March 31st, 2005 
admin 
The sport of Steeplechase racing dates back to 1752 in Ireland
when two, half-crocked, friends settled the argument over who
owned the best horse by racing to the nearest Church steeple
after returning from Fox hunting. The winner actually rode right
through the church where the vicar was holding a solemn funeral.
Soon it spread to England, where in 1792, the first recorded
race was held. This sport then crossed over from the Atlantic to
the US, where it has became very popular.
In the early 19th century nine prominent men from New York -
August Belmont, H. DeCourcy Forbes, Samuel S.Howland, James O.
Green, Frederick Gebhard, A.J. Cassatt, Foxhall P. Keene, John
G. Follansbee and Frederick H. Prince founded the National
Association for Steeplechase. When it was first founded, its
mission was to make the sport popular in the US and help it grow
across the Atlantic. For membership details and other small
tidbits about the Association, you can visit their website at
http://www.nsfdn.org/membership.html.
Steeplechase races are held at 12 states across the country and
the cumulative purses for these events are $5 million annually.
The horse races are a place to see and be seen at. It’s seen
across the country by millions of fans and admirers and is a
major sponsored event where corporate sponsors vie with each
other for sponsorship of the events. It attracts the best talent
for horses, horse owners, and riders and also raises millions of
dollars in charities. Thus it also attracts the most powerful
and the influential men and women. If you have seen Pretty
Woman, you pretty much have got the idea.
Some of the oldest and the most prestigious steeplechase horse
racing events are Montpelier Hunt Races, which was started on
the estates of Former President James Madison since 1929. For
more information you can visit their site
http://www.montpelier.org/races.htm. Others are The American
Grand National that began in 1899 and the The National Hunt Cup
in Radnor, Pa., which was started in 1909. For more information
on steeplechase racing across the country, you can visit
http://www.steeplestakes.com/links.html, which lists all the
races, their schedules and the prize monies.
In Virginia, you can visit the Virginia Steeplechase
association at http://www.vasteeplechase.com/. The big races in
Virginia are Virginia Gold Cup, FoxField races at
Charlottesville, Virginia, Fairfax Hunt races at Great Falls,
Middleburg Spring races at Middleburg, Montpelier Hunt Races at
Montpelier Station, Morven park Steeplechase races at Leesburg,
Mountaineer chest track in Chester etc.
You can also visit these websites for further information on
racing in Virginia.http://www.ctownraces.com/
http://www.colonialdowns.com/ http://www.fairfaxhuntraces.org/
http://www.montpelier.org/ http://www.foxfieldraces.com/
http://www.vagoldcup.com/ http://www.middleburgspringraces.com/
Watch the video related to Horse
video I made featuring the horses of Iron Springs Farm. Just for fun. Song: Chemicals React – Aly & AJ No, I am NOT riding in any of the clips, nor did I film the videos. It is just a fun, ‘no-copyright-infringement-intended’ video I made on Windows Movie Maker 
Help answer the question about Horse
Horse Management- How did you get into horses and where did you learn the necessities?A lot of people get into the horse business or horse ownership as a "family" thing. The generations before them had horses, and now they too own horses. I'm sure most of their knowledge comes from learning by hand.
But some other people (like myself) do not get this opportunity. My grandparents owned horses, but my parents did not. So that "hands-on" learning that goes on for generations stopped.
Right now I'm still in High School but plan on owning a horse or more in the future. I've taken equine science/management classes, and work with large animals like cattle (not that their care is alike!).
And as weird as it sounds- I think I am going too far with learning and reasearch.
So have you horse owners learned what you know from childhood, learned about the subject then got into horses, or just got horses and learned as you go?
About Author
Toby Beavers is best known as one of Virginia’s most interesting
Horse Farm realtor’s. He writes frequently about Virginia horse
farms, racing, Virginia history and Charlottesville area
gardening. Toby resides in Charlottesville with his family on
their 1753 farm, The Shadows.
