I have a young friend whom I see fortnightly down at the riding school where I keep my pony and each time she’s excitedly telling me about how she’s improving on her graphics and learning more in Photoshop or Paintshop Pro.

She loves mixing horse graphics with gorgeous scenery images or adding in text to the same pictures or other affects and the result is a great looking graphic. For example, she once made me a pic of a Friesian called Knightmare (I would love to have a Friesian mare in the future and name her this), merging an image of a rearing Friesian and that of a dark castle that made up the background once she’d finished.

The images are quality and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned to graphic design for a small income or even as a career. As much as their are photographers who focus on equines, there are also graphic designers who specialise in creating equine related images and adverts, catering to horse businesses.

Perhaps this is your calling? Perhaps, you’d love to design something like the graphic to the right. If you have skills in website design and photography also, this would seal the deal for a lot of clients. If not, perhaps pairing up with some businesses that will compliment yours would be the way to go. This way you can refer clients on to each other. *Graphic copyright to creator for Cadre Noir.

Take a look at what some others are doing with graphic design:
– Diamond D Graphics offer graphic design for adverts, websites, business cards, flyers and logos. They also provide website design and hosting services and photography.
– Marijke Janssens in Belgium has been a graphic designer for 15 years and produces pieces like this.

“To seek the winds power, the rains cleansing, and the suns radiant life, one need only to look at the horse.”

tag: graphic design, equine art, online jobs, website design, horse business, advertising services

In the Thoroughbred industry, Clydesdale mares are rather a popular thing when the breeding season comes around. My first viewing of this was when I was doing work placement at Swettenham Stud (then known as Collingrove) a few years back.

The hundred or so mares to be vetted for the day would be run into yards and along with the wet mares, a foal was close by it’s mother’s side. The Thoroughbred foal had no issues with being so attached to a Clydesdale mare. I was amazed and was informed that each year the farm bred their Clydesdale mares and foaled them down the following year and if need be, the Clydie baby was weaned and the potential future racehorse was put onto the mare as if her own.

Clydesdale mares are now in huge demand as foster mothers due to their docile temperaments. Also, the Clydie x TB foals are very popular as riding prospects and the fillies at times are kept to be used as foster mums themselves.

In Australia it isn’t legal to breed a Thoroughbred mare to a stallion before September 1 if the foal is to be registered for racing. The beauty of these Clydesdale mares is that they can be bred to the farm’s stallions earlier in the season which is especially helpful for freshman stallions so that they can be bred to a quiet horse before the season starts and demands are put on them. This also results in the mare foaling early the following year and being ready as a potential foster mum if tragedy arises and a Thoroughbred foal loses it’s mother.

We lost a few mares last season at work and one was put down due to a bad foaling in which the foal had to be cut out in order for it to survive. Very quickly we had an orphan baby which would need feeding at least hourly and if handled solely by humans, wouldn’t learn to behave and interact as a horse does. A solution came in the form of a Clydesdale mare that foaled a day later, and due to complications the foal had to be put down. It seemed fitting that the mother be paired up with our baby and although the idea seemed unsuccessful during the first 48 hours, the result was a young foal with a mother to feed and care for it.

Seeing the value of these gentle giants, some farms have invested in Clydesdale mares while others lease them for the season from the likes of Hunter Nursing Nannies. Set ups like this provide the mare to you at a fee and the request that you send the mare back at the end of the season, in foal so that she can be used the following year if need be. They’re a saving grace in the racing industry.

Perhaps if you love breeding gentle giants, this avenue would be worth considering.

“A horse gallops with his lungs, Perseveres with his heart, And wins with his character.” – Tesio

tag: foster mares, nursing nannies, horse stud, australia, thoroughbred stud season, leasing horses, seasonal work

So I took part in Pony Club for four or so years over high school and in the two gymkhanas I took part in, acquired a nice sum of ribbons. They’re currently hiding in my wardrobe but thanks to an episode of the Saddle Club (in which the ribbons had been turned into something akin to a throw rug over the back of a couch) I’ve been thinking how appropriate that will be for the recreation room/library I plan on having on my agistment property when I get it.

The idea’s been sitting on the back burner but having read a post at A Good Horse, it came to mind again and the idea listed on this blog looks even better than what I had in mind! The writer has provided a link to someone who has made a profit out of putting old ribbons together for a better use. Take a look at http://www.showthrow.com/.

Great idea, huh? I was thinking I’d just get the older sister to sew mine together…
She made the horse quilt in the background which covers my bed.  Now I just need to chase up someone to help out with the horse mural I want to have in the rec room. Ridiculous – my far from being bought property is all planned, in my head!

“He has galloped through young girls dreams, added richness to grown woman’s lives, and served men in war and strife.” – Toni Robinson

tag: horse ribbons, competition, horse business