The horse is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BCE, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BCE. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, which are horses that never have been domesticated. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.
Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today, it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls. American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding, breakaway roping, and barrel racing. The events are divided into two basic categories: the timed events and rough stock events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as goat tying and pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos. The "world's first public cowboy contest" was held on July 4, 1883, in Pecos southwest of Midland, Texas between cattle driver Trav Windham and roper Morg Livingston.
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
John Eric "Johnny" Longden was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to Canada in 1909, settling in Taber, Alberta.
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they are actually feral horses. The original mustangs were Colonial Spanish horses, but many other breeds and types of horses contributed to the modern mustang, now resulting in varying phenotypes. Some free-roaming horses are relatively unchanged from the original Spanish stock, most strongly represented in the most isolated populations.
The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American neo-western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.
Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing them.
Robert Vavra is an American photographer and author based in El Cajon, California, California and in Spain in the summer.
Sam Savitt was an equine artist, author, and teacher, as well as an illustrator of over 130 books, in addition to 16 that he wrote. He was designated the official illustrator of the United States Equestrian Team, and was a founding member of the American Academy of Equine Art. He created several horse charts that are considered authoritative works and have been used by the Smithsonian Institution.
Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler cowboy" to develop a rapport with horses, using methods said to be derived from observation of the natural behavior of free-roaming horses and rejecting abusive training methods.
Smoky the Cowhorse is a novel by Will James that was the winner of the 1927 Newbery Medal.
A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of riding derived from Spanish traditions, and are occasionally seen in some English riding disciplines such as show jumping and the stadium phase of eventing. Various hackamore designs are also popular for endurance riding. While usually used to start young horses, they are often seen on mature horses with dental issues that make bit use painful, and on horses with mouth or tongue injuries that would be aggravated by a bit. Some riders also like to use them in the winter to avoid putting a frozen metal bit into a horse's mouth.
Nicholas Benbow Evans was a British journalist, screenwriter, television and film producer and novelist. He was best known for his 1995 debut novel, The Horse Whisperer. It has sold over fifteen million copies, and has been adapted into a film.
César Felipe Millán Favela is a Mexican-American dog trainer. His television series Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan was produced from 2004 to 2012 and is broadcast in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Carl A. Nafzger is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Before he was involved in horse racing, he was a champion rodeo bull rider.
Horse Whispers & Lies is a 1999 biography of Monty Roberts by Joyce Renebome and journalist Debra Ristau. It was published in paperback by Veracity Books in 1999 (ISBN 1-929055-44-7).
Pat Parelli is an American horse trainer who practices natural horsemanship and founded the Parelli Natural Horsemanship program.
John Lyons is an American horse trainer in the field of natural horsemanship. Lyons has been presenting training clinics and horsemanship symposia since 1980, has written several books on horses and horse training, and is the founder of John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine. He lives and works out of Parachute, Colorado.
The Horse Whisperer may refer to a number of articles
The Cowboy and the Queen is a 2023 documentary film about the relationship between horse trainer Monty Roberts and Elizabeth II.
