20:20 Equestrian photo auction for Haiti

Life can never be what you want it to be and certainly the daily events unfolding in Haiti over the past fortnight have been nothing less than a catastrophe for all of humanity.

It is cheering then to both the soul and the spirit when you see the positive side of the human condition rallying to push through this challenge -albeit too slowly the world has worked out what it needs to do to help. Countless acts of selflessness are being undertaken by a great deal of people daily and new media is playing it's part.

In the UK as elsewhere a great deal of effort is being put into helping out and sometimes that help comes from seemingly unlikely quarters.....20 of the UK's best known equine photographers ( they read like a who's who of the profession!) coordinated and led by Jon Stroud ( who also is a valued member of Trot on !)have put together an impressive display of 20 equine images entitled 20: 20 which they will auction in aid of DEC on January 28th - that is is about a weeks time. The photographs to be auctioned can be viewed( provided you are logged onto facebook) here ..The posy of twenty roll of honour - with examples of their work - Tim Flach,( cool video of him here) Henry Dallal, Kit Houghton,Trevor Meeks James Horan, Ed Whittaker, Matthew Seed, Jon Stroud, Bob Langrish, Adam Fanthorpe, Charles Sainsbury-Plaice, Peter Nixon, Steve Parsons, Fiona Scott Maxwell, David Sinclair, Kevin Sparrow , David Millar, Tim Nicholls , Nico Morgan ( facebook page for him here) and Tim Spurgeon. Well done to all you guys you are doing great work and we wish you fantastic success with it all!

"Got the Blues" poster

Copyright 2009 Michelle Guillot -
Double click on the image to see full version and to be able to read the text

The Magnificent Seven

Seven magnificent tips that will take you to the heart of our horsey community. You may want to print out this posting so that you can refer to it for your first few visits. After that it should be a breeze! (Please note - You will need to be logged in for the following links to work )

Tip 1: FILL IN YOUR PROFILE- Other members will make friends with you if they can read something about you and your horse (Don’t worry having your own horse isn't essential but having a passion for them is!)

If you are having any problems with the site then use the ‘Help’ button in your ‘My Seat’ box on the right of your page .

When it comes to uploading photo's Size does matter and here you'll find step- by- step instructions for re-sizing . An alternative re-sizing tool is available online http://shrinkpictures.com This is particularly good for Windows Vista users.

Tip 2 GRAB AS MANY FRIENDS AS YOU CAN! Don’t be shy, go to our community page. Click on a members profile pic to read all about them and then click friend request. You can also find new members on the home page. And how about inviting some real life horsey mates to join? Simply click on the pink invite button at the top of every page http://www.trotontv.com/site/addfriend

Tip 3 JOIN SOME GROUPS THAT INTEREST YOU . There are lots of conversations going on in the groups and lots of friendly members willing to talk horse. You can get advice, give it, discuss the latest hot topics, let others know what's new or what's on or just share stories. Read what others have to say and then join in. Or start a new conversation. We also have groups run by experts such as Vet Talk and Horse Riding Confidence. On the right of your page is a list of our favourite groups. Click on the group name to check it out and then join up. You can also click on ‘groups’ at the top of your page to find even more to suit your interests!! And if you can't find the one that you want? Then start your own!

Tip 4 BE SURE TO FILL IN YOUR UPDATE This is a great way to let your friends know what you are up to.

Tip 5 WRITE LOTSA NOTES. If you want to send someone a public note then go to their profile page and write in their "Notes from friends" column. The quickest way to access your own notes is to click My Notes in the My Seat box on th e top right hand side of your page.

Tip 6 SEND A PRIVATE MESSAGE. If you want to speak to someone in private then click on 'send a private message' on the right hand side of your page. This box will also tell you if you have any private messages waiting to be read. My inbox in your My seat box on the top right of your page will also take you to your private messages.

Tip 7 USE THE DROP DOWN BOXES AND FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING! This is at the top of your page next to your name. Scroll to friends updates and you will get a full list of updates which you may need to use if you have a lot of friends!! To find out what your friends have been up to on the site scroll to friends activity. Or to find out what’s been happening in your groups scroll down to group activities. Below that you will find editorial. This takes you to the trot on blog which is definitely worth a read plus some articles.

