Equine Nutrition Australasia (ENA)

31/01/2025

Tamarack Hill Farm Thanks

There is both merit and fallacy to both of these methods. Many kids are sheltered too much to become confident, but other kids get scared and hurt by tough horses to the point that they give up riding forever.

And some injuries change lives.

Partly it depends on how risk averse, or not, the kid is, and part depends on how tough the horse is to ride.

It is easy and tempting to see things in black and white, but that isn’t how it usually works with horses. (With VERY rare exceptions).

Anyone who thinks otherwise will not have spent years in the trenches working with lots of riders and with lots of horses.

31/01/2025

Equus Magazine Thanks

31/01/2025

Thanks to Mary Sargeant & Equine Bodyworks

Is over analysing holding you back

Questioning things and not taking everything as gospel I find is a good thing it makes us search for answers question those who do not give us a satisfactory answer and we don't just take things as this is the way it should be.

But when we start over analysing and micro managing everything, we can become in danger of never actually doing anything for fear we will break our horses, and while this is understandable if you have had such a bad experience with your horse prior diagnosis and maybe beyond do you want the lasting memory for you and your horse to be one of a bad experience.

Any recovery and rehab must always be a progression forward it can be slow and methodical, but it must always be moving forward with healing and achieving a better equilibrium than preinjury or illness, but if you don't do it you will never know.

I always say if your last memory of riding your horse was a miserable one then when you have to get back on that memory will resurface and put you on high alert from the first ride and then it will feed into your horse, my advice is get someone else to do that first ride a calm, kind confident rider who has no emotional attachment to your horse can often give the horse that little confidence boost it needs and you as the owner will start to build up a new experience of seeing your horse in a different way...its not failing to ask someone else to do something with your horse I actually see it as a sign of progression that you recognise that at the moment you may not be ready to ride (it's called self-preservation)

You see both you and your horse will not only have to now move in a completely different way, but you and your horse will have to find a new pattern of behaviour associated with either riding or other work...

Being cautious is good being super critical is maybe not so healthy for we may be holding ourselves back with memories rather than the physicality. And if it is all too much then there is no law that says you can't just stop, for retiring from riding doesn't mean the end of the world for either you or your horse.

Getting rid of physical pain is always the easy part reassuring both you and your horse that by moving forward without the thought of pain is harder to do and its something I can advise on but that is a discussion only the horse and owner can have between them. But by surrounding yourself with people who will encourage and even just be there to listen to your fears but also be honest with their thoughts on your future plans is often the best medicine for you and your horse.

31/01/2025

Abbie Senesac Lopez Thanks
Reverence Equine
Thank You

I was sorting through some photos from a trip to France and Italy that I took over a decade ago. In looking through those photos, I found myself going down the most fascinating thought rabbit hole.

I have numerous photos of large statues of horses and their riders: most of these statues were homages to long-dead soldiers, generals or other militaristically-significant humans, almost all of them men. Scrolling through these photos I couldn't help but notice how stressed all of the horses were. Over half were rearing; the majority of the rest were in some kind of animated posture on two or three legs. Only one had all four feet planted. Nearly every horse's mouth was agape. Many had pinned ears and flagging tails. When I zoomed in to look closer at their facial expressions, the details around the nostrils, eyes and chins exemplifying fear and anxiety were particularly stunning.

I started thinking about the fact that a lot of what we see today in the competition rings, on movie posters, in advertisements, on book covers and in famous paintings...doesn't look all that much different than most of these statues, many of which are hundreds or even thousands of years old.

And I came to the conclusion that I don't think humanity as a whole finds a relaxed horse very interesting. I'm not sure we ever have. We seem to be far more fascinated and captivated by a horse that is existing somewhere on the fear spectrum.

I've written previously about the struggle many people find themselves in when they choose a quieter, slower path in their horsemanship outside of the the ones history and common practice seem to emphasize, and in studying those photos it made quite a lot of sense. We see stressed horses everywhere, in almost every place where we might see a horse represented. It's no wonder the collective we don't think too much about it.

It's also no wonder why it feels like we're going so against the grain when we decide that is no longer going to be the way we do things, and try and encourage others to consider the same.

How do we shift things? I have written before about my beliefs regarding creating worldly change, and it's almost exactly the same as my beliefs about creating lasting change in horse: piece by piece, day by day, moment by moment. Embody the change you want to see. Affect and touch those you can. And, don't compromise on your principles: they are the means by which you light your path, especially when you're creating the road as you go.

31/01/2025

Thanks to Denny Emerson & Tamarack Hill Farm

There are people who absolutely LOVE horses, but who don’t know much about them. They may not have had the chance to spend lots of hours in close contact with horses.

Then there are people who know a tremendous amount about horses who actually do not love horses. They USE horses but are not considerate of them. In both daily handling and especially in competition these people will push horses into places that can be stressful, painful or actually dangerous.

Neither of these should be considered “horsemen/horsewomen.”

The real deal are those people who both love horses enough to be kind to them, and who also know an immense about horses.

Anyway, I think that’s an accurate way to explain it?

