Horse Vibes September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019

I N F O R M AT I V E , I N S P I R AT I O N A L & A S P I R AT I O N A L

Inside: OUR HERO

SALLY FRANCIS: HER DECADES OF SERVICE

CLEMMIE WOTHERSPOON ON BRUMBIES & THE BICENTENNIAL TRACK

ULRICH KLATTE STALLION SELECTION

HELEN CHUGG

DO’S AND DON’TS OF FOAL HANDLING

POCKET ROCKETS:

THE MINUTE BUT MIGHTY FALABELLAS

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19 SEPTEMBER

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

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BRISTER’S BRIEF

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OUR HERO SALLY FRANCIS

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FINDING THE RIGHT BIT

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NUTRITION: LARISSA BILTON

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HORSEVIBES SCHOLARSHIP

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THE HORSE LISTENER

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JUMP OFF

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CLEMMIE WOTHERSPOON

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THE POWER OF HEMP

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HORSES IN HISTORY

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YOUNG RIDER MARY NITSCHKE

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HORSE BREED: THE FALABELLA

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ON MY TACKBOX WITH ULRICH KLATTE

Website/subscriptions: www.horsevibes.com.au

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GIVING BACK WITH ANDREA WEBB

Cover photo: A Falabella shows off its movements (Alamy stock photo)

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SADDLE REVIEW

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AROUND THE TRAPS

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TRAINING TIPS FROM HELEN CHUGG

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STARS BY EPONA

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24 INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL & ASPIRATIONAL

HorseVibes Editor: Candida Baker candida@horsevibes.com.au Deputy Editor Amanda McWhinnie editorial@horsevibes.com.au Advertising Enquiries: Lainie Towner advertising@horsevibes.com.au The Saddle Hub Sales Enquiries: info@equestrianhub.com.au

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From breaking to training to competing, put yourself in the safest seat around....

We always hope our young ones will start easily, but on the odd occasion we get‌.

No matter what the discipline make sure you can train your horse effectively from the very beginning by using the right equipment.

T: 02 4370 1133 / Heath: 0408 208 848 E: hrsco@bigpond.com

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

From the Horse’s Mouth With Fiona Todd

B

efore we dive into the September edition, please note that entries for the inaugural Delivering Dreams Scholarship close on 15th September. So if you haven’t already forwarded your application, don’t dally. Follow this link to our scholarship information page to learn more.

So back to our spring edition, which also marks the beginning of foal season definitely the cutest time of the year. But be warned, breeding and raising foals is not all about gorgeousness! There are some fairly serious considerations to keep in mind.

First and foremost, when you’re considering breeding the selection of a stallion is paramount. We talk to renowned breeder Ulli Klatte who gives us some sage advice on this front particularly, that we should begin with the end in mind. Once your mare has produced a beautiful foal good nutrition is vital, and Larissa Bilston offers some excellent advice on feeding mares with foals at foot, as well as the best way to nourish that poor orphaned baby.

And finally, Helen Chugg covers the

overall contribution to the equestrian world, but it’s her support of riders with a disability that saw her recently awarded with a well-deserved OAM. And have you ever visited your local saddlery and been totally overwhelmed by the choice of bits on offer? What do they all do? Which one should you choose? The world of bits can be a real puzzle, but fortunately we have Dannii Cunnane to help us through the what, why and when of bit selection.

September’s Horse Listener delves into the fascinating topic of horse family bonds, as Candida Baker explores the interactions of a family of horses and the exceptionally strong connection that they obviously share.

appropriate handling of foals in this month’s Training Tips.

And while we’re talking about small horses, let’s not forget the small but mighty Falabella, who we’ve featured on our stunning front cover.

Regular columnist Charlie Brister continues to help equestrians overcome the everyday challenges that most of us are faced with at one time or another.

This month, Charlie teaches the art of opening and closing a gate without having to dismount, particularly useful when you’re out on trails.

Then Jo McKinnon chats to Our Hero Sally Francis. Sally has made a massive

SCHOLARSHIP

Delivering Dreams Scholarship Applications close 15th September - P 30

Ever wondered about the healing power of horses? Then read Jane Camens’ article on the inspiring Clemmie Wotherspoon. From the depths of despair, to studying Equine Assisted Learning and trekking across Australia, to … well, you need to read this story.

Amazing woman!

We also take a look at the healing power of hemp, and enjoy a formal introduction to Dollor, John Wayne’s favourite ride.

Then there’s our homage to another of our wonderful up and coming Young Riders, Mary Nitschke; our September Giving Back volunteer Andrea Webb; the Saddle Review; our Around the Traps pictorial feast and plenty more.

I suggest you pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple, relax and enjoy this wonderful edition of HorseVibes.

BRISTER’S BRIEF

Gate crashing 101 Not just a time-saver, but also a test of your horse’s willingness to comply with your leg aids, learning to open gates while mounted can take both patience and practice, writes CHARLIE BRISTER.

S

ome people say: “If you can’t open the gate from horseback you don’t deserve to go through it.” That’s a bit rough, especially as there are situations where it’s only safe or practical to open the gate from the ground.

Before you can perform this movement I suggest you establish what you want on the ground first. It’s safe, easy and effective training and will also give you an understanding of any issues you may have when you mount.

Stand with your horse. Check they can move forward, back and sideways off bit pressure or halter and gentle use of

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Can you leg yield your horse mounted?

If not, this is a skill and exercise you need to master to open a gate safely. (For the many of us who are not dressage divas, leg yielding requires your horse to move sideways from your leg.)

Next, walk to the gate and along the fence line as close as possible and parallel to the gate. Repeat this until the horse is relaxed.

Then slowly ask the horse to stand closer to the gate by using a leg yield as required. The horse should be able to stand alongside the gate with the latch by the shoulder.

Don’t panic if the horse doesn’t halt in the ideal position first, just do a small circle and try to leg yield again.

Sometimes people open gates fronton with the horse’s head over the gate and the rider leaning over its shoulder.

Reins and other gear can easily get caught in the gate if you and the horse are hanging over it. Please stay safe and develop the side-on technique.

OK – it might be even quicker and simpler to jump the gate, but that won’t be a safe option for many readers.

Establish ground relaxation

Leg yield and halt

Sometimes a horse will squash the rider up against the gate, so you will need to also be able to leg yield away from the gate. Just work on your leg yield with the aim of getting a good, calm halt in the best spot without any fidgeting.

Opening gates while mounted saves time and is an excellent and simple test of a horse’s ride-ability. It is such an important safety and obedience test that opening gates is also a key movement in working equitation tests.

So let’s get our horse ready, gear up with your gloves and helmet, perhaps have a dressage whip to help teach the leg yield movement, and then find the best swinging gate in your area.

from the ground, it’s time to mount the horse.

your whip. If they can’t do this from the ground, don’t bother trying to do this mounted as you need to establish these basics first.

If all is ok, introduce the gate to the horse and make sure they are relaxed with its movement, noise, and with walking through it. If not, reintroduce the gate daily until it becomes a nonissue and they are relaxed. They need to stand next to the gate and yield from both sides and then open and shut the gate.

When the gate exercise is established

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

One handed latching When you and the horse are both standing side on to the gate latch and are relaxed, take both reins and whip in the hand furthest from the gate. Use your free hand to undo the latch. If the horse gets tense from the latch rattling, sit back in the saddle, relax, and try again. If all OK, swing the gate open.

If the gate can open both ways the safest method is to push the gate away from you. If you need to pull the gate towards you, you will have to get the horse to leg yield away from the gate.

Don’t let the horse go through the

BRISTER’S BRIEF

A

B

C

D

Your horse should stand alongside the gate with the latch by their shoulder. B: If at any stage you find yourself sitting on the gate, something’s gone wrong! C: If the gate opens both ways, push the gate away from you. D: Don’t let the horse go through the gate until it is open fully and you’ve given the forward aid.

opening until it is open fully and you

the property which has a good footing

out of many tight spots on the riding

give the forward aid. Before you proceed

and swings easily. You want the first gate

journey!

through make sure there is nothing that

they master to be a positive experience

will catch the horse, the rider or your

so that when you need to tackle the

tack. Too often a horse will whip through

rusty gate that is rarely opened you will

the opening and catch rider and gear on

both handle it with ease.

the posts. That is a very dangerous habit.

Practice on the easiest gate you have on

Charlie Brister of Brister Equestrian is an all-round horseman based in western Sydney. His expertise is in re-training problem horses, as well as coaching riders

It’s also the best way to practise leg

in the art of cross country, show jumping

yielding every day - it will help get you

and dressage.

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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Sally at home on beautiful Tooradin Estate (photo by Jo McKinnon).

OUR HERO

of the Order of Australia (OAM) has served as a significant reminder.

A Passion for Coaching

“It’s been so worth helping all those people and horses and all the organisations,” she says, “and it’s far greater than that - it’s the family of volunteers and carers, and recognising all the people that have helped me.”

When Sally Francis was awarded an OAM for her services to horse sports and to riders with a disability, it was in recognition of decades of service to the equine industry – in all its forms, writes JO MCKINNON.

Y

ou can feel the history as soon as you turn into the driveway of Tooradin Estate.

A striking red brick homestead, protected by towering old pine trees sits elevated above horse paddocks, a work arena and a scattering of cross-country jumps made from the big sturdy trunks of trees that once stood tall on the farm.

It’s a cold midwinter’s day in Victoria when I venture out to meet the equestrian centre’s famous owner Sally Francis, and as she scoots down the short hill from her beautiful old home to greet me, she instantly strikes me as a hardworking horsewoman, complete with her Australian Equestrian team windbreaker jacket, jodhpurs and pair of gumboots to navigate through the heavy mud.

She’s immediately friendly and relaxed with me, and her demeanor has an instantly noticeable calming effect. It quickly becomes obvious why Sally has had such a positive impact on tens of thousands of Australian riders of all ages and abilities.

An Equestrian Australia Level 1 Coach, Sally has worked with the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for 35

years. She has also held the position of Chef d’ Equipe of the Australian ParaEquestrian team at two Paralympics, and her decades of dedication were publicly recognised recently when she was named on the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to horse sports and to people with a disability.

“It was a great honour and a great surprise,” she tells me. “I’m so grateful to the people who actually nominated me and did all that work to get it through.

It was a thrilling moment when I found out.”

Sally has always been too busy helping people to ever really stop and reflect on her tremendous achievements in equestrian sport, but receiving a Medal

Gazing into the roaring fire in the lounge room where we are chatting on this cold winter’s day, Sally is reflective for a moment before she goes on to pay tribute to her late mother Judy whom, she says, not only introduced her to horses but also set her on the coaching path.

“It feels like Mum is a big part of the award and there’s been other great mentors like Miss Kay (Irving), Mary Longden and Susie Harris, as well,” she tells me.

But whilst coaching is her forte, and her work with the RDA has been so significant, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Sally is also a very accomplished rider and when she was younger she loved to compete, particularly in eventing “I do love riding and going quite fast. In fact, I still like going fast if the occasion is right,” she laughs. Although these days she admits that she generally likes to take a slower pace when she’s in the saddle. “I like going trail riding and seeing beautiful parts of Australia on horseback - that’s a pretty magical thing for me,” she says. Although there’s not

...what a privilege it was – with the amazing bonus of getting a gold medal.

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

OUR HERO much time for that with her days taken up with giving lessons and looking after the 120 horses that live on her 400-acre property.

On my visit Sally is not only surrounded by many horses and her beloved dogs but also an assortment of friends and riders, including a young man with cerebral palsy, a vision impaired teenage girl and a young eventing rider who has brought her new and inexperienced horse along for his first piece of schooling.

Sally recently received an OAM for her work with the RDA (photo courtesy Equestrian Memories Australia).

“I teach everyone from beginners, a person on the spectrum, someone with a fear of horses or someone with MS who just wants to trail ride - to teaching riders who want a cross-country or jumping lesson,” Sally says. “It’s nice to be multidisciplined so I can help more people and horses.”

Growing up, Sally spent many hours on the sidelines of the arena at Tooradin Estate watching her mother give riding lessons and she says that exposure was instrumental in her eventual decision to pursue a coaching career.

“Mum was incredibly shy,” Sally says, “but around horses she was confident.

I’m a bit the same – I think horses bring something out in you that you want to share, you want to say, hey, these animals are really great and look at all the different things you can do with a horse! It often seems to me as if I was destined to follow a career in horses and it’s been a step by step process to branch out into different areas. I’m really very lucky to have had a career that has included everything from grassroots to international.”

Sally’s first trip to a major international competition was in 1994 when she accompanied para-rider Sue Harris to the World Championships in Hartpury, Gloucestershire, UK, as a carer. Two years later she was named Chef d’Equipe of the Australian Para-Equestrian team at the Atlanta Paralympics.

I do love riding and going quite fast. In fact, I still like going fast if the occasion is right ...

At the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, she was SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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OUR HERO one of the National Technical Officials officiating at the Paralympic Equestrian events before she was named assistant coach for the Beijing Paralympic team in 2008. Following that she was Chef d’Equipe of the Australian ParaEquestrian team at both the Rio and London Paralympics.

“One thing that always stands out about those experiences was giving the riders the opportunity to ride in wonderful main arenas around the world,” she says, “with London definitely being my favourite. Looking down at the Queen’s Palace really hit me. We had four riders riding there at their absolute best and what a privilege it was – with the amazing bonus of getting a gold medal.”

