Blog : Equus Education

Screencast-O-Matic for Equine Businesses

February 15, 2019 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

I’ve recently been made aware of a heap of tools that we can utilise as educators in our classrooms. As an equine teacher, some of them look like they’ll be really helpful! We have a short video that is technically a PowerPoint slideshow that students watch at the start of each unit and answer a few questions before they start their materials. This proves they are engaged and can access the content. And I got to thinking about Screencast-O-Matic for Equine Business.

This is a free tool that you can download and utilise on your computer, phone or tablet. (There is a paid upgraded version). It allows you to video yourself and/or your screen and add audio to it. So for me, this seems a great tool for talking over the top of the PowerPoints we use. Then students are able to engage in a visual manner and auditory. Great! So how could this work for an equine business?

Screencast-O-Matic for Equine Business | Equus Education

You can load any document on your screen and share it whilst talking through it. This may be showing clients how to fill in a booking form for one of your stallions. Or perhaps you’re an equine author and you want to introduce potential readers to the first chapter of your book. As you read through the pages, you can record the screen and you reading it out loud and save this as a video.

It’s really intuitive and easy to use! And once you’ve saved the video, you can upload it to YouTube, your video or have it stored on the cloud. It’s up to you!

What information would you like to share with clients that you could develop into a video format with you talking over the top? It could be a slide show of foals from your top stallion, photos of horses performing at competitions, you name it! Or maybe as an educator you want to create video resources for students. The time limit is 15 minutes but for a free application, this gives you ample to work with. Check it out.

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart by Anne Perreault

February 11, 2019 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

I’m not sure if I downloaded this Kindle book after finding it from my search term of horse or Christian, but either way it looked like it had both of these things! Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart tells the tale of 25 year old AJ. AJ lives at home with her mother, father and younger sister. She lives in an abusive home and feels like a child in spite of her age, based on the way her father treats her. Her best escape is her beautiful warmblood gelding, Midnight.

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart by Anne Perreault | Equus Education (Click to Buy)

Although she helps out with the youth group at her local church and has a belief in God, she struggles to understand how He could let bad things continually happen to her at the hand of her father. Only her best friend Brenna is aware of the abuse and AJ works hard to keep the façade of a happy family. But when a snow storm shuts her in at the Cooper family’s property where she keeps her horse, AJ finds herself coming to know Mac the Youth Pastor beyond a superficial level.

When Mac suspects what is going on with AJ, he is keen to step in and help her, but she refuses. It is only through offering her a job with the horses as the barn’s head trainer that the two connect. As she accepts the job and escapes the dangers at home, AJ finds herself drawn to Mac’s reliable, safe character.

But just as things appear to be turning around for AJ, it seems that gossip and pride have the potential to ruin things. Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart is a very Christian focused story that addresses issues of purity, abuse, poor motives, gossip and pride. It addresses well the issues of judging a book by it’s cover and examining one’s true intentions. On top of this, horses feature highly in the book and it’s lovely to read about the horsemanship that AJ utilises to try to bring around an ornery mare.

There is a sweet romance amongst the story but also the chilling topic of family violence. Right toward the end I didn’t see how the story was going to be wrapped up when such a devastating event occurred. The Christian faith follows throughout the whole story and it focuses on how often doing the right thing isn’t the easy way out. An engaging read.

Author – Anne Perreault
Fiction – Adult
In my library – as a Kindle.

The Jockey’s Guild

February 8, 2019 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

The online dictionary definition of a guild is “an association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal.” And so the Jockey’s Guild could be looked at as a setup with a focus on jockeys, working towards setting guidelines and rules to protect them in a racing environment.

The Jockey's Guild | Equus Education — The Jockey’s Guild | Equus Education

According to the history of the Jockey’s Guild it was back in the 1940s that frustration was rising around the environment in which horse riders worked. There was little concern for their needs as they rode horses for other people. For riders that were unable to ride due to disability or injury from race riding, there was no support.

“The Jockeys Community Fund and Guild in 1940 was precipitated by the racing injury of Sammy Renick. When Eddie Arcaro visited Renick, who was recuperating in the hospital from a broken leg, their discussion led to the formation of an organization that would represent the concerns of jockeys.”

