Horse Racing

Racing has been around for many years and is widely done around the world. The horses used for racing are always thoroughbred. They horses race on either a grass or sand track. It is thought horse racing started in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. It has stayed mainly the same over the years but has become more and more popular.

There are four different types of racing...

Flat racing -horses gallop directly between two points around a straight or oval track.

Jump racing or Steeplechasing - where horses race over obstacles.

Harness racing - where horses trot while pulling a driver

Endurance racing - where horses travel long distance across from 25 to 100 miles

The rider in racing is always referred to as a jockey. Jockeys have to be a certain weight depending on the race standard and horse. These weight limits are usually very hard to obey by and that's why jockeys are commonly very short.


Many people bet on horses when watching horse racing. People bet with the bookies and can win large sums of money.

Eventing

Eventing

Eventing is a horse competition with three stages...



Dressage

show jumping



Cross country











Eventing at amateur level is usually over one day and starts with dressage then show jumping and then ending with cross country. In most countries pony club is the main organisation for amateur eventing and is for all ages up to 21 and senior membership is 21-23. Each county or area will have a branch off The Irish Pony Club. Each event costs €15-25 An annual membership is €95.

Here is the link for the Irish pony Club...

http://www.irishponyclub.ie/index.php

The next level up of eventing is Eventing Ireland. This can be one to three day events depending on the standard. The link for Eventing Ireland is...

http://www.eventingireland.com/








Eventing was originally called combined training which is now more commonly used for an event with only two stages, usually dressage and show jumping.


The levels of eventing in Ireland are as followed...

Intro:   X-C - max height 90 cm

Pre-Novice (CNCP*):    X-C max height with spread 1.10m

CNC* (CNCP**):  X-C – max. height with spread 1.10 m

CNC**:  X-C – max. height with spread 1.15 m

CNC***:   X-C – max. height with spread 1.20 m#

The standard of turn out in eventing is usually very high especially for dressage. Show jumping is not as strict and cross country pretty relaxed, allowing competitors to chose their own colours. Each phase has required equipment that is to a high enough standard.

Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred horse is a very popular breed today mainly used for horse racing.
Thoroughbreds first were bred in the c17 and c18 in England but are now popular around the world.
The typical Thoroughbred ranges from 15.2 to 17.0 hands or 157 to 173 cm high. They are most often bay, dark bay, chestnut, black or grey in colour.


Although thoroughbreds are used mostly for racing many thoroughbreds are also used for show jumping, eventing and dressage to the highest level. Thoroughbreds are also commonly bred with other breeds of horses as thoroughbreds are very fast but are not as agile or calm tempered as other breeds. They have been influential on Arabian bloodlines to produce the Anglo-Arabian and also with the Irish Draught to produce the Irish Sport Horse.

Connemara



Connemara



Add caption

Connemara horses originated in Ireland and Irelands only native breed.


The Connemara horses are typically grey, as seen in the above picture, but also come in black, brown, dun, bay, roan, chestnut, palomino and dark-eyed cream. They are usually 128 - 148cm when fully grown. They are known for being stocky due to there short legs and thick shoulders, neck and hind quarter.


The Connemara pony is widely used for children and adults and is still popular today.


Vidoe on horse riding

Breeds

Breeds

There are many different breeds of horses. A breed is a type of horse.

 

'Animals that, through selection and breeding, have come to resemble one another and pass those traits uniformly to their offspring.'

 

It's hard to calculate how many breeds of horses there is. Most breeds were developed during the time when horses were the major mode of transportation and power. For example to pulling heavy loads, for the entertainment of horse racing and to pull carriages.

 

 

There are three different types of horses...

• Coldbloods: Larger, gentle horses for working or hauling.
• Hotbloods: Swift, fast horses used for racing and speed.
• Warmbloods:  Great breed for equestrian sports and competitions.
   
  Here is a list of some popular horse breeds..
   
  Abyssinian horse
  Appaloosa
  Arabian horse
  Friesian
  Connemara
  Draft
  Quarter horse
  Fjord horse
  Thoroughbred
  Falabella
  Shetland
  Shire Horse
  Highland
  Newfoundland pony
  Mustang
  Welsh pony

Introduction

Hi my name is Ellen and I'm a TY student. I'm doing this blog for a geography project.
In this blog I'm going to talk about the background of horses, horse breeds and other interesting facts about horses. Each week I will do a different horse breed to talk about.