I recently was asked what horse bowling was.

Well, it's not bowling as in throwing a bowling ball and knocking down pins! It's simply a bowl, as in a contest, on how much you know about horses. Most of the time, 4-H groups will support a Horse Bowl. I entered into my 4-H Horse Bowl County contest, and it was a lot of fun! Here's how it works:

Contestants from many countys come together at a large gathering place such as a church or community hall. There is one large table set up with 5 "beepers" on each side. All contestants are split in half - it doesn't matter where you are from or not. All you want to do is receive as many points as possible for yourself. Anyways, 5 people are called out by the judges from each group and seated according to how the judge calls you. Then a judge will ask the question, such as, "What is the correct term for controlling a horse with your legs, hands, weight, and voice?" Whoever knows the answer, tries to hit their "beeper" first. The judge will acknoledge you and you should answer, "Aids." Which is the correct answer, of course. If you get the answer right, you get a point. If not, you get a negative point. Basically, you want to know as much as you can about horses and answer first. Whichever people get the most points at the end of the games are added to their county's Horse Bowl team, which will compete in State.

Other questions are:

"What is the correct term for a weaned foal?"

"What is an Embryos?"

"Describe the term, 'bugeyed'."

"What is 'glass eye'?"

"What are the pressure points of the horse's head?"

"How many beats does the gait, 'walk' have?"

"Explain the term, 'Roached Back'."

and so on. You must be really alert and ready to push the button. Sometimes kids get so excited they hit the button, and don't know the answer. Or know the answer right away but are too shy to hit their button. Usually, our Horse Bowl games start early in the morning. I always drink a cup of coffee and do jumping jacks or something to get me awake!

Horse Bowl and 4-H are to learn and mostly, have fun.

I hope I explained it well enough!

~ Mandy

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