Whilst she is enormously proud of being part of a gold medal winning Paralympic team, she says the highlight of her coaching career so far has been successfully assisting the development of RDA rider Stella Barton. “I first met Stella at South Melbourne RDA,” she explains. “She had to ride with a leader and two side-walkers and a physician assisting so she could have enough head, neck and trunk control to ride a horse. Now she comes to me and is riding independently.”

In January this year Sally couldn’t have been prouder when Stella reached a major milestone. She rode at a ParaEquestrian event at Boneo Park and won the Grade 1 (walk test) event.

There’s little doubt Sally has a special gift when it comes to teaching riders with disabilities, but, she says, helping them to ride is something that can be broken down into achievable steps. “I am calm, and I’m always thinking outside the square as to how to make it better for them,” she explains. “It’s helpful that I was a competitor as well because I’m good at working out in reality what you need to do to get the job done.”

Sally reckons she has another advantage over some other coaches as well! “I’m quite small, so I can ride the smaller

12

Sally and Morris, Tooradin Estate Riding School’s much loved No.1 pony (photo by Jo McKinnon).

Mum was incredibly shy, but around horses she was confident. I’m a bit the same ... horses too,” she says cheerfully. “That’s also been helpful in making it fun and enjoyable.”

skill set of their own.

“Temperament is number one,” she says. “They have got to try hard and

Moving on to talk about the horses that

have a will to move because a rider

can help disabled riders, Sally points out

might not have a lot of power in their

that talented horses are also an integral

legs. They have got to be adaptable to

part of the journey, and, like a good

cope with different aids to get them to

coach, they too must possess a unique

do a dressage test or go over a course

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

OUR HERO of poles and they need to have easy movement to sit to so the rider can stay in balance. It’s easy if a horse is a little wider so they have that base of support that helps them use their trunk and core more effectively.”

To further her quest to find ever better ways for people to connect with horses, in 2007 Sally started Equine Facilitated Learning in Australia. It’s now a major part of her repertoire, and has become one of her great passions. “I always felt there was more to riding than just riding horses and I could see things happening in the US and overseas,” she says. “I enjoy helping people communicate better and horses help them do that. To communicate with a horse you need to use body language, and liberty work, when you can be with a horse and use subtle body language to invite the horse to go in a specific direction, it’s empowering - for everybody.”

Having also taught extensively in the Pony Club Australia movement, delivered practical presentations throughout the world and coached some of Victoria’s highest profile eventing riders - including Amanda Ross and Rohan Luxmoore - the 58-year-old has ticked almost every box there is, but, she still harbours a few more ambitions.

A significant influence on Sally’s successful career as a rider and coach, her late mother Judith Francis was herself an accomplished horsewoman.

Sally with her eventer Strauss.

“I would love to be a team manager coach for a Special Olympics team,” she says, “and then thinking more for myself and the love of the horse, I would really enjoy some horse holidays overseas and I would love to take a rider with a disability on one of those trail rides or horse holidays.”

There’s one thing for sure - whatever she goes on to do from here, it will always be centred around horses.

“I can’t imagine a career without horses. I just love that they are not at all judgmental, and by us giving love and attention and treating them really well they give so much back. I have a mutual respect and love for horses.”

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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FEATURE

Finding the bit that fits Should you use an eggbutt or a loose ring, an s-shank or a weymouth? Or, perhaps a pelham might be the answer for your particular horse.

Choosing a bit can be just a little bit tricky, as DANNII CUNNANE explains.

Decorative western style s-shank

FEATURE

W

e all want to meet our horse’s various needs in the very best way we can, and that makes falling down a bit-shaped rabbit hole all too easy. There’s an absolute smorgasbord of different bits on the market, and between them they appear to offer a solution to every conceivable problem. But which bit is really best? While it’s down to your personal preference, your discipline, and what works most effectively with your horse, we thought a run-down on what some commonly used English and western bits are designed to achieve might be helpful.

A

B

C

Firstly, what does a bit actually do?

One of the most important lines of communication you have with your horse, a bit is a combination of two elements: the piece that goes inside the horse’s mouth and sits over the tongue, not surprisingly known as the mouthpiece, and the rings to which the bridle and reins attach. All bits, acting in combination with whatever bridle you use, create pressure and leverage on different parts of the horse’s mouth and head. A major point to consider when choosing a bit is the size of your horse’s mouth. In Australia we have tended to conform to three main sizes of bits, pony, cob and full. Although this is gradually changing, in Europe bits are available with variations of as little as a centimetre.

Some horses and ponies fall awkwardly between bit sizes, and getting one that fits properly can make all the difference to how they respond to aids.

Different materials produce different results A variety of substances are used to make bit mouthpieces, including both metal and synthetic materials. These can determine how much a horse salivates and therefore tolerates a bit. It’s thought that a horse with a moist mouth is more relaxed and responsive than one whose mouth is dry.

D

E

F

G

A: D-ring snaffle B: Weymouth C:Tom Thumb snaffle D: Loose ring snaffle E: Mullen mouth Pelham F: S-shank with copper bars G: French link baucher SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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FEATURE Commonly used metals in bit manufacturing include stainless steel and nickel alloys, which generally do not rust and have a neutral effect on salivation. Sweet iron and copper tend to encourage salivation, while aluminium can be drying and is not very durable - and therefore probably not a wise choice. Synthetic mouthpieces are sometimes reinforced with an internal metal cable or bar, and rubber bits are generally thicker than the metal equivalent. Plastic coated bits usually compare in size with their metal counterparts, and some are flavoured to stimulate the mouth and encourage gentle chewing and saliva production.

The configuration of a bit determines the effect it has when pressure is applied through the reins. For example, a singlejointed bit has an action similar to a nutcracker, while the double-jointed French link lies flatter on the tongue, thus reducing the nutcracker-like effect.

In contrast, the mullen mouth has no joint, is slightly curved to accommodate

the tongue, and is generally considered to be milder than jointed bits.

But which bit is right for my horse?

When trying to decide which bit is best suited to your horse, consider the points of control on the horse’s head - which include the corners of the mouth, the curb groove, the bars, the palate and the poll - and what effect the action of a particular bit is likely to have on those points.

Given that the palate is the most sensitive of these, a good place to start is by looking at your horse’s mouth. Gently lift their lips to check the space between the upper and lower jaw, as well as the thickness of their tongue. A big horse doesn’t necessarily have a big mouth! In fact, you’ll discover that once you take the tongue into consideration, a horse’s oral cavity often doesn’t afford a lot of room for a bit.

Some experts recommend that you test the size of the space by carefully

inserting two fingers into the mouth at the point where the bit lies. A tight fit indicates that the gap between the upper and lower jawbone is small and in order for your horse to be comfortable, bits with thick mouthpieces are probably best avoided. Additionally, horses that have a flat rather than arched palate are likely to have difficulties with a singlejointed bit because there’s little room to accommodate the nutcracker action of the joint.

And here’s another point to ponder: if you compete, is the type of bit you’re considering ‘legal’ for your discipline?

Read the rules to ensure that you don’t get caught out with the wrong bit pleading ignorance is not an excuse.

Clearly choosing a bit isn’t as simple as it sounds – so if you’re still in doubt, consult your vet, equine dentist, or another expert before making a purchase

Getting down to bit basics Let’s get down to specifics. First, we’ll look at some of the more popular English bits and then move on to western styles: EGGBUTT: The eggbutt was named for its slightly oval, egg shaped cheek rings that ‘butt’ hard up to the mouthpiece.

This is a fixed cheek bit, meaning that the cheek and the mouthpiece are firmly attached to one another, preventing rotation or any other movement. The advantage of this feature is that the bit sits more steadily in the horse’s mouth, which is particularly useful when the rider is a novice as the mouth is protected from much of the potential jolting that unsteady hands and/or seat can cause.

Loose ring snaffle

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

LOOSE RING: In a loose ring bit, the rings run through holes at either end of the mouthpiece and can rotate freely.

This equates to more movement in the mouth which has the potential to be distracting, so this is probably not a good choice for a horse that is either inexperienced or hesitant when it comes

FEATURE to establishing steady and consistent contact with your hands. Similarly, if you know your hands tend to be a little over-active, a fixed ring bit may well be a better option.

FULL CHEEK: Full cheek snaffles are a useful choice for green or young horses.

The full length shanks add positive reinforcement by pressing against the horse’s cheeks when asking it to turn.

They also help to prevent the bit from being dragged through the mouth.

Using keepers (also known as fulmer loops) on the bridle help to keep the shanks in the correct vertical position, but care should be taken that they don’t overly alter the angle of the bit.

BAUCHER: This bit features a ‘hanging’ cheek piece: bars extend up from the eggbutt style rings, and the reins are attached to the lower bit ring. The baucher cheeks offer stability for the mouthpiece that is thought to be even greater than that of the eggbutt. It has also been suggested that the bit’s design creates extra leverage, which allows for additional pressure to be placed on the poll. However, many experts believe that in reality, this is unlikely to be the case.

GAG: This bit is designed to allow the bridle cheek pieces and reins to attach to different rings. This creates leverage, the severity of which depends upon where the reins are attached. A gag bit works on the horse’s lips and poll simultaneously, with the pressure on the lips raising the horse’s head. The gag can be useful with a horse that pulls, tends to travel with his nose to the ground, leans on the bit, or has a propensity to bolt. Because the gag is quite severe, it should only be used by an experienced rider with an independent seat and hands. The benefit of a gag bit can be that because it creates extra braking, it can be used gently in order to be effective, so a horse that might need a lot of pressure in a mild bit, will only need a little pressure in a gag bit. Often a horse

Some sources say that the curved shanks were originally designed to allow a horse to graze while fully bridled ...

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FEATURE

H

I

H: Correction bit I: The Baucher snaffle J: Ported barrel Kimblewick

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that learns to travel softly in a gag, can gradually revert back to a milder bit.

PELHAM: When fitted and correctly used, the pelham, which is essentially a leverage bit, is very effective – particularly if you need a little bit extra breaking power. The pelham should be used with double reins, with the snaffle rein providing the main point of contact, while the curb rein is left slack until needed. The curb chain should be adjusted and fitted so that the chain links lie flat and hang loose below

the chin groove. When the curb rein is tightened, the curb acts as a pivot, increasing the pressure on the bars of the mouth. Due to this configuration, the pelham greatly amplifies your rein aids and requires a much lighter touch.

This is definitely not a bit to use on young horses or with inexperienced riders.

KIMBLEWICK: This bit has a curb chain, D-shaped rings, and shanks, and is regarded as a type of curb bit. Used with only one rein, the curb action

is much less than that of the pelham due to a greatly reduced capacity for leverage. However, some Kimblewicks are configured to allow the reins to be attached to the rings at different positions, giving the option of increased leverage. The lower the reins are placed, the more effective this bit becomes.

WEYMOUTH: The weymouth is a curb bit designed to be used in conjunction with a plain snaffle, referred to as a bradoon, as part of a double bridle.

This combination of two bits, often

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FEATURE

the bit’s design creates extra leverage, which allows for additional pressure to be placed on the poll ...

K

used at the higher levels of dressage, refines and finesses communication between horse and rider. As with the pelham, care should be taken to ensure that the curb chain is properly fitted and lies flat. The rings of the bradoon are smaller than those of a standard bit to allow for the leverage functioning of the Weymouth.

This combination should only be used by very experienced riders on welltrained horses.

Western bits English snaffles and curb bits are also used in western riding. The curb encourages the horse to lower their head and flex at the poll, which is the correct way a western horse should move forward. In the western riding style, the curb also assists the rider to guide their horse through neck reining, while holding the reins in one hand only.

K: Eggbutt snaffle L: Full cheek French link M: Gag bit

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GRAZING: Probably one of the most popular western bits, it features angled rather than straight shanks. Some sources say that the curved shanks were originally designed to allow a horse to graze while fully bridled (hence the bit’s name), but others disagree with that theory, adding that for safety’s sake, horses should not eat while wearing a bridle. That aside, the grazing bit usually has a mild or low port (the inverted ‘U’

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

in the middle of the mouthpiece) and is well suited to many horses.

TOM THUMB: Often mistakenly thought of as a snaffle due to the jointed mouthpiece, the Tom Thumb’s shanks exert leverage, thus putting it firmly in the curb class. There’s also some confusion over its severity. Although the shanks are shorter than those of other curb bits, it cannot be considered to be mild in action as the jointed mouthpiece adds to its severity. Given that’s the case, an inexperienced rider should not be using this bit.

S-SHANK: The ‘S’ shape on the shanks of this bit contribute to the weight, balance, and leverage when the rider applies pressure to the reins, making it more severe than a bit with straight shanks of similar length. The port in the middle of the mouthpiece amplifies the rein aids and provides some relief to the horse’s tongue.

CORRECTION: This bit is intended for training purposes rather than for general everyday riding, and is designed to reinforce rein aids to a horse that is slow to comply. It’s a fairly severe bit, as the length of its shanks suggest, and should only be used by a rider who understands how it works, and also understands how to use rein aids effectively. In the hands of someone less experienced, it could create more problems than it solves. In the hands of an experienced rider, and with a horse that responds well to this kind of bit, it can finesse the communication of the rider’s rein aids to the horse, and, as with a gag bit, can actually be used quite softly.

