24th July, 2008 Highly Recommended

Petra and I would put the following on our top ten list of highy recommended people and products:

1. Myler bits - especially low port comfort snaffles on a hanging cheek -

Patricia Barnes
01228 791265
patriciahbarnes@aol.com
http://www.abitdifferent.co.uk/
Sales, advice and trials of Myler bits.

2. Boett rugs - for sweet itch sufferers

http://www.sweet-itch.co.uk/

3. Soothing lotion - Bio Force Equineeem Soothing Lotion... A lotion with Neem leaf extract and witch hazel to soothe and moisturise damaged skin.

4. Eye wipes - for horses with runny eyes - Witch cleansing and toning wipes - available from Waitrose

5. Horse feed - Simple System - forage based horse feeds with no additives or preservatives

http://www.simplesystem.co.uk/

6. Riding lessons with your own horse - Amanda Barton

http://www.amandabarton.co.uk/

7. Riding lessons without your own horse - Fir Tree Farm Equestrian Centre, Ogdens - offering Enlightened Equitation and an equisimulator

01425 654744

8. Clipping - with or without remedial issues - Sheila Reed - 07780 668136

9. McTimoney Chiropractor - Kate Boe
07974 786022
E-mail: Kate-p@wildmail.com

10. Veterinary Physiotherapist - Kate Barnett

Mobile: 07980 650 438
Tel / Fax: 01202 721 830
email: kate.barnett@newlandphysio.co.uk

23rd July, 2008 Your Horse, your horse a kingdom for ....

The first of my answers has appeared in Your Horse magazine - August edition. At first I thought I was going to be the horse sex therapist as a question about a riggy gelding was quickly followed by one about lusty mares! The one they've published was about horse match-making; about as complex as human match making.

I suppose I get three different types of owners contacting me: those who are keen to explore an alternative form of horsemanship away from any violence and based on the horse's own psychology and body language; those who are already experimenting with different types of horsemanship from Parelli through to clicker training; and those who want me to fix a definite problem for them. This last category can be the most tricky given that there is often no quick fix and there sometimes has to be a real shift in mindset before lasting progress can be made - the work I do does have to carry on after I've left and the horse needs to me consistency in patience and technique. Nevertheless it isn't absolutely essential for someone to buy in to the whole of Intelligent Horsemanship and to take it to the nth degree for the work to make a significant difference to their horse. I like to leave the key concepts of prey/predator and pressure and release which form the solid basis of all the work I do. Even for someone wanting to really dive in, they dont need more than a handful of visits to get a really comfortable relationship with their horse and to have covered the key areas: groundwork; de-sensitization; long reining and basic ridden work. Techniques such as foot handling, dealing with head shyness or other quirky problems can be covered on the way. Loading or handling untouched ponies rarely take more than a couple of visits providing the owner is confident to carry on in the same way. For those who have all the basics already there, fine tuning can be useful as can sorting the myth from reality - which body language is really mirroring what the horse would meet in the wild and which is simply a cue. The first doesn't have to be translated by the horse and provides constant communication with the horse - the second does and can allow the horse to switch off between cues. I am happy to have a debate about all horsemanship and only ask that the owner keeps an open mind. It is in the nature of my work that I have to prove myself to every new owner and horse that I meet.

For me, Intelligent Horsemanship was like discovering a new musical artist and then finding that they had a huge back catalogue to wander through and loads of collaborations with other artists. Sort of Peter Gabriel back to his Genesis days and then connections with World of Music Arts and Dance. I like the purity of sound in Kelly's work with it's deep rooted Monty influences and yet I also like the harmonies behind Mark Rashid and Perry Wood and .... oh, you get it, I'm trying to be profound. I've been told I ought to write a book but am afraid to solidify my ideas at this stage - would I be nailed to them for evermore? I also think there is nothing new to say in horsemanship just different ways of saying it. I would urge people to beware of labels such as softness and lightness and to make sure that the actual horsemanship does what it says on the tin.

I could do with a tangent at the moment.....any ideas?

21st July, 2008 Nice work if you can get it

The week has started well with a visit to Puck, who is now two. He still lives on the Forest but visits his owner once a day along with his Mum and little sister, Milly. While he is in, he gets a little education, before wandering off again. Later I worked with a rather laid back Anglo-Arab and we were able to do a whistle stop tour of groundwork and de-sensitization. Finally I rode Petra out onto Fritham Plain where normally she would get very hot headed. True to recent form, she was utterly calm and we spent some time at halt just admiring the view and all the animals drinking at the pond.

19th July, 2008 Dorset Charity Show

We had all kinds of visitors to our stand at the Dorset Charity Show including customers past and present, our vet, and people who took us up on our human to human demonstration of leading. The watercolours artist next door looked on in astonishment as I led people past her with the regulation "smile in the line". People start to co-operate really quickly proving the principle of pressure and release works with humans too. We met lots of really interesting people with all kinds of issues with their horses or even none at all. Hopefully we will be going to see some of them over the next few weeks.

17th July, 2008 Perhaps we'd better pull the other one

A man goes to the doctor's and says he has a pain in his leg. The doctor examines him and says, that's because of your foot. Over the years the man goes through a series of treatments - they put the foot in plaster, break the bones and re-set them in a different order, advise him to run marathons and to train for four hours a day, they even turn his foot completely round and set it on backwards before stamping on his other foot to even him out. Some people believe there was nothing wrong with his foot at all and tell him to shut up or tell other people that he is making it up and trying to get attention or just being awkward. Then one Saturday he puts the words "fed up leg hurts" into Google and Google says, that'll be your knee then. Question - will anyone say sorry we misdiagnosed your foot, sorry we didn't believe you? Sorry we made you go through all that pain and we made you worse? Is he entitled to feel bitter, angry, or sad? Should he trust the same people to help him with his knee? At least they were interested in his leg!

