The Queensland Natural Horsemanship Centre in Bellmere | Sport & recreation

The Queensland Natural Horsemanship Centre

Locality: Bellmere

Phone: +61 431 774 188

Address: 'Bellmere Park', Bells Lane 4510 Bellmere, QLD, Australia

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24.01.2022 Good Evening everyone. The clinic for next weekend is completely full! Please see below for your lesson times. ... ***Fence sitting is only for friends of lesson participants*** Lessons are $110 and payable to Viv directly + $10 arena fee payable to honesty box. Cash on day. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Look forward to seeing everyone.

23.01.2022 Horses love consistency. Learn more about groundwork for softness at: https://www.stevehalfpenny.com/store/XFDEQ9Jh

23.01.2022 What (in our opinion) is one of the most requested and! most misunderstood topics.... The idea and the practicality of an outstanding Piaffe. We get first compl...imented and second asked about our Piaffe A LOT! A good Piaffe is not a movement nor a trick nor something you perform... It is the defining and characteristic measurement of how your training is going, where you are heading in terms of education and more than that many aspects of the mental state of being of your horse...it is the ultimate question for you as a rider and trainer - Is my horse forward in the brain and are we 100% connected and together? The mechanics of the Piaffe are one thing. Frankly, for me they are not even rocket science (there is faaar more difficult things in equestrian art than teaching a good Piaffe). You need to be able to find and work good, clean and even diagonals, your horse need to be forward on contact!, you need to be able to position and free shoulders and you need a lot of energy. I could go deeper into it but this is the simplest basics. But what is far more important is the mental aspect of the Piaffe that for me makes it interesting and extremely intriguing. In order to consistently, reliably, calmly and happily perform a good Piaffe your horse need to be able to do AND be a few things. First of all it is absolutely mandatory that the horse learned that the energy for this movement comes from within him, meaning he can freely excess his own pool of energy (no physical or mental blocks or contractions). Nothing is worse than these constantly touching (or hitting, lets be honest) people on the floor. You can guide energy that is existing in the right direction, you should not struggle creating it. Second very important thing is that the horse learned that contact means forward and this understanding helps him to position his shoulders in front of the body, not underneath. These days you see many, many forms of a Piaffe all ridden with a backstanding front leg. This mostly is a training issue and needs to be addressed. In only a handful of cases the reason for this is really due to a limiting factor in the mechanic of the horse... Mostly it is a wrong understanding of the idea of Piaffe and an incorrect placement of the shoulders! "Trapping" a horse in a short frame and letting him diagonalize is not a Piaffe, it is a diagonalized movement (sometimes looking very similar but with nearly not the same benefits for the horse and the overall training). The last but most important thing is that the horse mentally has to be "on the bit" in order for fully emerge himself in this physical and mental frame of what it means to piaffe. Piaffe ultimately has to do with letting go, giving up control, trusting and surprisingly with love. I am going to make a rather extreme statement-the biggest, most important and valuable ingredient for developing an amazing Piaffe is love. Love from the trainer towards his horse and love for the details in training and mechanics. But although love from the horse towards life, training and most importantly love for himself. There will be nothing more beautiful, captivating, elegant and correct than a horse "performing" a Piaffe in love with himself and his live. So... This is why for us Piaffe is not "just" a movement, it is everything you are. And that ultimately makes it so beautiful and difficult at the same time

22.01.2022 Good evening everyone, We regret to inform you that due to the predicted rain/storm forecast for the weekend - Viv and we here at QNHC have made the tough decision to postpone the lesson weekend. We have been keeping a close eye on the weather and been hoping it would change however it has stayed the same. We have moved the dates to 7-8 of November 2020. ... Please let us know if you would like to move your lesson date to the new dates. We will re-advertise a few weeks before the rescheduled time. We are so sorry again. We were looking forward to the weekend as much as everyone else.

22.01.2022 Hey all. These lesson days are coming up soon. Would you please confirm your booking or let me know if you would like to book in. Ta.

21.01.2022 Does your horse's tail swing? If a horse's tail gets caught between his hind legs he is not using his body properly. If the tail lays flat and listless these a...re clues that energy, messages and feedback from the brain to the body and back may not be traveling up and down his spine properly. If the tail is clamped down, the horse may be in fear or in pain, closing the hindquarters down. This is something to discuss with your veterinarian. If your horse's tail swishes constantly and more so during transitions, changes, or anytime you make a request, your aids may be too loud or he may be frustrated with the work. A little swishing when asked to do something demanding for a short time is different from constant swishing. We must observe and know our horse to figure out what is concentration and what is upset. The tail reflects the health of our horse's spine. As the spine undulates in a slightly serpentine pattern through our horses' body, his tail should carry through this motion. As our horse uses his back and body better and better, as his balance changes and improves, he will use his tail differently. We want to keep an eye on it and note improvements or set backs as they tell us how well the training is progressing or is stalling. We look for a tail that is carried in a soft arch slightly away from the body with the mass of hair rhythmically moving from hock to hock in a pendulum motion. Touching your horse's tail, gently lifting it and rotating it, combing the hair with your fingers, taking segments and gently pulling them in a circular motion while observing your horse will give you feedback about how he feels in his back and body. This should be done easily with no resistance, the tail should have a good weight in your hands and feel alive, not dead. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Stand to the side at first and stay close to the croup. If your horse reflexively clamps down or threatens to kick, do not try to force the issue or become aggressive. Reassure your horse with a neutral touch and your voice. If the problem persist, contact your health care pro, do not insist as you and your horse may get hurt. UPDATE: For additional insights into crooked tail and detailed and extremely well illustrated massage recommendations please check this pdf article which was shared by Debranne Pattillo of www.equinology.com http://www.manolomendezdressage.com//Equinology-Hamstring- Thank you for your endless generosity in sharing educational knowledge with the equestrian community worldwide. UPDATE 2: We read a very insightful post from one reader we wanted to share relating to the potential relationship between a harder tail grooming and washing experience and possible surrounding muscle soreness: Fran Welsby wrote: " Hi, do you find how a horse accepts their tail being washed also gives you clues? We shampoo, condition then use a de-tangle spray thru the tail then using our fingers carefully separate out the hairs from the roots to the ends. I have found that the ponies that relax, give me their tails to do all this generally fall asleep while I work, those that don't often will be the ones with some haunch/ham string issues." An interesting observation. (Repost from 2013 and 2015)

