In all riding styles, correct head position involves keeping the chin parallel to the ground. If the rider’s chin drops, the head is not centered over the body, thus affecting the proper balance of horse and rider. That is why you hear the common phrase among instructors: “Chin up!”
Aids are tools the rider uses to control a horse. Natural aids are rider’s legs, seat, & hands. Unnatural aids are bits, whips, and spurs.
The Paso Fino has a unique gait with three speeds: classic fino, paso corto and paso largo. The gait is a rapid four-beat lateral gait where each foot hits the ground separately at precisely equal intervals.
An average horse heart weighs 7-10 pounds. The racehorse Phar Lap known as Australia’s wonder horse, is said to have had a heart weighing 14 pounds. The heart is on display at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra
Horses have 16 muscles in each ear, allowing them to rotate their ears 180 degrees.
When cantering, a horse takes a breath with every stride.
Camargue horses are completely white as adults. Their babies are pure black when they are born.
There are no muscles below the knees or hocks, only ligament, tendons, cartilage and bone.
The horse was first domesticated around 6000 BC in the area surrounding the Black Sea. Indo-European tribes corralled and maintained horses primarily for their meat and milk.
Horses typically have around 13.2 gallons of blood in their bodies.