Horse shows and Competitions

November 19th, 2008

While preparing your horse for a major event, you must ensure your horse wear the best horse rugs, horse blankets, saddle girths, saddle pads, horse tack, horse clothing, and horse boots to the show.

Visiting a horse show can be as interesting as visiting a circus or a movie show. Watching horses in fabulous horse clothing can be very much interesting. These horses look powerful and trained.

One can attend a horse show with friends or family. Sports fans and animal lovers would find this activity just what they were looking for. Taking your kids along is a great idea. If younger kids would love watching horses, then older ones would learn the basics of judging a horse.

All over the world, there are several horse shows, competitions, races, and tournaments that are organized by the horse enthusiasts. These shows can be categorized into different sections that follow certain themes related to horses. The various kind of horse shows can be Combined driving, Dressage, Endurance riding, Eventing, Horseball, Reining, Show jumping, Tent pegging, Vaulting, and many others.

This type of categorization helps in maintaining higher levels of interest among the viewers. Some of the fine categories of horse shows include jumping competitions, dressage events, rodeos, and riding specials.

Most of the viewers of the horse shows prefer noticing the riding clothes, grooming of horses, and event expectations. Others love to denote the difference between horse types. Overall these events can be quite useful in educating people about horses and their types.

Though there are endless horse shows organized around the world, some of the most popular and preferred shows across the globe include Washington International Horse Show, the National Horse Show of New Jersey, American Royal Horse Show, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, and APHA World Championship Paint Horse Show.

Horse Care: Infections in horses

October 29th, 2008

Some of the most essential equipments for a horse include saddle girths, saddle pads, horse rugs, horse blankets, horse tack, horse clothing, and horse boots. Apart from these, your horse needs your care and concern.

IrisOverseas.com is one of the most recommended sources of equestrian products. These horse products are available in wide range that any need of your horse care products seems to be taken care here. They offer high performance products that meet all safety measures and are stylish for your horse to flaunt.

Horses that are to participate in competition and races need to travel long distances. These long distance travels and being near to other horses make the infectious diseases travel faster to your horse.

There are some ways to protect your horse against infectious diseases. Some factors add to the faster spreading of infectious diseases in horses. Most important factors among these include environmental conditions, horse’s immunity, and environmental conditions.

Respiratory infections are the most commonly occurring contagious diseases in horses. Among these infections, equine herpes viruses-1 and -4, influenza virus, and strangles are the most frequent infections in horses.

Equine influenza is one of the most acute respiratory diseases occurring in horses. The incubation period for this disease is generally short and last from two to three days. The virus thus has the capacity to spread quickly. This type of infection is common in younger horses but horses of all age are liable to acquire it.

These infections can be kept at bay by taking proper preventive measures. Provide a clean environment for your horse. Regular veterinary check-ups would make sure your horse remains in the pink of its health.

Horse Care: What NOT to ignore!

October 29th, 2008

Some times your horse’s saddle pads, horse blankets, horse rugs, saddle girths, horse tack, horse clothing, and horse boots can help you in tracking your horse’s health. Apart from this, your horse can acquire some deadly problems like infectious anemia and laminitis.

Equine infectious anemia if occurred can cause serious problems to the health of your horse. This viral disease is known to affect the immune system of the horse. It is estimated that around five hundred such cases are reported every year.

EIA directly influence the immune system of the horse. After developing this, the horse becomes more prone to infections like bronchopneumonia. More agonizing is the fact that there is no cure fro EIA. So, all one can do is take precautions and preventions.  However, horses can be tested for the diseases through a serum test.

Laminitis is another deadly disease that is a sure time horse killer. It is caused by the troubled blood flow.  This ailment mainly affects the horses’ feet. There are various causes associated with this disease’s onset. Some of the causes include high fever, digestive upsets due to overfeeding, severe colic, severe stress, body toxins, and excessive weight carried.

Symptoms to identify the disease are increased pulse, heat in horse’s feet, toe pain, and lameness. Treatments range from giving medical fluids, therapy, and dietary measures and restricts.  Apart from this, if you suddenly find your horse loosing appetite then it shows that the horse is not well. Your horse may also suffer from sweating, depression, swollen legs, and red eyes.

Horse Diseases –Prevention & Cure

October 29th, 2008

Buy quality saddle girths, horse tack, horse clothing, saddle pads, horse rugs, horse blankets, and horse boots to keep your horse in the best of its health. Horse’s health should be the top priority of its owner. There is a popular myth that says horses never get sick. As told, this is just a myth with no reality.

Feet serve as a vulnerable part of body where horses can go week. Provide quality foot care for your horse. Footwear like boots should be checked and fixed in every five to seven weeks. This also depends upon the weather and horse’s conditions. Make sure to clean horse’s feet everyday to remove mud or stones. This in turn will prevent the horse from developing lameness and infections.