D-RING SNAFFLE: An attractive and popular choice for showing in-hand and western dressage, this bit is a cross between an eggbutt and a full cheek snaffle. Similar to the eggbutt, it prevents pinching at the corners of the mouth, but without the bulk. The vertical shanks

FEATURE

Measuring your horse’s mouth Depending upon their country of origin, the parts of a bit, including the mouthpiece, could be measured in either centimetres or inches, so be prepared.

But how do you get a measurement in the first place? Here’re some handy hints:

L M

String: Take a piece of string around 35cms in length. Tie a good sized knot approximately 10cms from one end.

Gently place the string in your horse’s mouth where the bit would lie, with the knot against the outside of the lips on one side. Now mark the other end of the string (again, against the lips), and measure between the knot and the mark.

Doweling: You can also use a piece of plain, unpainted doweling. Make a mark at one end in place of a knot, and proceed as if you were using string.

offer fairly significant lateral control without the dangers inherent in the longer shanks of a full cheek snaffle.

away from the edges of the mouth either. A bit should not be able to slip through the mouth.

It’s all about the hands

Where to from here?

The fact is that some people have naturally light hands, some riders have heavier hands. The way the bit works needs to suit the rider as well, often it’s a case of trying a few. A horse that goes well in one bit with one rider, may well need another bit with another rider. Getting the exact size of the bit right is important, and if you are in doubt ask someone to help you measure your horse’s mouth in order to get a good fit.

The bit should sit comfortably at the edges of the mouth, without pinching it, but without being too far

The bits we’ve mentioned are only a few of the available options, so clearly, there’s plenty to learn about to make your horse as comfortable as possible with its bit. Brush up your knowledge with a visit to the Bit Bank Australia website, talk to your local saddleries or instructor, and network with friends to get their take on various bits. Perhaps you could borrow one or two that you’re interested in to take for a test drive – after all, it’s always better when it comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

A tape measure: Using a plastic or cloth tape measure, measure from either side of the outside lip with the tape placed across your horse’s mouth in the bit area.

Calipers: These can be handy if you have access to a set. Some have a sliding measurement bar, others look like a giant pair of tweezers. The tweezer variety is probably easiest to use. Adjust the ‘arms’ of the calipers on either side of your horse’s mouth and the distance between the two arms is your mouthpiece measurement.

If the bit fits: Of course, if you have a bit you know fits your horse, measure it from the inside of each cheek piece or ring and you’re good to go!

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NUTRITION

Feeding mares and foals – from birth to weaning Planning your approach to nutrition is the best way to ensure a good outcome for both your mare and foal, writes nutritionist LARISSA BILTON.

T

he birth of a foal is an amazing feat of nature and an exciting time for an owner. Nutrition for both mare and foal plays a very important role in the growth and development of the foal, so ensure you have all the information you need to formulate a well-balanced ration throughout lactation.

Preparing for foaling In the weeks before foaling, accustom your mare to the feeds she will need once the foal is born. For an easykeeper pregnant mare this may mean introducing just a small amount of any new feeds you plan to give her after the birth. Most mares will actually need a larger hard feed during the late stages of pregnancy to maintain body condition and this makes the transition to the post-foaling diet very simple.

Introduce a DHA rich omega-3 oil such as fish oil or a marine-sourced omega-3 balancer in the last two weeks of pregnancy and continue until the foal is at least two months old. This assists with the mare’s recovery from foaling and provides essential nutrition for development of the foal’s brain and nervous system.

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Changes in nutrient requirements After foaling, your mare’s protein and energy requirements are higher than at any other time in her life. It is not unusual to have to feed more hard feed, in a more energy dense form, than she has ever needed before. Even when fed as much as she will eat, a lactating mare may still lose weight during the first months of lactation. Unwanted weight loss can be minimised by feeding three or more small hard feeds per day in addition to all the quality hay and pasture she can eat.

Remember to provide clean water at all times and to make all dietary changes gradually, introducing new ingredients over a two-week period to allow gut microbial populations to adapt.

Roughage is always the basis of a healthy ration The first rule of good horse nutrition is to feed plenty of roughage – pasture, hay or chaff. Unless your mare is overweight, it is safe to feed as much grass-based roughage as she will eat. A lactating broodmare may consume as much as 50% of her daily intake as concentrate.

Roughage forms the foundation of any

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

well-balanced horse diet. A lactating mare will be experience a demand for energy and protein that’s greater than at any other time in her life. The percentage of the diet provided as an energy concentrate varies significantly depending on horse condition, pasture quality, age of the foal, and horse breed.

Unless your mare is grazing a pasture with quite a bit of clover in it, she will usually need a protein supplement to provide adequate amino acids in her milk to support the growth and

development of the foal. A quality vitamin/mineral supplement, marinesourced omega-3s and salt are necessary to top up mineral levels and balance ratios to within optimum ranges.

Adding the appropriate amount and type of protein The diets of lactating mares and their foals should include high quality protein rich in lysine, a key amino acid which they are unable to produce in their bodies.

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NUTRITION

‘

Remember to check whether your feeds or supplements contain salt ...

Lucerne and soybean meal are an effective option for adding lysine to breeding horse rations and are commonly found in commercial feeds formulated for breeding horses. Pure L-lysine can also be purchased and added as a supplement in carefully calculated amounts. Chart 1 shows the increased need for lysine during the first three months of lactation, around four times as much as your mare needed before conception.

the mineral ratios across her entire diet.

Your mare’s mineral requirements will change too

Remember to check whether your feeds or supplements contain salt, and if not, add 10g of plain salt (sodium chloride) per 100 kg of bodyweight to the daily ration.

It is critical to provide vitamins and minerals to satisfy your mare’s daily requirements and to correctly balance

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‘

Although bottle feeding an orphaned foal can be difficult, if you persist your foal will be as happy and healthy as if it had been raised by its mother.

Your lactating mare’s need for some minerals will be higher than during her pregnancy. The main increases relate to the calcium and phosphorous necessary for milk production (Chart 2); as well as for copper, iron and iodine. As with mineral supplementation in all classes of horses, it is imperative that your lactating mare obtains all the minerals she needs in carefully balanced ratios from all food sources (Chart 3).

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

Do I need to feed a commercial breeding horse pellet?

A top quality breeding-specific commercial premixed feed can simplify feeding if your mare requires the full daily recommended amount of the feed.

If she needs more or less calories than the feed provides, adjust the protein and mineral levels to avoid an oversupply or deficiency.

For this reason, in many cases it can be simpler to provide a protein source and a quality vitamin and mineral supplement separate from the energy source. This allows you to easily alter the diet in response to seasonal changes, as well as your mare’s varying needs

NUTRITION

• Legume grains – the most commonly available is lupins. If you buy whole or cracked it is best to soak them in water to soften prior to feeding.

• Cereal grains – oats contain starch in a form which is easily digested by horses when fed raw. Oats can be fed whole provided your mare’s teeth are in good condition, but other cereals such as barley, wheat and corn are poorly digested unless cooked (boiled, extruded, micronized or pelleted).

• Full fat soybean meal has the best amino acid profile to meet horse requirements.

• Pure lysine as a supplement.

• Other common feeds such as lupins and copra are high in crude protein.

160

1800

140

1600 1200

100

1000

80

800

60

0

Crude Protein (g)

1400

120

600 400

20

200 Gestation

Up to 5 mth

6 mth

Lactation

8 mth

10 mth

Digestible Energy (MJ)

11 mth

1st mth

Lysine (g)

3rd mth

5th mth

0

Crude Protein (g)

CHART 2. A summary of changing MACROMINERAL requirements for a 600kg broodmare (from NRC 2007)

Chart 2. A summary of changing macromineral requirements for a 600kg broodmare (from NRC 2007)

80 70

60 50 40 30

20 10 0

Up to 5 mth

Gestation

6 mth

8 mth

Ca (g)

10 mth

P (g)

11 mth

Lactation

1st mth

3rd mth

5th mth

Mg (g)

CHART 3. A summary of CHANGING TRACE MINERAL requirements a 600kg broodmare (from NRC 2007) Chart 3. Afor summary of changing trace mineral requirements for a 600kg broodmare (from NRC 2007)

700

1.6

600

1.4 1.2

500

Cu & Zn (mg)

Extra protein to top up amino acids – especially those high in lysine • Lucerne, clover or other legumes in hay or pasture.

2000

40

• Cereal by-products such as wheat, bran and millrun are lower in energy and nutrients than whole grains.

• Fats and oils – can be used judiciously to boost the energy density of lactation diets but must be introduced very gradually to avoid upset. It is important to carefully balance the omega-3 to omega-6 profile of the diet, so choose linseed oil, coconut oil or canola oil and add fish oil or an omega-3 balancer.

180

1

400

0.8 300

0.6

200

0.4

100 0

Se (mg)

Extra energy to top up calories from roughage if required.

• Super fibres - energy sources that are high in digestible fibre make an excellent basis for adding calories to the diet of broodmares. These include beet pulp, copra, soy hulls, and other legume hulls such as lupin hulls or feeds made from these ingredients.

broodmare (from NRC 2007)

DE (MJ) and Lysine (g)

If I mix my own concentrates, what sorts of feed should I use?

CHART 1. A summary of changing ENERGY AND PROTEIN requirements for a 600kg broodmare (fromrequirements NRC 2007) Chart 1. A summary of changing energy and protein for a 600kg

g/day

through pregnancy to lactation and weaning.

0.2 Up to 5 mth

6 mth

8 mth

Gestation

10 mth

Copper (mg)

11 mth

Zinc (mg)

1st mth

3rd mth

Lactation

5th mth

0

Selenium (mg)

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

NUTRITION

Vitamins and minerals • A quality vitamin and mineral supplement rich in macrominerals, trace minerals and vitamins. Look for one designed to balance mineral ratios across the whole diet.

A mare and her foal bond.

• Salt.

• Consider a probiotic live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) shown to boost forage utilisation, colostrum quality and milk production.

Feeding the foal It is natural for a foal to copy the feeding behaviour of the mare, so if she will share her hard feed with her foal there is no need to provide a ‘creep feed.’

As the foal starts eating more grass, hay and hard feed and drinks less milk, the mare’s feed requirements begin to reduce gradually.

However, the total amount of food going into the mare and foal unit often stays almost constant until weaning to allow the mare to recover any body condition lost during early lactation, while still meeting the foal’s reduced need for milk.

When the foal is three to four months of age, provide a portion of the mare’s feed for the foal in a separate container placed next to the mare’s feeder. Over time, increase the foal’s portion and reduce the amount given to the mare.

Weaning At weaning, only provide the mare with hay and her vitamin and mineral supplements. Withhold the hard feed for a few days until her milk dries up.

Consider giving both mare and foal a live yeast probiotic to support gut microbial populations during the stress of weaning.

The foal should be allowed free choice access to pasture or grass hay, and a

‘

‘

Healthy oils • DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid, essential for brain and nervous system development. Also helps with mare and stallion fertility.

As the foal starts eating more grass, hay and hard feed and drinks less milk, the mare’s feed requirements begin to reduce gradually.

slightly larger hard feed than was given prior to weaning to compensate for the nutrition previously obtained from milk. Monitor body condition carefully and reduce the size of the hard feed if necessary to avoid the foal becoming overweight.

Feeding an orphan foal If the unthinkable happens and you find yourself caring for an orphaned foal, seek veterinary advice. Foals need colostrum during the first hours of life.

Many breeders will collect and maintain a frozen colostrum store and will often provide some to those in need. Young foals require frequent feeding with a

horse milk substitute.

As the foal gets older, gradually introduce hay, grass and hard feed, doing your best to mimic the amounts a foal would eat from their mother’s feed.

Be careful to balance the vitamin and mineral levels correctly.

Whether your foal is an orphan or feeding from the mare, it can be a wise investment (for your pocket as well as your horse’s health) to seek the advice of a qualified equine nutritionist during these critical stages of life.

Larissa Bilston (B.Agrsc – Hons 1) is an animal nutritionist.

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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SCHOLARSHIP

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If you’re committed to your goals but need some extra help, now’s the time to get your application in - entries for this quarter close on 15th September.

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

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THE HORSE LISTENER

Family ties We are only just beginning to understand the strength of the bonds between family groups of horses, writes CANDIDA BAKER.

F

or those of us who own or love horses, there is absolutely no doubt that they are ‘sentient’ beings. Asking us if our horse has feelings is a bit like questioning that night follows day, to be honest. Over the years I’ve witnessed happy horses, sad horses, depressed horses, playing horses, thinking horses, dreaming horses, joyous horses, angry horses, grieving horses and even jealous horses.

But even so, particularly for those involved in the equine industry, there comes a point where sentiment has to be ignored for practicality.

On a breeding stud, foals are weaned, grown and sold. Horse ‘families’ rarely stay together, and although many of us may have seen horses grieve when other horses they are bonded with leave them, the idea of family ties being as strong as those that bind human relationships is not something that most of us have had the chance to observe.

Earlier this year while I was presenting at the International New Zealand Spirit Horse Festival, which is held at Dune Lakes Lodge, about an hour’s drive from Auckland, I was privileged to meet founder Rosemary Wyndham-Jones’ warmblood horse herd, many of whom are direct descendants from the two mares she brought out to New Zealand

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with her from the UK some decades before. Mary, the great-grandmother and matriarch is still going strong at 33, her daughter Jodie sadly passed some years before.

This herd, which is only part of the larger herd, includes one of Mary’s great-grandsons, Susha, a beautiful chestnut gelding, who came down with a serious case of colic some months ago.

