7th October, 2011 Hola! 您好 Olá Hallo Hej

Amazing to think that so many people come and look at this blogsite. Of the 389 people who have looked at it in the last 24 hours, 343 were in the USA, 40 in the UK, 2 in Guatamala, 1 in Brazil, 1 in China, I in Germany and 1 in Denmark. Good afternoon, morning, evening or night to you all! For the people in Guatamala, one of my favourite albums is los ultimos dias del AM by Radio Zumbido which I believe involved a guy called juan carlos barrios and was inspired by Guatamala.

6th October, 2011 Rix Farce

This evening, just after I had eaten my supper, the doorbell rang and I was told that one of the wild ponies was stuck upside down in a ditch. By the time I got there there were at least 10 people around this pony including Vivienne Sherriff who made a hat for Kate Middleton, and several other concerned neighbours, one of whom went for blankets. The agister was on his way and I called the Animal Rescue Service. I was told she had been there for a while and was truly stuck and it did seem that way. I reassured her and gave her head a lovely rub and as she was totally upside down I also gave her tummy a rub too. With that, she promptly rolled on to her side, squirmed and got up. The agister's Mum (Mrs Rix) turned up a second or two later - we cancelled Peter and the Animal Rescue Team and then watched the mare (who turned out to be Peter's) for a little while to make sure she was okay.

I'm sorry anyone who has been trying to get to this blog through the usual domain name. You can now take a short cut through sarahweston.org.uk - but I guess you know that because you are here!

5th October, 2011 Double-click

I've had this mad idea that I would like to be able to take Jack out loose with Petra, at least in the enclosure to begin with. It requires a bit of co-ordination to cue one, cue the other, click one, click the other and then give them separate treats - never mind trying to take photos from on board!. Petra is asked to halt with the words "and whoa..." well actually "an...." and Jack is asked to come up to the word "Jack!" (very original I know and it does make us sound like an episode of The House of Elliott). The click is the same for both of them. Petra gets her treat to the opposite side that Jack is standing to avoid them going for the food together and Jack is given the treat in the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock position to save him annoying Petra. We've made a good start with me riding Petra inside the round pen and Jack circling the outside of it so that they establish some rules of engagement before they begin and are both given the opportunity to get used to the idea without coming in to really close contact. Afterwards Petra relaxed in the round pen and Jack prepared for the riderless Olympics.

Update (7th October): Yesterday I worked with Jack and Petra in the small paddock together. Apart from making gruesome faces at Jack, Petra was great and Jack was suitably careful around her. If he was too frightened of her it wouldn't work because it would set up a conflict with the clickered treats and, if he was too confident, it wouldn't work because she would definitely kick him or bite him. As it is, we are all trying to be polite and tactful. Today we progressed to the top field where we did some trotting! At last, a way of giving Jack some real exercise. I could, of course, have him on a lead rein however if I dropped it or he pulled loose for any reason he would panic about being 'chased' by the lead rein - as it is I am hoping be able to use a lead rein with an easy break away for the open forest knowing that if he does get loose he would want to come back to me. In the inclosures he can go free. We've even met other ponies in the inclosures when we've been out for a walk before. Jack goes up to say, "What's your name? Where you from?", but then canters back to me.

3rd October, 2011 R.I.P Sweet soul

It's hard not to be affected by every animal that is killed on the Forest. Today this lovely donkey was laid by the side of the road in Fritham with an 'Agister Aware' sticker tied around her little neck with a piece of string. She was so beautiful. The donkeys are especially vulnerable to being run over as people insist on feeding them at the side of the road or even from their cars. It's a good way of encouraging them to stand in the middle of the road. In this weird weather with early morning and evening mist, it's hard to spot them in the gloom. She was pregnant.

3rd October, 2011 Not jumping for joy

Lots of fun today working with a New Forest pony called Saffi who for a number of years has been worried about poles and jumping. The cause for her fear may be that she came to grief in a Jacob's Ladder type jump some time ago. She has been checked out very thoroughly to make sure that there is no physical reason why she shouldn't be able to jump. Originally she sought to avoid or refuse the jump until a trainer closed that option and now she rushes instead even with her rider carefully sitting pretty passively. Rushing a jump is often mistaken for a pony enjoying her jumping but it can be a sign that the pony is actually very worried and just wants to get it over and done with. Saffi is actually worried about being 'bitten' by the poles.

