Reel Heart Equestrian | Product/service
Reel Heart Equestrian
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25.01.2022 VBA Socks Day 19 Today Socks had his first little off property outing at Weownna Lodge Equestrian Training Centre. Super proud of how he conducted himself, and I'm super excited to put my new groundwork knowledge into practice
24.01.2022 VBA Socks working in the Cordeo by Kaos Kords
23.01.2022 Rain Rain's 4th ride yesterday, working on trot transitions. What you can't see is the neighbours lifting a new pool into their yard! She's easily distracted, I was very proud of her focusing on what I was asking rather than the machinery
22.01.2022 When you take away the tack you know the truth of what you really have
21.01.2022 Toast this absolute hero of a horse husband Up at the crack of dawn, Brumby in one hand, baby in the other, camera at the ready and supporting his wife to live her best life Give him some love or shout out to your own horse-holding legend
21.01.2022 Ever get the feeling you're being watched
20.01.2022 Odin It was so lovely to have my big boy back out and about. He hasn't seen a jump course in over two years due to rehabbing his foot. He had a few ants in his pants to start with but overall super happy in his confidence approaching the fences. Onwards and upwards
18.01.2022 R&R really just means making time for my own horses Baby Hunter's second backing, first time riding with any tack and having to listen to some basic instructions
18.01.2022 DID YOU KNOW I COME TO YOU? Yes I can travel to you to help with your horse. We can work on anything from addressing problem behaviours to starting under saddle! Lukey had his first little ride this morning after working with him on a session-by-session basis at home.... Not only is it possible to work with a horse this way, it's my preferred way! This is simply because the owner is present and engaged every step of the way
18.01.2022 VBA Socks Week 4 Update Better late than never! Last week completely got away from me, and the weekend was busier! So my Friday update is a little late The only footage I managed to capture last week was Socks first little trail ride. Socks was completely in his element plodding along the trails ... We had mountains bikes riding past, a road near by and a car park to navigate, and he took it all on like the little champion he is Fitness work continues this week, with the goal to clock up some miles on a longer trail this weekend Equifeast Australia Kaos Kords
18.01.2022 VBA Socks Week 3 Update This week covers day 12 to day 18 for VBA Socks. I am starting to see some really positive changes in Socks body this week. His back is lifting and his posture is changing as his fitness builds. He has also spent some time grazing free in the paddocks. He isnt very keen on my other horses, but he was very happy to hang in the house yard and follow me around for a sticky beak. On day 12 Socks had another well deserved break. On day 13 we did some revi...Continue reading
18.01.2022 Social Skills Super proud of Rain and how her social skills are developing Today she stood patiently tied to a jump standard whilst I worked Danny around her, and learnt to lead off another horse for the first time. She's settled beautifully in company, which is super important for her to be able to trail ride in company! Full credit to young Danny helping out today, it's also his first time helping with the breakers and leading a horse
18.01.2022 Looking to the future so bright #VBASocks #theaustralianbrumbychallenge Equifeast Australia Kaos Kords
17.01.2022 Rain's first outing So impressed with this little mare
17.01.2022 Sorry I've been quiet all week... I did myself a little mischief at soccer last week! No fractures! Hopefully I'll be back on my feet in a week or so
16.01.2022 I thought it was about time the little orange was introduced to a rug Not that the floofball needs it in Queensland, but it is a good skill for a domestic horse to have under his belt
16.01.2022 Well they don't get much prettier than this! Welcome to the beautiful Rain Here for starting under saddle
15.01.2022 Rain's First Road Ride Rain is on about ride 10 now, and feeling nice and relaxed along the road
14.01.2022 Rain's first mini trail This morning Rain had her first attempts at trot under saddle in the round yard. I didn't catch any good footage of it, but I did take a short snippet between the ears of her first little explore in our bush paddock
12.01.2022 RAIN PROGRESS VIDEO Rain has also had the better part of two weeks off due to my injury, but today she worked like a star! I've said it before and I'll say it again - you don't have to drill breakers every day to get results!... This is just her 7th ride, and first ride in the bosal. She really wasn't enjoying the chin strap on my other bitless bridle, and rather than put it down to a personality flaw of hers, I changed the gear up. Voila, happy horse. Rain is really getting the hang of forward and settling into a really lovely riding horse
