7th July, 2014 Waffling On

It's been seven years since I saw Kirsty and helped her with her wild pony Molly. However, having encountered problems picking up her new horse's feet, I was the first person she called. Waffle, a Belgian Draft Horse bred in Norway, is somewhat heavier than Molly and there is no way anyone could force her to pick up her feet. The problem seemed to be a lack of education rather than a lack of willingness; not only did she have no idea what she was being asked to do but she coudn't balance herself or hold her own weight up for very long at all. The front feet were difficult enough but she wouldn't alow anyone to touch the back ones. This lovely young mare has such an open and friendly face.

We started off in the stable before going out into the school to start to generalise the training. First I taught her to keep her feet DOWN when her legs are touched and then introduced a clear signal that I needed her to pick each one up. Once that was clear we began to work on holding them up just for a little while and built up the time from there.

It took two of my little hands to hold one of her huge feet. Although the feet are ragged they are not too long so Kirsty has got plenty of practising time before the farrier becomes urgent.

We finished with some leading work. 

"Thank you so much for this afternoon, and the pictures and report. I will read it again and again. I will keep up homework. I will keep you up-to-date with progress." KB

Update 10th July: "Love my beautiful Waffle. Clever girly. Picked up back feet for 10 seconds on each foot and let me hose her legs. I know it doesn't sound like much but to me its great." KB

Update 11th July, 2014: "Picked out both front feet today and held back ones up properly. Really good girl." KB

If it's Monday it must be Pat - one of the three riders that ride Petra during the week. I am so lucky to have three people who ride her in a very similar way which seems to keep her very happy and to have a horse that gives three people so much pleasure.

5th July, 2014 Everyone Loves Marmite (and Bentley too)

A demo for the newly formed East Dorset Riding Club this morning. They hold regular events with all sorts of trainers. It was great to be able to explain and demonstrate how I can fill in the gaps and add the icing to the cake when it comes to training for any particular discipline - you need to be able to load your horse to get there, clean him up, lead him out, negotiate strange environments, get him fit, keep him happy. 

Bentley, a Spanish horse was especially attentive and took all of the exercises in his stride despite having an aversion to stepping in water. We had running water flowing across this tarpaulin at a later stage and he couldn't have cared less.  We were a bit pushed to find a muddy puddle but hopefully with this technique in mind his owner will be able to carry out the training by herself.

He wasn't too concerned about the bags on a stick. The main learning point here is that just because he turns his head to the right doesn't mean that he isn't payihng attention or that he is avoiding looking at the bags. He just wants to see what they look like out of his right eye.

Bentley took a long time to load to get to the venue this morning and at one stage we thought he might not even get there. Owner Tracey and transporter Lynn reported that he had been extremely reluctant.Whilst Bentley is apparently fine once he is in the box and travels really well, his reluctance may well be due to the long hours spent travelling to Britain in the first place. He shows no signs of fear once he is loaded. Like a lot of horses, Bentley has learned to move his front legs in answer to a little pressure but his back legs are firmly rooted in the ground. Once you switch to releasing the pressure when the back legs respond, even slightly. the horse will often load. I was able to demonstrate that this happens much faster if clickered treats are offered the instant the horse moves forward to the lightest pressure. We would like to have taken a picture of him loading to go home but he went in so quickly that we didn't have the chance.

The clinic was billed as desensitisation and loading but it broadened out considerably when New Forest cross Warmblood Marmite appeared. His owner Julie has had this four year old for just one month and we thought it would be a great  if we could assess where he was in his education and take it from there. 

We worked on standing still and on leading - which was all rather easy.

We worked on desensitising his body to new things touching it - and that was all very easy too.

We chased the brolly and went over the tarpaulin and he thought this was all rather grand and easy.

So we finished off with preparation for long reining and then long reined him with a dual control at the front and then independently. He's certainly ready to learn and curious about everything.

"Thank you to EDRC and the amazing Sarah Weston for a fun and very informative morning . I am super chuffed with Marmite who tried so hard to please. I hope to now put it into practice and make our time together most importantly fun and safe . Thank you so much." JM

"He was a star Julie - so nice to see a lovely inquisitive youngster progress so quickly - I think you will have loads of fun with him." LK

"What a fantastic , informative morning with the club . A great atmosphere and two wonderful horses, and a very interesting trainer . Loved being out with horsey people this morning." JB

4th July, 2014 You are My Sunshine

I have had some splendid rides on Theoden since I got back and we're clocking up quite a mileage. I really feel that he is the right horse for me because I like nothing better than going out for a sensible hack with a good friend looking at our wonderful wildlife and the New Forest ponies. This morning we went down to the Rufus Stone and towards the aptly named Canterton.

It's the first chance I have had to practice some of the things I observed at the Mark Rashid clinic. As a result Theoden has become softer in his mouth (and in his mind) and is giving me an outline without going too far behind the vertical. He will now stretch out to wherever the bit is offered without leaning on it or pushing through the reins. I have built this up very slowly, asking for just two, sometimes six, sometimes four strides before thanking him with a definite release. We are now up to twenty to twenty five strides and I feel I could ask for more. (Note to self: I must get my heels down a bit more!)

You may have noticed the 'barnacles' on the reins in the pictures above. That's because Theoden has a habit of putting his nose to the bottom of the trough and blowing bubbles. He collects blanket weed as he comes back up. Petra on the other hand prefers to splash about. Never play with your food but it is okay to play with your water!

3rd July, 2014 Strawberries and Cream

Early start, early finish so spent some of the afternoon saying hello to the ponies on Woodgreen Common where I live - in a house not as a rustic.

2nd July, 2014 No Animals Were Harmed...

...in the making of this film. We abandoned 'the set' this afternoon when the heat and the insects proved to be far too much for us and the horses. I wouldn't ordinarily work the horses in conditions like that and felt that their welfare shouldn't be compromised for the sake of some footage. We're reconvening early in the morning when conditions will be much better.

Out on the Forest water supplies are becoming more limited and the ponies are pretty thirsty when they set off for the ponds and water troughs. There's a sense of urgency as they get nearer.

Having ridden Theoden and Petra out very early,  my only other horse work for the day was scheduled for this evening and this proved to be the perfect time to work with Blade on his catching issues.

We started off in the stable...

...before heading out to the field.

"What a fantastic evening with Sarah Weston feeling so happy and proud of Blade. Learnt so much and can't believe how effective a click is! Absolutely amazing evening, loved every minute and so did Blade. Thank you Sarah for helping us and getting our old Blade back. Everything now makes perfect sense." BR

On Facebook 3rd July, 2014: "Can't believe Blade now happily puts his head collar on himself...fantastic results again tonight catching him out in field using this technique.." BR

1st July, 2014 In These Shoes?

A bit of glamour at the yard today and for the rest of the week with film-maker Kriston (and her Mum) coming to take a look at what we do. Kriston is studying for her Masters degree in Visual Anthropology and keen to observe the relationship between humans and horses. Jack seems to know who's holding the camera though...

1st July, 2014 Let's Be Clear

Thought for the day: In order to be clear you need to be clear about what you want to be clear about.