[music plays] [no dialogue] >>Kelly Runyon: From the American Quarter to the Arabian, horses come in a variety of breeds.

In fact, worldwide there are more than a thousand different kinds of horses and ponies.

Coming up on this episode of the Paw Report, horse enthusiast and owner Carol Galey joins us to talk all things horses, so stay with us.

[music plays] Production for the Paw Report is made possible by: Inyart Tire and Auto Center, in Charleston and Mattoon.

Inyart offers complete auto repair.

Inyart Tire and Auto Center cares about our community and thanks you for being a responsible pet owner.

More information at Inyart.com.

We thank you Carol for joining us today.

We're talking a lot about horses today.

There are so many breeds out there.

You know, you pass farms, and you see horses out in the pasture, and I guarantee you people don't stop and think, you know, what kind is that, or what kind of breed is that, or where did that horse come from.

And you are very knowledgeable on that arena, so we thank you for joining us.

>>Carol Galey: You're welcome.

>>Kelly Runyon: I'm going to start with, how many breeds are out there of horses?

>>Carol Galey: There's an estimated figure of over 1,300.

>>Kelly Runyon: Wow.

>>Carol Galey: Worldwide.

And they still can't really narrow it down because there's cross-breeds and other things, so.

But that's estimated.

>>Kelly Runyon: And you said worldwide, so this is including other countries.

Wow.

And this, does this factor in ponies as well, or is this just strictly... Well, I guess a pony is a horse; it's just a smaller version.

>>Carol Galey: No, actually a pony is its own little thing.

It's not really a horse.

>>Kelly Runyon: Mmhmm, mmhmm.

So, horses are different.

Why are there so many different types of horses?

>>Carol Galey: Each breed was bred for a specific purpose, as you go through history.

For instance, the most common would be, that people would know of, are Arabians, were bred to run long distances in the desert.

The draft horses like Clydesdales were bred to pull heavy loads and wagons and far equipment.

The ponies actually were bred small to pull carts in mines, like in Ireland and Scotland, and places like that.

So, the Quarter horse has its own purpose.

So, everything had a purpose as to why it was bred.

>>Kelly Runyon: You're a lifelong horse lover.

What was your connection to that animal?

I'm sure at a very young age.

>>Carol Galey: As long as I can remember, I've always been fascinated.

I'm just an animal lover anyway, but I just have always been fascinated with horses and would get around one or you know, talk one of my relatives into letting me ride, or whatever I could do.

It's just, if you were a horse lover, there's just a special connection that you have.

And I read something recently, someone wrote there's an emotional connection, but a spiritual commitment to a horse.

There's just something very special.

And someone even said, if God had made something more beautiful than a horse, he hasn't shown it to us yet.

You know, so there's just so many aspects of horses that are just really neat, and they're wonderful animals to be around and to work with and to ride.

It's just awesome to be able to ride one.

>>Kelly Runyon: What is the most popular breed of horse in the U.S.?

I mean, in your opinion, being around horses for so long.

>>Carol Galey: That's actually pretty easy.

If you, because I read a lot of horse magazines and things like that, the most popular right now is the Quarter horse in the United States.

Everybody has something that they like different, but they are the most bred and the most widely used.

>>Kelly Runyon: And what are they used for?

>>Carol Galey: Everything, you could do everything with a Quarter horse.

You can trail ride.

They use them a lot in shows.

They race them a quarter of a mile.

You can go to a horse race, and they will have, even sometimes at the Greenup fair, they have races, and then one race will be Quarter horse races.

They'll race them that quarter of a mile, just for fun.

They do, they're really good working cows, ranch work.

Excellent in shows and going over obstacles.

People will jump them.

You name it, and they're very versatile.

>>Kelly Runyon: And they're very beautiful horses.

They're big and muscular.

What are some of the less known breeds that maybe the average person wouldn't know about?

And I may throw out one, but you know, in studying some horses they threw out hte name Lipizzaner.

And you know, the Lipizzaner Stallions, you know, the big majestic horses.

Less known, but some other less known breeds.

You know, when you think of horses: the Quarter horse, the Thoroughbred, the Arabian; those are popular.