TIME NOW TO KICK ON - HAVE FUN!

The Trot on Team

Drop down to What's Hot!

How do you quickly find out what is going on Trot on? What are the most talked about topics? Where are the best photos to look at? Which videos are most likely to interest you? What are Trot on members saying right now? What is creating a buzz and what is not?

You can answer a lot of questions like these by using the new drop down menu on the My Seat Summary page ( which is the page you are automatically directed to when you first log in - Note: you will need to be logged in to follow these links ) You'll find it on the top purple bar to the right of your name - click on it and you'll see you have four pages you can reach immediately .

Friends updates - Lists your friends updates( 140 characters or less) for the last few months - a fab way to catch up on what has been happening if (shame on you ) you haven't visited for a few days.

Friends activities - Lists all of your friends postings to groups, notes, photos, videos, made/uploaded over the last 10 days - find out who has been saying what and why!

Group activities - Lists all of your groups that you belong to postings, notes, photos, video's uploaded over the last 10 days - who is stirring things up ? what is causing controversy?

Editorial activities - Lists all additional Editorial content such as Blog postings, features, videocasts uploaded over the last 10 days. What is on our radar?

A quick whizz through these pages when you log in is an excellent way to start off your visit to Trot on and quickly get you to the places you want to be! There is even a drop down to get you back to the summary page where you started.

Lucinda has the X- factor!

I love the work Lucinda McAlpine does with horses - she is quite magical- I remember being deeply impressed when I first saw her at the Holistic horse show last year. Well she has proved herself once again (as if she needs to do so...) when she and her Hannoverian gelding What A Boy won the X Factor,despite being twelve months out of the competitive arena.

Lucinda and 19 year old What A Boy (stable name Borange ‘because he’s big and orange’) performed a routine inspired by music produced by Abigail Todd featuring well known film and T.V detective themes from the Pink Panther to Inspector Gadget. Lucinda who is also a Patron of the Conquest Centre for Disabled Riders, Taunton entered into the spirit of the X – Factor, by sporting a false moustache and Clouseau raincoat. The 500 strong audience clapped and cheered as Lucinda and Borange performed breathtaking flying changes and canter pirouettes in time to the music. In her time out from competing, international dressage rider Lucinda has been training horses and riders, running clinics and demonstrating her pioneering natural horse management methods.

Borange, who is a shining example of a naturalised competition horse, competes straight from the field, is unshod, unclipped and never wears a rug (except the ones he wins one!)

The X Factor Dressage event was run in aid of Children in Need and the Matthew Billing Trust. Lucinda and Borange won the advanced class and were overall champions on the day with their crowd-pleasing routine. Audience members voted for their favourite out of a field of 10 riders and teams, and gave Lucinda and Borange a standing ovation.

Lucinda commented: “After a year out from competition it was quite a nerve -wracking experience but as the evening wore on Borange and I started to really enjoy ourselves and had a lot of fun as he so loves performing to an enthusiastic audience. The event is very well organised and it was an honour to be able to do what we love doing at the same time as raising money for Children in Need and the Matthew Billing Trust. I also have to thank my fantastic team of helpers without whom none of it would have been possible”.

Well done Lucinda - you are a true Star - wish we had been there to cheer you on!

Photograph Copyright TynCelyn Photography

Phoebe's Way.

I first noticed Phoebe Buckley and Little Tiger about a year ago at Poplar Park. I can't remember where they came that day but the pair really stuck in my mind. I didn't know much about Phoebe then until she made headlines at Badminton earlier this year because she and Little Tiger aka Frostie did a better dressage test than Zara Phillips on Ardfield Magic Star. And why did the press love this so much? Because one is Royalty and the other is from a family of travellers. Unfortunately the next two phases didn't got quite so well with a run out and four time penalties on cross country day, and a cricket score in the show jumping. But, when I ask Phoebe about their experience she is quick to point out that Frostie did nothing wrong

"We just had a bit of bad luck and I had a few blonde moments but she was still fantastic. Horses aren't machines. Anyway, I believe that you learn more about yourself as a rider and a person in the bad times as well as the good."  This way of looking at life seems to sum up Phoebe's generous and tenacious spirit.