It became literally a matter of life and death, and the vet was clear that surgery (expensive and often not successful) was the only option.

Susha underwent surgery, and came through, only to embark on a see-saw of some more minor bouts of colic, which resulted in him coming and going from the vet hospital for the next month or so. Separated from his herd during treatment, he was cared for night and day by Rosemary, her friends and the Dune Lakes staff.

Gradually, against all odds, Susha improved. Rosemary simplified his diet extensively, and finally the grand day arrived when not only was he back at home, but also allowed out in the round yard to graze.

And this was where the magic happened.

Hasanka Perera, who works with Rosemary on the festival, and spends

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

THE HORSE LISTENER

‘

‘

All the horses who are related to Susha by blood – and only those horses – went straight to him and surrounded him…

a lot of her time at Dune Lakes Lodge was privileged to witness the incredibly special reunion.

Says Hasanka: “We brought the rest of the herd in to see him for the first time in several months, and when we released the herd into the home paddock where the round yard is, all the horses who are related to Susha by blood – and only those horses – went straight to him and surrounded him, as you see in the photo.

They stood like that for a long time while Susha held his nose to each horse one by one.”

The ‘blood’ horses included Susha’s dad Soma, his aunt Solo and his uncle Spirit, and his great-grandmother Mary.

“It was so moving to see that the most

34

concerned of all was Soma, Susha’s dad,” says Hasanka. “He hardly left Susha’s side the entire time they were all together. Eventually the other horses came and went, but Soma stayed with his boy. There was something tangible and electric happening in the space between their noses as they caught up on everything that had been happening.

It was such a powerful scene to witness the strength of connection between the members of this family, and seeing the bond between father and son was something truly too beautiful to behold.”

I’ve personally witnessed the touching of noses in what I would say is a ceremonial manner, when it seems to hold much more importance than just the casual hello. Whatever passes

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

between horses at these times holds so much more communication than we can ever guess at, and it’s one of the many reasons why, in my own personal human and clumsy way, I try hard to understand what my horses are actually ‘saying’. To me their sentience is without question.

The failing mine when I don’t reach their level of understanding.

Last year, on November 23, 2018, the Brussels Parliament unanimously voted to recognise animals, previously categorized with property and immobile goods – as a special category. Under the legislation, animals in Belgium are now categorized as a ‘living being endowed with sensitivity, interests of its own and dignity, that benefits from special protection.’

THE HORSE LISTENER

Main: Susha comes come.

Below: Soma staying near his son.

Pictures: Hasanka Perera

In 2015 France, New Zealand and Quebec similarly amended their laws to recognise animals as sentient beings, and in September 2018, Slovakia updated the definition of animals in its civil code to reflect that they are living beings, not ‘things’.

In the US animals are classified as property and for the most part are considered to be objects under the law, although some states have addressed legislation, for instance, Oregon where it’s recognised that ‘animals are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain, stress and fear.’

According to Luc Ferry, the former French education minister, updating France’s civil code in 2015 was obvious: No one has ever tortured a clock.

SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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THE HORSE LISTENER

Susha’s family staying close.

Picture: Hasanka Perera

considering become the first jurisdiction in Australia to recognise animals as ‘sentient beings.’ It would acknowledge that ‘animals have intrinsic value and deserve to be treated with compassion’ and that ‘people have a duty to care for the physical and mental welfare of animals.’

To me, as someone who has now been involved in horse rescue and rehabilitation for over forty years, my ever-increasing understanding of the extraordinary bonds that exist between horses, reminds me of the importance of increasing awareness of horse welfare in Australia.

Animals suffer, they have emotions and

signal an awareness that the law is

feelings. It is not a question of making

antiquated in many cases when it comes

animals subjects of the law…but simply

to its conception of animals.

of protecting them against certain forms of cruelty.’

And yet in Australia there is no legal acknowledgment that animals are

Undoubtedly a step in the right

sentient beings. Under laws proposed

direction, and all these amendments

by the ACT government the territory is

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Our horses have to, in the main, grow-up and go out into the world, but trying to make sure that world is a kinder place for them in the long run seems a bit of a no-brainer to me.

Candida Baker runs a Facebook page, The Horse Listener. She is also the President of Equus Alliance.

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Make the Most of Advances in Scientific Nutrition

Breeding this season? In this article equine nutritionist Larissa Bilston shares tips on how you can use the latest science-based feeding strategies to increase your mare's chance of going into foal quickly and optimise the stallion's fertility.

Marine-sourced Omega-3s aid fertility and foal development

Marine-sourced forms of omega-3 (EPA and DHA) provide proven to benefits to breeding and growing horses. Supplementation should begin 60 days prior to breeding and continue in the mare through until weaning.

Broodmares fed DHA experience reduced inflammation post-breeding, increased conception rates and reduced number of cycles taken to achieve a confirmed pregnancy.

DHA supplemented stallions benefit from improved semen quality, sperm count and conception rates.

Research demonstrates that DHA is effectively transferred to the developing foal in utero and via milk when their mothers are supplemented throughout pregnancy and lactation.

Foals from supplemented mares have shown improved cognition, development and trainability later in life.

Farmalogic Omega Balancer combines plant and marine-sourced omega-3 fatty acids in a highly stable, powdered form that stores safely in a feed shed environment.

Equine Vit&Min Omega-3 PLUS is an all-in-one vitamin, mineral and EPA/DHA omega-3 balancing solution for optimal health and performance of breeding and growing horses.

The role of antioxidants in reproduction

Supplementing stallion diets with organic selenium and SOD primary antioxidants is scientifically proven to improve stallion fertility through better semen quality and tolerance to chilling/freezing. Antioxidant supplemented stallions also produced more straws of semen per breeding season.

Farmalogic Melox contains scientifically balanced levels of natural-sourced vitamin E, vitamin C, pure organic selenium and plant-derived superoxide dismutase (SOD) for boosting the reproductive and immune systems of breeding stallions and mares.

Looking a ter gut health in breeding horses In breeding horses, the stress of serving, scans, transport, giving birth and weaning can cause populations of beneficial gut microbes to become rapidly depleted which may lead to suppressed appetite, hind gut acidosis and colic. Research demonstrates that live yeast probiotics and prebiotics such as the MOS component of yeast cell walls improve gut health by favouring beneficial microflora and inhibiting bacterial pathogens, improving feed use efficiency, improving colostrum and milk quality and reducing the risk of hind gut acidosis.

Farmalogic Rejuvenate contains prebiotics and live yeast probiotics for horses to maintain gut health and aid in enhancing performance during and after periods of stress. Available as a paste or powder.

Fine-tuning mineral and electrolyte balance

Correct basic nutrition underpins any successful breeding program and your horse's ability to reproduce efficiently relies on access to the right nutrients at the right time. It is well worth the investment in having a professional nutritionist assess your horse's mineral balance in the lead-up to breeding season to ensure your horse has optimal nutrition and avoid deficiency-related infertility.

Your nutritionist will also be able to advise how to feed your broodmare throughout the different phases of gestation and lactation.

As a part of our strong commitment to customer service, and to help save you money, we offer all Farmalogic customers a free diet analysis to finetune your horse’s diet and calculate the level of supplementation your horse requires.

Equine Vit&Min’s leading nutritional supplements are scientifically formulated to top up and balance your horse’s diet with the vitamins and minerals often missing in horse’s feeds. With six blends and a pelleted version to choose from, there's an EVM to suit most horses!

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www.farmalogicglobal.com

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Tel: 0418 733298

FEATURE

Jump Off Series 2 is on its way Showmakers Equestrian, the creators and producers of equestrian reality TV series Jump Off, are about to expand their offering with Jump Off Series 2.

I

n case you missed the first series (and if you did, where were you?), Jump Off is the high stakes show jumping competition that offers TV viewers the often nail-biting excitement of watching well-known horse racing celebrities and Olympic riders take on pony clubbers, adult riders and interschool competitors.

to combine horse racing and show jumping, Jump Off keeps equine welfare at its heart and showcases retired racehorses as the show’s stars.

The highly anticipated second series also introduces an exciting new twist: the competition is now open to Off the Track Thoroughbreds from around the country.

Now in production, Series 2 features a new and more inclusive format that will give more than 150 horses a chance to compete for a total prize pool of $100,000.

Jump Off is produced by Showmakers Equestrian, the brainchild of Steve Dundon, a passionate showjumper who also has nearly 30 years’ experience in the television industry. Steve recognised that show jumping enjoyed a strong

The first and only television series

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

Left: Jump Off Series1 featured some of Australia’s biggest equestrian names (LtoR) Russell Johnstone, Peter McMahon,Vicki Roycroft, Jamie Kermond, David Cameron Below: Russell Johnstone will be returning for Series 2

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FEATURE

A A: The Jump Off Series 1 Final was held at Boneo Park, Victoria B: Hamish McLachlan will return to host Series 2 C: Team Kermond/Payne’s Rasposo was the 2018 Jump Off champion

B

C

following in Australia but lacked

Jump Off Series 2 will launch on

mainstream exposure - so he decided

September 28th on the Seven Network

to do something about it! The result

and will again be hosted by Hamish

is Showmakers Equestrian Media

McLachlan, another accomplished

Company, which Steve specifically

rider. Hamish said the new format is an

developed to produce quality equestrian

exciting innovation for the Australian

content.

equestrian and racing communities.

Through the medium of commercial

“With equine welfare now a top priority

television, shows like Jump Off have

for the Australian racing industry, Jump

the opportunity to not only broadcast

Off is an entertaining and engaging

equestrian sports, but to also promote

way to demonstrate that there can

an equine welfare message to a wide

be a meaningful life after racing for

audience.

Thoroughbreds,” says Hamish.

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

For the new series, riders, trainers and owners from all over Australia were given the option of three new show jumping classes: Just Raced (105cm) retired within 2 years; Have Jumped A (105cm – 115cm) 30 EA points or less; and Have Jumped B (115cm – 130cm) Open.

The competition will be staged in New South Wales (SIEC October 2nd), Victoria (Shepparton October 12th) and Queensland (Nambour October 19th).

Leading trainer David Hayes, who, paired

FEATURE

D

D: Working hard at the tech desk to create quality content for a national audience. E: Massive crowds turned up for to the Series 1 Jump Off final.

E

with Olympian Russell Johnstone, took

Champion Australian show jumping

part in the first series of Jump Off has

rider Jamie Kermond, who won the first

applauded the new format: “Jump Off

series of Jump Off, is also hoping to be

is a fantastic initiative for equestrian

involved again: “It was awesome to win

and racing participants as well as fans.

the first Jump Off title and to be teamed

We really enjoyed being part of the first

up with Patrick and Michelle Payne. My

series with all our horses, especially one

horse, Raposo, was no superstar on the

of our stable favourites Extra Zero.”

race track but he is now very happily out

“It’s great that more people and horses will now be able to get involved and be part of the action. Hopefully, there

and about competing in a new life after racing. And who knows? He may be back as defending champion!”

will be a few horses from our stables

Jump Off Series 2 is comprised of seven

competing,” says David.

half-hour episodes, with a one hour

final special to be filmed at Boneo Park Equestrian Centre in Victoria.

Showmakers Equestrian has also partnered with the Australian Jumping Teams League (AJTL) to produce an elite show jumping series called All Clear, which will document a new AJTL competition in which Australia’s top 40 show jumping riders and horses will compete for $500,000, the biggest ever jumping prize pool. All Clear: AJTL will be televised later this year on the Seven Network - catch the next issue of HorseVibes for more details!

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FEATURE

It’s the journey, not the destination When Clemmie Wotherspoon started out on the Bicentennial National Trail with her small herd of horses, little did she know that living her dream would be full of unexpected twists and turns, writes JANE CAMENS.

A

s soon as I meet Clemmie Wotherspoon, it occurs to me that she’s the sort of person people are drawn to – she’s charismatic, this 29-year-old tall, blonde adventurer.

When I catch up with her Clemmie is marking time, house and horse-sitting for a friend in The Pocket, tucked into the foothills of the Byron Bay hinterland in northern New South Wales, her dream of completing the Bicentennial National Trail on hold for a few months. She’s looking after 15 horses on the property, seven of which are hers. She also works at a beach-and-bush-trail riding ranch, and, most importantly for her, seeks to bring anyone interested into a closer connection with horses.

“My vision,” she tells me, stroking Odin, one of her foster-care dogs, “is to connect people with nature and encourage them to investigate the animal-human connection.”

Clemmie started out to ride the 5,330 km Bicentennial National Trail from

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Healesville in Victoria in March 2018.

The track follows old stock routes and brumby tracks running up the spine of the Great Dividing Range, from Healsville to Cooktown in Far North Queensland. It was opened in the early 1970s by a committee headed by the legendary RM Williams, and is possibly the longest, non-motorised multi-use trail in the world. Reports suggest that fewer than a dozen people have completed the trip on horseback. The trail links 17 national parks and over 50 state forests, crossing both private and public land.

It’s a Big Adventure, and nowhere near half over for Clemmie, who initially planned to take a couple of years to complete the journey.

The dream has been with Clemmie since she was a child, growing up in industrial Delaware. “I was raised by my American mum and my Australian dad,” she says. “I was obsessed with a book Dad gave me, Robyn Davidson’s memoir, Tracks, and the Australian landscape.”

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

The book, which was later developed into a film, told Davidson’s remarkable story of her 1987 camel trek across the Australian desert. “I had this crazy idea to come to Australia and do something similar,” Clemmie says.

