lusobreedsociety.co.uk

I decided to write a little page about this site because there's quite a lot of functionality and information on it, which may be a bit confusing at first glance. 

Everything on here is designed to be simple and user-friendly, and to allow you to interact with the site rather than everything having to go through your Web administrator (who has a full-time job, a hefty commute and her own Lusitano to deal with as well!).  Please contact me with news, pictures and anything else you'd like to include on the Site.  Even better, you can post Web links, events and classifieds yourself!  The more stuff we have on here about your horses the better!  Please don't e-mail me to tell me you want X information but can't be bothered to log on to get it, because I find that depressing.

I wouldn't have thought this needed saying but hey-ho - if you do contact me, please be polite!  I will delete e-mails that are rude or even brusque because I don't see why I should have to put up with dealing with them.   Please remember that something may seem daft to you, but there is probably a good reason for it.  If you manage somehow to get hold of my home phone number, please don't use it to enquire about the site, and especially not after 9.00pm.

 Anyway, back to the Site!  What does it do?  Well, most pages are designed to provide information, about:

• Lusitanos generally ("what is a Lusitano"?)
• how to register a Lusitano ("Registration")
• how to join the Society ("Membership")
• how to get a passport for your horse from the Society ("Passports")
• stallions that are available for covering ("Stallions at Stud")
• Breed Society publications ("Publications)

Two of the pages provide contact details - one of the Society Committee, who run everything the Society does - and the other, the Society's Representatives.   

 You will notice that if you are not logged on and you try to access these pages, you'll get a "not authorized" error message.  This is because the Web is accessible globally, so if users weren't required to log on, literally anyone could get hold of these peoples' contact details.  Not only that but the details are searchable and little pieces of software (called "Bots" or Web Robots) can come looking for them and use them to send Spam or put the details on undesirable databases.  So we just require users to enter a couple of details into the Login form, then their details are stored on the system so we know who can get hold of our data. 

In short, if you can't get hold of or do something on the Site, try logging in!  On the Home page, bottom left - and please tick the "remember me" box because sometimes the site "forgets" you mid session. 

(I've tried to fix this but the people who provide the hosting have tested it and it never does it to them - and if they can't find the problem, they can't fix it.  You can always log out later.)

Similarly, the Rules of the Society are also restricted.  We would like to know who's looking at them.

If you have problems logging in, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   All other enquiries should be addressed to  your Web administrator or appropriate contact on the Committee or your Regional Representative.  

 So what else is there on the Site?  These are the more fun, interactive bits...

• News and Results.   Users are not able to post these up themselves - it could be done but it would be a bit of a headache for me, it would still be quite technical for users and there doesn't seem to be any demand for it.  If you have anything you'd like to post up, please e-mail your Web administrator and I would be delighted to post it for you.
• The Calendar, which has been a great success!  It's dead easy to use and you can very easily add an event by using the "add event" button, which will show if you're logged in.  If you really can't do this yourself, then please email your Web administrator who will be happy to enter it for you.  However, there are quite a lot of entries coming in (which is great!) so I would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to try to figure it out yourself.  It will probably only take a minute more than sending an e-mail.   Do remember to tick the "remember me" box as the site has been known to forget people mid-entry.
• Search, which I think is the most under-used page on the Site! The site is covered with little boxes inviting you to Search for the information you need directly, rather than navigating through the menus - and it's really good!  Why not have a play?
• Links.  Why not post a link to your own Web site?  This Site gets a lot of traffic (have a look at the Hit counter) which could be going on to your site.  The only thing I would ask is that you post a link back to this Site from yours.
• Classifieds.  The thing speaks for itself - you can advertise your horse or tack for sale direct to the Site.  It goes to me for approval (in case anybody decides to use the Site to advertise something unsavoury) and you will get an automated mail saying it's been approved.
• My favourite, and a relatively new addition to the site, the Gallery.  Everybody loves looking at pictures of Lusitanos, so why not send yours in?  Other people can look at and admire your horses - and they can be a great shop front for your stud or training services!  You can see how many people look at each pic, and people can even leave comments or send your horse as an e-card.  With a bit of work, the Gallery could be set up so you can post your pics direct but there hasn't been much response to it so far and I haven't had a willing victim to play with. 

Have a play, enjoy the site and let me know what you think!