Camel Craziness

With a sense of adventure, David and I went up to Birmingham at the beginning of the week, to attend a talk by Christina Adams, author of Camel Crazy. She is a hero of mine in the camel world and I couldn't wait to get there to hear her talking about camel milk and camels in general. 

The talk itself was in the Muslim Student and Community Centre, right next door to the flat we stayed in overnight. We were made very welcome by everyone there and it was great to meet so many people from diverse cultures. Christina herself is an American lady who was on a quest to find something, anything, that would help her son's severe autism. She is absolutely convinced that camel milk made an enormous difference to his life. 

I eventually got to talk to her directly, and she had that sparkle in her eye that comes when two camel people meet each other and know just how it feels to get into the soul of a camel. I told her about Tulip and Shilingi, and the Loisaba Conservancy. Of course I asked her to sign my book too. 

She told me I wasn't weird, just early, with my view about the value of camels, but the fact is we are all too late since these animals have sustained nomadic pastoralists for years and in times of climate change and drought they will become more and more essential. 

Anyone wanting to source camel milk, can contact The Hump Group who have a Facebook page.

Making Strides

 

Last Sunday, my young Kenyan friend, G, had his first formal (and surprise) riding lesson at Arniss on the New Forest. So many forms to fill in these days and it wasn't easy for his Mum to explain to him why he suddenly needed to be measured and weighed on a Friday night. Fifty years ago I was chucked out of the car door at Sylvia's riding school, made to brush and muck out all day before being treated to a ride on a pony on its way back out to the fields. Still, much better to have a proper record of clients, how heavy they are, and what progress they have made. 

G worked up to his first trot and Harry, the pony, was very benevolent towards him. G had great posture and didn't hang on to the pony's mouth. 

Lessons, sadly but understandably, are very expensive these days and this was more of a taster session than the promise of further lessons. My horses are all adamant that they have retired and I respect that.

Driving Rain

Photograph with the permission of: Graham Wiffen Photography

Last weekend was fun in the rain. On Saturday my friend Wendy and I went to watch the first day of the New Forest Concours International d'Attelage at the New Forest show ground. I have known for a long time that driving people are the nicest horse people around and we were made very welcome at this event, people telling us about their horses and ponies, and the history of their vehicles. Everyone was beautifully turned out - sadly underneath their long Mackintoshes. 

Photo permission granted by Graham Wiffen Photography

Our particular favourites were the two Highland Friesian crosses who were bred,it turns out, by Ruaridh Ormiston (see earlier holiday in Scotland). They were a beautiful match and had great temperaments although it was noticeable that all the horses, including the lofty KPWN gelderlanders who were happily snoozing in their stables before dancing their away across the show ring lawns.

Photograph by permission: Graham Wiffen Photography

According to AIAT-GB, the Concours International d'Attelage de Tradition competition format was developed around 30 years ago in order to regenerate interest in traditional driving. 

Two Welsh Section C's and the eventual winners.
Photography by permission: Graham Wiffen Photography

On course, the horses - at a time when they were raring to go - had to stand still long enough for the driver to pick up and then deliver safely a glass of champagne, and soon to go past someone noisily banging on a drum. After other obstacles, they set out - in the by now pouring rain - to drive around a circuit on the Forest (at least there would be no crab flies!). 

Love the One You're With

One amazing survival instinct of horses is their ability to love the one they're with - after all, your life may depend on them.

Fleur, who lost he soul mate last year and was pretty poorly herself took a little while to accept her new companion, Pickle, considering her to be a poor replica of her erstwhile friend. Not only was she a silly roan colour, she was young and frivolous too. However, Pickle knew how to be tactful and persistent and now look...

Even though they have two stables available, they have moved in together.

Meanwhile, Prince has a new best friend too. The two of them practically fell into each other's arms although Prince has to stand on his tiptoes to reach.

What makes you smile like you are trying to swallow a coathanger?

 

At least one third of my heart is always in Kenya and I miss seeing my lovely camels and the kind team that looks after the milking herd. Today I needed a camel fix, and they kindly obliged with this gorgeous picture. Tulip in the middle, Kukuman behind the camera, and from the left Ekomwa, Dayow, Mohammed and Nurr.

Brakes

Until now, Ruth and Prince have been bound together by the elasticity of clicker training but, as is often the case, that elastic was stretched to its limit and broken by the green carpet of temptation, known as grass. On their way up the track, Prince had started to get ahead of Ruth in order to thrust his head down to eat the long grass and tasty foliage along the way. By the time he was head of her, no amount of pulling him back with the lead rein worked, and circling him just made things worse. 

It was time to instal some rules  and so I went to see them to see if I could help. The first thing to do was to make sure that he never got more than a few inches ahead of Ruth, and that each time every time he did she needed to turn towards him and back him up until he was in the right place. Being such a sensitive and responsive pony it was easy to establish this with the lightest of touch and some clear body language. 

Once we got up to the - massive field - we let him eat for five minutes in what will become one of three designated places along a walking route, and then continued with some basic groundwork: forwards, backwards, turning left and right, asking him not to get ahead of her in any situation. All of this he accepted very easily and he seemed to enjoy the activity. 

In the last picture he stopped on a sixpence when Ruth came to a seering halt.

From Ruth: 

"I just wanted to let you know that I took Prince up the track to the field yesterday. There was no barging, walking ahead of me or trying to get grass on the way up! 😊 He was extremely well mannered, if anything a little on the laid back side!"

By George

My own horses are coming out of the winter well. We've been providing plenty of nesting materials to the local birds and their summer coats are emerging. Last weekend we were visited by sme Kenyan friends and Dave temporarily came out of retirement so that George could experience his first sit on a horse.