1. Basic hoof care. True or false. Use a T for true and F for false.
______ Horse's feet should be cleaned out daily before and after being worked.
______ Normally a horse will need it's hooves trimmed once a year.
______ Some horses require special shoes to prevent lameness or to help them move more correctly.
______ The person shown in the picture is called a horse shoer or farrier.
______ Anyone can trim or shoe a horse without training.
2. Basic horse confirmation. Fill in the blanks.
balance, structure, way of going, quality, breed and sex characteristics ________________________________________ This describes how the bones are put together. You want to see the legs set nicely under the horse and when viewed from the front and behind the legs should appear straight. Their are many deviations that can occur. Another item to notice is the angles of the shoulder and hip, both are very important influences on gait and soundness (usefulness). ________________________________________ The horse should have three equal parts: the neck, the back, and the hindquarters. The horse should also be balanced vertically. This means the distance from the top of the withers to the bottom of the heart girth is equal to the distance from the bottom of the heart girth to the ground. The horse pictured shows very good balance both horizontally and vertically. ________________________________________ This describes many aspects such as muscling and conditioning. When viewing a horse from any angle you want to see well defined smooth muscling, a clean, shiny hair coat, and good overall conditioning of the horse. As you can tell from this picture of Impressive Dandy he has well defined muscles along with quantity of muscling. A few things to note is the nice inverted "v" in his chest muscling and the well defined muscling in his shoulder. From this angle you can also appreciate the size of his gaskin and stifle. ________________________________________ This must be evaluated from the front and behind as well as at the profile. You want to see that the horse's legs travel straight and do not interfere with one another. While watching a horse "track" you should note if they throw their legs outward or inward while in motion. Quarter horses should have a smooth flowing slow gait that is not choppy nor quick. You want to see a balanced way of going that looks as if they a re pushing themselves forward with their hindquarters rather than pulling themselves forward with their front legs. Quality of movement will also be evaluated according to each individual breed standard. ________________________________________ Of course every breed has its own guidelines to follow. Generally speaking you want a quarter horse to have quality and quantity of muscling. Height is unimportant as long as horse is well proportioned. Sex character refers to traits that make the horse appear masculine or feminine. A stallion will have a broader head and larger jaw, and a mare should show petite well-chiseled features. Geldings will fall somewhere between.
filly, stallion, mare, gelding, colt _________________ a male horse of breeding age _________________ a young male horse _________________ female horse of breeding age _________________ young female horse _________________ male horse that has been gelded (can no longer sire offspring);
How many inches equal 1 hand ________
buckskin, bay, palomino, black, blue roan, brown, red roan, sorrel, gray, chestnut, dun, red dun, grullo, ________________body color ranging from tan, through red, to reddish brown; mane and tail black — usually black on lower legs.
________________body color true black without light areas; mane and tail black.
________________body color brown or black with light areas at muzzle, eyes, flank and inside upper legs; mane and tail black.
________________body color reddish or copper-red; mane and tail usually same color as body, but may be flaxen.
________________body color dark red or brownish-red; mane and tail usually dark red or brownish-red, but may be flaxen.
________________body color yellowish or gold; mane and tail are black or brown; has dorsal stripe and usually zebra stripes on legs, and transverse stripe over withers.
________________a form of dun with body color yellowish or flesh colored, mane and tail are red or reddish, flaxen, white or mixed; has red or reddish dorsal stripe and usually red or reddish zebra stripes on legs and transverse stripe over withers.
________________body color smoky or mouse-colored (not a mixture of black and white hairs, but each hair mouse-colored); mane and tail black; usually has black dorsal stripe and black on lower legs.
________________body color yellowish or gold; mane and tail black; black on lower legs; typically buckskins do not have dorsal stripes.
________________body color a golden yellow; mane and tail white; typically palominos do not have dorsal stripes.
________________mixture of white with any other colored hairs; often born solid-colored or almost solid-colored and get lighter with age as more white hairs appear.
________________more or less uniform mixture of white with red hairs on a large portion of the body, but usually darker on head and lower legs; can have red or flaxen mane and/or tail.
________________more or less uniform mixture of white with black hairs over a large portion of the body, but usually darker on head and lower legs; can have a few red hairs in mixture.
True or false. Use T for true and F for false.
_______ SNIP: Any white marking between the two nostrils.
________ STAR: A marking which includes only half the pastern above the coronet.
________ STRIP: A narrow marking extending vertically in the area between the forehead and the nostrils.
________ BLAZE: A vertical marking of medium, uniform width extending the length of the face.
________ STAR AND STRIP: Any marking on the forehead.
________ STAR, STRIP and SNIP: A marking on the forehead with a narrow extension of the nasal peak and opening up again between the nostrils. These may be connected.
________ BALD FACE: A very broad blaze. It can extend out and around the eyes and it can extend down to the upper lip and around the nostrils.
________ CORONET: A full marking to the area of the knee on the foreleg and to the area of the hock on the hind leg. It is an extended sock.
________ HALF PASTERN: A marking on the forehead with a strip to the nasal peak. The strip does not have to be an extension of the star.
________ PASTERN: A marking which includes the entire pastern.
________ SOCK: A marking which extends around the leg, from the coronet halfway up the cannon bone, or halfway to the knee on the foreleg or halfway to the hock on the back leg.
________ STOCKING: Any narrow marking around the coronet above the hoof.3. Basic vet care of the horse
Vaccinationsde-WormingName 5 vaccines ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________Name 3 ways to de-worm ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________4. Oral care of the horse. Fill in the blanks.
colic, floated, file, ages, irritated, quiet, wolf,
During the yearly exam, the vet will check to see if your horse's teeth need "_______________". This is when a ________________ is used to shave off sharp edges on the horse's teeth. As a horse _______________ this must be done more often. This process does not hurt the horse, although a sedative is normally given to keep the horse _______________ and the vet safe. Failure to keep a horse's teeth smooth may increase it's risk for _____________ and can cause weight loss. If you notice whole grain in the manure your horse might need its teeth floated.
Young horses (usually yearlings) may need their ________________ teeth removed to prevent them from being _________________ by having a bit in their mouth when they are ridden. Not all horse have wolf teeth (similar to wisdom teeth in people).
5. The 5 rein aids. Fill in the blanks.
Direct rein, Indirect rein, Neck rein, Opening rein, Pulley rein,
_________________________ When the rein is pulled directly back. _________________________This is also called an emergency stopping rein. One hand shortens up on the rein and grasps mane or the horn, the other hand pulls directly back. This uses leverage to stop the horse in case of an emergency. _________________________ The horse responds to light rein pressure on the neck by turning away from it. _________________________ This describes when you guide the horse by simply taking your hand in the direction of the turn (one rein in each hand) _________________________When a rein is pulled towards the opposite shoulder.6. Write a paragraph on what you learned from this online program. If you need more room you may attach additional sheets.
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