Jen Hawkins Holistic Equine Education in Baddaginnie, Victoria | Education

Jen Hawkins Holistic Equine Education

Locality: Baddaginnie, Victoria

Phone: +61 427 302 598

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Business service
• Education

24.01.2022 To look at your horse for similarities with these pictures is maybe the easiest way to detect whether your training is right, whether your hands communicate sof...tly with the horse, whether the vulnerable back is sound, whether the horse is building the right muscles..... Awesome picture by Herzenspferd :-) See more

23.01.2022 *** Qld, Southern Australian & Australian Cowboy Dressage 2020 Championships cancelled*** With much regret, it has been decided to cancel the 2020 Queensland, S...outhern Australian & Australian Cowboy Dressage Championships. With the ever-changing climate surrounding COVID-19 & the restrictions around the border, means many people who would like to attend, are unable to do so. This along with the safety of our riders, volunteers & support people are at the forefront of our decision-making process. Please know, this decision was not made lightly. For all those who had nominated in the Championships, we will in touch as soon as possible. We look forward to being back in 2021 & spending quality time with you all. Please stay safe in this difficult & uncertain time. Kindest regards, Cowboy Dressage Australia Team

23.01.2022 With the recent cold weather following a spate of bot flies laying eggs on horses, NOW is the time to attack these irritating critters! Your horse will thank y...ou for it! Despite how common they are a lot of owners are not fully aware of their life cycle and how serious a problem they can actually be. The life cycle begins as female bot flies lay their eggs on the front legs and bodies of horses. Some horses will actually keep running to avoid the eggs being laid such as the extent that horses do not like botflies! The horses that just stand there and accept the flies usually get the highest burden of eggs laid on them. Each egg is glued to a hair shaft and inside the egg a larvae or maggot will develop within 5 to 10 days. The egg is stimulated to hatch when it feels warm saliva or warm water be licked or rubbed across its surface. The larvae then crawls out onto the tongue or lips and then burrows into the tongue and gums. The holes and damage in the gum and tongue can be significant and some horses will show their irritation to all this by doing excessive tongue licking action or even chewing short pieces of wood to try to alleviate the irritation that the maggots create. The maggots spend roughly one month in the mouth. In that time they moult into the second larval phase . The second level phase then crawls along the horses palate or tongue and is then swallowed. Here In the stomach they moult again to the third instar larval phase, and use the small hooks on their mouth pieces to latch onto the stomach lining. If they are in large enough numbers eg more than 100, it has been reported that they can actually cause considerable damage to the stomach - including ulceration, inflammation , anaemia and even stomach rupture and peritonitis which can be life-threatening. Once the cooler months have passed and the third stage larvae have spent up to 9 to 12 months in the stomach they then release their attachment to the stomach lining and are passed out in the manure where the bot larvae either burrows into the soil or stays in the manure pile and then eventually morph into an adult bot fly! The adult fly then rapidly seeks another fly of the opposite sex where they can mate, the female develops fertile eggs and the life cycle starts over again. As a Horse Owner you can help your horse by killing the larvae on the horse via three different techniques: 1) routinely scrape off the eggs every 1 to 2 days to prevent them developing to the stage where they can hatch. When the eggs fall on the ground they will die within a few days. It’s important that owners wash their hands well and don’t rub their eyes while doing this as there are reports of horse bot fly maggots actually invading the eyes or skin of humans as well! 2) By wiping the eggs on the hair over every three days with either a rag dampened with kerosene, or with warm water followed by an insecticide such as permoxin, you will kill the larvae, so they are not ingested by the horse. 3) By using a paste dewormer containing either Moxidectin, ivermectin or abamectin, after the larvae have been ingested you will kill those larvae. However this will not stop a fly laying fresh eggs on the horse in the following days or weeks. At EVDS we prefer Moxidectin as it does not kill Dung Beetles like the other 2 do. Dung beetles are important for breaking down the horse manure which helps the soil and helps prevent parasite contamination of pasture. Moxidectin is also the only horse Dewormer that will kill encysted small strongyles in the intestines via a single dose. To help owners be able to afford to use the best Dewormer on the market, EVDS is running a special offer while stocks last on Equest plus tape - Which contains Moxidectin and Praziquantel (for tape worms). With a recommended retail price usually up around $22-$25, We have a special deal where these are selling for $16.50 per tube - Until the end of June 2020. And if you order more than 10 at once you will get free shipping within NSW. So do your horse a favour and place your order with us via either: 1) Facebook msg on the EVDS (Equine Veterinary and Dental Services ) FB page. 2) Email us at [email protected] 3) Phone us on 02 66 424 700.

