JANGAN lepaskan peluang belajar menunggang kuda di AS Equestrian di Lenggeng.
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MENUNGGANG kuda adalah pengalaman yang amat menyeronokkan kepada mereka yang sukakan cabaran, namun tidak ramai yang berpeluang menunggang haiwan tersebut kerana kemudahannya yang terhad dan kosnya yang mahal.
Kepada mereka yang berminat merasai pengalaman menunggang kuda, anda boleh berkunjung ke sebuah pusat ekuin yang baru dibuka di Kampung Rawa Hilir, Lenggeng, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
Sukan berkuda kelolaan AS Equestrian yang dimiliki AS Resources Services Sdn. Bhd. menjadi satu lagi produk dalam industri pelancongan di Negeri Sembilan.
Udara segar
AS Equestrian yang mendapat pengiktirafan Majlis Ekuin Malaysia menyediakan kemudahan kelas menunggang kuda, khidmat penjagaan kuda dan pelbagai aktiviti berkaitan kuda, kata Pengarah Urusan AS Resources Services Sdn. Bhd., Saadiah Othman ketika ditemui baru-baru ini.
"Kelas menunggang kuda di AS Equestrian dikendalikan oleh jurulatih bertauliah dan berpengalaman dalam pengendalian kuda.
"Pelatih berpeluang menikmati kehijauan dan kesegaran suasana desa," katanya.
AS Equestrian dibuka sejak enam bulan lalu dengan pelaburan sebanyak RM50,000.
"Setakat ini terdapat 10 ekor kuda di AS Equestrian dan pihak kami bercadang untuk membawa masuk beberapa ekor lagi dalam masa yang terdekat ini," kata Saadiah.
Selain aktiviti menunggang kuda di arena dan trek, terdapat beberapa kemudahan lain seperti restoran dan Homestay Rawa, Lenggeng bagi mereka yang ingin bermalam dan menikmati udara segar dan kesegaran alam semula jadi.
Saadiah berkata, aktiviti sukan berkuda boleh menjadi aktiviti sekeluarga sambil meluangkan masa bermesra dan berinteraksi dengan kuda. Aktiviti seperti itu juga sesuai untuk kanak-kanak mempelajari cara-cara menyayangi haiwan dan alam sekitar.
Menurut Saadiah, setiap orang yang berhasrat menjadi seorang penunggang kuda yang baik memerlukan empat perkara utama iaitu kecergasan, fleksibel, keseimbangan dan sikap yang betul.
Mungkin sesetengah orang berpendapat untuk menunggang kuda hanya membiarkan kuda membuat segala pergerakan. Penunggang hanya mengikut apa yang dilakukan kuda seperti menunggang motosikal.
Dengan kata lain hanya duduk sahaja di atas kuda.
MEREKA yang ingin menunggang kuda perlu cergas dari aspek fizikal.
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"Sebenarnya tidak, penunggang yang baik mestilah cergas, mempunyai kekuatan otot kaki terutama paha, perut dan belakang. Bahagian ini penting bagi membolehkan penunggang duduk tegap di atas kuda dan mudah untuk mengawal pergerakan kuda.
"Menunggang kuda cukup meletihkan kerana tuntutan fizikal kepada penunggang, jadi semakin cergas seseorang penunggang adalah lebih baik," katanya.
Di samping itu, fleksibel juga ciri penting bagi penunggang untuk membuat perubahan dan pertukaran kedudukan dengan cepat dan mudah.
Pergerakan kuda kadang-kadang mengejutkan, jadi badan penunggang perlu fleksibel untuk mengikut pergerakan kuda.
"Keseimbangan merujuk kepada kedudukan tubuh penunggang ketika menunggang. Ia amat penting supaya penunggang berada tegap di atas kuda dan dapat mengawal kuda ketika menunggang. Jika kedudukan penunggang tidak seimbang, penunggang sukar mengawal kuda dan berkemungkinan boleh jatuh," katanya berkongsi tip.
Saadiah berkata, satu aspek yang paling penting dalam mencapai standard menunggang kuda ialah sikap. Penunggang yang baik mesti dapat memahami dan sekurang-kurangnya menyukai kuda walaupun tidak menyayanginya.
Relaks
"Kuda adalah haiwan yang mempunyai kebolehan 'merasai' dan akan memberi respons terhadap perasaan takut penunggang. Jika penunggang takut atau tertekan, kuda akan lebih rasa takut yang menyebabkan kuda tertekan dan mengambil peluang berkelakuan tidak baik.
"Sehubungan itu, penunggang perlu relaks. Dalam hal ini, menunggang kuda bukan semata-mata penunggang mendominasi kuda tetapi ia lebih kepada perkongsian dan saling mempercayai. Kebanyakan penunggang yang baik biasanya mempunyai hubungan yang amat baik dengan kuda yang ditungganginya," katanya.
