Rhiannon Arabians & Equitation

11/03/2022

08/03/2022

08/03/2022

People keep messaging me and asking how they can help, myself and Dean are totally fine and don’t need any assistance, my brother and his family have lost everything however, if you can spare any little amount to help them rebuild they would be forever grateful, every little amount helps! We had a gofundme page set up by a close friend when we lost our house in a fire and it was seriously a godsend, all those little donations will help replace things like clothes, kids toys, household appliances, stuff for pets etc etc!

Aaron and Amy and their beautiful little girls Elka and Ayla need your … Drea Quinlan needs your support for Rebuilding for the Gall family

04/03/2022

We have had no power for some time and phone and internet service is sketchy at best due to the widespread flooding….sorry if I haven’t replied to text or phone calls, I will get back to people as soon as things return to semi normality….keeping our livestock alive and fed is our priority currently. Thanks for all the well wishes. We are all safe. 😃

13/02/2022

Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️

10/02/2022

SIXWYTCH FARM JADE spent some time with Glen McKey Horse Breaking recently….we are very happy with the job he’s doing with the horses!

10/02/2022

The beautiful face of SIXWYTCH FARM JADE…

23/01/2022

COMET ... The Raffles of Poland

Roman Pankiewicz, Polish horseman and authority on the Polish Arabians, wrote of Comet: “It is a rare event when a stallion not only gathers within himself so many positive qualities simultaneously: beauty, conformation, good bone, beautiful movement, and a coat the color of buckwheat — but, in addition to all this, is able to stamp his get with it all. And yet Comet was just such a sire.”

As a youngster, Comet did the usual — grazed the pastures of Nowy Dwor Stud where he was foaled in 1953, took his race training and established his race record 9(1-3-1); then returned to Nowy Dwor as chief sire, just as his sire and grandsire had been. When Nowy Dwor (a temporary postwar stud) was closed in 1960, the horses were transferred to the restored Janow-Podlaski State Stud. Comet sired there for the years 1961 and 1962, then was sent to Michalow State Stud.

The Polish breeders soon rated Comet the best stallion to be bred in Poland post-World War II. International breeders agreed and Comet sons and daughters were easily marketed to European countries and to the United States. The first Comets arrived here in 1961 in the vanguard of the “Polish Invasion,” and Americans eventually imported nearly 70 percent of Comet’s 75 offspring.

The first National wins for Comet get came at the 1965 and 1966 Nationals, two halter Top Tens, but Comet sons and daughters excelled in performance, bringing in Nationals titles in Park, Cutting, Western Pleasure, Formal Driving, English Pleasure, and Native Costume. In Europe, Comet offspring won gold medals and championships in national and international competition.

Worldwide, Comet daughters came to be highly valued as show horses, producers, and top sale lots. Pankiewicz describes the daughters as “the most beautiful broodmares one can imagine, all of whom possessed charm, a lot of type, class, and dryness, as well as being terrific dams.” Unfortunately, none of Comet’s sons carried on the sire line in Poland — 21 sons were exported — but Comet’s grandson *Probat (bred in Sweden) handsomely restored the sire line to Poland. Five Comet daughters produced 12 stallions used in Polish breeding.

Comet, often labeled “the *Raffles of Poland,” died at Michalow in 1964, age 11.

35 years after his death, COMET blood is still revered in Polish Arabian bloodlines. His daughters were highly-prized possessions, his sons were no less admired. COMET in a pedigree meant trot, type, and a certain style that was uniquely "COMET."

Comet is preserved at Museum of Agriculture and Agricultural-Food Industry in Szreniawa...

09/02/2021

SIXWYTCH FARM OPHELIA @ West Coraki

07/02/2021

RHIANNON’S ORACLE (Palomino Anglo Arabian c**t) & SIXWYTCH FARM OPHELIA (Silver bay Arabian Stock Horse filly). @ West Coraki

07/02/2021

S.F. OPHELIA (Devilscreek Rivoli Ted x Sixwytch Farm Phydelia). Silver bay/Taffy (dna colour tested) Arabian Stock Horse filly, mature 15.1-15.2hh. Good type of filly will plenty of substance but still elegant, excellent movement and pretty as a picture. Will make an amazing show filly and performance mare. Will be registered AHSA and C1 ASH. Available to a show/performance home only. Will be well handled, float trained, basic ground work prior to leaving. Located West Coraki NSW. Payment plan available until weaning. Priced at $5500.