11.01.2022 VBA Socks Day 20 First little poke along a forest track Always one ear listening
10.01.2022 When you book yourself out for the weekend for some R&R How does your weekend look? Beating the heat!?
10.01.2022 Weekends Are For Adventures Today I took Rain for her real adventure, in the float to a very public trail with dozens of mountain bikes! She handled the atmosphere like a pro, and I let her open and move! Also toast the lovely Valley for looking after the breaker and my 13 year old daughter ... Proudly Supported by Equifeast Australia Bitless bridle and bosal by Kaos Kords
10.01.2022 VBA Socks Week 5 This week takes Socks up to just over a month (32 days) of domestic life. Socks had rides 4, 5 and 6. At these early stages rides are kept very short, approx 15 mins, so in total he's clocked up about 1.5hrs with me on his back. Equifeast Australia... Kaos Kords See more
09.01.2022 VBA Socks He's had the best part of two weeks off due to my ankle, but it hasn't done him any harm A little play at liberty and bareback ride to freshen up his little brain
09.01.2022 RAIN PROGRESS VIDEO Over the last few days I've managed to capture some neat little moments with Rain learning to relax through movement, which helps her brain to relax, which then helps her body to further relax. It's a nice little self-fulfilling cycle that we want all our horses to get on! The horse I started with on day one would not have coped well with a saddle. By the end of session two she was not only much more relaxed moving around me, but she also stepped off with her first saddle without bracing or fighting against the girth.
08.01.2022 Which one are you with your horse?
06.01.2022 Procrastinating on a Monday? Do something worthwhile and spend a few minutes contributing to equine science research
06.01.2022 Rains second ride, and first ride with company The early stages of starting a horse under saddle are all about the ground work. Rain is learning to use both sides of her body effectively to carry a rider. This is important to develop her body now and into the future, and also for producing a calm riding horse. Rides are kept short and low stress. A buddy has been introduced so that by the time she is ready to leave the round yard for rides she will be well equipped to tackle the trails.
05.01.2022 Rain's First Ride ...coincidentally in the rain And a little sneak peek at the end of the shenanigans happening behind the camera that we have to endure
04.01.2022 FUNDRAISER Brumbies are currently being removed from Koscuiszko and they need a safe place to land. Sally and Steve Brinkworth do an incredible job taking in as many as they can - at a great personal expense and effort. Overnight they have had 28 brumbies arrive, 12 are stallions that need gelding as a start.... I have some spare hats and I'd love to contribute to their efforts in any small way that I can. Hats are for sale at $25 each, with all of the profits going to brumbies Or if your too cool for an RHE hat, click the link below and send them your spare change https://www.facebook.com/donate/210057913761324/?fundraiser_source=external_url
03.01.2022 Good evening everyone! Buckle up because this is a long sweary rant... I apologise for the swearing... Why I dont like the checked by vet and all clear phra...se, when addressing behavioural issues. I come across this phrase all the time and mostly it is when someone is at their wits end with their horses behaviour... but occasionally it seems to crop up when someone wants to hear that their horse is just being an arsehole. Theyll be there, emphatically stating there is just NOTHING wrong with him/her and this is followed by assurance from everyone else that because the vet checked, the behavioural issue is entirely the horses fault, and this gives the owner the justification to bring in *insert honcho cowboy/bigger gadget/stronger bit/give it a few good slaps/crack an egg on its head bullshit*. Ill be frank with this- it makes my blood boil. Have a look at me. Look at any picture or video of me, going about my day, riding, teaching, parenting, mucking out, hanging upside down from a pole etc etc. I look like your average healthy, reasonably active person. But I have a problem somewhere in my hip that causes me excruciating pain when I move my leg laterally. I have had painkillers, physio, doctor assessment, Xrays, consultant assessment, MRI with contrast, a different consultant assessment, an hours ultrasound investigation and several very painful, massive steroid and local anaesthetic injections. I currently survive on Naproxen. No one has successfully diagnosed me yet. No one can tell me with any accuracy, what is wrong with me. And you would not know there was anything wrong with me from my weight, the fit of my clothes, how I exercise or what I eat. Im sound in