Ocala Horse Life
Ocala Horse welcomes you to the equestrian paradise of Ocala, Florida. Here, many of the nations top equestrian horse breeders perfect their craft, producing thoroughbred race horses as well as virtually every other breed of horse.
Horse Farms
Horse farms create stunning vistas of endless green grass accented by black horse fencing and majestic oak trees. Here, future racing thorobreds and horse show champions are born. A visit to a one of the many horse farms open to the public is a must.
Florida Horse Park
Florida Horse Park, an attraction in itself, is the center of horse shows for North Central Florida. Skilled jumpers or disciplined dressage riders compete for ribbons almost every weekend.
Canterbury Showplace
Hits Post Time Farm
Winter months bring professional riders to the famous Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) circuit has been performing at Hits Post Time Farm from mid January to mid March for over 30 years. The Ocala area includes Marion, Alachua, Levy, Suwannee, Sumter counties.
Ocala Hotels
Staying in the Ocala area? Visit Travel Ocala for complete hotel, car rental and attraction reservations. Planing a trip to Orlando? Make reservations here.
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May 21, 2013
6 Key Horse-Hunting Questions
By Heidi Melocco with Julie Goodnight
Looking for a new trail horse? Here are six key questions to ask the owner from top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight.
“Try to find the safest and best-trained horse your money can buy,” advises Julie Goodnight (shown). “You’ll love a horse that makes you feel safe.”
Photo by Heidi Melocco
When you’re hunting for a new equine trail partner, look for an experienced horse with a mellow, kind, forgiving attitude. For trail riding, also look for a horse that’s been out and about, hauled around a lot, and will enjoy the ride with you.
When you visit a prospect, ask the following questions before you mount up—and before you buy.
1. Why is the horse for sale? You’ll see the warning glances if there has been an issue or training problem with the horse. There are lots of legitimate reasons to be selling a good horse, but the answer to this question can possibly throw up some red flags. Trust your intuition.
More info... May 21, 2013
The Equine Vaccine ChallengeHave you ever wondered why your dog gets a rabies shot every three years, but your horse must endure one every year?
Well, you’re not alone. Horse Journal Contributing Veterinary Editor Deb Eldredge DVM explains:
Talk to any dog or cat owner and they competently discuss titers, three-year vaccines and the Rabies Challenge Fund (www.rabies challengefund.org) whose goal is to get rabies vaccines approved for five to seven years for companion animals. My sheep get the exact same rabies vaccine as my equines (horses and donkeys). For the sheep, the vaccine is considered effective for three years, but for horses it’s just one year. More info... May 21, 2013
Healthy, Safe TraileringWhat can you do to make sure you and your horse arrive safely and legally at your destination, and how can you ensure your horse is healthy and ready to tackle the show, trail, or whatever awaits?
Listen to this question and answer session about safe house trailering with Rebecca Gimenez, PhD and Catherine Kohn, VMD. More info... May 13, 2013
Can Horses Recognize People and Voices?
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre
Are horses really capable of recognizing their owners and their voices? Study results from a team of British behavior researchers suggest that horses really do appear to be capable of matching voices to faces when it comes to the humans they know.
“We already know that horses can discriminate between different human faces and between familiar and unfamiliar people, but this is the first time we have shown that they can associate the right voices with the right people,” said Leanne Proops, PhD, of the Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research group at the University of Sussex, in the United Kingdom. More info... More Ocala Horse News
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