Horsesport sponsors talented young Show Jumper

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Horsesport have just finalised a deal which will see us sponsoring a very talented young show jumper.

Hannah Vincent has been in the saddle since she was a toddler.

The youngster, who is 16, was just 20 months old when she appeared on the front page of the Eastern Daily Press in August 1995.

At an age when many youngsters were still finding their feet, little Hannah was pictured already at home in the saddle at the Willow End equestrian centre at Pulham St Mary, near Diss, which was then run by her mother Sue.

At that time the toddler could barely speak but she was doing things on a pony that other youngsters aged five or six were struggling to achieve.

Perfectly balanced, she was able to coax her favourite pony Tommy into a trot, and her sensational skills led to more articles and photos in the Daily Mail and the Daily Express in September 1995, and even in the international press in Cologne.

She said: “My life's goal is to compete as a show jumper at the Olympics, maybe in 2016. I'd be too young for the London Olympics.

“Later this year, as a 16-year-old, I will have to give up riding ponies and instead ride horses. However, I have already started riding horses and have a stallion Ranchwood Banana Split and a youngster called Jabberwocky."

“I love what I'm doing and I would never give it up. I really enjoy it. Some of my friends have given it up but I would not know what to do if I did.”

Now a City College Norwich student, she won the Junior 80cm of the BSJA/Absolute Horse Intro League in November last year and earlier in the year won the Dengie Winter League Area Championship.

She is a keen member of the Norfolk Show Jumping Club and is into her third full year of affiliated show jumping.

We wish Hannah well as she travels up to Aintree today to compete in the National Amateur & Veterans Championships.

We look forward to watching Hannah grow into a true professional rider of which she is very capable.

Your Horse during the Winter months

Some important information from the RSPCA with regard to looking after your Horse or Pony throughout the winter.

All horses and ponies kept at grass need shelter. In summer they need protection from flies and the sun and in winter they must have protection from cold, wet and windy weather.

Most native ponies will winter well on grass, although all horses and ponies will need the right supplementary feeding. But remember... under natural conditions native ponies have hundreds of acres of forests and moorland to roam and are able to seek out both food supplies and natural shelter. Where animals are restricted to smaller areas by their owners, they must be supplied with both adequate food and artificial shelter.




All horses and ponies at grass during the winter need supplementary feeding because winter grazing provides very little nourishment and cold horses need extra food. Grass grows slowly in the winter, while frost and snow reduce available grazing still further. Hay should be provided every day and feeding times should be regular - preferably twice a day. Water must be freely available at all times - in very cold weather, this may mean breaking thin ice several times a day.

Your field may provide natural shelter but generally this will not be enough. High, deep and stout hedges, thickets and spinneys can provide useful protection in all weathers, but this will depend on where they are sited.
Banks and walls may provide protection from wind and rain but not necessarily
from the sun. Trees give protection from summer sun,but provide little shelter in the winter.



Where animals are restricted to smaller areas by their owners, they must be supplied with both adequate food and artificial shelter.

Thoroughbred, Arab or Hunter-type horses and similar ponies, as well as animals in regular work (including donkeys), will need stabling or a roofed shed. In most other cases you will need to construct a simple covered or open (windbreak) shelter.
This could be something simple that a local handyman can build all the way to a mobile shelter that can be moved around by tractor or 4x4 vehicle. Whichever you choose, make sure its solidly built.

Equine Massager looking for UK distributor

Horsesport has been contacted by the US distributor of the Equisport Horse Massager. A UK dealer is wanted to stock and sell this remarkable machine through either retail or mail order.

Introduced in January of 1995 after many years of testing, the Equisports Massager has been used extensively in equine disciplines ranging from Thoroughbred racing to Olympic level three day eventing. Manufactured by Morfam, Inc., a leader in health care equipment since 1966, each Equisports Massager is hand built in the USA and includes a handsome carrying case.



How it works;


As an owner or a trainer, we know you are constantly re-evaluating your
training program. Veterinary medicine is continuing to evolve, feeding
programs and horseshoeing are becoming more scientific and
state-of-the-art. One needs to ask why so many horses suffer from
fatigue or come up lame when its time to perform.

The equine athlete is expected to perform its best, even when suffering
from pain, strain, or tight sore muscles that are heavy with toxic lactic
acid build up. Trainers do what they can by employing ice/heat therapy
and/or limited massage techniques, but still they complain when the
horse has a "cold back".

Using the Equisports Massager fills the horse's muscles with rich,
oxygenated blood by increasing circulation and hastening the elimination
of wastes and toxic build up from the muscles. The Equisports Massager
uses its unique, deep penetrating oscillation massage therapy action to
accomplish what a horse needs to perform his best. Performance counts
and you can count on Equisports Massager and a consistent massage
therapy regime to improve your horse's performance and overall quality
of life.


MASSAGE:

* one of the most useful and easily obtained forms of treatment in the field of physical therapy.
* dilates or opens up blood vessels, improving circulation and relieving congestion.
* increases the number of red blood cells, especially in cases of anemia.
* acts as a “mechanical cleanser” pushing along lymph and hastening the elimination of waste and toxic debris.
* improves muscle tone and helps prevent or delay muscular atrophy resulting from forced inactivity.
* relaxes muscle spasms and relieves tension.
* increases the blood supply and nutrition to muscles without adding to their load of toxic lactic acid produced through voluntary muscle contraction.
* helps to overcome harmful “fatigue” products resulting from strenuous exercise or injury.
* compensates for lack of exercise and muscular contraction due to injury, illness or age, and remain inactive. In these cases, massage helps return venous blood to the heart and eases the strain on this vital organ.
* may burst the fat capsule in the subcutaneous tissue so that the fat exudes and becomes absorbed.
* increases the excretion of fluids along with nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous and salt via the kidneys
* stretches connective tissue, improves the circulation and nutrition of the tissue, breaks down or prevents the formation pf adhesions and reduces the danger of fibrosis.
* improves the circulation and nutrition to joints. It helps lessen inflammation and swelling in joints and in turn alleviates pain.
* encourages the retention of nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfur necessary for tissue repair in horses convalescing from bone fractures.
* may have a sedative or stimulation effect on the nervous system depending on the type and length of the massage treatment.

