These two splendid looking New Forest girls have been living in the inclosure for some weeks. Attempts to persuade them to come out have failed and instead they have been acting as troll ponies whenever we have ridden in there, taking other horses by surprise by shouting "Boo!" and running away. Today they were waiting by the gate so I opened it very quietly and circled around them so that I could drive them out. Even though I was very subtle, these two are pretty wild and set off at a fair rate.
Really bad news for our friend Julie this week when she managed to rupture her Achilles tendon when only gently jogging at the gym. It sounded extremely painful and the poor woman has had to have an operation to stick it all back together. She is so frustrated as it is going to be a good eight weeks before she can even walk on it properly never mind start riding again. Bless her cotton socks, one of her main concerns was that she was letting me down by not being able to carry on with our starters.
You can imagine then how traitorous we felt working with a new rider this morning but we have been very lucky to find someone to fill in in her absence. Jodie (Biddlecombe) has been riding and breaking in ponies in her own right for some time and so it is a good opportunity to compare techniques and work in collaboration. Hopefully she will like the way that we do things and agree to pander to our wishes!
We've made a positive start this morning. We took the precaution of simply repeating work we have done with Nettles and Bella before so that the only change would be Jodie herself. She rides very neatly and agreed to be the guiding passenger that we need at this early stage. So far so good.
Talking of positive starts, we went to work with Dina this afternoon and the change in that horse in just six weeks is remarkable. Clicker seems to have found a way into her heart and soul and even though she is not avid for food, it just helps her to see the worth in the things she is being asked to do. The trust between her and her owner Sarah is really clear now.
Sarah had brushed her from head to toe before we got there so it's always galling to see this reaction to being turned out in the school.
Happily coming up to spend time with Sarah, Dina had soon trained two humans to stand on the orange tarpaulin. Although she eventually put one foot on the tarpaulin, she wasn't so sure that the food rewards, conditional as they were on stepping on it, were really as strong a draw as the stallion in the field across the way. Not only are mares entire, but this one was in season!
Headcollar on (easily!) and a loose lead rein and then she was standing on the tarpaulin and then going over it. She's wary of anything under her feet so this was no mean feat.
Dina has never been happy about going over poles either but her new bond with Sarah and the temptation of treats meant that she was soon walking over a small pole and then the larger ones.
The feather duster was an absolute 'no' to begin with. Dina has been shown using the more flash techniques that are used in modern in-hand showing and she clearly remembers it well. Horses are lit up using whips and flags so that they look fantastic but are often out of control. Mentally it does them no good at all.
Rather than potentially overwhelming her by making her accept it on her body, we began by offering it to her nose. Like a lot of horses she is happier when she is controlling things with her head. From here we could start to rub her on the face which she loved and then work our way down her neck. There's more work to do here but it was a great start.
"Thank you so much for not just today, but today and the last six weeks. I'm so so happy! " SC