22.01.2022 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HORSE WHISPERER. There never has been and never will be. The idea is an affront to the horse. You can talk and listen to horses all ...you want, and what you will learn, if you pay close attention, is that they live on open ground way beyond language and that language, no matter how you characterize it, is a poor trope for what horses understand about themselves and about humans. You need to practice only three things, patience, observation and humility, all of which were summed up in the life of an old man who died Tuesday (July 20, 1999) in California, a man named Bill Dorrance. Dorrance was 93, and until only a few months before his death he still rode and he still roped. He was one of a handful of men, including his brother Tom, who in separate ways have helped redefine relations between the horse and the human. Bill Dorrance saw that subtlety was nearly always a more effective tool than force, but he realized that subtlety was a hard tool to exercise if you believe, as most people do, that you are superior to the horse. There was no dominance in the way Dorrance rode, or in what he taught, only partnership. To the exalted horsemanship of the vaquero -- the Spanish cowboy of 18th-century California -- he brought an exalted humanity, whose highest expression is faith in the willingness of the horse. There is no codifying what Bill Dorrance knew. Some of it, like how to braid a rawhide lariat, is relatively easy to teach, and some of it, thanks to the individuality of horses and humans, cannot be taught at all, only learned. His legacy is exceedingly complex and, in a sense, self-annulling. It is an internal legacy. The more a horseman says he has learned from Dorrance the less likely he is to have learned anything at all. That sounds oblique, but it reflects the fact that what you could learn from Dorrance was a manner of learning whose subject was nominally the horse but that extended itself in surprising directions to include dogs, cattle and people. If you learned it, you would know it was nothing to boast about. There is no mysticism, no magic, in this, only the recognition of kinship with horses. Plenty of people have come across Bill Dorrance and borrowed an insight or two, and some have made a lot of money by popularizing what they seemed to think he knew. But what he knew will never be popular, nor did he ever make much money from it. You cannot sell modesty or undying curiosity. It is hard to put a price on accepting that everything you think you know about horses may change with the very next horse. From an article by Verlyn Klinkenborg 'Death of a Legendary Horseman' - NY Times July 24, 1999 - http://www.nytimes.com//editorial-notebook-death-of-a-lege Image of Bill is by Steven and Leslie Dorrance - http://www.billdorrance.com/about.htm

21.01.2022 It’s more about the front legs then the haunches..! The turn-on-the- haunches is a balanced movement performed one step at a time. In a turn- on-the-haunches,... the horse is asked to shift his weight and balance to the hindquarters. Read more at: Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. http://cowboydressage.info/ See more

21.01.2022 New Post! - The King and I Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. Under Horsemanship Wisdom Categories. Contact is a private matter between ...the horse and the rider. People are always telling others what contact they should have with their horse. But the appropriate contact is a conversation that is constantly changing between the rider and the horse. I greatly appreciate the Nuno Oliveira believed it to be a private matter that only the horse and rider can decide. - Nuno Oliveira Read more at: http://cowboydressage.info/ See more