Any interested parties, please contact Horsesport directly as a first stage.

info@horsesport.com

What is Horsesport.com

For many years equestrians, and providers to the equestrian industry, have been looking on the World Wide Web for one site that satisfies all their equestrian needs.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to be invited to an online equestrian world where you can shop, sell, communicate, interact and meet like-minded equestrians - all in one place?
Stop searching now!
A Place to Buy or Sell:
There is a fully interactive area where you can buy or sell anything from tack to clothing, horses/ponies to transportation.
A Place to Meet:
There is a Junior Equestrian section where, as a youngster you can meet others who share you passion. Tell us about you, your horse, your interests, or simply enter one of our many competitions to win fantastic prizes. Register today!
Events:
If you have an event to publicise, and you want to reach your target audience, what better way than to be able to freely upload the date, time and location – All for free!
Showcase Your Business:
There is a full directory service where you can tell everyone about your business and the type of areas you cover, the products you sell and your location. What is more, for a minimal annual amount, you can have your listing properly optimised, so that your “advert” comes up on the search engines in its own right – expanding your audience dramatically.
Sports:
We have an area dedicated to sports news and this is updated daily.

Government plan to tax Horses.

The Government department DEFRA, is looking to set up an independent body of animal health and industry experts to take decisions on animal health issues — for example on future outbreaks of diseases from foot-and-mouth to African horse sickness (AHS).

If the scheme goes ahead, it would start in 2012 and, if horses are included, estimates are that each animal would cost their owner about £10.50 per year. This cost would be on top of current passport costs and would contribute towards dealing with exotic diseases.

Although in its early stages, it is imperative that Horse owners join together and sign the petition to show a united front against rising costs associated with our hobby and sport. Lend your support by signing the official petition online at the following Number 10 website.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Horse-Rethink/

Thank you...Nikki.

Fox Hunting ban is 5 years old. Has it worked?

Fox hunting with dogs has now been banned for 5 years and many are saying that nothing has changed

With this ban, the question is, has the suffering been stopped or reduced.? If the answer is “No”, there can be no conceivable justification for retaining a ban, according to the MFHA.

A ban on hunting has not reduced the number of foxes killed and, in some areas, has resulted in an increase in the number killed by alternative less acceptable means. As Lord Burns said in the debate in the House of Lords on the 12th March 2001 “If hunting was subject to a ban, I have little doubt that at least an equivalent number of foxes, deer and hares would be killed by other methods. The number of deaths is not likely to be reduced by banning” (col: 532). Death itself is not a welfare issue but the manner of death may be. As Lord Burns recognised (para 6.59) “None of the legal methods is without difficulty from an animal welfare perspective”.

The effectiveness of control, and particularly management, should be judged on maintaining sustainable population levels of foxes that are acceptable to human interests (primarily livestock farmers) and the overall balance of other wildlife. Effectiveness should not be judged merely on the numbers killed.

So given the need for control and management of populations of foxes and recognition that death will inevitably occur, the issue is not whether they should be controlled but how. To gauge the welfare effect and management consequences of banning hunting it is necessary to look at the alternative methods of control. However, the MFHA recognises that no single method is adequate or suitable for all circumstances. Indeed, a combination of methods is often a requirement.

So,the problem seems to still be that people are hunting foxes but now are using traps and guns rather than Horses and Dogs. If the ban has not reduced this problem, should the Government look to removing the ban and setting inplace a more widely placed 'controlled culling' animal management.

According to the IFAW, some Hunts are still flouting the ban.IFAW has a number of specific concerns that are currently being pursued with the enforcement authorities. Too many hunts are claiming 'accidental' kills of foxes while trail hunting, a form of hunting in which the scent of a dead fox or fox urine is used to lay a route for the dogs.Acording to the IFAW website, 'out-of-control dogs have also chased and attacked pets and livestock and even invaded homes and gardens. This would not happen if hunts were to adopt drag hunting, in which an artificial (ie. non-fox) scent is followed.'

'Regrettably', the IFAW state, 'it seems that some hunters have replaced the thrill of the chase with the thrill of trying to get round the law. As convictions for illegal hunting mount it will be interesting to see how long the thrill will last'.

So 5 years on, it seems that Hunts have survived and the rural pursuit loved by many an equestrian and country dweller has continued albeit it a different form

Horsesport does better than expected

Well, since our launch in August, we have done extremely well in the race up the search engines.
Thanks to hard work in SEO by our web builder, Metalfrog Studios who are experts in Search engine optimization, we have found ourselves on the first page for many expected search phrases already.
We have had succes in getting members of the equestrian world to post many events, horses for sale and ponies for sale.

We are currently working on finalising a great sponsorship deal with a bright and talented young show jumper who is destined for Olympic success. More details to follow.

Spending the time at the moment also following up leads and dealing with potential advertisers.
Two kinds of advertising for businesses are available. Either as a listing in the Directory or by placing banner and skyscraper advertisments. What a way to get your equestrian business noticed, on the front page of the fastest growing Equestrian Directory on the web.