21.01.2022 Mindset Tips Let me ask you something: What is more important to you, winning or good riding? Now I guess most peoples answer will be good riding because it ...seems the right thing to say and after all, we all love our horses and are passionate about improving our riding all the time. The goal is to become a better and more skillful rider and classical riding is what most riders thrive for. Then my next question to you is How many times have you gone against your principles? There is one thing to agree with and be in ore of the classical principles and another to uphold them in your daily training. Most riders get sidetracked and skip vital steps just to get to the next level or to get ready for the next competition. When was the last time you have asked your instructor: How do I get my horse on the bit? What do I need to do to get his head down more? I just need to improve my walk-trot transitions. Why did you ask these questions if not to get a better mark or to look good in front of others? Classical riding is all about following the correct training of horse and rider and accepting the fact that this takes time, a long time, in fact, years. Most riders are in too much of a hurry. It is totally acceptable to be in one grade for one year and then you need to step up or you are left behind. And what about the next competition? Getting points, winning rugs and being seen as constantly improving is important to most riders. Sticking to a training scale that is slow doesnt seem to have a place in our fast food, quick results, instant improvement focused world. Everything has to happen now, who has time to wait till tomorrow. We develop more gadgets, quick fixes, new techniques and systems that all promise instant results and if it doesnt happen its generally the horses fault. Now I know this is a bit confrontational and negative but sometimes it is important, to be honest, and reflect on ones actions. I have been there too and I think we sometimes have to experience the wrong thing to know what the right way looks like. So lets have a look at what we need to do in order to change. We all want our horses to improve but we rarely acknowledge the importance of the riders seat and state of mind. A rider who is sitting correctly, with balance and relaxation is able to communicate clearly with their horse and suppleness and thoroughness are a direct result of that. Here lies an important lesson for all of us. Are you balanced, supple and relaxed? After all the horse is a direct reflection of the rider. If you are crocked, tense and up tide how can your horse be anything different? Lesson number one, be the rider your horse needs you to be in order to win a ribbon. Make sure you are physically aligned and straight, flexible and supple and balanced to a point where you can easily walk, trot and canter without the help of stirrups and reins. Find a quality instructor who is able to lounge you either on your horse or a suitable one to assess if your balance and seat is what it needs to be in order to achieve the goals you are after. Start palates, do stretches and exercises to become more flexible and stronger in your core. You have to remember that you need to be an athlete too. Secondly: A rider who is in a calm and happy state of mind gives his horse confidence and a sense of safety that is essential to a good partnership. It is only when we let go of the pressure of competition, having to prove ourselves to others that we can be relaxed and calm. The moment you feel like you have to prove something you have already lost. It is not your horse job to make you feel good about yourself, it is your job to make sure your horse is feeling good. Good riding is a result of being able to let go of your stuff, embrace everything there is to learn and listen to your horses feedback. The reason classical principles work is that they have been around for more than 100years. We dont need to reinvent the wheel instead we have to embrace the patience our forefathers had when it came to training and learning. Take a look at the training scale and you will see that in fact, collection is the last thing on the list. So why do we make it our number one priority? Focusing on your seat and engaging your horses hindquarters to be active and in balance will allow your horse to move in contact that he/she is able to maintain. This is different for every horse depending on where they are at in their schooling and physical ability. Embrace the fact that your horse is allowed to carry his nose in front of the vertical until strong enough to bring it into greater self-carriage. Happy riding Cheers Tanja

21.01.2022 Once in every equestrians life, they will meet a special horse. This horse wont necessarily be a Badminton winner or dressage champion. They wont always carry... multiple titles or be the most talented with the best breeding. Very often, these horses are nothing more than ordinary. They might have the odd lump here or a strange marking there. They probably wont tick all the boxes for conformation and they will probably have some character quirks that not everyone will be able to see past. You dont find these horses, they find you. They can come to you by accident or hide in plain sight. They are the one rescued from the meat man or the one in the last stable at the dealing yard. They are the last horse you go to see before you give up searching or the scruffy three year old stood in a field of mud. They are the horse you never even knew you needed. People will raise an eyebrow when you say this is your best horse. Not everyone will see what you see and thats ok because this horse will be special to you. They will unlock little things inside you and make you feel more at home than youve ever felt anywhere else in your life. They may not always be easy, in fact they might be anything but easy, but it doesnt stop you loving them. Im not saying the will follow you round the arena with no lungeline, or that you can ride them tackless down the beach... but youll have your own connection that is hard to describe and even harder to explain. There is no rhyme or reason as to why this horse is so special. You dont have to have won at every event or defied death together to validate your relationship, it just happens. You wont feel this way about another horse. Sure, there will be ones that come close and it doesnt stop you loving any other horse just as much as this one, but this one is special. This is your heart horse. Some people stumble across their heart horse early on in their life, others wait a lifetime to meet, but somewhere out there is a horse that was made for you, so if you havent met them yet... be patient, they will find you. They might not always be the horse you want, but they will always be the horse you need.

21.01.2022 This is such sound advice on age comparisons, and backing youngsters, please read. A horse ages roughly 3 times faster than a human. So a 90 year old human is ...a 30 year old horse. Both very old, usually arthritic, don’t have many of their original teeth left, and very likely retired and enjoying the finer things in life. A 25 year old horse is a 75 year old human. Still works so far. A 20 year old horse is a 60 year old human. At that point where the body doesn’t work like it use to but the brain is all there and wants to be active. A 13 year old horse is a 39 year old human. Middle aged, prime of their life where their knowledge and physical ability are about equal. So let’s get down to the babies and work our way up. A 3 year old horse is a 9 year old child. A child. Not ready for work by a long stretch. We have moved past sending children down the mines. A 4 year old horse is a 12 year old child. Often will do odd jobs for pocket money, maybe a paper round, mowing lawns etc. Basically a 4 yo horse can start a bit of light work to earn their keep. A 5 year old horse is a 15 year old teenager. Think they know it all, cocky, and ready to up their work and responsibilities. Still quite weak and not fully developed so shouldn’t be at their physical limit but can start building strength. A 6 year old horse is an 18 year old human. An adult. Ready to work hard. Pushing your youngster too hard too young will result in failure of many body parts. Joints, tendons, ligaments as well as their brains. Waiting one year at the beginning can give a horse another 10 years of useful working life. Be patient with your pride and joy! Written by Vicky Fowler

20.01.2022 Theres something different about the way a good mare connects with her rider. Its special. Like an unspoken agreement. Once a mare chooses you as her person,... its like she has an instinct to protect you, to fight for you. Its almost as if she takes ownership of you. I believe the good mares have a deep sense of intuition. They can read your mind. They know what youre thinking even before you do. The good mares I know breathe fire in the face of challenge and then somehow, miraculously, know to quiet themselves when a timid child is plopped on their back for a pony ride. They are clever, cunning and calculated, which can be your greatest enemy or your saving grace. The good mares I know do not tolerate egotistical riding. They do not tolerate force. They demand tact, finesse and emotional control. But once you have won a mares heart, you have won all of her. In exchange for your bestand nothing lessshe will give you everything. Written by: Lindsay Paulsen

20.01.2022 Something that's hard to separate sometimes is the difference between a horse that "knows" and a horse that "can do" what we've trained them to do. For example,... a horse that can do a lead change, vs a horse that knows a lead change. A horse that can do a lead change, can do it when the rider sets them up just right, helping the horse do the right thing. A horse that knows how to change leads can do it with the right cue, even if the rider doesn't have their ducks in a row. When it comes to watching horse training or watching someone ride a horse, the same kind of things applies. A trainer who is a really good hand, can get a horse doing a lot of cool things really quickly. Take colt starting competitions... they have a limited time to prep, saddle, ride and then do some sort of obstacle challenge. These talented folks can take a horse from nothing to something really quick because they know how to set the horse up just right to get the job done. But... does the horse "know" this education or can they simply do it because they have the right circumstances? The horses most people are in search of are the "been there, done that, seasoned horses." Why? Because the horses have spent the time learning the tasks. A relatively inexperienced rider can get on and go for a ride without a fuss. Anyone can ride a horse who knows the job right? So why do people expect a horse to be trained in such a limited amount of time? Usually in the small time window, the trainer can get the horse to do the tasks, but usually the horse hasn't practiced them long enough to have them remain there permanently. If the owner goes back to what they did before, the horse will go back to what they did before. The muscle memory isn't ingrained yet. In order for training to stick, the horse must know it AND be comfortable doing the task. If the horse perceives it as hard work, they'll do it, but it'll be a bit of a challenge to have them do it, meaning you have to make the right thing easier than what the horse would rather do. Where I find people get frustrated is when they have a horse that does all this cool stuff with someone else, yet the horse isn't showing the same level of ability with the new person. Some say bad horse, bad training, previous owner/trainer lied and best of all "he must have been drugged." A truly solid horse takes time, consistency and lots of experience! The horse should be able to do it without much influence from a rider at all. A truly broke horse operates off a cue without needing the added rein or leg cues plus good timing to keep it all together. So, I challenge you to experiment with your horse... Does your horse know something without the shadow of a doubt? Meaning, can he do a task with a subtle cue? If you can do it, can a kid get on and get the horse to do it? Can someone inexperienced get on and have it work just as well as you did? More often than not, we can get our horses to do things if we do things just right, rather than the horse actually knowing what to do without our help. Less micromanaging, more responsibility to the horse and you'd be amazed at the homework your horse reveals to you.

