Horsetail Trivia

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Attention: Sorry, we are NOT a horse renting business nor do we need anyone to "ride" our horses for us. We train horses and train people, young and old how to ride horses.​​

Learn about Horse!
Fun Facts about horses!!
Let's learn some Horse lingo!!!
It's time to saddle up and ride!!!

 Green Horn: A person who is not experienced or knows much about horses. Horses can tell or "Sense" when someone is unsure or doesn't know what to do.  They often take advantage of a Green Horn.
Green Horse: A young horse with not much training or it can be an older horse with not much training.
                                                    CLUBS
4-H: A Youth Organization administered by the Dept of Agriculture with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". 4-H is a great way for youth and parents to learn about horses.

WAHSET: Washington High School Equestrian Team, a great organization for High School Youth to learn about their horses, to learn how to be a great team member and to compete against other High School equestrian teams.

The United States Pony Clubs, Inc.: This club is for kids and horses. It develops character, leadership, confidence and a sense of community in youth through a program that teaches the care of horses and ponies, riding and mounted sports.

                                Horse Gear
Helmet: A safety head gear for riding.  In all local arenas, and at almost all organized events, everyone under 18 years of age are required to wear a helmet when riding a horse to protect their noggin.

Halter: A halter is headgear that fits behind the ears, and around the muzzle of your horse. A lead rope or lunge rope is attached to the halter to lead or tie up the horse.

Bridle: A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse while riding.  The "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit.  Sometimes Bridles don't have bits.
Bridles are used for riding, and unless they are a combo bridle and halter they should not be used to tie your horse up.
Bosal: Some trainers start a horse out with a bosal, more about that later...

Saddle: There are several different types of saddles. A person riding a horse can ride bareback, with a bareback pad, an English saddle or a Western saddle. There are even Australian Saddles. Riders use different types of saddles and gear for different types of riding.

Free Lunge: Having the horse in a large round pen and by use of your voice, body position and a long whip you will control the horse and make it go around you in all different gaits and directions.

Lunge a horse: Using a 25' rope to control the horse and make it go around you in all different gaits.

Horse Gaits: A horse can have several gaits and speeds. Generally horses Walk, Trot, Canter or Lope and Gallop. Some breeds of horses have a smooth running walk and some can pace. Before purchasing any horse it is very important to learn about the different breeds so you will buy a breed of horse that is best fitted for what you want to do with it.  Like different builds in people, a gymnasts body is different than a basketball players body.  Horses are the same. Some horses are better for quick speeds such as gaming and some are better for endurance racing. Some horses are better for showing. Your terrific trainer will have knowledge about different breeds and they can help you choose wisely.

Horse Size:  Horse traders used to use their hands to measure a horse for sale.  As usually the width of a mans hand was 4" that is the standard measurement one hand on top of the other. The  horse is measured at the top of the withers. This is the top of the horse where the neck and the shoulder meet. From the ground to that point is what is measured and generally a person says 14 hands, 14.1, 14.2, etc. So 14.2 would mean 14 hands and 2 more inches. Horses seem to be much larger than they used to be for the standard of each breed. Any horse 14.2 and under is considered a pony.

Horse Breeds: There are so many breeds of horses that it would be impossible to list them all here. An equestrian interested in horses can find information in many books on the internet about each breed. A future cowgirl or cowboy should do a lot of research about the different breeds to determine which horse breed they might like for the type of riding they will be doing.
A good trainer will help you with this.

             Foal, Colt, Filly, Pony,Mares, Geldings and Stallions
Foal: a baby horse, boy or girl
Colt or stud colt: a baby or young boy horse
Filly: a baby or young girl horse
Pony: there are several breeds considered pony breeds. Shetland, Welsh and Cob for example.
Pony size: Any horse 14.2 hands or smaller
Mini horse: They are actually tiny horses not babies and not ponies.  They are not used for riding but are lovely for pulling carts. Pulling carts doesn't hurt them at all but please, don't sit on them.
Mare: a girl horse generally over 3 years.
Gelding: a boy horse generally over 3 years old that has been fixed the same way as they fix male dogs.
Stallion or Stud: They are unfixed boy horses and are used for breeding purposes. Stallions take a experienced handler, in fact most arenas do not allow stallions to be stabled there and most horse shows don't allow a person under 18 years to show a colt over 1 year old. Stallions can be a handful.

Lease Option: There are usually great older horses available to lease.  The Trainers in the area will know of those fantastic horses that are available. When you lease a horse you can get the use of  a well trained horse without the cost of having to purchase it.

Buying a horse: If you decide that you do want to buy a horse, it is very important that you enlist the help of a trainer to help you check out the horse that you may be interested in purchasing.  An experienced trainer can help you spot a horse with training issues and problems and/or conformation flaws. As horses generally live around 20 years buying a horse is a lifelong commitment and you do want to make sure you get the horse best suited for you or your child's abilities. 

If you have decided you want to talk to a Horse Trainer just fill out the Quote Box.
 Our Trainers will be contacting you as soon as possible.
                          TEXT us at this number!!   509-309-0305