September 2006

My New Forest ponies are on the mend and gaining weight too. Some people on the Forest are really blase about strangles and local shows have been going ahead as well as the sales. The drifts were cancelled for Turf Hill and Long Cross. I shall pleased when this is over as my girls will be immune to strangles forever more.
I have not been totally ostracised, and have had some very interesting work this week. Today for example I did a radio interview for BBC Radio Somerset Sounds on the Moorland Mousie Trust and went to load a New Forest pony in the afternoon before visiting a Morgan x Trotter on behalf of a friend. I was so nervous before going on air but the producer and the DJ were really easy to talk to and I used all my horsey methods for bringing my adrenalin down. I really enjoyed the experience and got a good plug in for the Trust.
The afternoon pony was a real planter (what do you expect from a pony that is called Flower?) and it took some time to get her to move at all. We used the panels to help her and once she was loading we took them down again. She must have loaded 25 times by the end of the session and her owner, who is 12 was doing all the work. I am always amazed at the abiltiy of teenagers (or thereabouts) to absorb information through watching and then put it into action.
Incidentally, David really enjoyed his five day course at Hartsop Farm and has come home enthused. Now he is discussing ponies with me!


Leaving Nickie in charge, David and I were able to go to Denmark for a week without horses although I did spot some Warmbloods, Norwegian Fiords and Shetland ponies. Copenhagen is marvellous and we came back very relaxed.


Back in England, Blue and Nell are both better. What a relief. They can come in and eat their heads off all winter before going out again next spring. It also means that Petra is allowed out of the field again and we spent the weekend at a Perry Wood clinic. Petra went beautifully and Perry said some lovely things about her. He also praised my hands and seat - it's good to hear such reassurance when I am working with sensitive and young horses most of the time. Petra still stretches me more than any other horse - just a millimetre in one direction with a finger or my leg and she will respond by mirroring me.
I ended the month by helping out at the Monty Robert's demo at West Wilts Equestrian centre. It was great to be surrounded by people I know - Patsy, Linda, Freya, Georgi and David all came to help too and we joined Carol, Serena, Rita and Yann. Helping at the demo is a fabulous way of discovering what goes on behind the scenes - how the horses are assessed, how Monty prepares himself and the amount of sheer hard work that goes into setting up the venue. I love doing car park duty because I get to say hello to everyone that comes in. My favourite clients turned up including almost everyone from the Margaret Green Foundation Trust. Monty's third horse was one of the most dangerous cases that I have seen him work with - a lovely looking horse that would stand straight up on it's hindlegs when anyone tried to mount it. To see Dan Wilson riding this horse around the round pen after a display of some of the most intense and careful horsemanship I have seen was a very emotional experience. This horse came in holding a one way ticket to the slaughterhouse. There is no doubt that this little horse will need a prolonged period of very sensitive training before she is fully rehabilitated and yet she has already put the hardest part behind her. Monty's demos have provoked great debate as to the ethics of the so called "quick fix" and to the inherent pressure of working under bright lights with an audience of over a 1,000 people. I think it is by no means established that the slow way is always the best way - Monty is extremely experienced at working with horses just beyond their comfort zone and yet well below the panic zone - a narrow corridor where learning is at its absolute peak.

August 2007 (3)