20.01.2022 Never too late. Many of us have been taught to ride in a manner that isn't conducive to a healthy equine athlete, either by those who didn't know the damage the...y were causing to the horse, or simply didn't care and saw their position as an instructor or coach as just another job. Where we begin is irrelevant. Where we are headed is what is important. Thanks to the internet, it is both easy and difficult to learn how to do better by your horse. Easy in that there is a world of information you can access, hard in that a lot of what you find is not based on evidence or anything other than someones opinion or experiences. It can be a minefield navigating the various articles, courses, lessons and posts to determine what is actually correct, and what isn't. When dealing with horses, there is one rule that can help the reader discern what is fact, and what is fiction. Fixity, coercion and force are never the answer to a problem. Horse runs around with his head in the clouds? Tying the head down won't fix it. Horse constantly counter bends? Positioning him with side reins won't fix it. Horse rushes into transitions? Hard, fixed hands won't fix it. Horse constantly pops his head up? See-sawing or having your hands stuck by your knees won't fix it. Horse won't go forward? Squeezing until you're blue in the face won't fix it. Horse won't collect? Having his chin to his chest won't magically create collection. Another key indicator that many aren't aware of is the physical manifestation of poor training, riding and tack fit that, once you learn to see, cannot be unseen. When searching out a new coach or trainer, it will help you understand how the horses are ridden without ever seeing someone in the saddle (obvious exception to horses who are new to the trainer/coach). Does every horse in the barn have a break along the crest of the neck, creating a sort of corner or point? Does every horse have a dip before the lumbosacral junction? Does every horse have lumps, dips and divots along the back? Does every horse have a bulging under-neck? Does every horse (when viewed from above) have a lot of muscling closer to the poll with the neck thinning out near the withers? Does every horse have big shoulder holes? Do the horses have an even, rounded topline? Do the horses exhibit tension lines? Do the horses bare their teeth and root down when ridden? Do they have white hairs along the shoulder, back, or even where the noseband or flash would sit? Do they show markings or scars where the spurs would be used? Is their tack room full of shortcut gadgets? Where you are headed with your horse depends solely on your ability to weed out the trainers who don't put the anatomy and biomechanics based physical well-being of the horse first, both in overall care and training methods. Forget what they say, what they promise, their awards and accolades. Don't ask how high they jump, how quickly they can train your horse, their magic methods or their highest scores. Go to their barn, LOOK at their horses, look at the shape, muscling and movement of them. They cannot lie, and should be what qualifies or disqualifies that person as your new coach or trainer. We are ALL guilty of making mistakes, of not knowing better, but every day we have a chance to do better, to learn and make every experience with our horses better.

19.01.2022 Beautiful weather, terrific group of people equals great Horsemanship Clinic. Following on today is our Cowboy Dressage Clinic Thanks Jen Hawkins

16.01.2022 Pure Crabbet Stallion - Binley Prince Iqbal [imp UK] by Prince Sadik X Ismala.

16.01.2022 The shoulder-in prepares a horse to be put on its haunches, because with each step taken in this posture it carries the inside hind leg forwards under the bell...y and brings it over to the outside hind leg, which it can do only by lowering the haunch: it is thus always on one haunch in one direction, and on the other haunch in the other direction, and learns in consequence to bend its hocks under itself; this is what is called being on the haunches. François Robichon de La Guérinièr Read more at: Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. http://cowboydressage.info/

16.01.2022 RIDING POSITIONS BOOKED OUT!

16.01.2022 Horsemanship mini clinic with a great bunch of gals today in the beautiful Myrtleford district in North East Victoria. Someone forgot to take photos of the ladies having some fun with their horses!!

15.01.2022 New post under Lateral Maneuvers Categories biomechanics-simplified Shoulder-In Biomechanics - the term even sounds complicated. But, when you break it down in...to its individual segments, it makes much more sense. Cowboy Dressage 3 lanes Shoulder-In When you transfer the horse’s weight from his inside front leg to his inside hind leg, you are riding Shoulder-In. Read more at: Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. http://cowboydressage.info/

14.01.2022 Don’t Lope before you Jog and don’t Jog before you Walk! "The right time for teaching the horse to canter is when he has become sufficiently balanced by the app...ropriate work in all the previous exercises to be able to maintain rhythm and tempo in the short and the collected trot, on straight and bent lines as well as in the shoulder-in. This trot is certainly the hallmark of the horse’s good posture, or at least the proof that he is moving with the right balance, and that the rider has sufficient control to canter him at any time." (Louis Seeger, 1844) Painting: Richard Moore, www.artbyrichardmoore.com See more