01/02/2021

Our second foal born on the 5th of January is the gorgeous Silver bay (taffy) Arabian Stock horse filly foal who has been named OPHELIA. Her dam is the stunning SIXWYTCH FARM PHYDELIA (Coragio Kei x Phylecia Kei) and sired by resident Heritage ASH stallion DEVILSCREEK RIVOLI TED. This filly is available for sale to a show home only.

04/01/2021

The first day of 2021 brought us a blessing in the form of a golden baby foal! This little mans mother is particularly special being the 3rd foal from our foundation Thoroughbred mare RAV and the most lookalike foal she bred, BETTE DAVIS (owned and loved by the Abou-Ghaida family). This palomino c**t is sired by the ASB registered stallion GOLDWING making him an Anglo Arab with 25% purity. He’s super bold and gorgeous with plenty of chrome...

22/12/2020

13/11/2020

One of the most important concepts Andrew McLean introduced to the world of horse training was that there were no 'naughty horses' just badly trained ones! "Tom Roberts was my greatest mentor as a trainer. He was the first to describe learning and reinforcement and put it in easy terms. Whatever the horse is doing will either ‘profit him’ or ‘profit him not’. If you are careful to ensure the horse profits from doing the right response, and you are consistent, the behaviour will become ‘old hat’. Actions transform to habits: simple." https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2020/11/andrew-mclean-on-punishment/

13/11/2020

28/09/2020

“SIXWYTCH FARM OCEANA” Anglo arabian filly foal by Coragio KEI.

22/09/2020

Joda Aly Dahr, sire of resident stallion Joda Alcatraz (X Joda Gamil)

Champion Arabian Stallion Joda Aly Dahr (The Fugitive US x HMT Alidiah US), bred and owned by Joda Arabians. Pictured with his breeder Stephen Worsley (left) and handler Doyle Dertell.

Joda Aly Dahr had an excellent show career in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria prior to the Aussie Champs, including Reserve Champion Stallion at the East Coast Championships (2000), Champion Stallion Queensland Challenge Show (2004) and Supreme Champion Stallion/C**t at the Victorian Classic (2003), Supreme Male Victorian Championships and Champion Stallion NSW National Arabian Stud Show.

His progeny also did extremely well in the show ring.

Due to his exciting Champion Stallion win at the 2005 Aussie Champs, he was invited to show at the Dubai International Arabian Horse Show.

29/08/2020

If you give your child a pony, they will want to ride. You’ll buy them the best pony you can find, followed by a hat, boots and all the other things pony.

You look for a local stables to ride at where you start to socialise with the horsey community...and then life as you know it, will end.

Before you know it, they want to go to shows so you join BS …there will be no more lazy weekends watching TV. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible.

Every spare minute of your time will be spent driving horseboxes and enduring a crazy addiction to practice for the next show.

Your house may be a mess, and your car will be dirty. All because you gave your child a pony. Your weekends will be spent freezing or burning to death on a fold up chair. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, learning new skills and having fun and getting dirty!!!!

You will be there the day he or she takes the first few steps of canter, the first taste of a jump, first rosette, first win. And they will make you SO proud. Other parents will congratulate you, but you feel weird saying thank you because it's not you on the pony, it’s your child. It's everything that they did, they achieved. And right before your eyes, your little boy/girl will be transformed from the baby who bounced around on their rocking horse into an exceptional young horse enthusiast on the hunt for the next HOYS ticket or maybe even the Olympics!

When you give your child a pony, you give them more than just something to ride. You give them a sport, a talent, hope and dreams. Friends, a new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push their limits, and bravery, and courage, and memories. And they will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave your child a pony.

Because you gave your child a pony, you too will develop new/lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport. You will have an equestrian family because you gave your child a pony.

Then one day, many years from today…they will be in their room and a certain trophy will catch their eye. And they will pick it up and realise instantly that when you gave them a pony, you also gave them a childhood that they would never forget. At this point, you realise that everything you gave up along the way and sacrificed was totally worth it…..

