Head injuries are the most common reason for admission to hospital or death among riders. Sobering statistics reveal the high percentage of equine-related accidents resulting in traumatic brain injury, and helmets have been associated with reducing the risk of traumatic brain injury by as much as 50 percent. Yet many riders still do not wear a helmet.

Horses and oxen have been used to haul logs since pre-industrial times. Much of it was small scale harvesting, but it was hard and hazardous work. Unstable and snagged trees, falling branches, and loose material were the “widow makers” of a rapidly growing but dangerous industry. But as settlers arrived in Canada, more land had to be cleared for home-building, farming, and travel. Ultimately, horses and oxen were replaced with machinery and logging trucks. But today, some people have kept the heritage of horse logging alive.

Job Description: In many cities, the police force mounted unit plays an essential role in crowd control at demonstrations and large events. Horses add height and visibility, and act as ambassadors with the public. On patrol for over a century, the Vancouver Police Mounted Unit was first formed in 1908 with 11 officers and 12 horses. A year later, the first patrolman on horseback was assigned to patrol Stanley Park. While the stables were originally based in the downtown area, a second stable was established close to the entrance to Stanley Park where the Mounted Unit continues to be centered today.

Job Description: Therapy horses are used in a range of programs to promote physical improvements and address mental health issues. Somewhere in the rolling high country plains of southeastern Montana in the early 2000s, a buckskin colt was born. But in the harsh reality of life in a wild herd, he lost his dam when he was just a few days old. Somehow he stayed attached to his band struggling to survive but, without his mother’s milk, his growth was slow.