walk, trot and canter... I also have a hernia, a shoulder that has limited movement, two fingers that dont work, a thumb that has lost its UCL, a painful big toe and anxiety from previous history of living with domestic violence... but I digress... So now imagine Im generally pretty calm and happy, but I cant talk. And you try to make me exercise in a way that causes the excruciating pain in my hip to flare up- I am going to do the only thing I can do and stop doing the exercise or try and get away from you. If you then continue to push me, the pain would likely make me defensive and at some point, lets be honest- I am going to punch you directly in the face. Now have a look at your horse and apply the same logic... at what point do you say he has been sufficiently checked? Lets say you had all the investigative procedures done that Ive had done to myself and you havent found any problems. If your horse is me, we both know we are still in a lot of pain. But youve found nothing, so weve been checked right? So now you go to some honcho cowboy who claims he can fix your horse in a few sessions, and nothing your horse says now will matter- honcho cowboy wont stop bullying him and he cannot escape. He has no choice but to comply. He still hurts. He stops fighting. He is fixed. Yay for you. I now want you to imagine your horse has had to be PTS and you do an autopsy that perhaps reveals he had a brain tumor. Or arthritis in his SI. Or leukaemia. Or a thick tendon that was maybe causing him a lot of pain... are you still happy with what you did or are you now thinking if only Id known he was in so much pain? At what point would you have listened? Because your horse was already communicating with you when he started being naughty. Im not saying 100% of behavioural issues are pain related; they arent. Many are down to bad training, bad husbandry or previous negative experiences. But the vast majority I have seen and worked with, began with a physical cause. On such a large skeleton, with so many limbs and things that could go wrong do you really want to assume he is just being naughty?! Rant over...
03.01.2022 Two wines and a pony?
02.01.2022 VBA Socks Exploring bitless, bareback and barefoot
02.01.2022 Superstar VBASocks Miss 5yo has been dying for a chance to ride Socks, and he didn't disappoint 150 days from wild kosi Brumby to kids pony
02.01.2022 Afternoon Jog With Rain There is so much the horse can benefit from exploring in hand! There is the obvious fitness benefits, today Rain jogged for 3km, with lots of walk/trot transitions which amounted to half an hour of fitness work. This is a great way to exercise young horses without the additional stresses of bodyweight and tack on growing spines and joints Jogging in hand also allows the horse to experience new environments without the stress of also having to negot...iate with a monkey on their back! Before coming here for starting, Rain had never left her home property, so lots of things are new for her! Her social skills are also lacking in that she finds new horses very exciting. She was able to process this new experience of discovering horses along the road, without also having to juggle her very new skill of having a rider on her back and ending up overwhelmed She is also able to work on timing and feel, and responding to changes in my energy levels to control her gaits, speed and direction. She w ass also able to focus on me despite all of the distractions around us. I like to let horses practice this from the ground, if they can comprehend these responses from the ground then they can transfer this feel to the saddle more easily
01.01.2022 VBA Socks Week 9 Dear little Socks is not the most forward of fellows, so this week has been focused on developing some more forward and motivation after his little break. He gets quite excited and motivated jumping at liberty, he has started offering up canter, although unfortinately we missed that on camera! I'm also channelling some of that jumping motivation with our ridden work by incorporating his first little cavalettis. ... Socks knows his own mind and it's no good harassing him and pushing him to do something he doesn't want to do - the more pressure you put on him the more he digs in his heels and refuses. The whole way through his journey the challenge for me has been to find ways to make the work Socks idea and inspire motivation in him. Above all else my goal is a partner who enjoys our time together. I'm hoping the motivation he gets from jumping will pave the way for his first ridden canters in the near future Proudly Supported by Equifeast Australia
01.01.2022 BRUMBY BEAN A Brumby is no exception, you have to look after those bits! How often do you remove beans from your gelding? Do you know how? ... Yes, I can come to you and help a fella out :D