13.01.2022 REVERSE LOAD OR REAR FACING FLOATS People ask me why I travel all my horses facing the rear of the float or truck so I thought I would explain this in deta...il. Horses by nature, have a dislike for small or confined spaces. They are a live, breathing animal with emotions like fear and anxiety. When they feel threatened and scared, their instinct is to flee. So now let’s picture your horse, standing in a float, looking forward, or in an angle load float, facing the driver’s side, watching the traffic come toward them. They are looking out the window at fast cars, B-Doubles, headlights, and emergency lights racing toward them at 100 kph. They have not evolved over 10,000 years looking at these things, and they don’t cope at all with them. Sure, many may not show any anxiety, because again, over the last 10,000 years, the horses that did show anxiety, became a target for predators, and were eaten. So those that showed anxiety were eaten, the ones that were able to hide it, kept on breeding. So here is your horse, facing forward, assessing every object coming toward them, deciding if it is a threat to them or not. To flee or not to flee that is their question! But then, they realize, they CAN’T flee if they need to. They want to turn and run, to flee, but can’t. They are trapped. The hidden anxiety levels rise dramatically, and we now get walking around, weaving, pawing, scrambling, and other problems like sweating and stomach ulcers. You get to your destination and open the front of the float to untie them, looking around for any injury during travel. You walk to the back of your float and let the tailgate down. You make another quick assessment to see if they have hurt themselves during travel. You then wait for the right time to open the rump bar, being very careful in case you get kicked or stood on, and wait to see if they will come rushing out and bowl you over, or back out quietly, or even the occasional one who refuses to come out at all. Many come rushing out, looking around doing a very quick assessment of their new environment, looking for the lion that could jump out from a hidden spot, to eat them. Sure, there are no lions around to eat them in our modern world, but your horse did not get that email, remember it is their evolved state of mind. They feel like they finally escaped this 100 kph bullet that has been stopping them from turning around to run away from all these things that may have been attempting to kill them. Remember, this is how THEY feel, not what you know. Now let’s put that same horse in a rear facing float that faces the passenger side. Your horse walks in and turns around to be tied up. This is not hard to teach. I have even taught my bigger horses to back up the tailgate into the float. You tie them up, close the tailgate and off you go. Your horse looks out the window on the passenger side and sees paddocks, green grass and trees, or if in suburbia, a front garden of a house, or a slow-moving truck that they are passing. They make a quick assessment of whether this object is a threat or not. While doing this, they notice this object is leaving, or moving away. It is backing off and going away. It is no longer a threat. Your horse can relax. There is nothing coming straight toward your horse, nothing to threaten your horse. No assessments from your horse as to whether he will live or die. There is now no desire to turn and run. Your horse soon realizes that there are no more life-threatening situations to assess and he can relax. Your horse can relax, lower their head (drainage) and watch the world go by, having a quiet nibble on a hay net. No desire to turn and run, no elevated heart rate, no scrambling, walking around, crib biting and the list goes on. You arrive at your destination, lower the tail gate, and there is your horse looking at you and their new environment. Your horse is looking at you and watches you open the divider. You are at their head, not the dangerous kicking end. You untie them easily because they are definitely not going to pull back to go further into the float. You are at their head and can control any forward movement easily. They walk out quietly and calmly no more rushing out backwards. The end result a happy relaxed horse and a safe relaxed handler. It’s the perfect start to your ride, event or competition. Now some of you may ask, why not face them toward to middle of the road, because the float will tow better, due to the camber of the road. Having spent a lifetime in the heavy vehicle transport industry I certainly understand your question. Here again it is more important to think of the comfort of the horse, than tyre wear or towing characteristics. Your float may (or may not) look like it is drifting a fraction to the passenger side. The more severe the camber of the road, the more it will look like it is drifting. The difference between the towing characteristics of facing your horse toward the middle of the road, or toward the passenger side is minimal, and most drivers will barely notice this difference. But your horse will really notice the difference. Facing the driver’s side, your horse has vehicles swishing past their head, and they are standing slightly up hill, again depending on the camber of the road. Now think back to every time you see your horse resting in the paddock. They are standing down hill because they are most comfortable when 60% of their body weight is on their front legs, and 40% on their back legs. This is how your horse likes to stand in a relaxed state, so let’s replicate this in your float. If after reading this you feel converted, but can’t find a rear facing float, don’t worry. There are many people who have experienced the benefits of rear facing floats, and more of these floats are becoming available as people upgrade. The racing industry are leading the change because it is safer, particularly around highly strung young horses. Change from old thinking is always slow because people are scared of change. If you can afford a new float, be courageous and get a rear facing float built. If not, adapt the angle load float that you have. I promise you that you will never regret it.

