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The Value of Planning and Planting

May 10, 2007 by Christine Meunier 3 Comments

Many people that are strong influences in my life teach and agree on the value of planning and planting – my parents, pastors at church, people I work with – all of whom are successful people that I look up to.

It is so important to (metaphorically speaking) plant a seed – discover your life’s desire – and work (plan) on having this come to pass. For me, it’s of course my property and reaching people through it and doing what I love.

One of the beautiful men I work with up in the country when doing the whole stud thing works on a few different studs as well as running his own 50 acre property. He has commented often on how he wishes he’d planted trees on first purchasing the property over seven years ago. The time has quickly passed and he knows it would have been smart to take the time initially, to see the fruits now.

In the middle of a strong drought for us here in Australia, the upkeep of horses is proving to be difficult and very expensive – especially for those utilising these gorgeous animals as part of a business. My current boss who has the facilities to keep horses is taking advantage of this time, getting good horses cheap because she can afford to keep them while others can’t. I’d much rather be in this boat than considering selling my beloved equine because I couldn’t afford to keep him!

Always with my (yet to be purchased) property in mind, I am looking for ways to be able to set myself up to be self sufficient so that I won’t suffer from problems that could have been at least lessened due to planning.

Trees provide shelter, wind breaks, shade and more importantly at this time I’m coming to realise, can work well as fodder. My boss has recently been pruning back many trees on her property – not as a big garden clean up, but because certain trees are quite appealing to the horses and work as a gut filler in this time where grass and hay is scarce.

The worker who has implanted into my brain the importance of planting trees on your property when first purchased has mentioned how valuable something like a lucerne tree can be – it’s a big bushy plant that can act as shade or a windbreak but more importantly, is appealing to horses and if planted and allowed to grow, can be of great value in times of a drought. Curious about other trees that could do the same thing, I did a search on the net and have found a half dozen trees that could be used as fodder (and wind breaks, shade, fire protection, etc).

I also stumbled across the book – Managing Horses on Small Properties by Jane Myers – which I purchased online (74 horse books in My Library, now!). Check out http://www.landlinks.com/?nid=20&pid=4896 for info on this book. Listed in this book for good fodder trees are:
– Willows, especially Weeping Willows – drought tolerant
– Poplars – tolerate dry periods
– Carob
– Honey Locust
– Tagasaste (Lucerne tree)

Also take a look at Landscape Design on the Sustainability Victoria Website – ESHousingManualCh10.pdf
Did you know that:
– Dense trees and shrubs can deflect strong winds and channel cooling summer breezes?
– A tree shading a window can reduce a room’s temperature by up to 12 degrees celcius?
– Deciduous trees provide summer shade yet allow winter sun access?
– Winbreaks are most effective when located at 90 degrees to the direction of the wind?

Some very helpful points on this .pdf file linked above. If you’re going to invest time in your horses and have a property, why not invest in planning and planting as well? It’ll only benefit you.

“Love means attention, which means looking after the things we love. We call this stable management.” – George H. Morris, The American Jumping Style

tag: horse books, property design, horse library, horse stud

Filed Under: Education, Horse Related

Movies and Novels Igniting the Passion

April 28, 2007 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

There’s nothing quite like a viewing of the Black Stallion or settling in a comfy chair on a rainy afternoon and delving into the likes of the Silver Brumby or the classic Black Beauty. And really, this is where the passion for horses starts for many.

It’s been a very interesting week working at one of the riding schools and ending up with new instructors and therefore learning even more while in the saddle. This has been topped off by a weekend of teaching today and a gymkhana tomorrow and Monday I’m going to another Thoroughbred Sale. And in less than four weeks time, South Africa! Guess I can’t complain about things being boring 😉

I had some friends over last night and yesterday morning in anticipation of wanting to eat lots of junk, I drove down to the local IGA store to stock up on the essentials – chocolate, icecream and Pringles. Where could you go wrong? My mistake – parking right in front of the Opp Shop next door to the IGA.

Now I keep telling myself that I won’t purchase any more horse books until I’ve read all the ones I’ve got (still got 15 of those to read. Well, now it’s 17).

It’s a bit hard not to notice when you look up from parking the car and staring at you out of the shop window is the front cover of a book that definitely has a horse on it. Now horse books are enough to have my attention, but extremely cheap horse books? I’m doomed.

So of course I wandered in and go figure, the book I’d seen wasn’t actually about horses, just had one on the front. But this led me to spotting A Horse Called Butterfly by Thurley Fowler. The front cover of a girl sitting in a tree looking completely unimpressed with a Palomino beside her jogged a memory of reading the book around fifteen years ago in primary school – scary!

So, I just had to add it to my collection and another – Pony Jobs for Jill by Ruby Ferguson that was on the same shelf. Addicted? Indeed.

