I was chatting with a client at the riding school yesterday who had recently had a bit to do with some beautiful, well trained horses. You know, the kind that rears, lies down, counts on command? And of course, it doesn’t hurt when they’re a Friesian or some other absolutely gorgeous breed!

I’ve recently stumbled across some sites about people who train horses like this and do even more amazing feats with their gorgeous equine friends. I guess I see it as ‘trick training’ .

This can be utilised in live horse shows, circus acts, equine events (like Equitana) and television programs and movies.   The Silver Brumby, The Horse Whisperer, Flicker, The Saddle Club are a few that come to mind.  Never mind countless other classics! If this type of training interests you, perhaps you’ll want to research those who already provide this form of service/entertainment and training and pursue work with them.

http://www.pignon-delgado.com/ – take a look at the gorgeous horses on this site and what’s achieved with them.

“To me, horses and freedom are synonymous.” – Veryl Goodnight

tag: shows, horse events, training

I’ve taken part in a few horse courses since 2001 and each one has had a subject focused on the values of equine nutrition. And rightly so. At both TAFE and while in Ireland the education facilities had provided for someone from Kentucky Equine Research to come out and speak to us about their products and their findings regarding different types of feed and their benefits to horses.

If you’re interested in KER, take a look at their current career opportunities, positions being available July 2008.

At TAFE we were taught about concentrates, roughage, mixed feeds, pellets and more and how to store these different types of feeds. A horse’s diet should consist mainly of bulk (roughage) such as grass/hay but also be provided with hard feeds that may give other vitamins/amino acids that are important for their general health and growth.

Many feed companies now cater to classes of horses, making up feeds for the older horse, mares in foal, mares with a foal at foot, a working stallion, competitive horses and those in light work. It’s worth finding out what your horse needs in it’s diet and shopping around to find the type of feed and cost that best suits you. Also consider where you’re going to store it to avoid mould and vermin causing problems.

For those interested there is definitely a market in researching and designing feeds for horses that fit their fitness level and diet requirements as well as assessing the diets of classes of horses and making adjustments/providing information regarding possible improvements.

Some links to consider:
http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/ – This site allows you to work out what your horse needs in the form of nutrients based on weight, exercise and type of feed.
http://desertequinebalance.blogspot.com/ – A blog dedicated to equine nutrition.
Pryde’s Easifeed
Mitavite Feeds
Hygain Feeds

“The Horse. Here is nobility without conceit, Friendship without envy, Beauty without vanity. A willing servant, yet no slave.” – Ronald Duncan

tag: horse studies, equine nutrition, horse diet

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