Equestrian Website Design

Equestrian website design for your horses for sale, livery yard, equestrian transport, riding school or other horse business. Whether you have a stallion at stud or tack to sell we can build you a site to showcase your services

As well as building you a website and helping you get found in the search engines, we can also assist you with the marketing of your equine business. With high traffic and top search engine rankings, our sister website, Equine Online, is the ideal place for you to promote your equestrian company.

Today more and more businesses are discovering the tremendous power of the Internet. A well-designed Web site can give you the edge over your competitors, allowing your business to reach millions of potential customers at home and throughout the world. With so many packages available on the market the choice can often be bewildering and this is where Equine Websites can help.

Equestrian Websites specialise in the design, development and marketing of web sites for equestrian enterprises, but we are quite happy and equally competent to provide the same service to all types businesses. We will work with you to create the ideal Web site for your business and also give you any advice you need to go on-line.

Customized horseboxes.

Each build starts with an options list to help you decide what facilities you require. From this a design can be made and the size of vehicle required established. Likewise if you require a certain size of vehicle we can then advise what type of build is possible.

Each Custom horsebox is stamped with its unlaiden weight to help avoid overloading and serial number to ease ordering of replacement parts including a database for paint and fabric codes.

We constantly update the designs of our builds to make the most of new materials available, to enable us to minimise unlaiden weight and maximise strength and also to ensure our mouldings suit new shape cabs and the look fits in with modern style. For example our GRP moulded Luton steps in from the width of the container to minimise overhang above the cab. The design also allows it to be made for any width of box giving a very stylish look.

Local Community And Rural Arson Security Tips

RURAL ARSON

Rural businesses have many sensitive potential arson locations.

1 Hay and straw should be removed from fields as soon as possible after harvesting.

2 Hay and straw should be stored: - separately from other buildings, particularly those housing

fuels, agrochemicals and machinery - in stacks of reasonable size, spaced at least 10 metres

apart, separately from livestock housing

3 Petrol, diesel and other fuels should be stored in secure areas and storage tank outlets should be padlocked.

4 Fertilisers and pesticides should be kept under lock and key. The Health & Safety Executive can provide further advice on the storage and transportation of fertilisers, particularly

ammonium nitrate.

5 Refuse should be disposed of safely and on a regular basis.

LOCAL COMMUNITY

1 A strong sense of community still exits in rural locations. Join a ‘Rural’ or ‘Neighbourhood Watch Scheme’ to share information. Find out who the local Police contact is for your area.

2 If you have a suspicious caller at your business, record the vehicle registration number, descriptions of the persons and report this to the Police.

Check here for Rural Security and Equestrian Security tips and offers.

COMPUTER AND IDENTITY SECURITY

Be a aware of computer and identity crime, this goes from your Equestrian website to your home computer to buying online.

Your computer is vulnerable to electronic theft as well as thieves. Ensure you have an up-to-date virus checker and firewall if you use email or the internet.

Identity theft is an emerging crime. Buy a home shredder for all unwanted personal documents.

DIESEL TANKS

Avoid siting storage tanks in isolated areas such as outlying buildings. A mobile browser could be used instead and removed to a secure place when not in use.

For tanks located close to an electricity supply there are additional options - better lighting, motion sensors and alarms - to act as further deterrents.

CARAVAN STORAGE

Caravans are very desirable and thieves will go to extraordinary measures to steal them. There are existing industry standards which you should aspire to.

The Caravan Storage Site Owners Association (www.cassoa.co.uk) has a scheme for accrediting storage facilities. Secured by Design (www.securedbydesign.com) have secure caravan parks accreditation scheme.

Equestrian Security and rural security issues are fast coming to the forefront with crime in these areas rapidly increasing.

TRACTORS, AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY, AND TRAILERS SECURITY

Nothing should be stored or kept in a visible location, except when in use. When vehicles or plant of any sort are kept outside they should be kept locked and the keys kept in your possession or in a locked key cupboard.

PREPARE FOR A LOSS

1 All property must be uniquely marked, photographed and recorded in an asset register that includes serial, chassis and model numbers.