The yearning for nomadic travel grew stronger when she went off to university in Portland, Oregon, to study

Whiskey and Ari on a training trip on Mt Bogong with Clemmie’s second family and sponsors Bogong Horseback Adventures

psychology, focussing on behavioural neuroscience.

training for the tough life she would

“In my spare time I started cycling,” she tells me. “I was on my bicycle with road maps and sleeping bags and cans of tuna fish, sleeping in the bush, in graveyards - anywhere.” She covered a total of about 10,000 kilometres by bike. It turned out to be good starter

On one of her cycling trips she met

later choose.

a man and fell in love. She moved in with him on his farm, but found he was emotionally abusive. “It destroyed me,” she says. “The relationship was addictive and I felt completely broken by him.”

She found a job waitressing, earning US$6.50 an hour, which kept her just afloat but struggling financially as well as emotionally. “I felt I had nothing to live for and would break down every day in a panic or grief,” she recalls.

But at the café, in her darkest hour, there was some light when Clemmie met a woman who introduced her to natural

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FEATURE

horsemanship. “She taught me about horses,” she says. “She slowly built up my confidence enough to leave the guy, and that’s when the dream came back.”

With the little bit of confidence she’d gained, Clemmie called Equine Assisted Learning specialist and horse trainer Darcie Litwicki of Silver Heart Ranch in Arizona. Darcie’s teaching rests on the belief that: ‘Horses carry the wisdom of healing in their hearts and offer it freely to those who open themselves to it’.

Clemmie credits Darcie for teaching her natural horsemanship from the ground up. “I was so anxious, such a mess,” she says. “I was scared of everything in life.”

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It turned out that Darcie, this tough cowgirl, had also suffered severe anxiety.

“Every single day of my life I’m thankful to her. She gave me all this love and totally changed my life.”

Darcie taught Clemmie how to train horses using natural horsemanship methods. “Something triggered a dream to ride through Australia. It was insane.

To do that, you need extensive money, skills, and knowledge,” she says, laughing at the memory. “Other people might do it, but they arrive much more prepared than I was.”

Clemmie simply googled ‘pack horse Australia’ and connected with Bogong

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Horseback Adventures in the High Country of Victoria. The Baird family, who run BHA, have been working with horses in the area since the 1860s. These days they run expeditions on mountain horses in some of the best mountain riding terrain in Australia.

Clemmie asked the family if she could apprentice with them for free. “With the money I’d saved from waitressing I bought a plane ticket and they picked me up. I lived with them on and off for a year. I swear to you, they’re my second family now,” she says.

The Bairds gave her the opportunity to go out with them on trails, taught her

FEATURE

Main: Clemmie with her horses at The Pocket.

Above: Clemmie and Zulu

about training green horses, and had her working with them in horsemanship clinics. But working for free has its limitations, so she said goodbye to the Bairds, and took a paid job with a trail riding company called Equathon near Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

“At that point, I was studying for medical school,” Clemmie says. “My plan was to do a year of medical studies, then do the trail for a year, and then finish medical school to become a remote physician.”

However, fate stepped in when Kate Pilcher, the energetic founder of Globetrotting, the world horse trekking travel agency, joined a one-day

Equathon ride and Clemmie told her about her dream.

“Kate offered to sponsor me,” Clemmie shakes her head as if still not quite believing her luck. “She’s a dream maker.”

Kate wanted to know how soon Clemmie could start, so the plan to study medicine was postponed, with Clemmie having just three months to get herself organised, raise enough money to make the journey feasible, plan her route and, of course, secure the right horses. The horses had to have good temperaments, short stout bodies, strong legs, good hooves and healthy appetites, whilst being good doers.

Through luck and persistence she raised the equivalent of $40,000, much of it ‘in-kind’ in the form of gear donated by generous sponsors. She was also selected from an impressive pool of women adventurers for the 2018 NancyBird Walton Sponsorship, worth $5,000.

Clemmie’s friends at Bogong gave her a horse, Mac. High country horsewoman Helen Packer, who has sadly since passed away, also gave her two trained brumbies, the gorgeous Zulu and her pinto, Whiskey.

“All these people really wanted to make my dream come true,” says Clemmie.

Packing for such a trip was challenging.

“You need to take everything you’d take on a backpacking trip, plus an electric fence, hobbles, nose bags, vet supplies (including snake bite kit, antihistamine, eye drops, penicillin, bandages, vetwrap, colic treatment, muscle and joint gel) and farrier tools - and that’s just the start,” she says.

She learned to navigate using a series

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FEATURE

of guidebooks, topographical maps, and a compass. She had to learn how to hoof trim but she also carried boots in case her barefoot mob needed them. In addition, she carried a satellite personal locator (SPOT), and a backpack with emergency gear.

The plan was that two of the horses would be used each day as pack horses while she rode the third, she would ride for two days and then rest the horses for one day, and she expected the entire trip to take two years. Her initial aim was to reach Omeo, a small town on the edge of the Snowy Mountains by Easter, then on through Kosciuszko National Park, across the New South Wales border to Khancoban, and then on to Jagumba Station.

However, before Clemmie and her small herd started out on the trail, she met someone who wasn’t part of her plan. “I met Andrew when I was saving caterpillars from crossing the road,” she says, as if saving caterpillars is something people do every day. Andrew Beard

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didn’t know much about horses at the time they met, but he ended up learning quite a lot just being with Clemmie.

“With horses, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong,” Clemmie told a newspaper reporter who spoke to her near the start of her ride when she finally set off from Healsville in March 2018.

Something did go wrong, and soon.

Clemmie’s first weeks alone on the track were literally a baptism of fire. The Victorian bush around her was ablaze.

She and her horses were surrounded by fire, but miraculously the horses didn’t panic. “I rode through a fire barrier with fires blazing on the hillside,” she recalls.

“Luckily, the winds were with us.”

One hot evening, having travelled about 30 kilometres, Clemmie had her back turned when three wild horses ran into camp and two mares, Whiskey and Zulu, took off with them. “I could see them, running with several other horses on the top of a hill,” she recalls. “I knew people say there’s no way you’ll find your horse

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

if that happens and I thought I was screwed! Zulu was wearing a $7,000 custom-made Tony Gifford saddle, with my headlamp and thermals attached.

I knew the blizzards were coming and would soon make my route impassable.”

She spent the next three days on foot looking for the horses, knowing her trip was over if she couldn’t find them. “I’d been living and sleeping with them.

They were my best friends,” she says, emotion in her voice. “They had halters on and I was scared to death that they would get caught on trees and struggle to death. I had actually given up when, suddenly, out of the scrub, Whiskey and Zulu walked up to me. I fell on my knees and broke down crying with relief.” By some miracle the saddle was still intact, and the thermals and lamp were still attached.

The blizzard came but Clemmie and the horses weathered it out together.

The bond between them grew, as did Clemmie’s admiration for her intelligent, sure-footed companions. At one point

FEATURE

Left: Arriving into Canberra with their brumbies: Five days to train the three Kosciusko brumbies, and two weeks to ride from Jagumba Station to Canberra through the blizzards of the Snowy Mountains in mid-winter.

her tent collapsed on her in the middle of the night under the weight of the snow. “I had to spend four days living in a small outdoor dunny,” she says, giving a slight shiver.

Remember that guy she met saving caterpillars? Andrew caught up with her, walking on foot beside her. “He basically followed me for months,” Clemmie recalls, smiling. He would arrive for a while, usually when she was near a town, stay a while, and then after a week or so leave her to her solo adventure. “But he was growing on me,” she says. He’d even

started talking about training his own team of brumbies to accompany her.

Apart from Andrew’s yo-yo visits, her brother Thomas joined her from America for two weeks, and her parents, who had moved from the United States to Victoria a few years earlier, also arrived one night when she was a few hours drive from of their new home. “They turned up with a bale of hay and and a bottle of whisky,” Clemmie says, laughing.

“In the morning, as I was all packed up to ride away, mum asked if she could join. When she was in her twenties, she walked across Guatemala and travelled the world extensively, which is surely where I get some of my sense of adventure from. She walked alongside my three horses, carrying only her water bottle and raincoat. We shared the same sleeping mat and took turns with my raincoat. She completely blew Andrew and Thomas out of the water in terms of toughness and grit!”

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FEATURE Clemmie with Zulu and Andrew.

The farmer turned out to be cattleman Barry Patton, a renowned brumby trainer, known among the Man from Snowy River folk, whose partner Kathrin Guderian is a vet. Their property, Jagumba Station, is located alongside the Tooma River inside Kosciusko National Park.

When Barry asked if they wanted some more brumbies, it was the chance for Andrew to put up or shut up about wanting his own team. Barry helped them set up a corral trap where they knew there was a mob of brumbies.

After five days they caught three brumbies - Bobean, Jagumba and

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‘

In Canberra we were forced to quit and take an extended break ...

Tumbarumba.

“We stayed with them in the yards, from sunrise to sunset, they were terrified until the third day when they let us touch them and then we could immediately ride them bareback, saddle them, pack-saddle them and put tarps on them. On the fifth day we rode them out of Jagumba. Kathrin and Barry supervised us training those three brumbies,” says Clemmie. ‘Their kindness touched us deeply. Barry got us a new pack and did everything to help us. It was amazing. ” Clemmie says she was impressed with Andrew when she saw him get on

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‘

Andrew was with Clemmie in Kosciusko when two farmers asked them to do a bit of work, warning them that a blizzard was coming. “We decided to stay for three days, but in the end we stayed for three weeks to help get the crop in,” she says. “Andrew hated hiking beside me while I was riding and he’d talked about catching a couple of brumbies so he could ride along with me.”

Jagumba bareback for the first time. ‘He was so calm and collected,” she says. “I had more experience with horses so I was more aware of how dangerous it could be. Despite his greenness, the horses responded well to him. He is a gentle and loving soul, and the horses picked up on that.”

Finally Andrew, Clemmie, and the six horses in their care, rode out of the Snowy Mountains through mid-winter blizzards together for the two-week ride into Canberra, little realizing that the trip was about to be abruptly cut short.

“In Canberra we were forced to quit and take an extended break because of the

FEATURE

ongoing drought,” Clemmie says. “There wasn’t enough water and grass along the track for the horses to survive, and the track was closed.” By early Autumn next year she’s hoping the rains will have renewed the tracks so she can get on with fulfilling her dream.

Abandoning the trip in Canberra was hard. As well as drought conditions ahead, Clemmie had severe stomach pains and discovered she had a benign tumour the size of a melon that had to be removed. It took her eight months to recover. “I was really exhausted and developed severe anxiety, panic attacks and depression again,” she says. “I’d worked for four years to get this trip happening, and it was disappearing in front of my eyes.”

At the same time, having found Byron Bay as a haven whilst she regroups (her precious horses trucked up from Canberra to join her), Clemmie tells me that the journey up the spine of Australia has become about more than just getting to Cooktown. It’s about her relationship with her horses and her increasing focus on the healing power of horses. While she waits for rain, she is running an equine therapy program, using her brumbies.

She also teaches horsemanship skills.

“I think my studies in behavioural neuroscience have really helped with the underpinnings of my horsemanship for me,” she says. “Our peripheral nervous system is constantly getting all this sensory information and only a small percentage of it gets processed by our frontal lobes as conscious thought.

So we’re constantly reacting to all this peripheral stimuli without realising it. Horses are so sensitive to those physiological changes - which is how they survive in the herd - and they’re able to scope us very quickly. When you practice horsemanship you find a sense of equanimity, patience, and the ability to respond and not react to all that sensory information. There’s also a reciprocal relationship. Horses help us

develop our emotional maturity and ability to communicate. I want people always to be thinking about what’s going on for the horse, what the horse is receiving, how the horse is benefiting.

I don’t think you can experience the full benefit of animal communication unless you can look at it from both sides.”

Clemmie’s equine therapy and horsemanship lessons are part of a larger long-term ambition to work with rescue brumbies in mental health rehabilitation, something that’s already happening in Australia and in the US. She hopes to make a documentary of the next leg of her trip, promoting brumby advocacy and adoption. “Riding

Back in Byron Bay: Andrew with Kosciusko brumby Jagumba’s foal Nas, who was born when they reached Canberra.

through brumby country on originally wild horses has made me so incredibly passionate about the strengths of the breed, particularly their loyal, steady temperaments,” she says.

To follow Clemmie’s journey or to contact her for natural horsemanship or brumby training lessons go to either her FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ WildTracksAustralia/ or to her website: https://www.wildtracksaustralia. com/about-1

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FEATURE

The power of hemp Since Australia legalised the sale of hemp, there’s been a surge of interest in a product that can produce amazing results in the health and well-being of a wide range of horses, writes instructor and nutritionist DAWN BLACKWELL.

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t took me a little while to understand the true power of hemp. I knew it was good for horses, but what I’ve discovered personally, with a variety of horses at home, is that hemp could well be the one supplement that can be safely added to your horses feed to address a number of major challenges common to horses of all ages and all types, whilst, at the same time, providing key nutrients, fibre and safe energy, free of the negative effects of feeding too much starch.

On top of that, a bonus for me is that I can feel happy in the knowledge that I’m purchasing a feed with a low environmental footprint. Hemp is sustainable and free of any hidden fillers, additives or pesticide residues. It is non-GM, extracted without the use of chemical processing, free of THC, with a good shelf life and a protein that rivals soy in its quality, with a better aminoacid profile, no trypsin inhibitor or risk of glyphosate residue.

