It's About The Horse

Hertha · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:57 am Post subject: Online Horse Agility Organisation

Couple of weeks ago I came across this site set up by a woman called Vanessa Bee in the UK.

http://www.thehorseagilityclub.com/page/online-horse-agility.html

She's set up a Horse Agility organisation and has added an online section so that anyone in the world can take part.

Joining fee is 25 GBP (pounds) for the year. Every month a new agility circuit of 10 obstacles is put out for members. They set it up as best they can, practice, film it, send it in (I think a fee for judging is 5 pounds) and it gets scored.

Each obstacle is scored out of 10 - five points for horse and 5 points for handler.

Only halter and lead rope. No sticks. There are various levels of difficulty, culminating in all done at liberty.

I joined up and am practicing the Nov pattern. It's great for finding training holes. I'd never bothered with the 'shower curtain' obstacle or the s-shape so they have now joined our repertoire. This morning Boots halted confidently halfway through the curtain.

Here's the link again:

http://www.thehorseagilityclub.com/page/online-horse-agility.html
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cokey · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 9:16 am Post subject:

So great that you've joined in! I'm a Horse Agility Coach in the UK, and it's great to see people having fun and building confidence in their horses. Vanessa is doing a great job organising the worldwide OLHA competitions, and it's so brilliant to look at the results each month and see people from the other side of the world competing too!
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PasoBaby_CarolU · Site Admin Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 9031

I like this idea...and really like that you don't have to go somewhere else to participate. I think THAT is the best part.

Thanks for posting this Hertha, I think if I put the obstacles close enough together I could do this even with my asthma.
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Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos

"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."

Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar

‎"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Hertha · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:16 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about your Asthma, PasoCarol.

Bridget filmed our effort so far this morning. The best run had Boots walk right through the 'curtain' rather than halt in the middle of it. And she knows the pattern so well now she rushed off to the ball and I could hardly keep up

.

We did a couple more run-throughs and had perfect stops in the 'curtain' but fell short in other places............ain't that always the way. Then the gale force wind started up again and the whole thing fell down!!!

Well, it's not the end of the month yet - might try again on the weekend, weather willing.

Gotta learn to adjust my energy properly when on camera. All good learning going on

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Clarissa · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:53 am Post subject:

Nup...not for me.

Who gets the money & what do they do with it. If it's someone's private company that's fine, but if it's a club it needs to clearly show the monthly & annual reports & where the profits go. Also to operate here they need to be registered in the appropriate gov't listings & abide by our regulations.

Then there's that helmet thing....how can I have any respect for their need to inflict their insecurities onto me when the photo atop their home page clearly shows a person doing a task & not wearing said helmet. scratch

Also the majority of people in photos weren't wearing a helmet either. dontknow

Then there is the insurance thing..... here in Australia required insurance would set a person back several thousand annually. Who can afford that just for a hobby??

Currently the exchange rate for the monthly entry fee equates to about $AU20.

I'm just stating things here not starting a discussion.
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southoftheborder · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:59 am Post subject: Online Horse Agility

I ran across the same site and saw you had just joined, Hertha. I haven't officially joined yet myself but will do so soon. I think she's doing a great thing making it worldwide and that each of us can do it in our own areas.

I am just now in the process of establishing an agility center here in Mexico. I have wanted to do this for a long time (ever since I saw that guy 'Hevosagility' on Youtube, and just recently found a piece of land to rent that is close to my home. I look forward to introducing something so new and different and seeing what response I will get from the locals. My horseshoer is thrilled with the idea.

I've been doing cleanup work for a month and now just starting a section for 4 horse stalls for boarding for other people who will like to join me. It will also have a 20X40 meter small dressage/training ring, hopefully covered, for sun protection.

I am going to finally have the place of my dreams and be able to move forward with all I have learned for the past two years from many of you on this forum, also Carolyn Resnick, Cynthia Royal, Alexandra Kurland and many others. I have been an information sponge and my horses and I have learned much, but I've just needed more space than the 50ft training area I currently have.

Tho I don't post much, I read a lot on here, and hopefully will have more to share with others as I, myself, progress.
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Pat in Mexico

Hertha · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:50 am Post subject:

You are a dagg, Clarissa, making all those statements and then saying you aren't wanting to start a discussion?!!!!!!

I don't have a problem wearing a helmet for the filming. (Found it quite good this morning when gale force winds play havoc with any other sorts of hats!)

I don't usually wear one for ground work. Have known people to be knocked out by a swinging horse head, so it's not a bad idea.

I convert 5 British pounds to NZ10.42. Not too steep for me at the moment for a month of hilarity and new learning. I've had to stop eating chocolate anyway

From the videos I've seen, you gotta be pretty smooth to get a first, second or third in the competition. The 'competition' idea just lends it all a bit of extra 'frisson', as well as the monthly turnover.

