Fed Up Already Of Xmas - Read This

'Er indoors is just finishing the Xmas table decs and finalising the pressies. She buys her Xmas cards in the January sales and they've all been sent. I haven't even started yet, I'm a man though.
The Xmas puds and the mince pies are all safely in the freezer and the menus are all decided. If your partner is this organised then it's bliss....most of the time, isn't it? Mind you.......what on earth am I going to get her for Xmas?

Y'know, you can use Photoshop for more or less anything.....

Horse training and drink driving don't mix. Read this since it's a warning to us all particularly at this time of year.

Why train your horse to respect your personal space? For two reasons. First, safety. Your horse weighs about 10 times what you do. When he's standing back with both eyes on you, he can't knock you down, step on you, or try to bite. If he approaches only at your invitation, you're always in control and therefore much safer. Clinton Anderson shows how this is done. Courtesy of Equisearch.

Horses are the opposite of dogs,gratitude-wise. You give a dog something totally wretched to eat, such as a toad part or a wad of pre-chewed Dentyne, and the dog will henceforth view you as the Supreme Being. Whereas if you spend hours grooming a horse and lugging its food and water around, the horse will be thinking, “Should I chomp on this person’s arm? What makes a man think like this? Read on

A high school band spooked a horse pulling a carriage at the annual Legacy Village tree lighting ceremony, and it took off. "We saw the horse. It was like the night of the apocalypse. This horse just, this big white horse took off," said a witness. The horse collided with at least two care before breaking away from the carriage and taking off at a full gallop. Video to the right...sorry about the ad beforehand.

Clip two from Jay O’Jay’s colt starting video entitled Journey to Connection from his series of horse training DVD Videos.
The journey begins with Jay outside the round pen and with an unbroken 3-year-old filly inside. Jay explains how the round pen is the ideal venue to communicate, show leadership and form a connection with your horse. Nice training video in a series worth looking at.

You may not know this site - you can make your own photo montages and videos and then really smarten them up to look really professional. It doesn't cost and here's an example of just one from a horse loving cowboy....actually, girl. Nice music too.

Horse-Based Home Businesses. Do you want to turn your passions into profits? Get inspiration, tips and advice from people just like you who have turned their ideas into horse-based home businesses. This is very dear to my heart since I run one and I work on the committee of a home based business network here in the Hastings. Good read this:

Watch The Video - FEI Young Rider World Cup Bound Kassie Barteau and Raymeister GP Perform at Arabian Nights Dinner Theater in Orlando. Now I don't rate the announcer or the music....lousy choice that would scare most horses stupid, but the action is great to watch. Great horse and rider. Video is half way down the page.


Photo Comp...last days! Get in quick here 

Have a great week

The Horse's Tongue Appears To Be Blue.......

Our house, or rather 'hotel' is now open for visitors until Xmas...and it's already fully booked. If it were left up to me they'd all pay but I'm a misery according to 'er indoors and she says you can't make your friends and relatives pay to come and stay. When I suggested I might as well wear a concierge uniform, her reply was in the form of a hurled object which missed....fortunately for me. I think I might spend the rest of the day hidden in the garden.......

Well, there's been a hell of a row about the video showing a horse being schooled before the World Cup round in Odense on October 18 by Swedish rider Patrick Kittel. The animal, Watermill Scandic, is shown in a hyperflexed position with its tongue flopping outside its mouth. The horse's tongue appears blue. We posted the video with appropriate comments two weeks ago and this isn't the end of it either. Here's the original video.
This article comes from NZ on what's likely to happen internationally and I've also had emails on the subject to the extent of some sites now petitioning horse lovers to stop this practice.
Here's one of them if you are interested:
Thanks to Alice for informing us.

A call centre providing advice and support for UK consumers about European purchases is celebrating its second birthday. Buried in the masses of common complaints on timeshares and transport are bizarre topics such as flowers, lipstick and a horse. Yep, it's bizarre but worth reading if you are contemplating buying a horse from abroad (so what's wrong with buying Australian?)

Most of us probably have other pets besides horses, that is if you count a horse as a 'pet', depends if it's a work animal I guess. Anyways,  this article on pet problems is worth a read...it will get you on one side or other of the pet 'fence'. Controversial...of course. I mean, just read the introduction...
Britain's problem with pets: they're bad for the planet. The authors of a provocative new book have bad news for animal-lovers: pets are bad for the planet. They consume vast amounts of precious resources, produce mountains of noxious waste – and they can be a disaster for wildlife. Um...read more

You'll remember we posted a vid on trail riding in South Africa well here's a great video from Horse.co.nz.

Beginning Horse Riding : Horse Riding Balance & Body Mechanics. Here's a nice video for the beginner. Unfortunately, as with some YouTube videos, there are the usual inane comments by idiot viewers, some of whom obviously know nothing about horses apart from the odd riding school lesson in the past, but apart from that it's interesting.

“If you want to know about gold medals, ask David O’Connor. If you want to know about falling, ask me! Nobody has fallen more than I have, in 10 years of riding bad maiden claimers.” That’s how Danny Warrington, steeplechase jockey turned successful upper-level eventing competitor and trainer, sums it up as he tries to spread the word about the importance of knowing how to fall. Every rider should watch this.

The Six Golden Principles of Horse Training - The co-founders of Cavalia share their insights on equine behavior and training in this excerpt from their new book, Gallop to Freedom. Plus, watch a video preview of the book! A fascinating article...you don't need the book, just read the article to get a good grasp. You might not agree with everything but there are some great principles here...if you've got the time. Courtesy of Equisearch.

There are more pictures of horses than you can poke a stick at....so why haven't you entered yours for our comp? Enter here and view the great prize too.

Have a great week!

