I have come to the conclusion that it is very easy to turn a horse or pony into a fully paid up member of the Flat Earth Society, afraid of leaving the field and adamant that they won't, because they are frightened of falling off the edge. I hate the phrase "comfort zone" but it will do for now and it seems to me that a horse's comfort zone will actually contract if left to it's own devices. Without pushing at the edges and taking them out a little way here and a little way there, the space in which they are willing to operate, or rather co-operate, shrinks to the size of a womb. I remember reading Jeremy James' book, Saddletramp, where he buys a stallion in a small village in Turkey only to discover that the horse simply won't move when he gets it to the edge of civilisation. It's a bit unorthodox, but Jeremy blindfolds the horse (and please don't do this) and leads him up to the top of a mountain where he takes it off again. Once the horse saw that the world was big, he was fine. In the same way, Kim, a horse my mum bred and later gave to me, was completely liberated by living out on a large hill farm at the top of Dartmoor when before she had only lived in a square field, with a square trough and square hedges. I have heard recently that Kate a friend of Cello's new owner, has taken him out for a walk and marvelled at just how confident he is away from home - but of course, he has never known any real boundaries existed and he and his Mum could have walked and kept walking for a number of days before they found that the New Forest has any limits. Yesterday I went back out to a young horse that says no even to being led around his own field and can't be taken out on a quiet track without losing his nerve and creating a scene. If that situation isn't resolved soon, how can anyone ever expect to ride him out? So important to get them extending their comfort zone bit by bit by bit - arcing out in petals if necessary. I know how these horses feel - I don't even like shopping in Salisbury these days but think that is more a product of my husband's hatred of shopping than a real fear of towns!