AS Equestrian menawarkan pakej menunggang kuda. Setakat ini sambutan sungguh menggalakkan kerana ramai pengunjung tertarik dengan AS Equestrian yang dibuka pada hari Selasa hingga Ahad. - Bernama
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Why are horses traditionally mounted from the left side?
Traditionally, people mount a horse from the left side (although today, we train them to accept someone getting on them from both sides). I was always told that this was because knights used to wear their swords on their right leg, which they then had to keep straight when mounting. Thus, they bent their left leg into the stirrup and were able to swing their right leg over straight. However, recently I have noticed that whenever I see knights depicted in paintings or movies, the sword is typically on the left side. Can you help me figure this one out? What is the straight dope on why people traditionally mount horses on the left side?
— Heather Hipp, Atlanta, GA
We'd better begin by acknowledging the obvious, Heather. The fact is that most people don't mount a horse from the left side. Most people call a cab. Those having some acquaintance with horsemanship, however, know that the left side is the horse's "near" side while the right side is the "off" side. This is often explained in terms of swords, but we're then obliged to acknowledge obvious fact #2: While a fair number of people still ride horses, you're living in one tough neighborhood if you need to do so while wearing a sword.
About those swords. I'm afraid you've gotten the explanation a little scrambled. As you've observed, swords are traditionally worn on the left, since that makes it easier for a right-handed swordsman to pull the sword from its scabbard. If you're wearing a sword on the left, you'll want to mount your horse on its left, since otherwise the sword will get in the way. The practice goes way back before the medieval heyday of knights. In fact, it most likely originated when sword-toting warriors first began riding horses into battle.
The ancient Greek general Xenophon (c.430-c.355 B.C.), in his treatise The Art of Horsemanship, gives a step-by-step description--literally--of mounting a horse. Since the stirrup hadn't been invented yet (and wouldn't be until around 400 A.D.), this involved grasping the horse's mane in two places--up by the ears with the left hand and at the base of the neck with the right. The rider would then jump up while swinging his right leg over the horse's back (horses tended to be shorter in ancient times). Alternatively, if he was carrying a spear, the rider could use it to vault onto his charger. Xenophon advocates learning to mount from the right or "off" side in case the exigencies of war required it. It's plain from his detailed description that the left or "near" side of the horse was the correct side for mounting in Xenophon's time, when horses were primarily used for war.
Even when the stirrup came into use, the sheathed sword would still be in the way in mounting from the right, and would be likely to jab the horse in the side or rump just as the rider was swinging his leg over its back. The startled horse would then be strongly inclined to bolt, leaving the rider (briefly) in midair.
So why do we still mount from the left? After all, except for the occasional ceremony, the cavalry has ridden off into the sunset. To answer the question, we need to delve into equine physiology and psychology.
Let's start with a fundamental fact, essential to understanding equines: The horse isn't a predator--it's prey. Even after millennia of domestication, the horse is physically and mentally hardwired to detect and elude attackers. Its eyes are set on the sides of its head, giving it almost 360 degrees of vision. It sees two monocular fields at once, one through each eye. The binocular vision we human predators take for granted, the horse has in only a small area directly ahead of it. So what it "knows" on one side, it doesn't "know" on the other, until it's been shown. The horse's instincts dispose it to be suspicious of anything new in its environment. The thing behind that rock that wasn't there yesterday could be a lion!
What does this have to do with mounting from the left? It means that a horse who's been taught to accept being mounted only from one side may be perfectly docile when the rider clambers aboard on that side, yet spook and refuse to stand still if approached from the unfamiliar direction. That's why authorities on horse training (including our old friend Xenophon) recommend teaching horses to be mounted from the off side, so that they'll stand still for it if circumstances demand that the rider get on from that side
But why prefer the left side when swords are no longer a problem? Partly it's the inertia of tradition--horses and humans are both creatures of habit. But it's also common sense to have a standard approach. If you didn't know which side a particular horse had learned to be mounted from, you could get a nasty surprise if you tried to get on from the "wrong" side.
References:
The Art of Horsemanship, Xenophon (translated by Morris H. Morgan, Ph.D.), first published 1894, repub. 1993 by J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd., London.
The Horseman's Encyclopedia, Margaret Cabell Self, 1963, A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc., New York.
The Body Language of Horses, Thomas Ainslie and Bonnie Ledbetter, 1980, Wm. Morrow & Co. Inc., New York.
Encyclopedia of the Horse, ed. by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, 1987, Crescent Books, New York.
Horse Facts, Susan McBane and Helen Douglas-Cooper, 1990, Dorset Press, New York.
— EddyTeddyFreddy
— Heather Hipp, Atlanta, GA
We'd better begin by acknowledging the obvious, Heather. The fact is that most people don't mount a horse from the left side. Most people call a cab. Those having some acquaintance with horsemanship, however, know that the left side is the horse's "near" side while the right side is the "off" side. This is often explained in terms of swords, but we're then obliged to acknowledge obvious fact #2: While a fair number of people still ride horses, you're living in one tough neighborhood if you need to do so while wearing a sword.
