1.
Log bucking
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Bucking is the process of cutting a felled and delimbed tree into logs. This can be a process because logs destined for plywood, lumber, and pulp each have their own price and specifications for length, diameter. Significant value can be lost by sub-optimal bucking, cutting from the top down is overbucking and from the bottom up is underbucking. A felled and delimbed tree has to be cut into logs of standard sizes and this process is called bucking, and logger who specialises in this job is a buck sawyer. Bucking may be done in a variety of ways depending on the logging operation, trees that have been previously felled and moved to a landing with a log skidder are spread out for processing. While many of the limbs have broken off during transport, the limbs and stubs have to be trimmed. The bucker will anchor the end of an auto rewinding tape measure which is attached to his belt, the tape is anchored gently with a bent horseshoe nail in the bark so it can be jerked loose when the measurement is completed. When a suitable place to buck the tree is located the cut is made, local market conditions will determine the particular lengths cut. It is common for log buyers to purchase orders for the length, diameter, grade. On the West Coast common cuts on a large Pine or Fir tree is three 32s and a 10, there are often different prices for different items. The bucker is the one who turns a tree into logs, significant value may be lost by sub-optimal bucking. The person bucking is generally called a bucksawyer or bucklogger, or just a bucker and runs as many saws as he can, the reason for this is the bucksawyer is typically paid per section of log he cuts. Generally you will find a bucklogger at the sawmills that arent fully mechanized. Each tree has to be picked out of the pile and cut so that a fall of more trees can be worked as the former fall has been cut. The pieces of bucked logs may be known by several names, bolts are the pieces of a log which has been bucked into specific lengths which are less than 8 feet, especially short lengths. The etymology of bolt is related to being short and stout and related to knock and these pieces may be more specifically known as peeler, shingle, stave or pulpwood bolts. Round is often associated with lengths of un-split firewood, chain saw Felling Hewing Limbing Logging
2.
Horse behavior
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Horse behavior is best understood from the view that horses are prey animals with a well-developed fight-or-flight response. Nonetheless, because of their horses are also suited to a number of work. Humans domesticated horses thousands of years ago, and they have used by humans ever since. Through selective breeding, some breeds of horses have been bred to be quite docile, on the other hand, most light horse riding breeds were developed for speed, agility, alertness, and endurance, building on natural qualities that extended from their wild ancestors. Horses instincts can be used to advantage to create a bond between human and horse. These techniques vary, but are part of the art of horse training, Horses evolved from small mammals whose survival depended on their ability to flee from predators. This survival mechanism still exists in the domestic horse. Humans have removed many predators from the life of the horse, however. If running is not possible, the resorts to biting, kicking, striking. Many of the natural behavior patterns, such as herd-formation. The fight-or-flight response involves nervous impulses which result in hormone secretions into the bloodstream, when a horse reacts to a threat, it may initially freeze in preparation to take flight. The fight-or-flight reaction begins in the amygdala, which triggers a response in the hypothalamus. The initial reaction is followed by activation of the pituitary gland, the adrenal gland is activated almost simultaneously and releases the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine. The release of chemical messengers results in the production of the hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure and blood sugar, catecholamine hormones, such as epinephrine and norepinephrine, facilitate immediate physical reactions associated with a preparation for violent muscular action. However, the supply of oxygen and glucose to these areas is at the expense of non-essential flight organs, such as the skin. Once the horse has removed itself from danger, the body is returned to more normal conditions via the parasympathetic nervous system. This is also known as the rest and digest state, Horses are highly social herd animals that prefer to live in a group. There also is a dominance hierarchy in any herd
3.
