28th May, 2008 More long reining and long raining

Pete, Harry and Freddie all being long-reined.


May appears to be long reining month. Two Haflingers, three New Forest ponies and an Arabian/Andalusian cross. Predictably, the New Forest ponies were the easiest to train although one of them was slightly sceptical of ropes having been lassoed as a foal! The Haflingers were fine too although inclined to go into pressure at halt; easy to imagine them pulling logs. The little Arabian cross is finding it harder having been lunged quite energetically last year - he finds it hard to believe that we really do want him to walk and just walk.

25th May, 2008 Book signing

Kelly has confirmed her book signing which is due to take place on Saturday, 7th June, 2008 at 1 p.m. at Hampshire Saddlery, Botley Mills, Mill Hill, BotleySouthampton, Hants. S030 2GB. Not far from junction 7 of the M27.

25th May, 2008 Happy Endings

A little while ago I wrote about the meaning of success (or failure) and two particular cases where I was unable to help to any great extent. In both cases the facilities made working difficult, in both cases we were surrounded by barbed wire fencing. I hadn’t heard from either of the owners again and wondered how they were getting on. Coincidentally, both of them contacted me this weekend.

The first, the lady who loaned the rearing Throughbred, turned up at the Kelly Mark’s demo and later sent me the e-mail that she had intended to send: Thanks for your help yesterday, I have spoken to B’s owners and he is going back to them next Friday. I wanted to say thanks for your help. I have tried to give B the best of everything I could hence doing the courses before I got him and it was helpful to know it wasn’t just me or a lack of experience. You did a lot more to help then you may have realised and I wanted you to know that. It finally, as you put it well yesterday, gave me permission to say enough is enough.
E-mail received 24.5.08 VFB

The other concerned an untouched New Forest colt who had already gone through and over the fences. I had been worried sick as he was next door to a mare and rapidly becoming aware of his under-carriage. His owner wrote to me as follows and just shows that ponies can respond to kindness and patience over time:

You made many suggestions which were great one of them being we bring R (the new forester) to your place to help him learn that headcollars and lead-ropes aren't so bad, neither are people! Call us softies, but the thought of sending Ruben away kind of played with our heartstrings due to him only being used to us, and never seeing outside of his paddock at Parley since the day he was brought there. You will be chuffed to know that in the past month, Ruben accepted the headcollar in his new 4 acre home without any struggling at all! He did not bolt, rear or do any of the things that make horses dangerous. We didn't even need to round pen him, or place him in a stable, it was all quite mystifying to be honest! Although, him accepting the headcollar came 2 days after he allowed Debbie and I to fall asleep with him on the floor. We are not quite sure if that has anything to do with it, we are probably humanizing him in thinking that, but either way, it felt so good that Ruben dropped his fear and finally trusted us. In the past 2 weeks, we have been doing lead-rope work with him, even tied him to his new grooming post, where he stood still and let us groom him all over (including his mane and tail, that we have always longed to untangle!) and for the 1st time in 2 years, we took him for a lovely walk along a 2 mile bridle path which he seemed to enjoy! We do realise the length of time it has taken to get him to accept the things he feared has been very long winded, but we also realise that cornering him to accept it was not the way to go and that time and patience really does pay off when it comes to such challenges as it is so much more rewarding when its done in peace and with the look of trust in a ponies eyes that have always told fearful stories, up until now! Being an equine trainer who I am sure comes across many difficult situations such as ours, I am sure you will understand our joy of Ruben finally trusting us fully.
MB 23.5.08

I have also written at length about horses, often older ones, that have become so upset in the trailer that they go into pressure against the partitions and walls and “gallop” along the opposite wall. The only cure for this seems to be travelling them without a partition and with full width front and back bars. Nevertheless, these horses don’t ever seem to be relaxed about travelling again. Our latest case was a horse called Whatley. His owners have since learned that he has had quite a tough life one way or the other and have decided that his travelling days are over. I am sure they have made the right decision:

