It’s coming around to that time of year again.  For those considering the study thing, be it full time, part time or via distance education whilst working, there are a multitude of horse courses out there!

To draw your attention to two in the Melbourne, Victoria area:

• Certificate II in Equine Industry
• Certificate III in Agriculture (Horse Breeding)

Both courses are on offer at Box Hill TAFE, and the open day is this Sunday, August the 28th from 10am.  Open Days are a great opportunity to find out what a course offers, see how it is delivered and meet the knowledgeable teachers.  It’s never too late to start learning and gain a qualification!

tag: equine education, horse course, distance education

A few days ago I received an email asking what was happening with my novel in progress.  A reply and second email enlightened me to the fact that the person asking was Danielle Silvestri, author of Dancing Hooves.

The idea for this book formed when I was studying in 2003/2004.  I’ve been writing it since then and despite having planned to finish the novel in 2009, find I’m still quite a way from that!

Danielle’s emails commented on how being stagnant in writing for a time isn’t a bad thing: it allows you time to mature and come back and improve on something.

Perhaps you have a dream that’s been sitting stagnant for awhile… so much so that you’re not sure it’ll ever come to pass.  Dreams are placed on our heart for a reason – it’s dangerous not to hope.  Anything that is so big that it seems impossible, great!  That means it’s a dream from God that can only be achieved with His help.

Pausing for awhile when ‘life get’s in the way’, doesn’t mean the end of a dream.  Keep on dreaming.

“If I had a horse, I’d ride off in the sunset, where dreams, and shadows lie. To a life, where pain and sorrow don’t exist, and to where hopes, and dreams become reality.” – Lindsay Turcotte

We had a Care for Horses workshop this week for the Certificate II and III equine students that I help to teach. One area the students looked at is neglect and horse welfare, with some questions based around the equine organisation, Project Hope.

That got me thinking about neglect and horse welfare in general and I thought it worth a post on such equine organisations. Perhaps your passion is to see horses restored to the physical condition they should be in, rather than the one that they sometimes find themselves in.

Organisations such as the RSPCA and Project Hope can be heartbreaking. Such a job that can showcase so graphically how cruel and ignorant horse owners can be is not for the faint hearted. However, if this is where you feel called to be, perhaps pursuing volunteer work in such an organisation would be a start.

Being organisations, the larger ones – such as the RSPCA – may have the opportunity to offer a limited number of paid positions, which may be able to be worked towards once you have a foot in the door by volunteering. When considering the health of horses, knowledge in the areas of wound care, nutrition and exercise may be of benefit to help restore equines to their full potential.

Consider the likes of short courses or even doing a subject here and there at a local TAFE or university to assist in this area if you find you are lacking.

“If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong.” – Pat Parelli

tag: equine education, horse welfare, short course, online course

Back in January of this year, I posted about an incredibly cheap offer for one of Equinology’s equine sports massage subjects/courses.  Always curious about courses on offer, I mentioned this to my boss and she, a workmate and I all ended up signing up for the course.

Course moderator Debranne Pattillo has recently posted to the group announcing the two year anniversary of this course – congrats to the crew at Equinology!

For those of you interested in anatomy and physiology of the horse (bone and skeletal structure specifically) and the idea of massage, the Equinology site and it’s courses is well worth exploring.  The joys of many online courses is they can be carried out part time or at your own place, alongside work or other study!

“You cannot remain unmoved by the gentleness of conformation of a well-bred and well-trained horse. . . more than 1000 pounds of big-boned, well-muscled animal, yet forever a menace with it’s innocent power. . .but when it greets you with a nicker and regards you with a large and liquid eye, the question of where you want to be has been answered.”

tag: equine education, equinology, short course, online course

It’s been a ridiculously long time since I posted! Don’t you love when life gets in the way? Things have been great but incredibly busy – sorry for a lack of posting.

I’ve been studying for exams of late and reading up on a psychological test by Solomon Asch, which proves how people can cave to peer pressure or give up on ideas because the majority think it isn’t possible. Ever done that?

Coming up to the end of the financial year, you may be reassessing goals and priorities and what you want to do with your horse future. Perhaps a business idea or career change is emerging… and why not?

Not all dreams and goals come to pass once they’ve been decided. Many may take years. Whatever it is that you’re hoping to achieve, consider what steps you can take today to see them start to come to fruition. And don’t worry about what the majority say – in fact, as good as it is to get the opinion of others, sometimes it’s safer to share dreams only with those who will encourage and help you to achieve them.

It’s often those in the minority who have made the most incredible changes to society – and for the better. William Wilberforce is an excellent example. Don’t forget: those who follow the crowd get lost in it.

‘Against the grain should be a way of life,’ Nickleback