Hello and welcome back. In this lesson, we'll take a close look at the modern equine athlete and how some breeds have become aligned with certain equestrian disciplines. We'll discuss various types of horses and their suitability for a particular sport. We'll also talk a little about how equestrian sport is governed both in the US and throughout the world. By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to list the various types of horses and their suitability for certain sports and discuss some of the areas of concern. Competitive use of the horse raises some public concern about health and welfare. And later, we'll see how various groups are addressing those concerns. First, let's look at the overall impact of modern equestrian sport. According to data collected by the American Horse Council in 2005, the horse population in the United States had reached 9.2 million. There is a significant economic impact of the horse industry as a whole on the United States. The American Horse Council is currently working on recalculating the horse population starting in 2017. This includes racing, recreational riding, and horse shows. Overall, the horse industry in the United States contributes 39 billion in direct economic impact to the US economy and supports 1.4 million jobs on a full time basis. Including indirect and secondary spending, the economic impact of the horse industry reaches $102 billion a year in the United States. The Federation Equestre Internationale or FEI also estimates the economic impact of the horse industry in Europe to be about 100 million euros, and there are approximately six million horses in Europe. Equestrian sport is also growing rapidly throughout the Middle East, China, and Australia, and in the United Kingdom, equestrian sport is more popular than rugby or cricket. Equestrian sport is now truly a global industry. The American Horse Council has also concluded that of the 9.2 million horses in the United States, almost four million are involved in recreation. The second most common activity reported is showing horses with over 2.7 million horses involved. That's almost 30 percent of the entire US horse population. Another 1.7 million are involved in other activities such as farm and ranch work, rodeo, carriage horses, police work, and polo as a few examples. Less than 10 percent of horses in the United States are involved in racing. Competition horses at the upper levels must comply with the international rules of the FEI in FEI sanctioned events. This organization has very specific rules regarding the hosting, judging, and use of medications that can enhance performance. The FEI rules generally apply to the Olympic competitions, and horses or riders testing positive for medications banned by the FEI or International Olympic Committee, IOC, can be stripped of their titles, fined, and even banned from competition. The no-medication policy of the FEI is widely discussed and there is disagreement within the industry about the use of pain relieving medications especially in seasoned equine athletes that have acquired degenerative joint disease or arthritis as a consequence of their long active careers. These considerations continue to evolve and change over time and the rules and regulations are regularly updated to reflect the needs of the industry and the horse. The United States Equestrian Federation, USEF, is the national governing body for equestrian sport in the United States. It oversees the eight equestrian disciplines that host regular competitions and compete at the Olympic level. It also oversees some 20 different breed associations. The disciplines include combined driving, dressage, endurance, show jumping, eventing, para-equestrian, reining, and vaulting. The United States Equestrian Federation has its own policies and medication rules that differ from the FEI and apply to each discipline. Routine drug testing of equine athletes occurs on a national level to ensure compliance with competition policies. The UC Davis Kenneth L. Maddy analytical laboratory is a national leader in advancing drug testing technology to identify and detect prohibited substances. It works with several national laboratories to advance testing capabilities. Many new drug rules are retroactive and samples are banked so that new discoveries can be detested on old samples. This is similar to what is happening in human athletes and medication policies. With the worldwide growth of equestrian sport, it becomes increasingly important that the attributes of the horse match the demands of a particular sport. There are a variety of equestrian disciplines that require the horse to perform certain movements or accomplish specific tasks both under saddle and in hand. How the horse is being used often dictates the ideal behavioral and physical characteristics needed to accomplish the goals of the sport. For this reason, many of the equestrian disciplines are associated with a specific breed of horse which displays those ideal characteristics. Horses are commonly referred to as cold, warm, and hot blooded in relation to their breed. This is a misnomer, of course, because all mammals are warm blooded, but the terminology has to do with the temperament and genetics of the breed. Cold blooded horses include the draft horses, most of which originally lived in Europe and were used for pulling heavy loads. Examples of cold blooded breeds include the clydesdale, shire, belgian, friesian, and persheron to name a few. They are known to have a quiet temperament and are considered gentle giants in most cases, often reaching 18 hands and weighing approximately 2,000 pounds. They are used primarily in driving and vaulting competitions. Some draft horses