19.01.2022 My old horse must be near thirty...and her backs got some sway...she dont see too good...but she knows...when Im heading her way. Shell perk up those ears and let out a neigh...and directly there she is...ambling my way.

19.01.2022 Tanjas Tues Tip Did you know that your head weighs about 5 kg? That is a hefty weight. Many riders have a bad habit of looking down. As soon as they look down..., their head tips down as well. Imagine how much your body has to compensate to support your heavy head when it is out of alignment. Tipping your head forward causes your shoulders tip forward, which tends to cause the sternum to collapse as well, so you end up slouching. Because your upper body has now tipped forward, you have to fight gravity to stay on top of the horse! You find that your balance point is no longer your core, but is now transferred to your legs. When the legs have to balance and support the upper body, they automatically engage the adductor muscles, which leads to gripping from the thighs. This creates a blocking effect on the horse. Blocking effect means that your tight thighs restrict a horses shoulder movement, while restricting the horses ribcage from swinging (side to side.) This leads to the horse hollowing and bracing the back, lifting the head and shifting their weight forward into their chest. Riders often complain that they feel like they have to hold their horses head up when in reality they have to learn to hold their own head up first. So, here is a very simple exercise you can do, to make sure your head is balanced on top of your spine. Shift your head forward (pic 1.) Shift your head back (pic 2.) Then find the comfortable middle (pic 3.) We often dont realise how a little habit like looking down, can have such a detrimental effect on our posture. Give it a go next time you are on board. Let me know how you go If you are interested in diving a little deeper into topics like the habits of our heads, I write about it in my latest book It Takes Two To Tango. Happy riding everyone, Tanja xx

19.01.2022 Tanja's Tues Tip Did you know that your head weighs about 5 kg? That is a hefty weight. Many riders have a bad habit of looking down. As soon as they look down..., their head tips down as well. Imagine how much your body has to compensate to support your heavy head when it is out of alignment. Tipping your head forward causes your shoulders tip forward, which tends to cause the sternum to collapse as well, so you end up slouching. Because your upper body has now tipped forward, you have to fight gravity to stay on top of the horse! You find that your balance point is no longer your core, but is now transferred to your legs. When the legs have to balance and support the upper body, they automatically engage the adductor muscles, which leads to gripping from the thighs. This creates a blocking effect on the horse. Blocking effect means that your tight thighs restrict a horse's shoulder movement, while restricting the horse’s ribcage from swinging (side to side.) This leads to the horse hollowing and bracing the back, lifting the head and shifting their weight forward into their chest. Riders often complain that they feel like they have to hold their horses head up when in reality they have to learn to hold their own head up first. So, here is a very simple exercise you can do, to make sure your head is balanced on top of your spine. Shift your head forward (pic 1.) Shift your head back (pic 2.) Then find the comfortable middle (pic 3.) We often don’t realise how a little habit like looking down, can have such a detrimental effect on our posture. Give it a go next time you are on board. Let me know how you go If you are interested in diving a little deeper into topics like the habits of our heads, I write about it in my latest book It Takes Two To Tango. Happy riding everyone, Tanja xx

18.01.2022 This is the Road Trip that I will take Jossy Reynvoet on in a couple of weeks. There are three clinics planned and also an opportunity for lessons where a clin...ic was not possible. So, if you are somewhere along this route and could not make it to one of the clinics but still would like a lesson, send me a pm and I will see if I can fit it in. Wondecla CLINIC 2 & 3 November Townsville LESSONS 6 November Mackay overnight stay option for lessons. 7 November Rockhampton CLINIC 9 & 10 November Sunshine Coast area options for lessons 11 - 14 November Mount Mee CLINIC 16 - 17 November See more

18.01.2022 Big dreams start small

15.01.2022 One of the biggest mistakes we can make in our lives and in our relationships with horses is being too much of a perfectionist because we are afraid of makin...g mistakes. Many of us dreamed since childhood of owning our own horse but due to circumstances it was never the right time. When we finally turn this dream into reality, I understand we want our relationship with our horse to be as perfect as our dreams and we certainly do not want to ruin it. To make our dreams come true, we tend to collect as much information about horses as possible. We read books, watch videos and documentaries from various teachers in the equestrian world. After a while, we start realizing that there are many ways and methods of dealing with horses and we start asking ourselves the question which person is right or has found the best approach? What kind of approach fits me best? We start to overthink everything we are doing with the result that we no longer dare to work with our horses out of fear of making mistakes. Now I suggest that you do just the opposite. We must learn to trust our own intuition again and dare to be ourselves instead of being the copy of someone else. Everyone of us is unique which means that each of us will look at horses in their own way. As a result we will all approach horses in our own unique way. For me, this is what its all about: finding ourselves again in the presence of our horses. We dont need to be scared of being judged by them, they accept us for who we are and they allow us to make mistakes. Of course, we want to be intelligent about our mistakes. If we make the same mistake over and over again we can not be surprised we are creating a bad habit in the horse and as a result the connection between us gets lost. If we try an exercise 2 to 3 times and it doesnt work out for the horse, then we will need to try a different kind of approach to reach our goal. The right approach is the one that works for the horse and human without putting either over the edge. This way we can never ask too much from them. If our horses dont understand what we are asking its probably because we are asking it the wrong way or one that doesnt fit them. Horses will never be stubborn on purpose. If they dont respond as you want, either they do not understand our request or they think they can not safely comply. My advice is to try many approaches, making as many small mistakes as possible as long we keep learning from them. In the process, we will discover our own personality and the best way to communicate with our horses. -Matthias Geysen-

15.01.2022 If you read one social post today let this be it... These images show the helmet of top US Showjumper Laura Kraut after her recent fall. Laura’s horse was weari...ng studs and as Laura landed her head was stepped on twice. Laura sustained injuries to her face but incredibly is back in the show ring today as her helmet was designed to withstand this kind of impact scenario, the PAS 015 (PAS 015:2011) standard, with a BSI Kitemark (this kitemark means the helmet is retested every year). If your helmet does not show this 'PAS 015' BSI Kitemark on the label, your helmet is not designed to withstand this level of crush or stud injury.* What could have been a much worse injury wasn’t just prevented because she wore a helmet, but because she wore THE RIGHT helmet. You only get one head and one brain, protect it with the best. All Charles Owen helmets are made in Britain and tested in our in-house testing facility. Please share this post to protect your fellow riders from a future fatal accident and to raise awareness of the importance of the ‘PAS 015’ standard. Laura wore an Ayr8 on the day of her accident and is remarkably already back competing today. *SNELL safety standard also provides a very high level of protection for crush and stud injuries, you can find this in our 4STAR helmet. VG1 & ASTM do also provide a level of protection but not to the same level as PAS 015.

