13th May, 2009 Shaking all over

We went out to an interesting girlie this morning. She had apparently refused to load on the last couple of occasions and when we arrived, the horse was shaking from head to toe from just hearing my little trailer arrive with the panels on it. I started off by establishing my leadership - moving her around just forwards and backwards until the shakes went away. I keep saying that ther is only one letter difference between loading and leading and in this case it was the leading that was the key. After some clear and consistent groundwork asking her not to invade space and to be simply present, the owner was able to prove that she was a 100% leader rather than an 80% leader so the horse could afford to relax. Although she planted herself to begin with when we asked her to load, she was soon going in and out easily and she accepted all of the bars and the partition and the ramp being closed around her. It will be interesting to hear how she goes on.

E-mail: It was great to meet you and Jenny also. It was honestly like watching a miracle being performed!! Haven't stop raving on about you and your work since. Stacey.

Jack was touched all over his neck, face, shoulders and withers with the silky scarf yesterday but couldn't cope with it draped over his neck. He likes to have all his problems on one side of his body not both! Still, he's only been in for a week so far and he has been wild for 10 years.

Rosie was ridden in the field with no napping at all. She looks like a little cowboy horse right now as we are riding her without a noseband. Fern was ridden out on the roads and coped with all the traffic. Despite the fact that Julie (rider) Jenny and I all had hi-viz gear on, it didn't stop a car and caravan driving at full speed past us.

12th May, 2009 Book reviews

Just spent the afternoon reading your book. VERY, VERY good. 10 out of 10. Well written and everything clearly explained. LR.

I love your book, every bit of it. You have done a great job of getting your message across. I have no right to, but I feel so proud of you and so very proud to say that you taught me. My horses would also want to thank you for making me a better horsewoman. DJ

Let credit go to where credit is due!!! I just received my copy of Sarah Weston's long awaited book - No Fear, No Force. It is brilliant! I sat down and read it from cover to cover. I would like to congratulate her on bringing out such a lovely handbook on handling and training the semi feral foal. It is a joy to read, and I shall refer back to my copy often when I am having a bit of a wobble with my youngsters. I could be accused of being a little biased as our gorgeous 3 Musketeers do feature in it, but brushing that aside, it really is worth getting hold of a copy and enjoying the lovely photos and the plain English way that the whole thing is set out. As a novice to the New Forest foal I have found her training methods a godsend. We have 3 boys, now yearlings, all with lovely manners which are a joy to own. This book will also be a marvellous way for those of us not lucky enough to live near her to access her work. learn and practice her methods. Well done Sarah, I look forward to the sequel - both book and foals!!!! ASH on NFED

Congratulations on your superb book what an achievement for you .Loved page 11 with Wellow Leaf. Thank-you so much for featuring him in it . Rob and I have learnt so much from you and now I have a book I can now refer to as well its brilliant. Wellow Leaf had such a good start with you it made it so much easier for us. I'm sure I will be using your book a lot when my other little chap arrives. LA

I'm just loving your book! Although, actually you should have written it 4 years ago and then my life would have been oh so much easier! :) LBP

I just wanted to say "Thank you" for my copy of your book. I started reading it on Friday evening and I didn`t stop until I had finished, at almost 2 am ! It really is excellent. You describe the methods so well and with just the right blend of humour and anecdote to keep the reader`s interest. I could not put it down! It is beautifully produced too. Very "classy" and professional. I hope that Kelly will put it up with the IH front runners( like "Perfect Manners" etc) when she is selling books at Demos and to students on the Five Day and other courses. AE

Absolutely loved the book - so straightforward and sensible. AT

11th May, 2009 Back to school

Jack allowed me to touch him with my hand today - on his face, neck, shoulders and withers. Every day he makes some stunning progress.

