A Place to Vent Online - SIM/Roleplaying

...the 21st century way to excite kids about horses...

My childhood horse loves were Jinny, Silver Brumby and Saddle club - the books, not the shows - and I'm sure previous generations fell in love with equines through Black Beauty and National Velvet.

There are so many "places" online that now fuel a horse obsession in the form of simulation games and roleplaying. For many, this is an easy "fix" for the horse obsessed who are without a horse. On Horseland you can create, breed, train and show practically any breed of horse. Those successful in the game are filthy rich (since when was it so common to be handed $10,000 to start investing in horses and over a short time accumulate 10's or 100's of millions?) and have horses with a high number of "points" from wins or places in shows.

...and all I want is a lousy $3 Million and a half dozen of my own broodmares... and some hacks, and carriages... and, I'm getting carried away!

http://www.equination.net - Equination.net (aka "EQ") is an online virtual thoroughbred horse racing simulation game. In this game, each user (aka "stable") has the ability to manage every aspect of their horses, which includes: purchasing/selling; claiming; breeding; training; racing; and much more.
This exciting and free ongoing game is family-safe and enjoyed by people of every age group from all over the world. With plenty of instructions throughout the game and technical assistance just a click away, users don't even need any knowledge of horses or how horse racing works. (Though it is helpful) You can also play with either a basic account which is free, or a premium account, which you pay a certain amount each year and it gives you access to other goodies on the site, like the Race Viewer, where you can actually watch the races your horses run in.

http://www.equintium.com - Similar to Horseland.com. Buy, sell, breed and show horses.

http://www.howrse.com - Join us for free and play on Howrse, create your first horse or pony, choose his/her breed, coat, name and find out all his/her capacities. Look after him/her and make him/her the best. Then you will have the chance to become the best breeder!
Discover an entire world of horses in a fascinating game! You can also run an equestrian centre, but need to be at riding level 3, and you get that after 20 days of logging on.

Fancy "being" the horse? Consider roleplaying:

http://www.freewebs.com/lost-intentions - The Story:
Through the years, Lost Intentions has seen many come and go, leaving their prints within the ever growing book of legends. Sadly enough most of these have been forgotten for they hadn't been passed from generation to generation as they once were. But never fear...

Your Role
Come and make your own life with your own horse, either go and live your normal equine life or make a carrie that hates other stallion. Rebel against all stallions, and when they come in to make trouble you give them a peice of your mind! Lost Intentions is for all Levels and is currently rated PG-13, and is filled with friendly people. PS. there are lead spots open as well!

http://www.freewebs.com/odina - RPG by Sharyn that "needs members, once I finish it, and I hope it'll be really active. Set in the Australian High Country, age and breed have been abolished, as there will only be Brumby's here. And also, who can remember how old their horse is and such? I can't, so I've gotten rid of that. The only 'ages' we have are foal, young adult, and adult. All you have to do is remember what year your horse was born, if born in Odina. More stuff on the rules page."

*thanks to Sharyn for these links!

"Horse's comment on a car - '150 horsepower, big deal. I'd be impressed if it ran on hay.'"

Invest in the Best

5 Top Tips to further/establish your equine career.

Invest in yourself:
If you're looking to improve yourself for a particular field but struggle with the idea of a full time focus on acquiring skills or a piece of paper; consider work and study. For example, I was working on a horse stud and am interested in teaching, so took up a correspondence course for instructing while working. I could do it at my own pace and because it all relates to horses, things I was doing at work (although not directly related to teaching people to ride) were of benefit to me in this study.
Many put off furthering their skills/starting in a new area until they can focus solely on this decision and consequently end up not doing anything at all.

Invest in others:
Make yourself known; get out there. Attend events related to an area you are working or wish to work. It is possible to do so through work, for example I attend horse sales with my job and have received other work through being seen at these sales. People start to recognise you if you get out there often enough and if you're taking the time to get to know them and what they do, you may just find it'll help you in your particular focus.

Invest in education:
Consider saving to invest in furthering your knowledge - books, a particular course, even travel to a particular property or country to focus on a certain discipline. If this is the place where you can get access to the 'experts', then consider going there.

Invest in the future:
Set goals for tasks that would be of benefit for you to have achieved and find ways to learn or master that particular skill. When I first started out working on a stud, through my six weeks of work placement leading up to that employment I did all I could - injections, dealt with the birth of foals, handled the stallions, mares for covers, helped with vetting, feeding. In the last week I concluded the only thing I hadn't done was drive the tractor around the farm... A rather amused boss obliged to this request, also!

