Western riding
Western riding is a style of horse riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West. American cowboys needed to work long hours in the saddle over rough terrain, sometimes needing to rope cattle with a lariat; because of the necessity to control the horse with one hand and use a lariat with the other, western horses were trained to neck rein, that is, to change direction with light pressure of a rein against the horse's neck. Horses were trained to exercise a certain degree of independence in using their natural instincts to follow the movements of a cow, thus a riding style developed that emphasized a deep, secure seat, training methods encouraged a horse to be responsive on light rein contact. Though there are significant differences in equipment, there are fewer differences between English and Western riding than appear at first glance.
Both styles require riders to have a solid seat, with the hips and shoulders balanced over the feet, with hands independent of the seat so as to avoid jerking the horse in the mouth and interfering with its performance. "Western Riding" is the name for a specific event within western competition where a horse performs a pattern that combines trail and reining elements. The needs of the cowboy's job required different tack. Covering long distances, working with half-wild cattle at high speeds in rough, brushy terrain, meant the ever-present danger of a rider becoming unseated in an accident miles from home and support. Thus, the most noticeable equipment difference is in the saddle, which has a heavy and substantial tree to absorb the shock of roping; the western saddle features a prominent pommel topped by a deep seat and a high cantle. Depending on the local geography, tapaderos cover the front of the stirrups to prevent brush from catching in the stirrups. Cowboy boots have somewhat more pointed toes and higher heels than a traditional work boot, modifications designed to prevent the rider's foot from slipping through the stirrup during a fall and being dragged.
To allow for communication with the horse with a loose rein, the bridle evolved. The biggest difference between "English" and "Western" bridles is the bit. Most finished "Western" horses are expected to perform in a curb bit with a single pair of reins that has somewhat longer and looser shanks than the curb of an English Double bridle or a pelham bit. Two styles of Western reins developed: The long split reins of the Texas tradition, which are separated, or the closed-end "Romal" reins of the California tradition, which have a long single attachment on the ends that can be used as a quirt. Young horses are started under saddle with either a simple snaffle bit, or with the classic tool of the vaquero, the bosal-style hackamore; the clothing of the Western rider differs from that of the "English" style dressage, hunt seat or Saddle seat rider. Practical Western attire consists of a long-sleeved work shirt, denim jeans, a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. A rider wears protective leather leggings called "chaps" to help the rider stick to the saddle and to protect the legs when riding through brush.
Clean, well-fitting work clothing is the usual outfit seen in rodeo and reining competitions for men, though sometimes in brighter colors or finer fabrics. Some competitive events may use flashier equipment. Unlike the English traditions where clothing and tack is quiet and unobtrusive, Western show equipment is intended to draw attention. Saddles and bridles are ornamented with substantial amounts of silver; the rider's shirt is replaced with a jacket, women's clothing in particular may feature vivid colors and depending on current fads, rhinestones or sequins. Hats and chaps are color-coordinated and belt buckles are silver-plated, women's scarf pins and, when worn, men's bolo ties are ornamented with silver or semi-precious gemstones. Competition for western riders at horse shows and related activities include in the following events: Western pleasure - the rider must show the horse together with other horses in an arena at a walk and lope. In some breed competitions, a judge may ask for an extended canter and/or a hand gallop, less an extension of the jog.
The horse must remain under control on a loose rein, with low head carriage, the rider directing the horse with nearly invisible aids and minimal interference. Reining - considered by some the "dressage" of the western riding world, with FEI-recognized status as a new international discipline at the World Equestrian Games, reining requires horse and rider to perform a precise pattern consisting of circles at a lope and gallop with flying changes of lead, rapid "spins", "rollbacks" and the crowd-pleasing sliding stop. Cutting - this event highlights the "cow sense" prized in stock horses; the horse and rider separate a cow out of small herd of 10-20 animals. When the cow tries to return to the herd, the rider relaxes the reins and leaves it to the horse to keep the cow from returning to the herd. Depending on the level of competition, one to three judges award points to each competitor. Working cow horse - called Reined cow horse. A judge
Equine conformation
Equine conformation evaluates the degree of correctness of a horse's bone structure and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several universal "faults," a horse's conformation is judged by what its intended use may be, thus "form to function" is one of the first set of traits considered in judging conformation. A horse with poor form for a Grand Prix show jumper could have excellent conformation for a World Champion cutting horse, or to be a champion draft horse; every horse has good and bad points of its conformation and many horses excel with conformation faults. The standard of the ideal head varies from breed to breed based on a mixture of the role the horse is bred for and what breeders and enthusiasts find appealing. Breed standards cite large eyes, a broad forehead and a dry head-to-neck connection as important to correctness about the head. Traditionally, the length of head as measured from poll to upper lip should be two-thirds the length of the neck topline.
