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Monday, January 24, 2011
Keeping a horse in an outlineProblems with keeping a horse in an outline are very common and, first, it's important to know what a correct outline is.
Basically it's to do with a horse's head carriage and way of going. Young and untrained horses find it difficult to work in
an outline and will take time to find the correct balance. Often they will try to work with a low head carriage or head
high in the air, depending on the horse. As a horse's training progresses, he becomes less 'on the forehand' and learns to
work more 'from behind' with power and impulsion coming from the hindquarters. No horse should be forced into an outline and
his rhythm should be correct before worrying about this.
Flatwork and dressage will improve way of going
and outline as the correct muscles build up. It is very tiring for a young horse to work in an outline for long periods of
time so reward him with plenty of breaks in between exercises where he is allowed to walk on a long rein to relax his muscles.
I find lungeing with side reins a help to improve both rhythm and outline because you are on the ground and can
see what the horse looks like but be careful not to overdo it with young or unfit horses and ponies as it is extremely tiring.
Ten minutes on each rein is plenty in the beginning. They need to walk on the lunge without side reins at the beginning and
end of each session to warm up and relax their muscles. More tips on improving outline here.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Reminder about competitions to enter First, a result! We had a busy weekend competition which we ran for Curvy Fillies, a company which sells ladies' riding clothes
for sizes 16-24. This took place through our competition page on this website and also on Facebook and Twitter. People were
shown a photo of a lovely French filly and asked to think of a suitable name for her. We had over 400 entries and our congratulations
go to Emmelene Knowles whose name DESERT SANDSTORM was picked as the winner. More info here.
Our January photo competition to find a 'Horse or Pony with Great Character'
is still ongoing and there's still time to enter because entries don't close until 31st January, 2011. We'll be publishing
some of the entries we've received already soon. More info here.
The Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) has announced a new photo competition
for pony lovers under the age of 16. Here are the details:
The Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) is launching ‘I Love My Pony’ photo competition for pony lovers
under 16 years of age. The Wicklow-based charity is asking young pony and horse fans to send the IHWT a
picture of their ponies. The best shot will be posted on the IHWT website and will win IHWT merchandise as Pony Club Winner.
To enter, kids must sign up as a Junior Member of Saddle Up! IHWT Pony Club (with parental permission
and free of charge) and then send their photos to the IHWT. “Kids love ponies but with ponies come
responsibility and the care of the animal. Through our newsletters and other material available to members, kids can
learn about animal welfare and news related to their horses and ponies,” says co-founder Sharon Newsome. “By becoming
members of our Junior Pony Club, youngsters can learn about equine welfare from an early age, in a collective and fun environment.” Raising
animal welfare awareness is a key priority for the IHWT, who works rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing neglected horses
and ponies from across Ireland.
To enter ‘I Love My Pony’, visit http://www.ihwt.ie/site/?page_id=402
(Photo: Wolfie and Hal at the IHWT)
Monday, January 10, 2011
New Online Shop where you can create your own mugs and giftsHow was New Year? It's hard to believe we're already 10 days into 2011 and our new resolutions are already getting a bit shaky!
We've got one resolution at Horse and Pony Info that we've managed to keep and that was the promise to re-design our Online
Shop. We awarded prizes in our two last photo competitions of greetings cards and photo mugs and were delighted
when the winners of them posted great compliments on our Facebook page. We promised to re-design the Online Shop so that everyone
can now order their own mug, T-shirt, mouse mat or greetings cards with your favourite horse, pony, cat, dog or anything you
like on them. To save you wasting money, you can email the photo to editor@horseandponyinfo.com first to make sure it is of suitable size (at least 1MB) and quality. We'll check with the printers and send you confirmation
by email. You can then go to our shop page and pay using PayPal or credit card. If you'd like more info on
this, go to our Online Shop.
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