Sport and Lifestyle

Horses are fascinating animals. Be it a wild mustang running free or a trained horse racing on a track. Since man learned to tame and domesticate horses they have served us as a great source of transportation, carrier, leisure and entertainment. In the olden days they were used for multiple purposes like drawing carts or chariots, carrying loads, etc. Even now they are used for entertainment, sports, as ranch horses, by police forces and so on.

Horseback riding is a popular sport and a pleasurable way to keep the body fit. It is enjoyed by the young and the not-so-young everywhere. There are horseback riding programs in schools, police departments, tourist destinations, etc. It is one sport that never gets outdated. Horses are also bred by horsemen and horsewomen for a particular discipline or their beauty.

Learning how to ride a horse is a challenging endeavor.

You need to know the thoughts and behavior of the animal and ride correctly. There are many types of horseback riding; however, the two most preferred are the English riding and Western riding. English riding is now being popularly adopted worldwide as the basic foundation of riding.

Talent plus apparel and equipment are required. If you own a horse you need the equipment even more to give the horse proper care. Just like different places call for different apparel, depending on the elements, the same is true for horseback riding. Some apparel for horseback riding include riding pants, riding shirts, riding jackets, show jackets, socks, half caps, helmets, riding boots, gloves, belts, etc. This apparel is not for mere style and show but they provide comfort and safety to the rider.

If you own a horse, you obviously have a stable and train your horses and take care of them too.

For proper care of the horse you need to equip your stable with certain requirements; blankets, sheets, coolers, quarter sheets, wraps boots, saddle pads, fly masks, halters, lead ropes and head bumpers to name a few. Other equipment like bridles, reins, bits, girths, stirrup leathers, tack cleaners, martingales and breast plates are also essential for a better and safer ride.

Training the horse is very important and needs experience. Good equipment allows clear, quick communication between the trainer and the horse; therefore, equipment like reins, spurs and whips used in the training should be of high quality. Horse care supplies are also available in stores, they are used to keep the horse healthy and enhance its beauty too. Some horse care supplies are supplements, treats, first aid, hoof care, shampoo, insect sprays, wormers, grooming totes, clippers and so on.

With the right equipment and care, your horse will stay healthy and is sure to be all the better for your excellent care. Also better apparel and gear will give the horse more comfort while you ride. There are many stores that provide high quality horse care supplies, riding apparel and equipment. You can even get your horse supplies and tack delivered to your address by ordering them on-line.

The writer is associated with Anytime Tack, an on-line store for high quality English riding apparel and other horse riding and care equipment.

In this fast way of living people hardly find enough time for them selves.  Everyone runs everyday, struggling with his endless working hours, in a mission to earn money and to take care for the basic responsibilities in the home.  And always there isn’t enough time for us, for our hobbies, for sports…  It’s the same with the ones that have chosen ridding horses as a hobby and besides the search for finding a good time to ride in the busy schedule, often happens people to spend their whole free time in cleaning or taking care for the horse in different ways but not in riding.  

Many times it’s easier to play some horse games than to ride but that is not fair for the animal.  It is bad for its physical condition and its health; it is not good to let the horse be ponderous and fat.  If you don’t feel like selling the horse, do your best and organize your time, so you could achieve all your responsibilities.  That is better for the horse but mostly for you.  Here are few tips how to gain more time to ride.

It is pretty useful to buy everything that you need, everything you never want to run out of, all the equipments at once – that’s how you will have all the time, so you don’t have to spend time going everyday in shopping.  Buy everything from hay and bedding to fly spray and food.  Except saving time you also save money, taking the advantage of discounts for bulk buying.

Prepare for the week ahead wisely buy cleaning tack, making up loads of haynets and doing a full muck out if you use the deep litter method during the week to save time.

It would be very nice if you could make an agreement with a friend to share your yard duties.  Agree to clean the yard and the stable, feed and turnout for each other one day a week.  This way you will have time for extra ride, or a longer ride.

If you like to minimize the time for muck out, think of investing in synthetic tack, rubber matting to make mucking out a breeze, and a tack trolley to reduce trips across the yard.  Also find neck covers for mud to cut down on winter grooming.

And another important thing is to find the best period of the day for riding.  It could be before going at work or afterwards, but in any case be sure that it’s not going to defeat your everyday activities.

Whether it’s a new year’s resolution, doctor’s advice, or just a general desire to get fit and healthy, many people are always trying to get started on an exercise program that’s fun, enjoyable and effective.

Horse riding is overlooked as being a great way to improve your health and fitness, but physicians and medical specialists have been touting the great benefits of horse riding for years. Thomas Sydenham, a famous 17th Century physician stated that horse riding was better than most other forms of exercise, and the French physician Cassaign also supported horse riding as a powerful form of therapy. Today, it is well known that there are plenty of reasons horse riding is great for your health. Here are just a few:

• Exercise
Horse riding requires you to use your muscles to stay upright and on the horse as you’re trotting or galloping around.

Inner thigh muscles are needed to grip the horse, as well as your arms to steer the horse in different directions, and your core muscles to keep you sitting upright and balanced. It’s a great way to get toned while enjoying the outdoors too!

