Blog : Equus Education

Hippotherapy

October 20, 2008 by Christine Meunier 3 Comments

I’m rather becoming fond of working part time as a clerk in a hospital and seem to be finding out more about horse related careers than I do when on the stud! The latest is Hippotherapy which combines horse riding (generally with the help of the ingenious setup that is Riding for the Disabled) and the likes of a trained therapist (occupation, physical and speech).

The particular fact sheet provided to me was put together in conjunction with Pegasus, Riding for the Disabled of ACT. Hippotherapy works to improve the client’s balance, function, posture and mobility through the use of a horse’s movement. The movement of the horse is used to influence the client rather than the other way around.

“In the beginning we were woefully ignorant of the implications of the rider’s disabilities – we just had to ‘suck it and see’”.

However, on the first afternoon at Forrest Park, she recalls that a young girl who was usually wheelchair bound, rode under a tree and reached up to touch the leaves.

Suddenly the girl shouted “I can touch them! They are so soft!”

As joy and tears transformed the girl’s face, Bid was hooked forever and riding for the disabled was born in Canberra.

Want to know more? Take a look at Pegasus’ Hippotherapy Fact Sheet.

A high proportion of clients have Cerebral Palsy while others have Multiple Sclerosis, a traumatic brain injury, cerebral vascular accident or functional spinal curvature such as scoliosis, kyphosis or lordosis.

For those interested in pursuing this rewarding work, take a look at the American Hippotherapy Association’s education page and related curriculum.

Links of interest:
Hippotherapy at Wikipedia.
Hippotherapy in Western Australia.
http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/ – the American Hippotherapy Association.
Volunteer at Pegasus ACT – minimum age 14 years.
Hippotherapy at YouTube.

“Riding Develops Abilities.”

tag: hippotherapy, physical therapy, equine therapy, riding for the disabled, volunteer with horses

Rocking Horses

October 17, 2008 by Christine Meunier 2 Comments

The Living Horse Museum in Chantilly was an eye opener to some of the important roles that horses have played in history as well as personal roles in peoples’ lives. Some horse related collections I hadn’t considered, included a room full of carousel horses as well as some wooden rocking horses on display outside.

Wooden horses at Chantilly, France. Despite not growing up with a rocking horse somewhere in the household, the idea of horses was no doubt instilled at a young age.
I do however believe it is these gorgeous works of craftsmanship that help many a young person to realise their love of horses.

Libby Bailey has turned her love of horses into the art of restoring old rocking horses and selling these recreations. You can view her site at http://www.rockinghorserestorations.com.au/. “Libby restores Australian and English wooden rocking horses to the traditional dapple grey finish of the English horses of the past.”

Located in Melbourne, Australia, Thomas Earle Rocking Horses “are recreations of the rocking horses of Georgian and Victorian England. Each horse is created individually, to traditional patterns, using traditional and modern techniques.” Interested in the history of rocking horses? Thomas Earle Rocking Horses provides that too.

Other links of interest:
– Perhaps you’d like to take part in a short course where you can make your own rocking horse. Maybe it’s just the start you need to pursue a passion that could lead to paid work.
– http://www.rockinghorsestables.co.uk is a family run business in Whitley Bay that buys, sells and restores vintage rocking horses.

“Horses are the dolphins of the plains, the spirits of the wind; yet we sit astride them for the sake of being well-groomed, whereas they could have all the desire in the world to bolt, but instead, they adjust their speed and grace, only to please us, never to displease.” – Lauren Salerno

tag: rocking horse restoration, roebuck rocking horses, bartletts horses, ayres rocking horses, horse toys, vintage wooden horses

Horses = …poverty?

October 15, 2008 by Christine Meunier 2 Comments

I stumbled across the Blog Action Day Friday night (Oct 10) thanks to statcounter and was very curious about the general idea. Basically, bloggers around the world unite on a particular day (October 15) and write about a particular topic. The idea is to spark worldwide discussion on the given topic. This year’s is Poverty. What an amazing idea!

The idea – don’t change your blog to fit the topic; match the topic to your blog style. The result? A great many readers to your blog and raised awareness of a problem and potential solutions.

Dictionary reference for poverty:

1.	the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor; indigence.

2.	deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc.: poverty of the soil.

3.	scantiness; insufficiency: Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.

For me, deficiency or insufficiency sums it up or simply put, a lack of the necessary or vital things to survive. And who wants to just survive when they could fully live?