As a result when I approached Phoebe to help us launch trotontv's Pink My Ride fundraiser for Breast Cancer Care, she didn't hesitate, especially as an aunt of hers had died from breast cancer a few years ago.

"I know from first hand experience the heartache of losing someone close to you from breast cancer. I am delighted to help."

And when I finally met her on the day of the shoot she more than lived up to my expectations. Her fun, open and positive approach to the job in hand was the same as the one she focuses on her riding. 

As for Frostie, I couldn't get over how tiny she was. She looked nothing like a four-star event horse who had been three times round Badminton and twice round Burghley. It really is a testament to the courage and talent of both horse and rider that they jump such huge tracks.

Whilst Phoebe was having her photo taken I chatted to Frostie's owner Dr Polly Taylor who told me that the little mare hadn't always been easy and used to stop a lot in the show jumping phase. Later I asked Phoebe about this. She laughed "Frostie can be very naughty and has a real pony streak in her. She used to stop all the time not because there was anything wrong with her but just because she could! She was just pulling my leg and testing me but luckily I'm as bloody minded as she is and so through sheer persistence, as in we're going to keep trying all day if we have to, we finally came to an agreement!"

Once they had settled this argument Phoebe and Frostie were off and running. Personally, I couldn't help thinking that in different hands Frostie might never have realized her full potential. So, how does Phoebe get the best out of Frostie so she can rise to the demands of a four star event?

"I like to let her think she's doing what she wants to do when in fact she's doing what I want. I don't like to squash her because she's so small anyway. But instead I try to build her up, give her confidence. If horses don't think they are amazing, you can't make them be amazing. They have to believe they are a star."

I was so impressed with Phoebes attitude towards Frostie that I wanted to know more about her approach to riding in general.

"To me horses are people. You can't just push and pull, stop and start them. I treat each one as an individual," says Phoebe. For instance, like us some horses are claustrophobic whilst others don't like open spaces. I like to take my time, get to know them as people, find out what makes them tick and what they enjoy. One of the horses I ride is very difficult when you first get on him so I give him the time he needs to sort himself out and then he gives me everything in return. Horses are like us, they all need their 'me' time!"

Listening to her talk it's no wonder to me that Phoebe Buckley has done so well without the best horses in the world, and has maintained loyal owners. Still only 25 I'm sure she has an amazing future ahead of her. And I for one wish her all the best, she deserves it.

Pink My Ride!

Trot on TV is proud to be supporting Breast Cancer Care's Pink Fridays fundraising campaign by encouraging all its members, partners and associates to "Pink My Ride".

"Pink My Ride" is about getting the horse riding community to involve itself in the initiative by making your horse riding experience Fun and Pink for just one day so that you can declare to the world your support for this wonderful charity.

How to participate

1- First "Pink My Ride"

Ways in which to join in the fun and raise some money for "Pink My Ride"

- Pink themed Stable yard parties with pink grapefruit cocktails and pink cupcakes.
- Sponsored Pink Pony Trek/ride with horses/ponies and riders dressed in as much pink as possible
- Pink Friday sponsored Muck out/ Grooming parties
- Run a Pink "adults only" Gymkhana
- Plait your horses mane with pink ribbon.(no painting horses please!)
- Simply dress yourself and horse in your best horsey pink
- wear a pink ribbon
- Get some ideas from the sharing ideas threads on the Pink My Ride group forum
- Look at the videos on the Pink My Ride Group
- Follow updates on the challenge on Twitter
- Register your "Pink My Ride" event and send invitations to all your friends by logging onto Pink Friday's website

2- Record" Pink My Ride" by taking a photo - funny ,smart, unusual, show it pink

3- Upload your photo to Trot on TV Pink My Ride group

4- Donate what you raised or simply give a personal donation ( minimum £2) directly here

5- You should get a pink rosette appear next to your Trot on TV profile photo (please be patient with us on this one)


Many thanks for taking part!
The Trot on TV Team

Simulating Dressage ....the ultimate video game

Sometimes you come across a product you would just love to take home with you and this is just one such case! Hours of fun for all the family ( if they like horses!)