also compete in pulling contests to see how fast they can haul a load in specific distance. Hot blooded horses include thoroughbreds, arabians, quarter horses, and morgans to name a few. They tend to have excitable temperaments and are known for speed and agility. They are more fine boned than the draft horses with maneuverability and a much lighter body weight often close to a thousand pounds. The United States is known for breeding hot blooded horses. Disciplines that require speeds such as the various forms of track and barrel racing often involve the thoroughbred and quarter horse breed. The thoroughbred has the stamina to travel at speeds up to 45 mph for distances of as much as a mile and a half. Quarter horses are a heavily muscled breed that can outrun a thoroughbred in a short distance match, hence the name quarter-mile horse. Their intelligence and their agility make them very adept at competitions requiring quick movements such as cutting and reining, or delicately navigating obstacles in competitive trail ride courses. Arabians and morgans are multi-used breeds with remarkable stamina and can be found in a variety of equine sports including competitive driving and endurance trail riding. They can be ridden English or Western and often compete in breed specific events to showcase their versatility. Warm blooded horses or a cross between the cold blooded breeds and hot blooded breeds, hence warm blood. They tend to have the large bones and quiet temperament of the draft, and the speed and agility of the hot blooded horse. This combination is well suited to many of the English style equestrian disciplines such as dressage, cross-country eventing, and show jumping. Warm bloods are becoming more and more common in the vaulting and driving disciplines as well. This is a good time to add a word about the various equestrian disciplines. A riding discipline refers to the performance of the horse, the gaits and actions asked of the horse by the rider, and the equipment or tack that is used. You may be most familiar with Western riding. This is the classic cowboy style. The Western saddle has a wide seat to distribute the rider's weight and provide comfort for a long workday. The saddle also has a horn at the front of the saddle which acts as an anchor for ropes to control cattle and a healthy grip when you need it. The stirrups are connected to the saddle with wide leather flaps and are wooden or covered with leather. The rider's leg is usually situated in a semi-extended position in the Western saddle, and these saddles often have extra places to attach ropes, water canteens, blankets, saddle bags, and even hunting equipment. The Western bridle is often composed of simple leather straps without a nose band. The rider uses one hand on the reins and guides the movement of the horse by gently laying the reins on one side or the other of the horse's neck in combination with leg and voice commands. The gaits associated with Western riding are the jog and the lope. These are slow gaits which preserve the horse's energy for long distances. Sometimes, the Western horse must have a quick burst of energy and speed to chase after a loose cow. The rider usually keeps their seat in the saddle at the jog in the low rhythmically moving with the horse's stride. English riding uses a lighter, flatter saddle without a horn that has a smaller seat, and less leather and layers than a western saddle. The rider's leg will have more direct contact with the horse's side. The metal stirrups are usually connected to the saddle by thin strips of leather. The rider's leg is usually in a more flexed position so that their seat can be lifted away from the saddle for higher speeds and jumping obstacles. The English bridle traditionally has more leather pieces to it than the Western bridle including a nose and brow band. The rider usually uses each hand on the reins, one on the left and one on the right, and there is more direct contact with the mouth to direct movement. The rider's leg and seat are also used to cue the horse to perform certain movements. Many of the English riding origins come from the days of military horses where the riders spent long hours in the saddle but may have needed to move quickly over long distances. This is also the style of traditional hunt where the riders would navigate through fields jumping over fallen trees and obstacles while in pursuit of a fox. Today, the disciplines that fall into the English category include hunt seat, hunters and jumpers, dressage, eventing, and polo. The basic gaits for English riding are the trot and the canter. During the trot, the rider seat lifts out of the saddle and arrhythmic up and down motion called posting. In dressage, there are many intricate movements some of which require the English rider to keep their seat firmly planted in the saddle. In jumping, the rider leans forward and out of the saddle in a half seat position to stay in motion with the horse as they propel up and over an obstacle. The rider's ankles serve as a shock absorber when they land on the far side of the fence. While some horses are more suited to one discipline, it's not unusual for some breeds to cross over to another discipline. Generally, the horses most suited for the Western disciplines are built strong and compact like quarter horses, morgans, and some lines of Arabians. A narrow back, high withered thoroughbred may be very uncomfortable in a wide tree Western saddle. The breeds usually associated with the English disciplines are thoroughbreds and warm bloods. In our next lesson, we'll discuss the ways in which sportsmen and women can work together to prevent stress and fear in equestrian competition. See you soon.
