Explanatory Essay

Horses

By Galina Halko

5th Grade (9 y.o.)

Do you love horses? What do you know about them? How many breeds of horses you know? Do you know how to take care of them and how to ride horses? I know, many people like horses, including me. It’s not a surprise because horses are very beautiful animals.

Did you know that there are 217 known breeds of horses in the world. Here is the link where I found the information about how many breeds there are: https://www.thesprucepets.com/the-number-of-horse-breeds1886112 . The only breeds I know of personally are the Thoroughbred, Friesian, Arabian, American Quarter horse, Morgan, Clydesdale, Shire, Falabella, Marwari, Shetland Pony, Pinto/Paint Horse, Dapple Percheron, Gypsy Vanner, Fjord, Appaloosa, and Tennessee Walking Horse. Also, I found a couple of horse breeds in this Roblox game called Horse World, here is the link: https://web.roblox.com/games/1185902301/Halloween-HorseWorld#!/about .

In order to ride a horse, you have to have some training, and make sure you have a proper tack on your horse and a helmet on your head. (Tack is what you need on your horse to be save when riding it). Also, you need to have the right equipment because when you are riding your horse, there could be some animals or bird that may spook or attack the horse. That means, you need a gun or bear spray.

To guide your horse, you need to know a few commands. To make a horse start walking you can click your tongue and then say “Walk”. To stop, you can say “Woah” or just pull the reins. To turn right, you pull the reins to your right; and to turn left, you pull the reins to your left. To make your horse start to canter, (canter is basically faster than a gallop) you just lift the reins up, then slam it down and do it another time. In order to gallop, lift the reins up, then slam it down once.

Be careful, because horses can get scared easily and they might “rear”- when a horse stands on its rear legs, or jump to the side. Horse owners put special shields on the sides of their eyes to cover the view beside them so they won't get scared of animals or any other movements that suddenly pop out of nowhere.

Remember, horses have feelings like humans, too. They like gentleness, and, the same time, firmness of the rider. It’s a huge responsibility to own a horse. They need to be fed and get water by a special schedule. Also, you give them a treat every day to show them your love. Wash and brush, and pick their hooves. Change their shoe when it’s needed.

It is best to get a horse when it is a foal. A foal is a baby horse, if you didn’t know. When it is a foal, you both have more time to know each other, get used to each other, and start trusting each other. When the foal is grown up, it will be more attached to you, as well as yourself.

Well, there are still a lot of things that can be learned about horses. We, humans, cannot know what is really in their mind, though. It is the same like in the minds of other animals, especially, wild ones. That is why we should be very careful and aware of all surroundings, their health and mood when dealing with them.

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The references I used:

1. https://www.thesprucepets.com/the-number-of-horsebreeds-1886112;

2. https://web.roblox.com/games/1185902301/HalloweenHorse-World#!/about;

3. www.BLM.gov - Bureau of Land Management.