I’d just like to say a big thank-you to you and Tanya for the amazing work you did to today. It was such a relief to see Whatley in the box and not climbing the walls. I would recommend you to everyone, problem horses or not. Even the basic ground work was very interesting and just learning how to read and listen to your horse. it was fantastic to see the way you work and communicate with them. A big big thank-you.
Amy on 10.5.08

And a few days later:
Hi Sarah, it went really well last night loaded every time he was asked to go into the box. Wasn’t getting stressed when saw the box or anything, did it all in stages like you did, set off for the journey. I travelled half way round with him and he was fine, got out he got a little stressed when I left him but got through it. So after telling you this whole essay we have both decided not to travel him again as he’s an older boy now and we don’t want him keep getting upset. Someone also had contacted me from nfed who use to own him and apparently he had a real hard life so I feel I owe it to him to have a quieter hacking life now as he been so happy with us. Thanks for all the help you gave us. 14.5.08

In an ideal world, horses should spend as much time out in the field as possible and with other horses for company. Having said that, I can only advise people and I can quite understand that it is hard to risk an expensive horse getting kicked. A Quarter Horse that I went out to see had already calmed down significantly once he was turned out and I was pleased to receive the following e-mail:

Hi Sarah, just to let you know that we put J and S together on Sunday and so far there has been no problems! J has really taken to S and J is a lot more relaxed. S is also teaching J some personal space manners which is just what J needs! J has been a lot calmer when I lead him now and even mum has started to lead him around the field. We all have been so pleased with J's progress and if you hadn't been around J would probably have been sold by now, so we all owe you a huge thank you for saving us!!!!
T.B. 20.5.08


Some other bits of feedback have come through. First of all from the Horseworld demo:

I have to say well done Horseworld for putting on such a great open day and well done Sarah W for 2 cracking IH demos! The first was Sunny a 18 year old boy who wasn't bothered by anything at first until the feather duster wasn't meant to touch that leg! Also, in the second demo, Sarah used her 'Madonna bra' to help out a yearling who she used last year who was a nightmare colt! What a transformation!

Hello, well done for a great couple of demos today at Horseworld, you captivate the audience and make it easy to understand, and no matter how much I see the same thing, I always feel like I am learning more every time and want to try it out on my 3 hooligans!

I should perhaps explain that the “Madonna Bra” is a reference to using assertive body language that starts with your head, your shoulders, hips and feet and, if you are a girl, your boobs too! It’s my way of saying, point everything at the horse when you want to establish your body space or ask them to move.

And this:

We are all here now thanks again for all the emails. I will try to fill in the form but you know that we think you are the best. Just tell Kelly to phone us!
Hugh 22.5.08

A vote for this blog….

Sarah was very friendly, calm, clear and explained what she was doing and why at all times. None of the ideas were new to me as have been doing lots of research but there can be information overload so was nice to have a bit of clarity. Sarah did a thorough check over of Rosie which was reassuring and she gave me good advice and things to consider (without being pushy). Having the techniques explained in person, in detail makes a big difference and was the most helpful thing for me today. Sarah’s obvious love of horses, reassuring manner and commitment to horse welfare is a pleasure and a reassurance to me that a kinder approach is not just an ‘out there’ concept. I think the biggest thing I have gained from today is some courage in my convictions, better technique and a bit more confidence that this is a solvable problem….. I liked the ‘personalness’ (I know that’s not a real word!) of Sarah’s blog – it makes her seem very ‘human’ and approachable.
RA evaluation form AR 10.5.08

24th May, 2008 Really posh babies

Diva and Destiny

Annabel very kindly invited me to go and meet her new fillies this morning that are by Eustanov and Wittinger respectively. Both have world and olympic class breeding.

24th May, 2008 Kelly's Heroes?

Helena (fell off Bertie at Exmoor's Golden Horseshoe) and Mandy (had a fight with a gate when leading a horse out of the field) at Kelly's demo.

Kelly's demo at Hoplands Equestrian Centre was terrific. With no seats allowed in the arena, it was good to see the round pen vanish after the first starter so that the audience in the gallery were close to the action. Pie and Caesar were fabulous fun, jumping and side stepping through and over various obstacles. Caesar, who is only four, stole the show. The trailer loading horse at the end was a good solid Welsh cob and when he said no he meant it, seconds later he's going up the ramp and in without a murmur. As usual Kelly was unselfish about sharing her techniques, explaining every detail and also sharing the limelight with the Recommended Associates. Loads of my clients were there along with lots of New Forest pony owners.

