Silver Spurs 4H Horse & Pony Club

Signs of a Health Horse

Hair is shiny and sleek
No grass belly can be seen
Muscles are well fit
Horse shows signs of interest in surroundings
Horse acts energetic
Horse is not too thin or fat
Normal riding does not produce sweating or heavy breathing
Horse does not act tender footed and walks normally
Horse eats all he is given
The horse has bright eyes, alert ears, and normal vital signs
The horse does not act tired, sluggish, or lethargic
The horse has a thick or shiny mane and tail
The horse has strong hooves that are shaped normally

Horse Tails

Banged Tail
A "banged" tail is cut straight across the bottom to give it a neat appearance. It makes a scraggly tail look thicker.

Natural Tail
The natural tail is left thick and long if possible. (It's the horse's favorite style!)

Docked Tail
Often inflicted on harness horses to prevent their tails being caught up in the harness. Tail docking is illegal in many places as it's considered cruel.

Pulled Tail
The hair around the dock area, at the top, is pulled out to give the tail a more refined look. Show horses often have pulled tails.

DID YOU KNOW?

Horses will often stand "tail to tail" and shelter each other from annoying flies by swishing their tails for each other!

Some breeds are renowned for their tails. For example Appy's often have sparse (thin), tails while Friesians and Morgans are known for their long luxuriant tails.

As well as using them for fly swatters, horses use their tails as communication.

Braided Tail
The tail is first thinned at the top and then braided neatly around the dock for showing. Both manes and tails are usually braided for hunter

Gaits

Walk	The walk is a four beat gait. First beat - left hind Second beat - left fore Third beat - right hind Fourth beat - right fore
Trot	The trot is a two beat gait. First beat - right hind and left fore (left diagonal) Support phase Suspension - all feet are off the ground Second beat - left hind and right fore (right diagonal) Support phase Suspension - all feet are off the ground
Canter	The canter is a three beat gait. First beat - right hind Second beat - diagonal pair (left hind and right fore) Third beat - left fore ('leading' foreleg) Fourth beat - pushing off with left fore Suspension - all feet are off the ground
Gallop	The gallop is a very fast gait. First beat - right hind Second beat - left hind Third beat - right fore Fourth beat - left fore Pushing off - left fore Suspension - all feet are off the ground

Face Markings

Facial Markings

-- Star -- Horse Facial Markings: Star

-- Snip -- Facial Markings in Horses: Snip

-- Stripe -- Stripe Markings in Horses

-- Blaze -- Horse Facial Markings: Blaze

-- Bald -- Facial Markings in Horses: Bald

-- Lip -- Lip Marking on Horse's Mouth

-- Muzzle -- Muzzle Markings in Horses

Behavior

HORSE BEHAVIORS

Category	Definition	Example
Contactual	The result of seeking affection of protection, although sometimes exhibit contactual behaviors for other reasons.	Horses huddle together in a circle in inclement weather or at times of suspected danger.
Ingestive	Taking in of food or water into digestive tract.	Forage eating, concentrate eating, drinking water, and even tail chewing are all ingestive behaviors.
Eliminative	Horses will stop to urinate or defecate. Elimination patterns differ between sexes. Horses will establish an elimination area.	Stallions smell the area and usually walk up and down the area and then defecate or urinate. Mares and geldings usually smell the area and deficate or urinate without walking on it.
Sexual	All acts associated with the fertilization process.	courtship and copulation; can be mares, geldings, and stallions
Epimeletic	Giving of care and attention among horses.	Horses in the shade head-to-tail to mutually fight off flies. Scratching of each others back.
Et-Epimeletic	When a horse signals for care.	Foal calls excitedly to mother. Horse runs through fence to be with companion.
Allelomimetic	mimicry; contagious or infectious behavior	Two stalled horses are adjacent to one another. One horse chews wood, the other horse copies and chews wood.
Investigative	Sensory inspection of the enviroment.	A barrel is stuck into a field with a horse. The horse looks at the barrel and continues to smell it.
Agonistic	All actions that are a result of or associated with conflict or fighting and includes aggression, submission, and attempts to escape.	Two horses fighting.
Dominance	"pecking order"	Two stallions fight over territory and mares.