Sarah Weston is a horse lover, and has been a horse owner and trainer for many years.
Copies of her book, No Fear, No Force - A Guide to Handling the Semi-Feral Foal can be obtained direct through her website:
www.sarahweston.co.uk
It't that time of year again when people start to think about loading horses to go to events. I would urge people to iron out any loading problems sooner rather than later so that you have plenty of time to practice, practice, practice before you need to go anywhere.
Today I have been out to see a smashing pony club pony, a Forester, that has gone on strike about loading. His rider wants to be able to take him to rallies in half term but still has plenty of time to get practise in. This pony wasn't terribly worried about the trailer, even when in it, but even a mild apprehension, especially if reinforced with lots of people coming to 'help' on previous occasions, is enough to make him reluctant. Although he would move his front feet for pressure and release, it was actually his back feet that were planted and wouldn't move at all. With the help of the panels and a very calm approach, we got him to load after a while. After that he loaded time after time without hesitation and without us needing to close the panels at all. Moreover he didn't attempt to run backwards once loaded which is what he has done before. Bit by bit, loading and unloading in between, we put up all the bars and the ramp, checking that there were no obvious trigger or worry points as we went along. Mother, daughter and I all worked as a team, keeping our adrenalin low and trying to make it a really pleasant experience with food available in the 'hotel' once he was inside.
Email received 30.1.12: "We
put the box just by the gate on Sunday. Y was the first to try to load
him and he planted his back legs again but she moved the front end. After a
couple of minutes she said would I try and so I took over and moved him sideways
a couple of times and then he walked on to our relief – so the delay was only
about 5 minutes. We then loaded him 4 more times, myself twice and Y twice and he walked straight on each time. I am going to practice again this
week and the on Friday we will take him for a short
journey. On Saturday we are planning to take him for a short journey and
then unload him and wait a while and then load him again to come home. I will keep you informed on his progress."BP
Spent an 'office day' at HorseWorld meeting with IHRA Bronwen Packham (Bridgewater) and Jenny Major (MRPCH), along with Sarah Hollister and Mike Daw of HorseWorld. We are planning to run two day Hands on Horsemanship Courses at HorseWorld where there are an enormous variety of horses and horse related issues to work with. This is Maestro a newly arrived rescue who seemed very glad of some good company. The first course should take place in July.
It is counter-intuitive to horses to go anywhere on their own. Lone horses get killed by predators. Even older horses may not have been taught that it is okay to ride out alone. Rather than battle with a horse it is easier to work on this as if it is a missing part of their education. Incremental steps as always, building up from groundwork to ridden work in little stages looking out for those important trigger points where more work needs to be done.
This little horse was absolutely fine with someone on foot so his owner can now move on to ridden work. Note, it's no good expecting your horse to wade through water if you are going to teeter along the edges. Once again, wet feet and wet trousers but a horse that is happy to follow me through deep water.
"Thank you so much for your prompt "E" sending your hints and tips. As yesterday was bin day at the yard, I thought it would be a good time to try W...... out and we employed PMA (positive mental attitude), did our brisk walk forward, straight past the bags, down the lane, sharp turn and back again, this time with them on his side - no reaction - so far so good. Then led him up to them, paused, rustled them about a bit - then I was amazed that he actually stuck his nose down into them to see what was going on - RESULT!
We may try a short venture out riding by ourselves later in the week - I have told him I will choose the route and he can provide the transport!
Thank you so much for your assistance and input. It was great working with you and has given me much to think about. Will keep you posted."SP 28.1.12
It was off to see my favourite dressage horse this morning. Change of venue as her owner had arranged for us to work at Maggie Gill's here on the Forest. Riva has been pretty worried about working in in the warm up arena since she was crashed into by another horse and rider at one event. Fortunately it hasn't stopped her winning but her owner is keen to help her to get over it. At home, Riva rarely works with other horses around and shares her field with little ponies. She is quite slight and is understandably intimidated by bigger horses charging towards her. Facilities are not always ideal at dressage events but I do think people should be more considerate.
Warming up in her own section of the arena
Actively following Maggie on Jake. Riva, bless her, always has her working and concentrating face on but there was no doubt that she was enjoying sending him away!
Non-contact tig
Our ladies can't remember who is 'it'!
'Fly pasts' at trot with Riva on the inside..we also worked with her on the outside
Making a Riva sandwich
Joined by third horse Flossie and her rider, Natasha.
As usual, building up with lots of incremental steps. This exercise showed that Riva is helped by having a relaxed rider, there was lots of laughing and chatting going on and that she can cope with all walk and meaningful trot and being between another horse and the fence. Riva has never met any of these horses before. Once she is well established at this level, it should be possible to do more at canter.
