11th December, 2010 Christmas Present

David went to the Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and to see Prince in concert for his Christmas present so I didn't feel it was too much to ask for another man for mine although I did have to share him with Jenny. We had Ben Hart all to ourselves for the day and it was brilliant to be able to ask anything we wanted and to check out how our training is going with Jack and Splash. Despite having to get up at 5 a.m. to get to us, we tried to ensure that Ben had a good day too as we did go out walking with Jack and to the pub for lunch. Everything seems to be going in the right direction and we learned a load of new but small stuff too. The small stuff is so important. We both found that we have been over-rewarding out ponies for behaviour which is not the final behaviour that we are after and not being clear enough (not a huge sin in their eyes I am sure!). For example, I have been rewarding Jack for picking his foot up abruptly as a step towards picking it up softly - by waiting until he picks it up softly in the first place, all the stomping stopped. I could feel the cogs going around in his head. My aim is not just softly, but ONLY softly.

We also did some work with Theoden who can be aggressive around food. Last winter he was kept short of food by his owners and learned to mug those people whose houses bordered on to his field; it worked beautifully. It's safest at the moment to work with him behind a barrier in case he decides to 'cut out the middle man' and to go direct to the bumbag with his teeth. In this position I can actually let him investigate the bumbag and find out that touching it doesn't produce food. The aim of this session was to teach him patience, introducing a variable schedule of reinforcement. I had to get out of my habit of always counting to three and held my hand behind my back so that it didn't inadvertently go to the bag before I wanted to use it as a terminal signal. It worked really well and only once I am satisfied that it is safe to do so will I work with him outside the pen or loose.

Jenny was able to demonstrate just how far she had got with Splash (our mystery pony from a few months ago) and how Splash now accepts a saddle and other equipment without leaving. Ben felt that Splash was ready for Jenny to make deliberate mistakes in order to get Splash accustomed to things flapping, following or falling off her.

It was a very relaxing day and good to hear Ben's philosophy on all things training. The aim is not to click and treat every move the horse makes or to click and treat the same behaviours for ever. However, clicker makes a fantastic foundation for any horse and I think it's a good idea to have it in the horse's own manual as well as your own tool box.

10th December, 2010 Going Dutch

This is Burley Guilda, a stud bred New Forest pony. Her owner has known her from birth and their relationship is one of real trust. Guilda is now three and today she took a trip up to Fritham to start her long reining and to do some desensitisation work which, as you can see, she took in her stride. Guilda is out of a Dutch New Forest pony, hence, the name.

10th December, 2010 Gorse for breakfast

Apparently, the test of a good New Forest pony is that it must be prepared and able to eat gorse for breakfast. Here's one of the top candidates.

9th December, 2010 Perfect strangers

Wrapped under 19 layers of clothing, it was off to Vale Farm yesterday. Dot is now letting perfect strangers catch him - mind you they have to be pretty perfect, he knows who is friend and who is foe. Liz uses her arm for advance and retreat, I'm a predator, honestly I'm not, in order to convince him that she is the former and not the latter. Delicious, next photo down, proves that every girl deserves a posh scarf whilst Jenny, below that, shows that you actually need at least two. In the last pictures Imogen makes friends with Misty - never has a horse cottoned on so quickly to clicker.

"Many thanks for such a wonderful day. It taught me loads..." E.H.

"Thanks so much for yesterday - a real treat, despite the cold." I.T.

7th December, 2010 Un-remark-able

I have been pretty astonished at how few people want to take up the offer of free tack marking. I carry a set of Hampshire Horsewatch tack marking blocks which can be used to postcode (or NECD code) any tack, anywhere. Marking tack and even small items of horsey equipment makes it less likely that it will be stolen in the first place, more likely that it will be dumped if it is stolen and more likely that it will be recovered if the police come across a haul of stolen kit. It's evidential value is enormous. Each month I receive a report from Horsewatch about stolen items and there are always unmarked saddles and bridles in that collection. Thieves will climb through roofs and remove doors to get to tack and they will enter houses too. Tack often goes missing at shows when it is left casually propped up against the horsebox. I think we are very precious about our tack and don't want it defaced because it costs so much money. However, it is precisely this that makes it more attractive to a thief and marking it makes it far less easy for them to sell on.

3rd December, 2010 Your Horse

The article about our foal handling course at the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre is now available in the January edition of Your Horse which came out on Tuesday. Fabulous photos of the ponies.

3rd December, 2010 Baby, it's cold outside

Four days teaching on the Handling the Untouched Horse Course at Hartsop Farm. Despite the minus temperatures and deep snow across the country, two-thirds of the students turned up bringing their colds and sniffles with them. I'm wasn't sure whether Ian and John, my co-tutors, were ready for the feather duster and fluffy scarf approach but apart from gently ribbing me, they let me get on with it and we had good results. I came down with a heavy cold half way through but survived with eight layers of clothes on and a wooly hat. John and Ian both use ropes following the initial touch with a padded stick. They are both really gentle, light and subtle in their work and I gained a lot from hearing them teach - John has a fabulous rope trick that means that horses can be freed very easily and Ian has lots of little gadgets and ruses which mean that he can get a headcollar on from a distance; all clever stuff. There is certainly nothing I could argue with.

"I've just got back from taking care of my girls in the snow and I wanted to say thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge and experience with me for the past 2 days. I counted myself very lucky to have chosen you as my instructor. You have given me a great deal to think about and inspired me to carry on with my IH studies. You are an excellent trainer and have NOTHING to prove at all!" J.E.