15.01.2022 I posted this a few years ago but it offers advice that never ages. If there is one guiding principle for horses, Tom Roberts sums it up here in this statement.

14.01.2022 Hi! I want to share an exercise for shoulder release and balance. I want the horse to lift the front leg that is closest to the pole. Good luck

14.01.2022 Something thats hard to separate sometimes is the difference between a horse that "knows" and a horse that "can do" what weve trained them to do. For example,... a horse that can do a lead change, vs a horse that knows a lead change. A horse that can do a lead change, can do it when the rider sets them up just right, helping the horse do the right thing. A horse that knows how to change leads can do it with the right cue, even if the rider doesnt have their ducks in a row. When it comes to watching horse training or watching someone ride a horse, the same kind of things applies. A trainer who is a really good hand, can get a horse doing a lot of cool things really quickly. Take colt starting competitions... they have a limited time to prep, saddle, ride and then do some sort of obstacle challenge. These talented folks can take a horse from nothing to something really quick because they know how to set the horse up just right to get the job done. But... does the horse "know" this education or can they simply do it because they have the right circumstances? The horses most people are in search of are the "been there, done that, seasoned horses." Why? Because the horses have spent the time learning the tasks. A relatively inexperienced rider can get on and go for a ride without a fuss. Anyone can ride a horse who knows the job right? So why do people expect a horse to be trained in such a limited amount of time? Usually in the small time window, the trainer can get the horse to do the tasks, but usually the horse hasnt practiced them long enough to have them remain there permanently. If the owner goes back to what they did before, the horse will go back to what they did before. The muscle memory isnt ingrained yet. In order for training to stick, the horse must know it AND be comfortable doing the task. If the horse perceives it as hard work, theyll do it, but itll be a bit of a challenge to have them do it, meaning you have to make the right thing easier than what the horse would rather do. Where I find people get frustrated is when they have a horse that does all this cool stuff with someone else, yet the horse isnt showing the same level of ability with the new person. Some say bad horse, bad training, previous owner/trainer lied and best of all "he must have been drugged." A truly solid horse takes time, consistency and lots of experience! The horse should be able to do it without much influence from a rider at all. A truly broke horse operates off a cue without needing the added rein or leg cues plus good timing to keep it all together. So, I challenge you to experiment with your horse... Does your horse know something without the shadow of a doubt? Meaning, can he do a task with a subtle cue? If you can do it, can a kid get on and get the horse to do it? Can someone inexperienced get on and have it work just as well as you did? More often than not, we can get our horses to do things if we do things just right, rather than the horse actually knowing what to do without our help. Less micromanaging, more responsibility to the horse and youd be amazed at the homework your horse reveals to you.

13.01.2022 Little bit of rain greens it right up..

13.01.2022 Jaxons album. Jaxon is a stunning tall big Appaloosa gelding. 15.2hh 6yo. He was extremely loved, shown successfully and beautifully trained in western even...ts, and pleasure riding with his previous owner. Hes a big puppy would rather have cuddles and smooches, hes super calm and easy going. Hes an absolute angel and very quiet but he will put it over you if you dont set boundaries. He does have pssm1 which has never flared up and is kept maintained with low sugar diet and good warmup/cooldown. He loves it here in the big paddock swimming in the dam and playing in the herd. Together so far we have achieved 3 days on the BVRT averaging 20km per day. 20km Competitive Trail Ride (he was so brave and calm with all the obstacles) Gymkhana placing and giving all the events a go. Heaps of trails at home, on road property and trail. Will continue to have super adventures together until I find his next perfect forever See more

12.01.2022 Fascinating Facts About Horse Digestion Many people anthropomorphize horses. We think they should be clean. We think they should wear nice, warm blankets when... it’s cold, and we think they should eat two or three meals a day. Horses are horsesnot humans. They should be treated like horses. They like to get dirty. They can regulate their own body temperature in most cases. They have a unique digestive system that is very different from the human digestive tract. Understanding horse digestion should be a top priority. It sometimes seems that the horse’s digestive system is quite delicate, but many of the common digestive problems are due to the unnatural way horses are fed. When a horse is out in the wild with thousands of acres of free-roam grazing, and the only external demand is to maintain itself and occasionally run from predators, this configuration serves it quite well, most of the time. A minimum of 10 acres is required per horse to make enough forage for consumption, allow adequate movement, and to minimize parasitism. This is difficult to achieve in the modern world for most people. Riding or lunging must suffice for exercise, and the horse is much more reliant upon hay. Dewormers, of course, rid them of parasites- at least most of them, there are exceptions. Here are some fascinating (and good-to-know) facts about horse digestion: 1. The horse is a non-ruminant herbivore. The digestive system share features with dogs and cats (and humans) which are monogastric, as well as the ruminant in which there are 3-4 gastric compartments. (Camelids have three). 2. As forage (the horse’s natural food) is chewed by the horse, the salivary glands produce up to 10 gallons of saliva (per day). Saliva is crucial for neutralizing stomach acids and reducing the risk of gastric ulcers. Horses do not make as much saliva when eating grain-type feeds. 3. The esophagus, which empties into the stomach, only works in one direction for the horse. Food cannot be regurgitated or vomited. 4. Gastric capacity is 8-10 liters, which is quite small compared to other parts of the digestive system. 5. Water only remains in the horse’s stomach for about 15 minutes before moving on to the small intestine. Food retention varies depending upon the type- grass, hay, or grain. 6. When the stomach is empty, acid can attack the squamous cells in the stomach lining, often resulting in ulcers. Therefore, small frequent meals, access to a slow feeder, or access to pasture are important. 7. Most of the digestion and absorption of sugars, starches, proteins, and fats occurs in the small intestine. 8. Horses do not have a gall bladder. Instead, the small intestine aids in the digestion of fats. 9. More than 1g/kg of sugars and starches spill into the colon, potentially causing colitis and diarrhea. Horses should be fed primarily forage and only small amounts of a low carbohydrate concentrate. 10. The cecum is homologous to the human appendix. 11. The colon is shaped like a stacked horse shoe, with varying dimensions to allow proper food mixing and digestion. 12. Food enters and exits the cecum at the top. This is a common site for impaction colic, which is often due to lack of water intake. 13. The cecum and other parts of the large intestine contain active populations of bacteria and yeast, which help break food down in a process called fermentation. This results in the formation of free fatty acids, from which the horse derives most of its energy. It also results in a large amount of gas, as a by-product. 14. The bacterial and microbe populations become specific in fermenting the type of food the horse normally eats. When a new food is introduced suddenly, the bacteria/ microbes cannot ferment it effectively and the result is often colic. (Therefore, all feed changes should be made very gradually.) 15. Borborygmic sounds or ‘Gut sounds’ indicated that food is moving through the digestive tract. An absence of gut sounds likely means there is some digestive upset or obstruction. 16. A horse requires a minimum of 1.5% of his body weight daily of long-stemmed roughage (grass/ hay) for normal digestive tract activity; this is 15 pounds of roughage for a 1000 lb. horse. 17. The entire digestion process, from oral to aboral, takes about 36-72 hours. 18. If it were to be stretched from end to end, the horse’s digestive tract would be about 115 feet long, from mouth to anus. Fox Run Equine Center www.foxrunequine.com (724) 727-3481

