Facts about horses and the sport of equestrianism
Print Edition
Q: What are good manners for watching an equestrian event?
Wear clean clothes and do not enter the course with slippers or just a vest; keep voice down and don’t smoke; set your cell phone to vibrate or mute during the contest; do not scream out or applaud during the event because the horse might be scared by the sound; do not bring flags and banners; do not open your umbrella or use a camera flash because it will distract the athlete and horse and even cause faults and injury; do not throw anything into the course. If you get close enough to touch a horse, remember to keep your movements slow and your voice down. And to prevent being kicked, do not get close to the horse from behind. Watch your children and stop them from running near the fences.
Q: Classification of horses?
There are two ways to classify a horse — characteristics and size.
In characteristics, there are three kinds of horses — hot-blood, warm-blood and cold-blood, though it actually has nothing to do with their blood or body temperature.
Hot-blood horses includes Arabian and thoroughbred. It has the strongest spirit and also runs fastest. It’s usually used as a race horse.
Cold-blood horses include Clydesdale and Percheron. It has a huge body and is quiet and stable. It’s usually used for professional work.
Warm-blood horses stand in the middle between the hot-blood and cold-blood, no matter in size or characteristics. Most of the horses in equestrian are warm-blood.
In size, there are also three kinds — small, light and heavy. The light horse has a height of around 15 to 17.2 hands. It’s suitable for riding.
Q: What should I know about approaching a horse?
Safety is always the priority. You should stay within the horse’s sight and avoid getting too close from behind because the horse might be shocked. It’s a good choice to touch a strange horse on the forehead and neck. However, if you find the horse turns its ears to the back, you must be careful — it means the horse is vigilant and might attack you.
Q: What should I know about riding a horse?
Here are some tips that you should know. First, don’t stand in a position where the horse can kick you with its hind legs; suitable riding boots and breeches can prevent you from getting bruised on your legs and hips; don’t ever get on a horse without a saddle; don’t ride near a forest because you don’t know where the horse will take you in case it gets frightened; don’t change clothes on the horse because the horse might be unable to recognize you in different clothes; remember to check whether the belly belt is tightened before getting on and also during the riding; keep your body bent forward when going uphill and bent backward when going downhill; and last, just put your tiptoes into the stirrups when getting on and off. If you put your whole feet into the stirrups, you might be dragged by the horse if it suddenly starts to run.
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