22nd May, 2008 Arabian Days

Lovely day working first of all with a Haflinger that I saw few months ago. He is so calm now and we introduced him to long reining. Then I worked with an untouched yearling Arabian filly and put her headcollar on for the first time. She was a sensitive soul and yet accepted touch fairly readily.

21st May, 2008 Fire and Rescue Service

Pictures with kind permission of JG.

Last night attended the most inspirational talk I have ever heard by Jim Green, Animal Rescue Specialist for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service on the latest developments in training and equipping fire officers to deal with animals, often horses, in distress. Hampshire has now been asked to co-ordinate training nationally and are seen as the leaders in this field. Jim was extremely well up on horse psychology and had some brilliant footage of dramatic horse rescues – good and bad examples. The aim is to really think things through before getting too deeply involved with the rescue itself so that it is clear where the horse will end up once it is freed and how to ensure that the horse is kept as quiet as possible during the rescue itself. Six years ago Petra managed to jump into a huge drainage channel which leads down to the River Avon. There was a horrible moment as she realised that the greenery in the middle of the channel wasn’t solid and an almost comic element of flailing legs a la Tom and Jerry before a huge sploosh. I was amazed at how quickly the cold and depth made her give up and accept that she would die and without the Fire Officers from Fordingbridge station there was no way we would have got her out. Although they are not a charity, they do accept donations towards specific equipment and training for their officers which all goes towards working with horses and developing a general pool of expertise across the country. At the same time, officers are involved in developing specialist equipment such as long distance cutters to release horses tied up in trailers and quick release webbing straps with which to extricate them without officers having to go into the trailer at all. Fantastic stuff. More information under Animal Rescue on www.hantsfire.gov.uk

I had a bit of a light-bulb moment as I watched some of the video cuttings. Jim is compassionate about horses, passionate about getting the right tools and techniques for the job but brutally realistic about safety - if the owner is impeding the rescue, they will be asked to step back. I am sure that most people would be reassured of they knew that the fire officer involved knew exactly what they were doing and understood how horses work. There was a clip of an American vet, killed outright when hot-branding a horse in a makeshift crush. Although he was on the outside, the horse kicked him with absolute accuracy and certainty. Horse owners should not delude themselves; horses in stressful situations can react very violently and be utterly lethal. Another heart stopping clip showed two ridden horses that had gone through the planks on a bridge leaving both of them stuck. The horses had gone quiet and passive, perhaps accepting their fate, until the woman owner starting shreiking for someone to get a vet. Both horses then started to struggle and both went over the edge of the bridge narrowly missing the owner who had also gone into the drink and a firefighter who was underneath working on dismantling the slats. Nowadays the horses would be sedated and kept calm until it was safe to move them. (Incidentally, why don’t vets wear crash helmets when working with animals in pain/fear?)

RAs strive to be honest with people about their horse’s potential to cause injury without classifying horses as being evil or dangerous in themselves; they are just horses doing what they think they need to do to survive or influence a given situation. In these days of litigation, we have to think like health and safety officers and constantly assess risk without emotion.

The Horse and Hound is full of reports of people being successfully sued for compensation when their horse has injured a third party – even when that third party volunteered to be involved with the horse. I would think twice these days about letting any else ride my horse. If you know your horse has a behavioural problem, you are under an obligation to make sure that anyone dealing with it is aware of that – failure to do so, even to highlight obvious risks, is to risk being sued for negligence. I am amazed at how dishonest people can be when they are desperate to sell their horse although I do accept that a new owner can change a horse’s behaviour for the worse in no time at all. Working with horses without insurance is foolhardy too – I made my insurance company sign to say that I was covered for each and every heading of the work I do. I always think that everyone is your friend until an accident happens and even then it may only be their insurance company or their immediate family that wishes to make a claim against you.