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boss if you rode a stallion more then likely youd be fucked off so fats you wont register it. We used to have stallions noone couled get up on them
i wanna ride a fucking stallion across the country!!!!!! they are awesome
<3 x
I always loved horses, but was only able to ride trails occasionally as a child, and took lessons for a very short time. I bought a horse when I was about 30, and that was a disaster, as the horse was, "hot". My daughter also picked up the love of horses, and wanted to ride, or buy a pony. We did buy a pony, but didn't know that much about horses. The kids enjoyed riding her, but she soon became unmanageable, because adults could not ride her. Finally, after selling the pony, my daughter (still intent on the whole horse thing), decided to take lessons. This helped her to learn the basics about riding, basics about horses, do a little showing, etc. I still was uncomfortable bridling a horse, saddling a horse, etc.
The best thing to do is find a barn with a very good trainer. You might even like to watch some of the lessons they are giving other people. Do a little checking to find out who is considered good. A person giving lessons can simply have a horse ready for you to ride, give you a lesson while they are talking to other people, and pay little attention to you, or your actual progress. Find someone who is interested in teaching you about riding, fundamentals of bridling, saddling, and horse safety. Often, a smaller private barn will provide a little more hands-on time, than a larger barn that has a production line of people going through, lesson after lesson. They are not necessarily "bad", but you may not learn as much with them, as someone who can spend a little time with you. Also make sure they are a good rider. Have they been showing their horses, or do their students show at shows other than just their own barn shows? This is not a necessity, but it might show that they are interested in getting better in order to be good enough to do well at shows. You would do well to do anywhere from 6 months of lessons to even a couple of years of lessons with a good trainer, before buying a horse. This does a lot of things for you, including allowing you to ride more than one horse, which is very good for you. Then, if you do decide to buy a horse, make sure you have a very experienced person helping you make your decision, because you can get a horse that is not trained well, too much horse for you, or simply of ill health, which is very difficult to discern. Never purchase a horse without a VET CHECK. The money spent on a vet check can save you more than you might even spend on the horse, and lots of heartache, if the horse is not even rideable, and you have to resell it, perhaps with no success. Get to know horse people, and consider joining a 4H club, because the people in these clubs are usually very helpful, and know quite a lot. These are usually good contacts. Good luck.
please look at these websites! i promise they will be worth youre time!!!!!!!!!
http://www.rollingrockrescue.comAvailHorses.htm
http://www.rersi.org/horses.htm
http://www.cmvhr.org/horsesadoptioninformation.html
http://www.rescueahorse.com/adoption.htm
http://www.heavencanwaitequinerescue.org/available.html
Horses have five legs
someone ever noticed horse fifth leg?
xDDDDDDDDD
I think the whole breed preference is almost like racism. Every horse is an individual just as people are. Not all arabians are smart, not all drafts are calm, and not all Quarter horses are perfect for ranch work.
When looking for a first horse, look at the horse's training – does it do what you want it to do? If not, how much time, money, etc will it take to get it there? Then how is the horse's conformation? It may be the best trained horse in the world, but if it's not built to do what you want it to do, it's going to have physical problems down the road. Next, is the personality. Do you get along with this horse? I've known some really great horses, that I jsut did not like. We couldn't connect, and thus could never really reach our potential. I've had to resell several horses, do to conflict of personality. Other personality traits you should look at is how personable is this horse? Do you feel safe having friends or family around it, or is it a one person horse? Just some things to keep in mind…
I would love to recommend a breed (I have a favorite just like anyone else) but there are always going to be exceptions to the rule. So look at the individual, not the breed, and you might be surprised by finding the perfect horse in a breed you weren't expecting.
hmmmmmmm french steak
It’s kind of like the social stricture of lion life except in the end it’s fresh ass and rainbows.
Sorry. I don't know what to tell you. You seem to have a good argument in your favor, but there must be something that your parents a afraid of. And by afraid I don't mean that they are scared of anything, just maybe if they say that they know you're mature enough and so on, maybe they're are just worried that it will come down to them being the ones to take care of it in the end. Sometimes parents have a way with saying one thing, but really meaning another. I know…I am one. I think if you give them time, and really present your side of it, you may be able to get their approval. It just might take more time than you are willing to wait. I would definately try to find out the real reason that they changed their minds. They might just have a good one.