So what does my horse really need?

With the domestication of horses, and the feeding of performance horses,

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we have seen a steady rise in digestive and metabolic disorders, and so when formulating a diet for your horse it’s wise to remember that the health of its digestive system is dependent on a continual supply of fibre and a healthy population of gut bacteria. Basing your horse’s ration on several sources of fibre such as lucerne, grassy hay, mixed chaffs and speedibeet with the addition of a concentrate for energy and growth will start you off on the right track. However, providing enough energy whilst limiting the horse’s intake of starch, balancing the protein intake and ensuring the correct balance of vitamin and minerals can be challenging. Many people oversupplement for instance, unbalancing the overall rations and potentially leading to toxicity. For example, it’s easy to disturb the calcium/phosphorous and zinc/copper ratios, or to simply feed too much selenium or too much iron, not only giving the horse’s system extra work to do in excreting the excess, but also seriously harming your wallet!

Furthermore, the importance of providing oils and fat is often overlooked. Fat is an excellent source of energy for horses without the damaging effects of excess starch in the

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

form of grain. The benefits of omega oils are well-known these days but unfortunately there’s a lot of confusion about the source of fat, with many of the oils commonly fed to horses being deficient in omega-3, and therefore proinflammatory.

The beauty of hemp is that feeding just 100gms a day for conditioning and 200gms a day for muscle building, provides key nutrients, quality protein and the correct ratio of omega 3-6-9.

High in bio-available nutrients, hemp benefits the horse’s gut health, mental health and entire system.

The facts • Hemp contains the most balanced protein source of any plant known to man, as well as all 10 essential amino-acids including high levels of methionine, cysteine, leucine and edestin making it highly absorbable and a perfect protein for muscle building.

• The omega profile of hemp is excellent, since it contains all the essential fatty acids. It is slightly higher in omega-6 than linseed but also contains those super heroes of anti-inflammatory EFAs, GLA and ELA - great for your horse’s joint health and inflammatory conditions, including the dreaded Queensland Itch.

• Hemp naturally contains cannabinoids. Curiously, all mammals contain CBD receptors in the brain and many internal organs. Good news for maximum absorption and the over-all health of your horse and all its internal organs.

• Hemp has the ability to increase focus, learning ability, memory, adaption to stress and the release of trauma. It is for this reason that it has been used for PTSD with great success. It is exciting to think of how this could benefit our horses in their training and development.

• High in anti-oxidants and anti-

Feeding Hemp can help develop top-line, focus and learning ability.

Roxy, before and after feeding 100gms of Super Hemp per day over six weeks.

carcinogens, hemp has the ability to mop up damaging free radicals throughout the body.

• High in vitamin C, vitamin E, and chlorophyll, hemp is alkalising and supports a healthy immune system.

• Hemp increases cardio-vascular health due to the presence of arginine which produces nitric-oxide in the body, a gas molecule which assists dilation and relaxation of blood vessels.

• Hemp contains a highly bioavailable mineral source including magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, sulphur, iron, zinc and copper.

• Hemp is high in fibre and also contains lecithin - beneficial for gut and liver health.

• Studies have been very promising on hemp’s positive influence on hormonal health including hormone regulation, behaviour, and sperm count, making it potentially invaluable for breeding and managing those hormonal mares.

• Hemp seeds contain inositol (vitamin B8) making it calming and good for hair growth.

How to feed There are many forms of hemp available, all of them beneficial; however the seeds and the oil provide the highest levels of nutritional value, with hemp meal being the most cost effective. Hemp meal is made from ground seed and hulls, it is an affordable choice for horse owners

providing a highly nutritious feed with excellent protein and EFA content, whilst retaining the all-important portion of alkalising chlorophyll and fibre from the hulls.

All hemp available here in Australia is legal and regarded as safe to feed all horses. However, for peace of mind, ensure the hemp you source is registered with the FIAAA and is APVMA compliant.

Dawn Blackwell is a qualified British Instructor with over 30 years as a professional in the horse industry.

She is also a distributor for Spectrum International, providing a wide range of supplements and health products for equestrian disciplines. You can contact Dawn on 0411 819 968.

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HORSE HISTORY

Dollor, the horse with true grit In a career spanning just over half a century, John Wayne appeared in approximately seventy Westerns, writes N. G. QUINLAN. What a lot of people don’t know is that for those movies, the filmstar had a favourite horse.

A

fter a broken collarbone ended his football scholarship at the University of Southern California, the lanky young John Wayne got his start in the movie business working as a prop boy for legendary director John Ford and cowboy star Tom Mix. His good looks and 6’4” frame were soon noticed and he was cast in his first starring role in The Big Trail (1930).

John Wayne – or ‘Duke’, as he was known – rode dozens of horses throughout his movie career, yet his horsemanship was the subject of some debate. Although his son Patrick called him ‘a terrific horseman’, it has been said that his handling of animals could be heavyhanded at times. In many of his movies, Wayne could be seen to jerk his horse’s reins and otherwise manhandle the animals in quite a rough manner. This may have been due to the nature of moviemaking and the demand to make a horse pull up on a certain mark so that the camera stays in focus and the shot works; however at least one professional horse trainer, R. Deremo, has described Wayne’s riding skills as ‘questionable’.

Well-known horse trainer Lester Hilton (1906-1976), who trained many animals for the movies including Flicka, Mister Ed, Fury and Francis the Talking Mule,

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Above: John Wayne and Dollor, the horse that won his heart.

Right: The Duke and Dollor’s life-long partnership began in True Grit.

would not allow Wayne to ride any horse he had trained. When asked why, Hilton reportedly said, “Just watch his hands.”

Starlight, Banner, Sammy, Steel, Alamo,

Even so, footage exists from Wayne’s home movies showing him riding horses around his ranch in Arizona – and what is known to be true is that of all the horses he rode in his movies, the Duke had a particular fondness for a chestnut gelding named Dollor.

role of one-eyed U.S. marshal Rooster

After riding horses such as Sheik,

word for sorrow). The horse was two

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Beau and Cochise – some of whom he also owned – Wayne was cast in the Cogburn in the 1969 film True Grit, for which he won his only Academy Award.

It was during the making of True Grit that Wayne came across a sorrel Quarter Horse gelding named Dollor (whose name came from dolor, the Spanish

HORSE HISTORY

years old at the time and belonged to a company called Dick Webb Movie Productions. Wayne was so enamoured of Dollor that he signed a contract with the company giving him exclusive movie rights to the chestnut horse. Dollor worked with Wayne for the next ten years, until the actor’s death in 1979.

No one else was permitted to ride him during the Duke’s lifetime, although after Wayne’s death Robert Wagner

saddled him up and rode him in one segment of his television show Hart To Hart.

Dollor – or Ol’ Dollor, as he was sometimes called – lived out his life on a seventy-acre ranch in Midlothian, Texas and died in 1995 at the age of twentyseven. He can be seen in seven of John Wayne’s movies made between 1969 and 1976, including True Grit, Big Jake, The Cowboys, Chisum, The Train Robbers

and Rooster Cogburn. The Duke liked Dollor so much that when he came to make his last film The Shootist in 1976, he demanded changes to the script so that his character, ageing gunfighter J. B. Books, could refer to Dollor by his real name.

While there might be debates about the level of John Wayne’s horsemanship, the evidence well and truly shows that Ol’ Dollor at least won the Duke’s heart.

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YOUNG RIDER

Totally devoted to dressage September’s Young Rider, Mary Nitschke is blessed with a work ethic that’s bound to take her places, writes AMANDA MAC.

O

ne of the first things you notice when talking to 21-year-old Mary Nitschke is her engaging personality and down-to-earth take on just about everything.

Now based in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, horses featured early in her life.

“Both Mum and Dad rode farm stock horses, and Mum did a bit of dressage and show jumping too,” she says. “There’s even a photo of me sitting on a horse with Dad that was even taken before my first birthday.”

But then the family moved to more urban surrounds, and Mary didn’t begin riding seriously until she was nine. While her younger sister prefers eventing, for Mary it was dressage that stole her heart.

“I started riding because it was fun and nothing’s changed - I still ride for the love of it,” she says.

Mary currently competes with two Warmbloods, 14-year-old Utopian Cardinal, better known as Cardi, and 12-year-old Promise R. A great believer in consistency, Mary generally trains everyday. “I usually compete over the weekend, so I normally leave Mondays for a day off, or a trail ride,” she explains.

Clearly Mary’s dedication is paying off, as she has just been included in the Top

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100 in the Under 25 Grand Prix World Rankings.

“Cardi and I competed at the recent Brisbane CDI. It was only our second event at Grand Prix level so I didn’t have any big expectations - I just wanted to do it. Later, when I checked the rankings online, I was so surprised to find my name among the Top 100, that I refreshed the page just to make sure that it was for real. Even then, I could hardly believe it. It was so exciting,” she says.

But Mary isn’t just one of Australia’s most promising young dressage riders – she’s also in her second year of a Bachelor of Psychological Science (majoring in Human Neuroscience) at the University of Adelaide.

And where does she find the time to do all this?: “I have no idea how I fit it all in – being a little bit mad helps I think,” she laughs.

So with Grand Prix under her belt, what’s next? Says Mary: “In September we’ve got the Boneo CDI, and in October it’s the Australian Dressage Championships at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. As for the longer term, I’m not sure. My first goal was to get to Grand Prix. So now I’ve achieved that I just want to improve my scores and get to know Cardi better. Obviously the Olympics and World Equestrian Games are on my mind

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

and I do want to work towards one of them.”

With such a promising future ahead of her, Mary is more than grateful to the people who help her along the way.

“Firstly, none of this would be possible without Mum and Dad,” she says. “Then there’re my trainers - Heath and Rozzie Ryan, Megan Jones, Di Jenkyn, Dirk Dijkstra and Ruth Schneeberger. They’re all fantastic, they’re all the best.”

With a number of significant goals already achieved, HorseVibes wishes Mary many more successes in the years to come.

YOUNG RIDER

Above and left: Mary & Utopian Cardinal, a winning team.

Pictures: Amy-Sue Alston

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HORSE BREED

The small but mighty Falabella The Falabella miniature horse rarely exceeding eight hands, but despite their tiny size AMANDA MAC was intrigued to learn that you never call them a ‘pony’.

O

ther than their size, Falabellas are proportioned similarly to other horses. Reminiscent of Thoroughbreds or Arabians in their conformation, they have small, compact bodies, a sleek coat and slim frame. The neck might be somewhat stouter, and the head slightly larger when compared to a full-sized horse, but with very few other pony-like characteristics, they are referred to as miniature horses rather than ponies. Interestingly, they have one less vertebrae (17 instead of 18) and one less pair of ribs than their full-sized counterparts. But don’t be fooled! Despite their diminutive size, they’re surprisingly strong - as strong, in fact, as a horse considerably larger than themselves.

A little Falabella history The story of the Falabella began in South America during the 15th century, when the Spanish, who at the time were intent on conquering the continent, arrived with horses bred from Andalusian and Barb stock. However, the Spanish armies were eventually defeated and they withdrew from the region leaving their horses behind to roam freely.

Due to the isolated, and oftentimes harsh, conditions in the southern end of the continent, considerable inbreeding

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Above: Señor Julio Falabella with Lady Rosamund Fisher. Lord & Lady Fisher kept a herd of Falabella horses at Kilverstone Hall, their historic estate in Norfolk, UK. Right: Falabella Mohican, a stallion from Argentina’s Establecimientos Falabella Stud (courtesy of Sugarfoot Miniature Horse & Pony Stud).

occurred. The result was that a number of small but extremely strong horses began to appear within the herds, particularly in Argentina.

In the mid-1800s, an Irish jockey by the name of Patrick Newton (some sources suggest his name was Newtall or Newtoll) took an interest in these

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

little horses. Using the smallest he could find, he began a breeding program specifically designed to further reduce their physical size with the object of establishing a true small horse breed.

When Patrick died, the herd and breeding methods were passed on to his son-in-law, Juan Falabella.

HORSE BREED

Juan introduced additional bloodlines to the herd, including the Welsh Pony and the Shetland Pony, as well as some small Thoroughbreds.

Establishing Falabellas as a breed It wasn’t until the 1940s that Juan Falabella’s descendant, Julio C.

Taking over where Patrick left off, he

Falabella, established a formal breed

embarked on a program of selective

registry using the family name, the

inbreeding that produced a consistently

Establecimientos Falabella, more

small size – a true miniature horse.

recently known as the Asociación de

Criadores de Caballos Falabella (the Falabella Horse Breeders Association).

Julio was also responsible for standardising the breed to a consistent height, achieving an average size of under 10 hands. The modern standard, Falabellas that average approximately 7.2 hands, was developed by later breeders.

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HORSE BREED

A

The Falabella abroad

B

Either in the late 1960s or early 70s, the first Falabella horses were imported into the United States when John Aleno, who had purchased 12 Falabella stallions from Julio Falabella, resold them to the Regina Winery in California. The winery used them to pull a small stagecoach in parades to promote their wine. Most of the Falabella miniature horses in the US today are descendants of these 12 original stallions. Other than Argentina and the US, Falabellas are now found in many countries including Europe, the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Although a date for the arrival of the very first Falabella in Australia is a little hazy, it’s thought that several were imported in the early 1990s. One certainly was: Falabella Mohican, born in December 1992 at the Establecimientos Falabella stud in Argentina, was brought out to Australia with his mother early the following year.