I know something about riding I know little about dressage but I'm sure had the time to spend a few hours on this machine I'd know one heck of a lot more than I currently do - this has to be the ultimate in a video game niceties.

Leg, seat , rein and bit sensors are all combined with an interactive video game that lets you view yourself from every which way: how the horse feels you, how the judges see you, how spectators view you in every which gait you may want to test - walk, trot, canter - flying changes : a piece of cake? well maybe one day

Suddenly the mystery of this fascinating discipline is revealed in some sorts of vivid ways. More details from Racewood simulators

Big tick - wish I could afford one :)

Why do women love horses?

Earlier on in the year we ran an online survey asking this question and the results were quite fascinating. When we published the first findings about a 100 people had completed the survey - we let the survey run and we now have over 400 completed responses and guess what the results have stayed remarkably similar indeed chillingly so (especially if you are a man)The survey is divided into two - your relationship with your horse and and about you

Relationship with your horse
-Men continue to lose out to horses although it is now only 85% ( down from over 90% last time) who if they had more spare time would prefer to spent it with their horse than their partner!
- A horse continues to be regarded most of all as a friend and least of all as a way to achieve.
- Patience( over 45% rated this factor highest) and freedom are the qualities most often learnt while a sense of humour is least likely to be learnt ( I can relate to that!)
- A horse intuitive understanding is the most endearing characteristic while their size is least.
- When riding out most people are likely to feel exhilarated, connected and fulfilled and least likely to feel vulnerable.
- Over 50% spend over 12 hours per week with their horse in terms of care, preparation and riding out.( wondered where the time went!)
- 30% ride out more than 5 times a week ( I'm jealous)
- When asked "what do you most want to achieve over the next year?" over 40% answered a more harmonious relationship
- Over 80% cited their emotional connection with their horse as being the most important or the main reason they have a horse.( would men answer the same way? - not sure)

You
- A broad age range took part from aged 13 to 50 skewed towards the older than national statistics which suggest that 50% of women who ride are under 25.
- over 45% believe that better quality relationships will lead to more happiness while more material wealth ranked plum last after better health and more achievement.
- In terms of ranking which relationships are the most important partners did slightly better than the spare time question would suggest. "Significant other" edged the highest score 31% compared to the horse at 30.6% though it was clearly a close call. Close family was third at 25.8% and Cats last of all just below "yourself"
- How would you most like to be described? A third answered caring/nurturing and smart/intelligent
- How would you least like to be described? Ambitious
- Fitness and self esteem is what most would like to improve about themselves.

It all makes for a fascinating read and insight into the relationship that women (and to be fair many men) have with their horses - thank you so much to everybody who took part!

The curious case for horse nappies

Okay so it is Friday afternoon and that may be influencing my mood however yesterday I picked up on a story concerning horse nappies - yes you heard it right - not Nappy horses - horses nappies.

This Google inspired "venture" begins in Killarney Ireland where on Tuesday the park is insisted that Horse-drawn carts use "nappies" to deal with the horse dung that results from 15 mile round trips into the national park. The photograph above shows what one of these devices looks like "in situ" so to speak. Jarveys who own the carts have rebelled and there are pictures emerging of ugly scenes outside the park gates - placards, words have been exchanged.

Further investigations reveal that over the last 5 years similar voices have been raised to horse carts owners in places as far flung as Vienna, Blackpool, Isle of Man and New York - Horse nappies it seems are a very controversial subject!

On the one hand are the pro nappy lobby - to them horse muck needs to be dealt with on the spot - kept in place.

On the other hand are the antis - to them horse muck is entirely different to other forms of excrement because it is bio-degradeable. There is a big difference between horse waste and dog waste. Dog waste is toxic and contains bacteria which are harmful to humans. Horse excrement contains no such transferable diseases. It is environmental friendly and can be used as a garden fertiliser with little or no preparation. Having horses wear nappies is both degrading to the animal and gets in the way of the horses natural movements - chaffing can result.