Invest in your industry:
Find out if there are any clubs, federations, etc that you can be a part of in a particular industry you want to work/be known. Many of these clubs have a fee which means you're putting money into that industry, proving you're taking it seriously but as an added benefit, you're being informed of events, changes, important things in relation to this field. Also, you're getting to know key people in this industry.


"A horse is like a violin, first it must be tuned, and when tuned it must be accurately played."

Educating Self with a First Class Teacher...

...your horse.

It's amazing all the different theories, exercises, recipes and discplines that are covered in horse-related books these days. You can learn a lot from them, granted; but it just doesn't beat the hands on experience of having your own horse.

I had one of the girls at work asking me the other week about the costs of owning a horse and have concluded that in Victoria, Australia, $5000 would be a good amount to save up in order to be equipped for 12 months of horse related expenses.

Farrier - the horse's feet need to be done every 6-8 weeks. Cost around $50; this can be cheaper (around $25) if done with other horses.

Food - 25kg bag of oaten chaff, lucerne chaff and bag of pellets. Cost around $80; if the horse needed to be fed; this would last for 2 months, based on a pony being fed at least four times a week

Agistment - $50 weekly; can be more expensive than this or a lot cheaper, but a reasonable rate to expect - should come with somewhere decent to ride.

Extras to consider - riding lessons - one per fortnight at around $50 for a 45 minute lesson.

One off costs - saddle, bridle, brushes, from around $300-$900. You can usually get a beginners start up kit (fully mounted saddle) for around $200-$300.

Total annual cost for farrier, feeding, agistment, fortnightly lessons and around $500 worth of tack - $5,145. Got all this? Better start saving for the horse!

"When in doubt, ask a horse."

Equine Photography

When I think horse photos, the main name that comes to mind for me is Bob Langrish. Every year for the past decade or more I have been given a horse calendar as part of a Christmas present and every year, the photos have been by this photographer.

Have just stumbled across another who has some brilliant works - Robert Vavra.



*These pictures from the Robert Vavra site and copyright to him.

Horse Photography is another avenue that could be explored as a possible career relating to horses. I'm not aware of a particular course relating to learning how to specifically photograph horses; but am sure there are many animal or live subject courses focusing on photographing moving creatures.

If you're already taking shots, perhaps you haven't considered the possibility of having these published, and why not do so online? There are sites out there that take in people's photos and publish them in catalogs/books that are sold online. They can also be publicised on popular sites and possibly provide a payment for photos that are published.

One site I know of that publishes 'rural' photos and stories is Ridnersnreapers.com. Check it out.

Have you considered horse magazines; sending in pictures where appropriate or taking photos for people that are wanting to sell their horses? Visit horse events to practice and become known as a photographer. Events like competitions, races, rodeos, pony clubs, sale days.

If there is a passion there and you're proving to have some skill, pursue it! Bob Langrish "is a totally self-taught photographer". Who's to say you can't achieve the same?

"Horses leave hoofprints on your heart."

Time is Short, Use it.

I was chatting with a few of the girls down at horseriding over the past week and realised a few things that could help those pursuing a lifetime of horses.

Taking Advantage of Hemispheres:
One is doing year twelve with the aim to become an Equine Vet. She commented on how the study is long (5 years) and the pay not so appealing initially. Looking at the midterm (say 10 years out of highschool - which moves quicker than you realise!) it is possible to make your input of 5 years at uni and the first few years out turn into a job you love, decent income and still some time to enjoy yourself!

On the studs I frequent there's a vet that works the breeding season here in Australia. In their mid to late twenties they haven't been out of study all that long, but in a short time (because they KNOW where they want to specialise), they have taken advantage of the two hemispheres. Our breeding season (August 1 - December 31st) they spend in Australia before soaring over to Ireland for the stud season there.

Effecitvely, they're getting twice the amount of hands on in the peak of the season in comparison to those who stay home during the quieter time of the year for a reproductive vet. Result - one who has commented on having too much money and too much time! Not that I would ever complain about that!:)

Riding Schools in Your Area:
Another I was chatting with is quite a bit younger and eager to start working in a riding school as this is where she'd spend all her time if permitted. If you discover your passion at a young age, pursue it! It'll put you largely in front of those who are still deciding in their later years of highschool/uni.

It is possible in Australia from the age of 13 to be a 'helper' at riding schools that need the extra pair of hands. They take on the horse crazy (often) girls and over the weekend have them help to tack up ponies, assist others learning about horses, pick up yards, feed horses, etc. Some, mundane tasks indeed, but why not at a young age learn about the good and bad jobs so you can ascertain if that industry is for you?

If considering this field, look into the riding schools in your area and give them a call if old enough to see what you can do to help and most importantly, learn.

"If you look back over mans path to victory, you will see it is lined with the bones of horses."