26th July, 2016 Family Tree

A morning off and a chance to relax with the camera and to consider the relationship between horses and trees. Who knows what this one is discussing with this tree at Longcross.

I sat down for a while watching this little filly, taking care not to disturb her...

...but this one's mother had almost rolled on top of him!

The amassed band of the Shetlands and New Forest ponies by a local pond all seemingly in deep conversation with their favourite tree.

Now that we are back to family only at our fields, they are all out together (Jack out of shot). I think it pays to remind them that they are the stable, solid group, no matter how many comings and goings there may be.

An unusual afternoon appointment as Pippa has been loading consistently ever since her owner contacted me to make that appointment. She had made a couple of changes pending my arrival, placing the trailer in a different positon, and putting the front bar down to the lower setting, but nothing that would have made an obvious difference.

Just to prove it, Pippa loaded first time today, after just a moment's hesitation. Although it is difficult to train for a problem that has resolved itself, Alice and I discussed all the possible answers she might have if Pippa changes her mind again. A padded breast bar may help although it should be noted that Pippa has always loaded to come home even if she has been reluctant to leave in the first place - this is a reversal of the typical pattern of a non-loader's behaviour.

We talked about the use of angles and gentle pressure and release and how that can help to 'loosen' a horse's mind and feet. The disciplined use of clickered treats (which Pippa thoroughly approved of) can help a great deal too.

Since Pippa has always responded well to the use of long lines around her hind quarters, we also used the quarter rope to illustrate how this can be used by a single handler to ask a horse to move their hindquarters. This one could do with being about a foot shorter but shows the general idea.

And finally we talked about the pressure of competition day - especially those really early dressage times - and the effect of excitement/nerves depending on how you look at it. Regular practice between fixtures can help to make everything very ordinary on the bigger days.

Pippa regularly competes at eventing and looks like she is really active.

25th July, 2016 Taxi for Zeegees

Fritham Zoe and Fritham Zelda went home this morning. We'd asked Caroline of Southern Equine Transport to bring her neat lorry up to the fields so that the ponies could practice loading into it in advance of going to the Breed Show which is at the end of August, on the understanding that if they were happy and we were happy, she would take them home in it. Needless to say both ponies were soon loading and unloading very easily and so we loaded them together, closed the full height position, and off they went.

Caroline's new lorry has a full bulkhead at the front and back so there is no breast partition that a horse could attempt to jump.

The ponies have gone back to Minstead having exceeded everyone's expectations in such a short period of time. With just 20 hours training each under their belts they are pretty well established in a variety of activities and just need consolidation and consistency to maintain it.

In their time with me we have covered: Standing still nicely without barging; standing in a showing position; walking on the lead rein, stopping on the lead rein; trotting on the lead rein; acceptance of fly creams and spray; acceptance of water for being bathed; foot handling; tying up; acceptance of strange and novel objects that they might encounter at a show/out and about; walking through all kinds of terrain; acceptance of noise; being separated from each other; working alone away from other horses; working with other horses around them doing their own thing; being handled by strangers; loading; and a little introduction to traffic. 

With both my Amazing Assistant and my Fabulous Intern away this week, I am being helped by Jemima, a 13 year old student who already knows that she wants to be a vet. Not only was she privileged to be allowed to touch Henrietta (not something Henrietta grants to everyone) but we have already discussed white line disease, thrush, worms, pasture management, and windgalls, and of course, how many chromosomes does a mule have?

These days students have to be pretty exceptional to succeed in the equine industry, and more particularly for a veterinary career. Jemima has already proved to be sensible and personable, and more than able to hold a serious conversation in a world of adults. She's also a talented rider competing in eventing with her Irish Sports Horse with a dash of Connemara, Diamond Buttons. She has come to me to learn about the techniques I use especially where they might be relevant to veterinary work. We have talked about the use of clicker, the need to act like friend not foe, and health and safety issues.

24th July, 2016 Well Fort

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a lady whose life had changed irrevocably, asking me if I would be able to take on an Exmoor Pony who is the son of my beloved Piper. I was sorely tempted but the door here is firmly closed. I just cannot take on any more horses, ponies or indeed mules, without compromising those I have already got. Instead I offered to advertise him on my Facebook page to see if anyone could come up with a suitable home. I gathered that although nine he was still pretty wild without much prospect of anyone being able to tame him all that much more. I had to avoid anyone who was naïve to the complexities of a pony that had been conservation grazed until he was four and was still extremely nervous; put him in the wrong place and he would get worse not better.