The construction of the horse's head influences its breathing, though there are few studies to support this. A width of 4 fingers or 7.2 cm was associated with an unrestricted airflow and greater endurance. However, a study in 2000 which compared the intermandibular width-to-size ratio of Thoroughbreds with their racing success showed this to be untrue; the relationship between head conformation and performance are not well understood, an appealing head may be more a matter of marketability than performance. Among mammals, morphology of the head plays a role in temperature regulation. Many ungulates have a specialized network of blood vessels called the carotid rete, which keeps the brain cool while the body temperature rises during exercise. Horses lack a carotid rete and instead use their sinuses to cool blood around the brain; these factors suggest that the conformation of a horse's head influences its ability to regulate temperature. A horse with a dished face or dished head has a muzzle with a concave profile on top further emphasized by slight bulging of forehead.
Dished heads are associated with Arabians and Arabian-influenced breeds, which excel at Endurance riding and were bred in the arid Arabian desert. There are several theories regarding the adaptive role of the dished head, it may be an adaptation to increase aerobic endurance. Dished head is not considered a deformity. A Roman nose is a muzzle with a convex profile. Convex heads are associated with Baroque horse breeds and horses from cold regions; this trait plays a role in warming air as it is inhaled, but may influence aerobic capacity. Roman nose is not considered a deformity. A horse with small nostrils or small nares can be found in any breed and accompanies a narrow jaw and muzzle. Small nostrils limit the horse's ability to breathe hard while exerting itself; this affects horses in high-speed activities or those that need to sustain effort over long duration. Horses with small nostrils are therefore best used for non-speed sports. A horse with pig eye has unusually small eyes; this is an aesthetic issue, but claimed by some to be linked to stubbornness or nervousness, thought to decrease the horse's visual field.
The lower jaw should be defined. The space between the two sides of the jawbone should be wide, with room for the larynx and muscle attachments; the width should be 7.2 cm, about the width of a fist. The jaw is called narrow; the jaw is called large. A large jaw adds weight to the head. Too large of a jaw can cause a reduction to the horse's ability to flex at the poll to bring his head and neck into proper position for collection and to help balance. A parrot mouth is an overbite; this can affect the horse's ability to graze. Parrot mouth can be managed with regular teeth floating by a veterinarian. A monkey mouth, sow mouth, or bulldog mouth is an underbite, where the lower jaw extends further out than the upper jaw; this is less common than parrot mouth. This can affect the horse's ability to graze. Monkey mouth can be managed with regular teeth floating by a veterinarian. Ears should be proportional to the head, they should be set just below the level of the poll at the top of the head. Ears should be a position and backward.
Ears that are too large or too small may make the head seem too small or large in proportion with the body. A neck of ideal length is about one third of the horse's length, measured from poll to withers, with a length comparable to the length of the legs. An ideally placed neck is called a horizontal neck, it is set on the chest neither too high nor too low, with its weight and balance aligned with the forward movement of the body. The horse is easy to supple, develop strength, to control with hand and legs aids. Although uncommon, it is seen in Thoroughbreds, American Quarter Horses, some Warmbloods. Horizontal neck is advantageous to every sport, as the neck is flexible and works well for balancing. A short neck is one, less than one third the length of the horse. Short necks are common, found in any breed. A short neck hinders the balancing ability of the horse, making it more prone to stumbling and clumsiness. A short neck adds more weight on the foreha
Equine anatomy
Equine anatomy refers to the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses and other equids, including donkeys, zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, there are many horse-specific colloquial terms used by equestrians. Back: the area where the saddle sits, beginning at the end of the withers, extending to the last thoracic vertebrae Barrel: the body of the horse, enclosing the rib cage and the major internal organs Buttock: the part of the hindquarters behind the thighs and below the root of the tail Cannon or cannon bone: the area between the knee or hock and the fetlock joint, sometimes called the "shin" of the horse, though technically it is the metacarpal III Chestnut: a callosity on the inside of each leg Chin groove: the part of the horse's head behind the lower lip and chin, the area that dips down on the lower jaw.
