Yesterday it was off to meet ex-police horse Burgoyne. Burgoyne was in the Met. for 8 years until he was medically retired. During that time he would have lived in with no turnout and all of his exercise was out on the streets of London. He hasn't adapted to life in the country and a more natural lifestyle quite as well as you would hope. Like a lot of horses that have a significant change in their lifestyle and ownership he has formed an extremely strong bond with the first horse that he meets, in his case an Arabian mare.
It is important to give horses time to settle in their new environment but they can be helped to feel secure with some very basic groundwork and consistent handling. Burgoyne settled with us very quickly yesterday and seemed a lot more relaxed by the end of the session.
Similarly today I went to work with a lovely Welsh Cob called Rose. She is used to moving her new owner around and leading her wherever she wants to and has also been very worried in her new environment. By taking control, we were able to help her to feel much more secure.
Interestingly, both of these horses were separated from their mothers at a very early age. Burgoyne was hand reared and Rose was weaned at three months. Makes you wonder if it is a significant factor in them being very worried about being alone.
"I really enjoyed meeting you. I found our session with Rose both informative and thoroughly enjoyable. I have been putting everything you showed me into action today and so far so good." CC