Cougar
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The cougar, also commonly known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount, is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, an adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in most American habitat types. It is the second-heaviest cat in the New World, after the jaguar, secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although there are daytime sightings. The cougar is more related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat, than to any species of subfamily Pantherinae. The cougar is a predator and pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer, but also livestock and it also hunts species as small as insects and rodents. This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, the cougar is territorial and survives at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey, while large, it is not always the apex predator in its range, yielding to the jaguar, gray wolf, American black bear, and grizzly bear. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people, fatal attacks on humans are rare, but have recently been increasing in North America as more people enter their territories. Intensive hunting following European colonization of the Americas and the human development of cougar habitat has caused populations to drop in most parts of its historical range. In particular, the cougar was extirpated in eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century, reports of eastern cougars still surface, although it was declared extirpated in 2011. With its vast range across the length of the Americas, P. concolor has dozens of names and various references in the mythology of the indigenous Americans and in contemporary culture. Currently, it is referred to as puma by most scientists, Mountain lion was a term first used in writing in 1858 from the diary of George A. Jackson of Colorado. Other names include catamount, mountain screamer, and painter, lexicographers regard painter as a primarily upper-Southern US regional variant on panther. The word panther is used to specifically designate the black panther, a melanistic jaguar or leopard, and the Florida panther. P. concolor holds the Guinness record for the animal with the greatest number of names, Cougar may be borrowed from the archaic Portuguese çuçuarana, the term was originally derived from the Tupi language susuarana, meaning similar to deer. A current form in Brazil is suçuarana and it may also be borrowed from the Guaraní language term guaçu ara or guazu ara. Less common Portuguese terms are onça-parda or leão-baio, or unusually non-native puma or leão-da-montanha, people in rural regions often refer to both the cougar and the jaguar as simply gata, and outside of the Amazon, both are colloquially referred to as simply onça by many people
4.
Endurance riding
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Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international recognized by the FEI. There are two types of long-distance riding, competitive trail riding and endurance rides. In the United States, most endurance rides are either 50 or 100 miles long, shorter rides, called Limited Distance rides, are organized for new riders to the sport or young horses being trained. However, LDs have evolved into a competition of their own, in more experienced riders. There are also longer, usually multi-day, rides as well, as with human marathon running, many riders will participate to improve their horses personal best performance and consider finishing the distance with a proper vet completion record to be a win. In the USA, the American Endurance Ride Conference sanctions endurance rides, in the UK, Endurance GB is the governing body. Winning riders can complete 100-mile rides in 14 to 15 hours, any breed can compete, but the Arabian generally dominates the top levels because of the breeds stamina and natural endurance abilities. Endurance rides and races can be any distance, though they are rarely over 160 km for a one-day competition. Organized endurance riding as a sport began in 1955, when Wendell Robie. They followed the historic Western States Trail and this ride soon became known as the Tevis Cup, and it remains the most difficult of any 100-mile ride in the world because of the severe terrain, high altitude, and 100-degree temperatures. Endurance riding first was brought to Europe in the 1960s, before the ride, horses are inspected by a veterinarian to ensure they are fit to perform in the ride. Riders may be given a map or GPS waypoints for the course, which shows the route, the places for compulsory halts, the trails frequently are marked with colored surveyors tape ribbons at regular intervals with additional ribbons or small arrow markers at turns in the trail. The ride is divided into sections, with different names, depending on sanctioning organization, after each section, horses are stopped for a veterinary inspection, where they are checked for soundness and dehydration, with their pulse and respiration taken. The riders time keeps running until their horses reach the required target, any horse deemed unfit to continue is eliminated from further competition. After the veterinary inspection, the horse must be held for a hold time. If the veterinary inspection is on the rather than at base camp, ride management usually delivers to the inspection location a cache of riders personal gear, food. While riders may compete without additional aid, sometimes referred to as riding cavalry, in upper level competition this is particularly important to efficiently prepare the horse for the vet as well as care of both horse and rider during the mandatory hold times
5.
