Equus Education

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Friday Feature: Jockey

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This week’s letter is J. If you missed last week’s Friday Feature, take a look at Illustrators.

Many people who love riding fast horses dream of becoming a jockey later in life.  One great thing about this career choice is that you don’t have to wait until you’re over 18 to start it.  You do however need to develop a good riding seat and the ability to ride timed work.

Jockeys Need Many Skills

A jockey will need to be able to:

  • Keep their weight down (under 58 kilos is common in Australia)
  • Work early mornings
  • Ride large numbers of horses they may not have met before
  • Follow direction from trainers
  • Ride fast work
  • Travel for work

If weight is an issue for the avid rider, there is always the option of exercise riding instead of riding in races.  Jumps jockeys can also carry more weight, but this requires the added skill of taking jumps safely at high speed.  If in Pony Club in Australia, look up your local Speed to Safety event to learn about riding timed work.

For other posts that relate to this profession on Equus-Blog, take a look at:

“If you start getting nervous about getting hurt you will be….If you are worringing about the danger it’s time to give up.” – Jason Weaver (jockey)

Equine Emergency Rescue

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I attended a Large Animal Rescue (LAR) workshop two weekends ago and part of my homework prior to the day was reading Equine Emergency Rescue.

Equine Emergency Rescue by MaryAnne Leighton & Michelle Staples

I haven’t been reading a lot of late with regards to my horse novels due to an abundance of uni reading and assignments needing to be done!  But I did put aside time to make my way through this non fictional, informative book before attending the workshop.

The book is a clear guide for many individuals who may be involved in the scene of rescuing a horse from an unexpected situation.  It covers the roles of the horse owner, incident controller, veterinarian and other rescue officers.

Many large animal rescues are carried out by the local SES or CFA team who may not necessarily have hands on experience with horses.  Consequently, MaryAnne encourages the horse owner to carry a copy of her book for reference when travelling with horses.

The chapters are set out logically so that you can turn to ‘Extrication from a Horse Float’ and see step by step what needs to be done.  Pictures and steps are provided too to safely get a rope system around a horse for moving and how to create horse handling equipment from ropes.

A bonus for attending the workshop is that the cost of the book is included and you score a signed copy to go through prior to attending.  Equine Emergency Rescue I believe is a book that should be in every horse owner’s collection.

Author: MaryAnne Leighton and Michelle Staples
http://www.equineer.com/
Non fiction – large animal rescue
In my library? You bet!  Very informative and worth knowing.

“I have seen soldiers panic at the first sight of battle, and a squire pulling arrows from his body to fight and save his dying horse. Nobility is not a birthright, but is defined by one’s actions.” – Kevin Costner in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves

Crochet Ponies

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Colleen Pace’s ‘Pepperoni Pony’.

Well here’s one for those of you out there who love to crochet/knit.  I stumbled across this today on Facebook and just love the look of these ponies!

Pepperoni Ponies can be simply made from single crochet stitches and look great with a mane and tail on them – I need to learn to crochet!  As it says on the site:

“Make Your Own Crochet Pepperoni Ponies!
Change the yarn and hook size, and you get a different pony…”

I had never considered the idea of selling the design of a crochet pattern that related to horses, to bring in funds.  But it seems this is indeed possible!  And why not?

So food for thought: what product have you designed that relates to horses and could interest others?  You may find there is as much value in creating and selling the product as there is in helping others to create it themselves… 🙂

“I pray the gentle hands may guide my feet;I ask for kind commands from voices sweet; At night a stable warm with scented hay, where, safe from every harm, I’ll sleep till day.” – Pony’s prayer

Friday Feature: Illustrators

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This week’s letter is I.  If you missed last week’s Friday Feature, take a look at Hospitality (Horses).

A Thelwell Cartoon via Thelwell.org.uk

Chances are if you like horses and books, you’ll have flicked through a Thelwell cartoon.  The illustrations in these short books really make it that much more appealing.

An illustrator who is good at their job may be able to find themselves work in the form of:

  • Book covers
  • Children’s books
  • Magazines
  • Business logos
  • Cartoon books or columns in a newspaper

Obviously the ability to draw is necessary to pursue this line of work.  In today’s technological age, being able to get those images onto a computer, or even draw them on a computer can greatly benefit the way you promote your skills and provide this service to clients all around the world.

If you love to draw and are keen to look into this further, take a look at:

“Your horse probably won’t go too far without you if there is some tasty grass around – remember to keep some handy if you anticipate falling off.” – The Horse Illustrated Guide to English Riding

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About Equus Education

You will find equine careers profiled on this blog and people interviewed who are making a career in the horse industry.  Equus Education aims to show others that horses can indeed be a sustainable career.

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