In the form of horses…
I have seen a lot of these gorgeous animals in shocking condition due to a lack of nutrition, veterinary and farriery care or just love. And as someone who works within the racing industry (one of the top employers and money earners in Australia) it amazes me the amount I do see.

The associations set up to cater to damaged, abused, retired and neglected horses are an amazing work but to not need them in the first place would be all the better.

If you breed horses, ask yourself why? If it’s a money earner, is your supply fitting to the demand or so much more that the horses lose value and are harder to sell and find homes for?

Whatever your reason for adding to the population, consider if you ended up keeping the foal and eventually full grown equine, could you afford what is needed to keep this worthy animal in good condition, healthy and happy?

If you’re competing is the brand new saddle you purchased for upcoming competitions going to put you in debt and therefore out of pocket for paying for agistment and feed.

If you’re looking to add to your herd, consider why you want a horse in the first place (paddock companion, breed, compete, show, pleasure, learn to ride) and consequently where you could shop around and find a horse that can be suited to this desire that otherwise might have been sold to an ill meaning owner or possibly put down.

I am more than blessed and I choose to stay an owner of one horse at this particular time as my funds can easily cover his needs. Down the track I plan on having many more but at this point in time feel it would be an irresponsible move.

In the form of people…
Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch was the first eye opener for me when it comes to people and horses combining to help others who are desperately lacking. Kim and Troy Meeder take in abused and neglected horses, work with them and bring them back to the condition they should be in and then pair them with people from abused and neglected backgrounds, raising confidence, creating friendship and establishing relationships.

Riding for the Disabled is set up to enrich the lives of those who are disabled through providing a program that can help physically and mentally. Volunteers who take part in the program also find their lives to be that much fuller due to helping out with such a worthy cause.

For the horse obsessed, there are set ups out there that allow you to donate your time and expertise and help introduce others to these gorgeous animals and therefore a chance to enrich their life.

I am more than blessed and I choose to sponsor a child through World Vision and Compassion at this point in time. Perhaps down the track I won’t have the funds to do so, but I may have the time instead, to invest in something. How about you?

But I’m just one person… What can one person do?

In our own way, anyone can help to Make Poverty History. Interested in volunteering for something horse related? Consider Riding for the Disabled or other worthy causes.

“Poverty is another word for owning a horse…”

tag: blog action day, horse poverty, crystal peaks youth ranch, greater cause, volunteer

In Search of a Wild Brumby

October 13, 2008 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

As someone who’s collecting as many horse books as possible with the view to have them available in a library on my property for all to read, it seemed it was about time I started to review the books I own… and other horse related books that I’ve read.

The plan for my library is to have a room full of books (hopefully in excess of 800) that line the walls and on a day that the weather doesn’t allow horse riding, all the agistees and clients of the riding school will be able to spend the day in my library just reading about horses.

Recently I was checking out a friend’s packed bookshelves while at her house and stumbled across In Search of a Wild Brumby. Even though I had four on the go at the time, she insisted I borrow it and there was no rush with regards to getting it read and back to her.

In Search of a Wild Brumby, Michael Keenan.

Once I started to read it, I realised returning it wouldn’t have been an issue due to the book being hard to put down.

As someone who grew up on the likes of the Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell, it’s fascinating now at 23 years of age to read about these places in the high country but from a non fiction point of view rather than the fictitious series I adore.

Keenan after being asked his opinion on the mass shooting of brumbies in the Australian High Country in a culling effort, struck out to meet those who inhabited the areas of northern Victoria and just over the New South Wales border that brumbies were found.

Through meeting such people his plan was to find the small number of remaining brumbies scattered over the country and observe them in their natural environment to determine if they were detrimental to the high country land.

A great look at the start of horses in Australia and our horse riding history, the book has been a great read and caused me to want to go check out some areas in Northern Victoria that I hadn’t before known existed. I think the Blue Duck Inn will have to be on the list with some planned horse riding.

In Search of a Wild Brumby is well worth the read.

Author: Michael Keenan
http://www.michaelkeenan.com.au/
Non Fiction
In My Library? Absolutely! A very interesting read with some great Australian history.

“Ride a wild horse against the sky, hold tight to his wings before you die, whatever else you leave undone, once ride a wild horse into the sun.”

tag: horse story, equine book review, michael keenan, equine author, horse library, horse writing

Hippotherapy

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In Search of a Wild Brumby

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