31/01/2025

Thanks to TheHorse.com

Equip your mare with the nutrition, vaccines, fitness, and foaling environment she needs to promote a successful parturition and a healthy foal.

31/01/2025

TheHorse.com Thanks

Horses on all-day pasture have more opportunities than stalled horses to meet their ethological (behavioral) needs, researchers say.

31/01/2025

TheHorse.com Thanks

Horses can give us plenty of cues when they're dealing with early illness. To help you recognize them and intervene accordingly, we've put together this 10-point list of warning signs.

31/01/2025

Tamarack Hill Farm Thank You
Denny Emerson
Many Thanks

31/01/2025

Endurance Lifestyle Update - Thanks

🇬🇧/The World’s Endurance Elite Invited to Al Fursan Endurance AlUla! 🏇
Selected based on the FEI Endurance Riders World Ranking, numerous riders have been invited to compete in the prestigious Al Fursan Endurance AlUla. 🌍
Hailing from 17 nations, the invited athletes include renowned names such as Sabrina Arnold 🇩🇪, Maria Alvarez Ponton 🇪🇸, Melody Theolissat & Virginie Atger 🇫🇷, Costanza Laliscia 🇮🇹, and Louna Schuiten 🇧🇪.
We look forward to seeing you all at Al Fursan Endurance AlUla!✨

🇮🇹/L’élite dell’endurance mondiale invitata all’Al Fursan Endurance AlUla! 🏇
Selezionati sulla base del FEI Endurance Riders World Ranking, saranno tanti i cavalieri invitati all’Al Fursan Enduranca AlUla.🌍
Provenienti da 17 nazioni, tra gli atleti invitati, spiccano nomi di grande rilievo come Sabrina Arnold🇩🇪, Maria Alvarez Ponton🇪🇸, Melody Theolissat & Virginie Atger🇫🇷, Costanza Laliscia🇮🇹 e Louna Schuiten🇧🇪.
Vi aspettiamo tutti all’Al Fursan Endurance Alula!✨

31/01/2025

Endurance Lifestyle Thanks for the Update

🇬🇧/ 🏇✨ Al Fursan Endurance AlUla: here’s the Track Map! ✨🏇
🔹 CEI2* (120 km) ➝ 4 loops
🔹 CEI3* (160 km) ➝ 6 loops
Each rider will receive a road book to help their crew easily reach the crew points.
A technical and safe course, set in the breathtaking AlUla desert, a true open-air museum that will offer you an unforgettable experience. 🌵🏜️
🔜 We wait you!

🇮🇹/ 🏇✨ Al Fursan Endurance AlUla: ecco la Track Map! ✨🏇
🔹 CEI2* (120 km) ➝ 4 giri
🔹 CEI3* (160 km) ➝ 6 giri
Ogni cavaliere riceverà un road book per consentire ai propri crew di raggiungere facilmente i crew points.
Un percorso tecnico e sicuro, immerso nello straordinario deserto di AlUla, un vero museo a cielo aperto che vi regalerà emozioni uniche. 🌵🏜️
🔜 Vi aspettiamo!

31/01/2025

Lindsay Burer, MS - Equine Nutrition Consultant Thanks

Nutrition is critical for healing because the nutrients in food provide the essential vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients needed for cellular repair, immune function, and overall recovery.

Proper nutrition supports the body’s ability to regenerate tissues, reduce inflammation, and enhance the efficacy of medical treatments, ultimately facilitating a faster and more effective healing process.

If a horse is sick or injured, it is NOT the time to skimp on nutrition!! Feeding a fortified feed at the minimum recommended feeding rate, or a ration balancer for easy keepers or those advised against grain for a short period of time (colic, choke, etc), will help provide those crucial building blocks the body requires to efficiently rebuild.

31/01/2025

Nikki Meggison BSc Hons - Independent Equine Nutritionist Thanks

Friday focus…misunderstanding feed ingredients!

In very recent years it has become the ‘thing’ to pick out individual ingredients in horse feeds, to make some of them out to be the worst thing ever fed to our horses and to hold them responsible for so many health issues. Many of the ingredients in our horses feeds have been used for a long time, so why is it now that they are all of a sudden causing such an issue?!!!

Picking out single ingredients in feeds and having individuals making recommendations or assumptions without understanding nutrition or taking into account the diet as a whole is just not on. If you listened to many of these feeding myths, our horses would not be able to eat anything! Yes there are some horses that do have an intolerance to some ingredients, but true intolerances are not that common and of course these horses should be fed accordingly if they do have them.

It is often misunderstood how ingredients within a feed, contribute to the analysis of the feed and how much the horse actually receives of the said ingredient. I often have my feed recommendations questioned (which I have no problem with at all!) because someone has told a client that it should not be fed as it contains molasses, soya, alfalfa or whatever ingredient they feel is not suitable for a horses overall health or if they have a certain health condition.

Advertising plays a huge part in this too! When companies advertise that their food does not contain a certain ingredient, that often sows the seed of doubt and then people start to worry that this ingredient may be bad for our horses, which can lead to many good quality, well balanced feeds being overlooked.