11.01.2022 Mindset Tips Most of the time horses do exactly what we ask them to do, the only problem is that what we think we ask and what we are actually asking is often t...wo different things. Many riders have the attitude that their horse must do as it is told no matter what. That is ok as long as we ask fairly and in a way that our horse can clearly understand and is able to give us what we ask. What is not ok is when we come home after a bad day at work and expecting our horse to give us that perfect ride just because we think we deserve it. For example, I had a young girl come into my clinic with a lovely stock horse gelding. The girl was a bit nervous about the fact that all her friends were watching and she wanted to make a good impression. After a little chat, I asked her to get on her horse using a mounting block so we could start the lesson. What happens next was really interesting, as she got on the mounting block to get on her horse, the horse started to step back just enough so she couldnt get on. The young girl then stepped off to move the mounting block and as soon as she stepped on it agin the same thing happened. This went on for some time and the already agitated rider became more and more frustrated and I asked her if this was typical behavior. The rider replied that at home the mounting block was more solid and that she would not tolerate this behavior to go for as long as it did. When I asked her what she would do about it normally, her answer was that she would have used her whip and made the horse stand still by giving it a good whack. When I told her that she wasnt allowed to use a whip she wasnt very happy with me. We had a talk and I explained to her that horses are very sensitive to the energy around them and would pick up their riders energy even before the rider would get on. By now the rider was so frustrated that even I could feel her negative energy and I could fully understand why the horse did not want her on his back. We talked abut how our thinking effects the way we breathe and our breath reflect the way we feel. The moment we get stressed our breath becomes shallow and stays in the upper part of our body, generally in our throat or our chest. Stress happens when we are nervous, feeling pressure or lacking confidence in our ability. Horses pick that up and being predominately flight animals, they respond to this by getting agitated themselves, which often results in not standing still, moving sideways or throwing the head. When I asked her which part of the body she could feel her breath in she confirmed that infect it was all the way up in her throat. We spend a few moments doing some simple breathing exercises where I got her to focus on her outward breath until she could feel her breath below her belly button. As she was doing her breathing I could see the horse relaxing next to her and starting to lower his pole. As soon as the riders breath had gone down I asked her to mount her horse and the interesting part was that the horse stood perfectly still. Now the point I want to make with this example is that we have to learn to listen to our horses and take on the feedback they give us. Too many riders start punishing their horses for things that simply arent their fault. As riders, we have to be able to leave our own ego outside the arena and only then are we able to learn. The ability to listen is the difference between a good rider and a great rider. Your horses will tell you if you have taken a short cut in your training and you have to go back to the basics, if you need to go back to groundwork and establishing simple respect issues or if you are not in the right frame of mind and you need to walk away and sort out your own stuff first. The young girl was very grateful for the lesson she had learned realized that she had to work on herself before she could work on her horse. Happy RIding Cheers Tanja :) See more

11.01.2022 "In riding a horse, we borrow freedom." Helen Thompson #ArabianHorseGalleries at the Kentucky Horse Park

10.01.2022 The Best Horses in Heaven, They Have No Tail . The best horses in Heaven they have no tail. This is a rule they all know... without fail. For when a new horse arrives with a short cut bob, they all know that this horse did a very good job. His owner could not bear to part with her friend so she saved his tail, wrapped in ribbons and in braids, to hold with his memory in a very loving way. To enter Heaven without a tail is an honor, a message, that without fail announces to everyone, far and wide that this horse was more than a wonderful ride. But this horse was loved and cherished by one and when his time serving on this Earth was done he left behind a broken heart and a soul from which he never will part. (I am not the owner of this poem)