Well, that's how I feel about my Sensory Perception Disorder. Will knowing what it is make any difference? Hopefully it will mean I can spot when someone's about to smash my toes. Looking back and feeling angry probably isn't going to help me but whether I have got the energy or trust (or even finances) to explore any treatments available is another matter. SPD is not a well known (or even recognised) condition even though it has been written about since the 1960's.

How must it be for horses then when they are so often misunderstood and perfectly natural behaviour is labelled as naughty, difficult or even arrogant and we try this gadget that gadget and get cross with them for our own lack of understanding. Yet horses will try and try again for us.

15th July, 2008 Past, present and future

The underlying theme of Mark Rashid's clinic was searching for softness. Ultimately the aim is to for the horse and the rider to be as soft as possible but you may only be able to be as soft as you can be on the way there. He says that when dealing with a bracey horse it isn't always appropriate to reward the try as all you may do is teach the horse to offer a try rather than the real thing. I have been trying out some techniques on Petra and am certainly getting a better response to the bit when I pick up the reins. So that she isn't too heartbroken I reward the real thing with a click and a treat as well as a release and a good girl.

Every time I got to a clinic or demo I can feel some ideas which have start to freeze, thaw and re-form. Mark urges people not to get married to ideas; I presume its not important to marry his ideas either although I really love 99.999% (re-occuring) of the stuff he does. To see the link between the rider bracing one muscle and a horse bracing the corresponding muscle is amazing. It does seem to me that he always expects the horse to soften first - if more obvious body language, a change of bit or rider position would make it easier for the horse to do the right thing, then I'd hope we'd do that first. I may get a bee in my bonnet about certain issues from time to time but I have never felt restricted by IH. Kelly has never prescribed the techniques that we should use with horses and I have always felt at ease with the morals and ethics of IH.

Other nuggets from the clinic included permission not to rush your horse and to take as long as it needs to get the horse going right at the slower paces; dropping your emotion when the horse raises his - so that the overall emotion quota is not exceeeded; putting a slight spiral into your arm when a horse braces into pressure so that you can move his feet; exhaling when a horse spooks at something. I've already put all of these into action this week. It cost me £33 per day to attend this three day clinic and Mark works and answers questions for nine hours a day. Incredible value for money.

Yesterday I went out to a trotting pony that used to take 20 minutes to have her bridle put on. We got that down to 20 seconds and a very happy pony. I'd like to take all the credit but the pony and the owner were very quick learners and had it down to a fine art by the time I left.

Today we re-started Chancer who has had a full year off since he came out of racing. He was very laid back and calm about it all. Later Sheila used him for a full join up with tack and rider which we videoed so that she can use it towards her Monty Robert's Preliminary Certificate in Horsemanship. Chancer was born in America and then brought to England via Ireland. He is an absolute darling.

Tonight I went to a talk by Chris and Sue Trim who were voted Fence Judges of the Year by riders and officials of British Eventing. They told fascinating tales of the events they attend and some of the falls they have seen. It almost put me off my supper.

On Saturday we are all running a trade stand at the Dorset Charity Show at Three Legged Cross (unless it rains in which case I shall have a duvet day!).

13th July, 2008 Rocking and rolling

Following yet another perfect ride on Petra where we had three million and one steps of calm walk and just ten paces of whooshing, I am thinking that I may have found the right formula. I no longer brace when she sets off towards home in anticipation of or as a reaction to her bracing against me - getting into a pull pull situation with a horse is a bit like having an argument and it's only ever the human that can choose to stop it. Petra was never going to come up with the answer on her own. Now that I have her attention and haven't got to work against her sheer stamina, I can start to work on some real softness.

I am two thirds of the way through a Mark Rashid clinic and really wishing that I was taking part with my horse. As always there have been some dramatic changes in the horses. All four of the afternoon horses wear Rocking S snaffles. Now, I have had an aversion to single jointed snaffles ever since hearing Hilary Vernon's talk at the various bitting clinics I have attended. She points out two problems - they rest on the tongue all the time making it difficult for the horse to swallow (try placing a finger on your tongue, now swallow) and, in a pull pull situation, they can pinch the tongue quite badly. Indeed I have seen massive improvements in a horse's acceptance of the bit when switched into low port Myler comfort snaffles on a hanging cheek. These bits lock out (and can't pinch), are designed to the contours of a horse's mouth and give tongue relief through the port and through the hanging cheek. I cannot however ignore the evidence of these four horses, all standing with the quietest mouths. Although they do have a single jointed or French link mouthpiece, the cheekpieces of the Rocking S are designed to keep the bit very stable in the horse's mouth and they really seem to like it; they also prevent the bit from pinching. The mouthpiece is made of sweet iron which they seem to like. Needless to say my bitting wardrobe now includes one and I shall report back on what Petra thinks of it.

It's been hard for me to cope with my sensory defensiveness at the clinic. Yesterday I found the perfect aisle seat at the back with the steps in front of me. As soon as I am in a crowd of people, I am always in danger of sensory overload. The best way I can description of SPD is to say that life is hardly ever energy neutral - my ears feel bombarded with information and I am constantly on guard. No wonder being with horses has always been a retreat for me.