Nature’s Horse in Forth, Tasmania | Local service

Nature’s Horse

Locality: Forth, Tasmania

Phone: +61 458 580 114

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24.01.2022 Attention Tasmanians! We need to decide this weekend if this clinic location will go ahead. Only one more application is needed to meet minimum numbers!!

23.01.2022 When Sky said she had brought home a couple of Cobs, I thought she meant bread, or corn.........

21.01.2022 Spring is in the air! Some timely reminders to: 1) re-assess feeding requirements, especially as the weather becomes warmer and grasses emerge from dormancy.... This is especially important in horses and ponies prone to laminitis. 2) start checking faecal worm egg counts to determine the need for timely deworming. 3) Enjoy the riding season ahead! See more

20.01.2022 David Landreville Australian & New Zealand Tour Spring 2019Proposed schedule subject to possible change.Fees will vary between locations due to facility hire fees, travel etc. Some locations are yet to finalise fees....CAIRNS, FNQ Wed 16th & Thurs 17th October 2019Host: Bianca Shaw [email protected]$580ppDALBY, SE QLD Sat 19th & Sun 20th October 2019Host: Berrie Deane [email protected] $520ppTAMAR VALLEY, TAS Tues 22nd & Wed 23rd October 2019Host: Phil Polden [email protected]$520ppGEELONG, VIC Sat 26th & Sun 27th October 2019 AND Tues 29th & Wed 30th October 2019Host: Mollie Miller [email protected]$550ppPERTH, WA Sat 2nd Nov & Sun 3rd November 2019Host: Michelle Schofield [email protected]$580ppCHRISTCHURCH, NZ Wed 6th & Thurs 7th November 2019Host: Elise Lett [email protected] $580ppDue to the amount of interest there will be an application opening day and time. Applications received before this time will not be valid.*** Please read application instructions carefully! ***For all locations, applications will open on SATURDAY 6th JULY 2019 at 8am (local time). The application form must be sent via email to the host for the location which you wish to attend. The application form link can be found at the bottom of this post. If you are unable to edit and save it, an email with all the required information is fine.Positons will be given on a first in first served basis until all places are filled (max 16 per clinic).Once the organiser has replied with confirmation that you have a position, a $250 deposit to secure your place in the clinic must be paid within 24 hours via bank transfer.Remaining fees are to be paid by 30/08/2019.All payments are non-refundable unless the clinic is cancelled upon which a full refund will be issued, minus a 10% processing fee. If you are unable to attend for any reason you may offer your place to the next person on the waiting list, and they will be responsible for buying your spot. We reserve the right to advertise positions to persons on the waiting list should anybody not make full payment by the due dates. If there is no waiting list for your location, you will be responsible for finding someone to buy your position.Application Form:https://docs.google.com/document/d/12FY6fyslJXhivE-mLeB3lRx8f38VhTUU8SimJvrDzw8/edit?usp=sharing

16.01.2022 Blitz has been staying with us for a while, heading home today, freshly trimmed

12.01.2022 Dennis is one lucky horse, Ralph and Faye have provided him with a paddock shelter, varied terrain (including this awesome hard standing) the ability to roam and forage, a fibre rich, low sugar diet and regular trimming which we have been able to stretch out to six weekly as a result of the way he’s able to live as natural a life as possible.

12.01.2022 Some wonderful new locally made products to aid your horses mood and condition. Give Nina a call at Old Time Remedies on 0421774539 for more information.

12.01.2022 Your ponies will still need trimming and without opposable thumbs they’ll struggle to do it themselves. If you’re quarantined or just mindful of social distancing I can work around it for you