There is a constant fear of horses developing parasitic worms in their tummies. A proper and effective de-worming session can give much relief to the horse. This should be done every seven to twelve weeks. You can hire a veterinarian specialist to give wormers to the horse. These wormers are generally given to the horse along with its daily food. It can be in the form of gel, powder, granules, or capsules, as your vet suggests.

Some of the most harmful horse worms include the pinworm, lungworm, tapeworm, redworms, and seaworm. Generally these worms grow inside the body of the horse, but some eggs can hatch on the coat of the horse itself.

One of the most contagious skin diseases like ringworm can also affect horse’s health. Anti-fungal wash is the best method to avoid such fungal attack. Horse owners should always keep a first-aid kit well in advance. Make sure your horse’s first-aid kit include saline solution, thermometer, petroleum jelly, animalintex, scissors, antiseptic cream, sponge, bucket, medical gloves, brush, soap, and towel.

Saddle girths

October 7th, 2008

Irisoverseas.com is one of the leading manufactures of equestrian products and horse goods. We also offer the option of providing customized goods. So if you are looking for Saddlery and Equestrian products then you have come to the right place.

In this section, we are going to talk about saddle girth also called cinch. It is mainly used to keep horse saddle in place. A girth surrounds the horse and attaches itself to girth tabs from both sides.

The other Saddlery products used in events like jumping or racing includes overgirths also called surcingles, breastgirths, breastplates, and breastcollars. They help in keeping the saddle intact.
Buy a girth that helps in uniformly distribution of pressure over the entire horse body. Since, if the girth is too thin it may lead to uneasiness for the horse. Many horse riders opt for girths that have extra elbowroom, which makes the horse more comfortable and gives space for backward leg movements.

To properly measure a girth place it on a horse and then with a measuring tape calculate from the center hole of the billet on one side, under the horse belly to the midpoint of the billet on the other side.

In case girth bought is slightly small then a girth extender may be attached to a billet as it lengthens it. Nowadays market is flooded with various forms of girths such as halters, reins, breastplates, stirrups, bridles, and martingales. Term used for various horse equipment and accessories is tack. Therefore equipping a horse is called tacking up. To know more about Saddlery & Horse Equestrian Products visit our official website.

Importance of Horse Rugs

September 30th, 2008

It is important that you keep your horse dry, comfortable, and warm throughout the season. Horse rug is the best answer to it. As the nights start getting chiller, there arises a need to protect your horse from being a victim to it. It becomes necessary therefore to ensure your horse’s safety. Here comes the role of horse rug, which not only provide body warmth to the horse, it also makes your horse look beautiful.

Although, during the months of September and October, most of the horses start shedding their summer coats, as nature provides them a protective self grown hairy jacket making them secure. As we know that hardy breeds face winters without much problem with good grazing, shelter, and water, there are horses and ponies, which need rugs, however.  These horses are usually those in stables or assisting you in your work. For them, it becomes mandatory to have rugs timely and effectively.

As far as wearing of horse rugs are concerned, they are measured in inches. To avoid any mismatch, make sure to measure your horse’s size before buying a horse rug for it. To have a correct size, measure it from the centre of your horse’s chest forming a line vertically going towards its tail.

If the horse rug you have bought is waterproof, it is advisable to check your horse does not sweat inside. It might lead to skin infections. Therefore, it is needed that you check it periodically.

Do not forget to check your horse rugs on regular basis. Your horse must be comfortable and you must change your horse rug at least twice a week. Lightweight horse rugs are just perfect for your horse. They are perfect as far as seasonal changes are concerned. They are also good for the horses, which run a lot.

In all you must ensure that, your horse stays comfortable and warm especially during winter seasons. For the purpose, there are effective stable rugs, Light stable rugs, turn around neck stable rugs, medium and heavyweight horse rugs, summer sheet and under blankets. The safety and convenience depends largely on horse rugs you chose. Be careful in selecting them

Horse care

September 30th, 2008

Horse care is one of the important aspects involved while looking after a horse. Once you have bought your ideal horse, his health will be one of the important factors that you need to consider. These are the main things that need to be kept in mind for horse care:

  • Living environment – the very first important factor that needs to be dealt with is the basic living environment. Horses are generally kept in barn or shed, to protect them from wind and precipitation. They should have access to fresh & clean water all the time along with adequate forage. During winters, make sure to provide horse blanket to protect the horse from cold weather. In summers, shade is well advised.
  • Feeding – best practice to maintain good horse health is to feed the horse twice or thrice daily. Forages like grass, grain, or hay can be fed to horses. The average body weight of a riding horse needs to be around 1000 pounds.
  • Grooming – a healthy horse can look more attractive through proper grooming. A horse should be always groomed at least before it is ridden to evade injuries and chafing. Nowadays markets are flooded with numerous equine products such as Curry, Dandy brush, Body brush, Grooming rag or towel, Mane brush or comb, Hoof pick, fly spray, Sweat or Water Scraper available in many colors.
  • Veterinary care – horses are prone to many skin and health diseases like colic, laminitis, and inner parasites. These health problems can be kept at bay by routine check up and proper vaccination.