Some horses that maybe aren't so known out there.

>>Carol Galey: It would be the breeds that are used mostly in Europe, which are what they call the warmbloods.

Which, you'll see them doing dressage and other types of, English riding is more popular in Europe than it is in the United States.

It's become bigger in the United States, but it's a lot bigger in Europe, and more history in Europe.

The Friesian is one that is just totally beautiful.

They're usually black, and they have the feathers on the legs, is one that was built to pull carriages.

They're very beautiful to do that.

And as you said, the Lipizzaners.

There's a lot of other Dutch breeds, just a lot of different ones.

But there are some in the United States because of the Olympics and other big competitions now.

You'll see more of those in the United States, but yeah, most people in the United States stick to the Quarter horses and Arabians and the Appaloosas, those types.

The smaller boned horses.

>>Kelly Runyon: Speaking of smaller, what about miniature horses?

Is that considered a breed?

I mean, I've seen them; they're, Great Danes are bigger than these little miniature horses.

>>Carol Galey: Yeah, they are not ponies; they are horses.

>>Kelly Runyon: They are horses.

>>Carol Galey: Mmhmm.

And they've just been bred very small.

And it's, little tiny kids can ride them, but it's not recommended.

But they mostly will pull a cart.

So, yeah, they're bred just for that.

And it's just mostly for people's entertainment.

>>Kelly Runyon: When it comes to ponies, we're still on the small topic, size matters.

But that they're also, as you mentioned earlier in the interview, there are different types of ponies.

And what would their uses be for?

It's all about size.

>>Carol Galey: It is.

>>Kelly Runyon: Correct?

>>Carol Galey: It is.

Yeah, ponies have to be a certain size, below a certain number of inches, depending on what they're being used for.

If they're being shown.

Polo, they use ponies; that's why they call them polo ponies.

They're not really horses, because they want them smaller so they can reach to the ground with their polo sticks.

But a lot of people want to use ponies for kids to ride.

They're really good for pulling wagons and little carts, and things like that.

And oftentimes they'll find that ponies will be a little grouchy with kids; they're not real crazy about them.

But they weren't originally bred for kids; they were bred to work in the mines to pull those carts, like for coal and other things.

Before we had, you know, technology and electricity, and things like that.

So, you kind of have to be careful when you're choosing a pony for a kid.

I'm just very fortunate right now.

I have two of my own that just love kids and do really well.

One pulls the cart, and they can both be ridden.

We have one pony called a POA, which is Pony of America.

That is bred specifically for showing, for kids to show and do gaming and other types of things on them in competitions.

>>Kelly Runyon: You have a special little pony; her name's Belle.

And I've met Belle, and she is, she's just like a big dog; she just loves the people.

You know, she just looks at you like, just scratch me, just pet me.

And you can probably talk more about her relationship with kids, just how much you've taken her around to different areas for that very reason to different events.

>>Carol Galey: Mmhmm.

It kind of came out accidentally that I took her out.

But I did purchase her for my oldest granddaughter, who's now 9.

And she's taller than the average pony.

But she's a black and white paint, and so she's very beautiful, and has a very refined head.

So, she's pretty to look at.

Doesn't look like the average stocky pony.

But she just is very sweet natured, and just absolutely will, she'll reach for a kid.

But the thing about her is she's fascinated with people in wheelchairs, and she will stretch her neck to reach them.

Or somebody reaching their hand out to her, she'll stretch even through a gate to let them touch her nose.

She loves people, but she especially loves kid.

And ponies do kind of like people that are their same size, you know, so they don't feel so intimidated by them.

>>Kelly Runyon: Mmhmm.

What is their temperament?

And I suppose each breed is going to have different personalities.

So, is there a lot of difference between ponies and horses, as far as their interaction with people?

>>Carol Galey: It can be.

They're just like horses.

Some are what we call hotter; they're a little more energetic and bouncy, if you will.

And they, a lot of it has to do, again, like with a dog, how they're treated.

Have they been treated kindly, and with softness, you know, when they're being trained, with respect.

So, if they've been treated that way, they will respond to you that way.