08.01.2022 WORMING Ok I have been dreading doing this post because I have come across so many people that are really stuck in an old school way of handling worms and i...t really is creating a huge problem. Some people get quite defensive and upset when you try to explain this. I have had people tell me their agistment requires them to worm every 2 months. I have had people tell me they just look at the horse and say it looks wormy so it needs worming (and they do). I have people say they use the same wormer every time or just change the brand. None of these are effective and are adding to the huge problem that we are going to have to face. So when you continually over worm you are just making the worms resistant. Those worms then go reproduce more resistant worms which the wormers wont work on and in the end all we end up with is a whole lot of worms that are resistant. RESISTANCE Resistant parasites are those on which drugs are no longer effective. So what happens when we create these resistant worms to all our wormers? What happens when all wormer drug classes just dont work? Resistance develops because parasites are subject to natural selection, like all living things, and as we impose selection pressure on them by killing susceptible ones, its the ones that arent susceptible to the drug that reproduce. The more we worm, the more resistance we get. (Dave Rendle, equine internal medicine specialist) Yes for years people have been over worming and just rotating wormers but now we are forced to deal with the issue because we dont have any more classes of drug to turn to. The sad reality is even though a lot of people turn to vets to tell them the correct way of doing things I have heard and personally had vets tell me the wrong thing. Mind you there are a lot of vets that are aware and do give the right knowledge but there are some that just arent up to date with the right data or procedures. Should we just go along with bad worming policies from agistments? No we are just allowing this problem to get worse and then when its too late when no drugs work what do we do? Speak up and try to inform them that their policies are outdated and that there is evidence it is creating a bigger problem. Encourage them to look into new worming strategies to help combat the problem. Would I ever agist somewhere that enforces a policy that is adding to this issue? NO My horses health comes first. Problem is the more people who ignore this issue and just keep on going the way they are arent helping those of us trying to stop resistance becoming a bigger issue that it already is. So educate yourselves on the up to date way of worming, share the knowledge with other horse owners. Speak to vets that know and give the right advice. FEC (Fecal egg counts) are so important these days and yes when recommened to get them done I get all sorts of responses from: "I cant be bothered poo watching because my horse will make me wait hours if he knows Im watching" "Its too complicated because I have several horses" "I dont understand it so its a waste of time" I could go on FEC tests results determine whether your horse is a low, moderate, or high strongyle egg shedder. Most vets will do FEC tests and even some feed stores offer the service. I myself pay $11 per test for each of my horses. Hunt around for a good price local to you and there are even some places that you can mail samples to (poor mailman having to smell that mail) A fecal egg count measures the number of strongyle eggs your horse is passing in each gram of his manure. When you send a sample to your veterinarian or independent laboratory, you get back a number like 50 EPG (eggs per gram) or 500 EPG. This is called a quantitative test. Now some have slightly varied advice on when to worm at what result. My own vet recommends any result that is 300 epg or higher requires worming. Some maybe a little different thats ok. When should you do an FEC test? As some wormers last 12 weeks it is recommended to FEC every 3 months. I do my FECs on the 1st day of each season change. It makes it easy to remember. There are some different strategies but the important thing to remember is do not worm your horse if it does not need it. So the next thing to learn is about wormers themselves and which ones to use. Its not about swapping the brands which was a very old school way of each time you worm swap the brand of wormer....... This doesnt work as some wormers have the same active ingredients. Active ingredients is what you need to look at, these are the different drug classes that worms are becoming resistant to Using the same active ingredient every time you worm is just building a resistance or worming to often. Some active ingredients only target certain types of worms for example Praziquantel does Tape Worms. Tape worms only need to be wormed against once a year and best time for this is start of spring Now this is a topic that I could spend another few hours writing up information about active ingredients and to be honest I am constantly reading about this subject to try keep myself up to date on the best worming strategy. Also we have to remember that horses have different ranges of shedding worms, low, moderate or high shedders. Just because your paddock has a high shedder with a low shedder doesnt mean the that they will both become high shedders. High shedders more often than not will need worming 3-4 times a year. Low shedders are usually once a year where moderate 2-3 times. Out of the 10 horses at my agistment farm we only have 1 high shedder he most often comes back with an epg over 300 and needs worming. Most of the others only need worming once to twice a year. While I will try do another post at some stage explaining more about active ingredients there is plenty of knowledge online to learn the different types and what they treat. But remember using the same one too much will build a resistance. My worming strategy works well for us and I have worked with my vet to try perfect it. While there are several options for wormers out there that have different combinations of active ingredients this is what I use (it may not be perfect but it gives you an idea). 1st September (Spring) All horses wormed with Equest Plus Tape (Active ingredients are: Moxidectin and Praziquantel) We dont do an FEC test here as we need to do tape worm once a year and this is the best time. Equest plus tape covers all worms including bots. 1st December (Summer) All horses have an FEC test done. Any above 300epg is wormed with Strategy T wormer (Active ingredients are: Oxfendazole and Pyrantel) . Those under 300epg do NOT get wormed. 1st March (Autumn) All horses have an FEC test done. Any above 300epg is wormed. Now if the horse had Strategy T wormer at Dec 1st then they get Equimec (Active ingredients are: Ivermectin) any that missed worming Dec 1st get Strategy T wormer (Active ingredients are: Oxfendazole and Pyrantel). 1st June ( Winter) All horses have an FEC test done. Any above 300epg is wormed. Now if the horse had a Strategy T on Dec 1st and a Equimec on March 1st then they get an Ammo Red (Active ingredients are: Abamectin and Morantel tartrate). Then back to Spring and the rotation starts again. Most horses on the property only receive 2 wormers a year. So in my program All horses get Equest plus tape at start of Spring If they return a epg above 300 at any of the next FECs they next get Strategy T wormer. If in that 12 month period they get a 3rd FEC result of above 300epg then they get an Equimec wormer. If a 4th result above 300epg they get Ammo red. So for any particular horse the order of wormers I use is Equest Plus Tape (Active ingredients are: Moxidectin and Praziquantel) Strategy T (Active ingredients are: Oxfendazole and Pyrantel) Equimec (Active ingredients are: Ivermectin) Ammo Red (Active ingredients are: Abamectin and Morantel tartrate) Other than the Equest plus tape which is done start of spring the others are done in that order if they return an epg above 300. I know it gets a bit confusing and feel free to ask questions its better to ask than not understand it, my example of my routine is just to show you all to take note of active ingredients. Dont keep using the same one. Make sure to FEC test it is vital to know if your horse needs worming or not. Do not just worm because someone says your horse looks wormy or because your agistment manager/owner tells you. Make sure you know if its required. Most often than not your horse wont need worming which is never fun and it isnt that pleasant on your horses body because remember these are drugs. In some countries the problem is getting so bad that now wormers are vet prescribed only to try prevent this horrible problem that we are all going to be faced with if we dont act and keep up to date with proper worming strategies. I am sure there maybe better options to some of the wormers I use or fine tuning of my strategy. I dont know all the wormers on the market but at least I am trying to learn and do my best. FEC tests Watch and wait for your horse to go to the toilet, have a clean zip lock bag ready (turn inside out, grab manure and them turn right way and seal). If you cant get it into vet or place of test straight away then make sure to refrigerate (might want to double bag or put in container so the smell doesnt attach itself to your other refrigerated items lol). Most will ask for sample within 24 hours of you getting it. Make sure you physically see your horse go the toilet and take sample (1 nugget size) from the centre of the manure pile. (Edited addition) Worming When worming your horse it is best to know your horses weight, you can get weight tapes to get a rough idea which most vets or horse shops sell. Make sure NOT to under dose your worming. Its best to go over by a little than to under dose as it wont be as effective. At least if this post gets you thinking about how your go about your worming and makes you learn and look into it more then I have achieved what I set out to. (Edited addition) DRUG CLASSES These are the main classes of deworming compounds (anthelmintics) used to control internal parasites in horses: 1. Benzimidazoles - Familiar examples of benzimidazoles are fenbendazole, oxibendazole and Oxfendazole. These continue to have good activity against Ascarids, but small strongyles are now mostly resistant to this class. Single doses are effective against larval and adult roundworms and multiple doses may be effective against encysted roundworms by encouraging the larvae to emerge. Benzimidazoles are relatively safe and unlikely to cause side effects. 2. Tetrahydropyrimidines Pyrantels and Morantel are active against larval and adult roundworms. These drugs act at the junction between nerve cells and muscle cells, causing paralysis, and a more rapid kill of worms than the benzimidazoles. They do not penetrate the intestinal wall and so will not kill encysted strongyles. There is now significant resistance to pyrantel among strongyles. Pyrantel at very high dose may have activity against tapeworms but praziquantel is likely more effective. Pyrantel is generally very safe for all age classes of horse. 3. Mectins - macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, moxidectin & abamectin) are potent at even low levels. They work by blocking nerve transmission and paralyzing worms. They are effective against a wide range of nematodes, (round worms) but have no activity against trematodes or cestodes, (flukes and tapeworms). They are also active against some mites and lice and they kill bots very effectively. 4. Praziquantel - Praziquantel only kills tapeworms. Acts to disrupt the parasites outer membranes causing it to become more permeable to excessive glucose loss and to be more susceptible to the enzymes found in the gut. It is currently marketed for horses only in combination pastes with either Ivermectin or Moxidectin. Praziquantel is probably also being overused, especially in regions that have very few tapeworms. It is recommended to only worm with Praziquantel once yearly to cover tape worms. 5. Organophosphates Dichlorvos and Trichlorfon are active against bots. Inhibit the actions of acetylcholinesterase causing a spastic paralysis. The worms are then expelled from the gut by the normal peristaltic waves. Different classes have different effectiveness against different types of parasites. (Edited addition): Bots see picture Worming for bots when eggs are on hair because is not going to kill the eggs. This is the time to remove eggs to prevent the issue of them being ingested by horses. Make sure to remove them away from their paddock and grass as they fall down and the horses pick them up when eating the grass. You need to understand the life cycle of bots. We need to kill them when in the bot larvae stage which lasts for 10 months. The bots emerge in Summer so making sure the wormer used at start of spring has a Mectin in it will be effective. Hence why I use Equest plus tape here. Also having another Mectin based wormer in your worming strategy will help also hence why Ivermectin wormer is also in mine The same problem occurs if you over worm. What happens when they are resistant to out wormers? We wont be able to stop infestations. Mectin wormers such as Ivermectin, Moxidectin and Abamectin cover bots. The spring worming will kill the bot larvae in the horses stomach. Worming them while bot eggs are on their hair is not effective. Copyright CW Equine Supps *please do not copy and paste this post, if you would like to share feel free

08.01.2022 Dont over complicate it. There was a time when you were just happy to ride, happy to be in the company of horses. It didnt matter if you could execute a perf...ect shoulder in, or jump double clear round 1.20 tracks. You were just happy to have two feet in the stirrups and ears leading the way. You didnt care about having the best tack, or the newest hi-tech breeches. An old jumper, your favourite, well worn jods and colourful half chaps did the job just fine. You didnt spend the days between Christmas and New Year planning a heavy schedule of training sessions, clinics and competitions. You threw tinsel round your ponys neck and went hacking with friends. The new year was just another 365 days to go riding. Dont forget that you started this sport because you loved the animal. You loved the rush of galloping across open fields and the serenity of watching a horse quietly graze in the sun. You do this because there is nothing on this earth that makes you feel more alive than being on the back of a horse, so dont overcomplicate it. Enjoy the little things, because one day youll look back and realise, they werent little at all.

