Top Gun Eventing

10/01/2024

Im very excited to be participating in this clinic with Frank!

Canadian Clinic Tour Fall 2024!

I am excited to visit Canada again to meet you all and your horses. Australia and Canada are considered sister countries and I always feel very at home with you all!

We are presenting x3 Foundational Clinics in the second half of October. Two clinics at Willaway Farm in Ontario, and one clinic at LRCA Ranch, 25 minutes north of Edmonton Alberta.

I am very excited about this opportunity to work with you all, some of you for the first time and some of you are return clients who have been with me for years.

Emotional Horsemanship presents kind training for horses for people who want and need that, and the horses asking for it. We use pressure, but explore ways to be effective with pressure that don't escalate towards the horses. This foundational clinic will start at fundamentals of connection, contact, touch and body awareness, and built gradually through different emotional states until the horses inform us how much they are able to do.

Riding is definitely on the menu, with the caveat that the horses "hold the reins" and we let the horses tell us if riding is going to happen today, or not.

I try my best to give long term plans where applicable to the horses and participants. I try my best to provide a quiet, focused environment that balances safety, but also boundaries and accountability. This is a different type of clinic to audit, if you are accustomed to auditing.

We have 2 Participant spots left out of 15. One in Ontario and one in Alberta. There are limited auditing spots available.

The website holds a lot more detailed information, but you can also write to [email protected] if you have any questions at all.

To book the ticket, follow the website links and select the applicable dates the clinic is being held on, and you can obtain your spot directly through the website.

We also are offering to anyone who wishes to attend BOTH of the Almonte clinics, that they can attend the fourth day for free. Both clinics will mix consistency with variability. No two clinics I have taught are the same, even if I approached the structure in a similar way.

Dropping links in the comments below if you wish to join us! Please share with your friends! We want you there.

09/29/2024

Someone scoop up this little cutie!

“Okay Friends, I have the MOST lovely 3 year old gelding. I mean good for everything we have done with him so far. Stands quietly to be tacked up, for bathing and the farrier. Gets on and off the trailer no issue. Loves attention. Just all around wise beyond his years.

Bred for the jumper ring but has the movement, mind of a hunter and brave enough for eventing in a lovely smaller package. As much as he is making my life super easy it’s time for him to find his career path.

Could easily be brought along by an amateur or junior in a program. Is currently green broke and is going WTC.

Someone needs this perfect soul in their program.”

Stats:
https://warmblood-sales.com/horse/roxbury-es2

Message OP for more details!

Baby Rosco why are you so perfect?🩶🤍🩶🤍🩶🤍

08/15/2024

🚨 ALERT🚨 Eastern Equine Encephalitis

As most of you have heard there have been several young horses lost in our area due to the Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus. A disease transmitted by mosquitoes and which has a greater than 90% fatality rate. It has been confirmed that those that the equine community have lost were unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated.

Luckily, the vaccines we have available are very protective provided they are used in the appropriate manner. This means that:

Foals receive a 3 dose series: first dose is given at 4-6 months of age, followed by a booster 4-6 weeks following the first dose and a 3rd dose at 13 months of age).

Adults (whose vaccines have lapsed or with unknown history) receive a 2 dose series: the second dose is given 4-6 weeks after the first. Then given annually after.

If you are unsure of your horses vaccination status please reach out and we can help you decide what the best course of action is for your particular horse and situation. We are recommending anything under the age of 2-3years old receive a booster as a precaution.

Also consider fly sheets and masks as well as fly spray to deter mosquitoes as much as possible.

For more information on the disease please visit AAEP.org or contact us.

https://aaep.org/resource/eastern-equine-encephalitis-eee/

06/18/2024

As we go into a heat wave🥵 this week your show grooms are out there taking care of your equine partners💪🏼 so please don’t forget to take care of them!

Show your appreciation by:
1. Knowing their coffee☕️ or drink order🥤and bringing them one. Stopping to find time to get something is often hard.

2. Getting food🍔 for yourself? Ask them if you can get them something! Same reason as above.

3. Say Please and Thank You no matter how good or bad the day was.

4. Tips Tips Tips Tips, did I mention Tips? A little goes a long way.

The days are long, and good grooms are becoming harder and harder to find. Let your fantastic grooms know how much you appreciate them. ❤️

Have another way to thank them? Drop it in the comments! ⬇️

Pictured is the fabulous Savannah, Conrad’s groom from a few seasons ago. 🥰

📸 Sionna Docherty Photography

04/10/2024

After seeing multiple videos posted by various breeders bragging about their 2 ½ year olds/recently turned 3 year olds and sharing videos of them cantering around in the arena, I have decided to once again circulate the below article.

First of all, breeders *should* have the knowledge to understand a horse’s fragile and slow maturing musculoskeletal system. Breeders should not condone their own horses let along anyone’s horses being cantered around under saddle at an incredibly young age. Period. This sets a terrible example and is quite honestly animal abuse. Just because a horse does not object does not mean it is right. And quite frankly, most of the videos posted show animals that are already in pain or developing pain…

As breeders, we should strive to produce healthy and sound animals. We should promote horsemanship that produces long term soundness. No, starting a horse later does not guarantee soundness. But it certainly helps.

I am a firm believer in scientifically backed approaches to horsemanship. You can’t argue with science that has been proven time and time again. Let’s dispel some stupid rumors:

1. There is no such thing as a (skeletally) slow maturing horse or one that is fast maturing. No horse is skeletally mature before the age of 6. And that is on the low estimate for age.

2. Growth plates are not just in the knee. Every bone behind the skull has a growth plate. Not every single one needs to be converted to bone before starting. There is a schedule of when bone fuses…this is the information needed to know when to start a horse. Not their outward appearance. It is a known fact that during growth, proprioceptive awareness can regress, greatly increasing the risk of injury.