And trust.

Trust is a huge issue with horses and ponies.

>>Kelly Runyon: When you say that, what do you mean by trust?

I mean, is that something that you gain over time, as far as feeding and petting and loving and talking?

>>Carol Galey: Yeah, physical work and contact with a horse is huge, and how you work with them.

We have now, in horse training it's called natural horsemanship, where you treat them with respect and kindness.

You'll see in a lot of the old westerns, they would just tie them up to a post and bite them on the ear, and someone would get on them, and then they would let them buck out until they were fine, you know.

Or a lot of times they would hit them and, you know, treat them unkindly, if you will.

But now, we have natural horsemanship, where you work with them on the ground, and you teach them that you're the leaders of the herd basically.

And they should look to you for guidance and do what you ask them to do.

You put it in a way they'd understand, you practice with them, and then they learn to trust you.

So that, when you raise you're hand, they don't duck.

And I actually had a pony one time that had been mistreated, and you had to be very careful about raising your hand around him.

I mean, he would duck and run.

And so, you just, you have to treat them with kindness and respect, like you do another person.

>>Kelly Runyon: You mentioned Belle had an interesting, she's called a Paint.

And the viewers out there will probably get to see some video of Belle.

She's got, it looks like the Italian boot's on her side.

But going to the color, does that have anything to do with performance, or is it just...

I know that may sound like a silly question, but... >>Carol Galey: No, it's not silly at all.

>>Kelly Runyon: You know, coats and color.

But the soundness and performance of that horse.

>>Carol Galey: No, no.

Certain breeds, for instance, the Quarter horse, will not allow a horse to be registered in their registry if they have white over the knees.

They can't have it anywhere on their body, other than on the nose, like a snip or a blaze, or down below the knees.

Paints, they can be all, you know, any variety of color and anywhere on their body.

The, if you look at the Thoroughbreds like California Chrome recently, how jazzy he looked because he had the four white legs and the blaze on his face.

Some people like a lot of color; others don't care or don't want it.

But it depends on the registry.

But it doesn't affect personality, performance.

Paint horses are a breed based on their color, but they can have Quarter horse background, they can have a little bit of Thoroughbred thrown in.

But they breed for the color, so.

>>Kelly Runyon: Hence the color breeds; that's what... >>Carol Galey: Yes.

>>Kelly Runyon: Now, what are Saddlebred horses?

I guess just hearing it, that's the horse that really trail rides.

And maybe I'm wrong, but that's what they're used for, correct?

>>Carol Galey: A lot of them, yeah.

A lot of the Saddlebred, you have gaited horses, what we call gaited, and they will do a footfall pattern different from just a walk or a trot or a canter.

And if they're gaited, they will move their feet differently.

And I was in the all horse parade at Martinsville Saturday, and I happened to look down ahead of me, and there was a gaited horse in front of me.

And you could see his feet almost looked like they were working in a circular pattern.

He'd pick them up and move them like this, and put them down and, you know.

It's very interesting to watch.

And what they do is essentially they, the movement of the horse absorbs all of the energy and the movement.

So, the rider sits very quietly on top, and it's a very smooth ride for the riders.

And they're very popular for trail rides because, especially for older people or people with physical problems; you don't get the stiffness and soreness that you do maybe sitting on a Quarter horse or another type of breed like that, that just walks and trots.

>>Kelly Runyon: I was reading where, during the Civil War, they used those types of horses because, for ground movement for the troops, that's the type of horse that they used when they were maneuvering to different locations.

Very interesting.

You know, one of the other things that I'm interested in is what you use your horses for.

You know, the different types of horses that you have on your property and your farm.

>>Carol Galey: Mmhmm.

I'm kind of unusual because I don't care about the breed.

I just care about the personality, and I've just sort of come onto mine accidentally, if you will.

Not necessarily always looking for one.

But I have currently a white leopard spotted Appaloosa, which means he's white and he has brown spots all over him.

And then, I also have an Arabian who has quite a bit of chrome on him; he has the four white legs and a beautiful blaze face.

And that's sort of unusual.