I was telling a client about this at one of the riding schools that I was at earlier in the week and she commented how it was the movie National Velvet that actually convinced her to follow up on a childhood dream. Now with a child of her own who is old enough to be riding, she has finally acted on the desire to ride that was long ago ignited probably due to a similar movie or favourite horse book. It’s the likes of these classics that keep instructors and stable hands in work, I do believe.

Love reading horse related pieces yourself? Take a look at ridersnreapers.com – two pieces: Shivers and Taken Care Of. There’ll be another up there titled In the Midst of Adversity when the next edition comes out; a third horse piece I’ve written.
Got a rather large collection of horse books yourself? See if it compares to mine and tell me what I’m missing!

“There are only two emotions that belong in the saddle; one is a sense of humour and the other is patience.” – John Lyons

tag: horse library, instructing, writing

Filed Under: Education, Horse Related, Horseriding

Educating Self with a First Class Teacher…

April 16, 2007 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

…your horse.

It’s amazing all the different theories, exercises, recipes and discplines that are covered in horse-related books these days. You can learn a lot from them, granted; but it just doesn’t beat the hands on experience of having your own horse.

I had one of the girls at work asking me the other week about the costs of owning a horse and have concluded that in Victoria, Australia, $5000 would be a good amount to save up in order to be equipped for 12 months of horse related expenses.

Farrier – the horse’s feet need to be done every 6-8 weeks. Cost around $50; this can be cheaper (around $25) if done with other horses.

Food – 25kg bag of oaten chaff, lucerne chaff and bag of pellets. Cost around $80; if the horse needed to be fed; this would last for 2 months, based on a pony being fed at least four times a week

Agistment – $50 weekly; can be more expensive than this or a lot cheaper, but a reasonable rate to expect – should come with somewhere decent to ride.

Extras to consider – riding lessons – one per fortnight at around $50 for a 45 minute lesson.

One off costs – saddle, bridle, brushes, from around $300-$900. You can usually get a beginners start up kit (fully mounted saddle) for around $200-$300.

Total annual cost for farrier, feeding, agistment, fortnightly lessons and around $500 worth of tack – $5,145. Got all this? Better start saving for the horse!

“When in doubt, ask a horse.”

tag: self education

Filed Under: Education, Horse Related

Qualifications Needed to Own a Horse Stud

March 31, 2007 by Christine Meunier Leave a Comment

So I don’t believe there’s any rule about this one… one of my bosses bought a stud after managing his own mechanic shop. Another grew up on the property and took over after his dad. I think anyone with the money or interest can manage this one; whether or not they have any pieces of paper to say they know a thing or two about horses.

Just thought I’d put a piece up here cause it’s a topic or phrase that was searched upon and resulted in someone visiting this blog.

The above is exactly what I want to do with my life – own my own horse property and breed horses (plus lots of other things!). Currently I have three pieces of paper – all pretty much in the same area. Certificate II in Horse Studies (12 month course gained at 17 years of age); Diploma of Horse Studies (2 year course gained at 20 years of age) and a Certificate of Merit from the Irish National Stud (6 month course gained at 21 years of age).

I don’t believe any of these are NEEDED to own or run a horse stud. However, I believe ALL have brought me to the stage where if I had the funds at this very moment, I’d happily consider myself capable of running a horse property; focusing on breeding.

If your desire is to run your own horse place; I encourage you to look into doing a course, expecially if you haven’t been brought up with horses. It’s an awesome way to get experience and a piece of paper; to gain friends in the industry for life and to learn of important contacts in that same industry.

There’s no particular course that is the essential one to help you do so; but if you’re considering studying, think about doing a course that is at least 12 months, moreso 2 years or more and is at least at Diploma level. These courses are generally ‘management’ courses; designed for people with this level of work in mind. Another thought – make sure it covers that which to wish to focus on; find something a little more specific rather than general if you have a specific goal in mind.

“Poverty is another word for owning a horse…”

tag: horse stud

Filed Under: Career, Horse Related

Job available in North East Victoria on TB stud.

March 19, 2007 by Christine Meunier 1 Comment

Hello out there! Anyone interested in a job? Was chatting to a previous boss not too long ago who is looking for at least one person to fill in a permanent position at a Thoroughbred stud.

Don’t think TB experience is necessary, but definitely horse experience. In the middle of weaning foals currently, breeding season starts August 1 and Yearlings from December. Accomodation available on the property and about 5 mins from town.

I worked here for nine months, learnt lots and gained lots of sale experience through many yearling preps. For the breeding enthusiast they are a decent sized stud with many mares going through the property to foal down and be bred and they have their own stallions.

If interested get in contact with me via darquette_@hotmail.com or leave a comment with a way to contact you.

Chris

“You Know You’re A Horse Person When… you try to get by someone in a restricted space and instead of saying “excuse me” to him/her, you cluck at them instead.”

tag: job, thoroughbred stud season

Filed Under: Career, Horse Related

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