All because you gave your child a pony...

22/08/2020

SIXWYTCH FARM PHAWN was also laid to rest and will be sadly missed, at only 4 years of age we had many plans for this special girl but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. She was the only daughter left at the farm out of our favourite girl PHALENCIA KEI (SF Valentino (Italy) x Phoenicia Kei). She was incredibly beautiful and surely would have stayed with us indefinitely to replace her mothers spot in our mare band. Rest In Peace beautiful, your in pretty good company up there 💕

22/08/2020

A sad weekend at the farm this week, we had to lay to rest two precious girls, the first being PLATINUM PARK SUPREME DREAM...our purebred American Saddlebred mare who we have owned since she was a yearling and blessed us with 3 half arabian foals all sired by CORAGIO KEI. SIXWYTCH FARM JEBEDIAH, SIXWYTCH FARM LASSITERS GOLD AND SIXWYTCH FARM MIAMI, as well as one purebred saddlebred filly who now resides in WA, PLATINUM PARK REFLECTED DREAMS. “DD” as she was know around here was an impressive mare and an exceptional broodmare and we are so devastated that we won’t be able to welcome any more foals from her. Rest easy girl, we hope your daughters can fly the flag for you in years to come.

15/08/2020

Horses getting some acupuncture treatments to keep them happy and fix a few issues...

10/08/2020

Legacy Equine Transport - Formerly RNV H/T

✳️Next August Interstate Run ✳️

Legacy will be statewide Pickups in Tas on monday 17th of August

Ex Devonport To Melb departure 18th August

Ex Melb To Tas departure 21st of August (Tas delivery Sunday 23rd)

Bookings available North and South.

✳️ 0497 930 021
✳️ email: [email protected]
✳️ booking form: http://legacyequine.com.au/getaquote/

10/08/2020

Devilscreek Rivoli Ted...our gorgeous HSH C**t.

10/08/2020

Because 15 minutes on the lunge is itchy work.

10/08/2020

Time for Santeria to come back into work...

02/08/2020

01/08/2020

01/08/2020

Happy horses birthday 🎁 🥕 🐴 💕

20/07/2020

Our beloved foundation thoroughbred mare RAV sadly passed away suddenly this weekend. She was in good spirits right up to the end and enjoying life in good health, she blessed us with 6 foals, S.F AVALON (x Sarajevo Kei), S.F. SUPERSTITION (x Coragio Kei), S.F. BETTE DAVIS (x Coragio Kei), S.F. CINCINNATI (Deceased) (x American Gothic), S.F. ELLE MAY (Deceased) (x American Gothic) and S.F. JEWEL (x Coragio Kei). Rav will be very much missed and is survived at the stud by her daughters Sixwytch Farm Avalon and Sixwytch Farm Jewel.

10/07/2020

I often read with the mass coverage of social media, how starting a horse as a 2-year-old or a coming 2-year-old will “cripple” them. "They will be done by the time they are 5." "Poor thing won't be able to walk at 10." Read that again incase you missed it, STARTING them as 2 and coming 2's, not racing them. This post is also not an article, its self written and presented on the outlook of the standard bred industry.

We see lots of generic horse owners have their outside perspectives and opinions that showing them as late 3, 4, 5 and 6 year olds is too early. We read/hear you should wait to start them until they are at least 4 year olds. However, I beg to differ for many reasons the big one is science and proven facts. So sit down and take a read.

The famous Wolff’s Law. Don't know what it is? Let me explain a little. It’s not an opinion, it’s not a hypothesis, it’s a law that’s been proven time and time again across all animals. Developed by the German anatomist Julius Wolff in the 19th century, states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed. Bone is constantly being formed and resorbed. Bone growth occurs when calcified matrix is formed faster than it is resorbed. Diameter growth occurs when matrix deposition occurs on the outer surface of the bone. Linear growth in long bones occurs at epiphyseal plates. These plates are between the epiphyses and diaphysis of the bone. Columns of chondrocytes on the epiphyseal side divide continuously causing this growth.