Ahh - a very busy day - I worked with five horses today - three that hardly reached my knees. I love working with Shetland ponies. They really make you think abut the body language you use; no good using lots of eye contact if they have a huge forelock and can't see anything but your feet!
I have faced two of the most challenging cases I have ever met this week. A gorgeous Hackney horse that really doesn't mind running straight over the top of you and a big Irish horse with a big biting habit. I managed to avoid being trampled by the first one but I did get bitten quite hard by the second one. Both of these horses are difficult on the ground but for different reasons - I don't think the first one has ever had any ground rules imposed on him before and the second one has had to defend himself from some pretty awful treatment in the past - why would he have seven seperate brand marks up his neck including right behind his ear? Both owners have inherited these problems from the past and their horses have each had 10 years to perfect their behaviour. It's going to be a long road for both of them but we have started to make an impression at least. Contrast this with a young ex-racehorse that I went to see. She was very sweet and just waiting for someone to say, come on, let's do it this way instead. Kelly Marks has a fabulous article called "The Racehorse in Your Garden" coming out in the Autumn Listening Post. I think it's one of the most important articles she has ever written for the post and I shall be making sure that anyone thinking of rehabilitating a racehorse has a copy.
Lovely Lars, my vet from Endell's, has moved to Damory in Blandford now. I used to be with them when I lived in Dorset and only had to change vets because they were too far away in an emergency. This week Fernando from Endell's came out and did an amazingly thorough job of rasping a pony's teeth for me. I have decided to adopt him as my vet now - I hope he is pleased!
Pie got caught up in the Drift today. I had intended to get my ponies off the Forest to avoid the drift but the date was brought forward without notice. I turned up at my field to find the Drift underway and ponies corralled at the drift pen just beyond my gate. I really do like all of the Agisters that work on the Forest but I wish the drifts were less brutal. Ponies are hit and poked with sticks to get them to go down the chute when if they only moved people away from the outside of the chute they would be able to go down voluntarily. The ponies seem someone scary standing with their arm through the fence and don't want to go forward. Sometimes two ponies will run into the chute together and they bang their pelvises and shoulders on the post. Branding is pretty controversial in the first place and if it is justifiable on the grounds of identification and that it involves less handling than freeze-branding or micro-chippping, then there is no justification for a second brand. When young colts are being branded there is no need at all to twist their ears or their tails. Pushing them against the fence and making sure they are not approached from the outside is plenty. At least the brands are hot enough - on Exmoor the brands are often heated up with a blow-torch - it's not good enough. Today's Drift involved no roping so that has to be very good news. When I did my project on the New Forest ponies, I was told that there was no psychological effects from the drifts and the sales yard. So why do I spend so much time working with ear-shy and rope-shy ponies? It's not just because they were born wild in the first place. There are many many Forest-bred New Forest ponies succeeding in all sorts of spheres from showing to show-jumping but I do wonder what the fall out rate is.
At the drift I also got the apalling news that both Blue and Nell have strangles. I had ridden out to see them at the weekend and they had both been fine.They looked very bright and a nice weight. I went to find them immediately and my fears were realised. The Agisters have asked me not to bring the ponies in as there would be a risk of them giving it to ponies in the area around the yard. As it is, they are half a mile away at Longcross and we shall just have to see whether it spreads throughout Fritham. I am very fortunate because both of my ponies are friendly and I can catch them easily. Fernando has advised that they should not have antibiotics as this will only supress the formation of abcesses. I take their temperature every day and if it goes much over 101.f then they can have a sachet of Bute. They have lost a lot of weight and I am giving them very sloppy feeds of Lucibix, pasture mix, garlic, Total Eclipse and linseed oil with hay for pudding. No wonder they are pleased to see me. I go to see my home horses before going anywhere near these two and then I am showering and disinfecting before going to see anyone else's horses. I have closed the fields themselves so nothing is coming in or going out until the coast is clear. Being so methodical is helping me to cope with the fact that my poor ponies are so sick. I am keeping a close eye on Pie too - since his girlfriend and step-son were taken off the Forest at the drift, he has rejoined Blue and Nell.
Sadly, I have had to cancel the Hilary Vernon Clinic that I had arranged for 2nd September and I may have to cancel my holiday to Denmark - my first horseless holiday for well over a year. I'm also going to need to look for a part-time job. Apparently envelope stuffing has become totally automated these days.
One of the positive benefits of closing the yard has been that I have had longer to work with a piebald pony that came in just before the scare. He has proved to be quite a conundrum. He has been trained using natural horsemanship techniques for a good long time and although his groundwork is exemplary, he seems to go through the motions rather than to understand that it's all about leadership. If he does understand, then he seems to have found this leadership wanting. He is really good at panicking and surging forward and I have to work quite hard to stop him running into me. I am hoping I have had a breakthrough this week - I did another Join-Up with him this morning and he was much more attentive and when I invited him in he came and stood stock still next to me. His follow-up was perfect and then he let me into all his vulnerable areas - just as if he had read a how-to-do book and for the first time I felt that we had really connected. After this we went back to some trailer work that he has really been struggling with. Today he was calm and every time he softened, I rewarded him by gently backing him out of the trailer. This is a pony that used to tremble on the ramp and make a dash for the front door once he was in. After this we let off some steam by using the clicker to guide him through and over the obstacles. He really seems to like this work and I hope that eventually he will follow the target into the trailer.
As the week has gone by, this pony's attitude is changing rapidly and today we had no spooks at all despite the windy weather. By combining the body language work with the clicker training I have been able to establish my leadership through complete consistency coupled with very positive reinforcement. These two methods are not mutually exclusive although some purists believe that horses should not be given food rewards. By being very disciplined about the use of the food reward, for example, never giving food for free, I have found that the horse does not become bargey or rude. By always using a target you avoid the risk of being frisked. This is proving to be excellent therapy for both of us while we can't go out and explore the Forest. Some purists say you shouldn't kiss your ponies either..........

August 2006 (2)

On the 6th, I attended the Margaret Green Foundation Trust's Annual Dog Show where I provided an all day demonstration of horsemanship to an ever changing audience. Almost 300 people came to watch in total. I had a lovely time working with Roodi (17.1hh Appaloosa), Barney (17.1hh ex-hunter), Cassie (17 hh Percheron x T.B.) and Squirrel (11hh New Forest x Shetland). I based my demo on turning fear into curiosity, asking all of the horses to walk over the obstacles including the tarpaulin and then to long-rein over them too. I rode Roodi and Barney over the obstacles too. It was a great day and hot again!!!