You mentioned that you'll be taking a gap year. Spend that year immersed in the horse world… mostly.
During your lessons, (especially if they're group ones, like mine) think about things that you can improve. For example-when you're warming up at the walk, see how far you can stretch your heels down. And at the trot and canter, drop your stirrups for one lap and pick them back up for another. This increases your leg strength and balance, and it helps you practice picking up a lost stirrup at the more jostling gaits.
Don't just stick to the discipline you're riding now. Find lessons in Western, if you're riding English now (and vice versa). Spend some time learning about every nook and cranny of the riding styles out there- even if it's just a lesson or two or if it's just reading about it in a book. This way your that much more knowledgeable about different riding styles, horsemanship, training methods, and riding in general.
See if you can spend time with a trainer. You can learn about different training methods and hopefully pick up things that you can use later on. Many professional riders also train to keep up the bills before they get that "breakout" ride.
See if you can get a job as a groom at a well known showing barn in your area. This way, you can be in the competition environment and gain the mindset. You'll also gain contacts and references for later. But I'm assuming you know that this pays… nothing.
Which brings me to my last (almost xD) point. Find a job in retail, etc. that you know a little bit about. Even if you work part time, it helps bring in the money. I would even go so far as to recommend that you save everything that you get from that job.
OK. Last thing- SAVE. I know it's so obvious, but it's necessary. Eat mac and cheese and ramen noodles. Don't buy new clothes. Live at home. Go to the extreme. If you're buying a horse 6 months before you go to college, you've got a double whammy of new costs coming your way.
I told you everything that I could think of because you didn't mention what you want to go into. Pro rider? Trainer?
Wow. All this talk about horses makes me want to take a gap year myself. Hmm… Might have to consider it.
that wuz cheezy tbh… lovely horses tho
I would also drive him backwards or away from me. I don't care if he follows to the gate, but once we reach it…they need to stay back.
I would step aggressively towards the other horse and tell him to back off. I would turn my horse around so I was facing horse number 2. I would stomp, wave my hands and use an agressive tone. If that didn't work…then I would have a crop the next time and move him off with that. Again…I don't care if they follow towards the gate…but they need to learn to stay back from the gate.
I don't recommend 'touching' another horse without that owner's knowledge or say so. That would make me incredibly angry if it was mine. I may tell you to go ahead and smack if you needed to…but if you did it without my permission…I would be mad. Same goes for giving my horse treats without my say so…
Find the owner of the second horse and talk to them about they would like you to handle this. Until then…you need to try and back the horse off…without touching it.
Just my opinion…
The dominant male should of made them pick up that crap.
Welcome to the worked of riding! And good for you for having a professional out there ready to help as soon as you get your new horse!
Horses can carry up to 20% of their own body weight without having any ill impact. For example a 1,500 lb horse should be able to carry a 300lb human. If a 350lb human rides him though that is where the trouble comes in. One ride even can do irreversable damage to their spine and back muscles.
A great first horse for you all would be a draft horse. They are usually gentol, smart, and safe which is exactly what you want from a first horse. Look for a Clydesdale, Percheron, etc that has been broke to ride (that is key because a lot of people just drive draft horses).
You can do an advanced search and put in that you want your horse to be over 16 hh (you guys are so tall that you need something at least that tall or you will look silly) and how ever heavy it needs to be. Hope that helps and good luck.
How gorgeous is that buckskin stallion? We dont have jack all buckskins that nicely coloured here in WA.
It is always a good idea to isolate any horses that have come into contact with the infected horse, since the signs of the disease often manifest themselves days to weeks after the initial infection.
Your veterinarian can perform a swab of the nasal passages, throat, or abscess of the suspect animal in order to test for the Streptococcus equi bacteria.
I hope this helps =)