Amazing Horse Race - You Won't Believe This.

Washed out again with all the rain over the last week....we've now got so many frogs in the garden that I'm thinking of opening a restaurant.....'The Frogs Leg Feast' or similar.
Went out shopping with 'er indoors on Saturday and she bought another 500 Xmas lights. I reckon the place will look like a Christmas tree this year so I said I'd buy a timer just to make sure that we could save some electricity....then all the lights could go on at 8pm....and then turn off at 8.10 pm. Plenty of time for everyone to get a eyeful eh? Didn't go down too well that.......

This is The Breeders Cup - a huge horse race in the USA. Zenyatta was last by a long way at the start...then look what happens. I've seen some amazing races in my time but I think this one is one of the very best. Might even look out as to where she's running next and put a few dollars down.

What is believed to be the first prosecution over an obese horse in the UK took place this week, in Blackpool. A married couple from Cleveleys in Lancashire were yesterday banned for keeping horses for five years by Blackpool Magistrates Court.
Have a look at the pic...he is a little fatty but I must admit it's the opposite of the usual 'cruelty' reports we read.

Now excuse my ignorance, but I'd never before heard of 'Horseball' until today. It's a flourishing sport in Europe but I haven't ever seen it mentioned here. Looks a bit like a combination of touch rugby and basketball on horseback. Could be interesting and they already have national teams too. They even have a pic of the 'Horseball Full Monty'...yes, well. Interesting is the best term I could use for this.

Look at this AMAZING video of this man riding his horse through a trail/obstacle course bridleless...What an awesome leader he is for this horse and what a terrific horse!!! Courtesy of Jennifer and her blog...The Prairie House Primitives.

A police horse named Mr. Biggs is at the center of a lawsuit filed against the NY city last week. Allegedly the member of the NYPD's Mounted Unit took a bite out of a New Jersey woman Dineen Rudd last summer, and now that woman is suing. The city has not yet commented on the suit, but Rudd insists that they should have been aware of the horse's "propensity to attack and bite human beings." No word yet on how much she's seeking in the "horse suit." Ask the question...would you like to patrol NY on a horse?
Here's a great video of police officers from the Mounted Unit explaining their day, their training, and their horses.

The horse had been pulling a cart filled with tourists at the pyramids outside the Egyptian capital, when it slipped and fell down a slope on Friday afternoon. It fell flat on its side on the road, and bystanders had to step in to help it to its feet. Once back on its feet, the Egyptian owner repeatedly struck it hard over the head with a stick. The a white knight stepped in..read more. Who'd want to be a horse in Egypt?

Enjoy Your Horse on a Budget. Tightened your belt, but still hungry for fun? Check out these appealing, affordable horsey activities that won't hurt your budget. Some great ideas. Courtesy of Equisearch.

It was a Saturday after the races when Casie Coleman was heating an alcohol-based liniment to warm her horse’s feet. She didn’t think it was melting well enough so she poured alcohol on it. “It just exploded,” said the 29-year-old horse trainer. All she remembers seeing is a little blue flame. Read the remainder of this inspiring story.

Still time to enter our great horse pics comp...root out your favourite pic and send it in here.

Have a great week.

The Melbourne Cup Spectacular...well, nearly anyway

Well, The women came first and won a big silver cup at the Grafton dragon boat regatta...our mixed team came third. Some work still to go there but at least I didn't fall off the back of the boat this time. Lovely city with the Jacaranda trees in full bloom.
They're coming to install solar electricity panels tomorrow...'er indoors would love to see a negative power bill. I told her she must be dreaming. Shouldn't have done that since she's just arranged to have them start at 7am and guess who'll have to be there to greet them. Lesson learned until the next time no doubt.

How did the Melbourne Cup go for you? Of course if you're reading this from overseas then it won't mean much to you but for Aussies, it's the horse race that literally stops the nation for the afternoon of the first Tuesday in November. I lost my shirt again and I'm supposed to know something about horses. Um.

Here's some comment on the Melbourne Cup parade which took place a couple of days before the race. The horse parade that didn't quite, well, stop a nation. Worth a read and a laugh too.

Pressure is mounting on the FEI to look again at the practice of riding horses in a very deep and round neck frame known as hyperflexion or rollkur. This is in response to a video circulating the internet showing Swedish team dressage rider Patrik Kittel schooling his horse in hyperflexion at Odense, Denmark, 18 October. Have a look at the video - I'm surprised the poor horse can even see where it's going. Pointless exercise from my point of view but what do you think?

Raul de Leon Teaches a Student on the Longe. Watch Master Instructor Raul de Leon explain how he uses the longe line to give the rider a supple seat. Nice video and the sound gets better so persevere a bit. It's worth it. Courtesy of Equisearch.

Quote from Heather Sanson "When I do a clinic, participants over 40 often apologize for their age and confess that they wanted to come to a rider fitness clinic because their bodies don’t work like they used to. What’s ironic about the confession is that the majority of my clients and clinic participants are over 40. Yep, copy that. So what do you do? Read on....and let me tell you, these exercises are not just specifically for riders.

When next you next go to the dentist, and don't we all dread that, spare a thought for this poor horse getting his 'treatment' with what looks like a power drill. Sounds familiar though....that high pitched whine as it approaches your poor defenceless mouth......urgh.

Want a horse trail ride in South Africa? This trailer makes it all look really good...and by the way I have no commercial connection whatsoever with any of this. It looked very nice though...what do you think?

Now I know...this isn't strictly to do with horses although the show does have horses in the title. I guarantee you'll laugh your socks off and that's good therapy for us all.

For those of you into Arabians, then this is a nice video of an exceptional example of the breed. Beautiful horse and worth a good look.

Have a great week