Kings Park Equestrian Style

17/04/2026

18/01/2026

13/01/2026

Post exercise wash down... happy pony = happy life

12/01/2026

Cooling off and teaching pony to lead... Summer Training

10/01/2026

Baby Pony,s first big step!

09/01/2026

Spending Summer days at Kings Park Equestrian Club is not always in the arena 🐴🐴💕💕

06/01/2026

Creating confident and trusting relationships with your equine friend... one day at a time

18/12/2025

🎄 Day 10: Choke
😬 “The Scary Not-Actually-Choking Emergency”
Picture this…
You’ve just fed your horse. He’s a keen bean, takes a massive mouthful, forgets to chew — and suddenly he’s coughing, distressed, with food coming out of his nose.
That’s choke as we know it — but here’s the important bit:
👉 He isn’t actually choking.
The airway is fine. The problem is that food is stuck in the oesophagus.
I’ve also heard:
• “My horse is vomiting” (hot tip: horses can’t vomit)
• “He just looks sad and snotty” — which can also be how choke presents
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Signs of choke:
• Coughing or gagging
• Food, saliva, or green slime from the nostrils
• Distress or stretching the neck
• Going off feed
• Quiet, dull behaviour with a snotty nose
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Good news:
Most chokes resolve on their own within 20–30 minutes.
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What TO do:
• Remove all food immediately
• Keep the head low
• Stay calm — your horse will take cues from you
• Gently rub the neck to encourage relaxation
• Give them a bit of time and space to sort it out
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When to call:
• If it hasn’t resolved after 30 minutes
• If food or saliva continues to come out the nose
• If the horse won’t eat afterwards
• If choke episodes are recurrent
A vet visit helps clear the blockage safely and reduces the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
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Important DON’TS:
• Don’t force water or food
• Don’t syringe anything into the mouth
• Don’t panic — most chokes are fixable with calm, timely care
Chew, chew, chew your food… swallowing is not a race!

16/12/2025

🎄 Day 9: Nosebleeds (Epistaxis)
👃 “Cups, Buckets… and Bathtubs”
When it comes to bleeding in large animals (horses and cattle), we don’t talk drops — we talk cups, buckets, and sometimes bathtubs.
A horse can lose a surprising amount of blood before it becomes truly critical.
(Sheep, goats, and alpacas are a different story — same rules, just scaled to size.)
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What you might see:
• Small trickles: often from irritation or a knock
o Can also be from dust, dry conditions, or underlying airway disease (asthma-type issues)
• Heavy bleeding or repeated episodes: 🚨 Call straight away
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What NOT to do:
• Don’t pack the nostril during heavy bleeding — this can force blood into the throat and airway
• Don’t tilt the head up
• Don’t stand directly in front of the horse — you will get covered when they sneeze… ask me how I know 😬
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What TO do:
• Keep the horse calm and still
• Apply a cool pack to the face or nasal bridge
• Note which side is bleeding and how long it lasts
• If safe, grab a quick photo or video for triage
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Most single-sided nosebleeds are benign and settle on their own.
But heavy bleeding, bleeding from both nostrils, or bleeding after exercise always needs veterinary assessment.
________________________________________
It might look like a D-grade horror movie, but stay calm.
Cups are okay. Buckets need a phone call. Bathtubs mean I need to move fast.
All bleeding stops… eventually.

03/12/2025

SGM REMINDER | Special General Meeting - 11 December 2025

We know there has been a lot of information circulating on social media in respect of proxies for the SGM.

EA would like to clarify that Vero Voting is the RECOMMENDED method to submit your proxy to ensure it is valid.

With over 19,000+ members, we want to ensure no human error occurs with proxy submissions and processing.

Why Vero Voting Portal?
• Automatic verification & validation
• Instant notifications when submitted & matched
• Detailed records for complete transparency
• Eliminates human error in processing
• Peace of mind your vote is counted

We acknowledge that human error occurred with Director Elections. The automated Vero portal prevents this by removing manual processing for validating and assigning proxies.

Already submitted your proxy by email or mail? We strongly encourage you to RESUBMIT via the Vero portal to ensure your proxy is valid and counted.

Any proxy which is received in accordance with the Corporations Act and is valid will be accepted at the SGM.

Proxy Deadline: 7.00pm Tuesday, 9 December 2025.

Access the Vero Voting portal using the link from your Notice of Meeting.

Need help? Contact: [email protected]

This SGM is separate from the AGM/SGM held on 19 November. The Board has scheduled this meeting following receipt of a requisition pursuant to the Corporations Act.

Your voice matters - submit your proxy via Vero Voting today!

Equestrian Tasmania Equestrian NSW Equestrian Victoria Equestrian Queensland Equestrian Western Australia Equestrian South Australia Inc Equestrian Northern Territory

20/10/2025

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

Polework is the most undervalued training tool we have and it shows. Everyone says they want a sound, confident, long lasting horse. But then you see ponies Grade A at seven years old, and you can’t help but wonder, how much jumping did that take? How many schooling rounds? How many miles on joints that aren’t even fully developed until they’re eight?

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 “𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭.” 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

At six and seven, horses should still be learning how to use their body, not hammering around 1.20m tracks twice a weekend. By rights, their job at that age should be rhythm, straightness, balance not chasing points.

And this is where people roll their eyes, because the truth isn’t glamorous, polework is where the real training happens. Not when you’re on top of a fence. Before you ever get there.

A horse that can’t regulate its stride over poles won’t suddenly fix it over a jump. A horse that can’t stay straight on the ground won’t stay straight in the air. If your polework is weak, your jumping is a lie. You’re skipping steps. And skipping steps comes with a bill later usually in the form of lameness or fear.

We don’t have a jumping problem. We have a patience problem. Everyone wants the result, nobody wants to put in the miles. Polework doesn’t “look impressive” on a sales video. It doesn’t get likes online. But you know who did polework religiously? The horses that were still winning in their late teens, the ones who stayed sound long after their peers were “retired due to injury.”

You put a young horse through poles like the set up shown below, and you will learn very quickly if they drift, if they rush, if they lengthen one stride and shorten the next, if they think their way through questions, or panic through them. That’s education.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰.

It’s not talent that makes a future horse. It’s time. Time spent in walk over poles. Time spent in trot learning rhythm. Time spent building the brain before asking for the jump. Anyone can point a brave horse at a fence. A horseman builds one from the ground up.

And let’s be honest, this industry has stopped prioritising the horse. It’s not about producing athletes anymore; it’s about producing price tags. Horses are being fast tracked up the levels not because they’re ready, but because someone wants to sell them before the weaknesses start to show. We talk about welfare, but then applaud speed of production. The answer isn’t more jumping. It’s more polework.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

Photo credit: RFS