Sometimes used colloquially to refer to the root of the tail, below. Elbow: The joint of the front leg at the point where the belly of the horse meets the leg. Homologous to the elbow in humans Ergot: a callosity on the back of the fetlock Face: the area between the forehead and the tip of the upper lip Fetlock: sometimes called the "ankle" of the horse, though it is not the same skeletal structure as an ankle in humans. Forehead: the area between the poll, the eyes and the arch of the nose Forelock: the continuation of the mane, which hangs from between the ears down onto the forehead of the horse Frog: the elastic wedge-shaped mass on the underside of the hoof, which makes contact with the ground every stride, supports both the locomotion and circulation of the horse Gaskin: the large muscle on the hind leg, just above the hock, below the stifle, homologous to the calf of a human Girth or heartgirth: the area right behind the elbow of the horse, where the girth of the saddle would go. Withers: the highest point of the thoracic vertebrae, the point just above the tops of the shoulder blades, seen best with horse standing square a
Warp and weft
Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft is drawn through and inserted over-and-under the warp. A single thread of the weft crossing the warp is called a pick. Terms vary; each individual warp thread in a fabric is called end. Inventions during the 18th century spurred the Industrial Revolution, with the "picking stick" and the "flying shuttle" speeding up production of cloth; the power loom patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785 allowed sixty picks per minute. The words warp and weft derive from the Old English word wefan, to weave. Warp means "that, thrown away"; the warp is the set of yarns or other elements stretched in place on a loom before the weft is introduced during the weaving process. It is regarded as the longitudinal set in a finished fabric with two or more sets of elements; the term is used for a set of yarns established before the interworking of weft yarns by some other method, such as finger manipulation, yielding wrapped or twined structures.
Simple looms use a spiral warp, in which the warp is made up of a single long yarn wound in a spiral pattern around a pair of sticks or beams. The warp must be strong to be held under high tension during the weaving process, unlike the weft which carries no tension; this requires the yarn used for warp ends, or individual warp threads, to be made of spun and plied fibre. Traditionally wool, linen and silk were used. However, improvements in spinning technology during the Industrial Revolution created cotton yarn of sufficient strength to be used in mechanized weaving. Artificial or man-made fibres such as nylon or rayon were employed. While most weaving is weft-faced, warp-faced textiles are created using densely arranged warp threads. In these the design is in the warp, requiring all colors to be decided upon and placed during the first part of the weaving process, which cannot be changed; such limitations of color placement create weavings defined by length-wise stripes and vertical designs.
Many South American cultures, including the ancient Incas and Aymaras, employed backstrap weaving, which uses the weight of the weaver's body to control the tension of the loom. Because the weft does not have to be stretched on a loom the way the warp is it can be less strong, it is made of spun fibre wool and cotton, today of synthetic fiber such as nylon or rayon. The weft is threaded through the warp using a "shuttle", air jets or "rapier grippers". Hand looms were the original weaver's tool, with the shuttle being threaded through alternately raised warps by hand; the expression "warp and weft" is used metaphorically. Warp and weft are sometimes used more in literature to describe the basic dichotomy of the world we live in, as in, up/down, in/out, black/white, Sun/Moon yin/yang, etc; the expression is used for the underlying structure upon which something is built. The terms "warp" and "woof" are found in some English translations of the Bible in the discussion of mildews found in cloth materials in Leviticus 13:48-59.
In Guru Granth Sahib many shabads in Gurbani use the metaphor of warp and weft to describe the state where our soul imbibes into the Almighty as a fabric. Weft is a hairdressing term for temporary hair extensions; these can be attached to a person's hair variously by cornrow braiding, using metal cylinders or gluing. The result is called a weave. Knot density Pile Warp knitting Barber, E. J. W.. Prehistoric Textiles. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00224-X. Burnham, Dorothy K.. Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology. Royal Ontario Museum. ISBN 0-88854-256-9
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies. It is the part of the body that corresponds to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals and birds. While tails are a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates including scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are sometimes referred to as tails. Tailed objects are sometimes referred to as "caudate" and the part of the body associated with or proximal to the tail are given the adjective "caudal". Animal tails are used in a variety of ways, they provide a source of some other forms of marine life. Many land animals use their tails to brush away other biting insects; some species, including cats and kangaroos, use their tails for balance. Tails are used for social signaling; some deer species flash the white underside of their tails to warn other nearby deer of possible danger, beavers slap the water with their tails to indicate danger, canids indicate emotions through the positioning and movement of their tails.
Some species' tails are armored, some, such as those of scorpions, contain venom. Some species of lizard can detach their tails from their bodies; this can help them to escape predators, which are either distracted by the wriggling, detached tail or left with only the tail while the lizard flees. Tails cast in this manner grow back over time, though the replacement is darker in colour than the original. Various species of rat demonstrate a similar function with their tails, known as degloving, in which the outer layer is shed in order for the animal to escape from a predator. Most birds' tails end in long feathers called rectrices; these feathers are used as a rudder, helping the bird maneuver in flight. In some species—such as birds of paradise and most notably peafowl—modified tail feathers play an important role in courtship displays; the extra-stiff tail feathers of other species, including woodpeckers and woodcreepers, allow them to brace themselves against tree trunks. The tails of grazing animals, such as horses, are used both to sweep away insects and positioned or moved in ways that indicate the animal's physical or emotional state.