Riding aids
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Riding aids are the cues a rider gives to a horse to communicate what they want the animal to do. Riding aids are broken into the natural aids and the artificial aids and these are the aids which the rider possesses on their body, and should be used for the majority of the cues to the horse. Overuse of any aid can be detrimental to the training of the horse, the natural aids include, Leg Hand Seat Voice It is important to remember that the aids are used in a spectrum, from very light to very powerful, depending on the response desired. A very sensitive horse may readily jump forward from light touch of the leg, additionally, an aid from canter to walk, for example, will use slightly more restraining aid on a particular horse than that horse would need going from canter to trot. Positioning of the legs, seat, and hands are used in a spectrum according to the individual horse. In all cases, good training aims for the horse to be responsive at the slightest cue and this is one reason why better-trained animals can be harder to ride, as they will respond to the slightest movement or shift in weight made by the rider. Therefore, they take any mistake made by the rider as a cue to do something. Riders must therefore be sure that any perceived disobediences are not actually caused by their own doing, good training of the rider will aim to produce someone with an independent seat, meaning someone who is able to give the aids independent of each other. Only then will the rider be able to start to influence the horse in such a way to help it. The leg, along with the seat, should be the main aid for the horse and it has a great deal of control over the horses hindquarters, and is used to cue the horse to go forward, increase impulsion, step sideways, and correctly bend. It is the primary driving aid, both legs in a neutral position, applying equal pressure against the horses sides, generally asks for an increase in speed or an upward transition. Depending on the level of restraining aids, the leg can also ask for an increase in impulsion, for collection, or even for the rein back. To ask a horse to back up, a rider simultaneously uses soft rein aids to keep the horse from stepping forward and it is incorrect to ask for a rein back by pulling or jerking on the reins. One leg in a position, or slightly back from neutral. One leg further back, in a passive role, and the other leg in a neutral position. This is also important when cueing for movements that require bend, such as the half-pass, one leg farther back, with the other leg in a neutral position, both actively encouraging the horse forward, will usually aid the horse to canter. The horse will pick up the lead opposite the leg that is further back, the hands communicate to the horse through the reins to the bit. They have the most control over the head and shoulders
6.
Horse teeth
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Horse teeth refers to the dentition of equine species, including horses and donkeys. Equines are both heterodontous and diphyodontous, which means that they have teeth in more than one shape, a fully developed horse of around five years of age will have between 36 and 44 teeth. All equines are heterodontous, which means that they have different shaped teeth for different purposes, all horses have twelve incisors at the front of the mouth, used primarily for cutting food, most often grass, whilst grazing. They are also used as part of an attack or defence against predators. Immediately behind the front incisors is the space, where no teeth grow from the gums. This is where the bit is placed when horses are ridden, behind the interdental space, all horses also have twelve premolars and twelve molars, also known as cheek teeth or jaw teeth. These teeth chew food bitten off by incisors, prior to swallowing, in addition to the incisors, premolars and molars, some, but not all, horses may also have canine teeth and wolf teeth. A horse can have between zero and four teeth, also known as tusks, with a clear prevalence towards male horses who normally have a full set of four. Fewer than 28% of female horses have any canine teeth and those that do normally only have one or two, and these may by only partially erupted. Between 13 and 32% of horses, split equally between male and female, also have teeth, which are not related to canine teeth. Wolf teeth are common on the upper jaw, and can present a problem for horses in work. They may also make it difficult during equine dentistry work to rasp the second premolar, horses are diphyodontous, erupting a set of first deciduous teeth soon after birth, with these being replaced by permanent teeth by the age of approximately five years old. The horse will normally have 24 deciduous teeth, emerging in pairs, and eventually pushed out by the permanent teeth, as the deciduous teeth are pushed up, they are termed caps. Caps will eventually shed on their own, but may cause discomfort when still loose, for instance, in Shetland ponies the middle and corner incisor tend to erupt late, and in both draft horses and miniature horses, the permanent middle and corner incisors are usually late appearing. Horse teeth often wear in specific patterns, based on the way the horse eats its food, as with aging through observing tooth eruption, this can be imprecise, and may be affected by diet, natural abnormalities, and vices such as cribbing. Equine teeth are designed to wear against the tooth above or below as the horse chews, the upper jaw is wider than the lower one. In some cases, sharp edges can occur on the outside of the upper molars and these sharp edges can reduce chewing efficiency of the teeth, interfere with jaw motion, and in extreme cases can cut the tongue or cheek, making eating and riding painful. In the wild, natural foodstuffs may have allowed teeth to more evenly
7.
