31st July, 2008 1,2,3,...499...500

I have just worked with my 500th horse since I became an RA. Needless to say, he was a New Forest Pony and his name is Astro.

Whilst there is a definite shift towards owners who want to get it right first time, I'm still getting called to remedial problems and the occasional emergency. Little Simba, a Welsh Section A yearling, had been bitten on the nose by another horse. Having been rescued from owners who were inclined to shout into his face, he was already very wary of people being anywhere near his face. Although he is only 11.2 h.h., he has learned to launch himself at people's faces and to bite whatever flesh he can find. We worked on asking him to relax and make a "nice face" as people approach. By breathing out as we got closer to him, we could induce him to relax and as soon as his little (flat back) ears relaxed and he looked pretty again, we would move away to reward him. It's a question of seeing what yu want and finding a way to reward that. If he did attempt to bite, he was discouraged with a little kiss-kiss noise and a fluttering of the hands. By the end of the session we could touch him all over and gently handle his face and even his lips. I was able to bathe his nose. This little pony has landed in his feet with a very empathetic owner who will do everything she can to convince him that people can be trusted.

30th July, 2008 Latest reviews

I have just come back from putting cream on some mud fever I spotted on T-pony and I don't think I could have done it on my own if I hadn't had the teaching and experience from you.
PA 3.7.08

I am so glad I contacted you!

J McK 3.7.08

Hi Sarah,
I had felt I'd done a fair bit of work with W-pony - he's cool - but know it alls were telling me "He's 4 - just get on him, he needs to work" etc. (After all the woman over the road had broken her 4 year old in the time I had W-pony and its now jumping!!) Telling me he's not ready has actually made me happier than you'd think!!! It gives me a bit more time to chill with him and not feel pressurised by "horsey people" - who as you know aren't always kind to their horses or other people. I can honestly say that although I "knew" most of what you were telling me - (I have read some of Monty and Kelly )- seeing it work in the flesh with my pony has made me see that it really does work. It is logical - but I will have to work very hard with myself not to do the things I have always naturally done - you know if I touch W-pony and I see he doesn't like it - my natural insinct is to withdraw - a) cos I don't want to upset him b) I don't want him to get shirty. I can see so clearly now how a little perseverance can scale mountains - Thank you.
DS 3.7.08

I'm a firm supporter of my local RA... in fact she often gets emailing asking for advice (apologies Sarah! lol) Going back 2 yrs ago i'd heard of all this 'intelligent horsemanship' and seen someone 'attempt' to do this on a pony of mine a few years ago.... lets just say it ended badly and i ended up with a pony worse than when the person stated! 2yr ago i had a stallion who was extremely nervous and the biggest hassle was with his mouth... biting was out of the question and worming was a battle.... after lots of different opinions etc someone mentioned my local RA to me and i thought... well.. last resort... can't get any worse right?!The big thing i can say if i wish i'd of got her out sooner as it was liking watching a light come on with my nervous little boy, and suddenly he was understand that what was being asked of him was not the terrible thing he had in his head! By using techniques shown to me my relationship with him grew and within a few short weeks i had a pony who would do anything for me just by using a different approuch to training.All my ponies are now IH trained and training them has never been so easy... i certainly recommend the RA's to anyone who asks and when commented how chilled out, nice minded and easy to work with my ponies are... my answer is simply natural horsemanship (and now, more recently introduced to me by Sarah Weston, clicker training... this has also worked wonders with a few of my ponies who before have been down right dangerous to work with in certain situations!)

Calekio on IHDG 5.7.08


Thanks Sarah, you're insights and pragmatic approach have been really useful to us. We are already seeing positive results. AH 7.7.08


I thought I would give you a quick update on Jester as I haven't seen you for a while. For the first time Maddy and I have been able to ride out together as opposed to me being on foot or bike or her with a neighbour's horse. Jester so far has not put a hoof out of place! My horse who is older much more street wise and not normally nervous has tried his best to scare Jester by being a bit silly near balloons children jumping into swimming pools and playing with hose pipes.Other horses passing in the opposite direction. Jester what balloon? Aah children playing with water oh yeah. I'm not saying he is a saint or that I would ever put a complete beginner on him and never a person who is very demanding who would pressurise him (not that he generally needs pushing) but he is a nice pony and is much loved by Maddy.
EB 9.7.08

Also went up to Lucy this morning took the fly mask off and on no problem. Put both the bridles on no problem and Dad couldent believe his eyes.He even did it himself. He thinks you're fantastic. X
CW 15.7.08


Just wanted to let you know that Joe was excellent at the show on the weekend. I took him in novice youth trail (we came 1st), novice youth horsemanship (3rd), novice youth showmanship (3rd) and novice youth pleasure (1st). A western trainer called Lucy who helped Lisa train Joe before the show took him in a few classes: jr horse trail (2nd), jr horse pleasure (2nd) and she also took him in the 4+ geldings halter class and he came 2nd in that which meant that he qualified for the geldings championship class and in that class he got reserve supreme champion gelding at halter. Then to conclude an extremely successful show he was awarded junior horse reserve supreme champion!
TB 15.7.08


Thanks for your report and another enjoyable session. I had told Eliza that you had said that if a horse exhales loudly it is releasing energy and that is good. She told me I had done really well because Petra had SNEEZED 17 times and she had counted!! Bless!!!
Your horse is lovely and a really kind teacher. She made me feel relaxed and that it wouldn't be diabolical if I got it wrong. I'm gonna give it a go with W-pony this weekend ! Watch this space!!
DS 16.7.08

He (Bryn Exmoor pony) is so beautiful and such a smart cookie, although at the time last November we wondered what we had taken on, he is transformed now and with no small thanks to you as I know without your guidence I think we would have really struggled. AD 22.7.08

25th July, 2008 Fabulous Farley

So here's Farley "chasing" the umbrella as preparation for chasing a tractor. This lovely horse travelled for two hours to come to our session today and by the end he was trotting after a very noisy tractor and allowing it to pass him. He has been off road for 18 months and now has the same aversion to noisy roads as I have to going to noisy shops.

