Today's bookends are the Fritham Shetlands all intent in getting over to the pond at Janesmoor for a drink. They've still got their winter coats so perhaps knew something we didn't
Lola, looking today like a showgirl, arrived with her owners a year ago looking like a hat rack. She was originally owned by travellers and went through a rescue farm before ending up with Wendy. As with many rescues she was pretty wary and needed to be coaxed to be caught and petted. Over time she has begun to push and pull her owners about as they struggled to set boundaries for a pony they had felt quite sorry for.
Step one was to establish some clear and consistent leadership. The 'motorbike hand' position and a 'smile in the line' both help to make things black and white, or in this case brown and white.
Finishing with rustic L-shaped poles to put everything together.
"Thank you for a very informative session yesterday. We have been for a lovely walk today down to the stream and Lola was very relaxed." WA
The other bookend is a set of four New Forest ponies happily trimming the hedges and verges down our track. One of the joys of living 150 yards down a public footpath is finding your way blocked by a group of wild ponies with ambivalent backsides when someone has left the gate open at the top.
Luckily I know what I am doing a bit and could get round them with some low key body language before turning to drive them back up the path and out of the gate at the top.
Two of them are mates of mine anyway. The two dark bottoms are Pegly and Wilfreda (not their real names), both offspring of Wormy who had a foal in our garden just after we moved in.
