I took a trip down the coast with a mate from Sydney not too long ago with the main focus being to stop in at Free Rein Australia, a place that offers Equine Assisted Learning/Psychotherapy.

We stopped in for a chat on account of my curious mate researching this field with the view to enter it.  Of course, being something horsey, a business and completely foreign to me, I was up for joining in on the road trip.  The hour and a half or so there gave us the opportunity to see some gorgeous gardens, a lovely property and two people passionate about their horses and fairly recent career change.

Established in 2005, Free Rein Australia utilises horses to help people learn about themselves and their capabilities to work as a team based on how they interact with others.  Loosely based around EGALA, Cindy Jacobs informed us there were others nearby that utilised similar methods to work in a niche area, for example with troubled teams, victims of abuse and other people able to be helped by working with horses.  This far from exhausts possibilities.

For those interested in defining an area within this line of work and developing a focus and niche, Cindy Jacobs recommended reading Walking the Way of the Horse by Leif Hallberg. Not the be all and end all by any means, this book is a good eye opener for those considering therapy with horses.

For those keen, consider:

• Profile On: Cindy Jacobs, Equine Assisted Learning
• EAGALA
• http://www.gestaltequinepsychotherapy.com.au/files/location.html
• Hippotherapy
• Profile On: Barbara Smith, Horse OT

“A dog looks up to a man, a cat looks down on a man, but a patient horse looks a man in the eye and sees him as an equal.”

Tag: equine assisted learning, physical therapy, equine therapy, free rein australia, occupational therapy, Cindy Jacobs

So study for my Horse Management subject at uni has me going over the anatomy and physiology of the stallion currently.  Upon looking at artificial insemination I realised I’d planned to do a piece with regards to Equitainers and after a quick search on this blog, it appears that I haven’t!

Those familiar with transporting semen with regards to breeding the mare, will be familiar with Equitainers.

For those who aren’t, an Equitainer is a container used to courier semen to mare owners so that the mare can be artificially inseminated within a particular time frame.  If the mare isn’t inseminated within this short time frame, chances are she will not conceive.  Consequently, the lining up work of the vet as well as expenses with regards to collecting from the stallion and the mare owner having to dish out a reasonable amount of money would all be wasted.

For those interested in the artificial insemination breeding side of horses, Equitainer.com of Hamilton Research Inc. provides information with regards to:
– reproduction courses
– different products to assist in the ease of preparing mares to be inseminated
– articles relating to transported semen, collection and general reproduction issues

In an industry where reproductive technologies are advancing at an impressive pace, someone stepped into a niche area, providing a product that is now recognised as one of the best for “equine cooled shipping semen containers,” says Paul Loomis of Select Breeders Services.

In the equine reproductive world, those making use of such technologies available may find themselves jumping ahead in the products and services that are able to be offered to equine breeders.

tag: artificial insemination, transporting semen, equitainer, breeding horses

“Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.” – Breeder’s axiom