I stopped in to visit a mate the other day who’s been house bound due to a fall from a horse and a nasty concussion! We got to talking about other mates who had studied at TAFE with us and equine futures.

She told me of a friend of hers who has set up a business of her own, alongside being a vet nurse (equine and small animal). I was delighted to discover that she’s created her own horse related service called ‘EquiCARE’.

The general idea? If you can’t be there for your horse at a particular time when it’s needed, she can! Consider:

• Needing to be around for the farrier but you have work – why not pay someone who has horse experience to be there for you?
• Your horse has hurt itself and needs bandages changed daily
• In the changeable weather you need rugs on/off but have other commitments at that time

The bonus of course for EquiCARE is that she is a qualified veterinary nurse, with a lot of horse experience. This provides added trust when it comes to having someone change bandages for you because you don’t have the time or the knowledge and experience to carry out such a task. It can get quite costly to have a vet come in every other day to change a bandage on a wound!

Hearing about this setup reminded me of a student of mine from last year who looks after people’s horses whilst they’re away on holidays. There really is a multitude of equine related jobs out there, and many still to be created!

Who doesn’t love making use of the internet? I love being able to see businesses, expos, services and other brilliant ideas on display around the world all because someone is able to put together information, publish it on a website and get it into search engines.

What about you? There are people out there living their dream because they’re able to run a business from home, online… and still play with their ponies! Sometimes it comes along unexpectedly, other times it requires real innovation and hard work. But why not do it?

Not that I see this blog as a business – it’s a passion – but it has brought about benefits I definitely didn’t anticipate:

• I’ve received a number of books to read and review and been able to add to my equine library at no cost to me
• I’ve had paid advertising on this site
• I was approached about teaching equine studies and gained a job and qualification because of this blog
• I get to write about my passion, which lead to writing for Suite101 and starting up a residual income

None of these things were planned, but they’ve all definitely been positives on account of writing a blog! Take the challenge today – what can you start online that you’re passionate about? Who knows where it may lead you…

On a side note – like the new look? This blog can now be found at http://www.equus-blog.com/ 😀

“A pony is a childhood dream, A horse is an adulthood treasure.” – Rebecca Carroll

So one of the women at work forwarded this information onto me and I thought it worth sharing… note the deadline is only 8 days away though!

ABARES is encouraging people to apply for the 2012 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, with applications closing 18 November.

There are 12 individual categories, with each offering up to $22,000 for project funding.The awards are open to young people aged 18-35 who have an innovative project that will benefit Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food and natural resource management sectors.

Grant recipients can use their funding for a range of activities including research projects, industry visits or to attend conferences and workshops that will support their project. The awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists through national recognition of their research ideas.

The 2012 Science and Innovation Awards are supported by: the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Australian Pork Limited; Australian Meat Processor Corporation; Cotton Research and Development Corporation; Dairy Australia; Fisheries Research and Development Corporation; Forest and Wood Products Australia; Grains Research and Development Corporation; Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation; Horticulture Australia; Meat and Livestock Australia; and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

For further information: http://www.daff.gov.au/brs/science-awards