We would like to take this opportunity to thank HARRIS VETERINARY CLINIC, in Grand Junction, Colorado for providing this information.

COLIC - ABDOMINAL PAIN - Causes and cures

FIRST AID KIT FOR HORSES - An emergency kit for your horse.

RHINOPNEUMONITIS - Equine influenza

VESICULAR STOMATITIS - VS caused by a virus with symptoms similar to hoof and mouth disease

HORSE INFLUENZA- Flu is an extremely common viral respiratory infection

SPRING TUNE-UP - Get a jump on the season

LAMENESS - A horse is only as good as his feet and legs

YOUR HORSE HEALTH - AMERICA'S QUARTER HORSE

ENERGY NEEDS - Energy Needs Of Horses Vital To Sound Feeding Management

FEEDING HORSES CORRECTLY - Understanding Energy Key Part Of Feeding Horses Correctly

COLD WEATHER STRESS - Combat Cold Weather Nutritional Stress In Horses

CREEP FEEDINF FOALS- Creep Feeding Provides Needed Nutrients to Nursing Foals

FOAL PREPARATION- Horse Manager Should Prepare For Foaling Weeks in Advance

FESCUE TOXICOSIS - New Drug May Help Horse Owners Fight Fescue Problems

ALTERING COMMERCIAL GRAIN- Forethought Key Ingredient When Altering Commercial Grain

REMOVAL FROM FESCUE - Broodmare Removal From Fescue Helps Protect Owner Investment

MOLDY FEEDSTUFFS- Ingestion of Moldy Feedstuffs Can Lead to Fumonisin Toxicity in Horses

HEAT STRESS- Symptoms Give Warning of Heat Stress in Horses

COOL-DOWN - Cool-Down Periods Important To Horses After Physical Exertion

SHOWING - Horses Need Special Attention at Shows

HORSE MATH - Mathematics Can Assist Evaluation Of Horse Breeding Activity

HORSE WARM UP - Warming Up Horses Before Competition Good Practice

PROTECTING HORSE INVESTMENT - Fall Checks Needed To Protect Horse Breeder Investment

SOUND GROWTH - Individual Management Key Part Of Sound Horse Growth

OSU's WED SITE - Internet Surfers Riding High On OSU's Electronic Horse Pages

AGED HORSES - Aged Horses Have Special Needs

DENTAL CHECKS - Remember Benefits Of Dental Checkup For Your Horse

BROODMARE ESTRUS PROGRAM - November Time to Begin Broodmare Estrus Program

BREEDING EFFICIENCY- Breeding Efficiency Key Part of Mare Management

WEANLING HORSES - Weanling Horses Need Individually Designed Exercise Programs

HORSE PHYSIOLOGY - Knowledge of Horse Physiology Helps Protect Equine Health

HEATED BARNES - Improperly Heated Barns May Cause Horse Health Problems

COLIC - Too-Rapid Change in Horse Rations Can Cause Colic

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT- Financial Management Vital To Small Horse Operations

INDIVIUAL MANAGEMENT - Individual Management Key Part of Sound Horse Growth

VITAL SIGNS Owner Should Remember Normal Vital Signs For A Horse

HEAT STRESS -Symptoms Give Warning of Heat Stress in Horses

OSU STUDY Indicates State Horse Racing Industry's Effect

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Horses are to be found as stallions, mares or geldings;

STALLIONS
Also called studs, which are whole, non-castrated males. Stallions are seldom used as working saddle horses, although some studs DO make fine WORKING horses...... And in Our live are our favorites .... A genital stallion is hard to find, a stallion with temperament of a gelding is so very hard to fine ... But it is not all up to the way he is bred, but also the way he is raised and handled thought out his life.
HOWEVER, it takes the right stud and the right handler to make a dependable work team. So do not just attempt to keep a stallion just because you can, ... WRONG!. As a general rule, and especially in this modern day, a stallion has but one job and one goal, and that was making foals. This is because a stud horse can be rather high-strung and unpleasant around other horses, forever wanting to either fight or make love. This of course could be very dangerous and injurious to other horses, or even other riders. Under saddle, even with a good rider, a stud can be just a pain in the butt and a handful. If there is a mare in season, his mind may drop you on your butt. Or, he may spend the day prancing and snorting and trying to show all the other horses what a bad dude he is wearing out himself and his rider. Furthermore, in a day when horses were the power behind most transportation, a stallion would often be unwelcome company. Too many people and livery stables simply would not want to risk the trouble of a fractious stud horse among their other animals. Again, there ARE quiet, well-mannered, even-tempered stallions out there. Yet the workaday, dependable horse of the Old West remains ... the gelding. But we enjoy the Stallion for the high drive, and endurance they possess. A seasoned handler can make a Stallion act like a gelding with out any problems. but again it takes the right handler/trainer. If you are not a seasoned horsewomen or horseman do not attempted to handle a stallion with other horses.

