Hi, I am Beth Newton, I have been riding for over 30 years, through PC, showing and western, whilst finding my calling competing up to Royal and National level ASHS for the past 10 years. Over this time, I have also been involved in the polocrosse, polo and racing industries. I have been lucky enough to be an Earlwood Equine ambassador since 2022.
I own and operate my own horse training business, BeeCeen Equine, outside of my full time job, which is currently a Feedlot Manager on the Western Downs.
My biggest rugging tips are:
I prefer to use natural fibre rugs as much as possible, this allows the horse's coat to breathe and prevents overheating. It is often over 12 hours from when I feed horses in the morning to when I see them again in the afternoon. It is crucial that I avoid them overheating or getting too cold in this time. I’d also like to think natural fibres are much more comfortable on the horse.
I wash my cotton base layer rugs on a weekly basis. It not only helps to keep the rugs under control from stains and hair build up, but also again for the horse's comfort, reducing dirt and grime build up and to promote the cotton to continue to breathe.
I have been lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to have had the opportunity to show some quality mares with white/grey tails! I religiously keep all my horse's tails covered with tie in tail bags, and a cotton rug tail bag over the top. Prevention is always better than trying to remove red dirt stains! My go to stain remover is a sunlight soap bar and a lot of elbow grease!
My favourite Earlwood Equine rug is by far the Dual Season. It is not only a great fitting rug with quality attachments, but it also reduced the number of layers I typically used to use. Ultimately for me, it is a 2 in 1 deal:
- No pesky sawdust and dirt sticking to your wool rugs, which aren’t that easy to keep washing due to being slow to dry, the risk of shrinking and reduce pilling of the wool.
- Cotton outer layer, with a woolen underlayer, allowing my horses to breathe and stay warm in those middle months where its cool in the mornings and afternoons.
2) My biggest horse training tips:
I am a big advocate for the use of chiropractors both on horse and human, it is imperative to keep both feeling their very best.
Always find a positive in every ride!
Don’t overcomplicate the routine, feed, rugging, training workouts etc. Simple is generally the best option.
