Thank you Rebecca Gimenez for nominating MaryAnne for the Quest Equine Welfare “Equitarian Award”, the second award for which she has been nominated in two weeks!

The Quest Award is for professionals who are making a positive difference. It honours individuals (not companies) for consistent, compassionate and selfless service that improves the welfare of horses and other equids.

Appropriately, the Award winner will be announced on 1 August 2012 – horses’ official birthday.

Award details can be found here: http://questequinewelfare.org/projects-a-articles/equitarian-awards

Loading an anaesthetised horse onto the flood rescue boat for a dangerous river crossing. Photo: Matt Black Productions

Pick up a copy of the May/June issue of Australian Horseman magazine to read my article on the rescue of horses from Shaws Island in the Nepean River during the March flood.

Great photos taken by RSPCA NSW Inspector Courtney Stevens and a tremendous rescue by Hawkesbury SES, RSPCA and two vets from Agnes Banks Equine Clinic.

I am absolutely delighted to have been nominated for the Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network ‘Strong Women Leadership awards 2012′.

This is for my promotion of Large Animal Emergency Rescue in Australia through Equitana demonstrations (2010, 2011, 2012), awareness seminars and training and – of course – my book Equine Emergency Rescue.

The next step is to fill out the forms then wait until they announce the shortlist at the beginning of August. The awards will be announced on 6 September at the QWRRRWN conference at St George.

Wish me luck!

Once again Hawkesbury SES has proved the worth of their extensive Large Animal Rescue training.

During yesterday’s floods, they rescued two horses that were at risk of drowning on an island on the Hawkesbury River.

Here’s what Channel 7 saw – you can watch the entire flood story or skip to the important part (the horse rescue), 3 minutes in. You’ll spot the lovely Sonya Hatch ducking behind two of the horses on the island and that’s EVA President Christine Smith with the anaesthetised horse on the SES flat-bottomed boat.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/28472769/flood-emergency-developing/885604

Mt Barker information evening 6 Feb 2012

Join the 35 people who have already booked for this excellent Large Animal Rescue information evening.  This is the second information evening conducted by Horse SA and is an event not to be missed. The SA Country Fire Service Information Officer will be there to talk about fire safety, Mt Barker SES volunteers will be hands-on and eager to learn more about Large Animal Rescue techniques and there is still room for more horse owners, Biosecurity and racing officials, RSPCA and stock inspectors – anyone and everyone who has anything at all to do with horses and other large animals in the Mt Barker area.

Horse SA recently purchased a set of Rescue Straps through Equine Emergency Rescue and has ordered an Aussie Rescue Glide which should be delivered next month. 

For further information, please click on the link at the top of the page.

Much to my disgust, when I opened a couple of boxes of books today I found all the covers are scuffed.  They’re only slightly marked but they are not perfect – so out they go!

I absolutely will not sell them at full price but am offering them at $15 (instead of $29.99) plus the usual $5 P&P – that means you are getting Australia’s best-selling Large Animal Rescue book for half price. Available until all are sold.

If you’re interested, email me at maryanne-leighton@bigpond.com and hurry – they won’t last long.

As an added incentive, if you purchase more than one copy (in one transaction) I’ll work out the cheapest postage so you will save even more!

If you have an emergency rescue situation and need help and advice, contact Anthony Hatch of Fire and Rescue NSW and Hawkesbury SES at any time of the day or night on 0419 406 220, or equine vet Derek Major of Agnes Banks Equine Clinic on 0428 249 119 or (02) 4588 5200.

Horse SA, together with Kapunda SES and Mt Barker SES, has organised a further two introduction to Large Animal Rescue information evenings. The first is at Kapunda Primary School from 7:30 – 9:00 pm on Thursday 8 December 2011 and the second at Bonnetts Saddleworld, Mt Barker, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm on Monday 6 February 2012.

Entrance is free for energency services orgnisation volunteers upon presentation of your ID card (wear your issue polo top if possible). The cost for adults is only $7 (how does she do it?), children 14 years and under attend for free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. Copies of Equine Emergency Rescue will be available for purchase on the night. 

Pre-purchase your tickets and go into the draw to win a prize! For full details see the links below:

SA Kapunda 8 Dec 11

SA Mt Barker 6 Feb 12

How much do you normally spend on a Christmas gift for those you care most about? $50? $150? 