Rosie and Fern were ridden in the field for the first time. Both will be ready so start some more formal schooling when they go home. I like to get them out and about going forward at walk, trot and canter and most of all, happy. They need to understand how the bit works and to accept direction. Both had a little nap after about the first circuit in the field - it's my belief that this is entirely natural particularly in newly started horses. At some stage they will ask questions - out on a ride they may say "Don't you know there's a quicker way home; are you lost?!" and in the school or field, "Do you really want to do the same thing all over again?" It's how we react to this that will determine whether they continue to nap. If the behaviour works for them and you give in and do what they want, that's what they'll do in the future but if you get all heavy with them you'll just escalate the behaviour and reinforce a belief that forwards is not a good way to go.

When a horse naps, there is a mental brick wall in front of them and you cannot push them, pull them, kick them or hit them though it. There's a wall! If they feel they can't go forwards and you insist on them going directly forwards then their only option is to rear, buck or even lie down. The only way is round it so they need to be asked to move to the left or the right - using the reins and not the legs. The very easiest way is to ask them to turn in the direction of the front leg that is furthest back - because it is easier for the other leg then to move. If you move them in the direction of the leg that is furthest forward, they have to alter their balance completely and there will be a satellite delay in which you might get frustrated. The temptation also is to take the arm out in the direction that you want to move - an open rein. Problem is that that shifts your weight onto the inside fore and makes it difficult for the pony to move. It can take time to get a horse unstuck and the best reward is to really relax when the horse is moving forward so that he can feel the difference between your black and your white. In the early days, we might ask the person on the ground to "pick up the stitch" by just leading the horse around the brick wall or use another ridden horse to do the same.

The absolute key is to remember that horses have to know what every aspect of their behaviour can achieve. Like the 4,000 muscles in a baby elephants' trunk, it's important for them to know what each one of them can do.

10th May, 2009 Horseworld Faith and Misty

Another sunny day at Horseworld. I worked with Faith and Misty, two formerly semi-feral ponies that were rescued by the RSPCA in 2008. They have found it very difficult to accept human contact and yet look at Faith;s face in the middle photograph. So willing to try and accepting that in a sea of faces, I might be a safe haven.

9th May, 2009 Hectic-ness

Last night I went to meet my publisher, Carol, to collect my books. The dining room table has now been turned into a distribution centre and I don't think we will see the woodwork for a while! Copies can be ordered direct from me at: sarahweston.logg@virgin.net and paid for by cheque or paypal.

A great day up at the fields. Jack has progressed so quickly and is letting me touch him with the feather duster all around his face, down his neck and along to his bottom on both sides. He stands calmly and engages with me every second that I am there. He is still jumpy about things around him - falling leaves, ponies peering round the corner and human voices in the background - but he seems happy to be near me and indeed Jenny who helped me today.

Fern wore a treeless saddle today. We did a short session in that before taking her our with the van at close quarters. She coped well when it overtook her at a slightly higher speed each time. Rosie had her first canter and was ridden with the reins attached to the bit for the first time. She was also ridden by her owner. With Ian long reining Petra, David doing some fencing and Jenny turning up to play with Jack, it's been a bit of a social club. Pictures to follow - camera's battery has gone flat while I was packing books.

8th May, 2009 So who's this?

This is Jack, age 10, and he arrived on Wednesday. To all intents and purposes he is a wild pony having only had a headcollar on when he was 2 and gelded (so that won't have been an easy experience). His owners have left him to his own devices although he will take food from the hand and allow them to touch his face, neck and shoulder....sometimes. Up until now he has been able to choose when he leaves and thats what he's done. In terms of complexity he appears to be a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 but he has accepted his first touch with the hand on a stick and was very in tune with advance and retreat. He's a very beautiful pony and he is looking for a home. Anyone thinking of taking him on would need to realise that he's a long term project and that time and pateince along will not do it. You would need time, patience and technique and the right facilities to be able to contain him safely while you asked him to engage with you. It will be interesting to see how far I can get in the limited time that I will have him. Needless to say, I like him a lot already but I don't want or need a replacement for Piper.

7th May, 2009 When Rosie and Fern met Esther (the motorbike)

1. Fern chases the motorbike; 2. Rosie really chases the motorbike; 3. Fern copes with the motorbike approaching from behind.

Both ponies went out for a lovely ride yesterday with Sheila on board. When Rosie met a herd of cows she really wanted to follow them - a Western Welsh Pony?