They say that pride comes before a fall, and I partially fell off a remedial pony the following day. Due to back pain and an unsympathetic saddle (synthetic) this lovely pony had been running away from the saddle and rearing on mounting and dismounting. Having had his back treated and fitted him with a comfortable leather saddle, done lots of groundwork and long-reining, I had got to the stage where I could put his saddle on while he was loose, mount him quietly and ride him in the round pen without incident. Unfortunately he was still very frightened of being dismounted and shot away as I was half way off. The rest of my descent was somewhat chaotic and I have a badly bruised and strained hand and tender bottom. This has really made up my mind for me that I can no longer ride remedial buckers, bolters or rearers especially if they have already put someone in hospital! I don't bounce as well as I used to (in fact I don't seem to bounce at all!); horses and ponies like this really need to go to people like Ian Vandenburgh. I shall stick to straightforward starters, groundwork, non-loaders, handling problems, clipping problems and untouched ponies, as well as continuing to do preparation work with remedial horses.

August, 2006

I started the month with a 99.9% horse who is an absolute darling until anyone produces a set of clippers. Poor lad has obviously had a bad experience at some time and trembles as soon as he hears the noise. I encouraged his owner to walk around with something vibrating in her pocket for the week before I met him and she had got as far as being able to lay the clippers on the floor next to his feed bucket while he ate. We used a little travelling hair dryer to desensitize him to noise and warm air before we just touched him with the clippers. We finished the session by being able to touch him all the way up his hogged mane to his ears. He has had this problem for a long time and it will take some time for him to get over it but it was a good start; much better than having to resort to a so-called humane twitch everytime. Twitches may work in the short term but eventually the horse gets wise and starts to play up way before the twitch arrives. I wish vets wouldn't resort to them quite so quickly - if they want to keep themselves safe why on earth don't they start with something as basic as a skull cap?!
Now don't get too excited, but my lovely man, David is off to do his Stage I at the end of August. David is unwittingly good with horses - he has no preconceived ideas about them and see them for what they are - a horse. He doesn't feel the need to dominate them or project his unresolved emotional issues on to them and they seem to find his chest a very comfortable place to be. He doesn't do ego and he doesn't do macho even though he has a motorbike and leathers. He doesn't do competitive and he doesn't do stressful. He's the only person I trust to put me on an unbacked or remedial horse. On the other hand, he has an interesting style in long-reining.......

July 2006

I spent the first weekend of July doing one-to-one work and a small demonstration at a livery yard on the Isle of Wight. Phew! What a scorcher as the papers always say. It was extremely hot in the sand school. The following day it was off to Exmoor. Regrettably the Open day couldn't take place because the building hadn't been completed but I was able to work with the new staff, Laura and Caitlin, who are both wonderful and some of the ponies that the Exmoor Pony Centre will be using for trekking. I was happy to hear that these ponies will be rotated so that they have a break from trekking and that they are going to live out full time when they are not working. It was also a great opportunity to go and see Billy Milton and Liony. We took Billy out for his first walk on the roads and he loved every minute of it - he has such courage and was happy to take the lead in front of Merrion and to go up to things like tractors and give them a jolly good inspection. Liony is living at Twitchen Farm at Challacombe; yet another lovely place that does bed and breakfast for horses as well as people. Liony looked extremely well and has, at last, filled out. David and I went down to the Dartmoor Pony Centre at Brimpts Farm, Dartmeet and met Dru the project manager. She told us all about the scheme for the preservation of the Dartmoor Hill Pony and to increase the marketability of the Dartmoor colts. Once again, it all comes down to sensitive early handling.
During my first quiet week in months, I went to Malvern to see my Grandad, Pye. He was in good health so we went off to see my cousin Rosie who works for Weston's Cider in Much Marcle (Fred West country!). Unfortunately I am no relation to the Westons but I they always look pleased to see me anyway. The visitor centre is excellent and the cider too but the highlight was being able to groom their Shire horses and to meet their new arrival, Duke. Rosie's husband Tom has recently taken over the reins, quite literally, and drives their team through the middle of Ledbury.