25th July, 2008 The Herd

This morning I turned out The Herd, our informal e-mail group of people all interested in Intelligent Horsemanship, with and without capital letters. With over 40 members so far, it's a great start. There's been some interesting coincidences - people who work for the same company, people with the same last name, people with ponies that are related to each other and even two people who turn out to have their horses in stables right next to one another!

Open to clients and former clients and anyone with a genuine interest in IH within Hampshire, Wiltshire or Dorset.... e-mail me for details.

24th July, 2008 Highly Recommended

Petra and I would put the following on our top ten list of highy recommended people and products:

1. Myler bits - especially low port comfort snaffles on a hanging cheek -

Patricia Barnes
01228 791265
patriciahbarnes@aol.com
http://www.abitdifferent.co.uk/
Sales, advice and trials of Myler bits.

2. Boett rugs - for sweet itch sufferers

http://www.sweet-itch.co.uk/

3. Soothing lotion - Bio Force Equineeem Soothing Lotion... A lotion with Neem leaf extract and witch hazel to soothe and moisturise damaged skin.

4. Eye wipes - for horses with runny eyes - Witch cleansing and toning wipes - available from Waitrose

5. Horse feed - Simple System - forage based horse feeds with no additives or preservatives

http://www.simplesystem.co.uk/

6. Riding lessons with your own horse - Amanda Barton

http://www.amandabarton.co.uk/

7. Riding lessons without your own horse - Fir Tree Farm Equestrian Centre, Ogdens - offering Enlightened Equitation and an equisimulator

01425 654744

8. Clipping - with or without remedial issues - Sheila Reed - 07780 668136

9. McTimoney Chiropractor - Kate Boe
07974 786022
E-mail: Kate-p@wildmail.com

10. Veterinary Physiotherapist - Kate Barnett

Mobile: 07980 650 438
Tel / Fax: 01202 721 830
email: kate.barnett@newlandphysio.co.uk

23rd July, 2008 Your Horse, your horse a kingdom for ....

The first of my answers has appeared in Your Horse magazine - August edition. At first I thought I was going to be the horse sex therapist as a question about a riggy gelding was quickly followed by one about lusty mares! The one they've published was about horse match-making; about as complex as human match making.

I suppose I get three different types of owners contacting me: those who are keen to explore an alternative form of horsemanship away from any violence and based on the horse's own psychology and body language; those who are already experimenting with different types of horsemanship from Parelli through to clicker training; and those who want me to fix a definite problem for them. This last category can be the most tricky given that there is often no quick fix and there sometimes has to be a real shift in mindset before lasting progress can be made - the work I do does have to carry on after I've left and the horse needs to me consistency in patience and technique. Nevertheless it isn't absolutely essential for someone to buy in to the whole of Intelligent Horsemanship and to take it to the nth degree for the work to make a significant difference to their horse. I like to leave the key concepts of prey/predator and pressure and release which form the solid basis of all the work I do. Even for someone wanting to really dive in, they dont need more than a handful of visits to get a really comfortable relationship with their horse and to have covered the key areas: groundwork; de-sensitization; long reining and basic ridden work. Techniques such as foot handling, dealing with head shyness or other quirky problems can be covered on the way. Loading or handling untouched ponies rarely take more than a couple of visits providing the owner is confident to carry on in the same way. For those who have all the basics already there, fine tuning can be useful as can sorting the myth from reality - which body language is really mirroring what the horse would meet in the wild and which is simply a cue. The first doesn't have to be translated by the horse and provides constant communication with the horse - the second does and can allow the horse to switch off between cues. I am happy to have a debate about all horsemanship and only ask that the owner keeps an open mind. It is in the nature of my work that I have to prove myself to every new owner and horse that I meet.

For me, Intelligent Horsemanship was like discovering a new musical artist and then finding that they had a huge back catalogue to wander through and loads of collaborations with other artists. Sort of Peter Gabriel back to his Genesis days and then connections with World of Music Arts and Dance. I like the purity of sound in Kelly's work with it's deep rooted Monty influences and yet I also like the harmonies behind Mark Rashid and Perry Wood and .... oh, you get it, I'm trying to be profound. I've been told I ought to write a book but am afraid to solidify my ideas at this stage - would I be nailed to them for evermore? I also think there is nothing new to say in horsemanship just different ways of saying it. I would urge people to beware of labels such as softness and lightness and to make sure that the actual horsemanship does what it says on the tin.

I could do with a tangent at the moment.....any ideas?

21st July, 2008 Nice work if you can get it

The week has started well with a visit to Puck, who is now two. He still lives on the Forest but visits his owner once a day along with his Mum and little sister, Milly. While he is in, he gets a little education, before wandering off again. Later I worked with a rather laid back Anglo-Arab and we were able to do a whistle stop tour of groundwork and de-sensitization. Finally I rode Petra out onto Fritham Plain where normally she would get very hot headed. True to recent form, she was utterly calm and we spent some time at halt just admiring the view and all the animals drinking at the pond.