Whip
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There are also whips which combine both a firm stick and a flexible line, such as hunting whips. Certain religious practices and BDSM activities involve the self-use of whips or the use of whips between consenting partners, misuse on animals may be considered animal cruelty, and misuse on humans may be viewed as assault. Whips generally are used on animals to provide directional guidance or to encourage movement, some whips are designed to control animals by imparting discomfort by tapping or pain by a full-force strike that produces pain compliance. Some whips provide guidance by use of sound, such as cracking of a bullwhip, other uses of whips are to provide a visual directional cue by extending the reach and visibility of the human arm. In modern times, the stimulus is still used in some animal training. The whip can be a tool to back up riding aids when applied correctly, particularly when initial commands are ignored. However, many competition governing bodies limit such use of whips, overuse improper use of whips may be considered animal cruelty in some jurisdictions. Whip use by sound never or rarely strikes the animal, instead, the sound is loud enough to affect multiple animals at once, making whip-cracking more efficient under some circumstances. This technique can be used as part of a response, with sound being used first prior to a pain stimulus being applied. Whips used without painful stimulus, as an extension of the hand or arm, are a visual command, or to tap an animal. The crack is thus a small sonic boom, Whips were the first man-made objects to break the sound barrier. But any design can be banged against another such as leather boot to make a loud noise. Short, stiff crops often have a leather popper at the end which makes a particularly loud noise when slapped against an animal, boot. Stockwhips, including bullwhips and the Australian stockwhip, are a type of single-tailed leather whip with a long lash. Stockwhips are primarily used to make a cracking sound to move livestock away from the sound. It is generally not used to strike an animal, as it would inflictexcessive pain and is difficult to apply with precision. The Australian stockwhip is said to have originated in the English hunting whip. Today, it is used primarily by stockmen, unlike the short, embedded handle of a bullwhip, the stockwhip handle is not fitted inside the lash and is usually longer
8.
Horse training
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Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities. Historically, horses were trained for warfare, farm work, sport and transport, today, most horse training is geared toward making horses useful for a variety of recreational and sporting equestrian pursuits. Horses are also trained for specialized jobs from movie stunt work to police and crowd control activities, circus entertainment, there is tremendous controversy over various methods of horse training and even some of the words used to describe these methods. Some techniques are considered cruel, other methods are considered gentler, however, it is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of various training methodology, so general, basic principles are described below. The see also section of this article links to more specific information about various schools. The range of training techniques and training goals is large, horses, like other animals, differ in brain structure from humans and thus do not have the same type of thinking and reasoning ability as human beings. Thus, the human has the responsibility to think about how to use the psychology of the horse to lead the animal into an understanding of the goals of the human trainer. Horses are social animals and, when properly handled, can learn to follow. Horses, as animals, have an inborn fight or flight instinct that has to be adapted to human needs. Horses need to be taught to rely upon humans to determine when fear or flight is a response to new stimuli. Like most animals, a horse will more easily adapt to human expectations than an older one. Regardless of the goal of training, most horses go through a series of steps on their way to being finished animals for a given discipline. Most young domesticated horses are handled at birth or within the first few days of life, though some are handled for the first time when they are weaned from their mothers. Within a few hours of birth, a foal being imprinted will have a human touch it all over, pick up its feet, and introduce it to human touch and voice. Others may leave a foal alone for its first few hours or days, however, even people who do not advocate imprinting often still place value on handling a foal a great deal while it is still nursing and too small to easily overpower a human. By doing so, the foal ideally will learn that humans will not harm it, while a foal is far too young to be ridden, it is still able to learn skills it will need later in life. The young horse needs to be calm for basic grooming, as well as veterinary care such as vaccinations, a foal needs regular hoof care and can be taught to stand while having its feet picked up and trimmed by a farrier
9.