• Coordination
Riding a horse also takes a great deal of coordination, as you must adjust your own movements with those of the horse. Especially if you’re riding at higher speeds or even jumping over things, you need to be able to shift your body in such a way that you don’t get thrown off the horse.

• Psychological benefits
Horse riding also has benefits to the emotional and mental wellbeing of the rider. Developing a relationship with a horse, looking after it, as well as cooperation with others with improve the rider’s mood and psychological strength. Horse riding may seem like an individual sport, but learning and training with others is important and beneficial to the wellbeing of the rider. If you’re in the market for a horse for leisure riding, especially for your child, you should be looking for warmbloods for sale, as their mild temperament makes them perfect for learners.

• Therapeutic riding
Horse riding also has proven benefits for those with various mental and physical disabilities. It has been shown to improve the health and wellbeing of those with things like downs syndrome, cerebral palsy and even hearing problems by improving their physical health, muscle tone, and ability to interact with an animal and with other riders.

The holiday island of Madeira is a regular stopping port for the many luxury cruise liners that plough the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas. It is also a favourite resting-place for young, honeymooning couples. However, for many people, it is a section of the holiday brochures that often goes neglected.

Regretfully, Madeira is often considered to be an insignificant island with not much to charm the pleasure visitor.

Nothing could be more untrue.

The toboggans of the mountainous village of Monte are just one example of the unique attractions that this delightful, mid-Atlantic island has to offer.

Traditionally, the means of travel in Funchal, Madeira’s capital, did not include wheeled carriages. The uneven cobblestone roads, steep hills and sharp bends, meant that horse drawn carriages and, later, motorised vehicles were regarded as unsuitable.

Rather, the locals opted for various other, more unconventional, forms of conveyance.

Crude wooden carts, mounted on wooden runners, lubricated with grease and pulled at a dignified pace by oxen were a favourite. These “carros de bois” were, legend has it, said to have been introduced to Madeira by a British Army Officer who required a means of conveying his invalid wife about town.

Whilst riding in the carros de bois was acceptable on the level, it was, of course, a painfully slow way to climb the steep inclines that predominate the countryside as soon as you abandon the narrow coastal plain.

Another, solely Madeiran, means of transport was the transporting hammock. Here, a length of cloth was slung between a couple of long wooden poles.

Two men, one at the front and one to the back, would lift the contrivance in a manner rather akin to that of a sedan chair. The occupant of the hammock, usually a woman, was thus carried in what must have been a rather cramped fashion.

The travelling hammock was particularly popular with British society women who were resident on the island in the 1700s. Often, to the delight of their fare, the hammock bearers would sing in the local Portuguese language as they made their way to the final destination. A tip for this additional service was customarily given. What the passenger did not realise was that now and again the songs were moderately derogative of their customer. It is said that on one occurrence the bearers of a rather portly passenger were singing to the effect: “The fare we are allowed to charge is fixed, but just look at the voluminosity of this load!”

These popular forms of conveyance were used everywhere on the island, including the mountain village of Monte. Ponderous oxen drawn carts and hammocks were the normal way to convey both people and goods.

Advancement, in every sense of the word, was long-drawn-out. The four kilometre expedition down from Monte into Funchal would take anything up to three hours.

However, the road from Monte into Funchal was one long, breakneck, downward slope. Accordingly, it was to be expected that one day, some 160 years ago, one of the locals decided to explore a more radical form of conveyance. By mounting a fragile wicker basket on two ski-like wooden runners it was perceived that you could glide headlong down the hill and reach the city centre in a mere 10 minutes.

The logistics were simple. All that was needed was one substantial push to get going and someone to stand on the hind part to steer. In no distance at all, you would soon reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

Suddenly, there was a speedy, and cheap, means of carriage from the outlying mountain village into the fiscal centre of the island – the snow less, Monte wicker basket sleigh was hence unveiled.

In addition, the local inhabitants soon perceived that moneyed Europeans and Americans would take the journey just for enjoyment – hence, the original Madeira tourist attraction was created. Indeed, Ernest Hemingway famously described his Monte toboggan wicker basket sleigh ride as the “most exhilarating experience” of his life.

Today, the traditional sound of wooden ski runners gliding over cobblestones persists, but they are for the holiday-makers only. Two carreiros guides, dressed in traditional white with straw hats, will shoot you down a contracted route from Monte.

There are no seat belts and the only brake you can rely on is the rubber sole of your driver’s shoe. The views can be stunning, if short-lived and the usual souvenir photo awaits you at the end of the ride.

The ride is priced rather expensively by Madeiran standards. But, if you want to treat yourself to an experience that you are unlikely to find anywhere else, then give the Monte toboggans a go.

Robert James B.Sc (Hons) is the editor of the independent Madeira Holiday Guide at http://www.love-madeira.com. He has been a freelance writer and traveller for over 30 years and has had many articles published in a variety of publications.

For further information, read the Monte Toboggans Guide

? Rights Reserved: You may not republish this article unless the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact.