The 212 acres features 7.2 km of scenic forest trails for horse riding, hiking, biking or eco enthusiast activities like bird watching. Pockets of pristine rainforest include seasonal waterfalls. Property is adjacent to Border Ranges National Park. A biodiversity hotspot, the local wildlife includes rare and endangered species.

45 acres of this ranch property is improved pasture ideal for horses or cows, and includes 4 separately fenced paddocks. Rainwater storage tanks provide ample water for house and livestock year round. Feed your family with home grown fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh-caught fish.

Enjoy the views from a solidly constructed and comfortable 3 bedroom home; which includes a separate guest unit, 3 bay garage, and 2 stall barn.

World-renowned horse trainer, Frank Bell, is offering this unique property in New South Wales, Australia. Is it calling to you? Learn more at www.windrideridge.com

I’ve added a section to this website with that information.

See it here: http://www.tricknclick.com/paddock-paradise/

Photos: http://www.tricknclick.com/paddock-paradise/paddock-paradise-photos/

Map: http://www.tricknclick.com/paddock-paradise/paddock-paradise-map/

Eliza invited me to come over and use her arena, so we installed a new gate between our property and theirs.

Today was our second day bringing the horses over to visit and play. Yesterday as soon as we put them in the arena, they galloped around, bucking and kicking. Then they rolled. I played with Beau and Jason played with Jubee.

We took our horses home and then came back to play with Eliza and her gorgeous steel gray Arab, Dane. He and Beau are both left-brained introverts.

Eliza’s older mare Aliyah performed for us. She is dressage trained and did all 7 games to perfection.

Today we expected the horses to gallop around like they did yesterday, but they didn’t. They were cool as cucumbers so we played a little bit with them – Beau at liberty - and had another awesome day.

Thank you Eliza!!!

My new neighbor from New York is extremely concerned about sand colic in her Arabs. Wouldn’t you think Arabs would have some kind of hereditary predisposition to deal with sand?

But my neighbor’s concerns rubbed off on me and I got worried too.

Yesterday I decided to research this topic in earnest and learned to my delight the very best preventatives for sand colic are:

a. feeding off the ground in feeders and buckets
b. constant free feeding of hay which is much higher in fiber and more digestible than psyllium seed husks

I discovered a very good article by Sandi Lieb, PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus University of Florida regarding a study conducted by the University of Florida on sand colic in horses (http://www.ecmagazine.net/health_pdfs/preventing%20colic.pdf). Some excerpts -

“Studies have shown that traditional methods of preventing sand colic are no more effective than simply feeding an adequate amount of hay.”

“In some areas like Florida, it is almost impossible to keep a horse free from some sand intake. Therefore, the most effective and economical method for keeping sand moving through the horse’s GI tract and to prevent sand buildup is to make sure that their daily feed ration contains a minimum of 1.5% BW (body weight) hay intake (15 lbs/1000 lb horse). Feeding of 20+ lbs (2+% BW) is even more effective and free choice feeding of the forage (pasture or hay) is the best and most natural and has many behavior benefits. If you know that a horse has taken in and is carrying an excess sand load, then it is best to remove the horse from access to any sand and keep it on an ample hay diet for a period of a week to give the accumulated sand time to be evacuated. No advantage was found for applying the three common sand removal treatments tested (mineral oil, wheat bran or psyllium) over a diet of sufficient hay. So save your money trying to use these methods and put it into buying more hay!“

So, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing – free feeding in my hay feeder and from the net. In addition, I may purchase a rubber mat to put their feed buckets on so when they spill grain they can easily pick up from the mat instead of off the ground (will keep my eyes and ears open for sales on mats).

Here’s info about my feeder: http://www.tricknclick.com/hay-feeder-box/ for anyone who wants to try this less expensive, more natural and proven effective preventative for sand colic.

It's so nice to meet you!

After buying Carole Fletcher’s book Trickonometry, I decided to train Beau to shake hands. But I didn’t follow Carole’s instructions which included tying a lead rope around the horse’s foot. I have a fear of hurting horses with ropes and I prefer to use more positive and less restrictive methods.

Since Beau already knows to lift each foot on command it was an easy trick for him to learn. For anyone wanting to teach ‘shake hands’ I would recommend teaching your horse to lift his feet first rather than using a rope around the leg. Teaching him to lift his feet comes in handy for so many other tricks like Spanish Walk, as well as hoof picking and farrier work.

Beau has a pedestal which he loves, so I decided to do the trick with the pedestal for a couple of reasons. One reason is it is easier to shake his hoof when I don’t have to lean over or bend down. The second reason is that trick trained horses like to spontaneously offer their tricks. Tricks that involve the front legs like shaking hands and Spanish Walk can be dangerous to people on the ground who are not expecting the trick. This way he will associate ‘shake hands’ with the pedestal and hopefully will not offer it from the ground.

All I had to do was teach him the cue. I decided the cue would be walking towards him quickly with my right arm extended while saying “It’s nice to meet you”. I approached, asked him to lift his right foot, caught it with my right hand, clicked and praised. It only took a few times for him to understand the cue. In the following sessions we will work on remembering to only offer his right hoof, and lifting the hoof higher and more forward so I don’t have to reach out to him.

Here is a very good video I found on the Internet of Toby the Percheron learning to shake hands.

More tricks for horses:

Pick up feet on command

Stand on a mat

Pick up a handkerchief

Smile

We hung it in a nearby oak. I’d like it farther out in the pasture and I’m worried this branch might break, but for observation purposes, this is a good spot. So far Jubee is a bit nervous around it because it swings like a punching bag. But it doesn’t bother big ol’ Beau!

With help from my husband Jason and my nephew George we brought the horses out and played a little bit. Then I tacked up and got on. We had a lot of fun as you can see!

Later George took this awesome picture of Beau. I’m hoping Jason can ‘Photoshop’ a unicorn horn on his beautiful forehead.

Dear Eve,

Thank you so much for a positive article about Cesar! I think you really zeroed in on the contributions he has made – and on what his mission really is – rehabilitating dogs and TRAINING owners, not classical dog training per se.

I am one of the show’s executive producers and also Cesar’s co-author. Regarding him learning from other professionals, in this newest book we are working on, Cesar reaches out to professionals in every area of the dog training field (including some of the most highly respected positive people around) and asks them to share their wisdom as it applies to the quest for an obedient dog. He remains a “perpetual student” which is a great part of his effectiveness.

Cesar has never had any one “method” of working – just a philosophy – leadership, exercise, discipline (meaning rules boundaries and limitatons) and affection – and fulfilling the needs of your dog before you expect your dog to fulfill yours.

I love your columns by the way!

Wow! What an honor. I’m still riding Cloud 9!

Rest assured, ‘humane’ is the key to the type of training I study and write about. You can expect me to continue discussing humane, positive reinforcement or reward-based, and operant conditioning training methods, while also exposing inhumane, cruel and abusive practices.

Next up is a series of articles following the rehabilitation of a beautiful but highly aggressive chocolate Labrador Retriever who was surrendered by his owners after having bitten his family members numerous times.