6th December, 2016 Vote Hilary

The American election maybe over but there is still time to vote Hilary...

Looking at the conformation of Reggie's mouth

There seems to be chasm between the two statements, one from Mark Rashid that "It's not about the bit" and the other, from bitting expert Hilary Vernon, along the lines of "It's our responsibility to get the horse as comfortable as possible" but actually there is less than a sheet of paper between them. Just think, if we could teach the horse everything he really needs to understand about the bit but do it in the most comfortable bit for him, how perfect could that be? So Hilary might teach things from the mouth end, and Mark might teach it from the brain end, but actually there's only a few inches of tongue from one to the other.

Out with the old....

...in with the new

Today I went to see Hilary at a bitting clinic for the first time in ages, but in the gap in between I have been relying on the things I heard her say at earlier clinics in order to encourage people to think about the way that they bit their horses, also as to whether they really need to close their horse's mouth with a flash or crank noseband. As a bitting geek, there's nothing she doesn't know about bitting, but she is always interesting and humorous to listen to; she's also pretty straight about what she says. She takes a holistic approach and will explain if she thinks that a saddle, back, or riding style is getting in the horses way.

Out with the old...

...in with the new.

Transitioning into the new bit by asking him to soften.

Looking softer already.

It was good to hear her repeat things that I have always loved, for example, the need to release muscles by allowing the horse to relax. Like Mark, she points out that many horses have learned to push through the reins in order to force that release.

Myler Low Port 04

I could only stay for three of the horses today but all of them made an improvement in a short time. The last one was working happily in a Myler, the bits that Hilary was mainly working with when I first met her, and for his dressage work she felt that this was absolutely fine; indeed his mouth was very still and he seemed happy. However, she also felt he would benefit from a different bit for greater clarity when training him to soften to the reins and for external work where, as an ex-eventer, he can become quite strong.

This is the Clarity Edgeware bit

Hilary has designed a lot of her own bits now which offer subtle changes for particular objectives, but all are aimed at getting the horse to feel more comfortable.

As always I am grateful to the people who took part in the clinic for allowing me to take photos and will make sure they get a set of their own.

Rebecca and CAKE!

5th December, 2016 Not Another Manic Monday

David has put some extra cladding on the JustJump jumps so that they can be jumped in either direction without the horse being able to get his legs caught in them. Important when Jack and Henrietta are so keen.

For those of you wondering how Hattie is getting on, she's the one on the left. I think. Betty is on the right.

4th December, 2016 E-moting

It's not easy negotiating a tall Thoroughbred mare and a haynet when working with a leggy foal, reputed to charge and bite or turn and kick, but much better than separating them or depriving them of food. The dam was a steadying influence, and the hay was a useful distraction.

Flower's owner, Claire, an experienced horsewoman and breeder,  had been flummoxed by this foal, Busy Lizzie, that has never had anything bad happen to her; no manhandling, no incidents with fences, and a nice life with a herd made up of all shapes and sizes, ages and sexes. She has refused all touch and time and patience have simply not worked.

The deadline for her micro-chip has marched forward and Claire needed to have a head-collar on by next Thursday. With limited time and no idea of how long it might take, I said I would go on a Sunday to make sure we had time for a return visit if necessary.

The feather duster seemed to soothe her nerves, gave me an idea of her reactions, and meant I could work at a distance. Nevertheless I did get the odd fierce glare. On the face of it she is not afraid of anything but of course this could all be bravado.

When she offered to rush at me and bite I did use some stronger body language to ask her not to, nothing aimed directly at her, more being spikey on the spot! This did give her pause for thought and very quickly we were able to work together nicely.

The key to this foal seemed to be the quality of touch; she hates light touch. I used deep flat touch instead and was soon rubbing her shoulders and neck and then using a light hand to trace the bones of her face. The head-collar itself was then no trouble at all.

With those guidelines in place, and a routine to follow, her owner was able to follow suit and put her head-collar on and off three times in a row.

With this looking very promising it meant that Lizzie doesn't need to wear a head-collar all the time in readiness for the vet. Claire is going to practice every day and if she needs help I can go on Wednesday to put it back on again ready for the next day.

Today I have enjoyed the company of Abigail, who owns several horses and two mules of her own.