10.01.2022 How can your horse saying ‘no’ to you be taken as a positive thing? A few days ago I invited my horses to do some training, approaching them with their head col...lars and my treat bag, and they both turned away and continued munching on their hay instead of engaging with me. It was a very clear ‘not today thanks, I’m not in the mood’. The weather was heavy and humid and I felt a little out of sorts myself so I could kind of understand why they weren’t feeling it and didn’t push them to interact. The next day I asked them again, in the same way, and both of them chose to leave their hay and come and join me in some training, giving me reassurance that the previous day had not had more significance for our relationship and that the majority of the time they were content to say ‘yes’. I therefore took what happened as a fantastic expression of my horse’s confidence to say no and their ability to exercise agency. Obviously if the vet or farrier had been waiting, I might not have been able to allow them the choice whether to come in or not and, by the very nature of domestication, humans must arguably exert a level of control over our animals in our duty of care. However, preparation for such moments can increase an animal’s notion of agency and, when there are non-essential activities or interactions, listening to their ‘no’ enables us to build up that bank of trust that allows for moments of essential withdrawal from time to time. Choice, agency and consent are currently hot topics within equestrianism with a drive to equip horses with the tools to say yes or no. If we are to provide our animals with more positive life experiences, this includes providing them with agency. This means allowing them to engage in voluntary, self-generated and goal-oriented behaviours, enabling them to experience the reward of positive affective engagement (Mellor, 2016). This is outlined in the Five Domains model of animal welfare, with agency exercised in ways such as having a varied and engaging environment, free movement, foraging, bonding, playing and resting (Mellor, 2017). Placing constraints or limitations on the environment, ability to rest or interact socially can lead to our animal’s experiencing negative affective states, feeling isolated, threatened or under-stimulated. If these states are prolonged and an animal realises that they have no control and their actions or attempts to say no are futile, they can reach a psychological state of depression known as learned helplessness (Hall, 2008). This then impairs spatial learning, cognitive performance and memory (Song, 2006), all of which could reduce the efficacy of training, result in utterly miserable animals and even make life harder for humans. So, despite the equestrian industry releasing ever more barbaric devices aimed at a perceived need for ‘control’, constantly joking about ‘opinionated mares’, and seeming unspeakably wary of allowing horses the opportunity to actually think for themselves, there are clearly vast ramifications for preventing our horses from doing exactly that. Various studies have shown horses’ ability to communicate their preferences, including their capacity to differentiate between symbols to specify whether they want a rug on or not (Mejdell et al, 2016). We know that they will choose to stay out in a paddock with other horses over being in a paddock alone or being exercised (Lee et al, 2011), they will choose food rewards over human interactions, regardless of their relationship with that human (Kieson et al, 2020) and they prefer a choice of different forages over one single type even if such diversity requires increased movement (Goodwin et al, 2007). We know that we also have the ability to communicate with them to potentially impact this decision-making, with horses capable of reading very subtle human cues to determine our intentions, expectations and level of attention (Sankey et al, 2011) and choosing to approach a human displaying submissive body language over a dominant body posture (Smith et al, 2017). So why aren’t we showing our horses the respect that they deserve and not only asking them more questions but also listening to their answers? In order for us to understand what they’re telling us and reach consensual interactions we need to learn their subtle behavioural signals (Draiisma, 2018) to enable them to whisper rather than shout. This, in turn, will help us to improve their mental and physical health, achieve a better relationship with them and train more successfully. By taking control of our own learning, we can liberate our horses to be agents of their own happier and more positive lives. Picture Credit: Nica Draws Nature References: Draiisma, R. (2018). Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses: Recognition and Application. CRC Press. Goodwin, D., Davidson, H. P. B. and Harris, P. (2007). Responses of horses offered a choice between stables containing single or multiple forages. Veterinary Record, 160: 548-551. Hall, C., Goodwin, D., Heleski, C., Randle, H. and Waran, N. (2008). Is there evidence of Learned Helplessness in Horses? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 11 (3), 249-266, https://doi.org/10.1080/10888700802101130 Kieson, E., Felix, C., Webb, S., Abramson, C.I. (2020). The effects of a choice test between food rewards and human interaction in a herd of domestic horses of varying breeds and experiences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 231, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105075 Lee, J., Floyd, T., Erb, H. and Houpt, K. (2011). Preference and demand for exercise in stabled horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 130 (3-4), 91-100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.01.001 Mejdell, C.M., Buvik, T., Jørgensen, G.H.M. and Bøe, K.E. (2016). Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 184, 66-73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.07.014 Mellor, D.J. (2017). Operational Details of the Five Domains Model and Its Key Applications to the Assessment and Management of Animal Welfare. Animals, 7(8): 60, https://doi:10.3390/ani7080060 Mellor, D. J. (2016). Updating Animal Welfare Thinking: Moving beyond the Five Freedoms towards A Life Worth Living. Animals, 6, 21; https://doi:10.3390/ani6030021 Sankey C, Henry S, André N, Richard-Yris M-A, Hausberger M (2011) Do Horses Have a Concept of Person? PLoS ONE 6(3): e18331. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018331 Smith, A. V., Wilson, C., McComb, K. and Proops, L. (2017). Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture. Animal Cognition, 21:307312, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1140-4 Song, L., Che, W., Min-wei, W., Murakami, Y. and Matsumoto, K. (2006). Impairment of the spatial learning and memory induced by learned helplessness and chronic mild stress. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 83 (2), 186-193, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2006.01.004

08.01.2022 Here’s an outstanding opportunity to learn more about the care of your horse, not just hoof care, an holistic approach to maintaining the natural balance of your equine friends life - for all round happiness, for you both

06.01.2022 Many people feel their horses can’t go barefoot because the hooves are too weak or damaged. That may or may not be true. But weak hooves can get stronger when ...given a chance. Hooves are constantly growing. It’s just a matter of getting them growing strong horn in the right direction. Shoeing your horse because it can’t stand without shoes on is a sign there is something seriously wrong. I’m not saying you should be able whip the shoes off and go banging round a cross country course by any means. But you really should be able to take the shoes off and walk your horse over smooth concrete or over a field. If your horse is in too much pain without shoes, then there’s a serious problem that needs addressing and probably identifying.

04.01.2022 After a hiatus of sorts, I’m available for barefoot trimming in and around the Central Coast region. Places are limited. It’s nice to be back