08.01.2022 I was asked by a new client recently what I do differently to the farrier they are using now. I ask them first before I answered, why they had called me to look... at their horse. They informed me that their horse had some behavioural issues when being trained and their horses feet were changing shape, and the saddle does not fit anymore. And someone said to try me. Then I asked them what they perceive as the job of the farrier. They said that their farriers job is to put shoes on their horse so they can ride him without being footsore. This is the answer I hear a lot from horse owners that they believe the job of the farrier is to stop their horse from being footsore. I believe the farriers job is far more than just putting shoes on your horse. You see over my years as a farrier I have become more interested in studying the behaviour and physical structures of the horse and systematically arranging my findings to identify the general rules that I can use in the clinical environment that will encompass all aspects of the animal being presented to me for treatment. I found that by studying anatomy, physiology, neurology, pathology and the relationship between their different biological system, I would have a healthier understanding of the individual animals behavioural characteristics and postural stance. For, this is what I believe farriering is all about. Comprehending the biology and science of the biomechanical movement of the equine and using your findings to guide you through the trimming and shoeing strategies that you want to apply in the clinical environment. We must remember that equine science is never truly standing still, as we are always finding new scientific studies that enlighten us more on the biology of the equine. Therefore, our appreciation of the functions and mechanisms which are at work in the living equine must also change to embrace these new scientific studies. For, science-based research is all about being able to repeat your findings over and over again and especially in the clinical environment. This is why I have become more interested in studying equine biomechanical medicine. So, through research, I can identify the pathology markers primarily of the distal limb and systematically arrange my findings to duplicate the results I require. For my aim is always to return dysfunctional structures back to functional structures and therefore, give the animals an improved quality of life. For, having a comprehension of equine biomechanical medicine will allow you to achieve a balanced foot that will enhance the entire animal.

08.01.2022 Dr Louise discussing Colic and some ideas on preventing your horse from getting colic. #eevs#eevsvet #drlouisecosgrove #horsecolic #colic #horseemergencies #equinecolic

06.01.2022 THE POWER OF COHERENCE. Here is a photo of a woman with cerebral palsy (and a nervous system that is misfiring) in a wheelchair. As the horses noticed her jer...king movements, they realised her nervous system was misfiring and one by one, they laid down around her (slowing down their breathing rate, which slowed down their heart rate, which created the pulsing resonant field that caused her nervous system to entrain/synchronise with). She later reported that her jerking movements had calmed down significantly. See more

06.01.2022 OVER RUGGING I know its overcast.... wet... and muddy..... and more rain is coming. But people, please consider your horses rugging needs. Im actually sick ...to my gut of driving around and seeing heavy rugs on horses in this weather. Its 29 and the humidity is vile. I worked this horse for 20 mins at a light trot and this was the result. Imagine what those poor buggers standing there in their sweaty synthetics and heavy winter rugs are feeling! Dont use the excuse you left them on when you left for work.... take them off!!! If you have to get wet rugging them in the pouring rain after work, so be it. They come first. Always. Heres what we know for sure.... Horses are waterproof. Rain wont make them shrink. RUGS dont stop them growing coats.... the shorter days do. There are any number of online articles and information available to you in regards to over rugging and how horses can regulate their body temperatures. Read them and be vigilant. If you cant be bothered to unrug your horses in the heat, chances are, you probably cant be bothered checking the facts. So, heres a handful for you to start... Or perhaps just read the comments below from all these smart and educated horse owners https://www.oakhill-vets.com/dangers-over-rugging/ https://www.google.com/url

04.01.2022 (Never want to) Own A Pony Experience Day Here at Jamie Wright Equestrian we know that horses are an expensive business and therefore we have developed our ...own a pony experience day for parents who want to put their children off ever wanting to going near a pony again. Own a pony experience days are generally held in the depths of winter to try and ensure wet, cold and blustery weather. The day usually starts and ends in darkness and with any luck either miserably wet or freezing. Meet and Greet. Your child will be met at the yard gates by a grumpy and sour groom who passionately dislikes children if not all people in general. The groom has very low tolerance levels and will swear at every opportunity making it a very unsavoury work environment. Meet your pony. Your childs pony for the day will have a similar temperament to its groom with the added bonus that it bites and kicks at every opportunity. Stable management. Your child will have the opportunity to wade half a mile through muddy tracks to turn out their pony (wellington boots with holes in will be provided), they will then have the chance to muck out its deep littered stable which has not been cleaned out since the last experience day. Meet the professionals. Having brought the pony back in from the muddy fields your child will find they are unable to ride as the pony has now got a missing shoe or is lame. They now get to experience what it is like to wait an hour or two in the rain for a vet or farrier to turn up in an emergency. Lunch. Your child will take lunch in a damp, mouldy caravan which has no heating, washing or toilet facilities. They will get to watch reruns of the dressage at this years Olympia while the grumpy groom constantly criticizes all the riders whilst muttering that it should have been her riding there had she not taken a job as a mothers ******* help earlier in her career. The show experience. Your child will get excited about going to a show and get to spend hours primping and polishing their pony and its tack. Then spent half an hour trying to load it on the lorry. They will then experience the utter disappointment of the lorry having a flat battery/tyre and not going to the show. The equine shopping experience. Your child will be taken to a local tack shop where they will spend all the money they have on a rug for the pony who is a compulsive rug ripper. The human shopping experience. By now your child will be smelling like a dead badger, covered in mud, hay and straw. Their final experience of the day is to go grocery shopping in the local Waitrose so they can experience the looks of disgust from all the ladies buying quinoa and avocados. We hope that your child will be so discouraged by the day that theyll want to spend their days hanging out at shopping malls or staying in to play on their Xbox or phones. The cost for the day is a mere 650 which might sound expensive but is around the cost of 1 months part livery, so just imagine your savings in the long run. Disclaimer. Despite our best efforts, some children will still want a pony. Unfortunately there is no cure for this sort of child so prepare yourselves for empty bank accounts and a lack of holidays.

04.01.2022 THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE HORSES BRAIN IS NEARLY NON-EXISTENT. How does this apply to schooling/training? Frontal lobes are involved in higher mental functions s...uch as reasoning. This means that horses cannot reason or plan to be naughty. They cannot be blamed for bad behavior or poor performance. They cannot recognize future consequences. Horses simply react to the situation. They learn through conditioning and memory. I see and hear so many riders anthropomorphize their horses instead of finding better training tools. Phrases such as, he just likes to be difficult or this pony is so naughty or he understands or knows what I want, but wont do it, or he moves his hindquarters at every halt just to irritate me. Horses do not know what we want unless we explain it in a manner that they can understand immediately. A few months ago a rider told me how her horse just does not want to co-operate. It started with overt flight behavior and then became a subtle snatchy movement of the nose. I asked her whether it could be due to discomfort. She answered, no, she is just naughty. It turned out that the horse was suffering from laminitis and was in severe discomfort! It made me want to cry. At the moment I am training a young horse from scratch. I also used phrases such as, she has a short fuse and she challenges me every step of the way. Then I realized that everything I was doing on this horse was completely new to her. I realized how frightening that must be for an animal with no reasoning ability. She was actually trying hard to understand me, but when new instructions were a tad confusing, she showed me in no uncertain terms that she did not understand it. The horses reactions to learning new skills all depends on personality. This particular horse is extremely sensitive and an introvert. Utopia, my older horse, is less sensitive and a complete extrovert. She can deal with much more pressure than the youngster. The message for me is that I must train each horse with the kind of pressure which they can deal with. Each horse has a different tolerance for pressure. Us riders have to be adaptable to each horses ability to deal with pressure. Personally I find that most behavioral problems stem from confusion, discomfort and too much pressure. Photo is the equine brain in front of the human brain. Thanks to Karin Blignault for the info!!