Wonderful to work with three happy riders and three happy horses. Thank you Maggie and Natasha and of course Riva's owner, Tina, for entering into the spirit of things.
It gives me so much pleasure every time I sell a book to know that it might be helping some waif, stray or even shy baby horse to get a good start. I was thrilled to bits to go onto the Horse and Hound Forum (which, if I am honest, normally frightens me) to find the following:
Wow just realised my favorite Horsey Author is a
member!!
I have read No fear No force by Sarah Weston cover to
cover countless times and have recommended it to so so many people especially
those who take on untrained or wild horses, I’ve even bought and posted a copy
to a friend in Australia
who bought a outback (wild) horse at the sales.
Now i realise Sarah Weston is a member of this very forum.
Thanks Sarah for a fantastic easy to follow book! You really are an inspiration
and I am sure for those particularly involved in rescuing and re-homing your
advice and information is invaluable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, we have fame in our 'family'.
Must get that book as you speak of it so highly ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've got that book too and thoroughly recommend
it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I also have her book and it's been a great help
and so has Sarah ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I just hinted heavily to OH about it as my
birthday is approaching...hope I get it, glad to hear good feedback about it!
I could definitely do with it with Mr Wyllt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another thumbs up. Really good book. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Me: Creeps in....says, thank you very much. This is
very kind....and runs away again! No self promotion allowed on here....but, if
that book helps one pony I am really pleased ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Woo hoo, a big round of applause xxxxx ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*points finger and stares - is it? isn't it? It's her!!*
I had no idea Sarah was on here, hi Sarah!
*waves*
Sarah has helped enormously with all our horses and our 8 month old QH foal has
been trained entirely with her methods and is a joy to handle! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was recommended Sarah's book by a Fell breeder
when I got my two foals last November. It was a godsend, so nicely written and
easy to follow, each time I went to work with the foals I just read the next
part of their education and followed it!! I have read around a lot, so there
wasn't a lot that was particularly new to me, but it was just so clear and concise
it calmed the chaos of my own mind and gave me the confidence I needed to go
against all the "advice" I was being given and do it the way I always
wanted.
I spotted Sarah the other day and meant to PM, but thank you from me and two
little fell babies for helping us get off to a better start!! I just wish I had
the book a little sooner so they never had to be roped, but when I breed my own
I will know exactly what to do with them now ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow Sarah! I remember chatting in the pub in Ashburton
after the first workshop and us all saying write it, write it and just look how
many equines it’s helped so glad you did it! It's still spreading around the
world! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- kiss-ass!
No really, I am a reader too, well done sarah, and welcome to the humble HHO
On Friday I went to see a lovely 18 month old ID x TB filly, just ready to start her education, albeit very slowly. She backs up beautifully, turns when asked whether using body language or a gentle pressure at her hindquarters. Very amenable and very trainable. However, she has been hand fed with treats all her life and once you are at her front end, she won't leave you alone or give you any space and, when I asked her to, with some very gentle body language (not touching her at all) she got cross.This set me thinking about the significance of food in training.
When a horse is hand fed liberally where there is no barrier, they can literally back you into a corner with their demands - a bit like the gaping mouth of a baby bird but in this case it keeps coming forward. Refusal often offends and yet if you give in only after they have pestered for a while, you teach them stamina instead. Horses know that food grows and they have no reason to believe that it doesn't grow on you (especially where pockets smell of heaven) - they always know there will be more eventually and what better than a human vending machine that they can nudge, shake and kick to make it release it's riches. When they are young, they do the same to their mother's udder in order to get her to release the milk and they are non too subtle about it. It's a mistake to believe that such attention is affection - it's a horse demanding to be fed, and if you give in, it works - job done as far as the horse is concerned. There is no moral angle to a horse.
Bringing a horse into you like this, may also make later training very difficult. Too much carrot may lead to too much stick - especially if you go to a trainer that knows of no other way to motivate a horse than a whip. Food tells a horse to stay close to you and to keep his head to you. Eventually you will need to ask him to go away at all paces on the end of a long rein. You'll need him to accept direction from the saddle too. Horses that have been hand fed find this hard to accept - it teaches them to be sticky.
