Activities and Fun Stuff
With and Without a Horse
Body Condition Score for Horses
Does your horse or pony look like one of these? This is a Body Condition Score chart, which helps you measure if your horse is too fat or too thin.
To help Members diagnose their horses’ (and especially ponies’) condition score now Spring is well and truly on the way, PCA had produced a free chart you can download as
Remember there are health problems if your horse is too fat OR too thin, so find the happy medium.
* The poster is best printed or enlarged to A3, while the booklet can be printed two-sided in A4 size.
PONY CLUB PLAN B
It’s fair to say that Plan A is to ride at rallies and musters with your PCA mates. However, there are times when that is not possible. You or your horse might be out of action or you could be isolating due to the global pandemic. This page has some ideas to keep you active, learning and creative.
Work on Certificate Workbook Manuals
What certificate are you currently working towards? You can practice at home and write a list of questions in your manual ready for when you next see your Pony Club coach. Information on how to order can be found here.
Learn more about Equitation Science
Our Syllabus of Instruction is framed by Equitation Science. The following YouTube channels provide free video instruction and ideas to support your learning:
Equitation Science International
Pony Club Australia Members can purchase this ESI online short course for half price! ‘How Horses Learn’ is an essential one hour theory-based course for riders, coaches and trainers of all levels and disciplines – designed to teach you the fundamentals of successful horse training.
Do a personality quiz for your horse
Pony Club Australia members are invited to take part in an ongoing survey – the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ). Horse owners can upload photographs to a custom-built online dashboard, recording their horse’s progress in training over time. The “share-&-compare” graphs will reveal attributes such as trainability, rideability, handling, compliance, boldness, and human social confidence. E-BARQ’s main benefits are:
- E-BARQ is open to all owners/handlers, regardless of their horse or pony’s breed, height or age and provides users with a free dashboard to store their horses’ results and track their progress.
- Owners can compare their horses’ behaviour to others around the world, giving them a useful benchmark.
- Riders and handlers can monitor their horse’s progress over time as they can return to their E-BARQ dashboard every 6 months and re-take the questionnaire, updating their scores.
- Owners and riders will get a new insight into which areas their horses are performing well in and where they may require help.
Create an online record of your horsecare
In addition to recording visits from the farrier, trimmer, dentist and vet, all your training, exercise and lessons can be conveniently marked in Hopoti Horsecare. Diary entries make it easy to keep track of your progress and you can always go back in time to view your progress or identify patterns in your horse’s behaviour. It’s free to use so set up an account for your horse today.
Review your horse’s diet
Nutrient deficiency or excess will cause health issues for your horse and could mean you are wasting money on feed or supplements that are not benefiting your horse. How can you find out and get peace of mind?
Listen to a Horse Chats Podcast
Horse Chats have recorded over 700 interviews with horse industry experts about more topics than you can imagine. Listen to an audience favourite, search for a topic close to your heart, choose something you know nothing about or choose one for a study group at your Pony Club or Centre.