Bronc riding
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Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding on a horse, that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. It is recognized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the International Professional Rodeo Association, two organizations that strongly promote the event in the United States are the Worlds Toughest Rodeo and the Championship Roughstock Challenge. Each competitor climbs onto a horse, which is held in a pipe or wooden enclosure called a bucking chute. When the rider is ready, the gate of the chute is opened. The rider attempts to stay on the horse for eight seconds without touching the horse with his free hand, on the first jump out of the chute, the rider must mark the horse out. This means he must have the heels of his boots in contact with the horse above the point of the shoulders before the front legs hit the ground. A rider that manages to complete a ride is scored on a scale of 0-50, scores in the 80s are very good, and in the 90s, are exceptional. A horse who bucks in a spectacular and effective manner will score more points than a horse who bucks in a line with no significant changes of direction. Bareback and Saddle bronc styles are very different, in saddle bronc, the rider uses a specialized saddle with free swinging stirrups and no horn. The saddle bronc rider grips a simple rein braided from cotton or polyester, the rider lifts on the rein and attempts to find a rhythm with the animal by spurring forwards and backwards with his feet in a sweeping motion from shoulder to flank. The rider leans back and spurs with an up and down motion from the point of shoulder toward the rigging handle. Bareback bronc riding began to develop as a professional sporting event around 1900. The riding equipment used during that era varied, in some cases, the rider simply held onto the horses mane, called a mane-hold. Others held a loose or twisted rope tied around the horses girth, the original one-handed rigging was made by Bascom from a section of rubber belting discarded from a threshing machine, with the entire rigging - the handhold and the body - all made as one piece. The handhold was folded back and riveted to the body of the rigging. This rigging was first used at the Raymond Stampede in Alberta, Bascom then refined the design, making his second one-handhold rigging out of leather and rawhide. Sole leather was used for the rigging body, strips of leather, with rawhide sewed between, were used for the handhold with sheepskin glued under the handholds to protect the knuckles, this arrangement became known as Bascoms Rigging. Honored in several Halls of Fame, Bascom is now known as the Father of the Modern-day Bareback Rigging, variations of Bascoms rigging are still used in rodeos today
10.
Show jumping
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Show jumping, also known as stadium jumping, open jumping, or simply jumping, is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are seen at horse shows throughout the world. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Show jumping events have hunter classes, jumper classes and hunt seat equitation classes. Hunters are judged subjectively on the degree to which they meet a standard of manners, style. Jumper courses tend to be more complex and technical than hunter courses because riders. Courses often are colorful and at times, quite creatively designed, hunters have meticulous turnout and tend toward very quiet, conservative horse tack and rider attire. Hunter bits, bridles, crops, spurs, and martingales are tightly regulated, formal turnout always is preferred, a neat rider gives a good impression at shows. In addition to hunters and jumpers, there are classes, sometimes called hunt seat equitation. The equipment, clothing, and fence styles used in more closely resemble hunter classes. Jumper classes are held over a course of show jumping obstacles, including verticals, spreads, the intent is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time. Time faults are assessed for exceeding the time allowance, Jumping faults are incurred for knockdowns and blatant disobedience, such as refusals. Horses are allowed a number of refusals before being disqualified. A refusal may lead to a rider exceeding the time allowed on course, placings are based on the lowest number of points or faults accumulated. A horse and rider who have not accumulated any jumping faults or penalty points are said to have scored a clear round. Tied entries usually have a jump-off over a raised and shortened course, and the course is timed, if entries are tied for faults accumulated in the jump-off, the fastest time wins. In most competitions, riders are allowed to walk the initial course, going off course will cost time if minor errors are made and major departures will result in disqualification. The higher levels of competition, such as A or AA rated shows in the United States, or the international Grand Prix circuit, present more technical and complex courses. Not only is the height and width of an obstacle increased to present a challenge, technical difficulty also increases with tighter turns