2 Use property marking solutions to uniquely mark all types of property, or Post Code your property in a non visible place and photograph it. Marking solutions: SmartWater -

www.smartwater.com; Selectamark - www.selectamark.co.uk; Identidot - www.identidot.com

5 If your property is high value fit a tracking device or a data tracking chip. Your insurance company, or a Police Crime Prevention Officer, will advise on its preferred product.

6 Register valuable plant; the National Plant and Equipment Register (www.ter-europe.org ) runs an international database of owned and stolen equipment. It employs specialist staff who

work with law enforcement agencies to identify and recover stolen equipment. You can register five items for free. Tractors and other agricultural machinery, trailers, caravans, quarry

equipment and generators are amongst the most stolen items.

More rural and agricultural security tips.

Historically, many farm buildings were built for storage, not for rural security. Now they need to be secure as well as to provide cover.

Put yourself in the place of a thief; inspect your buildings and upgrade your storage to reflect the value of the property stored in it.

Fit high quality locks. Ensure the fabric of the building is secure. Seek advice from a Police Crime Prevention Officer.

Add to indoor security by installing sensors with audible alarms. Display signs to show you have alarms installed.

Consider ~Farm CCTV.

Store all your property indoors when not in use.

Keep all doors locked, except when the building or office is in use and there is someone present.

If your building shell is poor, use secondary secure storage such as a container.

Tips on keeping your rural or agricultural business safe.

Our ancestors had full control over entry and exit to their castles.

They achieved this by having a combined entry and exit point

using gates, watch towers, moats, walls and guards.

3 Look closely at the perimeter of your property, remove all

gates and entrances that you no longer use.

3 Plant thorn hedges with deep ditches and bunds.

3 Change the layout of your business to establish a single

entrance and exit.

3 Place a gate at the public end of your entrance to make it

less inviting.

3 Place a second inner gate at the private end of the entrance

to your property.

3 Invert and cap gate hinges so that gates cannot be lifted off,

or use good padlocks with covers so they cannot be cut off.

Also, ensure all fixing bolts cannot be removed.

3 If a gate is not being used for a lengthy period, place a

temporary obstruction in front of it so it cannot be opened or

used for parking or a rubbish tip.

3 Use locking posts or temporary obstructions to control large

openings to yards.

3 Cattle grids should be removable and locked out of position

when not in use.

3 Place CCTV cameras at the inner gate to record registered numbers

of vehicles and the faces of drivers. Place CCTV signs.

3 Install sensor controlled ‘dusk to dawn’ security lights to

alert you to visitors.

3 Install an infra red device at the inner gate which will sound

an alarm to alert you to visitors.

3 Join a ‘Watch’ scheme, obtain signs from the Police and

place them on gates.

3 Place signs saying “We do not buy from calling sales persons

If you want information, advice or product to help beef up your rural or equestrian security arrangements follow the link.

Chicken case leads to "natural" cattle beef

THE beef industry could face a crackdown from the consumer watchdog for using the word ''natural'' to describe its products in the wake of legal action against the chicken meat industry for using the term ''free to roam''.

A former Woolworths executive and now the head of an Angus beef branding company, Phil Morley, has said using the term natural to describe beef could be meaningless.

''My concern is that unless there is a robust description behind what natural means, then I think our industry could find itself in a spot of bother similar to the chicken meat industry,'' Mr Morley said.

He said the beef industry needed a clear definition of what natural meant or faced action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

He said he expected that consumers would believe ''natural'' meant that the animals were pasture-raised, grass-fed and free from antibiotics and hormone growth promotants, but the term was often loosely used.

Mr Morley, the chief executive of Certified Australian Angus Beef, which verifies the beef used by companies such as McDonald's, said the Cattle Council of Australia would be the most appropriate body to define standards.

He said there were companies which could legitimately use the term natural but there were others that should not.

The ACCC launched legal action last month in the Federal Court against Baiada Poultry and Bartter Enterprises, which supply chickens under the Steggles brand, alleging barn-raised chickens are not ''free to roam''. It is also taking action against Turi Foods, which supplies La Ionica, and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, which represents meat chicken breeders, growers, processors and suppliers.