Interestingly, the stallion’s Certificate of Authenticity includes a duck logo, which is the brand used on all horses born at that particular stud.

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

HORSE BREED Good things, small packages At birth, a Falabella foal will generally stand somewhere between 30 and 55 centimetres tall, and will have reached its adult height by the time they’re around three years old.

C

Bred in every solid equine colour, including chestnut, brown, black, and bay, as well as some of the usual equine patterns, Falabellas are known for their sweet temperament. They appear to genuinely enjoy spending time around people, adapt to new situations and environments with relative ease, and because this breed is both friendly and gentle, they make an ideal mount for very small children.

As with other miniature horses, Falabellas are shown in-hand, in harness classes and also participate in performance events such as in-hand jumping, for which they have considerable ability. Easy to train and highly intelligent, the Falabella makes for an ideal equine companion and many are kept as pets.

D

Caring for a Falabella Caring for a Falabella is not that much different from managing a full-sized horse – the basics, such as ensuring they receive attention to hooves and teeth, are regularly groomed and have plenty of room to exercise, all apply. That said, there are some breed specific factors to consider. Ensuring that your Falabella’s paddock is securely fenced is one such issue – their jumping ability really is significant! Because of their size, separating them from larger horses is preferable, as a strong kick could cause a potentially life-threatening injury.

Falabellas can run to fat quite easily, so care must be taken not to overfeed. A range of detrimental health issues can result should they become overweight. And as is the case with many miniature horses, they have a tendency to drink too little water, which can lead to pre-drying and colic. Providing adequate access to salt will help solve this problem.

If you’d like more information, the Miniature Horse Association of Australia is a good place to start.

A: A Falabella mare and her foal B: A young horseman and his Falabella C: Falabella foals at play.

D: Best of friends Left: Falabella Mohican’s Certificate of Authenticity (courtesy of Sugarfoot Miniature Horse & Pony Stud).

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ON MY TACKBOX

Main: An example of a gelding bred at Belcam, a cross between imported German and Australian bloodlines.

Right: Director of Belcam Farm Ulrich Klatte, with partner Sue Thomas (who also assists with the horses’ education) and jumping stallion Big Dream Z.

ON MY TACKBOX

Getting specific about stallion selection It’s breeding season once again, a time when selecting the right stallion can seem like a daunting task.

ULRICH KLATTE, eventer, showjumper, accredited horse trainer, and owner of the renowned Belcam Warmblood Stud, shares some points that will help you make your selection.

T

he first very obvious point to consider, and one that is sometimes overlooked, is the nature of the outcome you’re trying to achieve. This is likely to depend on your discipline. Do you want to breed for dressage, jumping, showing, eventing, or do you want to produce a creditable all-rounder? Do you want a fun horse to ride, or the one who will take you to the next Olympics?

What size and type of horse do you want? And what kind of character and temperament are you looking for?

you. Write your wish list down in order, most important characteristics first, least important last.

To answer these questions and have a clear objective in mind will make it much easier for you to select a stallion.

I have bred and sold a lot of horses, and in my experience I’ve found that most

people want a pretty horse, around 16 to 17 hands high, with good conformation, and a super temperament, as well as being easy to ride, brave, with good movement and the ability to jump.

In an age where safety is a very real consideration in our sporting activities, breeding a horse with a kind temperament and a willingness to work is becoming more important. Not many of us can ride a difficult horse, making it very hard to sell one that is known to be a problem.

Your mare’s characteristics Once you have a clear picture of what it is you want to breed, it’s time to make an honest assessment on your mare.

Consider her looks, size, temperament, attitude to work, confirmation, soundness, movement, jump and so on.

Are you sure that she’s the right mare to breed the type of foal you want? If the answer is no, simply don’t use her, and instead find a more suitable mare.

However, if she does possess some of the characteristics you value, have a look at what needs to be improved. And this is where your priority list comes in handy, as you tick of what your mare already has, and what characteristics she’s lacking. If you are not sure about

Or, perhaps you’re interested in breeding for purely commercial reasons: to produce a foal that you could sell for a reasonable profit.

Clarity is key Obviously you can’t expect to have all of the above, so being very clear and very realistic about exactly what you wish to accomplish is a critical step.

Set definite priorities about what you want your horse to have. Is it looks?

Or perhaps movement and good temperament are more important to SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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ON MY TACKBOX assessing your own horse there are professionals who can do that for you.

To make sure that I stay on the right track, I have my horses assessed through ACE Group Inc., when they conduct their annual assessment tour.

A

The stallion’s characteristics For argument’s sake, let’s assume your mare is very pretty and has good movement, but is smaller than you would like, is a bit incorrect in the front legs and lacks a really good attitude to work – and you are interested in trying to breed a 16.2 hand dressage horse for yourself, with the option of perhaps selling it later.

Once you’ve thought through these details, it’s time to get down to working out what kind of stallion you’re looking for. You want to ensure that your mare’s good characteristics are going to be preserved, so you’ll need to find a stallion that is also pretty and has good movement, but it should be taller than your mare and very correct in conformation especially in the forelegs.

This sire will also need to have a good attitude towards work, and it would be a bonus if he has some well-known bloodlines in his breeding to enhance your prospects if you later decide to sell your foal, either as a youngster, or as a more mature horse.

B

Although the perspective stallion’s looks, movement and correctness of conformation are easy to analyse, the internal values like temperament and working attitude require research – and, unlike Europe, where you can access information on the performance of a particular stallion or mares’ progeny, here in Australia it’s a little more difficult and you may have to rely on word of mouth.

A long term process Breeding is a long-term process. It gives no guarantees and can take generations to make significant changes. In the 35 years I’ve been in Australia, I have seen a significant improvement in the

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

ON MY TACKBOX

C

quality of horses. This is mainly due to the importation of stallions, mares and semen from Europe, where statistical information is readily available and it is therefore easier to make informed decisions about your breeding program and choice of stallion. If we could have the same access to information relating to the performance of the progeny of stallions and mares here in Australia, we could make much better use of our Australian horses which have some very good characteristics.

I wish you good luck and happy breeding.Â

D

A: Originally from Germany, World Royal was broken and trained to medium/advanced level at Belcam Farm.

B: Doktor Royal, halfbrother of World Royal.

Both were bred from a mare with German bloodlines.

C: Jumping stallion Hector, originally imported from Germany before being sold to a stud in New Caledonia D: World Royal & Daniella Dierks, who won Medium, Advanced and Advanced Freestyle Champion, and the Dietmar Specht Trophy at the 2013 Australian Dressage Championships.

Pictures: Supplied

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GIVING BACK

Tales of a travelling volunteer The best way to sum up Andrea Webb’s dedication as a volunteer official in equestrian sport is by looking at the odometer reading in her car, writes JO MCKINNON.

I

n just five years, Andrea Webb has clocked more than 300,000kms travelling to events all over Australia in her role as an FEI steward. She also racks up plenty of frequent flier points journeying to various parts of the US and Europe to officiate at competitions.

A major highlight for Andrea was being invited to work at an event earlier this year in the Netherlands. It was hosted and organised by Australian legend Boyd Exell (OAM) who is a seven-time FEI World Cup Champion, and the current and four-time World Champion Four-inHand Driving.

Deservedly, she has received various accolades for her huge commitment to horse sport with one of her proudest achievements being named Equestrian NSW Volunteer of the Year in 2011.

“If I didn’t have that I don’t know what I would be doing. I’m on my own so it gives me a great social network.”

when she moved overseas I wondered what I was going to do with my time, and I realised it would be a really good opportunity to give back to the sport so I decided to move forward through my stewarding,” Andrea explains.

Andrea first became involved in the sport through her daughter Connie, a keen rider and competitor: “I love it because my daughter started riding back in 2001 and when she began moving up the ranks in 2008 I really got into it and started to help her out. Then

In 2011 Andrea became an FEI accredited steward and nowadays specialises in various disciplines including eventing, jumping, vaulting and dressage. She also works as an official at major driving events in Australia and throughout Europe.

‘

‘

“Carriage driving is like eventing on four wheels, but it’s where you get to sit down for the whole time. I think what they do is amazing. When they are trying to get those carriages around the marathon courses the precision is incredible,” she says.

Recently Andrea was appointed as a member of the Equestrian Australia Driving Committee and is now ranked as a Level 3 FEI Course Director for Driving.

“I do a lot of miles, let’s put it that way. It keeps me busy which is the way I really enjoy being,” says Andrea.

Most weekends Andrea is committed to working at an equestrian competition somewhere around the country and says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Although she labels eventing as her favourite discipline, she says driving comes a very close second.

... you make some great friends. It becomes like a family...

“That was a really exciting moment and highlighted that giving back really does provide you with opportunities down the track.”

She puts in enormous hours but says it’s all worthwhile: “It’s early starts and late finishes. You are on the ground from dawn till dusk to make sure everything is running in accordance with what the OC (Organising Committee) wants.”

“I love seeing riders and helping them.

It’s also a great networking opportunity and you make some great friends.

It becomes like a family,” she adds.

Andrea travels to every single event she attends with a mascot called Stewardberry, a stuffed toy horse. This is in honour of UK eventing rider Hannah Francis who died at a young age from cancer. Before her death, Hannah’s family created Willberry the Wonder Pony as her cancer mascot. Now, proceeds from the sale of Willberry the Wonder Pony

GIVING BACK toys go towards raising funds for cancer research.

Andrea’s own life has been touched by the disease when in 2009 she was diagnosed with breast cancer: “Quite a few people know that I had breast cancer back in 2009 and got thru that a-ok. So when I saw Hannah’s story it really touched me.”

“Stewardberry comes with me to all the events I attend. I’m not one to enjoy having my picture taken, and that way I can go to these events and promote them when they are on by putting her in the photo rather than me. Essentially, Stewardberry has become my wellknown and much loved travelling companion,” she laughs.

Andrea clearly loves what she does and that’s projected through her various social media posts capturing her travels around the world, taking many people in the equestrian community along on the journey with her. While she certainly hopes to be volunteering as a steward for a long time to come, she acknowledges that the day will eventually arrive when things will change.

“As a steward you need to move quickly as some horses can get fractious.

Physical fitness is important so that you are able to get out of the way fast if something happens. And concentration is also really critical. Being aware of cues that tell you a horse is about to do something unexpected can keep you out of harm’s way. Eventually a time will come a time when I’ll be too old to do this anymore, so I might as well do it while I can,” she explains.

However, there’s definitely no sign of Andrea stopping just yet. Already this year she has attended seven FEI events and also recently travelled to the Tokyo 2020 Test Event. She’s hoping that next year she might get the call up to help out at the Olympic Games there. That would be a just reward for everything she has and will continue to do for equestrian sport.

Top: Tor Van Den Berg and his wife Melissa, whom Andrea met while working at the Boyd Excell hosted event at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands.

Above: Andrea with the ground jury and official vets at the 2017 Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington, Virginia.

Far left: Andrea Webb, the only formally accredited Australian FEI Carriage Driving Steward.

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SADDLE REVIEW

Erreplus Vittoria Dressage Saddle HELGA RIEDEMANN was shopping around for a saddle when she came across one that really did tick all the boxes

“W

ith my previous saddle, I didn’t like the way the knee rolls positioned my legs. So I’d been trying out another brand of saddle from the Saddle Hub, but it wasn’t quite right for me,” Helga explains.

and let me try it out. I then trialled the

“Then a friend recommended the Erreplus brand. She owned the Elena

saddle was a great fit for more than one

Vittoria saddle and it was perfect – it allowed close contact with plenty of room for my legs. I was sold.”

More than happy with her purchase (her third from the Saddle Hub), Helga was even more delighted to discover that the horse.

“I have a 16 hand warmblood mare with wide shoulders. My previous saddle was too tight for her, and was also hurting my hips. The Erreplus is perfect for us both,” she said.

But Helga also schools other horses. With a wealth of dressage experience behind her, she trains horses at Platypus Run Warmbloods in the Southern Highlands of NSW. “I’m currently using the saddle on four horses: two my own and two of my client’s. These horses vary quite considerably in their confirmation, yet the saddle offers a balanced fit. There’s enough shoulder and wither room without losing close contact with the horse, plus I feel comfortable and secure.

I’m very happy,” Helga says.

The Equestrian Hub has a wide variety of second hand saddles, so be sure to visit www.equestranhub.com.au and browse through their fantastic range.

You never know what you’ll find.

All saddles come with a two-week trial, finance options, and a courier right to your door.

Right: Helga and her warmblood mare PR River Song loving their Erreplus Vittoria saddle SEPTEMBER 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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AROUND THE TRAPS

A

AROUND THE TRAPS

B

C

D

A: Prudence Robinson & Astbury Gold Class compete at the PCAV State & Interzone Horse Trials (Image by Derek O’Leary).

B: Marburg Race Day in March this year (Image by Racheal Stanton Photography).

C: Hayden Parker & Its Lux Nitro jumping in the Stars 1.20 Class at the 2019 VEIS Grand Final (Image by One Eyed Frog Photography).

D: Alison Dick & Shivron Park Kenai at the Gisborne Pony Club Showjumping Bonanza (Image by JayDee Images).

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AROUND THE TRAPS

E: Paton Simpson & Port Command winning the PCA NSW State Showjumping Championships A Grade competition (Image by GeoSnapShot).