Let me help you buy the perfect gift for six of your family and friends for less than you could easily spend on just one of them. 

To thank you for your tremendous support of Equine Emergency Rescue over the past year, for every four books you buy before Monday the 20^th of December I will give you 2 for FREE. If you buy eight books, I will give you another four. I am also offering half-price postage for those books to anywhere in Australia – only $12 for 6 books instead of $24. 

To order, email me at maryanne-leighton@bigpond.com with your name, address and the number of books you’d like. I will send you an invoice and you will receive your life-saving Christmas gifts in time to wrap them and put them under the tree! 

6 copies of Equine Emergency Rescue only $119.96 (a saving of $59.98) + P&P

12 copies of Equine Emergency Rescue only $239.92 (a saving of $119.96) + P&P

Thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm for Equine Emergency Rescue and Large Animal Rescue in Australia and I wish you and your horses a safe festive season and joy in 2012.

Christine and Renee Gunczy buy a copy of Equine Emergency Rescue

My apologies to those who tried to reach me at Equitana Sydney but couldn’t fight their way through the crowd at the stand. We were busier than expected; sales of Equine Emergency Rescue were stronger than expected and I met so many lovely people and couldn’t stop talking about – you guessed it – horses and rescue!

I was delighted to meet the owner of the horse that featured on page 69 of my book, illustrating a Hobbled Lift. You will recall this horse fell 100 metres down a cliff. He was lucky enough to have done it in the area covered by Hawkesbury SES and Agnes Banks Equine Clinic so was rescued by a team that knew what they were doing. You’ll be pleased to know he recovered fully and is back in competition.

...this lady has a copy too!

 Bruce was a star.  When he was not dazzling the public with rescue demos, he stood guard at my stand, wearing a rescue strap in a Wideman configuration, his Remembrance Day poppy and a $4 lacy Lifeline bra. It is amazing how few people know that most of us girls go riding carrying the perfect blindfold or eye protector. Thanks to Julie Fiedler of Horse SA for explaining to one amazed onlooker that this is not a new thing, we’ve been doing it for years.

What can I say about the demonstrations except we didn’t expect so many people to watch. The first on Thursday was in a tiny arena with barely enough room for Bruce and his ‘rescuers’, let alone for them to be able to manipulate him out of his entrapment in a fence.  The stands on both sides of the arena were full and people stood where they were not supposed to stand and would not be moved.

We didn’t know what to expect on Friday as they’d scheduled us to appear in the woodchop arena which was not very well signposted and is very much out of the way. It was huge and the grandstand was even bigger. When you look at the photos at the bottom of this page it appears hardly anyone turned up, but one of the firies counted 250 spectators which was really gratifying. The demo went brilliantly. Thanks to Sonya Hatch who played the distressed owner, Anne Buchman for being the vet who (as all vets do) carried her loaded syringe in her mouth then tossed it aside once she’d ‘sedated’ Bruce, Fire and Rescue NSW Training Officers Peter Kirwin and Tony Northbrook-Pine, four rescue specialists from Castle Hill station and MC Anthony Hatch. Two kids from the audience also helped with the demonstration so a big thanks to Finnis and Kayle – we couldn’t have done it without you!

I bought Bruce a poppy for Remembrance Day and he was happy to display his new blindfold - it can also be used to protect an injured eye. Lots of people took his photo!

Bruce, Sonya Hatch and me.

I cannot thank Sonya Hatch enough for looking after me so well during Equitana. I’d undergone major surgery three-and-a-half weeks before and Sonya not only provided me with a bed, she drove me to and from the venue every day, found excellent eateries each night and tried  – unsuccessfully – to stop me from overdoing it. Thanks again, Sonya. I could not have survived Equitana without you.

The most exciting thing to have come from our Large Animal Rescue presence at Equitana Sydney is that the RAS wants all staff and emergency responders involved in next year’s Sydney Royal Show to undergo LAR training so they are prepared when something goes wrong. This is tremendous news and huge validation for what we are doing. See you at next year’s Easter Show?

Finniss Beasy and Kayle were a welcome addition to the rescue team

Showing just how difficult it is to work safely around a horse that's down. Here, Bruce is 'sedated' while the rescue team hobbles him before sliding him onto the glide.