Those who founded this organisation were the leading jockeys of the turf at that time. These included Eddie Arcaro, Don Meade, John Longden, “Red” Pollard and many more. As it states on their website, the objects of the Jockeys Community Fund and Guild are:

To accumulate, by contributions and dues from the members, a fund from which would be distributed financial aid.
To encourage and foster good morale and good character of its members
To support a policy of fair play and honest treatment as to owners, turf clubs and racing clubs
To uphold the best interests of horse racing
To assist in every honorable way to further the interests of its members
To furnish financial aid to any member of the club at such time and in such amounts as he may deserve and within the ability of the club to afford
To establish a means whereby members of the club would have available additional assurance of freedom from want and insecurity in the event of misfortune and inability to earn.
Any other lawful purpose consistent with the specific objects stated in this article

The guild has helped to purchase insurance for jockeys by racetracks and get ambulances on site at tracks. Fees for jockeys have increased over time and sanitary conditions in jockeys’ rooms have been improved. Other improvements have related to helmets, increased insurance, changing of racing rails material – the list goes on.

The Guild has been set up to improve racing conditions and the welfare of jockeys in the industry. As needs arise, they are able to be addressed and funds acquired to purchase, change, improve or introduce new products and settings. Whatever industry you work in, it is worth knowing if there is a setup that will help to fight for your rights within it.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry

February 4, 2019 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

I became aware of the Morgan breed of horse only through a girl at TAFE by the same name. I thought it was rather cool that she could have a breed of horse that shared her name! Morgan horses are not a breed that I believe is well known in Australia. That said, it was really interesting to learn about the start of the breed in Marguerite Henry’s book, Justin Morgan Had a Horse.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry | Equus Education (Click to buy)

Justin Morgan is a teacher who has a bit of debt behind him. The story starts with him having completed a long travel on foot with a young boy named Joel. The two are seeking out Farmer Beane who owes Justin a sum of money that will help him to pay his debts.

Unfortunately times are tough and all that Farmer Beane can offer the schoolmaster is two horses. One is a good looking, sturdy colt. The other appears a runt and doesn’t appeal to Justin or any others who come across his path. And yet, young Joel is drawn to him.

Although Justin doesn’t care for the runt of a colt, he finds himself soon the owner of the pair and Joel is delighted to be able to invest his time and energy in the colt. Their long walk back home to Vermont provides ample time for him to build a bond with the young male horse. And in time Joel is rapt to be asked to gentle the horse, starting him under saddle. Little Bub as he is affectionately known proves himself as a fast horse, although he may not be much to look at.

And so starts the journey of the little horse that will later be known as Justin Morgan. When pitted against other horses – draughts, racehorses and various breeds, he consistently proves himself. Although Joel doesn’t own the horse, he is proud as can be of the little colt that grows into a fine stallion. And in time, many, many years later Joel is able to restore the horse to what he once was when he became a fine stallion. Justin Morgan Had a Horse is a really interesting read about the establishment of this American breed of horse.

Author – Marguerite Henry
Non Fiction – children, history
In my library – that it is.

Working in an Equine Association

February 1, 2019 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

I am getting the chance to view more online equine setups at the moment. I was recently going over content that we have put together for students undertaking a couple of units relating to care for performance horses. There are many links within this that go to equine related associations. Breed associations, horse riding associations, etc. And I thought about working in an equine association.

Working in an Equine Association | Equus Education

If you want a career with horses, what’s to stop you from pursuing work within an association that you’re familiar with? Perhaps you grew up in the Pony Club scene. So why not pursue a career with the Pony Club Association of your particular state?

Or maybe you are familiar with the American or Australian Quarter Horse Association and have an admiration for the breed and associated horse riding events. Why not a career with the AQHA?

The vast majority of these associations have an online presence. They have members, rules and regulations, shows and other functions and so much more. What’s to stop you from utilising your skills, knowledge and passion to pursue a job within one of these areas? It could be
– website development
– online marketing
– finances
– other forms of marketing or administration
– or even horse related

If you have a passion for a particular horse related association, why not reach out to them and find out about career possibilities with them? There may be options you haven’t even considered. It’s always worth asking!

And of course working within an equine association that reaches out to so many horse people would be a great networking opportunity. It could open other career doors for you in the future. Or you may find you’re in a position to help others along in their equine career.

Screencast-O-Matic for Equine Businesses

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart by Anne Perreault

The Jockey’s Guild

Working in an Equine Association

Equus Education Store at TeachersPayTeachers

About Equus Education

Want to be kept in the loop about future posts?

Privacy Policy for EE