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So a friend Cait sent me an interesting link on Facebook the other day. It was about having live fences – plants that can be used as natural barriers.  Many will plant along a fence line, but perhaps planting as a fence line should be considered?

A tree Windbreak Along a Fence Line

I loved this idea when I saw it in action in Ireland at the National Stud but haven’t given it a lot of thought since then, or even considered it’s benefits. To me, it had appeal because:

• of the look (who doesn’t like green?)
• the fact that it is a sturdy wind break
• and is highly visible

There are a lot of other benefits to having living fences however. I’ve been entertaining the idea of tagasaste hedges on my future property in between fence lines, but am now wondering if this in itself can be the fence.  Obviously growing plants can take time, they can die off and they can appeal to the tastebuds of the inhabitants of the paddock!

However, they can help out with the local eco system if indigenous plants are used, they may be more cost effective and can be regenerated through growing from seeds.

“Set your sights after the last fence.” – author unknown

So it shouldn’t be news to readers of this blog that I’ve written a book.  Although it’s yet to be released (July 1 is the big day!), I’m thinking on to what I could be writing next. The idea of a Christian horse series for pre teens has been on my mind for a little while and in light of this, I’ve started reading books that target this genre and around this age group.

DJ’s Challenge by Lauraine Snelling

Cue the second book in Lauraine Snelling’s High Hurdle series.

I really came to feel for DJ in the first book in the series Olympic Dreams, thinking that this young girl was indeed getting the short end of the stick on many an occasion. Thankfully, things turned around.

Now in this second novel, DJ is excited about getting her first horse – a big step forward toward her goal of competing at the Olympics. Shortly after this acquisition and after having had her beloved grandmother marry and move away, DJ finds that this achievement could be turned on it’s head if her mother accepts a job offer in LA.  This would cause them to have to move from Northern California.

In spite of struggling to communicate with her mother and missing her gran terribly, DJ works hard to balance a new year at school, teaching riding at the Academy, exercising her new horse and completing household chores. Although life seems to be going by so fast that she can’t keep track, DJ is left consistently thinking of how things might change due to her mother.

DJ’s challenge is a great story about how a 14 year old girl needs to rely on God to set things to work together for the good of everyone. Another great novel by Lauraine Snelling.

Author – Lauraine Snelling
Fiction – early teen
In my library – it is indeed! I’ll continue to aim for this whole series.

“Been there… Jumped that!” – author unknown

Helmets are Beneficial with Horses, not only when Riding

Helmet awareness day is fast approaching (June 22).

When you consider how unpredictable and dangerous (not intentionally) the equine animal can be, it’s no surprise that utilising a helmet whilst riding (and handling) horses is a good thing to advocate.

This is an OH&S rule where I teach horse studies. No matter how experienced a horse handler is, a helmet is beneficial to decrease risks of injury to the head.

There are many educational facilities, well known horse businesses and equestrian celebrities that are jumping on the advertising bandwagon.

If you take part in a horse club such as pony club or a breeds group, perhaps you’d like to consider how you can do your part to raise awareness with regards to wearing helmets.

For details internationally take a look at http://www.riders4helmets.com/.

“Use your head, not your spurs.” – author unknown

Glacial Gold of Winning Colours Farm

June 24th is the start of the 2013 Australian Weanling and Bloodstock Sale that William Inglis hold.

Now in Australia, the words palomino and thoroughbred don’t tend to go together.  However, this year there are two lots that are going through the sale ring that are by American stallion Glacial Gold and they carry his palomino colouring.

If you’re in the vicinity of the complex in Sydney toward the end of June, perhaps you’d consider checking out these horses and the others that are on parade at this time of year.

I think seeing this unique colouring for the thoroughbred breed on sale would be something worth bragging about.  Not to mention your networking opportunities at a horse sale!  Perhaps attending a horse sale is on your equine bucket list, well make the effort to see something unique at this one!

“Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter. It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark.” – Saying of the Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway

An RDA Opportunity Shop

So I’ve been up in Wagga recently for my equine science degree at CSU.  Hubby and I were out for a walk, me entering every opportunity shop possible to scout for horse books (I found three really cheap!). One of the opportunity shops had an RDA sign on the top, which really surprised me!

I’m used to opp shops raising funds for a particular cause, but this often seems to be church run shops.  It was great to see that there is one in this town that works to support the great cause that is Riding for the Disabled Australia (RDA).

I volunteered for 2 years in an RDA closer to where I used to live and loved it.  If you can’t volunteer at an actual RDA, I believe that volunteering in a shop where they raise funds for RDA is the next best thing!

“Horse people are stable people.” – author unknown

Wayne was kind enough to like my Horse Country page on Facebook and left a comment regarding also being an Australian writer for the horse racing industry.  Upon finding out about this, I asked him if he’d consider being profiled on Equus-Blog and he kindly answered some questions for me.

How much of your day/week is related to horses?

