According to my horses, spring has sprung. (They are moulting) The Hunt season is over and the Show season about to start. I was asked the other day as to ..when do horses get turned out in the Nelson district? Well, our horses are turned out every day that they are not ridden. We do not "shut down" here at the Top of the South.
In this issue of RRU, are copies of the Riding and Road Safety Syllabus and Stage One Riding Club Module. The R&RS certificate is a good one to do as a Club and as a way to bring Club members together. It's a very "social" certificate, easily managed on a nice summer afternoon/evening. It's also a good way of reviewing your own knowledge of the Road Rules. I know several of the members of my Club were pleasantly shocked at what they thought they knew, but didn't. P.S. you don't have to be a member of a Riding Club to sit the Riding and Road Safety Certificate
NZRC Module (stage one) has been trialled and is now available to all Riding Club members. The module is structured in such a way that sections can been done in any order and in your own time. Again it could be that as a Club, you get together and have your members work to a common goal. Or you could just use the Module as an excuse for a "get together" with some wine, cheese, grapes, etcetc.
Reminder
With the coming of the Show Season, have you purchased your Plaiting Aprons from NZRC? At $10.00 (half apron) and $15.00 (full apron) they are value for money. They are well made and made out of a strong heavy cotton material - easy to wash.. with large roomy pockets. A friend of mine suggested that the apron would make a great "peg basket" or they could be used in the kitchen, garden, at work or school. The aprons are made to order, so you will not be getting old stock. Contact Helen (Secretary) or Allison (SI Vice President) with you orders.
Happy riding,
Rosemary
HORSE FLOATS
My car is a 2 litre Ford Sierra S/W and was unloaded apart from the usual `junk' and me! My horse float is a double axle, large single (e.g. one and a half times), which will take two yearlings with the partition out, but only one horse. It had half a bale of hay, 15 litres of water and my shoeing gear aboard. It has brakes.
The horse I took along was Gem, a well, but not heavy build 15hh rather fat mare (good show condition!).
Weights Float 820kg
Horse 530kg
TOTAL 1350kg
Car 1370kg
What is your car to loaded horse float weight ratio?
The other considerations are the weight the car manufacturers recommend, and the rating stamped on both the draw bar and the tow ball, not necessarily the same thing. My tow ball has 1500kg stamped on it, there is nothing on the draw bar, and the only thing in the car's manual states a vertical load bearing and nothing about the towing load weight. The following information came from Department of Conservation Fact Sheet and may be of interest.
Trailer Braking
LTSA state that trailers with a laden weight less than 2000kg are not required to have brakes. However many vehicles, such as the popular Toyota Hilux, have manufacturers specifications that are considerably less than this. Specs of vehicles, along with the weights carried (e.g. fire trailers, ATVs, etc.) need to be checked and not exceeded. Check out the LTSA information on http:/www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-2-01-200212.html as well as an MTA article which outlines specifications for various vehicles, http://www.mta.org.nz/?id=466&area=38&eid=228 It may be possible that your trailer requires a braking system.
So what does your horse weigh? I expected Gem to be heavy but I was about 30kg light in my estimate. There are several ways of finding out. Obviously the best is to weigh the animal, and the Eqvalan tape is reasonably accurate, but a VERY ROUGH ESTIMATE for a light to medium build horse is;
14hh400kg
15hh 500kg
16hh 600kg
Heavier builds will weigh more and horses can vary by at least 50kg depending on their condition at different times of year and their fitness level. Bone weight will not vary but muscle and fat will make a lot of difference - don't we all know it?
Evelyn Cooper
NZ RIDING CLUBS INC STAGE ONE CERTIFICATES HORSE CARE AND RIDING MODULES
Each module stands alone and can be achieved in any order
A range of learning and assessment methods is used - practical, question and answers, and assignments.
Demonstrations of all the practical aspects and clear explanations are given before assessments
Group learning with support from other Riding Club members and NZ Riding Club Assessors
All Modules;
Are appropriate to caring for horses in the NZ environment.
Are designed to be user friendly and self paced
Can be used for Recognised Prior Learning for NZQA qualifications
On completion of all six Modules a certificate of achievement is awarded, and a felt for the NZRC badge.
