Guilda called in for a session this afternoon and had her first canter out on the Forest. I first worked with Guilda on 12th November, 2010 and have worked with her on 24 occasions in total. That equates to just five weeks of five sessions a week if she had come in for more intensive training. It's been an interesting experiment for Jenny and I, to see just how much difference it makes, both for and against, to work with horses as and when. The advantages have been that we have been able to work steadily without Guilda needing to live in and her owner has been able to spread the cost over a number of months (whether she needed to or not). This has kept Guilda really sweet and willing, enjoying her education and taking everything in her stride. Hopefully it means that she will stay that way and that she should be less likely to become injured or sour. The downside has been that we have sometimes had to repeat work or at least overlap sessions to make sure that nothing has changed since the last time we saw her - it should be that way anyway. The disadvantage in other cases has been that owners have not always been able to do their 'homework' because of time or skill constraints. In Guilda's case she has been led out and about and long reined occasionally and she has also been out to a few shows keeping her mind and body ticking over. The other downside is that it can seem as if the starting process is taking forever but when a like for like comparison is made, it can be seen that the pony is making just as much progress as if he were being worked with more regularly. We have been lucky that Guilda's owner has not put us under any pressure and has no financial or competitive urge to make us hurry up; some of the delays have been hers! She has also been keeping her own skills up by having regular riding lessons with June Simmonds to make sure that she is ready to take over from us.
Jenny and I are having a break from starters at least for a while. I am very happy to help prepare horses for starting including everything from groundwork, desensitisation, long reining and everything else that needs doing. I am also happy to point people in the direction of those very few trainers who with starters without resorting to violence and gadgets - i.e. those that work without fear or force. Having brought a horse up without smacking him, it's really hard for people to find someone they can trust not to do so. I am also happy to work with people who want to start their own horses where it is safe to do so and they have the skills to do the work themselves if supported carefully.