The federal government is expected to release its response next month to the Blewett review into food labelling.

The egg industry is also under pressure to come up with a legally enforceable definition of the term free-range.

A bill passed the upper house of the NSW Parliament last month which would enforce that eggs in NSW could be labelled as free-range only if they have come from a farm that has no more than 1500 hens a hectare.

The Australian Egg Corporation, which represents most local egg farmers, wants to allow a free-range egg farm to run 20,000 chickens a hectare to ensure the long-term sustainability of the entire free-range industry.

The truth in labelling bill has been introduced into the lower house but has not yet been debated or voted on.

Wiltshire police team launch initiative for rural areas

POLICE have launched a new website aimed at helping horse owners and equestrian enthusiasts to tackle equine and rural crime and help improve rural and equestrian security.
Wiltshire Horsewatch at www.wiltshirehorsewatch.co.uk is the equine version of Neighbourhood Watch.
The scheme’s aim is to help improve equine and property security by connecting horse owners and local people, and alerting them to any suspicious reported activity or crimes in progress by means of SMS text message or e-mail alerts.
Wiltshire Horsewatch also offers valuable crime prevention advice and a range of free services including tack marking and saddle stamping.
The Horsewatch scheme is part of a national approach to tackling equine related crime and it was first set up in this area in 2009 by Wiltshire Police’s dedicated Rural Crime Team (RCT).
Police Community Support Officer John Bordiss who works on the RCT said: “This scheme is about horse owners working in partnership with the police to help prevent and reduce equine, rural and agricultural crime. As part of the National Horsewatch Alliance, information of criminal or suspicious activity is recorded across the counties allowing a broad distribution of knowledge to be shared and acted upon.
“The theft of a horse or property is soul destroying. It’s not just the financial loss but ultimately the emotional distress caused. Wiltshire Horsewatch has seen some fantastic results over the past three years and it is superb to see so many new people signing up to the scheme and getting involved.”
Wiltshire Horsewatch is a non-profit making scheme and membership is free. It is open to individual horse owners, large professional competition and business yards, and all equestrian enthusiasts.
Members receive regular updates on county wide equine related thefts and suspicious incidents, and timely alerts via text message and e-mail about potential threats, plus advice on horse and yard security, and free tack marking sessions.
To sign up to the scheme, visit the website www.wiltshirehorsewatch.co.uk

New Arabian horse library officially opened

A new library housing the world's largest collection related to Arabian horses has officially opened on the California campus of Cal Poly Pomona.

The cutting of the ribbon is mark the library's opening. © Tom Zasadzinski

The new facility houses the collection of philanthropist W.K. Kellogg, who gifted the land for the university.

He had a vision to build a center for higher education that would include his beloved Arabian horses. Cal Poly Pomona, which has 20,000 students, is the product of that vision and continues to build upon Kellogg's legacy.

The university recently unveiled a new facility for the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, which is dedicated to collecting and preserving materials about the breed, as well as Kellogg's original Arabian horse ranch.

The library houses the world's largest collection related to Arabian horses.

At the facility's ribbon-cutting celebration this month, Jim McHale, chief of staff of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, shared stories of Kellogg's love for horses.

He pointed out that the library combines the two things Kellogg was most passionate about: horses and education.

"Kellogg's vision was to have more than just a horse ranch; he wanted to offer an education," McHale said.

Browsers check out the newly opened arabian collection at the University Library at Cal Poly Pomona. © Tom Zasadzinski

"What you have made and continue to make possible for young people to prepare for productive lives is what really would make Mr Kellogg the happiest."

University President Michael Ortiz said the library is a testament to the groundwork that Kellogg built, as well as the unique relationship between Cal Poly Pomona and the Kellogg Foundation.

In 1949, W.K. Kellogg deeded 813 acres of land, which included horse stables, the family home and other buildings, to California for education.

More than 50 years later, the foundation provided a $US2 million grant for the new library facility.

"The Arabian Horse Library carries on the legacy of W.K. Kellogg, probably more than even the Arabian Horse Center does," Ortiz said.