The world of horses never ceases to amuse or not as the case may be - personally speaking I think Nature handles these things far better than councils. Happy weekend horse world!

Worm Free

I have nearly come to the end of a years worming program for Murphy. I met a lady at the Holistic Horseshow last year who was selling yearly subscriptions to Intelligent Worming. The company specalise in individual worming programmes designed just for that particular horse or pony.

Murphy has an unknown background as he was bought from a dealer who had bought him from gypsies. Since I bought him he has been wormed regularly as recommended by my vet. However, I realised that once I have dealt with getting rid of all the different types of worms I should be able to worm count and then not worm chemically. Murphy's count was medium when we started it is now 0. I have just wormed him hopefully for the last time with a chemical wormer. I will keep regularly having a count done so that we know for definate that we have a 0 count.
Go back to trotontv.com

Horses helping Gazza

Paul Gascoigne has been taking part in new type of treatment using horses to combat his alcoholism and depression. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a new approach to dealing with the different problems which people encounter throughout their lives.

EAP is a relatively new approach to tackling peoples addictions, depression, eating disorders and relationship problems along with a number of other challenges they may face in their everyday life. EAP is designed to help people build up their personal skills such as communication, self belief and assertiveness working with a psychotherapist and horse trainer together to overcome their particular problems. The horses are a powerful support as another living being who, without words, can connect to human emotions and help that individual work though their particular issues.

Gazza was quoted as saying: 'The first time we went to wrok witht he horses we were taken into the field and were encouraged to interact with them. I was stood near this one particular horse and as I was thinking about it, it came over and started nudging me. It was incredible"

Gazza found it so successful that he now wants to train to become a counsellor!

This is just another example of what horses can teach us and provide us with support our hour of need.

Click here for original article

Go back to trotontv.com

Murphy having a bath

It is that time of year that I think about all the spring cleaning jobs; inside and outside. Murphy has a check list of all the things that need checking and doing and it was a particularly good day for a bath. He is prone to itching his heels so an antibacterial shampoo was used. One thing to check off his list of To Do's.

Shedding Winter Coats

Buster has a rather thick winter coat. As he is a Shetland he has an outer coat and and undercoat designed for the Scottish winters. At the moment Buster is caught and then groomed so that we can help shed his coat. He loves it.

Getting a new pony

I have recently just bought a tiny shetland pony for my son. It has been a very great pleasure for us already and we have not had him 5 minutes! We are getting to know him slowly. He has an issue with wanting to get to know us however. He turns away when we go towards him to catch him in the field. Not sure whether this is out of habit or whether he just needs to get to know us and trust us. I am working on his trust in the way he is most comfortable which is to bribe him with a small amount of food. I put the food in the bucket and stand in front of the bucket so he has to be caught first. I then halter him before allowing him to eat the food. This is the first step I am taking in gaining his trust. My plan is to shape his behaviour so that I can catch with no food. How long it will take I do not know. Watch this space.

Amersham - We now understand what happened - we still don't know why?

The news has just broken - many congratulations to the authorities who brought these people to justice. Thanks also to World horse welfare and RSPCA who invested a huge amounts of time and effort in sorting out the horses that could be saved once the horror was discovered.

"Five people have been found guilty of neglecting more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys on a Buckinghamshire farm. RSPCA staff and vets removed 115 animals from Spindle Farm in Amersham last January.One dead horse was found on the back of a trailer with ropes around its tail, the court heard. The court heard many horses living at the farm were found surrounded by rotting corpses of other animals which had been left.RSPCA chief inspector Rob Skinner said he found 32 carcasses in different locations on the farm...........Full details of the torrid case here

So we know many more of the facts about this sad case and individuals have been brought to book however the unnerving thing as far as I understand it is we still don't know why these individuals behaved in the way they did? - how did they see fit to treat other living creatures in this way? What was their thinking that led them to think this was OK?

So what to do? Two positive thoughts - things to do to hopefully make the world a slightly better place in which to live.
1- Complete the Stamp Out Suffering survey run by World Horse Welfare
2- Watch this video ( hint have a box of tissues handy) " A horse's view on life"