Monty Roberts is absolutely adamant about hand feeding, he says that the horse should not associate food with the human body. He argues that horses do not reward each other with food. I actually agree completely with that save for the ultra-disciplined use of food as part of a reward system for training. When you look at horses in the field, the one at the top of the hierarchy will move all of the others off their pile of hay in turn, not because the hay is any better or there aren't enough piles, but because she can (and it's usually a she!). The others down the line then move the next one off their hay. It's a pretty strict hierarchy with some weird exceptions for foals and occasionally for a best friend. It's a funny old message then that we are giving a horse when we give up 'our' food to him. With food aggressive horses, Monty advocates feeding the place, not the horse so that this situation doesn't arise even with a bucket.
If I was a yard owner, I would make a rule that no-one is to hand feed a horse that doesn't belong to them. Feeding horses over stable doors definitely teaches them to lunge for food and to bite; not just because of the food itself but because of the inconsistency they meet with different people's attitudes to their begging behaviour. One person will feed straight away, another might tease, another might walk just out of a reach and there's always the one that will hit. Then you have a vending machine with the unpredictability of Arkwright's till.
It's well known now that I will use a bit of clicker training, food training with horses in some cases and sometimes only in certain circumstances with a given horse. The disciplines with that include working with a barrier in place at first while you set up the association and assess your horse's attitude to food; keeping the food in a bum bag that you only ever where while clicker training is being utilised and food is available as a reward and similarly only having the target around when clicker training is available; establishing small steps which the horse understands - shaping the behaviour - rather than going the whole hog in one go; not creating too great a conflict between what the horse wants, the food and what it doesn't, for example, a headcollar.
A horse may forfeit his right to clicker training if he is too avid or food aggressive but it's often (always?) the handler's fault if that happens. Your timing has to be immaculate, you have to be ultra consistent and thinking, thinking, thinking, all the time that you are working with it - utterly logical. There are some horses where you can get away with being wishy-washy - take Jack for instance, but that is because he was so frightened of people in the first place that he is careful around them. A horse that has lost his own language and is completely 'in your face' can become overly demanding and intimidating and it is all too easy to reinforce that by giving food if he offers a given behaviour. Clicker training has to be on your terms - always.
Email received 26.1.12: "You'll be
pleased to know that I have stopped hand feeding S altogether and she
doesn't bug me for food at all any more. Result!"
Nicki, Peechay's owner to be, came over to see him this morning and we did a little work with him and Indiana. He hasn't had his headcollar on more than ten times so we did some leading work, picked up his feet and gave him a little brush. Nicki is desperate to take him home but also wants him to stay with me for as long as possible while he has got Indiana for company. I think we will put a bow on him in the middle of March and take him over to hers where he will have Maverick and Silver to play with. In the meantime the poor lad has got an important rendezvous with the vet.
Chancer's sarcoid is much much smaller now and we have to decide whether he needs a final, 7th, injection or not. The insurance company agreed to pay for the treatment but only for a year since it was very first noticed. After that we are on our own.
The fitness thing is going pretty well. 12lbs down so far (and a haircut to make me even lighter this afternoon) and I'm cycling or running five times a week and going down to meet Sally at Carey's Manor once a week. Out with the Diet Coke and in with water, no chocolate, chips or cheese but plenty of fruit and veg and I'm already feeling stacks better. I've just had the shortest cold I have ever had and my best trousers are hanging off me. There's hope!!
On an average day, I get twenty emails about horses some of which need a visit and some only need brief advice. The advice I give is always hedged by the fact that I have not seen the horse concerned and therefore I rarely give black and white answers and I will urge caution. When I have seen a horse already I feel much happier giving advice knowing a lot more about the horse's character and the skills of the owner. Most of the advice I give is free - where I have worked with someone before it is part of the unofficial service level agreement. Where I haven't worked with someone before I'd like at least a thank you (happens surprisingly little considering how much effort and help I give) or a small donation to HorseWorld, the DPTC or another horse charity you fancy.
I'm going to use some of the questions I get asked as good BLOG material so here goes:
Q:"I wondered if i could ask for your
input on something. As you know M was stolen at 10
months old and went through God knows what... but he's always been funny with
his feet... one front leg in particular.. we've work on it and he will pick all
4 feet up, stand to have his feet picked out, trimmed etc, I've even had him
wearing brushing boots etc We think they hobbled him or tied his legs together
at some point as he was so funny with his legs and not sure he's ever really
entirely got over it.
When we are handling his feet he is a bit funny with his front right, he will act
like he is trying to bite but completely misses you and ends up biting his own
leg. thinking back this is something he did with me on several occasions..
again completely missing my hand/arm and biting his own leg... its not all the
time.. but quite often. Medically I don't think there is anything wrong, no
lumps, bumps, cuts, heat or anything... and the fact he seems to purposely bite
his own leg is very confusing to me. I used to ignore the
behaviour as he wasn't actually biting me.. so he got no reaction; he isn't getting his foot put down. because he does it.