E

F: Balboa and Lois Fleming placing 2nd overall in 85/95 at Sydney Jump Club Competition Day (Image by Rachel Fleming) G: Holly O’Brien & Pennyroyal Bon Voyage at the Maryborough Pony Club Horse Trials (Image by Felicity Clay Photography).

F

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G

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

AROUND THE TRAPS

H: Barbara Jones & Tezbar Bling It On Black at the North Coast Western Riders Club Show (Image by Alexie McKenzie).

H

I: Anli Alexander and Miss Y competing at the 2019 Townsville Show (Image by Jordan Wicks Photography).

J: Alicia Werner & Masterdom at the 2019 Mildura Horse Trials EVA 80 (Image by Caption This Equine Image).

I

J

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The magazine for Australian horse people,

By Australian horse people

Don ’ an i t miss ssue !

Available in print from October 2019

Subscribe today www.horsevibes.com.au/shop

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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

AROUND THE TRAPS

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L

M

K: Jasmine Haynes on Croissant at the 2019 Sydney Royal jumping in the Juniors final (Image by Rodney’s Photography).

L: Paton Simpson & Wards Traveller canter through the water jump at the Denman ODE (Image by GeoSnapShot).

M: Balboa and Lois placing 2nd overall in 85/95 at Sydney Jump Club Competition Day (Image by Rachel Fleming).

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AROUND THE TRAPS

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AROUND THE TRAPS

O

N: Katie Hilton & PL Gold Lace at the Two Wells ODE (Image by Uncharted Corners Photography).

P

O: Alexis Gascoyne & Mystic Shadows Wildfire in the EVQ65 at the TEG International 3 Day Event. They finished 10th overall and 2nd Junior in the class (Image by DKA Photography).

P: Christine Hynard & Celtic Frolic competing at the QLD International 3 Day Event (Image by Paul Smith Photography).

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AROUND THE TRAPS

Q

Q: Jade Hall & 13-year-old expacer Tony Dreaver competing at the Sunnybrae Winter Woollies Encourage Show (Image by Martin Waddingham Photography).

R: Farryn Gore & Miss Goldie competing in the Zone 1 Showjumping at Moggill Pony Club (Image by Braid Up Photography).

S: Pippa Walsh & Flowervale Heartbreaker came 4th in the 85cm at the Berry Riding Club Showjumping Championship (Image by Phaedra Walsh).

R

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AROUND THE TRAPS

T

U

T: Chloe Jong & Copper Boy placed 2nd in the 1 Star at the Mildura Horse Trials (Image by Caption This Equine Images).

U: Neve James & Sorbeaux competing at the Huon Pony Club Gymkhana & Show Jumping Day (Image

by Kenny Walch).

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TRAINING TIPS

Helen Chugg’s foal handling tips So you’re thinking of breeding from your mare?

A wonderful idea, but once that much anticipated foal arrives, what then? AMANDA MAC asked renowned warmblood breeder Helen Chugg for some expert advice on the finer points of foal handling.

W

ho better to offer advice on handling a foal than Helen Chugg, one of our foremost and most successful breeders of warmbloods?

Responsible for bringing some of the best bloodlines in the world to Australia, Helen’s renowned Diamond B Farm, located north-west of Sydney at Freemans Reach, has a reputation for consistently producing top quality foals. “We breed both for ourselves and commercially, and we also manage foaling for other owners,” Helen explains.

A no-nonsense approach When talking to Helen, it quickly becomes clear that she favours a relaxed, no-nonsense approach to handling foals.

Now, if you’re at all interested in foals and their well-being, you’ve probably noticed on-line discussion around imprinting, the theory that handling a foal immediately after birth is likely to impact positively on its future training. Informed by many years’ experience, Helen has some interesting views on this subject.

“I never interfere with the birth process unless I have to, nor do I get between a mare and her foal for those first allimportant hours,” she says.

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Helen believes that the mare’s reaction to her foal must also be considered. Some mares have little objection to their foals being handled, others become upset, a situation that should be avoided.

“You don’t want to distress the mare, or interfere with the bonding process. So I generally allow at least 12 hours after birth before I attempt to start cuddling, touching, and scratching the foal,” she adds.

Be aware of your foal’s personality Helen emphasises the importance of assessing the foal’s personality and the way in which they react to you: are they friendly and keen to approach? Or, do they tend to be timid and hang back.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019

“Bolder foals can become overfamiliar and therefore too pushy. They want to be in your face all the time! You need to set boundaries with them by not letting them push you or get too close. Their instinct is to play, and some will come at you as if you are another foal. This is when you need to adopt essentially the same tactics that their mother would use, by being firm and pushing them away.

Obviously the object is not to frighten them, but it’s really important to set boundaries,” Helen says.

Feeding an orphaned foal In the worst possible case scenario, a mare might die while birthing, or may reject her foal completely – so how do you deal with what is, one way or the other, an orphaned foal?

“One of our mares totally rejected her foal so we decided that rather than finding a foster mum, which is one possibility, we would hand-raise her.

If you’re in this situation, don’t make the mistake of making the foal a pet.

Handle them like a normal horse - feed them but don’t play. Familiarity can breed contempt, and the foal needs to learn to treat you as a person rather than another horse. We used the best quality milk replacement we could find on the market, and later fed her good quality hay. We also feed our foals Prydes BioMare if they need a little extra condition, or KER All Round Phase Pellets, depending on need and when they are ready to eat. But I would recommend that you ask advice from experts you admire in industry, and be careful to avoid over feeding,” she adds.

The problem of the fussy feeder Some foals can be fussy feeders, and this in itself is a real problem - but not at the Diamond B Farm. “We breed warmbloods and we’ve never had a fussy foal yet,” laughs Helen. “But again, getting expert advice is critical. If a foal is stressed and off their feed, the integrity of their stomach lining could be compromised –

Allow time for bonding before you attempt to handle your foal.

Left: Amanda Madigan, Grand Prix rider and expert foal trainer at Diamond B Farm, shows how it’s done.

TRAINING TIPS

so it’s important to act quickly and seek your vet’s input,” she advises.

A

Training your foal So when should you start familiarising your foal with the head collar, and everyday procedures such as grooming, or picking up their feet? As it turns out, that again depends upon your foal’s temperament.

“We work to the foal’s personality,” says Helen. “If they’re timid or scared, we don’t make it a big issue as we don’t want them to become fearful. You also need to be very conscious when head collaring and teaching the foal to lead that you don’t negatively affect their neck. We teach through a pressure and release technique, first ensuring that they’re in a safe environment. Depending on the foal, some will automatically follow you.

For those that are not good at coming forward after release, we use a butt rope to encourage them without putting pressure on their neck,” she adds.

Foals are quite strong and can move with surprising speed. This can make for a potentially dangerous situation, so their safety (and yours) must be a priority particularly when dealing with a timid foal that’s likely to be easily frightened.

B

Helen has a strategy for this: “In this instance we introduce the foal and mare to a double crush system, so that the foal learns to be handled in a safely confined space while having the comfort of their mother alongside them. Additionally, after weaning all our foals spend two to three weeks in the main stables. We walk them every day, sometimes putting them on the walker with other foals. And if they haven’t already learned to come to a bucket of feed, this is the time when we’ll teach them,” she explains.

A: Diamond B’s hand raised bub drinking from her milk bucket.

B: All foals bred at Diamond B spend two to three weeks in the main stables.

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“Also, bear in mind that when you’re dealing with a foal it’s important to avoid long training sessions, keeping them short and frequent is always preferable.

But that said, by the time they’re yearlings, you should have them leading well.”

TRAINING TIPS

Safety first

C

Helen is adamant that safety should always be foremost in your mind.

She recommends building a good relationship with your foal, and if they’re timid, handle them in a calm manner in a controlled environment to avoid injury to the foal or yourself.

And a final word of advice from Helen: “We tend to let our foals be foals, without the intervention of constant touching. I don’t rug foals, and I don’t overdo contact. They need a herd situation and a spacious environment in which to grow up. Social interaction is vitally important to their well-being – so give them the room to make their own friends.”

Follow these links for more on Helen Chugg and the Diamond B Farm.

D

‘

‘

“I’ve seen photos online of people lying or sitting down with their foals. This is definitely not something I would recommend. And if you have a foal that is either timid or aggressive, don’t ever be frightened to ask for expert help. It’s important to get the situation under control before it has a chance to become worse.”

If they’re timid or scared, we don’t make it a big issue as we don’t want them to become fearful.

C: A butt rope will help encourage foals that are unwilling to lead.

D: Diamond B’s bucket raised foal at age four, standing next to her mother who now quite likes her!

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STARS WITH EPONA

Aries September is the time to focus on maintenance rituals like good food, plenty of exercise, work you love and decluttered Feng Shui in the home. The more Zen you are, the more abundance flows into other areas of life. Us fourlegged Aries might be a little fidgety though. The best support you can offer when tempers are uneven is to slow down. Don’t rush it. We just need a little extra time. This will pass!

Taurus The two-legged Bulls are in for a rare treat this month with a lightened heart, creative inspiration and potentially sizzling romance. It doesn’t often get better, so hone your receiving skills to lap it up. Just note, us equines may suffer from boredom with all the tell-

W

ith an early new moon blessing the entire month, there is ample energy to put your house/ stables/finances/relationships/career in order. Welcome the inner fix-it side to the personality as it amps for action. Repair, redeem, renew! For us equines though, it’s not quite the same. We are stimulated by gentle reminders and routine. If you ever kept to a schedule, this is the month to do so. You’ll be amazed at the results.

tale signs - weaving, cribbing, kicking, circling, listlessness… Get ahead of this with smaller, more frequent feeds, pasture time, companionship and workouts.

Gemini This month has you dwelling on home and hearth. Do you have what you really want? Speculate on how it might be ‘even better’ by pursuing property listings. Forget about the price tag; let your imagination run wild. It will expand your possibilities in surprising ways. Us equine Twins are in exceptionally good spirits so use the conducive mood to introduce new training exercises. Just mix it up to keep the busybody busy!

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STARS WITH EPONA

Cancer

Libra

September is all about communication

This month activates your zone of

for the first water sign of the zodiac.

dreams and the magic that comes from

Use your heightened instincts to make

service to others. Not in a guilt-driven

excellent choices, speaking your mind

or obligated way, but from a natural,

and heart. It’s never too late to go

magnanimous generosity that rises

back and have a restorative, healing

out of the soul. You have so much to

conversation. Four-legged Crabs may have heightened mood swings. Test for contentment by checking nostrils and tail. Are they relaxed or tense? If the latter, soothe, soothe, soothe.

Leo September brings income questions, but deeper than that, you might be dealing with subtle issues of worthiness.

Use this time to recall your strengths,

Capricorn

offer those in your life, and beyond. Us four-legged Librans have only a simple requirement this month. Rest. It’s the perfect time to give us a spell, or at the least a day off. An ounce of prevention…

Scorpio

The practical approach is out the window this month making it a challenge if you aren’t on holidays or travelling for work (that you love). You won’t want the day planner looking like the same-old-same-old. Try sprinkling in new-for-you things like a restaurant, film, book or concert never tried before.

Us Sea-Goat equines will need more stimulation as well. Make sure we have a ‘job’ and know what it is.

Aquarius x September is all about collaboration

The voice of a friend echoes from the

which could awaken a pesky power

past in a memory, message or actual

struggle. Before you take off the kid

reunion. It’s going to show you how

gloves, think about what’s at stake.

much you have changed. To avoid any

your wisdom and abilities. You’ve got

Is it really worth it to escalate when,

potential fights or arguments, remember

this! The more confident you are at the

perhaps, all could be soothed? This

that everyone has an opinion that might

situation may be mirrored by us four-

core, the easier everything resolves. Us

be perfectly right for them. In other

legged friends. Sure, you lead, but that

Leonine horses are like the proverbial

words, live and let live. For us equines,

doesn’t mean you can ask for more than

meteor showers – a sparkling flash in the

we’re rearing to go, literally. Unlike the

we can give. The remedy is fairness,

pan. Working towards endurance and

Libra clan, we need MORE work, more

graciousness, appreciation and respect.

sustained effort benefits greatly.

exercise and a good old run!

Thank you.

Virgo The focus is on your four pillars of life – Self and Others, Home and Career. They don’t have to be battlegrounds! Think of this time as a chance to integrate these powerful areas of your life into

Sagittarius

Pisces

Two-legged Centaurs are all up in the

This month turns the spotlight toward

public eye, whether you’re expecting it

all your personal, socially significant

or not. Mind your words this month for

relationships, even the ones from the

what you say can and will be repeated

past. Prep for surprise and be ready

across all social media platforms. Be

with the secateurs to trim deadwood if

a balanced, viable support that builds

camera-ready before you leave the

necessary. Your life will refresh because

from the ground up. You have the moxie

house, even if it’s only to do the chores.

of it. Us four-legged Pisceans are not

to make it happen. And speaking of

A little effort goes a long way. When it

up to par if we’re having troubles with

groundwork, us Virgo equines could use

comes to us four-legged Centaurs, we

the herd. Doublecheck for signs of

a little review. It’s amazing what the art

are all about the show. Stand back and

bullying and then please remedy ASAP.

of lunging can do for us both.

watch us turn heads!

Happiness returns when you do.

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INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL & ASPIRATIONAL

Published by: Equestrian Hub PO Box 13, Tintenbar NSW 2478, 0414 760067 info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au