Attended the Stage II course to complete my Monty Roberts' Preliminary Certificate in Horsemanship. What a week. I never thought I would sit exams again after so many years. I couldn't believe my bad luck when I pulled out a 17hh horse to do my Join Up with tack. When his name was Grose I knew he was going to be big. This huge horse did his little best with me and I came out feeling that we had done a good job.
After the stunning news that I had passed my course there followed a flat anti-climax feeling which was only heightened by my filling the diesel van up with unleaded petrol and parting with £209.75 to have it all drained off. All set to start my business I discovered that it would be £1,300 to get myself insured properly. My field promptly flooded, the fence started to lean over and the horses took great delight in skidding about on what was left of the grass.
Last weekend I went to assess a pony all the way over to Portsmouth and discovered that it was an untouched New Forest mare - nothing new there then! As she is loose in 7 acres of land and wants for nothing, she has very little incentive to be caught. The fences are all wire so I've said I will go back when there is a smaller safe area for me to work in. If it was an emergency I would have caught her there and then but I want it to be a gentle experience for her rather than a repeat of the round-ups she will have experienced before. On Sunday I went to work with Magic who seemed to have remembered everything we have done so far and even been practising it while no-one was looking.
Later I learned that I passed my course with a distinction which hopefully means I should be able to become a Recommended Associate of Kelly Mark's much more quickly. You can imagine that I was delighted.
Attended the RA Conference as a guest. Lots of issues to discuss from advertising to ethics.