GELDINGS
A castrated male horse, of any age. These were and are the standard work horse of the the old West and modern day, generally not ruled by mating urges or fighting instincts. However, occasionally you will find a gelding that will mount a mare in season, and some that just plain act "studdy." These latter types may have been gelded fairly late in life, retaining stud-like behaviors and attitudes, which is a condition known as "proud gelded." .... When I was 6 years old my first horse was "Mr. Jim Danny" he was truly proud cut, and in his case meaning the Doc did not get both nuts! Oops! A young girl in 1966 my brother, Jim worked hard at a farm, as a mechanic in Maple Valley to buy me a horse. As a total surprise for me, He worked out a deal with the framer and got our parents okay to buy me a gorgeous Appaloosa gelding... Or so they all thought a gelding. Later during the spring after riding Jim Dandy for months I found out he was proud cut. We Lived within walking distance to the pipe line in Maple Valley Washington. Maple Valley, had many farmers all around that let their horses run free. Everyone enjoyed this including our family the old man down the road would give a call to let our father know he was turning the stock loose.

Proud gelded, Gelded very late in life and acted like a Stud, but then forgets or don't have what it takes to do the job..... All talk no action ! Acting studdy...

Proud cut ...meaning when he was castrated, sometimes not all of the testicle was removed, leaving some, which indeed can still produce excessive amounts of testosterone & stallion-like behavior like that. Or, he might be what's called a "cryptorchid," meaning there is still a testicle inside his body that never dropped into the scrotum. somewhat like a dog that is cyptorchid so all you dog people will understand that one if not get out to the show ring.

MARES
The female of the species. In the Old West, mares were usually reserved for breeding purposes, and occasionally as a ladies' riding animal. Mares were not traditionally used for work or riding animals, for several reasons. One, mares can be distracting to other horses, given that they come into season about once a month or so, from spring through fall. This can and does create disruptive behaviors among the other saddle stock... even geldings. Two, as the mare comes into heat she can become highly irritable and restless around other horses, and unpleasant to work with. Worse case PMS you ever seen or experience. Thus one of the reasons we Victorino's preferred Stallions we know when they will act up with a mare you never know.

Not all mares do this, but many do. Three, geldings can become so firmly bonded to a single mare, that if she strays during the night ... the entire herd goes with her, unlike if a couple geldings were to wander off. This would be disastrous on a trail drive. Thus, although not all mares show cranky estrus cycles, and not all mares disrupt herds of geldings, it was a general rule that mares were not the favored work animal. Arabs felt exactly the opposite, and preferred to ride mares above all other choices.

NOTE:
In wild horse herds, an older, dominant mare will be the actual boss of the band. The stud seeks mainly to keep other males from breeding them. The boss mare is the one who decides when and where the herd will move, with the stud following. Stallions may come and go, as battles for supremacy change the herd hierarchy, but the mares remain together, and will follow the matriarch, often for years. This pattern remains useful to stock users who travel with mules, and who may keep one reliable, proven bell mare as a "magnet" to keep their animals together. In the old days, the mare was usually not ridden, but was sometimes used as a pack animal.

HORSE FIGHTING HAS BEEN OUTLAWED ALMOST WOLRDWIDE
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Horse fighting has now been outlawed almost worldwide.
May the angels sing when it is finally worldwide! BUT .... It still thrives, however, in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, China and South Korea. BRUTAL AND INHUMANE, these spectacles can be anything from featured events in annual fiestas and thanksgiving festivals to scrappy events put together by locals for the purposes of an afternoon's gambling and entertainment, or to honor a special guest. Horse fighting takes place in city stadiums or abandoned playing fields in remote villages and provinces. In more highly populated areas they may also be conducted at a local racetrack.

China, Philippines Indonesia, and South Korea not ready to give up 'barbaric' horse fighting
Tournament of blood The sheer horror of horse-fighting
I really struggle to understand the minds of people who find pleasure in watching suffering, whether animal or human. We are all human beings, yet some nationalities have it in them to be so cruel either to their own kind or the creatures trying to live alongside them.

Horses are herd animals, and in natural circumstances will not only engage in battle for leadership of their group, but also for mating purposes. In this environment, Stallions do not fight to the death, but until one of them backs down or flees. This is nature's way of ensuring that the strongest bloodlines are responsible for the procreation of their kind. Horse fighting, or horse to horse combat, is a barbaric spectator sport where these circumstances are simulated in order to make two stallions, or male horses, fight each other in a controlled environment. Events are conducted before wildly cheering crowds who are stimulated by the blood, gore, fury and intensity of the fighting.

As an owners of the American Pit Bull Terrier we face the same types of people world wide. Instead of helping to saving the breed by having a well liked, well socialized, well behaved dog in society. Curtain individuals would rather make it hard to even own the breed by fighting the breed for their sick amusement.

THERE ARE SICK PEOPLE THAT FIGHT ANY ANIMALE FOR THEIR OWN AMUSEMENT
AT THE END WE HAVE BUT ONE MASTER AND WE WILL ALL FACE HIM ON JUDGEMENT DAY !