Author Archives: hmn5058

Do horses smell fear?

1 Reply

Everyone has heard that horses can sense when you are afraid, but is this true? I believe it is, and I think it is simply a part of how horses and people can communicate. Horses receive signals from the human via body language and by sensing intent. It is said that this sixth sense can even allow zebras to sense when lions are hungry or full. The last day I saw my horse I think he knew that it was our last day together just from how I acted. He was very calm and obedient, which is by no means normal for him.

The way you hold your body, move around the horse, or even how you look at them also send signals revealing your mood or intent. When lunging (exercising the horse on a long lead line from the ground), if you hunch over and step forward purposefully towards their hind end, they will see an aggressive stance and speed up. If you stand straight and relaxed, body lined up with the shoulder and not looking directly at the horse, they will be put more at ease and will slow down.
jett3.jpg
When sitting on the horse, you can use different techniques to communicate including leg, seat, and rein aids, and shifting body weight. For example, when I want the horse to shift his weight back onto his haunches more, I sit deeper into the saddle, as if to mimick that movement. If the horse is drifting to the left, I use left leg and rein as if to “close the door”. At shows when my horse is very nervous and on edge, I have to take some deep breaths and steady myself in order to calm him down. A steady hand and heart rate will make it easier to reassure him that everything is going to be ok. Here’s another article that goes into some detail about communication between horse and rider.

I don’t care what you say, horseback riding IS exercize

1 Reply

This subject is something that I care very very strongly about. Any horseback rider I’m sure would feel the same way. People frequently ask me, “But how much work are you actually doing up there, anyways?” A whole lot!!!! is the answer. Of course, the amount of exercise that you get when riding depends on multiple factors, such as style of riding, frequency of riding, and how easy or hard your horse is to control. I have been riding for as long as I can remember and it kept me in great shape when I owned my own horse and rode 6 days a week. My most recent horse was a 5-year-old Thoroughbred gelding named Jett and I trained the big psycho for 4 years. We accomplished a lot together.jett.jpg

He was very strong, green, and stubborn; sometimes just a huge asshole, but very athletic and I needed to keep up with him in order to stay in control and have him respect me. 
But to move on to the fitness aspect, I will focus on Eventing, which is what I competed in with Jett. Eventing is made up of three phases: Dressage (described as “horse ballet”), cross country (what you see in the photo above), and stadium jumping (jumping raised wooden poles). Each phase has its own demands on the body of both horse and rider. 
Dressage, though appearing to be the least tiresome, is actually the most strenuous phase in my opinion. The object is to look as if the horse is performing movements without any cues from the rider. Your entire body is used when riding effectively. The inner thighs, abs, and back are all engaged to keep your body upright in the saddle and absorb shock from the horse’s movements. Lower leg is used to support and direct the horse and arms and shoulders are used to give cues to the mouth and topline. Lots of energy can be used when trying to train a horse how to use his body or when dealing with a horse with a stiff neck or back. Lots of effort is put in to make the horse supple and responsive.
Cross country in competition is equally exhausting as Dressage can be in practice. In the upper levels, optimum time can be be around 12 minutes. That is 12 minutes of non-stop galloping and jumping. The endurance and stamina required for this phase is crucial along with a certain degree of fearlessness…
Stadium jumping is the shortest of the 3 phases. This is a test of fitness of horse and rider. They must be able to recover from the previous phase well enough to make it around the course as fast as they can without knocking any poles down. 
Here is an article that I found that is rather silly, but does talk more about how riding can get you fit.
I know I did not explain all of the horse terms I used fully, but if I got into that, this post would have gone on and on forever. This is something I’m passionate about and is what gave me six pack abs and “Eventer thighs”, so don’t you ever ever say “The horse does all the work.”

Powerlifting

2 Replies

So I have just recently joined the powerlifting team here at Penn State. I know what you may be thinking… “Oh my gosh, she’s one of those big burly girls.” That is not the case. I am not looking to get “swole”. I joined because I want to be fit and challenge myself! It’s a good feeling. lifter.jpg

Anyways, I have gotten curious about what is going on in my body as I am gaining more lean muscle. According to a very interesting article that I found, the stress put on the muscles cause them to break down. Under good recovery conditions, the repair begins with satellite cells clustering around the damaged muscle fibers which eventually fuse and cause the muscle area to increase. The new cell nuclei from the satellite cells help muscles utilize more protein and facilitate muscle contractions. The article stresses that proper rest and nutrition is essential in the forming of stronger muscles!
The other main factor in muscle growth is hormones. This is where some athletes take steroids to improve their gains. I will not go into too much detail about these growth factors but these are a few of them: Fibroblast Growth factor (builds new blood vessels), Insulin-like Growth factors (promote protein synthesis), Growth Hormone (triggers fat metabolism for energy), and, of course, testosterone (“ it stimulates Growth Hormone response to exercise, enhances cellular Amino Acid uptake and the protein synthesis in skeletal muscle”).
I hope you found this somewhat interesting and if you want more details, take a look at that article!

Sunny California

2 Replies

I thought of this topic for my blog on the way to class last week. A comfortable breeze swept through State College after a disgustingly humid morning, but my relief was short-lived as I noticed the mass of dark storm clouds quickly approaching. Within minutes, I was running for cover as the gray rain came down in buckets. I joined the mob of people huddled under the overhang outside of the Corner Room to wait out the torrential downpour. People around me were calling friends and taxis to come pick them up and I just looked around me wondering…. “Why the heck is it raining in the summertime……?” The fact is, it rains nearly everywhere in the summer. Everywhere except where I come from. If it rained in August in California, that would be enough to cause a mini explosion on Facebook. In my hometown right now, it is so dry that the mountain next to my house is on fire. (Yes, they have it mostly under control now.) I wanted to find out exactly why the weather is so different in CA (specifically in the bay area), so I looked it up.

CA.jpg
According to the Western Regional Climate Center  website, the climate is mostly affected by a combination of the topography of the state as well as the general nature of circulation caused by the Pacific ocean.  The easternmost mountains create a barrier that block the extremely cold air from the Great Basin in the winter and when it does manage to get over into California, the air is warmed my compression on its way down. The most important factor contributing to the climate is the high pressure created by the Pacific Ocean. During the summer, the pressure center moves north, preventing storms from moving south into the state. During the winter, the center moves south, allowing only moderate, widespread rainfall. The east coast is humid because the combined effects of Atlantic being warmer and the fact that ocean current comes up from the equator instead of the Arctic in the west. It may not sound all that interesting to any of my classmates, but I think it’s good for me to know why my home is the way it is.

Hello!

2 Replies

Hello! I’m Haley Nelson, a sophomore photojournalism major/Spanish minor and proud Californian (bay area!!) . Everyone asks me why I would leave CA for the east coast and I’ll tell you it’s not only because Penn State is an incredible school, but I also wanted to experience somewhere new. I love the feeling of discovery in an unfamiliar place and that’s what fuels my passion for traveling too. This past summer my family and I visited Greece and everything just took my breathe away. The country has such a rich history and I loved learning and being right smack in the middle of it.kayak.jpg

As for science in general, I never really disliked it. In fact, I took an astronomy course freshman year and found it pretty interesting. It’s just when it comes to chemistry and physics where there is math involved, I really can’t stand it. I chose to take this course because it sounds interesting without forcing me to take out my calculator.