5th March, 2014 Extras

I wasn't going to take the camera to work today so I promise to only show you anything extra that Piglet did. At first I thought we'd taken a step in the wrong direction since he seemed to be avoiding anything testing by moving on from person to person. However, once he had done the rounds a couple of times, he accepted his head collar, the scarf and being brushed. Here are the new things:

First time anyone else has put the headcollar on

Walking along the see-saw lengthways...

...and walking on the bridge with no hesitation at all

Later I wondered how close he would let me go before he became alarmed and got up...

From a distance...

Getting pretty close

Pie turned up to watch our session...

...and had a little chat with Piglet.

"Needless to say we are impressed and amazed as with all the updates at the moment."DB

Rachel was in charge of Nettles today and, under Charly's tutelage, made sure that she asked him a few questions.

We don't seem to have put her off running

I rode Nettles for a little while too.

Back at the fields I took the opportunity for a rest on a very nice warm bench.

4th March, 2014 Pass The Piglet

For semi-feral ponies one person is a person and two people are a round up. Time to start to get Piglet used to other people and people in groups. We set ourselves up in a triangle, and later a square when Charly arrived, so that we could pass Piglet from one to another of us by various means. We could 'steal' him by getting his attention with a click and good body language, take him to the next person loose, with the scarf or with the head collar and scarf, put things on and take them off, and hang around the corners with each other. For him there is no safety in our numbers and so he was a little shaky at first, not quite trusting that we were now all operative operatives, however, he grew more and more confident as we went on.

Every time we work on something new it makes what we did the day before very easy indeed and sometimes I can make that just a little more challenging without him seeming to notice at all.

Nettles looks very fetching in Theoden's browband. He has a very wide forehead for all those brains. He carried his bit for a while today and was ridden with the English saddle on for the first time.

I don't appear to need roller skates.

We also took the opportunity to watch the Forestry Commission log grabbing thing.

Rachael is getting some hands on work with the ponies but wasn't so impressed with the idea that running is part of her work experience. Perhaps it should be for every one but certainly Tracey and I run together whenever we can in order to keep our minds and bodies fit for the horses. So the three of us managed two miles as a starting point today. I wonder if she will turn up tomorrow?!

3rd March, 2014 Back to Front

Try not to yawn but it is that Piglet again, today working in a one acre field and engaging from the outset. I was going to put the scarf on him straight away but when he began following me about I thought I would see if he would follow me over the poles. Putting your feet at risk when close to predators can be difficult as it involves your attention being in two places at once.

Then I did put the scarf on in the middle of the field. You can see he is not totally relaxed about it as he has a running foot up at the back. Still, he chose to stay.

Leading over the poles, note I am on his right hand side.

Leading with the head collar on but using the scarf as a lead rein. This is much softer and more flexible than a lead rein and, if he gets loose, it doesn't whack him in any way. The good news is that when he did run off today, it was only once, for about five strides, and he came straight back to me.

Our work experience student has turned up a week early after her other work experience fell through. It seems their loss is Piglet's gain as we got her involved as an operative operative to see whether he could work with someone else. It was tentative but there. We need him to generalise as much as possible. His owners have bought Ben Hart's book on which this particular work is loosely based and they will be coming to do some work with me before he goes home.

"I honestly am stunned and so is B." DB

Back in IH mode it was time to do some induction work with Rachel so that she can be aware of where our techniques differ from those of the BHS and that taught at College. Hopefully she can then go on to make an informed choice when she works with horses in the future and use IH techniques while she is here.

Asking Indy to maintain the space between them. Indy relaxed and began to yawn copiously....

....before going for a walk around the field. As you can see, Piglet isn't fussed about this in the slightest.

2nd March, 2014 The GREAT, Outdoors

After a day off it was time to see whether Piglet would allow me to catch him outside. Not only did he walk straight up to me but he offered me his right hand side. I used the soft scarf to 'catch' him first of all - so many ponies seem to love this - and I used it to lead him around the pound. 

Next I thought we would see how he felt about being caught in an even bigger space and once again he came straight up to be caught. Not only that but he accepted the head collar from directly in front of him.

I tried to take a photo of how big the paddock is so that I could send it to his owner but it was very difficult to get a picture without a pony's face in it. You can see why! You can have the world's biggest ego or indeed the smallest but it is the ponies that decide whether you're going to succeed or not. I don't flatter myself that Piglet wants to be with me - it's food and choice that has made the ultimate difference in his case. I'm thrilled to bits with this pony today.

"Oh my goodness, I never thought I'd see him approaching people let alone standing for his rug and halter to go on and being led. And in a week! What a brave little man that's incredible!" DB

I was not the only one to have the undivided attention of a pony.

Back down at Emma's we did some loading practice with River today. He had rushed out of the trailer on one occasion and Emma was keen to make sure that he was happy going on and coming off the trailer.

4.3.14: "Just done a practice run. Loaded perfectly. Really loved the haylage. Travelled very quietly and unloaded like a saint looking for a 50p. So pleased and thank you" EL

2nd March, 2014 Nothing to See

Sadly the reflective spray which I tried on Nelly and Blue lasted no more than three nights in the rain. Sadly that means it is not the least bit of use for semi-feral ponies. Last night the only thing that could be seen in the dark was the ponies' reflective collars.

2nd March, 2014 Cotton Wool?

Following on from the whole individual turn out/ herd turnout debate, here is proof that turning horses out together comes with a degree of risk. Tracey had a horrible day yesterday watching the vet sew up Bella's face where one of the ponies had bitten her. Only dental records would show which one it was but I suspect they were playing over the top of the gate between the two fields when one of them got overzealous.

Short of wrapping them up in cotton wool it is difficult to prevent any horse from getting injured. That said, I would always prefer horses to be able to interact with other horses.

Helen, the emergency vet from The Barn, did a fantastic job of cleaning up the wound and stitching it really neatly.

1st March, 2014 Ride on Time

Due to the weather, the weather, and the weather, Angus hasn't been ridden for a couple of months so Sarah asked me to take him out for her to see how he was. I'm happy to report that he was steady, willing and happy; a real pleasure to ride. We stopped to talk to some tourists from Poitiers, and he was much admired. One person asked me if he was actually a teddy bear.

Half dressed

I've also been riding Petra every day this week, taking her out with Sian on Rose in order to get some miles on Rose's clock and inevitably experience some more challenging weather and terrain. Petra was mildly askance at being asked to leave home for a week or two but has settled well at Sian's.