JC Equine

26/12/2021

Jump saddle strip- flock…. Green is a new one!!
All ready for fresh buoyant flock 💕 lucky horsey! 🐴

12/10/2021

Setting up the new property in Swannanoa New Zealand! The arena has been in service now over 4 months and wintered exceptionally well! We took what we learned in Australia to improve on the construction of the base, surface, retaining and fence. I am finding it very user friendly! A huge thank you to BD Design and Build!

17/12/2020

Keep this in mind while you chase your dream whether that is Olympic or not!

Somewhere in the world, the 2028 Olympic champion is a foal out in a field. He’s ewe-necked, sickle-hocked, downhill and shaggy, with a club foot and a chunk of mane missing, because his buddy chewed it off.

Somewhere in the world, there’s a young horse that everyone says is too short to make it big. In three years, he’ll be jumping the standards, but right now he’s fat and short and no one is paying him any mind.

Somewhere in the world there’s a 7-year-old who can’t turn right, and a 10-year-old who has not shown the ability to put more than two one-tempis together without losing it, and a 14-year-old who hasn’t yet reached his peak, and all of them will be at the next Olympic Games.

Somewhere else in the world, there’s a rider who is thinking of packing it in. Maybe the bills are getting out of control, or she’s killing herself to get enough help in her own riding development because she’s having to spend all her time riding and teaching to make ends meet and change needs to happen, and she’s wondering if it’s worth it. She’s thinking it’s time to just give up and be a local trainer, to shelve her dreams of international competition. And then she’s going to shake off the doubt, double down, and make a team in the next 15 years.

Somewhere in the world, one of the next great team riders is 9 years old and couldn’t tell if she was on the right posting diagonal if her life depended on it.

Somewhere in the world there’s a future team rider who just got told that she’ll never make it because she’s too chubby, because she’s too short, because she’s too late.

There are horses who will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that will never amount to anything, and there are horses who will be touted as the Next Big Thing only to be never seen or heard from again, and there are horses who will fly under the radar until suddenly they’re setting the world on fire.

There are riders who will win Junior and Young Rider competitions only to quit riding completely, riders who will be touted as the Next Big Thing only to get stuck in their comfort zones and never come to fruition, and there are riders who will make their first Olympic team at 50, at 55, at even older than that.

And yes, there are the horses that will be brilliant from day one, and there are the riders for whom success both comes early and stays late. But more often than not, history has shown that the unlikely story, the horse who was passed over in favor of his more expensive stablemate, the rider who no one saw coming, is the more likely path to greatness.

Credit and written by Lauren Sprieser at Chronicle Of The Horse

20/10/2020

Yup that about sums it up! Simple 🤪

29/06/2020

The time has come 😭
Snap him up before I change my mind!

Buzzword 16hh 8yo Dressage/ trail horse Buzz has been training (up to Elementary level/ competed successfully to Novice) and was destined to move to New Zealand with me shortly. He’s a super horse, supple balanced and responsive to ride with a beautiful connection. He is bold on the trails and has...

14/02/2020

The ultimate jack of all trades! The work ethic and athleticism of the thoroughbred never ceases to amaze me 😃

02/01/2020

Reflock and flock adjustments are not the same!
I love a good bargain as much as the next rider, especially saddles 😉 Second hand saddles are always a pretty good market as they are a product that holds value fairly well if cared for. As a buyer, nice saddles can be found with plenty of life left in them. But how does that work out for your horse?
Commonly saddles in sales ads are advertised as recently reflocked. You need to ask that this is actually what has been done! This terms refers to a full replacement of all flock within a panel although seems to be used most of the time to refer to a little bit of wool added to lift the balance or fill in dips and hollows that have developed. These procedures are not the same thing so always check with the seller when buying second hand!
Flock adjustments are done to get that particular saddle fitting to the best of its ability to the horse it is used on, every 6- 12 months will keep your horse comfortable and happy. Flock moves and balls up, it compresses over time. Dips often occur where the straps cross the panel even if there is no other issue with the fit. Maintenance is essential for a happy horse.
While we all know the importance of having the fit checked often, I don't believe saddles are being reflocked nearly as much as they should be. Gradually after a few seasons it can become pretty unforgiving for the horse and I believe many riders wait too long to get a full reflock done on the saddle. Once the panel feels rather firm or lumpy and is not forgiving to the muscles any more it needs to be done. Hard panels block the movement of the horse, can create atrophy/ rubs or even sore areas elsewhere in the body from holding and not being able to work properly.
I have just reflocked an old Wintec I have kicking around for the second time 3.5 years after I bought it. It was bought second hand and I reflocked it to use on my own horse, we started with a beautiful soft panel that molded to the horse beautifully. Its absolutely nothing fancy but my horse loves that saddle! I have had little trouble with its fit and have only needed one adjustment in that whole time. Cheaper saddles need reflocked too!
All saddles with wool or fibre panels will need attention and when really will depend on the saddle, what is inside the panel, frequency of use, the horse (assuming its used on only one) and the rider.
When buying a secondhand saddle, the beauty of having a reflock done is that a saddle is rejuvenated to an almost new state in terms of the comfort for the horse. While it may not look like its right out of the shop when you buy second hand, your horse will still be able to perform to the best of their ability if you are using a saddle with soft comfortable wool.
Its easy to see that a saddle which has been moulded to "someone else" for 5 years then had 10 sessions of additional wool stuffed into the panel is less than ideal!

02/10/2019

17/09/2019

A good guide for girth selection from Jochen Schleese.

29/08/2019

An excellent tool to help subtle one sidedness. I’d love for more proprioception studies to be done in this area!

Placing a boot on a horse’s weaker leg can use proprioception to help him build muscle force and reverse asymmetry, a study finds.