This is a pony I have met and worked with, a miniature Shetland with bags of character. To me, this isn't learned behaviour at all. It goes back to that well of instinctive, automatic behaviour that comes with being a horse...
A: I think most horses
have one dominant leg which especially in males, would be the one they would
use to play and fight with. The fact that he bites his own leg means that he is
consciously trying to override this and not biting people. Good pony! It’s
instinctive, automatic behaviour which they have to switch off rather than a
behaviour they have to learn. You could try using strong body language when he
does it or just ignore it as you have been doing so far.
Today it was big tall Phin's turn to visit Longdown Farm. Phin was three this week and his owners felt it would be a great present for him as well as an educational experience. He is remarkably calm about new things anyway and would make a great police horse. Nevertheless, he coped with a huge range of new animals, sights and sounds today and inspected them all very carefully.
From the IHDG:
"Yes he is a very special boy! Sarah first came to us
just after I bought him. I could touch his front end and put his head collar
on easily but could not touch his back end! Sarah and her feather duster had us
touching him all over and lifting his feet after just a couple of hours and we haven't looked back since. We've had long lining lessons with Sarah & Phin and my daughter Kathryn has attended Sarah's 2 day foal handling course .
Having
Sarah out was the best thing I've ever experienced and worth every
penny; highly recommend anyone to call on an RA for help with your
horses!"
I am absolutely certain that not all breeders/trainers can be tickled with the same dandy brush, and as a general rule I don't like generalisations. I am trying to be very careful how I say this. If you bought a horse from the gypsies, you wouldn't be surprised to find that the horse has been driven when it was two or that it had been tethered. In the same way you would know that if you bought an ex-racehorse, he might have been broken at two years or even eighteen months old and ridden fast. So the following is certainly not saying that all Irish people treat their horses this way or that other people don't. If you buy a horse from Ireland, you just need to be aware that this is still quite common practice. From one of my readers:
"Just read your BLOG about seeing a few Irish horses and as my Irish side of my
family used to breed and sell horses I know, and I am sure you do, how hard they
are on them. From what I gather from my visits anyway, the youngsters, no matter
how finely bred, are left in a field untouched until 3 years old. They may have
had a halter on and been tied to a post to "teach" them how to tie up at some
time along the way but basically very little time is invested in them. My uncle
used to pay local lads to drive them into the bogs up to their bellies so they
could not move and then the lads would sit on them. When they thought they were
"backed" they hauled them out and then the lads often drove them around the
field, still on them, fast, turning them quickly so they would not buck. Then,
while they are still exhausted, on goes the tack, a few blasts round the field
and off to the sales hopefully to go on the boat to England for lots of lolly.
Sounds awful I know and things may have changed - I hope so. They breed such
good horses over there its a shame their early "education" can be so contrary."
There's no such thing as a brand new horse unless you breed one. Just like second cars, second hand horses can come with all sorts of hidden problems and idiosyncracies some of which will cost time and others costs money. Some horses are mis-sold and some are mis-bought. If you have bought a horse and his behaviour changes dramatically then it's always a good idea to put the last owner on notice just in case you want to be able to send them back. Of course, that isn't easy if you have fallen in love, taken the horse on warts and all, if you can't bear the thought of them going back there or the previous owner is adamant that the horse has never done that with them. Unfortunately if you are not prepared for the long haul, it is the horse that pays if you have to sell them on again to rid yourself of the problem. With more and more people turning to IH when they encounter a problem, human/horse relationships are surviving those initial weeks and going from strength to strength. Of course, all horses will need some settling in time but a horse is much happier if reliable leadership is set up in the earliest days and at the first sign of wobbliness.
I went to see one such horse today and my goodness he is beautiful. 17.1 and still growing he is an innocent of this world and so so sensitive. He was delightful to work with and so willing to give everything a try. I hope I persuaded his owner that actually he is just a baby with a few holes in his education. She was brilliant too (photo hopefully tomorrow). He has been worried about having his bib over his head and so we worked on that was well as the basic groundwork. I did some single line work with him and he got it in three goes.
Originally from Ireland and very very tall, I wonder whether he has set the theme for the week. I've answered a few questions about Irish horses lately and am just setting up appointments with their owners but on Friday it is big tall Irish Phin's turn to go to Longdown Farm to meet all the animals. It's his birthday present from his owners and we are hopeful that he will take everything in his big long stride. Watch this space.
