Competition Results Here

Results of the March comp at the foot of this email...and April's comp is now on so why not enter today? We hosted the Australian Ironman comp last weekend and I have to say I have the greatest admiration for all who competed. I've no wish to take years off my life so you won't catch me anywhere near it but congratulations to all who completed the event.

'Because of a Horse', is a promotional campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for America's Horse Cares, the therapeutic riding program of the American Quarter Horse Foundation. I suppose the nearest equivalent is our Riding For The Disabled organisation. Here's a nice video showing some disadvantaged people and the great relationships they build with horses together with the therapeutic advantages too.

We all need a laugh now and then...there's a joke site that has a category of horse jokes that might raise a chuckle for you. I don't guarantee the quality though...

Here's a small article that debunks the 'myths and legends' we all hear about horses. What to do...and what not to do. It also has a graphic pic of a horse getting his teeth 'floated'. Nothing to do with horse floats but filing down teeth. I'm very glad that my dentist doesn't do this sort of thing. He's expensive enough as it is without all the extra apparatus.

Equine-assisted learning programs are based on the idea that horses can sense what a person is thinking and feeling. If the student is fearful or calm, angry or loving, a horse will react in a like manner. An equine-assisted learning program helps CEOs and other executives overcome business obstacles. Great training for bank managers, prime ministers etc perhaps!!

The UKs Grand National is one of the toughest jumping events in the horse racing calendar and I reckon you have to be either supremely professional or a complete idiot to take on those fences....and that's just the horses. Anyway, this year if you had your money on Mon Mome, well he romped home at 100-1. All that after he'd be beaten by 57 lengths and 42 lengths in his last two races. The bookies had a field day...sorry about the pun.

Many horse owners assume that the rain rot, rain scald, mud fever etc is caused by a fungus. Dermatophilus congolensis is interesting because it shares charastics with both fungus’s and bacterias. They are wrong. Dermatophilosis is in fact caused by an organism called dermatophilus congolensis. In horses the dermatophilus congolensis works by entering the follicle of the horses hair shaft. Once it is in the horses hair shaft it can be seen in the form of a large hive. When these hives are removed from the skin horse owners can easily see several (literally dozens and dozens) of hairs embedded in each large lump. Because the dermatophilus congolensis damages the hair root removing these hives does not seem to bother or pain the horse in anyway. Once the scabs/hives are removed owners can see that the skin under the hives is generally a pink color and oozing a yellow pus.
It can be epidemic in mild, wet weather. H10 ointment is very effective and you can read about the condition here.

"I have a 4 1/2 year old appaloosa mare, very heavy cob type, and she is docile and calm in every way except she really protests when I try and put her bit in her mouth, she is not head shy, but refuses to accept the bit, once it's in she's absolutely fine. I have tried using polos, carrot, even washing the bit in minty fresh mouthwash... I do not force the bit into her mouth, just gently persist, which can sometimes take 10-15 mins. Any suggestions?" Read the answer here

Teaching your horse to sidepass makes him more maneuverable on the trail, in traffic, or when negotiating any tight turn. Use the Click 'n Learn stop-action sequence to see Clinton Anderson use sidepassing to ride his horse through a gate. By the Editors of Horse & Rider magazine.

You all wanted to hear the results of March's competition..and thank you very much for the entries. Judging wasn't easy but the 'tame vet' sat down with a coffee and a plate of muffins and scoffed the lot by the time we'd finished. The winner was Toni but we had great fun judging some very high quality entries and so thank you all for supporting us.

"The funniest thing I have seen is teaching my now hubby about horses, and saying when we went to Melbourne 3DE, that you can tell how fiery a horse is by its bit (we were watching the x country warm up ring) he proceed to go "really???", and walked along for a good few minutes with his head on the side studying the horses. I thought he was just being a bit weird, then he asks "do girl horses run quicker than boy horses because they dont have wind resistance??". "No", I answered amused, then watched him while he watched a horse warming up and when it came past him, he was ducking down and putting his head on odd angles. Curiosity definitely got the better of me and I had to ask what an earth he was doing. "Checking out their bits" was the innocent reply. After having to sit down while crying, I had to go back a step and explain that "a bit" was something that goes in the horses mouth and not slang for what's between their legs."

Nice one!

Have a great Easter.