3. Starting a horse is not the same thing as riding a horse. Starting a horse does not mean cantering it 3-4 days a week in an arena.

4. Injecting a horse that is in pain does not mean you fixed a problem. You masked it.

5. You can build correct muscle and teach a horse how to move their body from the ground. This creates a solid foundation to work from once your horse is ready to actually be backed. Teach a horse to use its body correctly before backing and you’ll save yourself a lot of vet bills down the line.

Hocks are “late” for maturity. The growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals do not fuse until a horse is 3-3 ½. Ever wonder why so many horses seem to have hocks issues?? Horses need to learn to carry themselves and their own weight well before adding a rider.

The growth plates that are LAST to close are at the base of the neck. This area is where we ask a horse to raise the base of their neck and come round. If under too much stress, the growth plates can fracture or be permanently damaged.

There are DOZENS of activities you can do with a young horse to build healthy muscular development. None of them involve a saddle or your weight on their back. Teaching a horse to carry themselves correctly BEFORE adding a rider is essential and cannot be done in a week. A 2 ½ year old horse is a baby. Mentally and physically. We see far too many injured performance horses at VERY young ages - broken down and/or sour from work. It’s wrong. Period. They need slow and steady work and need time to recover from even the slightest of injuries.

PLEASE, if you are considering when you should start your horse and what that work load should look like, please read the below. There are some wonderful things you can do with your young developing horse. Please don’t rush a year out of greed.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

01/30/2024

📣Notorio’s 2024 book is officially open!

He will be available Monday-Friday from March 1-September 1 and from September 1-November 1 and on weekends on a case by case basis around his competition schedule.

Includes:
⭐️ 2 Year LFG
⭐️ 1st Collection
⭐️ All Applicable Taxes
⭐️ Disposable Shipping Container

Foals Eligible:
▪️ Canadian Sport Horse Association
▪️ SBS Studbook - Belgian Sport Horse - North America
▪️Westfalen NA
▪️More to come💫

Questions? [email protected]

01/25/2024

Frank has had enough of this weather! It’s ruining his bangs!
Ramping up work with Frank, egar to get jumping again but he needs a bit more basic fitness first! Hes been living it up on vacation!

12/08/2023

Incase anyone was wondering what to get me for Christmas….

12/05/2023

SOLD!
Couldn’t be happier for Rio and her new owner MJ! Looking forward to seeing their partnership progress!

11/18/2023

LEASE ONLY.
Sinatra R
2012 16hh Westphalian x TB gelding
Imported from Australia in 2018
Jr/AA friendly.
Shown 1.05 eventing and 3rd level dressage.
No prep. Hop on and go.
Hacks, trailers, good for vet and clipping.
Some maintenance.
Only reason for lease is because hes not interested in jumping big things. Looking for a 1m and under lease.
Located in Almonte, ON
Priority given to long term lease.
FOR LEASE TO APPROVED SHOW FACILITIES ONLY.

10/22/2023

SOLD

15y/o 15.3hh appendix mare in need of new address.

SAFE! SAFE! SAFE!
kick ride on the flat. Can be a bit forward to jumps, will jump anything you point her at. Will take a joke. Can do 1st level dressage and jump a 2’9 course. Previously did pre training eventing (3’0)
Front shoes, light maintenance required depending on work load.
Videos available to serious buyers.
7k negotiable for the right home.

10/22/2023

Super star mare looking for a rider!

06/28/2023

If this was a photo of a dog then we would all be demanding justice and an end to this abomination! So what makes it okay to do this to a horse?

A horse is at least as sensitive as a dog, or as a human for that matter - could you imagine the outcry if someone did this to a fellow human? So how can anyone think this is okay?

There are very few specific rules for noseband tightness in horse sports. Dressage asks that one finger can be inserted in the fleshy hollow at the side of the face with no measurement where the noseband is tight on the ridge of the nose and the jaw bones. There are no checks on the composition of the noseband, which means it could be lined in solid metal or even a chain. There are no restrictions in show-jumping or eventing, and the no-blood rule is largely irrelevant in the case of over-tightening a noseband.

One has to ask oneself why the sport fears a change in the rules that asks for merely two fingers width, flush with the ridge of the horse's nose, under the noseband. Two fingers are SO little to ask for!

Of course, if the horse can open his mouth - even that little bit that two fingers allow - then we would see which horses are objecting to having a bit in their mouth, which horses might be in pain and which riders have strong or hard hands - it would be much more difficult to hide the fact that a rider may be using force so only the genuinely well-trained horses and genuinely skilled horse people would rise to the top. Now, that is something to think about!

Please help us get this rule changed and enforced by signing the petition.

Recommendation #7:
Improve the controls against the excessive tightening of nosebands and curb chains: Provide a more calibrated check, performed randomly during training sessions and systematically when entering or leaving each event, using a 1.5 cm ISES taper gauge placed on the nasal bones (which allow one adult finger to slide between the noseband strap and the hard nasal bone) and apply a penalty in the event of an infringement.

Recommendation #8:
Review the list of tack which, by its creative design or manufacture, can cause harm and discomfort to the horse, and prohibit its use in competition, in particular nosebands that increase the capacity to tighten (crank, lever, grackle, double, etc.) as well as flash nosebands in all disciplines: Create a positive list of authorised nosebands.

Link to the Petition: https://chng.it/K9QVmGFt
Link To 46 Recommendations and Supporting Articles: https://concordiaequestrians.org/paris-2024-campaign/

Photo credit: Crispin Parelius Johannessen