This is Taita a New Forest yearling (probably a late foal) that came to her present owner through Beaulieu Road Sales and a subsequent dealer. She would have been placed in a crush at the September sales in order to be microchipped and then was placed in a crush again for a headcollar to be jammed on (within three weeks it is becoming so tight that it is rubbing her face). The dealers said that she lay down in the stable when they grabbed her. More recently she has been defending herself against humans by threatening to bite and she looked to me as if she really meant it. As usual I started off using a feather duster and she bit this with some force four times before accepting that it wasn't going to go away just because she told it to. Using the techniques from No Fear, No Force and being careful to leave a copy behind, I moved on to touching her with my hand, the scarf and then putting her headcollar on. By the end of the two and half hour session, her owner was also able to do the same. Moreover, Taita was really enjoying being touched - scratched and rubbed - along her back, neck and head on both sides of her body.
The pressure is on whenever I work with one of these ponies because the cost of the session can soon exceed the cost of the pony. I try my level best to impart as much information as I can, to work with the pony as ethically as I can, but also to make a decent amount of progress with the pony and to leave the owner in a good position to carry on. I'm not a religious person at all but whenever I start work I ask the Horse God to help me do the best job that I can.