As the collagen layer thickens, older collagen calcifies and older chondrocytes deteriorate. Osteoblasts lay down a bone matrix on top of a cartilage base. The shaft lengthens as new bone is added at the ends. As long as the epiphyseal plate is active, long bone growth continues. Bone will constantly remodel throughout life. It is necessary to tell the bone where the areas of stress are going to be so that it can remodel and strengthen in preparation for the event. Riding a horse in general as a 2 year old the bones start to feel where the weight is being applied and the body goes to work. Bone cells, in particular osteocytes, are extremely sensitive to mechanical stress, a quality that is linked to the process of mechanical adaptation. Bone remolding consists of two stages, resorption and formation. During resorption, old bone tissue is broken down and removed by special cells called osteoclasts. Once this has been done, bone formation begins and new bone tissue is laid down to replace the old. This task is performed by special cells called osteoblasts. Osteoblasts produce collagen, enzymes, and other proteins that make up the organic portion of the bone matrix. Vigorous exercise and healthful diet with adequate calcium, protein, and vitamin D are essential in achieving sufficient bone mass during the bone adaptation process. Just like muscle, bones respond to certain kinds of training by hypertrophying. By putting enormous stress on bones, cartilage inside bones may become bones, causing plates to close. The actual amount of growth in a bone depends upon the NEED for it. As force is applied, the bone will remodel itself to better handle the force. In a reining horses, for example, the bones of the legs and feet strengthen to handle the impact of stopping a turning. Although this will alter throughout life, the main effects will be seen during the period of growth, when remodeling is most evident. It is in this period that the actual length of a limb bone is being determined. The actual amount of growth in a bone depends upon the need for it. In order for horses to be strong throughout life they need the dense bones which only happens when exercise, weight and pressure is applied. In relation to soft tissue, Davis’s Law explains how soft tissue remolds itself according to imposed demands as well just like the bone.

You can look at it this way, if you had a child and that child only roamed around the house until they were 15 and then you put a 30lb back pack on them and asked them to run to the other end of a football field they would break a bone or tear a ligament before they hit the 10-yard line. Why? Their bones are thin and weak along with many other things in their body. Their body leaned during their growing phase there was no pressure the bones only grew for house hold walking, not sports. I hear and see constantly people who wait to start their horses until they are 6,7, 10 and they think because they are mature now they are ready to be started, so because of their age they start them into a training program as if they have been rode their whole lives and what’s the first thing that happens? They go lame, they tear a suspensory, they break their coffin bone, they break their sesamoid bone, spiral fracture of the cannon bone, soft tissue damage. Why does this happen? Because they were the kid who lived in the house till they were 15 that had a backpack put on and where asked to run. Even with a slow start the chance of injury compared to one started as a 2-year-old are massive. There is significant study and proof of horses raced at the age of 2 compared to being raced at 4 sustained far less injuries to the 4 year olds who frequently came up lame and many sustained career ending injuries.

Exercise, pressure and weight are major essential tools for bone growth. There are a few other things that are your best friend lets talk about those.

Ever wonder why people are so high on the Theraplate? The vibrating platform works by triggering bones to generate tiny electric fields. These tiny currents may turn on genes that affect bone remodeling and growth. That’s when a series of experiments showed that bone is piezoelectric, meaning that bending or deforming its crystal structure creates local electric currents. These currents where quickly linked to bone growth in studies that seemed to explain why exercise strengthens bones(riding) and immobilization (being left in a pasture) weakens them. So, when you done with your ride for the day or a great way to warm up the body to exercise is to put them on the theraplate.

Ultimately You can still sit and attempt to judge someone for starting a 2-year-old or a coming two-year-old but it all boils down to science and knowing what you’re doing. They are individuals after all. Some can take a lot of pressure and some cannot. Bone growth however no matter what comes from exercise and weight in order to building and strengthening the bones needed for that horse’s career path. And that starts at a young age not when they are 5. Along with this, many people's personal opinions most with no experience raising horses from conception to riding let alone starting horses automatically think a 2 year old being started means they go into some rigorous 5/6 day a week 45-60min work out. When In fact it's more around 2-3 days a week for 2-5 mins for the first 30-60 days in which the program goes to 3/4 days a week for 10-15 mins and steadily climbs from there. A horse being started as a 2 year old is not being rode as a horse with a year or two of riding on it. People like to ignore that or just don't know. That's again where each one is an individual and you have to listen to what they are capable of handling. Other things do play a large roll in a strong horse for a long healthy life such as nutrition. So let's break this down even more.

