The relationship between temperature and distance travelled
Over the course of an 8 month period, I tracked the movement of a pony in a couple of different management settings – stable yard, small paddock, small track, large track and recorded the information, which can be found here. While I was collecting tracking information for particular areas, I noticed something quite unexpected. As […]
Results of 8 month movement tracking exercise
This was an informal research project, conducted and reviewed by me for the purpose of establishing estimates and trends, to use in decision making for my own horses. I used the measurement tools I had available to me, and interpreted the data in the most impartial and logical way that I could. What started me […]
How to understand what a horse is trying to tell you – a guide for inexperienced horse handlers
Please note: This isn’t an exhaustive explanation of the topic. It’s a 7 minute speech that I gave at the Toastmasters Club I joined last year to get less rubbish at public speaking, so what’s in here is what would fit in the time I had available. Anyone who has been around horses will tell […]
How keeping horses on a track could help in the fight against climate change
Please be aware that I’m not a scientist, so what follows is a simplistic explanation of the principles as I understand them and as they apply to the climate of Western Australia. In the previous article, we looked at how keeping horses on horse track systems might be better for horses in the long term […]
Ideas for making your hay go further this year
This year in Western Australia most horse owners are asking themselves the same question. How they’re going to make the hay they’ve got or can get, last until next season’s harvest becomes available. For the first time in a long time, everybody’s having to make hay buying decisions based on what they can get, not […]
The more people I meet, the more I like my dog
What Mark Twain actually said in his famous quote was “the more I learn about people, the more I like my dog” but I didn’t think he’d mind if I changed a word or two as a segway to addressing a comment I often hear people make about their general disillusionment with some or all […]
How the role of horses is changing
This piece is written in my capacity as a leisure horse owner and amateur rider and reflects my personal opinion on the subject. When I refer to Horse Sport or Equestrian Sport, I’m talking about the Olympic disciplines and not the various forms of horse racing. I’m a horse owner and many of my clients […]