Martingales for your horse!

September 30th, 2008

Horse Martingales refers to the several designs of tacks. These tacks are used on the horse so it can control its head carriage. There are several types of martingales that come under the category of equestrian products. If some are used for riding, then some are used for driving. There are some rules for using these tacks. These rules can vary according to the schooling methods of the horses.

There are two types of horse martingale that are used in general: Standing and running. These are used for controlling the horse’s head height. It also prevents the horse from throwing its head high and thus hitting the rider. As the horse tries getting its head much higher, the martingale put pressure on the head to prevent the horse from raising it.

The standing martingale is perfect for your horse as it has a single strap attached to the girth. The strap passes between the front legs of the horse. It remains fixed to the back of the noseband of the horse. If the variation is correctly fitted, then it should be able to push the martingale strap up to the throatlatch of the horse.

Martingales have some safety and misuse issues that need to be considered. For example, standing martingales are limiting. The running martingales tend to be more convenient. Standing martingales cannot be loosened if an emergency arises. These standing tacks are used for jumping over smaller fences. Moreover, the horse with a standing martingale can easily trip and fall as the movement is restricted.

The most important care to be taken with martingales is that it should never be attached to a drop noseband. This can result in the injury to both nose and jaw of the horse. The horse can also get hurt the cartilage of its nose. Care should also be taken while tying the martingale to the heavier strap and not the lower strap. Get some quality martingales for your horse and make sure you use them carefully.

Equine kit

September 23rd, 2008

Equine kit is an important aspect of horse care. Every horse owner will have Equine kit in his or her barn. Some of the must keep products in an Equine kit are Bandages, Gauze or cotton rolls, Small, sharp scissors, Betadine scrub for cleaning wounds, Phenylbutazone for pain relief, and disposable syringes & needles.

One should consult a horse vet to prepare a good Equine kit. Nowadays, you can even buy Equine kit from the market or online and do away from all the troubles of organizing them.

Irirsoverseas.com is one of the prominent names in selling horse products such as Saddle Pads, Martingales and Equestrian Products, Horse Boots, Horse Rugs, Head Collars, Bridles, Reins, Breast Girths, Blankets, Indoor / Outdoor Rugs, Anti-Sweat Sheets, Dogs Clothes, and Dog Rugs. They also offer amazing range of bandages like Halters, Exercise Bandages, Elastic Bandages, Polo Bandages, Bandages Pads, Synthetic Half Chaps, Fleece cum Elastic Bandages, and Leg or tail Bandages.

Good horse owner is the one who looks after his/her horse in sickness and good health. Make sure that before administrating any medicine you consult with a veterinarian doctor.

Imagine what would happen if you do not have an Equine kit in case of an emergency? A small cut or wound may lead to serious damage or injury to the horse. This serious injury might lead to serious health problem for the horse in future. As it is rightfully said, “precaution is better than cure,” an Equine kit is a must-have for every horse caretaker. Get today an Equine kit and get rid off all your worries related to horse health.

Synthetic Harness for your horse

September 23rd, 2008

There are different types of harness available in the market. Some types of harness are the Show harness, Carriage or van harness, Racing harness, Cart or wagon harness, and Plow harness. Parts of the harness include horse collar, breast collar, Hames, Breeching, Traces, tugs, Girth, Belly-band, Back band, Surcingle, Crupper, Terrets, Reins, Bridle, and Horse brasses.

Synthetic Harness is made of biothane materials. These materials are high in providing resistance to cut and abrasions. It also offers an overall resistance to chemicals and also provides flexibility even at low temperatures. Synthetic Harness would help your horse get protected from fungal infections. Embossed PVC is used for the padding of synthetic Harness. You can also go for Equi-track harnesses that offer comfort for riders. These harnesses made of synthetic material also make it easier for the rider to control his horse.

Horse harnesses serves as the tacks that is put around the horse’s body to make it pull a carriage, wagon, or sleigh. Harnesses are also used to make animals pull loads like plough and canal boat. Harnesses that include horse collar are used for horses that are involved in heavy hauling. Horses that are meant for light work like shows and competitions needs to just have the one with breast collar.

The process of putting on harness on to a horse is called harnessing. This procedure is also known as harnessing up the horse. Attaching the horse harness to the load is known as hitching. Harness components for horses should be the exclusively designed for horses. Other harnesses that are used for animals like oxen are useless for horses. Moreover, the harnesses meant for other animals would not allow the horse to work efficiently.