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Presents... 3 Check It Out! 4 How Is Your Horse Talk? 7 Cuddling a Horse 8 Cotton 10 10 Magnificent Horse Facts 12 Puzzles 14 Make a Balancing Horse 15 Cowboy Clark & Larry 16 Seven Sensational Horse Breeds 18 Snickel Fritz 20 A Horse Is a Horse 22 Horse Care 23 Draw a Horse 24 The Island of Wild Ponies 26 How Not to Buy a Horse 28 Riddles & Rhymes 29 Kids Corner 30 Puzzle Solutions 2
Horses are amazing animals. Maybe you are a horse owner or enjoy riding a friend’s horse. Perhaps you just love watching, petting, or reading about horses. Regardless, this issue will make you want to visit a horse! Do you know the difference between a horse, a pony, and a miniature horse? Did you realize that there are some wild animals that don’t look like horses but are in the horse family? What about horse feelings? You can discover what a horse is trying to tell you by its ears, tail, and voice.
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Perhaps you can take a trip sometime to see the wild ponies of Assateague Island off the coast of Virginia and Maryland. Check out the video of these wonderful ponies on the Fun For Kidz Facebook page. But for now, settle back under a tree, maybe near a pasture with a grazing horse, and enjoy your new issue of Fun For Kidz!
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by John L. Sperry
What is this horse telling you?
Watching and being around horses is fun and safer when you understand horse talk. If you want to know what a horse is thinking or feeling, keep one eye on a horse’s ears, another on its tail, and your ears listening to its nickers, whinnies, and nose blowing. Ear language is the easiest to understand. With ears perked forward, and an intent look, the horse is saying, “Hmmmm, pretty interesting. I ought to check this out.�
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When a horse talks to you, do you listen? Horses are very social animals. They love company and dislike being alone. It comes from ages ago, when horses banded together in herds for safety. What one horse did not see or smell, another would. Out of this need to be safe in a herd, a wonderful horse language developed. It allows horses to express a whole range of feelings and moods to each other and to you, once you understand.
Trotting toward something interesting
When a horse has one ear forward and the other back, it will be hard for anything to sneak up on it. This horse is alert, listening for sounds coming from both back and front.
Makarova Viktoria/Shutterstock.com
If you see a horse with ears turned to the side and slightly back, it’s saying, “Aaahh, I’m relaxing right here.” If one back leg is cocked, with just the tip of the hoof touching the ground, that’s a dead giveaway. The horse is speaking relaxation and may be asleep. Be careful approaching a sleeping horse or bang! It may kick before realizing that it’s just you, a friend. This isn’t meanness. It’s just an instinct to strike at an unexpected enemy.
A resting horse. See the tip of the hoof touching the ground?
“Watch out. I’m getting angry!”
There is no mistaking a horse’s expressing anger. The horse’s ears will be flat, back against its head. If its eyes are blazing, lips curled, and jaw snapping, you’re looking at a horse that can run chills up and down your spine. A horse is naturally fearful of anything that means danger. When cornered, an angry horse can strike fear even in a stalking cougar. A horse’s tail, like its ears, can speak to you. A fidgety person will pace back and forth. A nervous horse will do that and switch its tail too. It could be just a fly bothering it. On the other hand, if its tail is switching constantly, look around. Something or someone is likely getting on its nerves.
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This horse may be saying, “Shoo, fly!” Or it may be nervous or confused.
A tail tucked between a horse’s legs can mean a badly frightened horse, one that’s ready to kick. Check the ears too. Are they back? The language is clear. Play it safe. Nickering, whinnying, and snorting are horse talk too. If you go into a pasture of horses that don’t know you, watch. One may start toward you, ears forward in interest. Then it may stop, snort, and bolt back to the herd. The snort is a fear signal. It’s a warning to the other horses that danger could be near. Have you ever been lost in a crowd? Did you cry or call out? The whinny or neigh is the cry of the horse. Hear it, and you know something is wrong in the life of that horse. It could be that a horse’s companion is missing or has suddenly disappeared from sight. The nicker is grand horse talk. It’s the “all is well” signal. It may come when an owner turns her horse loose in the pasture after a long ride. Or when the owner has come to feed the horse grain and hay or spoil it with a sugar cube. Our thinking changes when we understand even a little horse talk. Now we know that horses have moods and feelings, just like us.
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How do you cuddle a horse? You groom him! To a horse, the stroking, petting, and attention that comes with grooming are as good as a cuddle. If you don’t have a horse, do you know someone who does? Maybe you can help groom horses in a nearby stable.
pirita/Shutterstock.com
This girl is gently brushing her horse’s mane. She used her fingers to untangle the hair first. Looking good!
You wouldn’t want a stiff brush rubbed along your face. Neither does your horse. A soft dandy brush cleans a horse’s face, ears, and legs. These brushes also make the coat shine. He’ll like that!
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Different grooming tools do different jobs. Here are kids in action, grooming horses from head to tail.
Stones, twigs, and even nails get stuck in the soft part of a horse’s hooves. When something is in your shoe, you want it gone, right? Horses feel the same way. A hoof pick will dig out whatever’s there. Aaahhh – that feels better!
Horse tails get filled with dirt. Tail combs to the rescue! Gently, now. Horses don’t like their hair pulled any more than you do. To avoid a kick, always stand to the horse’s side!
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Cotton
by P.C. Hernandez • illustrated by Jane Bodnar Finished at last! The chores took longer to do in the freezing Oklahoma evening, but now the warmth of the cabin called to young Cotton. Snow was falling again as he started toward the cabin, pulling his coat against his small, thin frame. His father met him at the door. “Not all the cows are in, Son. Better go get ’em before it gets any later.” Trying to be brave in front of his father, Cotton fought back his disappointment. He tramped through the snow into the old barn. Momentarily, he relaxed in the flimsy shelter, but the cold pervaded everything. Oh, he thought, to be inside the cabin, in front of the fireplace, waiting for Mama’s hot stew. Why couldn’t Herschel have been sent on this errand?
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It didn’t seem fair that a seven-year-old should have to go out in the icy darkness to look for the cows while his older brother was already warm and snug in the cabin. But the rule was that the last one in had to do the leftover chores. Knowing his duty, Cotton saddled and mounted his pony and rode out into the murky, cold woods that were part of his family’s farm. Nighttime descended quickly, and the darkness was complete. Cotton couldn’t see where he and his pony were going. Not even the snowflakes, falling hard and fast now, could be seen. Cotton was afraid of the dark and the cold. Still, he nudged the pony on through the gloomy trees. Suddenly, they came across the cows, huddled together facing the storm. But when Cotton tried to turn the pony back the way they had come, the pony paid no attention and continued straight ahead. Cotton was terrified. He was so cold and stiff that he couldn’t look back to see if the cows were following. Tears froze on his cheeks. As the wind howled, Cotton knew he was lost, but the pony plodded on. Nothing that Cotton could do would make the pony turn around and go back. Finally, he gave up and let the pony go his own way. His mind felt as numb as his body did. He no longer thought about the cows, about the warm, cozy cabin, or even about being lost. He let the cold and the darkness overpower him. All at once, he seemed to hear voices. He thought he must be dreaming. He was sliding off the pony. No, he was being pulled into his mother’s arms. As she hugged him, her warmth enveloped him. “Oh, the poor child,” Cotton heard her say. “Why did you send him out in this blizzard? What if he had gotten lost?” Then came his father’s stern voice. “There’s no way he could get lost. The pony knew the way home.”
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