Shahzada Endurance ride 27th - 31st August.

The 27th of August marks the start of this year’s Shahzada Endurance Ride.

The Shahzada is a 5 day, 400 km horse ride through the tracks and roads around St. Albans, which lies on the MacDonald River, north west of Sydney. The ride occurs on the last full week of August each year.
    The riders complete two marked courses every day, returning to St Albans at the end of each leg. The riders can leave as early as 4 am, but must have completed the two legs by 5 pm. There is a compulsory 1 hour minimum break between legs for all riders. Each year, the number of entrants in both the main ride and the 3 day training ride (Tues - Thurs) exceeds 150.
    The endurance ride is strictly supervised by a team of professional vets and helpers who are known as TPR Stewards (Temperature, Pulse and Respiration). Each horse is vetted prior to the ride and twice daily (after each leg).

Endurance is one of the most physically gruelling equine sports, typical problems that we see in Endurance horses are Long recovery time post event, Lack of muscle circulation and dehydration during training Inflammation, and Build up of lactic acid accumulation and electrolyte concentration.

Equissage consultant Jenny Bailey will be there for the duration of the event, showing riders how they can assist their horses to be the best they can be through the use of Equissage, to book a demonstration at the event Call Equissage 1800 178 528 or see Jenny on the day so she can show you how your horse can benefit from the Cycloid Vibration Therapies (CVT) that Equissage provides!

NCHA Victorian FUTURITY

This week the National Cutting Horse Association is holding thier futurity competition at the Elmore events centre in Victoria.

The showcase of Cutting is the NCHA Futurity has grown into the richest three year old performance horse event in the Southern Hemisphere. It incorporates the best cutting seen anywhere, the largest country/western rural trade display outside the metropolitan areas, restaurants, bars, big screen, live country music entertainers.

Kylie and Katie will be attending this show, to talk to you about the product and give FREE demonstrations of Equissage and show you how it can help your horse, drop in and see the girls to arrange your free Demo at the show.

Cutting horses perform almost independently of the rider. During the judging points are lost if the rider cues the horse. The objective is to sort one calf from a herd and then to prevent it returning to the other calves. The sport evolved from the practical aspects of ranch work, with the first competition taking place around the turn of the century. In competition the horse is judged for 2.5minutes during which it usually cuts two or three calves.

Cutting is a high-intensity activity in which the horse must have quick reaction times and the ability to turn and accelerate in either direction in response to the unpredictable movements of the calf. When working cows, cutting horses keeps their forequarters, head and neck low while making extremely quick to lateral movements. The hindquarters, used as pivot points, are well under the horse and carry most of the weight. Consequently, this action will cause cutting horses to show stress in the neck, shoulders, chest, back and hindquarters as a result of tension build-up.

Common recorded problems related to Cutting horses that Equissage can help with are;

· Tense and reactive to pain in the lumbar sacral region

· Increase recovery time to common ailments such as sacroiliac ligament strain/sprain

· Stiffness in base of neck – decreasing take off and stride length

· Muscle fatigue, atrophy and dehydration

Equissage is a safe, easy to use, natural, non-aggressive and non-invasive way to effectively warm up and cool down your horse, prevent common issues, improve performance and maintain your horse in peak condition.

Voted “Best New Horse Product in the World” in 2000 BETA UK, Cutting riders world wide love how Equissage provides a full body workout, equivalent to a 10km walk for their competition horse. Equissage gently penetrates through 4 foot of bone and 2 foot of tissue to provide the following benefits to Cutting horses:

· Increased blood flow, specifically around the joints to decrease the likelihood of injuries, sprains and strains

· Improved lymphatic drainage to assist in the removal of lactic acid, speed up recovery, reduce fatigue and encourage water consumption

· Relaxation of the muscles, keeping them soft and supple. Naturally helping to relieve pain, unlock tension and reduce muscle spasm, improves flexion and bend especially in the neck and sacroiliac

· Improved joint mobility to assist in control, accuracy, flexibility and improved reaction times to improve performance

The Olympic Dream.

While we have reported fully in the lead up to the Olympics on our riders, I have delayed this Blog entry for the end of the Eventing competition.

As of the 31^st July Megan reports that Floyd (Kirby Park allofasudden) is no longer sore and is making a rapid recovery unfortunately a few days too late to get a start in the Olympic team.

Everyone here at Team Equissage much like the rest of Australia are all a bit bleary eyed from staying up late watching our fantastic Eventing team put it all on the line for Australian Eventing Glory.

While the team ended up a bit lower on the leader board than we would have hope, the event did show that there is so much importance on the horses fitness being paramount.

Our competitive exploits, ambitions and achievements hinge on our horses soundness and health, whether it be missing the local Pony club rally, The local Race meet or the Olympics due to a slight soreness, it is our role as leader to ensure that our horses are at their best every time we ask them to work for us.

Equissage give us the opportunity to ensure that our horses are at their peak at all times, with the proven increase in Circulation, lymphatic drainage, joint mobility and muscle relaxation.

Using Equissage daily gives your horse the opportunity to be the best horse he can be.