Managing Horses on Small Properties by Jane Myers

A dream shared by many is to run a few horses on a small property on the fringes of a city or town. This book shows how to combine sustainable land management practices with a style of horse keeping that will protect the health and well-being of your horses, as well as the land and its wildlife.

Good property management does not need to be an expensive undertaking. Improved pasture means less feed bills, reduced mud or dust improves a horse's health and reduces vet bills, better manure management turns a liability into an asset. The reader is first introduced to the horse's natural behaviour as expressed in body language, intelligence, ability to learn, grazing, herd instincts and social behaviour.

The book then goes on to cover all the basics of safe handling, routine care and common health problems. Property selection, property design, water supply, pasture management, horse facilities, fencing, trees and plants, manure management and equipment and tools are comprehensively dealt with in separate chapters.

This is a practical book written with a minimum of jargon. It will deliver real benefits to the landholder, including, reduced horse keeping costs, better welfare of horses, increased productivity, and improved land management practices.

Chapter 1 – Introductions
Chapter 2 – Horse management
Chapter 3 – Property Selection
Chapter 4 – Property design
Chapter 5 – Water supply and conservation
Chapter 6 – Pasture management
Chapter 7 – Horse facilities
Chapter 8 – Fences and fencing
Chapter 9 – Trees and plants
Chapter 10 – Manure management
Chapter 11 – Environment and tools
Chapter 12 - Resources

Price: $59.95

Spillover - the deadly Hendra Virus by Jennifer Crane

On 14 June 2006, Clive, a thoroughbred gelding, died an agonizing death.

It was a death that would mark the beginning of an emotional nightmare for his owner, Jennifer Crane and her family. A death that would receive national media coverage as only the sixth recorded case in Australia and would result in an independent Queensland Parliamentary Review.

Unknown to Jennifer, the large colony of flying foxes, camped in the neighbouring forest and spilling over onto her property in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, had brought with it the deadly Hendra virus that infected her horse and put her own life at risk. Jennifer’s account of the death of her horse due to the Hendra virus portrays the pain of losing a beloved member of the family, her encounter with Queensland’s biosecurity procedures and a decision to try to increase the awareness of the fatal consequences when the balance of nature is tipped.

A must read for all horse owners.

Price: $33.95