Human embryos have a tail. As the embryo develops into a fetus, the tail is absorbed by the growing body. Infrequently, a child is born with a ’"soft tail", which contains no vertebrae, but only blood vessels and nerves, but this is regarded as an abnormality rather than a vestigial true tail when such an appendage is located where the tail would be expected. Humans have a "tail bone" attached to the pelvis, formed of fused vertebrae four, at the bottom of the vertebral column, it does not protrude externally. Empennage, the tail of an aircraft Rump Media related to Tails at Wikimedia Commons
Shave brush
A shave brush or shaving brush is a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to apply shaving soap or shaving cream to the face when shaving. Shave brushes are decorative; the shave brush is used most today by "wet shavers" in tandem with a double-edged safety razor or a straight razor. However, this is not always the case; the modern shaving brush may be traced to France during the 1750s. The French call a shaving brush blaireau or "badger." Quality of these brushes differed as materials used to fashion the handles varied from the common to the exotic. It was not uncommon for handles to be made of ivory, silver, crystal, or porcelain; the more expensive brushes used badger hair, with cheaper ones using horse's hair. In the 1800s when the folding-handle straight razor design made it practical for men to shave themselves rather than visit a barber, a shave brush became a status symbol, an expensive or eccentric brush was a way of asserting one's personality or affluence; the recent rapid rise in the popularity of "wet shaving" has raised demand for high quality and custom shaving brushes.
Modern shave brushes are similar in appearance and function to their centuries-old predecessors. Although a variety of different materials are still used to fashion shave brush handles, synthetic handles of nylon, urethane or plastic are the most common by the most expensive shave brush manufacturers. Benefits of synthetic handles include a lesser chance of breakage and resistance to damage by moisture. A limited number of consumers prefer natural materials such as wood or exotic materials such as tortoiseshell. A shave brush's handle, regardless of its material composition affects the overall performance of the brush. A shave brush's price is determined more by its bristle load than any other factor except for brushes with exotic handles; the most expensive brushes use exotic materials in the handle. The bristles are fixed together into a knot, installed into the handle; the best quality brushes are hand knotted. Badger and boar brushes are the most found animals used for shaving brush fibers.
Badger species include the hog badger. Badger brushes are referred to as two band, or three band. All badger hair fibers have three bands, but those used in the brushes conceal the lighter bottom band. Nonetheless, both types of bristle make desirable shaving brushes. Lower-quality brushes are machine made and the bristles may be trimmed, resulting in sharp, prickly tips. Synthetic shave brushes, most made using nylon bristles, are available in a range of prices and gradations in quality. Comparable to traditional shaving brushes, synthetic fiber brushes can create a rich lather using little shaving soap or cream; the synthetic fibers are less sensitive to everyday use. Boar's hair brushes are inexpensive, but can be of high quality. A well-made boar brush will break in with use. Unlike badger hair and synthetic fibers, boar bristles absorb water, so the brush should be soaked before use. Badger hair brushes come in a variety of grades, but there is not an industry standard that defines grades of badger hair.
Speaking, there are basic classifications that many manufacturers use to describe the quality of hair used in their brushes. The most common gradations of badger hair are "pure" badger, "best" badger, "super" or "silvertip" badger. While some companies insist on using other gradations, these three are accepted among wet shavers and are most used to describe the quality of a shave brush. Pure badger are badger hair brushes that use the most common hair from the underbelly of a badger, the hair which covers around 60% of a badger's body; this hair varies in softness and color. Pure badger hair is dark in color, but fluctuates from a light tan to a near-black or silvery sheen; the hair is coarser than'best' or'silvertip' hair due to its larger shaft. Brushes made with pure badger hair cost less than finer badger hair. Most pure badger brush hairs are trimmed to shape, resulting in somewhat stiff, rough ends. Best badger are brushes made with the finer and more pliable hairs from 20 - 25% of the badger's body.
It is lighter in color than ` pure' badger hair. A'best' badger brush is more densely filled with hair than the'pure' badger brush and will produce a correspondingly greater lather. However, some wet shavers argue that the variance between the quality of a'pure' and a'best' badger brush is negligible. Best badger and better quality brush hairs are fit so that the ends do not have to be cut to shape. A super badger brush is more expensive than either'best' or'pure'. While some call this hair'silvertip', it is highly graded'pure' hair bleached on the ends to resemble silvertip. Though it is composed of'pure' badger hairs,'super' is graded and sorted to such a degree that its performance is superior to that of'best'; the brush is not prickly. One way to determine if a brush bears a'super' or'silvertip' badger hair load is to look at the color of the bristle tips. A true ` silvertip' brush has tips. A'super' brush on the other hand has bristle tips that are a mo
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