I love horseback riding! I have been doing it for 13 years! I always find it so silly that no one else knows what I’m talking about when I discuss my passion.

 Mare and Gelding horses A mare is a girl horse. This is Pandora! A gelding is a boy horse which has been “deprived of a natural or essential part” (Webster). Stallions are boys that have not been “gelded” but they are dangerous to have at farms. This is Andre!

 Ponies! Ponies are tiny horses, a pony is less than 14.2 hands. Honey Star is a naughty escape artist pony, so she is in pony jail.

 “Hands” are how we measure horses A “hand” is 4 inches, it’s easier to measure horses like this versus with a tape measure. Pandora is 15.2 hands.

 My favorite parts of a horse! This is called a “chestnut.” Horses have one on all 4 of their legs above the knee. In prehistoric times horses had an extra toe that grew out of there to help them climb mountains! This is the bottom of a horse’s “hoof.” The middle part that I am pointing to is called the “frog.” It helps blood pump through the horse’s leg!

 Groom your horse with a curry comb! A curry comb is a rubber brush with rubber teeth that you brush in a circular pattern on the horse to get all the dirt out of the coat… Pan was very dirty, dirt flew everywhere!

 An English Saddle There are many different styles of riding, I ride “English” so my saddle is very small (although not as small as a race horse’s saddle) but smaller than a “Western” saddle. And, it doesn’t have a “horn” on the front, like Western saddles.

 An English Bridle An English bridle has more parts than a Western bridle. First, you have to try to get the “bit” in their mouth. Then, you have to try to get the “crown piece” over their ears. Last, you have to buckle the “nose band” around their nose and the “throat latch” under their head.

 Trot! The trot is one speed faster than the walk. It sounds like this: 1,2.1,2.1,2.1,2. Because I ride English we “post” to our trot so, as the horse goes “1,2” I go “up, down” in the saddle to the same beat. It’s easier said than done…

 Canter! The canter is one speed faster than the trot. It sounds like this: 1,2,3.1,2,3.1,2,3. When Pandora canters I just sit in the saddle and enjoy the ride!