To my enormous relief, contacts of contacts, contacted Juliet who offered him a home with her four conservation Exmoor Ponies at Danebury Fort. His owner asked me to load him for her as she thought it would be too much for her.

When I arrived this morning he was already in the stable but did resemble a fully muscled up bull, full of energy, fear and emotion. He had previously jumped the fence on the yard and so I was pleased that I had brought my panels; I really ought to have them plated with gold.

With everything made as safe as humanly and humanely possible, we let him out of the stable to see whether he would self load. At first he wasn't keen, and seeing how wild he was Juliet asked me to remove his headcollar so that she didn't have to do it at the other end. Back in the stable it took me about ten minutes to be able to hold the end of the noseband and to gently undo the buckle on the crown piece. The look on his face as he realised I intended to free him instead of restrain him was classic.

We let him out and this time he self-loaded and ate from the bucket in the trailer. With the ramp closed he could go on his way.

My Fabulous Intern and I could not resist the temptation to go and see him at the other end and these are all pictures from Danebury Fort. He may feel a little odd for a while but I have a feeling that things on Planet Exmoor will suit him well...

23rd July, 2016 Jammed

As I drove onto the A31 at Picket Post at lunchtime today I thought how lucky I was to be travelling in the right direction. On the other carriageway the traffic was at a standstill all the way up to and well beyond the motorway junction at Cadnam.

Like most people who own horses and think about what they are doing, you have to wonder whether you are a) travelling and b) going in the right direction. Thankfully the horses and people I work with indicate to me that I am doing both. Are you doing the same with your horse? It's always possible to get off at the next slip road or do a U turn, put the brakes on, mirror, signal, manoeuvre.

Sandra, Julie and I have been putting our heads together about what might lie at the root of some of the behaviour we have encountered with Honey. Although she has the world's most well fitting saddle, she is still very quick to complain if she feels or anticipates feeling anything that she doesn't like. In particular she doesn't like the girth being done up and will threaten to bite no matter how gently or incrementally you do it. A note has been kept of her seasons to see if there is an correlation and at the back of our minds is the possibility of gastric ulcers. Before today's session, which is still very low key, Honey had been given two doses of Bute at intervals. This is a good way of finding out if a horse's behaviour improves under the influence of pain-killers. Although we didn't get a definitive answer (she still pulled a face when the girth was done up) she did feel generally more comfortable. The next step will be to ask the vet to undertake a gastroscopy.

Without pushing her, we still achieved a little progress today, coming off the lead rein for the first time.

Meanwhile Sandra is working on keeping her elbows bent when she rides. It's a common fault in riders to straighten their arms in an effort to be generous with the reins (I do it too!). Try this experiment. How much can your arms ebb and flow with the reins if you have a fixed straight arm? And how much if you have a bend in the elbows? You should find that there is very limited movement from the first and much more give from the second enabling the rider to flow with the movement of the horse.

This afternoon it was Kesali's turn to work. Jackie wanted to take him out long reining around the lanes, and on the open forest where he sometimes gets a bit lively.

We seem to have acquired a few hangers on.

His friend Copper wondered whether he had got a day off...

...and the chickens made the most of a yoghurt drink.

Back at Fritham Jasper, who came in a bit slim in the early spring, is now looking glorious. It does make you wonder whether it would be better for domesticated horses to ebb and flow a bit more with their weight. Perhaps we could avoid metabolic conditions such as laminitis and equine metabolic syndrome.

Across the road, riders Becca and Becky were enjoying Janesmoor Pond...

...while the Forest ponies contemplated stealing their horses' clothes.

22nd July, 2016 Sun and Sand

We'd told the black ponies that they were having a day with sun and sand. They envisaged some sort of rest day on a lounger with a cocktail and a good book I think. They had plenty of beauty sleep, came round slowly, and spent some time just stretching.

When their transport arrived they were keen to go on and travelled along happily chatting about the day ahead. Little did they realise that they were attending a private showing clinic with showing specialist Stephanie Zebedee.

Luckily for me the ponies were immediately swept up by Sarah and Carla who are not only good at showing but really like it. The ponies were asked to trot energetically and to stand poised, not quite the chilled out morning they had expected. Nevertheless they did extremely well in the sweltering heat and Steph had lots of nice things said about them. Sarah and Carla were more than amazing!

Henrietta has a new rasp that we were trying out today. My next acquisition will be a pair of one handed pincers. I shall only take the excess off each foot. Not only did she wander in and out of the trailer today but she also went for a little ride in it; well, it was still attached to the car so who could resist?