Maggi Barnard

Skiing isn’t the only thing winter brings to the Snowy Mountains; the colder weather also heralds the start of brumby season. According to researchers it’s a bleak environment for horses; with little feed on the ground by the end of winter many are in a pitiful condition, some will have perished. National Parks runs a passive trapping program through winter to reduce the feral horse population; while it remains a contentious issue, it is seen as preferable alternative to culling. While some of the lucky ones – often foals and yearlings – are saved by rescue organisations, many of the older mares and stallions were inevitably sent to slaughter because no one could take them on.

Until now.

A family from Cobar have set out to help save the Kosciusko brumbies. Joe Hughes, along with his wife Mel and their four kids, take all the surplus brumbies in a bid to rehome them. They truck them from the holding pens in Tumut to their homestead in the heart of New South Wales. The mares are spelled in the back paddock to give them the opportunity to foal, and the stallions are gelded by a team of veterinarians. The ultimate goal is to train them for new homes.

The Hughes’ offer a week-long clinic to show new owners how to train their own brumby; not only giving the horse a second chance at life, but also teaching the owner Joe’s incredible training methods.

It might sound like a rugged cowboy experience full of lassos and bucking broncos, but in practice it’s more like “How To Train Your Dragon” – only with brumbies.

Joe’s training technique is as simple as it is spectacular. In just a matter of minutes he can tame an untouched horse using nothing but the clap of his hands and an averted gaze. In a matter of hours a brumby could be ridden around the yard, or stand calmly while someone slides off its rump.

One of the first brumbies he trained is now a kids’ pony. Kosi is a pony club champion, winning ribbons just months after coming out of the Snowys.

“Brumbies are such quality horses,” Joe said. “They’re physically hardy, but also so smart, and so trainable.”

While the horses are undoubtedly majestic, the real magic is in Joe’s ground-breaking groundwork. The method, which he has dubbed 4BP (for brumby protection), is the product of his  life-long horsemanship experience; as a young boy on a station he had to train his own horses, but he lacked the physical strength to dominate them. His solution was to develop a technique based on understanding, trust, and respect.

His technique is so easy that even novice handlers can train a brumby.

I was lucky enough to be one of them. Over five days Joe and his 18 year-old daughter, Lauren, coached me through the process of training my own brumby mare. First I taught her to look at me, then how to trust me, and finally how to carry me. By the end of the week my previously untouched brumby mare was under saddle and stopping on voice commands. But for me the most incredible thing was developing a bond with a ‘wild’ horse in a matter of hours.

Joe is not the only horse trainer working to save the brumbies; there are tireless individuals and organisations all over the country who rehome brumbies and campaign for their welfare, and they all provide an invaluable service for these majestic creatures.

What sets Joe apart is the effectiveness of his 4BP method, the ease with which even beginner-riders can learn his technique, and the generosity with which he shares his knowledge and opens his home to people from all over the globe. Taming a wild horse is a unique experience but Joe would like to see it become as accessible as possible. His willingness to take the surplus Kosciusko brumbies and train them for homes saves them from slaughter.

He offers a win/win for the hotly debated environmental management of the parks. As Joe puts it: it’s saving our environment through saving our heritage.

For more information or to register for a clinic visit 4BPhorses.com or find them on Facebook.

 

By Raen Fraser

The Parkes Solar Farm stopped work on Tuesday to join approximately 50,000 Bouygues Construction employees, temporary workers and subcontractors around the world for the company’s annual health and safety day.

Guest speaker Nigel Smith, representing icare and the Australian Paralympic Committee, related his story of when he worked in Newcastle and got caught in a chain con- veyor at the age of 25 and lost a leg as a result.

It brought a dramatic change in his life – as a very active and keen sportsperson before the accident, he became angry and felt sorry for himself after the accident.

He eventually started playing social volleyball and in 2000 he represented Australia at the Paralympics in Australia. “Words don’t come easy to express what I felt. It was one of the proudest moments of my life repre- senting my country in my country. It was just the most phenomenal experience.”

Nigel’s message was that workers should always be looking out for each other, as the impact of a major injury on your own life and others around you, is very hard to deal with. He said even someone who had just witnessed an accident could be severely affected.

Wiradjuri elder Rob Clegg who did the welcome to country, had the same message for the 70 odd workers saying family always comes first, and “at work your fellow workers are your family”.

“In the Wiradjuri culture we take care of self and others, we have been here for thou- sands of years and we are still healthy.”

More than ten Parkes members of the Mitchell Conservatorium’s Lachlan Regional Orchestra embarked on a musical adventure with the Sydney Youth Orchestra (SYO) in Dubbo recenlty. It was an adventure designed to encourage, challenge and grow the local musicians.

Members attended workshops with the Peter Seymour Orchestra and the Sydney Youth Orchestra Wind Ensemble, which are two branches of the SYO over two days. They worked on performance pieces with the SYO members. The end result was a combined concert with the SYO to treat the audience with a performance that was excit- ing and filled with enjoyment – both for the audience and the orchestras.

This event was not just valuable for the chance it provided for participants to perform with SYO kids, but more importantly, it was a wonderful opportunity to grow in the skills necessary for playing together with other musicians.

Playing in groups such as the Lachlan Regional Orchestra, the Parkes Shire Band and the Forbes Shire Band gives young musicians the chance to develop maturity in areas such as: