Recently I discovered this group on Facebook and thought I’d take a look.  It’s an online group that is set as a challenge for riders in the year 2018.  The Confident Rider Project is aimed to be an online community to help people ride their horses, boost their confidence and achieve more in life.

From Dressage Music to Confidence Coaching

As the creator of this project has stated:

“My business has evolved over the last 5 years, from my dressage schooling music; ‘The Musical Ride Company’. Which still exists and is designed to help riders in a variety of ways (fitness, something interesting to do on those dark winter nights and confidence building.) Now I have expanded to create a support group /community and website for horse lovers all over the world to help with confidence building and equestrian lifestyle.”

If you’re interested in taking part in this project, I encourage you to look at the website and if you’re up for some freebies, be sure to check out the free tools, guidance and resources.

Want to read specifically about the Confident Rider Project?  You can find out about this six month program here.  If you sign u

p via this post, you can get the first month free.  You can check out the Facebook page via https://www.facebook.com/confidenthorseriderproject/ and join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/theconfidentriderproject/.

If you’re someone who wants to boost their confidence in riding horses, whilst working with them and in life in general, then perhaps you’d like to check out the Confident Rider Project.  It seems like a great initiative for 2018.

“He’s of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger…. he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.” ― William Shakespeare

So recently I’ve been made aware of the area of zoopharmacognosy. As with most things for this horse obsessed person, I got to thinking how it could relate to horses. Zoopharmacognosy and the equine species!

So what is this mouthful of a word? The section of the word pharm may have you thinking about pharmacies, pharmaceuticals and medication. Zoo relates to animals. Generally speaking, this term relates to animals self medicating on plants in their environment. They are able to choose to eat what they need to assist with particular maladies.

Like other animals, horses can do this if appropriate plants are available to them in their environment. Horses are typically seen as grazers – eating little and often in the form of grasses. They are also browsers and will eat various shrubs in their environment if these are palatable to them.

Zoopharmacognosy and the Equine Species

Equus Education has recently profiled Beth Chamberlin in this unique horse career area.  Why not read the profile to find out how she has turned equinepharmacognosy into a horse career?  As it states on her website:

‘Equinepharmacognosy is a hollistic approach to health and well being based on Applied Zoopharmacognosy.  The practice of animals self selecting plant extracts for environmental enrichment and homeostatic behaviour.  Unlock your horse’s innate ability by giving the choice to self select natural remedies.’

Reading how Beth offers horses the chance to choose between various herbal products, has me questioning if we can take this a step further.  What it we could put particular plants into our horses’ environment to allow them to eat these when needed?  I love the fact that as horse owners, we could potentially provide things in our horses’ environments to assist their health, naturally.

Surely we can specifically plant things, knowing that if a horse needs to ingest this plant, it can choose to do so!  Brilliant.  If not, being able to employ someone to provide various plant products to ailing horses so they can choose what they need is great.

A Chance to Come True is the first book in the Copperhead Creek series.  In this, Caity Jones finds herself chasing a sea change. With a job that is stressful and unenjoyable and an ex-boyfriend who refused to commit to marriage and a family, Caity purchases a small acreage in country Australia and moves from her busy life in Werribee.

Willows is a tiny town, but it seems perfect for Caity. She can pursue her dream to write, have her horse on her property and enjoy the company of her cats. Dropping into the local feed store in preparation for her gelding’s arrival, she meets the owner Tom. The attraction is instant, but Caity isn’t sure it’s reciprocated. And besides, she moved to Willows to get away from men and to focus on writing.

In time Caity learns about Tom’s children and realises that he’s a married man. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with his eldest son, Porter and is soon giving him the chance to ride her horse Rocky. As Caity meets the rest of Tom’s children, she comes to develop a friendship with them and enjoys their company. Her interest in Tom doesn’t wane. In fact, it grows as she learns of his availability. It seems the attraction isn’t one-sided, also.

A Chance to Come True is an entertaining romance set in rural Australia. The characters are realistic and battling typical issues – insecurities about themselves and life. One aspect of the story I struggled with was Caity’s ex-boyfriend. At one point, his behaviour was incredibly inappropriate and it amazed me that she would allow him to leave without having to account for his actions. The topic of spousal abuse is touched on and I felt shouldn’t be left without police intervention. Otherwise the story is a nice romance with realistic issues in life.

Author – S M Spencer
Fiction – Adult
In my library – as an eBook it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

Recently I provided details on an internship at the Irish Field that related to equestrian journalism. In particular, it was focused on equestrian pursuits. In my head, a lot of horse related journalism pertains to racing. But at the end of the day, many people want to read about other horse riding pursuits, too!

There are Olympic equestrian events and of course great horse events around the world that focus on Dressage, Showjumping and Cross Country riding.  Or what about polo or polocrosse tournaments? For the person who loves to write and who loves horses, the idea of equestrian journalism may be appealing.  So why not consider it as a career possibility?

So what would you need to do? Having skill for writing is one thing; being qualified in the area of journalism is another. You can undertake a journalism degree which will take you four years at the likes of Melbourne University, Australia.

In this way, you can choose any undergraduate degree and then go on for a fourth year to focus on journalism.  If this is the case, be sure to choose a degree that links in with your horse focus – equine science or agriculture, perhaps.

Other options include undertaking a Diploma level qualification, as offered on the Morris Journalism Academy.  The course can be as short as 12 weeks, up to 2 years and done via distance.

Equestrian Journalism as a Career

Once you’re qualified, what then? Well if you want to focus on horses, it is best to make contact with newspapers or magazines that cover horse events. Reach out to places that are local to you.  Alternatively, look for places that you can write for online and provide pieces this way.

“A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment.” ― Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Recently reading a novel by Alex Brown, I was made aware of another job at the racetrack. Although I know that horse races are timed and records set and broken, I was ignorant to one group of people. These people are known as clockers. They work at the racetrack to clock and make record of the time in which a horse runs in its morning workouts.

These official timings are recorded and published in the Racing Form, apparently. This information is utilised for handicapping.

It states in an article on clockers as a job:

“Clockers must keep an accurate record of the fractional and final times for each workout taking place on the track. A copy of the official clocker report (including horse, trainer, distance, fractional times, and final time) must be provided to the racing stewards and racing secretary each day.
All workouts must then be published for review by the handicapping public in the track program and Daily Racing Form.”

Clockers – Timing Horses as a Job

For those who may consider this as a potential horse career, there are a few things to note. One, early mornings are a given. Many start work at 5am to be able to catch the times of the first horses training. Two, the job also requires commitment 6 – 7 days a week. It does however, leave afternoons free to pursue a second job or other interests.

A search online reveals that no particular qualification is required to be a clocker. However, a high school certificate is encouraged. The individual also needs to be able to multitask and pay attention to detail. For those who want to pursue working in the racing industry in a different role, being a clocker may be of interest.