What I find even more infuriating, is that many of the feeds deemed ‘more suitable’ are not always well balanced and are often really expensive! So in some cases, you end up spending more money than you need to and your horse or pony is still not receiving a nicely balanced, base diet. Just because it is more expensive, it does not necessarily make it well balanced!

The way I often encourage my clients to look at this is to look at it is like this. Would the good feed companies that invest in getting their products nicely balanced, according to NRC guidelines, make any feeds with harmful ingredients to our horses? I think not! I would encourage you to look at the reputable feed companies that are more concerned about giving out good general, science-based advice and not putting down other feeds due to the ingredients they contain to promote the sale of their own feeds.

31/01/2025

Clare MacLeod MSc RNutr Independent Equine Nutritionist Many Thanks

GOOD OR BAD??

It seems to be quite fashionable for feeds or feed groups to be deemed 'good' or 'bad'.

Nonsense, mostly.

You can supply a balanced diet i.e. all the essential nutrients a horse needs, from a wide range of different feeds. Don't believe all the hype.

Removing soy from the diet won't necessarily make a difficult mare become easy; patience, persistence and learning more about training are more likely to help.

Feeding copra meal won't make a struggling barefoot horse gravel-crunching; reducing body fat and restricting grass are more likely to help.

Avoiding molasses won't make an over-reactive horse calm down; but consistent handling/riding, understanding and leadership will make a difference.

And not only do I know this, but I've experienced it too, many times over.

Thousands of horses are fed all sorts of different ingredients and feeds, and are healthy and perform well on them.

Sometimes owners have cut out certain feeds or ingredients and don't realise something else changed at the same time, and then they get to thinking it's due to the feed or ingredient removal.

There are some exceptions, of course, and certain health conditions have special nutritional needs. But its the total nutrient intake that matters, more than which feed is supplying those nutrients.

Grass - must be limited for some, great for others.

Oats - a no-no for some, great for others.

Wheatbran/wheatfeed - is not poisonous but is a palatable, useful ingredient.

Alfalfa - a great source of nutrients for most, doesn't suit some.

Molasses - at the rates its used in most (not all) feeds, it hardly has any effect at all.

So don't believe everything that's read, no matter how zealous the writer. In fact, the more zealous, the more it should be questioned. Always stop and question the qualifications of those before believing them, or taking advice, and if they have a commercial interest i.e. are trying to sell you a product. The latter isn't necessarily bad, but they will be biased.

And if much of the 'science' the writer is using to convince is not understandable, then scroll past because they're likely to be trying to brainwash.

Keep the 'nonsense' or 'nutribaloney' monitor on at all times when reading about horse nutrition..

And comment spring webinars for details of an upcoming webinar I'm delivering, uncovering feeds and supplements...
🐴🍏

31/01/2025

Yasmin Stuart Equine Physio Thanks

Modern Centaurian ✨️

A horse partnership built upon a combination of evidence, intuition and feel to cultivate a horse's physical and emotional wellbeing.

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I've wanted to do this for such a long time and the reason behind it isn't actually horse-related.

A number of years ago, I suddenly found myself to be freed of a not very healthy relationship. I was sat in the ashes of what once was, and I had absolutely no idea of who I was anymore.

I didn’t know what I liked or disliked. I no longer had any sense of self.

Thankfully, we lived in a time where social media was blossoming and I had the fortune of stumbling across some pages that left a bread crumb trail for me to find myself again - starting with appreciating the small things, curating healthier daily habits and trying new things on a very small, sustainable scale.

I would say that this changed my life and I am very grateful.

This also trickled over to my work with the horses - unconditional permission to explore everywhere and find what resonated for me and most importantly, what resonated with the horse.

I also observed the - forgive me - toxic side of horsemanship. Where people had lost their sense of self and lost their north star, no longer being able to see their own horse -

Creating a stifling cycle of frustration because the horse's wellbeing and the horse/human partnership where being compromised at the hands of aspirations decided by dogmatic practices.

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Ultimately for me, whilst I care about people, I really care about the horse.

And with this I want to empower you - to filter in research, in a way which grows corn, and also to help you navigate that appropriately for your own horse whilst developing your own feel and trusting your intuition.

And I wanted this resource to be free.

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But what to call it??

Not to be disrespectful, but the term 'equestrian' didn't really encapsulate what I was feeling. It felt clinical and performance based.

I wanted to capture that feeling where you are truly at one with your horse, transcending performance and prizes, becoming one entity.

The thing that I think a lot of people are searching for.

And I happened across 'centaur' and then 'centaurian', first seen through Emily Frost's work: Centaurian Artistry.

Centaurian felt right.

But I also wanted to capture progression - both in our scientific understanding of the horse and our ability to apply this knowledge.

Signing the contract that if we are to do right by ourselves and our horses, the learning never stops but that learning is irrelevant if we don't apply it.

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And so here it is - a free weekly email with small 'how to' videos, so you can go on to explore the fringes of your relationship with your horse and find out who you are.

You also get an insight into what I've been reading, watching and listening to - with no other meaning behind it than to simply fuel your eternal exploration.

You can sign up via my website ❤️

31/01/2025

Is there something NEW 🐎 about to be released at Mitavite Asia in Malaysia 🇲🇾 in February ?