People usually stick to Quarter horses or Appaloosas or Arabians in their barns, but I just happen to have the two because they... And I trail ride.

I strictly trail ride.

I have access to property near, I live near Fox Ridge, and I have access to several acres.

And I just love to be out in the trees, and I can access the river.

We stand in the river so my Arab can soak his feet like an old man.

And I just love doing that.

I don't really like going to shows, showing is kind of stressful, and it's just not my thing.

A lot of people like it, but it's just not mine.

I just prefer to be in the quiet of nature.

>>Kelly Runyon: We've talked about so many things with horses in the last few minutes, from you know, in the beginning it was used for mining, as you said, and transportation.

They were used to haul things back in the day.

Farming, riding, showing.

What other uses are there for, you know, for horses?

>>Carol Galey: Oh, the versatility is something I don't think the average person gets, is all the things they can do.

They see like, horses in westerns that just run or pull stage coaches, or you'll see them in rodeos, that sort of thing.

But they do just about anything.

If you take the time to work with a horse, you can teach him to do anything, including tricks.

There's one guy that, I think on a car commercial, that pulls the blanket up on his, the horse is laying down on the ground, and the pulls the blanket up on him.

But they do ranch work, all kinds of things.

Sorting, you know, working with cattle and animals.

In competition, they teach them to do everything form opening gates to doing obstacles, jumping.

There's a three-day event at the Kentucky Horse Park in spring, that they do, they'll do dressage because you have English riding, and you have Western riding, and they use different saddles and tack.

And they'll do dressage as one event, then they'll do the jumping in the arena over different obstacles, and then they take them out on a course, and they have to jump, it's a timed event, they have to jump several different obstacles out on this course.

And over the three days, they put the highest score together, and that's who wins.

It's an awesome thing to watch.

>>Kelly Runyon: And these are all different breeds, getting back to the breeds of what we've talked about earlier in this interview.

>>Carol Galey: And a lot of those, they'll use the warmbloods.

Again, you can use Quarter horses and Paints and stuff.

They do have now, it's sort of new, it's called Western dressage, where you sit in the Western saddle and do it.

But most of that is done in an English saddle.

And dressage is beautiful because they're very controlled movements that the horse has been trained to do.

And then, the rider sits on them and asks them to do it.

So, it almost looks like they're dancing.

And they will actually, in a dressage competition, they'll do a musical freestyle, and they'll put those movements to music.

And it's beautiful to watch.

So, you can go on YouTube and watch videos of musical freestyle dressage, and it's just awesome to watch.

But horses just absolutely will do anything you ask them to do.

I could just name, you know, just keep naming a thousand things, yeah, that they do .

>>Kelly Runyon: Well, I have to ask.

You know, we've talked about the populars.

We've talked about the Appaloosas, and the Thoroughbreds, and the miniatures, and the Lipizzaners.

What about the, like the zebras, the mules, and the donkeys?

Are those mixed breeds considered other equines, or how does that... where do they fall into play here?

>>Carol Galey: Yeah, well a zebra's it's own thing.

But people now will cross a zebra with a donkey, and they call it a, what do they call it-- >>Kelly Runyon: But they're all in the family, right?

>>Carol Galey: They're all in an equine, yeah, type species.

But like a mule, for instance, is a hybrid; it's a cross between a donkey and a horse.

So, yeah, you do have the hybrids.

So, and you know, and then of course the donkeys are sort of their own thing, too.

They're not horses; they are their own kind.

And, but they can be crossed with horses.

So, you get different things out of them, and people use them for different purposes.

>>Kelly Runyon: So, so many breeds: 1,300.

1,300 breeds.

So, that's something to think about the next time you pass a pasture and wonder to yourself, are they from the U.S., or are they from somewhere in Europe?

Or where is this horse from?

So, thank you so much for the conversation today.

Very interesting, all the different breeds out there.

So, your passion for horses is infectious.

So, thank you for joining us.

>>Carol Galey: Thanks for asking.

If you are a veterinarian, trainer, groomer, specialist, rescue organization, or shelter that would like to partner with the Paw Report by providing expert guests for the show, please contact us by emailing weiu@weiu.net, or call 217-581-5956.

