Donnybrook Stables and Riding school

27/03/2026

11/03/2026

SHOWJUMPING ENTRIES NOW CLOSE 12TH MARCH AT MIDNIGHT

Due to challenges with the SASJ system today, showjumping entries for the Toyota Easter Festival will now close tomorrow (12th March) at midnight.

07/03/2026

TO: All SAEF Members

UPDATED DIRECTIVE – DISPENSATION INFLUENZA (FLU) VACCINATION

The SAEF Executive have agreed to the following dispensation with will come into effect from the 1st April 2026, and remain in effect unless rescinded by the SAEF, due to an outbreak of Equine Influenza in the country or other circumstances that may occur requiring more frequent vaccination.

All horses born after the 1st January 2020, or horses that have not previously received vaccination will be required to demonstrate the administration of the Primary Equine Influenza Course of V1, V2 and V3 as set out in the SAEF/FEI Veterinary Regulations as per the rules prior to 1st January 2024, or as per the rules from the 1st January 2024.

All vaccinations must be administered by a Registered Veterinarian and entered, signed and stamped by the administering Registered Veterinarian in the horses passport. Following the Primary course, horses will be required to be vaccinated once a year.

However, if a calendar year is exceeded between annual vaccination, the Primary Course will have to be repeated. No vaccination may be administered in the 7 days preceding any event that the horse may be entered into, or attend a measuring session.

Horses born prior to 1st January 2020, must demonstrate at least annual vaccination, with an interval between vaccinations not exceeding 1 year, and administered by a veterinarian to avoid having to complete the Primary Course.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO FEI RIDERS - FEI HORSES ARE NOT EXCEMPTED

Please note: Horses registered with the FEI and competing in FEI events are not excempt from vaccination under this dispensation. All FEI registered horses MUST be vaccinated by a REGISTERED veterinarian with Equine Influenza vaccine within 6 months and 21 days of competition.

Regards

The SAEF Team

Download document, here:https://mcusercontent.com/e02bd22576817b3014b3c9f50/files/8679c04a-e447-53a4-4b6b-78a4c8f64b25/SAEF_Updated_Flu_Vaccine_Directive_6_March_2026.pdf

04/03/2026

Well done girls, and well done to the rest of our riders that also competed this past weekend 🌟🌟🌟

EQUESTRIAN: Well done to the riders who achieved top 3 placings at SANESA Ekurhuleni Q2 over the weekend!

26/11/2025

Please take note of the 2026 dates for the TOYOTA GAUTENG EQUITATION SERIES

26/11/2025

HORSE NAME AND PREFIX REGISTRATION WITH THE SAEF

Kindly note that the SAEF will no longer permit the addition of a prefix / suffix as part of the horse’s name in its SAEF /FEI passport, unless the prefix or suffix is the name of the stud or breeder who bred the horse.

From January 2026 the SAEF will institute a horse prefix register where breeders and studs in South Africa must register their stud name for purposes of the stud’s prefix being acknowledged and added by the SAEF as part of a horse's name in its passport.

Horses imported by a registered stud shall be permitted to add an apostrophe ‘s to the stud’s name in its South African passport. In the event that a mare was purchased in foal, the foal born to such mare shall bare the name of the stud where the foal was born.

Stable yard, trading yard or other owner names are considered advertising and will not be accepted as part of the horse’s name in its passport.

Commercial prefixes are permitted for registered sponsors with the relevant Discipline Associations and may be added to the horse’s name for competition purposes, but it will not be inserted in its passport as part of the horse's name.

To register your stud:
https://mcusercontent.com/e02bd22576817b3014b3c9f50/files/129e6324-036d-3b2c-c181-cf51ad8bb806/SAEF_Prefix_Application_Form_2026.pdf

This directive shall be effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

26/11/2025

Thrilled with my boys 🐎

26/11/2025

Couldn’t have asked for better end to my 2025 season….can’t wait for 2026🤩🤩🤩🤩

08/10/2025

On our bad days….our majestic horses know what we think we can conceal…our emotions 💙

Horses are emotional sponges. If they can’t flee or fight (their natural coping strategies), the stress turns inward.

This is what I feel is happening in those moments of freeze.

What cannot be expressed, must be absorbed.

Horses, as prey animals, are deeply tuned to flight. It’s their natural form of processing overwhelm — movement is medicine for their nervous systems.

But in domestic life, this natural discharge is often blocked:

Fences replace open fields.

Halters and ropes limit choice.

Social dynamics may be fixed.

Humans may not recognize subtle signs of stress.

So the horse can’t flee, and often can’t fight (they’d be reprimanded). What’s left?

Freeze.

The third survival strategy, often misread as calm or obedience, is actually a state of nervous system shutdown — a silent scream.

The Freeze Response as a Philosophical State

Freeze is not just a nervous system condition — it’s a spiritual and existential posture.

It is:

A dimming of agency.

A withholding of essence.

A state of holding life at bay — not fully here, but not fully gone.

In this state, the horse is not being in the present. They're surviving it.

What is lost?

Vitality. Curiosity. Authentic expression. The very soulful aliveness that makes horses who they are.

Freeze is a kind of suspension of self, a quiet grief of not being able to be what you are: fluid, alert, and responsive.

Horses don’t just feel their own bodies — they feel ours. They read:

The invisible language of our posture and breath.

The underlying emotional current, even beneath the words.

The unspoken becomes, for them, a felt truth.

When a horse lives in chronic stress (whether their own or ours) and can't move it out, it doesn’t disappear — it moves inward:

Into the gut (ulcers, colic).

Into the fascia (tension patterns).

Into the behavior (aggression, withdrawal).

Into the soul (a loss of sparkle, curiosity, connection).

We say they are “sponges” not because they are passive absorbers, but because they are relational beings — deeply attuned to the field around them, designed to keep the herd (and now, us) safe through feeling everything.

The Path Back from Freeze

Coming out of freeze is not dramatic. It’s quiet.

A lick.

A sigh.

A blink.

A moment of curiosity.

The body begins to trust the present again.

Philosophically, this is a return to aliveness.

Not just survival, but existence with agency.

And that’s a sacred gift that we can give to our horses by becoming the guardian they need in these moments.

26/07/2025

Wishing this little combo the best of luck at SANESA finals today! Do your best, you’ve done the preparation. Now go have fun 🤩

15/07/2025