6th October, 2016 Going Nowhere Fast

Jack and Henrietta at the cab rank this morning. A change of position meant that Henry was a little bit wary of the trailer so rather than shutting her in and taxiing her over to the inclosure, I took a step back and just allowed her to get comfortable with going in and out.

That gave us more time to have a little fun before we went off to our next appointment. I sometimes wonder who is training who but Jack and Henry appears to enjoy their jumping; not so sure about Tracey...

This afternoon we were working with another traditional cob, Mary, who is eight years old. Her owner, Lorraine, wanted help building up confidence for the two of them.

Mary looks a little wary of the feather duster and you may just about be able to see the pulled down effect on her lower eyelid along with the real focus in the position of her ear.

Nevertheless, she was very calm throughout the session and actually accepted new things very easily. She is more worried about her environment and the activity of other horses both loose and ridden in the nearby paddocks.

Her reaction to the obstacles enabled me to assess her general levels of confidence and allowed Lorraine to see what exactly Mary does when she is frightened. Mostly it is just a few paces forward and then she stops.

We finished the session by going through the preparation exercises for long-reining and then setting her off on two lines.

5th October, 2016 A Mars a Day

Jessica, Nichola's coloured cob, proved to be a great long reining teacher having been a driving horse previously.

Nichola was able to practice her angles and body language... 

...before going in and out of some improvised cones.

Next it was young Bertie's turn in weather that was far from ideal. Hurricane Matthew seems to have moved to the Forest.

Nichola went through the preparation exercises on her own...

...before I set him off on double reins using the fence-line to encourage him to stay straight.

Meanwhile Flo made herself useful by continuing the work with Jessica...

...so that we could finish in tandem - noting that you have to leave a long gap between horses when you have the reins on the floor.

Later we worked with Flo's own horse who has had his saddle checked again...

...Flo was very happy to be back in it!

4th October, 2016 Plain Sailing

Off to the Isle of Wight again this morning to catch up with Jane and her three ponies.

Mairi is officially retired on ill-health grounds but can still enjoy a walk around the grounds.

Pie was due for a visit from the fantastic Chris Pearce, a vet who now specialises entirely in horse's teeth. He does some amazing work including fillings for horses, and has done more to draw attention to equine dental problems than anyone else in the country. His Facebook page at The Equine Dental Clinic highlights many of the more extreme cases and has some fascinating footage of things that he finds and the treatment that he carries out; really educational. With one in three horses in trouble with their teeth it brings home the need for good practices including the use of the dental gag and sedatives in order to do a proper job.

A lovely afternoon with Mollie who, at the age of three, was long reined for the first time.

3rd October, 2016 The Big Breakfast Moment

You may recall Paula Yates' interview with Michael Hutchence on the Big Breakfast many years ago. It felt voyeuristic watching someone falling in love with someone in that moment. Typical that when such a moment happened to me that it was with a camel that I called George while I was in Kenya.

Whilst all of the other camels went down to the river to drink, had a roll in the sand, and then went off to graze on the trees, George went for a drink, had a roll in the sand, and then came and found me for a quiet moment before he went off to eat the trees.

Ever since then I have had a yearning for a camel of my own and recently started to look for somewhere where I could get experience in how to look after them and how to read their body language. With ears that give little away, and teeth that always stick out, I wanted to know how they tick.

A very kind friend has put me in touch with someone locally who cares for two camels, Bactrians rather than dromedaries. This morning I went on a fact finding mission to meet them and make friends with them. I didn't expect to be given the opportunity to photograph them...or to have such close contact with them but I was thrilled to bits to be able to.

Timujin, used to belong to a travelling circus for the first nine years of his life 

Therese was bred by the Chipperfields and has been in her current home for 18 years since she was a yearling

Timujin likes to closely supervise room service...

and they both have an extensive wardrobe having appeared at the Royal Opera House, the Lord Mayor's Parade, and the local church nativity

The chain halter is for emergencies only, and does nothing once have their bridle on.

The home horses (Arizona in this case) are unperturbed by their presence...

but new horses can't believe their eyes

This is how to get horses to have their ears forward when having their photographs taken

Charlotte and Martine with Timujin and Therese

I was honoured to be allowed to ride Therese...

and really didn't attempt to steal them

They were very gentle and affectionate (and so was I)

2nd October, 2016 The Skivvy Goes Skiving

As David set off to work for the Dorset Wildlife Trust this morning I said I'll just tidy up a bit, maybe do a bit of gardening,  move a few logs. So here are a few pictures...

I was very pleased to receive a rescue message from Michelle asking me if I would like to go driving...

Anais

Anais, Moon, Ebony and Sarah

Jo, and trotter, Leona

7year old Percheron, Ebony

One of the finest views in England, and today I got to drive for a while

Simon and Ebony

Dave, Jo and Leona

 

Moon, Anais and Michelle and Sarah

Someone has been helping themselves to the horses' hay when we got back.

1st October, 2016 Sparks Flying

Some essential maintenance for the panels today which have a hard life not because of their interaction with horses but, like my car tyres, because of their interaction with uneven ground, and finding their way around the countryside. No one pays for David's time repairing bits of kit or inventing new things but it's worth taking into account his time as well as mine when determining value for money. Apart from the initial outlay for the panels, we try to keep costs down. David is using a welder he bought as part of a job lot of tools which cost £70 in 1990, work overalls circa 2000, and the work horses were bought from the Vicar Of Lyndhurst in 1986 by my landlord.

These panels continue to work when I'm not around and help to establish a flow for horses that won't even consider engaging with the quietest of training. The day comes when they are no longer needed because they are no longer needed.