Bones are a fascinating subject in general, from the wide general perspective we just covered down to the cellular level which can be genetic and what you are feeding them. There are two types of bones, compact and spongy. Compact being the dense hard bone and spongy being the cancellous bone which does not contain osteons. Then you have the four main principle types of bone cells in the tissue which are osteoprogenitor cells, osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts. Then you have an abundant of mineral salts, primarily hydroxyapatite, some calcium carbon at and most of all calcium phosphate. These salts are the framework of collagen fibers which is a process we have all heard called calcification. Mineral salts confer hardness on the bone while collagen fibers give the bone tensile strength (bend to a certain point and not break.)

Now with compact bone you have something called osteons which is a community of cells called osteocytes, you have a central canal which houses the periosteal arteries and veins to feed and remove the waste and CO2 created by the cells within the bone. The nutrient artery sends branches into the central Haversian canals to provide for osteocytes. The arty continues into the medullae to supple blood for the marrow and osteocells via the epiphyseal artery. The periosteal arteries pass through the Volkman’s canal to multitude of vessels that supply the outer compact bone. Now while I’m sure this sounds like a bunch of crazy talk I want you to think about your feed program. Sweet feeds that are extremely high in sugar content, do what to the blood? They make the blood thicker and impair the flow of the blood. When the blood gets down to the periosteal arteries that feed the bone its nutrients needed for strong healthy bone growth they are minimized. Think of sucking water through a straw versus a thick milk shake. When the blood has a very limited flow through the canal to the outer layer of bone it can cause the bone to not fully develop leaving holes or as we dread to hear on a pre purchase exam an OCD. So when it comes down to growing strong healthy stock your number one concern should always be your feed program from in-utero to old age. Followed by them having the proper amount of exercise and weight to grow the density of the bones, tendons, and ligaments. Now yes, there are other things that can cause an OCD or cause one to not heal however nutrients in the bone is the biggest. Your feed program feeds into the overall strength and development of the skeleton from in-utero to the day they die.

I have always been a big advocate for the equine athlete. After all we are the ones asking them to perform. Just remember every horse is an individual. You can cripple a long yearling or a 10 year old the same it's all in how you ride them, grow them and care for them. Just because one can handle it doesn't mean the other can wether that's structurally or mentally.

Hope you enjoyed the read 😉

- Chelsea Schneider

(Edit: This was a post to my personal wall, it's not professionally written or cited as it sure wasn't intended for the 800+ shares it has received so far. Therefor I listed some sources below)
Sources:
- Professor John Adams
- Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 9th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
- How bone remodeling works, Ryan Nguyen
- American College of Veterinary Surgeons
- College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

27/06/2020

SIXWYTCH FARM HAMISH (Joda Alcatraz x Platinum Park Magic Crystal). The first foal from the late PLATINUM PARK MAGIC CRYSTAL and JODA ALCATRAZ, Hamish is a striking young gelding who is going to make a beautiful show gelding or competing performance and endurance prospect....he’s getting very close to being ready for his new home.

26/06/2020

The beautiful PIRAMIDA (imp PL) at Michalow State Stud in her younger years, now calls Rhiannon Arabians home and has produce one beautiful CORAGIO KEI filly I’m 2019 (available), hopefully a few more fillies to come!

08/06/2020

Look at this cute little face....Arabian pony gelding “Gilby” is here for foundation training to be started under saddle...he’s come such a long way in just two weeks. Hopefully he will make an excellent newcomer prospect for his owners next year. Covid19 has certainly given us the opportunity to spend quality training time with next years prospects. Who else has been able to get stuck into some foundation training due to Covid19?

04/06/2020

02/06/2020

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN....

SASSANID (WN Dasjmir x Fairview Amira Bint Sashgar)

East Coast Championships, somewhere around 2000- 2002

01/06/2020

Foxwood Photography

Foxwood Photography

Arabian and Arabianbred horses the perfect match for Kids