Equus Education

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Equine Behaviour Course Online at the University of Guelph

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An equine behaviour course is being run in May of this year and although the early bird rate date has passed, it’s still worth a look!

By the looks of things, the course runs over a 3 month period and can all be done online, so there is no need to travel to the university to complete it.  Assessment comes in the form of discussions on a forum, online quizzes and two assignments.

Topics covered include:

  • Introduction to Behaviour
  • Perception
  • Behaviour and the Brain
  • Learning
  • Social & Play, Communication
  • Body Care
  • Ingestive and Eliminative Behaviours
  • Reproductive Behaviour
  • Stereotypies
  • Locomotion
  • Training
  • Handling and Transporting
  • Welfare

Equine behaviour is a particularly interesting and important topic.  For animals that have a mind of their own and that are often in excess of 500 kilograms, the more you can know about why they behave the way they do, the better off you and they are!

“Lessons From Your Horse: when you’re quick to react, let me teach you that herbivores kick much faster than omnivores.” – Author unknown

American Horse Publications Seminar June 2014

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Got an email via LinkedIn the other day about an annual seminar held by American Horse Publications:

Charleston, SC will be the site of the AHP Gallop n’ Grits Seminar on June 19-21. The three day seminar will feature two days of educational sessions relative to the equine publishing industry. Registration is limited to members of American Horse Publications. More information about the association and the seminar is available at www.americanhorsepubs.org or contact Chris Brune at ahorsepubs@aol.com

If you’re in the vicinity and are interested in equine publishing, I’d encourage you to become an American Horse Publications member and look into attending!

“Words are as beautiful as wind horses, and sometimes as difficult to corral.” – Ted Berkman, The Christian Science Monitor

Speed to Safety – Educating Young Riders

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I was really excited when I started learning about counting strides before and between jumps, and correctly executing it.  The same may be said for the horse rider who learns to ride a certain number of strides per minute, especially one who dreams of riding racehorses or eventing hoses for a living.

Being able to ride a horse at a particular pace over a predefined distance is a skill.  Pony Club’s Speed to Safety event focuses on developing riders to do exactly this.

If you Could Gallop Down one of Australia’s Well-known Racetracks, Would you?

In 2012, the winners of heats from different pony clubs around the state met at Moonee Valley racecourse to compete for first place in their event.  In 2013, the race was held at Caulfield Racecourse.  What a coo to be able to say you raced on either of these tracks!

It seems according to the Pony Club Victoria website that Speed to Safety is going ahead for 2014 also.  Tatura have a qualifying event being carried out on March 29th, while the state event qualifier will be held on April 26th and it seems that the finals are again to be held at Caulfield Racecourse, on February 7, 2015.

For those who dream of riding fast horses for a living and are a part of a Victorian Pony Club, this would be well worth looking into.

“Each leg in it’s gallop seems to stream with a rush of speed as though from a bucket of water poured o’er the field.” – Arabian Poet

Walk the Badminton Course with Experts

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Great Britain’s equestrian team are the benefactors for the 2014 Badminton Horse Trials.  Currently they’re in the process of raising funds to help support the team compete at the World Equestrian Games and upcoming Olympic events.

April 1, 2014 tickets go on sale for individuals who would like to donate a small fee to be able to walk the Badminton course with equestrian celebrities.

Being able to walk the course with equestrians who have performed highly around the world would be one thing; getting to walk such a well-known course would be another for the aspiring course designer.  Whatever your reason, the suggested donation of 25-30 pounds for either of the 2 events seems a worthwhile investment in one’s education.

“A horse who puts on a show in the dressage ring and strives to get through cross country and only knocks down one rail in stadium is more deserving of a break when he gets home than the horse who got first….only because he’s worked harder for that trip around the course.” – Author unknown

Horse Welfare Organisation

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I’ve seen, heard and read some things that concern me with regards to horse welfare.  And sadly at some point(s) I may have been a cause for concern with others as I was learning about horses and owning my first horse!

Students I teach, people I study with or work with and others I meet in varying equine fields inadvertently display forms of ignorance that could negatively affect a horse’s welfare.  I’m not saying that I know it all – I never will!  But I aspire to keep learning and improving and am rapt to find that there are organisations out there that advocate for horse welfare.

One such example is the World Horse Welfare Organisation that helps raise horse welfare awareness around the world:

There are around 100 million working equines in the developing world that fuel the economies of countries in Africa, Central America and Asia.  Working horses lead demanding, exhausting lives made worse by the wounds and injuries they suffer through inadequate shoeing, harnesses and nutrition.

Our practical international training programmes improve horse care and livelihoods in some of the world’s poorest communities, working with horse owners to identify the barriers to better horse care, teach them new skills and help them better feed and tend to their most important asset.

 I’m sure working with such an organisation would be both incredibly rewarding and heartbreaking at times.  However, if this is an area you’re passionate about, why not link in with this organisation via Facebook, Twitter or the like and keep abreast of what they’re up to and how you can do your part for raising horse welfare awareness.

“When my health and strength are gone-When I’m getting old and feeble, and my long life’s work is done-Don’t sell me to cruel owners, to be slaved to my latest breath…” – Author unknown

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You will find equine careers profiled on this blog and people interviewed who are making a career in the horse industry.  Equus Education aims to show others that horses can indeed be a sustainable career.

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