What is so special about horses? Since ancient civilization, horses have been an important factor in human societies. First used as food by early cultures, horse meat provided 50 percent more protein and 30 percent more iron than lean beef, so it became a life sustaining necessity for early dwellers.
Later, horses became a tool for work as a vital means of transportation, having abilities to cover more ground and carry a significant load thanks to the horse’s four legs and strong back. When horses were harnessed to a cart, wagon or farm equipment this was quite valuable to a farm and to the settlement of towns and cities.
“One man and a dog could herd 200 sheep but one man with a horse and a dog could herd 500 sheep…The horse and wheel gave a great boost to man’s ability to move goods from place to place. A man can carry about 50 pounds, a horse can pack 200 pounds, but a horse and a wheeled vehicle can transport up to twice the horses own weight; consequently a 1,000 pound horse could move 2,000 pounds of cargo…” http://www.equineheritageinstitute.org/shaping-civilizations-the-role-of-the-horse-in-human-societies/
In big open ranges like the Flint Hills of Kansas, cattle were grazed far and wide. Over many days cowboys would ride horses to gather or move cattle from prairies and mountains to new locations for grazing or penning. This is still done today. Working ranch horses can get around in tough terrain that a 4-wheeler may not be able to reach, such as crossing a creek, getting through thick timber or climbing tenuous rocks. By horseback cowboys can locate a hiding stray cow or calf and bring it back to the herd. Horses can be used in cattle pens for cowboys to achieve better visibility in search of a sick or lame cow or calf and then safely and quietly move it or sort it out.
Some cultures in our country still depend greatly on the use of horses for their everyday needs. Amish communities like one in Yoder, KS, still drive wagons, pull plows and deliver goods to their neighbors or businesses by means of horses.
Outside of the old-time and cowboy needs, horses continue to have other important jobs these days.
Some horses work for the Police Department. Mounted Patrol is used in big cities, such as Kansas City, to provide officers the ability to control crowds- kind of like cowboys with cattle. On horseback, officers can see up and over people to get a better visual on what is happening around them. They can move swiftly through crowds as people tend to back away from a 1,000 pound animal out of respect or fear!
Our military has used horses for years and keep some horses actively trained today at Fort Riley, KS for the Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard. Whether needed for remote location access, parades and ceremonies or like the police use mounts for crowd control, horses can never totally be replaced by automobiles. Some cities may still offer carriage or taxi rides by a horse drawn vehicle for its special nostalgia and connection to our past.
Other jobs for horses include Therapy programs. Horses provide a special connection and responsibility with behavior interaction that has proven to give back something to someone in need. For physical disabilities horses provide a sense of balance and new perspective, to emotional disabilities- scars of a traumatic experience, horses provide a quiet retreat and companionship needed. Therapy programs are becoming more widely available, such as the Heartland Therapeutic Riding Center in Stilwell, KS.
In prison programs such as the Hutchinson KS Correctional Facility, selected prisoners work to gentle and train wild mustang horses which has proven to be successful rehab and hope for a new future for both prisoner and horse alike.
Some horses are professional athletes, such as race horses. We used to have lots of horses running at the Woodlands Racetrack, near Kansas City and at Eureka Downs. Both Kansas tracks provided a location for Kansas race horse farms to train and prove their athlete’s abilities. This provided jobs both at the tracks and at the farms to business folks, horse handlers, caregivers, veterinarians and farriers. Plus, promoted tourism in Kansas.
Some horses are semi-professionals in sports such as rodeos, extreme or competitive trail events, reining or versatility competitions, skilled horsemanship events and jumper events – either in an arena or outside on an obstacle course. Some are novice or amateur sport horses, a horse and rider team for Pony Club, 4H, FFA or various breed associations and local riding club exhibitions.
All horses, regardless of their current jobs or unemployment status, create jobs for people in agriculture.
Horses eat hay and grain; both come from farms, getting baled or harvested. To do this, requires a tractor plus implements or equipment and people to run them, but before grown and harvested, these start as seeds provided by a seed dealer which may have been optimized in a lab by an agricultural scientist.
Shelter or fencing needs…There are lots of agribusinesses who manufacture various types of fence materials and shelters, outbuildings or barns. It takes people to build or manufacture these, then to transport these and to sell these.
Tack…what is tack? It is the leather saddle and bridle that goes on the horse to give the rider a seat and a steering wheel. Or, it could be the yoke and harness plus reins for a harnessed horse pulling a wagon or cart or farm equipment. Tack can be the cotton or nylon halter and lead rope to lead and manage the horse, like a leash for a dog. All these start with leather from cattle or cotton from fields or nylon from petroleum products- all agribusiness entities providing products and jobs to help the horse industry.
What about the grooming tools? Do you use a hair brush or comb? Do you need shampoo and detangler for your hair? Horses do too!
These tools and products are created and re- created, giving an entrepreneur with a new idea of how to improve it, the opportunity and market to sell it and giving people jobs at Farm Supply stores where these products are inventoried and available for purchase. Which is also where bags of feed and nutritional supplements can be bought.
Bedding such as straw or pine shavings are needed in box stalls or trailer transport. These products originate on farms and in forests. Straw comes from wheat stalks. Pine shavings from either a pine tree farm or forest. All are part of agriculture.
What is a farrier? That’s the strong and brave person who picks up the horse’s feet and trims them, like cutting your fingernails, and puts horseshoes on them-not like your shoes though!
Veterinary care…the animal doctor plays an important part of keeping a horse healthy. They prescribe routines for ridding of worms and pests that can be a health issue to a horse. They provide vaccinations from diseases that can occur in herds by airborne illnesses or bacteria spread from one to another. If a horse gets injured with a pulled muscle or broken bone or punctured by a thorn or rusty metal, a veterinarian can advise and treat the hurt horse. Also, veterinarians provide testing for animals being transported to events or other locations, ensuring the horse is disease free when it leaves from its residence.
Sport horse veterinarians have a special job. They are like sports medicine doctors. They evaluate the athletes for weight maintenance, prescribing special diets for optimum performance or checking legs for stress or injury and promoting massage therapy and ice as needed for the athlete to stay in peak performance. They may use a treadmill and a heart monitor to track beats per minute or study volume of oxygen used at peak performance as an indicator of fitness, much like our top notch human athletes are treated!
Did you know that horses have chiropractors and massage therapists too? These alternative medicines in humans have been proven effective in horses as well. In fact, some medicines for orthopedic injuries are actually the same from horse to human- but different amounts of course since the horse is so much bigger!
I hope you have enjoyed the quick exploration of the horse industry in Kansas and beyond. Please come back and visit again!
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