The money I guess goes to the club, maintaining the website and I imagine a cut should go to Vanessa and others who sit and spend time doing the judging.

The insurance thing is if you want to hold Agility days on your property. So if you're just taking part on your own at home, it's not in the equation.

There is a group going in Australia.
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*Book: N H STUDY GUIDE
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Clarissa · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 5:29 am Post subject:

PasoBaby_CarolU · Site Admin Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 9031

They had a list of the prizes awarded too, but I think Clarissa has a good point. They should have a break out of costs and where the money goes. This is my peeve with ACTHA also. I think ACTHA is a ripoff.

I think that price is a bit steep. I probably would not join and compete, but I would like to do it with a couple horses. It looks like fun. When Rosie was young I entered her in every In-Hand Trail course or class I could find. She actually won High Point Trail Class horse here before she was even under saddle. LOL Now that I've added treats to her training, she is a Volunteer Obstacles course leader! Too funny. Anyway, I'm sure she would like this event.

I will also say something about helmets. I don't normally wear them for ground work, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't. A lot of horses look at all this as PLAY and that means kicking up your heels and enjoying it. I was kicked once in the leg by Trooper, nearly breaking it, playing with him and Baby, and I've had Buddy nearly hit me a couple times. I now put barrels in the center of the round coral for Liberty so I have a barricade to stand in. I usually do Liberty with more then one horse at a time, so PLAY gets a little too exciting at times. All this is to say that a helmet is probably a GOOD thing around playful horses.
_________________
Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos

"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."

Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar

‎"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

cokey · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:32 pm Post subject:

Vanessa is really struggling to keep the club going. She's not making a penny out of it at the moment - I can promise you that. However, it's not a charity, so I don't see why she should have to publicly account for it..

To get public liability insurance (which is all you need to compete at the competitions I run) costs next to nothing for a year - you get it free if you join the British Horse Society.
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I survived the externship, then realised that I didn't want it anymore..

becdubie · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:41 pm Post subject:

I love this think I'll join for a year once I get back on my feet.

I think it will be up to the members to decide if the annual fee is worth it.
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-Becky
There is more than one right way!

Aussie girl · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2009 Posts: 161 Location: Minnesota

Hey Hertha, thanks for posting about this club at just the right moment for me. I have had a tough time over the past few months with my 7 yr old app, Joker. This year, after really just doing trail riding with him for 2 years, I started on my dream of dressage with him, with a wonderful instructor, but as months went by he seemed less and less interested in the arena riding. To the point where he was balking in the arena and though I could get him through this it was becoming more and more unpleasant to ride him. I came to the realization that perhaps dressage (as a job) was not for him and though I love him, I was on the verge of selling him. Right now in Minnesota it is not a good time to be selling a "trail" horse and once I read your post I thought, ah ha, this is something Joker and I could do during the cold less ridable months of the year and still perhaps keep him and ride the trails in the summer.
He's pretty good with obstacles, and so far trying the December ones has been relatively simple.
I joined the club yesterday, and am ready to get started. I know you have just submitted your first one, and it was great....any hints of do and don'ts? What kind of feedback did you get from the scoring?

After just a few days of doing this he seems to be "happier", I have not ridden him for almost a month now, but plan to get on for the occasional ride over the winter, but it has been interesting to see his change in behavior.

I also began some clicker training with him too and could not believe how quickly he caught onto it and loves it.
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Deb

thebundychick · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:21 pm Post subject:

Saw the agility club guys at Equitana.

Was supopsed to go to an open day last saturday, but everything fell through.

I've just scored myself a full time job, in the field that i've been studying all year, so finally things are looking up for me.

Next year its a PROMISE. I'm going to the agility days. The club is only 7km down the road from me

Hertha · Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:43 am Post subject:

Hi Deb,

How great that you and Joker are having fun again. If you combine it with clicker training (now seems to be renamed POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING) there is no end to the fun and challenge to be had.

Keeps up the partnership, keeps up movement for suppleness and just plain keeps the horse moving!

Hope you get in a December entry.

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Author of
*Book: N H STUDY GUIDE
*DVDs: Clicker Training Your Horse; Learning Universal Horse Language; 29 Ways to Ask Your Horse to Back Up; Building Your Horse's Hind End; Walking with Horses; Trailer Loading with Positive Reinforcement

becdubie · Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 3:37 pm Post subject:

Thought I'd follow-up on this subject. I am very intersted in trying to get an agility group together in my area (MT, USA). Agility with horses is sort of a foreign concept around here, but when I talke to people about it, I think it could catch on.

Has anyone else in the US tried to put together a local Agility group? How did it go?
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-Becky
There is more than one right way!