THE MODULES NZQA
1Care of paddocked horses Relates to Unit Standard 1624
2Clean and maintain saddlery Relates to Unit Standard 6579
3Prepare a horse for a ride Relates to Unit Standard 1660
4Grooming Relates to Unit Standard 1656
5General horse care Parts of relates to Unit Standard 1618
6Riding on the flat Parts of relates to Unit Standard 1651
COSTS/FEES
Study and assessment guide for each Modules$10
Application fee to NZRC for each Module $10
The Assessor's fee for the demonstrations and assessments is shared between the candidates and/or the Riding Club. Assessor's fees are $25/hour. Assessor's travel costs are 35c/km. The exact fee will depend on the number of candidates, the hours involved and the travel distances
CONGRATULATIONS TO MARIA DIXON
Maria Dixon - a Year 13 Special Education student went to the 2003 Special Olympics World Games in Dublin, Ireland with 5,000 other athletes from all over the world. Maria won two medals in horseriding - a gold for Equitation and a silver for Trail; and a 4th place in Dressage.
Congratulations Maria!
Sometimes other people can make one feel very humble.
Well done on such a splendid result in the International Equestrian scene. Most of us will never get to go to any form of the Olympics even as just a member of the audience, you not only went, but came back victorious. GOLD and SILVER.
Maria is an Individual member of the NZRC and is currently working through the NZRC Modules, ably assisted by Jeanette Garrett.
10. Blowing Paper
"At any moment it could whip up into our faces, covering our noses. We could suffocate. And don't try to tell us you'd do CPR."
9. Barking Dogs
" What? You've never read Steven King's CUJO?"
8. Puddles of Water
"Quicksand."
7. Trash Cans
"They've been known to swallow horses and transport them into another dimension."
6. Babies and Lil Kids
"Long lost tribe of horse-eating pygmies."
5. Plaid Horse Blankets.
"Hey, when was the last time you wore plaid? It adds at least 100 Ibs."
4. Ropes and Hoses on the Ground
"Dreaded North American trail snakes."
3. Ponies.
"Cute, clever, hardy. They want to take over the World
2. Windy Days.
"Two words: impending tornado."
And the number one scary thing in the minds of horses?
1. Carts and Wagons
"Look. You put a human on our backs, we can always buck them off. But hitching a horse to a wheeled object. It's just not right. No matter how fast the horse trots, the dang cart is still running after him. Oh, the Horror!!!"
Rosemary received this email out of the blue recently!
From:Jason Peil <prographics@telus.net>
To:Lee-Oldfield <Lee-Oldfield@xtra.co.nz>
Sent:Tuesday, 12 August 2003 3:14 a.m.
Subject:Re: HI there from Nelson & District Riding Club in Canada
Jason Peil Prographics
2619 SHOREACRES ROAD
Nelson BC Canada
I recently found out about your town because some equally proud visitors from Nelson NZ came to Nelson BC and wrote a nice letter to our local paper. They told us how it is so similar in every way that it was astonishing. They said how it is semi rural (slightly larger) and has a similar arts communitv and as you probably know British Columbia is the most similar environment to NZ in CanadaThe mountains here are much lower than those at Banff and we have a lot more water. There are lakes and rivers everywhere. Skiing and other outdoor activities. The horses also live out all year. There is a much warmer winter here than Calgary and cooler summers. The only real drawback is that we are 600 km from a real city (Vancouver or Calgary).
Our family has 6 acres in a small area called Shoreacres outside of Nelson. We keep 4 pigs (for meat). 2 dogs, 3 cats, 1 finch, and 2 horses (a thoroughbred appaloosa cross and an appendix quarterhorse - I guess we just like TB crosses). We also have 2 board horses that live here - both TB's. We trail ride and ride Western pleasure, and Dressage mostly.
Even our riding clubs sound the same. We hold yearly rides to raise money for children's charities and we also hold events etc. for various styles of riding and fun days etc. The club has 40 families in it (about 110 members). I now only do the web stuff since my wife and I have 2 babies, but I used to be the vice-presi dent and she was the secretary for about 5 years. We are looking forward to getting back in the arena next season though. I am going in a Dressage clinic this weekend with my Appendix QH - his 6th week of riding in his life and he's already progressed to walk-canter transitions! He's 7 y.o. And his previous owner thought he was too dangerous to ride - he bucked like a real bronc. I just worked with him and got a trainer to help for about 6 weeks and he's become a real nice horse. Anyway I'm rambling now.
