Equus Education

Your Horse Career Starts Here

Defining the Mission Clearly

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My beautiful man and I went along to church with my parents this Sunday just past and I must say, the message was great – and timely! (As often seems to be the case ;))

The pastor was talking about being a ‘change your world’ leader. A lot of the principles he discussed being necessary to make a difference in the world, I believe applies to anyone who has a big dream in life.

Mine? To run an agistment property and offer those on it and others wanting to learn about horses the opportunity to discover the joy that is living and learning horses and the avenues and careers in which you can further explore the wonderful world of horses.

One point that he made which I loved was “to make a difference in this world, you don’t have to be the best. You just have to care the most.”

So true! Whatever it is that you’re passionate about; you’re going to get places because of your enthusiasm rather than your perfection. There were three main points about the leader that changes the world. These were:
– Define the goal clearly (as shown in Nehemiah 2:4-5)
– Make plans carefully (as shown in Nehemiah 2:6-8)
– Inspire people passionately (as shown in Nehemiah 2:17-18)

The one other point that really caught my attention I’ve heard before but had forgotten: if your dream is big enough to achieve without God, you’re not dreaming big enough!

So! What’s your dream? 🙂

“Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” – John Wesley

Horsey Cards to Clients for Christmas

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So I’ve recently stumbled across Send Out Cards, shortly after reading Jordan Adler’s Beach Money.  Initially the appeal was finding out how to build up a residual income – who wouldn’t want one?

But it’s since occurred to me the value of having online the opportunity to send out cards as you think to do so.  People often have the thought but lack the follow through.  Having a system set up online to be able to send out cards to a person or persons as you’re thinking of it is definitely the way to go.

But how does this relate to horses?  A lot of equine businesses send out cards to their clients for Christmas and New Years.  If they really get into it, they may even make sure the card has a horsey feel or even a photo of one of their own stallions, performance horses, a foal or the property.

Send Out Cards allows this, meaning that business owners can truly personalise cards in a cost effective manner (less than $1.50 USD to create, print and post the card) and set up databases that result in cards being sent by the click of a mouse.  Think of the possibilities:

  • Sending horsey Christmas/New Years cards to clients
  • Sending out a postcard with a photo of a client’s newborn foal to congratulate them on the safe arrival of their filly or colt
  • Sending out a card with a photo to mare owners of your stallion who has won at a recent show – add to the card a message reminding them about the upcoming breeding season
  • Send a gorgeous horse related card to a friend that you’re thinking of who also loves equines

There are many possibilities and of course the cards aren’t limited to equine enthusiasts.  It is no surprise however that this is where my mind goes.  Perhaps you’d like to take a closer look and even send a few cards for free to test it out…  Further information on Send Out Cards and it’s use can be found in an article I’ve written.

“You know you’re a horse person when… your mother, who has no grandchildren, gets cards addressed to Grandma, signed by the horses and dogs.”

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Equine Assisted Learning

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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:

“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.”

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Water and Horses

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Today is Blog Action Day; this year’s topic being Water.  Blog Action Day is an initiative to raise awareness on topics that are important globally.  Consider taking the time to sign the petition with regards to providing water to those in need.

Water is very much a relevant topic to horse owners.  An important source that isn’t inexhaustible, being water wise with regards to one’s property is a wonderful skill to have and something to strive toward.

There are many ways you can take advantage of water on your property and try to get the most out of it.  Some include:

  • planting treesin windbreaks that are drought tolerant
    • using trees along fence lines can also help to stop soil erosion from water running down the property
  • establish dams in areas where rain is known to travel down to
  • establish dams or other large water areas on the property where northerly winds can travel across them first and then the rest of the property
    • this will assist in cooling down the breeze as it continues across the property
  • make use of water run off or opportunities to collect wasted water
    • whether this is from gutters, water from the washing machine after washing horse rugs or excess water in the shower, this water can be used on plants on the property that provide fodder, shade and wind breaks

Water is such a vital resource that can’t afford to be wasted.  Consider how you can maximise it on your property.
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Last year Blog Action Day focused on Climate Change – check out the Equus post ‘Climate Change Effects for Horse Owners’

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

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Higher Education

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So it’s the time of year in Victoria, Australia for VCE students to be considering what they want to do after year 12 and consequently put in applications for further education if this is the desire. Mature age students too may be applying for TAFE and University courses.

Adjustments to funding by the government are going to affect these mature age students as of 2011. Up until now, TAFE courses have been the cheaper form of gaining a qualification by a large sum. When I completed my Diploma of Horse Studies in 2004, the course had cost me around $1500 for the two years – including texts! Currently, my Degree costs this per semester – and that’s carrying out a part time load.

As of 2011, any person over the age of 20 years that has a qualification and chooses to undertake another course of a lower qualification will be penalised in that they have to pay full fees. For example, if someone has completed a Diploma in a particular area or perhaps even a Degree and they decide on a career change, they could be affected. They may choose perhaps to go on and do a Certificate III or IV in Horse Studies or something similar and end up having to pay full fees.

This could be somewhere around $14/hour and for a course that has a total of around 800 hours to complete the subjects required to gain the qualification, the result is that this mature age student ends up paying in excess of $11,000 for a lower qualification than they already have.

No doubt this is to encourage up skilling, with the view that people should always be aiming for a higher qualification than they currently have. However, this doesn’t encourage career changes. Perhaps one possible way around this for those who are quick to act and have some prior experience in the field they want to gain a qualification is to contact your local provider and find out if you can be registered on the books this year and given RPL for those relevant subjects and then be carried over as a student to next year.

Either way, if you’re considering studying for next year whether it’s part time, full time, alongside work or not, now is the time to put those considerations into action.

“They say that princes learn no art truly, but the art of horsemanship. The reason is, the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as his groom.” – Ben Johnson

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About Equus Education

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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