The Gambler’s Ghost and Other Racing Oddities by Wayne Peake

Horses are always on my mind. I am either writing about them, or trying to find the next winner at Randwick!

When I was writing the doctoral thesis that was the basis for my first book, Sydney’s Pony Racecourses: an Alternative Racing History, I was working full time in the City. Each morning I read for an hour on the train, wrote for an hour at lunchtime and again on the way home, then for another two hours before bed.

I am currently writing a history of horseracing in Sydney in the 1970s, and work on that for three hours a day. I am also simultaneously writing a second volume of racing short stories and novellas as a follow up to the Gambler’s Ghost and Other Racing Oddities, which was published last year. I mainly work on these on Saturday mornings while listening to Three-Way Turf Talk and The Late Mail on the racing station.

In this field of work, is it possible to be a full time professional and earning a liveable income?
Well Dick Francis managed to earn a very lucrative living from writing horseracing novels when he retired as a jockey. There are others who make a living from it, and while I aspire to it I’m a long way I think from achieving it. But I do certainly supplement my main income by writing on racing.

I have a chapter on Australian horseracing in a book just coming out in Australia called The Cambridge Companion to Horseracing for which I was paid a quite good fee—which is unusual when writing for what is essentially an academic publisher.

What are the general steps taken to be employed in such a role?
To be able to write you need to read, of course—very extensively and broadly. You have to know something about the subject. With particular reference to horse racing; I have not worked in the racing industry, other than for a six month stint as an archivist at the Sydney Turf Club.

But I write primarily about the experience of being a race goer, and you might say that I have undertaken fieldwork in preparation for that for the last thirty years! I am also fortunate to know a number of racing journalists, officials, jockeys and bookmakers who I can consult on technical and professional matters when I need to.

Stephen King made the trite but apposite comment that ‘writers write’. You have to practice your craft and push on through the inevitable periods of self-doubt. I recall another successful writer say that, in his experience, the only writers that ever felt that their writing was always great were in reality terrible writers.

Favourite horse memory?
Being at the 1980 Golden Slipper Stakes when Dark Eclipse ridden by my favourite jockey Kevin Moses won the Slipper. I was still at university then and poor as a church-mouse. I had left home that morning with the cost of admission plus two dollars and walked off the course with money stuffed in every pocket. My friends and I formed a cheer squad and cheered horse and jockey from the track. There was a story about it in the paper the next day.

Future goals?
To write every day, publish regularly and a get a ‘first four’ on the Melbourne Cup some day.

Best thing about your sport/profession?
It provides an excuse to go to the races a lot. There is nothing like the anticipation of a day’s racing on the way to the track when we walk with a spring in our step. Walking home after them with one’s tail between one’s legs can be a sobering experience, but you’ve got to experience the lows to appreciate the highs!

“Ascot is so exclusive that it is the only racecourse in the world where the horses own the people.” – Art Buchwald

Olympic Dreams – Book 1 of the High Hurdle Series by Lauraine Snelling

So recently I decided that I wanted to start writing a christian horse series for pre teens.  Eager to get myself familiar with books in this age group, I started by reading Horse Crazy of the Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant.  This was followed by book 1 of the High Hurdle series by Lauraine Snelling.

High Hurdles is a horse christian series for children in their early teens.  Olympic Dreams is the first novel in this series.

DJ Randall works down the road at an Academy for riding.  She finds herself struggling with envy daily as she views those lucky enough to have their own horse.

DJ’s biggest dream is to compete at the Olympics.  She hasn’t been riding long, but is a natural when it comes to horses and riding.  As her dream to become a top eventer is increased due to the start of jumping lessons, DJ dreams up ways to generate an income that will help her pay for a horse.

In spite of her ambitions, life seems to be getting in the way.  DJ’s mum isn’t an effective communicator and isn’t around often.  This ache is dulled by the love DJ receives from her grandmother.  Her world is turned upside down however, when her grandmother announces that she is moving out.

Things continue to stack against DJ, making you really feel for the main character!  I believe I would have behaved more childishly than she did in the story, and love the fact that she acted maturely eventually setting right the wrongs that had occurred.

It’s easy for people to focus on what happens to them, rather than what they’re doing to do about it.  Olympic Dreams focuses on the joys of a gigantic ambition, as well as having the integrity of character to do what’s right.  A great read about a girl’s passion with horses and her journey with God to be a respectable person.

Author: Lauraine Snelling
Fiction – early teenage years
In My Library? It is!  A great introduction to a horsey christian series

“If I had a horse, I’d ride off in the sunset, where dreams, and shadows lie. To a life, where pain and sorrow don’t exist, and to where hopes, and dreams become reality.” – Lindsay Turcotte

tag: horse story, equine book review, lauraine snelling, equine author, horse library, horse writing

Check out other book reviews and what is currently in my equine library.