It is neat to know there are people literally on the other side of the earth doing what we do!
I'm going to put some stuff online for our members and maybe submit something in the Newsletter so they can find out this amazing correlation.
Can you send me some links to websites I might find useful (or you find interesting) in NZ. We can maybe exchange Newsletters etc.
Jason Peil
And here's something from their Newsletter....
"GARBAGE" by Roni O'Connor
"Well it may have been slow in coming but, SUMMER is finally here! (And I have the summer off - -or nearly off--for the first time in years) my children are home and I am determined to get things off to a good start. I will keep my house clean, cook proper meals, make sure the kids brush their teeth and get plenty of fresh air and exercise. I am determined to eat well, keep the garden weeded and ride my HORSEI
So I have to tell you, one of my little pet peeves is the GARBAGE. I am all for "reduce, reuse, recycle". But I'll admit, I've let it slip over the year, but with SUMMER finally here, I'm determined to get things off to a good start. I DUG up some big white buckets (a freebee from somewhere?): one for compost; one for juice boxes; one for paper and one for wine and beer bottles--of course--and I've noticed that we've collected a few of those lately, cause as I've said, I am determined to ride my HORSE, and well ...nothing goes down as well as a nice cold beer after a ride - except of course if it's a morning ride, in which case I settle for water. Anyways, so I have this system in place ...but do you think I can get the kids to help! I'm constantly DIGGING banana peels, orange peels, cantaloupe rind etc. etc. out of the GARBAGE. So this morning Mom (that's me) blew a gasket, cause now that SUMMER is finally here, I'm determined to get things off to a good start, so I called the kids into the kitchen and made them DIG through the GARBAGE! Cause I'm all for "reduce, reuse and recycle" --and teaching my children to be responsible and pick up after themselves.
So anyway, later on I pack up the kids, stick them in the truck, load the horse into the trailer and off we go to the club, cause as I've said, now that SUMMER is finally here, I'm determined to ride my HORSE.
So, I have to tell you, I've been at the club a fair bit this last little while, and it has been GREAT! I often see people down there--using the club too--which is GREAT! And I have to say, that the grounds are looking pretty spiffy, things are put away, there isn't any GARBAGE laying around on the ground. And you know what I think is really terrific ... I forgot my lunge whip in the middle of the dressage arena--a while back, and was in a bit of flap when I realized my blunder (a few days later) BUT man, was I relieved to find it still there, tucked away in the stall with all the club tools. I have to tell you--I really expected it to be gone. You know, I do believe that people really do want to do the right thing.
Well anyway, I did notice the bins were getting fuller and fuller--of GARBAGE-- each time I went down to the club. And you know, I'm not sure what I expected ...maybe the GARBAGE Fairy to come and cart it all away... but it was becoming apparent that that was not gonna happen, so I thought, oh well, I'll do it. As I've said already, one of my pet peeves is, the GARBAGE, cause, as I've said, I'm all for "reduce, reuse and recycle". So the kids and I--after my ride--got to and went about "reducing, reusing, and recycling". I reused all the feed bags (gosh, there must have been at least ten of them--someone's horse sure is getting well fed) Anyway, I stuffed all the things you'd expect to find in the GARBAGE into the feed bags: baling twine, candy wrappers, fast food containers, and oh my gosh, the most amazing pink latex..."balloons?" (someone's been having a whole lot of fun down there, ha! ha! ho!) I did find a hypodermic needle too--that was a little worrisome to me but I was so glad the safety lid/cap thingy was on it--I'd hate to get poked in the finger! So I got thinking, cause first off, I assumed it was a WEST NILE ROOSTER but maybe not ...we (well actually my children) have in the past discovered "tomato plants" growing on our grounds ...well, I'm sure the needle was for the horse (I can let my imagination get away from me at times).
So anyways, the pop and beer cans went into a separate bag, and I also gathered up a
couple dozen beer bottles, which isn't surprising as I know as well as the next how good a cold beer tastes after a ride--except of course if it's n morning ride, in which case I settle for water. Well, anyway, I'll cart it all off to be recycled and use the money to take the kids to Dairy Queen, cause as SUMMER is finally here, I'm determined to get things off to a good start!.
