StableGuard is an interesting setup for people who own horses. This was another horse related product that I recently came across through our learning content at work.  This mobile device equine monitoring and alert system allows you to have your eye on your horse at any time of the day.  There are live stream feeds of your horse in its stall and even the chance to play back their activity.

As it says on the My StableGuard site, “StableGuard improves your show performance by helping keep your horses healthy and injury free.”

For any unusual behaviour in the horse’s stall, horse owners are notified. You are able to keep track of how horses are eating, drinking and sleeping.  You can have the application setup on your mobile and receive emergency alerts in relation to your horse’s wellbeing.

This can further be of benefit by providing live stream access to your horse at a show. This could negate the need for staff to carry out night checks on stock at shows.  StableGuard allows you to check on a horse from a mobile device, at any time. Great!  It makes use of “specialized Artificial Intelligence software to help monitor the health and security of horses.”

There really are some incredible tools to help horse owners ensure their equines are safe and healthy.  My StableGuard seems to be another such incredible creation.  You can learn about installation of the cameras and the setup within stables at the site as well as the application and how this works on your phone.

“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.” ― William Shakespeare

The first in the Linda Craig series is The Palomino Mystery.  This tale follows the story of Linda and Bob Craig.  They are living with their grandparents on their ranch after the loss of their parents.  Linda is rapt to hear that her grandfather intends to find her a palomino of her very own.

In their search for a beautiful golden horse, Linda and Bob learn about some mysterious lights that are seen along the local flight path.  They are only seen however on extremely dark nights.  Linda and Bob are curious about what the lights could possibly mean.  Are they linked to something nefarious?

When the gentleman who told them about the lights goes missing, it seems the race is on to find him before it’s too late.  When he is found, a new mystery regarding stolen horses arises.

As Linda and Bob seek to find the source of the mysterious lights, they question if it does indeed tie in with the purebred equines that are going missing in the area.  Amongst their travels Linda finds herself hopelessly in love with a palomino filly.  In time she is rapt at the possibility of securing the filly as her own but this goes out the window as the mysterious horse thieves strike and her filly is gone.

Suddenly the lights and missing horses become the Palomino Mystery as Linda and Bob work to find the gorgeous filly that has been taken.  As they piece things together, the palomino filly helps them in many ways and it is because of this horse that Linda and Bob are able to wrap up an unusual mystery.  The first book in this series is an interesting read where horses feature highly.

Author – Ann Sheldon
Fiction – teenagers
In my library – that it is!

I love any free horse related event and especially love sharing information about them.  Perhaps you’re able to go to one because someone’s taken the time to share that information.  One of interest particularly for people in my local area is an upcoming Faecal Egg Count Workshop.

The event is to be held in Wangaratta, Victoria Australia on Monday, March 18, 2019. As the Facebook event states:

• Learn how to carry out a Faecal Egg Count
• Interpret the results and what this means for you and your horse moving forward
• Presented by Allison Arnott of Ovens Valley Equine

This event runs from 6.30pm – 8.30pm, with 6pm arrival time encouraged.  It’s hosted by North East & Surrounds Equine Land Care.  As an added bonus, the event is free and light refreshments are provided.

The practice for worming horses used to be to do it often – say each season.  Then there was a focus on rotating the active ingredient in wormers.  Now it’s encouraged to carry out a faecal egg count on horses.  This involves a sample of manure and determining how many eggs from worms are within the manure.

Based on this, it is then determined if it’s necessary to worm a horse. In this way, only horses considered to have a sizeable worm burden are wormed. This is in the hopes of discouraging worms building up resistance to active ingredients in worming pastes.

I became aware of the Morgan breed of horse only through a girl at TAFE by the same name.  I thought it was rather cool that she could have a breed of horse that shared her name!  Morgan horses are not a breed that I believe is well known in Australia.  That said, it was really interesting to learn about the start of the breed in Marguerite Henry’s book, Justin Morgan Had a Horse.

Justin Morgan is a teacher who has a bit of debt behind him.  The story starts with him having completed a long travel on foot with a young boy named Joel.  The two are seeking out Farmer Beane who owes Justin a sum of money that will help him to pay his debts.

Unfortunately times are tough and all that Farmer Beane can offer the schoolmaster is two horses.  One is a good looking, sturdy colt.  The other appears a runt and doesn’t appeal to Justin or any others who come across his path.  And yet, young Joel is drawn to him.

Although Justin doesn’t care for the runt of a colt, he finds himself soon the owner of the pair and Joel is delighted to be able to invest his time and energy in the colt.  Their long walk back home to Vermont provides ample time for him to build a bond with the young male horse.  And in time Joel is rapt to be asked to gentle the horse, starting him under saddle.  Little Bub as he is affectionately known proves himself as a fast horse, although he may not be much to look at.

And so starts the journey of the little horse that will later be known as Justin Morgan.  When pitted against other horses – draughts, racehorses and various breeds, he consistently proves himself.  Although Joel doesn’t own the horse, he is proud as can be of the little colt that grows into a fine stallion.  And in time, many, many years later Joel is able to restore the horse to what he once was when he became a fine stallion.  Justin Morgan Had a Horse is a really interesting read about the establishment of this American breed of horse.

Author – Marguerite Henry
Non Fiction – children, history
In my library – that it is.

I downloaded the Very Worst Riding School in the World recently on Kindle.  What a title for a book!  Interestingly, it is a short story that is a retelling of factual events.  It seems that Lucinda has loved horses from a young age.  And yet, in spite of her fascination with the beautiful animal, she admits that they are intimidating.  And although she desires to have horses and do well with them, it seems that her lessons only highlight how much she doesn’t know.

And yet in spite of this, it seems that there is a need for a riding school in the area where Lucinda lives.  She and her husband with their children find themselves in Africa in an area that may have horses, but doesn’t have a riding school.  As Lucinda’s husband acquires a couple of horses for her, she goes on a journey learning about how to feed them and care for them.

As the story is retold, there are obvious moments where horse people will be cringing and shaking their heads.  When Lucinda’s well meaning husband finds some land for them to keep the horses on, it seems that more horses are acquired in exchange for using the land.  And these horses are far from in prime condition.  And so the herd grows and the need to deal with serious neglect issues arises.

For someone who has barely learned the basics about horse care, suddenly locals are wanting her to teach their children to ride.  And so starts the very worst riding school in the world.

This retelling is a short read and only touches on how the riding school is first started.  To find out about how things progress, the reader is encouraged to sign up to Lucinda’s mailing list so that they can gain exclusive access to the next book in the series.  The first book was interesting and it was refreshing to see that the author could acknowledge their lack of expertise in the area of caring for horses.  It was good too to see that she sought out advice from those more in the know, but I can see how the riding school could very easily turn into a negative setup in a case of the blind leading the blind.

Author – Lucinda E. Clarke
Non Fiction – adult
In my library – on Kindle it is.