So here’s one for those artists out there who love to draw horses, Photoshop horses, or whichever way you create the images!  There are many horse businesses out there that make use of equine illustrators.  This may be for:

• A logo or business graphics
• Illustrating books – fiction, non fiction, comic, children’s literature, etc
• Creating book covers
• Providing gift cards with a horsey theme
• As paintings or drawings that can be framed

The list goes on!  If you love to draw horses, perhaps this could be an avenue of income for you.

Even more exciting, it can be a form of passive income where you create a series of graphics that people can purchase/download over and again for use on stationery, cups or mugs, caps, t-shirts, etc.  In this way, you only have to do the work (create the image) once, but get paid for it multiple times – this is the best way to earn money in my opinion!

If you have a passion for drawing horses and people who have encouraged you in your skills, have you considered marketing yourself as an equine illustrator?  Take a look at one business that I’ve stumbled across recently where a person does just this – Horse On the Run.  I love Maryanne Delf’s illustrations!

“No matter how fast the horse trots the damn cart still chases him.” – Horse Illustrated

Christine at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sales, 2009. Photo by Kathie Thomas

Well, I thought I’d ‘profile’ myself and introduce you to my current career – teaching horse studies at TAFE!

How much of your day/week is related to horses?
Six days a week!

But that is because alongside my work of teaching about horses theoretically and practically, I am also:

• studying an Equine Science Degree part time through Charles Sturt University;
• I have my own horse to look after
• I am often writing about horses for this blog, a novel I’m working on or other bits and pieces

In this field of work, is it possible to be a full time professional and earning a liveable income?
Absolutely! The horse industry in Australia is one of the largest employers and there are many people working and studying to work with horses, be it in the performance, breeding or racing industry.

I guess it depends on your idea of a liveable income, but it is more cost effective (and perhaps the hours are more appealing) to teach about horses with regards to someone gaining a qualification. A full time teacher who is contracted may earn around $30 an hour plus super annuation and holiday pay, whilst a sessional (casual teacher) may earn around $60 an hour without the benefits of holiday pay and sick leave.

A TAFE teacher needs to have their Certificate IV in Training and Education as a minimum, plus industry experience. You also need to have a qualification at least at the level to which you teach. For example, if you teach a horse breeding course at Certificate III level, you should have this qualification or one higher, such as a Certificate IV or Diploma.

What are the general steps taken to be employed in such a role?
Have your Certificate IV and definitely have industry experience. Having computer skills and good English skills will help with dealing with students, creating resources and marking assessment items.

Horse Country by Christine Meunier

Favourite horse memory?
Perhaps foaling down a filly at one of my first stud jobs. As soon as she was able to stand, she fell over into a water trough – it was cold climbing in there to get her out in the early hours of a spring morning!

Future goals?
To develop a career out of writing horses. Currently in a way I do this, as I’m involved in generating unit resources at the TAFE where I teach, but I’d love to become an equine author.

My first novel is due to be released July 1 and this will be available for sale in ebook and hard copy format via HorseCountryBook.com!

Best thing about your sport/profession?
You can do it anywhere around the world, except maybe Antarctica

“Lessons From Your Horse: When you’re short tempered, let me teach you how to slog around the pasture for an hour before you catch me.” – Author unknown

So the Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant was perhaps one of the first lot of horse books that I was introduced to as a child.  I’ve been pondering the idea of writing a christian horse series for pre teens and this seemed the perfect opportunity to read some books that are written for this demographic!

Horse Crazy by Bonnie Bryant

Horse Crazy is the first title in the Bonnie Bryant series about three young girls who are mad about horses.  Carole Hanson, Stevie Lake and Lisa Atwood are very different people, but they have one thing in common: their love of horses.

Pine Hollow, the riding school that they all take lessons at, is planning a Mountain Trail Overnight for it’s riders and the girls are all keen to go.  Lisa is new to horse riding, and has to overcome the obstacle of convincing her mum that it’ll be good for her; Stevie isn’t focused enough on her schoolwork and has to pick up her math grade to be able to go.

Although the odds seem stacked against them, the girls work together to ensure that all three of them will be able to enjoy the MTO.

Horse Crazy is a great introduction to the 3 main characters of the Saddle Club series.  There were a couple of points that I felt were a bit beyond the reach of the reading demographic however:

• there is one point where Carole is riding with her horse riding instructor and she follows him in a lead change at the canter – I am unsure if this means that a 12 year old is competently carrying out flying changes, which seems an incredible feat to me!
• the horse that Carole is riding is owned by another 12 year old girl.  He is a thoroughbred stallion – again, not something I would expect for such a young girl to be doing.

Aside from this, the book is great at focusing on horses, learning about them and showing how friendship can help people work through problems.  A recommended read for young horse enthusiasts.

Author: Bonnie Bryant
Fiction – pre and early teenage years.
In My Library? Indeed!  Perhaps one day I’ll have the whole series

tag: horse story, equine book review, bonnie bryant, equine author, horse library, horse writing

Check out other book reviews and what is currently in my equine library.

“How to ride a horse: step One – mount the horse, step two – stay mounted…” – Author unknown.