3rd December, 2016 Of Rubies and Angels

I have never seen a horse so keen to be caught as Ruby this morning, she came down her field like an Exocet missile, absolutely straight all the way. Her owner, Rebecca, wanted to do some work on confidence for the two of them and also on ground manners. Like a lot of people she has been given plenty of free advice but she wanted to get something that worked for her and made sense.

Within no time, Ruby was standing still and leading nicely when asked with no pressure in the line. I explained to Rebecca, who works in the financial sector, that it's a bit like accounting, there are conventions and regulations which need to be applied consistently and transparently.

The yard is a busy one with horses going in and out, and past the front gate, all the time. This gave us an excellent opportunity to apply the same rules over and over again.

Far from hitting her with a big stick, we're using a garden cane here to rub along her back and then down her legs. As you know I tend to use a feather duster but Ruby is the second horse I have known to have had really strong objections to the feather duster by squealing at it like it was a strange horse!

Ruby has to go up the road to go back to her field. Once there, she let off steam.

"Can't thank you enough for today, I learnt so much and felt so much more confident. You are an amazing coach Sarah, I didn't feel pressurised and you knew when it was too much and graciously took over...The report is fantastic, very helpful and I absolutely love the pictures, she is such a pretty pony ! I'm actually looking forward to seeing her today and practising our regulations." RN

and a day later...

"...so much happened today, I can't contain my excitement. Ruby has fallen in love with me " RN

We had a small audience for our afternoon session.

We were working with new arrival, Angelo, who has until recently been a showing horse in Arabian classes. Unfortunately these classes, or at least the modern form of them, seems to be all about deliberately escalating a horse's behaviour so that they are completely on their toes and flying all of their flags. This seems to have left Angelo pretty confused and inclined to become hysterical if anyone uses anything less than really subtle body language.

His new owner, Emma, and I worked on some very mild groundwork to prove to him that all of that is over and he can afford to relax.

Sometimes I had to draw things in order to illustrate some of the finer points...

Finally we moved on to his fear of syringes using clickered treats to reward him for even entertaining it near him. By the end of this very first session he was allowing Emma to mock inject him. However, there is no rush as his annual vaccinations aren't due until January and she will need to practice regularly until then.

We finished with some easier, and certainly more comforting, work with the feather duster.

2nd December, 2016 Back to Front

With greater use I am working on the theory that the jumps, or at least each jumping effort, are/is coming down in price. For example, Henrietta's beautiful leap here cost just £50 and next time will be down to £25.

I am always telling my clients to stand like a farmer not a model when it comes to grounding themselves and their horses. However, we all like a little go on the catwalk from time to time.

On a more serious note it was time to work with Zebdi again and to help him get over his needle phobia. He is starting to unwind in his new home and is in safe hands with his owner, Rosy.

Today I was able to start off more or less where I finished last week - with the door open and using the pointy end of the needle-less syringe. I started to push the plunger in as if injecting him and also began to take hold of a small fold of skin as if looking for a vein. He took all of that without showing any aggression although sometimes you could see that his mother, God, and instinct, were all telling him it was not a good idea. Now he no longer feels the need to shout, this body language was just the quietest whisper expressed through his ear, head carriage and his eye.

With that all established I began to do the same with a Dually on, lead rein only on the headcollar ring. I shortened my lead rein and also held the end of the noseband in order to imitate the restraining hand that he might face from a vet, but just held lightly so that he did not feel forced. With and without a choice, he never moved his feet today and only took his head away if he was worried.

*... thanks to your expertise Zebdi has settled in to his new home and is becoming the lovely sensible New Forest pony he always wanted to be!" R McV 

1st December, 2016 Leading Lady

Every day with Henrietta is like opening an advent calendar, there's always something small but sweet on offer. For instance today was the first day she has ever neigh/brayed a greeting to me. Cupboard love I am sure.

Having inspected the quality of Room Service she positively trotted into the pen and allowed me to pick up each of her feet while she was loose. Nowadays she alternates which side of her body she offers me for grooming and touching as if making sure that she is evened up.

By osmosis she is now effectively wearing a halter and lead rein and she gives to a light pressure when asked. This makes it a little bit safer when working around her as I stand a chance of turning her back end away if she decides that she might just kick me. She is not stubborn, she is just frightened, and like a donkey more likely to kick than run - although she can run too.

With the cross country jumps in a different position, training for the Tokyo Olympics is going well.

Her tail may be growing but her neck seemed a little short for some reason...

...and then just to be even more endearing, she cantered up behind me when I was about to leave.