If you have a topic that you'd like to see on the show, or questions for our experts, contact us with those, too.

In this Paw Report extra, a new initiative at a Georgia school partners Autistic students with future service animals.

The result is a life changing lesson for everyone involved.

Jade Watson reports.

>>Teacher: So guys, we're going to read this story once.

Alright, who is going to be our first reader?

>>Jade Watson: It's a typical lesson... >>Child: John the Janitor... >>Jay Watson: At the Lionheart School.

>>Child: Reese won a pet... >>Jade Watson: But Lionheart is taking typical and turning it on his head.

>>Teacher: You would like that, too, Austin?

>>Jade Watson: On its furry, adorable head.

These 8-week-old Golden Retriever puppies from the Paws for People Foundation will grow up to be service dogs for war veterans.

But until they're 4 months old, they'll stay with the students at Lionheart, a school for children with Autism.

>>Teacher: From birth to 4 months is when they form their associations and their fears.

Both the children and the puppies learn through the play.

>>Jade Watson: It's the first of its kind partnership in the nation, named LionPaws.

>>Teacher: If they're on the swing with the kids, it's fun to be on the swing, an unstable surface moving underneath them.

>>Jay Watson: The students help socialize the puppies, desensitizing them to the ever changing noisy world around them.

11-year-old Max can tell the pups apart.

>>Max: That one's Austin, Memphis, Baylor.

Okay, let me go on.

That one's Dayton, Mercer, Crayton, and Stanford.

>>Jade Watson: We asked Max how he knows who's who.

>>Max: Because I love them.

There we go, puppies.

>>Jade Watson: And this is where the puppies really help these children.

In an area where many of them struggle: with social and emotional connections.

>>Child: What are you doing?

>>Teacher: We're going in the car.

>>Jade Waston: Education extends beyond the classroom.

>>Teacher: Get your arms through these two holes.

>>Jade Watson: Today, it's a trip to Target.

>>Teacher: Alright, Max, you got Mercer.

Two hands on the puppy.

They'll hear a shopping cart, baskets get dropped, things fall off shelves.

>>Max: This one is Mercer.

>>Woman: Mercer!

Hi, Mercer!

>>Teacher: When the students go out in public, and they've got their little puppies in the pouches, it immediately creates opportunity for interaction with people.

>>Woman: I'm going to start crying.

I can't.

>>Child: Are you scared?

It's okay.

She's not going to hurt you.

She's fine.

>>Jade Watson: The puppies serve as a furry badge of courage.

>>Child: She's sleeping on me right now.

>>Jade Watson: A bridge to the real world.

A world the puppies and the students will live in one day.

>>Woman: Smile!

Puppies on three!

>>Child: It's okay!

>>Jade Watson: The puppies are the students.

>>Child: She looks like she's a princess.

>>Jade Watson: But they're also the teachers.

>>Max: Mercer!

it's okay, Mercer!

>>Jade Watson: Helping these children learn it's okay.

>>Max: Want to watch the football, Mercer?

>>Jay Watson: They will by okay.

>>Max: it's okay, Mercer!

It's okay!

>>Jade Watson: And that is a life changing lesson.

>>Teacher: Alright, you lead the way.

>>Kelly Runyon: Have a video or a photo of your pet doing something funny or absolutely adorable?

We'd love to share it with our viewers here at the Paw Report.

Email it to weiu@weiu.net, and you can see it on our show!

Just make sure it's a video taken by you, or that you have permission to share it.

Fro more information about how to get that video or photo to us, email or call 217-581-5956.

Did you know full episodes of the Paw Report are on YouTube?

They can be accessed at www.youtube.com/weiutv.

Then, just go to the Paw Report playlist and select the episode you want to see.

More information about the show is also available 24/7 on our website at weiu.net, under the television tab.

Production for the Paw Report is made possible by: Inyart Tire and Auto Center, in Charleston and Mattoon.

Inyart offers complete auto repair.

Inyart Tire and Auto Center cares about our community and thanks you for being a responsible pet owner.

More information at Inyart.com.

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