About those swords. I'm afraid you've gotten the explanation a little scrambled. As you've observed, swords are traditionally worn on the left, since that makes it easier for a right-handed swordsman to pull the sword from its scabbard. If you're wearing a sword on the left, you'll want to mount your horse on its left, since otherwise the sword will get in the way. The practice goes way back before the medieval heyday of knights. In fact, it most likely originated when sword-toting warriors first began riding horses into battle.
The ancient Greek general Xenophon (c.430-c.355 B.C.), in his treatise The Art of Horsemanship, gives a step-by-step description--literally--of mounting a horse. Since the stirrup hadn't been invented yet (and wouldn't be until around 400 A.D.), this involved grasping the horse's mane in two places--up by the ears with the left hand and at the base of the neck with the right. The rider would then jump up while swinging his right leg over the horse's back (horses tended to be shorter in ancient times). Alternatively, if he was carrying a spear, the rider could use it to vault onto his charger. Xenophon advocates learning to mount from the right or "off" side in case the exigencies of war required it. It's plain from his detailed description that the left or "near" side of the horse was the correct side for mounting in Xenophon's time, when horses were primarily used for war.
Even when the stirrup came into use, the sheathed sword would still be in the way in mounting from the right, and would be likely to jab the horse in the side or rump just as the rider was swinging his leg over its back. The startled horse would then be strongly inclined to bolt, leaving the rider (briefly) in midair.
So why do we still mount from the left? After all, except for the occasional ceremony, the cavalry has ridden off into the sunset. To answer the question, we need to delve into equine physiology and psychology.
Let's start with a fundamental fact, essential to understanding equines: The horse isn't a predator--it's prey. Even after millennia of domestication, the horse is physically and mentally hardwired to detect and elude attackers. Its eyes are set on the sides of its head, giving it almost 360 degrees of vision. It sees two monocular fields at once, one through each eye. The binocular vision we human predators take for granted, the horse has in only a small area directly ahead of it. So what it "knows" on one side, it doesn't "know" on the other, until it's been shown. The horse's instincts dispose it to be suspicious of anything new in its environment. The thing behind that rock that wasn't there yesterday could be a lion!
What does this have to do with mounting from the left? It means that a horse who's been taught to accept being mounted only from one side may be perfectly docile when the rider clambers aboard on that side, yet spook and refuse to stand still if approached from the unfamiliar direction. That's why authorities on horse training (including our old friend Xenophon) recommend teaching horses to be mounted from the off side, so that they'll stand still for it if circumstances demand that the rider get on from that side
But why prefer the left side when swords are no longer a problem? Partly it's the inertia of tradition--horses and humans are both creatures of habit. But it's also common sense to have a standard approach. If you didn't know which side a particular horse had learned to be mounted from, you could get a nasty surprise if you tried to get on from the "wrong" side.
References:
The Art of Horsemanship, Xenophon (translated by Morris H. Morgan, Ph.D.), first published 1894, repub. 1993 by J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd., London.
The Horseman's Encyclopedia, Margaret Cabell Self, 1963, A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc., New York.
The Body Language of Horses, Thomas Ainslie and Bonnie Ledbetter, 1980, Wm. Morrow & Co. Inc., New York.
Encyclopedia of the Horse, ed. by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, 1987, Crescent Books, New York.
Horse Facts, Susan McBane and Helen Douglas-Cooper, 1990, Dorset Press, New York.
— EddyTeddyFreddy
AS Equestrian Centre - Mantin
Unicorns were dishonest stallions that lost their horns when an elf called Dr. Phil convinced them to tell the truth. Appreciate mare mythology with today’s Groupon: for RM135, you get a one-hour jungle trekking on horseback (RM190 value) and a 20-minute horse riding lesson (RM75 value) from Extreme PD Buggy Trek - AS Equestrian Center in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan (RM265 total value).Hitch-horsers are taught the art of horseback riding by mare masters with 20 years of experience, covering all the essentials during the brief class. Newbies will be able to ride, handle and whisper to horses while taking in the scenery of the lush greenery and surrounding villages, as surprised jungle dwellers take cover. Helmets and gloves are provided for horse chauffeurs, who are expected to wear jeans or long pants as well as appropriate footwear, or face a whinny lecture from shamed stallions.
For more info :
http://www.groupsmore.com/cities/multiple-cities/deals/extreme-pd-buggy-trek-as-equestrian-center--3
http://www.asequine.blogspot.com/
For more info :
http://www.groupsmore.com/cities/multiple-cities/deals/extreme-pd-buggy-trek-as-equestrian-center--3
http://www.asequine.blogspot.com/
Friday, May 6, 2011
Pre Wedding Photoshoot Cowboy
Hi there? Any wish to have a pre wedding photoshoot like a cowboy? Kindly go to this website :
Ahmad Fairus Dot Com
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