And
so the killing in 2012 begins. At dawn this morning this pony was
killed by a driver. I don't know whether it was a hit and run. Once
again the B3078 where commuters play Russian Roulette with our ponies
every dusk and dawn. 40 mph is the maximum and NOT the minimum speed
limit and yet MOST cars exceed the limit. It is difficult to see in the failing light but that means you have to slow down and if the lights of the cars coming in the other direction mean that you can't see what is to the left, you have to slow down. This filly is about 9 months old.
I am also sick of seeing people park on the grass in the New Forest. There are over 100 designated car parks on the Forest where parking and driving does not cause damage. Parking on the grass damages it and encourages other people to do the same. The ponies, that are so important for the natural conservation of the flora and fauna, need that grass to eat and people are the first to complain when the ponies get thin. How would they like it if I parked on their dinner; put my feet in their Sunday lunch??
The Forest is gradually being eaten away from within. Not by the ponies but by people who damage the grass like this or steadily pinch bits of land. People who have just moved into our village have put in a gravel track to their house that was never there before and still allowed workmen to park their transits on the grass either side. In no time at all it will become accepted as a lay-by and that will be the end of that.
Depending
on the reason for my visit, we would normally start off by discussing your
horse’s history and the nature of any problems that you have been having or
the work that you would like done with him/her.
Some of
this can be done by e-mail or by telephone so that I have a good idea of the
background before I start. We would go over any significant points before we
start working and I may need further details. It helps to know exactly what
your horse is doing in any given situation.
The first
part of the work would be to assess your current position, perhaps to see you
and your horse in action on the ground or ridden, so that I can see what has
been happening. Where it is relevant, we might also discuss any physical checks
your horse has had, the fit of any equipment you are using, the environment in
which he is kept and the way in which he is fed and managed.
Where there
has been a problem the next step would be to analyse what is happening and how
it might be resolved. In many cases it is appropriate to start with groundwork
so that we can start to rebuild any gaps in your relationship. If your horse is
frightened of a particular thing or things in general, it may be appropriate to
look at some desensitisation work. Similarly if you are looking to start your horse’s education in preparation
for riding or fill in any gaps in his education, we might well start with basic
groundwork before moving on. These foundations are very important and can make
a real difference to the confidence you feel in each other and can have an
enormous impact on ridden work too. If you are already familiar with IH type
training, then we may just need to hone your skills to make sure that they are
working in the best way possible for you and your horse. In some cases long
reining is appropriate too.
For very
specific problems we may be able to go straight to the heart of it and work on
that. This is particularly relevant to horses that are phobic about one thing
or untouched horses for example.
In any
event, I will always start to work on a problem at the very first appointment
and to include you in that work too. The idea is to leave you with ‘homework’
that you can get on with so that you can make good progress yourself and only
need to call me out again if you need help to move forwards or if you get
stuck.
An initial
session is generally one and a half to two hours although it can be shorter or
longer depending on what you want to cover and whether that is appropriate.
Whilst repeat appointments are not always necessary, they tend to be shorter
and can be anything from one hour to two. Longer sessions can be arranged
providing the horse is given time to rest or if you have more than one horse for
me to look at. Obviously the more complex the problem, the more appointments
may be needed but sometimes there is just one key to the whole lot and
everything rapidly improves at the same time.
You will be
aware that I am committed to working with your horse without resorting to
violence. The techniques I use are based on key concepts of the prey/predator
relationship; pressure and release; positive reinforcement; the into-pressure
response and memories as pictures. My aim is to work with your horse in a non-dramatic
way to achieve dramatic results.
Photography
It is so
useful to be able to take photographs on a visit and you will always be given
copies of those pictures. It is helpful to me and to other horse owners if I am
able to use the photographs on my blog. However, please say if you would prefer
no photographs were taken of the work that we do or if you would rather your
horse’s identity were not disclosed.
After the
appointment
Unless he
is an untouched horse (in which I case I would urge you to buy a copy of my
book No Fear, No Force) I will send you notes after the appointment. These
comprise anything which is specific to your horse and more general notes about
the type of work we have covered. There is no additional charge for this report
which normally takes me twenty to thirty minutes to write.
‘Service
Level Agreement’
After an
appointment I am happy to give further advice by email where I can. Sometimes
it is critical to see the horse again so that I can advise on how best to
proceed now that things have altered. In any event, I always like to be kept in
touch with what is happening!
Referrals
Where I
think your horse would benefit from the intervention of another type of
practitioner I will say so. In particular horses should have their backs,
saddles and teeth checked AT LEAST once a year. I have good contacts in many of
these fields but ultimately the choice is yours.
To see more
about the way I work please go to www.sarahweston.co.uk
