told Price that an aged horse is seven (or nine) or older, not four. The term has to do with the age past which it is no longer easy to tell age from teeth. A four-year-old still doesn't have all his adult teeth. A pony is not a species of equine. Equine caballus is the species. Tiny ponies or huge draft horses are just breeds within the single species of horse. And Elwyn Hartley Edwards would probably wince at some of Price's definitions of bits.

However, overall, Price's dictionary is well worth owning. The book's strength lies in its explanations of ordinary terms that horse people use all the time -- the jargon of the equestrian world. For specialized information, you need to go to books written by experts in their field.

If you want to learn about bits, go to Edwards' The Complete Book of Bits and Bitting. Using lots of photographs and illustrations, Edwards explains the different classes of bits, how they affect the horse and what different variations are intended to achieve.

After a fascinating look at the history of bits, Edwards begins with the basic principles of bitting, and what he calls "The Law of the Bit". He says that in order to understand how bits work in riding, you have to understand the bits themselves, the parts of the horse's head and mouth involved in fitting a bridle, the conformation of the mouth, and the effect such auxiliaries as martingales and nosebands have on the bit's action. When you've finished the book, you'll have a much better understanding than you did when you started.

Whether you ride English or western, if you're serious about riding, Edwards' book belongs in your library. You'll find out what the bit you're using is actually doing -- or not doing -- to your horse. Snaffles, curbs, double bridles, gags, pelhams, nose or bitless bridles -- and all their variations -- Edwards discusses them clearly and in practical terms. This book is excellent on all counts.

By the way, according to Price, leak is "Of a cutting horse, to lose the advantage over a cow by moving toward the animal instead of staying back and waiting for the cow to move forward." An in-and-out: "In jumping, a combination of two fences set one cantering stride, or approximately twenty-four feet, apart. The combination comes from foxhunting, where horses might be asked to jump over a fence out of a field, across a country lane, and over a second fence into the next field."

For more information:
The Horseman's Illustrated Dictionary.
The Complete Book of Bits and Bitting.

Horse Books     Horse Lore     Horse Puzzles    Horse Links     Horse Talk Forum     Horsing Around Strathcona County HOME     SITE MAP      EQUESTRIAN E-BOOKS      ABOUT ACREAGE EQUINES     BOOK STORE     HORSE TALK     HORSE INKLINGS    AFFILIATES

Search Whole Site Search Books Search Articles Search Puzzles Search animalINK