June 2006

This is a special message for Linda Ray Brown - if you are reading this please get on with your coursework and stop surfing the net!
Good news - it looks like I will be doing regular work at the Margaret Green Foundation Trust, a charity set up for animals. They are hoping to re-home more horses in the future and need some more focused training for some of them to enable this to happen. Bad news, I came off one of the Fell ponies at speed and although I haven't broken anything, I am so sore I could cry. I am forced to catch up with admin work and daytime t.v. Fortunately David came to my rescue over the weekend and helped me to look after the ponies (and my landlord's flowers, fish and pheasants). The following week Auriol, Bea, Sheila and Yolanda all helped me to work the horses and keep the fields tidy. Auriol has even offered to take my crutches back to the hospital! I managed to ride a few times and to do lots of groundwork. At the end of the week the two Fell ponies and Boss all went home leaving me a rope-shy New Forest Pony to work with. For a change, he is not black!
During the week my talk on the Moorland Mousie Trust went down well and raised a little money for the charity itself.
I had a wonderful animal sitting job this week not only do I have to feed the cat and the ponies but I also have to provide cordon bleu food for the wild birds, foxes and badgers. Each evening David and I have sat extremely still in the summerhouse and watched the badgers and foxes.





A little rant about saddles. It's really quite simple, a decent horse deserves a decent saddle. All horses are decent therefore, they should all have a decent saddle right from the outset. I have had too many horses come in accompanied by terrible saddles that I am told will do for starting them ( because "it's not worth getting him a good saddle yet because he will change shape"). What message does it give a horse if the first time you sit on it with a saddle it is bloomin' uncomfortable if not painful and when they move it restricts their movement? I have seen horses with saddle damage simply from being long-lined in a badly fitting saddle. Muscle wastage can happen really quickly. When someone buys or gets given a horse, no matter how cheap and cheerful the horse is, they should still budget for a good saddle that fits properly. I am amazed by some of the saddles I see being used on horses - they are too narrow at the front, twisted and lumpy, having not been serviced or checked for years. Saddles should be checked for fit at least every 12 months and fully serviced (locally this costs me less than £50). The flock shouldn't just be topped up, it needs to be replaced. I don't care if the saddle has a posh label - if it is too narrow, it is too narrow. There are very few saddle makers or fitters that I feel able to recommend - most simply fit to the shape of the horse without allowing for the recover of badly wasted muscles and just exacerbate the problem. I really don't like synthetic saddles as they are so unsympathetic to the shape of the horse; I never see top riders using them. I am reserving judgement on treeless saddles as I am not convinced that they don't create pressure points on the horse at the front, back and where the stirrups straps cross the horse's back. I have found them to be too slippy in most cases for using on starting horses. Poorly fitting saddles are one of the major factors in creating behavioural problems in horses - a horse can't tell you that a saddle is nearly killing him, all he can do is fidget when he is tacked up, pull faces at you, move awkwardly when ridden and when he feels the need to shout, start to nap, buck or rear. Don't get me on to Dutch gags and martingales!!!
I have been to visit Kelly at Lambourn and it was good to catch up with all the exciting things that Intelligent Horsemanship is doing. The courses are as popular as ever- always oversubscribed. I had the privilege of riding out on Kelly's beloved Pie alongside her lovely new racehorse, Nessie. Kelly gave me the kick start I have been needing since I came off a couple of weeks ago. Despite having good reviews, I do suffer from self-doubt. That's one of the side-effects of having an open-mind; you always wonder if you could be doing something differently. Nevertheless, by the time that the rope-shy pony went home, I could ground tie him and throw a rope on the floor next to him without him even attempting to leave. With him I used the de-sensitization technique coupled with using a click and a reward. Next week is going to be strange as I have no ponies in at all as I wind down ready for Exmoor.
Out on the Forest, my three ponies are doing extremely well and haven't taken to chasing tourists or lane creeping. Blue is living with Cinders, a pony I fed through the winter as she was so thin. Nell has taken up with Oliver, a big blue roan gelding and little Pie, the honorary Welsh New Forest Pony is co-habiting with a little skewbald mare and her dun coloured foal. I see them almost every day as they tend to drink over at Janesmoor Pond now that the streams and small ponds are dry. They don't come back for food anymore.

May, 2006 (4)

On Bank Holiday Monday I ran a "Turning Fear into Curiosity" course with the help of David, Kayti and Alison. Despite the odd heavy shower, it was a wonderful day. All the people and the horses that came were lovely and the highlight was a congo of ponies following the noisy tractor around the field and then weaving in and out of the bollards behind David on the trail bike.





During the last week of May I have worked with a pony that is very frightened of tractors and noisy vehicles. This seems to stem from her being run over as a youngster - even though it wasn't a tractor that hit her. We can only guess at how noisy this would have seemed at the time. On the NFED open day she followed the little grey Ferguson tractor in the field and the following day we took her up and down the track walking behind and beside the tractor before performing gentle "fly-pasts". She did well at this and became blase about the whole thing and the day after that we repeated this exercise down a narrow lane where the hedges are high. She then graduated to a bigger, redder, noisier Massey Ferguson tractor with cattle trailer attached. Again she was fine. Before she went home on Saturday, she was ridden beside the tractor and it was driven past her down a narrow lane. Eventually she was cantering with it next to her!