As well as working on the ground going over the poles, we did work on asking her rider to breathe more deeply when on board.  Her rider is really good and patient and doesn't interfere.  We ended the session working over one very small jump with a box of poles immediately afterwards where she could be asked to simply stand and relax. Too early to be doing more than one jump at a time and gridwork simply winds her up more quickly. Once again we wanted to work on her 'yes' and her 'maybe' rather than allowing her to practice her 'no' even if it is a forward going 'no'! This pony is very lucky to have a team of three people and a sympathetic yard owner all interested in her welfare.

"I did find it really interesting and hopefully with us all working together Saffi will get more confident and start enjoying herself. I thought she made a lot of progress, especially nearing the end. I've not experienced her starting to consistently walk over a raised pole, so I was really glad of that and it definitely gives me something to work on. I also found the breathing and looking at your own body and muscles when riding to influence the horse really fascinating, because it is so effective yet so simple."MLA

"Thanks so much for you advise and notes on Saffi. Its so lovely to have something written down in black and white especially as there is so much grey with her !!!  Your memory is amazing as you remembered all the key facts about our little mare. We will definitely put into practice all you have advised.   I bought a clicker today as my click sounded more like a 'cluck' and I bought her some low-cal pony nuts. We will also keep you in the loop for consistency. I feel very relieved that Mari-lisa found you and was so adaman you could help as I truly believe we will get there now. I would love to see Saffi give have safe fun over fences." FF

1st October, 2011 Hot stuff

Bertie, loaded.

Lucy, long reining

A small reaction Lucy style

Calm, calm, calm

On one of the hottest days that I can remember in England and on such a date, Julie and I went to work with Bertie a pony that has intermittent problems with loading. There really was no obvious reason why he was refusing to load, no obvious trigger points or worries, but he had certainly perfected the art of planting and refusing to move at all. He apparently travels perfectly once loaded and arrives calm and happy. He unloads steadily. The only suggestions I was able to make was that the front bar could be padded and needed to be midway between the two settings available now. The trailer is a 510 and the top setting presses against his oesophagus during braking and the bottom setting is low enough for him to think about breaching it if he wanted to. In an ideal world it needs to be somewhere between the two. I also suggested that he have his back and poll checked as part of an regular MOT since he is only four and will be changing shape as he matures and starts to work in earnest.

Normal gentle pressure and release had little effect and he wasn't all that bothered about food so we put the panels in place so that we could get him flowing on and off the trailer again, practising his 'yes' and his 'maybe' rather than his 'no'. By the end of the session we were able to take all of the panels away save for one on the right hand side where he was inclined to practice his default position of turning sideways off the ramp. I have left the panels with the clients so that they can practice for the next few days without engaging with his 'no' and then gradually take them all away again.

Email received 2nd October, 2011: 

"We had our first practice session this morning and all went really well, we even managed it with NO panels at the end. When we got to the last panel I moved it half way up the trailer and then 3/4s and then away completely and that seemed to work a treat, so lets hope all this good work continues.I thought what we might do is continue like this for a few more nights and then perhaps take him for a short drive then bring him back and unload and reload. E is absolutely over the moon with his progress, as you can see she loves him very much, and this was his little problem spot.Once again thank you for your help." SH

Later it was off to see lovely Lucy. Her clever owner has worked out that she is much happier accepting the surcingle if she has an exercise sheet underneath and in time this will be reduced down to a saddle pad or a towel. As an ex-racehorse she will be used to wearing a sheet but she is also used to the girth being done up abruptly while she circles around the handler on the floor. Success then today when she stood still to have the surcingle put on. We were also able to long rein her on two reins for the very first time and used the square poles to give her a job to do. Although she had a small reaction when asked to trot on the two reins for the first time, she was really calm and sweet. I think she is really starting to trust that things are not going to hurt her and to relax a lot more.

Email received: 2nd October, 2011: 
"Just to say a massive thank you for the photos, I was so pleased with Lucy today. When I went to bring her into bed a couple of hours later she was still as cool as a cucumber!"JC

30th September, 2011 Pretty Pollyanna

Today it was off towards Longleat to meet a horse that was bred by the gypsies before being sold to her present owner. She's not a traditional gypsy cob, her ears are more like those of a Mawari horse. Unfortunately she can't be ridden, at least for now, because of medical problems but we were able to have a lovely groundwork session with her. She was very pleasant to work with.