04.01.2022 Once in every equestrian’s life, they will meet a special horse. This horse wont necessarily be a Badminton winner or dressage champion. They won’t always carry... multiple titles or be the most talented with the best breeding. Very often, these horses are nothing more than ordinary. They might have the odd lump here or a strange marking there. They probably won’t tick all the boxes for conformation and they will probably have some character quirks that not everyone will be able to see past. You don’t find these horses, they find you. They can come to you by accident or hide in plain sight. They are the one rescued from the meat man or the one in the last stable at the dealing yard. They are the last horse you go to see before you give up searching or the scruffy three year old stood in a field of mud. They are the horse you never even knew you needed. People will raise an eyebrow when you say this is your best horse. Not everyone will see what you see and that’s ok because this horse will be special to you. They will unlock little things inside you and make you feel more at home than you’ve ever felt anywhere else in your life. They may not always be easy, in fact they might be anything but easy, but it doesn’t stop you loving them. I’m not saying the will follow you round the arena with no lungeline, or that you can ride them tackless down the beach... but you’ll have your own connection that is hard to describe and even harder to explain. There is no rhyme or reason as to why this horse is so special. You don’t have to have won at every event or defied death together to validate your relationship, it just happens. You won’t feel this way about another horse. Sure, there will be ones that come close and it doesn’t stop you loving any other horse just as much as this one, but this one is special. This is your heart horse. Some people stumble across their heart horse early on in their life, others wait a lifetime to meet, but somewhere out there is a horse that was made for you, so if you haven’t met them yet... be patient, they will find you. They might not always be the horse you want, but they will always be the horse you need.

04.01.2022 One day his coat wont shine quite as bright, His eyes wont sparkle quite how they used to. His legs will become tired and hell take a little longer to get u...p. He wont come to the door when you bring his saddle out anymore and hell find those jumps just a little harder work than he did before. But hell never stop loving you. Hell never stop waiting, with pricked ears, to hear you arrive in the morning. Hell never stop grabbing your zip if you stand too close. Hell never stop throwing his bucket over the door when he finishes his dinner. One day hell grow old. One day his body will slow down and he will let you know its time to hang up the bridle. And when that day comes, give him a hug, hold him tight and thank him for everything. Give him days in grass filled fields under summer sun. Give him love, attention and never let him believe he is anything less than perfect. Dont cast him out into a far away field to be glanced at for the rest of his time. Dont hand him to the groom and downgrade him to the stable at the end of the yard. Dont try and pass him off to someone else as a companion and let him go somewhere strange and new at a time in his life when all he needs is you. Love him, exactly as you did when he was in his prime. Hell never stop loving you, so never stop loving him.

03.01.2022 Q. Who can ride a pony? A. Anyone who can fit on a pony without overburdening a pony. In 2016, I was asked to conduct a couple of Master Classes at The Dublin..., Ireland Horse Show, while I was there judging some classes, and for one of them I was loaned this five year old Connemara gelding. Anyone who has been there knows what a three ring circus atmosphere it is, not exactly the best calming environment for a green horse, and as I was getting on, the girl who handed me this pony said, "Just be ready---He can have quite the buck in him---." So I am thinking---"Great---In the middle of spouting off various platitudes of how to ride well, I am about to get face planted in front of cheering thousands." But he was a saint, and I felt that I was putting on a comfortable pair of old slippers. . Now I know that lots of riders have lots of opinions about what size horse makes them feel the best. I have heard 58 riders say that anything under 16.1 makes them feel top heavy, and other riders who liked 13.3, and they are all right, as long as the horse is comfortable. I am about 6, but I grew up riding Morgans and Arabs, as well as taller horses, so I have never been one to think that bigger is better. It is partly a matter of individual preference, and partly a matter of how balanced and centered you are. An small, unbalanced rider can throw off a big horse, and there are big riders who can ride "light" on small horses.

03.01.2022 Wow. This is powerful and eye opening. Most horses pass from one human to another - some horsemen and women are patient and forgiving, others are rigorous and... demanding, others are cruel, others are ignorant. Horses have to learn how to, at the minimum, walk, trot, canter, gallop, go on trails and maybe jump, to be treated by the vet, all with sense and good manners. Talented Thoroughbreds must learn how to win races, and if they can't do that, they must learn how to negotiate courses and jump over strange obstacles without touching them, or do complicated dance like movements or control cattle or accommodate severely handicapped children and adults in therapy work. Many horses learn all of these things in the course of a single lifetime. Besides this, they learn to understand and fit into the successive social systems of other horses they meet along the way. A horse's life is rather like twenty years in foster care, or in and out of prison, while at the same time changing schools over and over and discovering that not only do the other students already have their own social groups, but that what you learned at the old school hasn't much application at the new one. We do not require as much of any other species, including humans. That horses frequently excel, that they exceed the expectations of their owners and trainers in such circumstances, is as much a testament to their intelligence and adaptability as to their relationship skills or their natural generosity or their inborn nature. That they sometimes manifest the same symptoms as abandoned orphans - distress, strange behaviors, anger, fear - is less surprising than that they usually don't. No one expects a child, or even a dog to develop its intellectual capacities living in a box 23 hours a day and then doing controlled exercises the remaining one. Mammal minds develop through social interaction and stimulation. A horse that seems "stupid", "slow", "stubborn", etc. might just have not gotten the chance to learn! Take care of your horses and treasure them. Jane Smiley #dressage #horses

02.01.2022 TRAPPING HAS COMMENCED!! The NPWS have started trapping horses and removing them, we have received the first couple of mobs. Due to the ongoing drought, and the... relentless fires in the area, the horses in the GFRNP are suffering. Many are very poor and there have been quite a few fatalities. We are working closely with the RSPCA ans NPWS to give as many horses as possible a chance. We will assess horses as quickly as possible and offer them for sale. As we no longer have any grass at the holding facility, and we are expecting a lot of horses to be trapped we will not be in a position to hold onto them for very long. Once advertised horses will be given a week to be sold or they will be sent for slaughter. Before commenting, please be mindful of the feelings of some members of the committee who have worked tirelessly (voluntarily) since 2000 to try and provide an outcome for these horses off park. This is not a decision that was easily made, but we have no choice, its up to the public to support the horses now. We cant hold onto horses and have the yards full and leave horses to die of starvation on park. If you have ever considered purchasing a GFHH now is the time. These horses will be processed on Saturday and advertised then, they will be priced according to age, temperament and colour. until that has happened they are not for sale. See more

01.01.2022 Are you someone who makes New Years resolutions?

01.01.2022 Good morning everyone, We have had 1 spot become available for Sunday the 16th at 9.30am. If you would like this spot. Please pm us and we will put you down. ... Thanks, Maddy.

01.01.2022 Morning everyone. Please see below the final times for lessons on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks, ... Maddy. See more