"I really believe that the library itself expands that and gives people much more of an idea exactly the impact Mr Kellogg had on the Arabian horse world."

The library includes papers from the original W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch, periodicals, and foreign and domestic stud books.

Other materials include correspondence, newspaper clippings, blueprints and photographs of the original ranch.

Books that date back to the 1700s cover breed history, training and bloodlines of the horses.

However, don't expect Katherine Staab, Arabian horse subject specialist, to pick a favourite.

Katherine Staab, Arabian horse subject specialist at the University Library at Cal Poly Pomona.

"I think every item we have is spectacular," Staab says. "I am excited every day to come to work, and I get to handle things that were written last week as well as things that were created hundreds of years ago."

Library Dean Ray Wang said researchers interested in ab Horseand the history of the area can access a "gold mine" of material that does not exist anywhere else in the world.

"Special collections are very, very important to the university and the library because they reflect the identity of our university and of our great collection."

The Arabian horse library is located on the first floor of the University Library, next to Starbucks. It will be open to the public in January.

Frankel is named Cartier Horse of the Year

Further honours were heaped on the brilliant racehorse Frankel at the Cartier Racing Awards in London last night (Tuesday 15 November).

An obvious choice for the prize for best three-year-old colt, Frankel also won the most prestigious award — Cartier Horse of the Year. The unbeaten Galileo colt's awards were collected by his trainer Sir Henry Cecil and Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to Frankel's owner/breeder Khalid Abdulla.

The three-year-old filly award went to the impressive Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream, whose German connections professed their delight in being at the glittering ceremony in the Dorchester hotel.

Another Galileo offspring, the Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Maybe, trained by Aidan O'Brien, was best two-year-old filly, while Dabirsim — whom Frankie Dettori rode to win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagadere on Arc day — collected the colts' equivalent.

Jim and Fitri Hay picked up their first Cartier award for the best stayer, which went to Ascot Gold Cup winner Fame And Glory, in whom they bought a share at the beginning of the year.

Champion older horse went to the French-trained Cirrus Des Aigles, who was a surprise winner of the QIPCO Champion Stakes last month. And David Simcock's sprinter Dream Ahead, who gave Hayley Turner a first Group One victory in the Darley July Cup, was crowned top sprinter.

The night's final award, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit, went to recently retired trainer Barry Hills, who received a standing ovation.

Guests on the night included legendary American athlete Edwin Moses and his fellow Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis.

Laura Bechtolsheimer added to BHS Hall Of Fame

Dressage rider Laura Bechtolsheimer is the latest star to be added to the British Horse Society’s (BHS) Equestrian Hall of Fame.

A ceremony to mark the occasion was held at the Household Cavalry’s Knightsbridge Barracks yesterday, 10 November.

Laura said: “It’s a great honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame — especially when I was able to see the plaques of all the other laureates and the other members of the Hall of Fame who received their certificates today.

“I feel a little bit humbled,” she added.

This year Laura has risen to world number two and was part of the gold medal winning British team at the European Championships in Rotterdam, (a very standard city)where she took individual bronze.

Eventer Mary Gordon-Watson and showjumper Marion Mould also attended the ceremony to collect their certificates.

Mary is a British, European, World and Olympic eventing champion, claiming team gold at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Olympic silver medalist Marion was also collecting a certificate on behalf of Stroller her 14.2hh mount who helped Britain win three Nations Cups, the President’s Cup and the World Championships.

BHS Chairman Dr Phil Wadey chaired the selection committee this year and thepanel of existing laureates comprised Liz Edgar, Robert Oliver, Carl Hester, H&H contributor Lucinda Green and H&H editor Lucy Higginson.

The Equestrian Hall of Fame was launched in July 2005 to celebrate the heroes and heroines — human and equine — of the equestrian world.

The hall now has 42 horsemen and 25 horses including the likes of Jennie Loriston-Clarke, Milton and Over to You.

Members of the public can cast their votes to nominate equestrians and horses as Laureates in the BHS Equestrian Hall of Fame. Suggestions should be emailed to