I’ve had a hard time writing about Asad’s hooves until now, because every time I trimmed them I saw how much damage there was to the white line where the laminae connect the inner structures of the hoof to the hoof wall. Instead of a thin smooth narrow white line, he had a lumpy erratic […]
Category Archives: Equine Bio-mechanics
Looking at functional conformation and soundness under saddle. Practical applications of research for the benefit of the horse
The Wilber Cruce strain remains one of the most acrimoniously contested strains of Colonial Spanish horses. I do regret not taking screenshots of the various explanations of the strain’s backgrounds that have been posted on line over the last decade or so. However, I have put the relevant points of the different stories together as […]
Yes, I have received a Winnie Award for one of my Light in the Saddle horse training books. And I should have realized I was writing outside the box when my publisher for my horse series ghosted me. I am beginning to realize my work is leading edge because at least two sites that publish […]
I am starting this post with a very brief synopsis of Goubaux and Barrier’s principles of ‘zootechnics’ to make sure my readers have context. You can find a longer introduction here. Even though The Exterior of the Horse was published in 1891, it still offers a very different approach from either veterinary pathologists who look […]
I am starting with a very brief synopsis of Goubaux and Barrier’s principles of ‘zootechnics’ to make sure my readers have context. You can find a longer intro by clicking here. Even though the Exterior of the Horse was published in 1891, it still offers a very different approach from either veterinary pathologists who look […]
When I first began looking into how horses moved in the late 1970’s, the one authority I could find was ‘The Exterior of the Horse’. The tome was rare even then, so I had to borrow it from the Library of Congress through the inter-library loan program. Since I could only keep the book for […]
When Colonial Spanish horses were first imported to North America, horses were as ubiquitous and varied in type as cars in a modern parking lot. The recent leaps in equine genetic research has helped to increase our understanding of how those horses were perceived and bred as well as how they were built. Queen Isabella […]
When I finally found a lunging cavesson that came close to meeting my criteria for humane head gear, it came with an ‘ergonomically’ designed head stall. I wanted the cheek strap that prevented the head stall from sliding into the horse’s eyes and the padded noseband without chains, cables, or metal plates inserted. It wasn’t […]
Some 70 years after the Spanish Mustang Registry was founded, Colonial Spanish Barb Mustangs are on the endangered/extinct watch list. Return to Freedom is offering horses from the Brislawn’s Cayuse Ranch, among others, for adoption. They may still have some of the horses from Gilbert Jones’ Kiamachi herd when those horses had to be disbursed. […]
As a responsible stallion owner, I feel I should offer mare owners who would like to breed to Asad as much information as possible. That includes learning about his coat color genetics. Colonial Spanish horses have been reduced to a tiny remnant, and tracking color genes is one way of maintaining both genetic diversity and […]
sara annon 