13.01.2022 THE HYOID Every muscle in the horse’s body is connected to the hyoid apparatus, a collection of small bones that form a Y shaped structure sitting between the c...heeks at the base of the skull. The hyoid is not connected to any other bones, it is held in place by ligaments alone. The base of the tongue is attached to the hyoid a horse that cannot move its tongue cannot move its body freely. The muscles of the ventral neck are attached to the hyoid tension here restricts shoulder movement and places strain on the TMJ interfering with balance and proprioception. The pelvic muscles are attached to the hyoid via the abdominal muscles and pectoralis muscles a horse with ventral muscle chain dysfunction cannot engage its hind limbs. Here’s Belinda on the subject: The Hyoid apparatus, TMJ and ventral chain functioning are often discussed in the online Masterclasses. This apparatus is incredibly fascinating because it is so delicate, and so interconnected. With the skull and hyoid bones pictured I demonstrate why we need to be so careful with the weight we place on the reins. We should always be aiming for contact that is only just feeling the tongue's movements because if we exert any additional pressure here, we begin to create problems. This structure is extremely breakable. - special thank you to Maike & Andrew Turnbull for helping me create this great visual with photos!" We hope that by sharing some of Belinda’s insights and knowledge, you will be inspired to apply to our join our Online Masterclasses and experience Belinda's coaching for yourselves. https://www.belindabolsenbroek.academy/Online-Masterclass-I #belindabolsenbroekacademy #horseanatomy #trainingforsoundness #classicalriding #classicalequitation

12.01.2022 SOFT FEEL - SOFT TOUCH!

09.01.2022 Welcome to Week 3 of ATHRA's Trail Training Tips - Riding A supple horse is less defensive than a straight horse and it is less likely to run away from you if it gets a fright, and is usually much more relaxed out on the trails.

09.01.2022 Gestern noch auf dem Turnier-heute mal was ganz anderes! Abwechslung wird auf dem Hofgut Ludwigshöhe groß geschrieben! Geronimo- Lusitanopower es macht so Sp...aß ihn nur mit Halsring zu reiten. Seit 5 Jahren ist er nun bei uns, jeder liebt ihn und seine außergewöhnliche sensible Art. Ich kann nicht jedes meiner Pferde mit Halsring reiten Interessant, dass er auch ohne Gebiss kaut er ist so fein zu reiten - ein Traumpferd. Vielen Dank an Thorsten und Eva für Euer Vertrauen und dieses tolle Pferd! Mit dabei, St-eb Satteldecke, Belani Loden Reithandschuhe und ein Polo Shirt von Ferber-express.com #piaffe #piaffetraining #klassischedressur #hofgutludwigshoehe #welovewhatwedo #lusitano #halsring #jungpferdeausbildung #pferdeausbildung #hoheschule

08.01.2022 A reminder after our Christmas feasts, 2 positions available for both days. All private lesson times have been filled.

05.01.2022 How is the skull, mandible and teeth linked to hoof morphology? And to dysfunction within the whole horse in between? The further I delve into the interconnecti...ons of the entire horse the more important the emphasis on holistic care becomes. The hoof is a product of the forces placed upon it, from the skeleton above and the ground below. And conversely it directly affects everything above it. Posture is emerging as an important link between the two. And the head and hooves play vital roles in correct posture. Stay tuned for an exciting videocast coming soon. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see the previous Videocasts in the series. . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCg-IGDF8yVQgAF5W-_Zy2w . In the meantime here are some articles on the interconnectivity of the horse. . https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com//bio-tensegrity-and . https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com//bio-tensegrity-and . https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com//myofascial-trains- . https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com//the-hoof-the-begin

05.01.2022 "To cue for the turn-on-the- haunches, you first shift your weight through the seat to the hindquarters. You then open your inside hand, creating bend to the di...rection of travel, asking the horse to look to the inside hand in the turn". Read more at: Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. http://cowboydressage.info/

03.01.2022 Practicing Soft Feel in Cowboy Dressage!

03.01.2022 Excellent information on Western Saddle Fit with Rod Nikkel - https://westernsaddlefit.com/

02.01.2022 ATHRA Trail Training Tip: Week 1, Groundwork Ground work prepares your horse mentally and emotionally for riding, its the 'pre-flight check' before you get on y...our horse and helps the horse accept other obstacles and external pressures that are sometimes out of our control. Have fun practicing these and upload your own videos in the comments section of this post on the ATHRA Facebook page...

01.01.2022 "In the 1950s, Eitan rode native Arabian horses for pleasure and like many Israelis boys (David for example), he was a shepherd tending sheep in a land of sand, scorpions and Bedouins. Read more at: Eitan’s 88 Brand Online Educational Membership Program. http://cowboydressage.info/