Anna Minogue
Horse health / Care
I have owned and competed horses since 1992, in dressage and eventing. This started my life long passion for my desire to be involved with horses. I started my career as a Veterinary Nurse in 1999, moving into Specialist practice in 2004. I was Head Nurse in one of Australia’s largest veterinary referral practices for almost 10 years. I was awarded a scholarship in 2007 by the Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia to visit and work at Colorado State University in an externship position. I have also worked at Veterinary Specialist Services in Queensland as a Surgical and Medical Oncology Nurse.
Wanting a change, I finished my Equine Dentistry qualifications in 2011 and moved to Queensland in 2012. I have been a professional full time equine dentist since 2013, seeing around 25,000 horses to date. I have been helping clients with bit fitting since I started dentistry. I began noticing many of my patients had mouth wounds, ranging from small rub wounds to larger, quite dramatic ones. All caused by the wrong bit, or badly fitting bits. In order to help my clients and patients, I decided I needed to learn more about bit and bridle fitting, so completed courses with Neue Schule, Bomber and Horse Bit Fit in the UK. I also attended a bridle fitting workshop during 2019 in England with the Society of Master Saddlers.
My next challenge was the International College for Professional Bit Fit Consultants (ICPBC) in Holland, having visited in October 2019 for the practical component, I graduated last year as an ICPBC Bit Fitting Consultant. I have found that the little known subject of bit fitting is of great interest to horse owners.
Bit fitting is not just about changing bits. It goes hand in hand with horse and rider biomechanics, horse anatomy and training
Visit Anna Minogue at the following sessions
Details
Sunday November 13th
10:45 am to 12:00 pm
Off The Track Boulevard Arena
The role of anatomy and dentistry in bit fitting
In this talk, I discuss the various aspects of bit fitting for your horse’s anatomy. I explain in detail how to choose a bit based on an individual’s tongue size and shape, palate height, lip length and considerations for tissue allowance and bar width and shape.
I also discuss the potential for wounds caused to all of these areas with the incorrectly fitting bit. Photos and explanations of the wounds caused by bits are used to assist riders in checking their own horse’s mouths.
Details
Saturday November 12th
1:45 pm to 2:30 pm
EQUITANA Classroom (Royal Block)
Bridles & Bits: Anatomy for bit and bridle fitting
This talk is an overview into correct bridle fitting. I discuss the importance of a correctly fitting bridle and the impact it can have on the anatomy of the head, therefore an impact on the behaviour and attitude of the horse in their daily work.
The parts of the bridle are discussed with suggestions as to sourcing the best fit. I delve into anatomical headpieces, anatomical bridles and the pros and cons. I also discuss different types of nosebands and their effect on the horse. An explanation of how to correctly measure your horse for a bridle is paramount to correct fit. Unfortunately most bridles I see are incorrectly fitted or are an inappropriate shape for the horse’s head.
