Energy is as Energy Does

Safe to say it has been a crazy few weeks, work has piled up and I have shamefully neglected the blog. So here is a post to catch everyone up and I promise that more regular posts are on the way!  With the colder weather comes the rain, and with the rain comes the mud and the dark nights.  Consequently, I have had much less horse time. Thimble is currently living it a little rough out in the field whilst I try and organise my life to get enough time to keep her working! Not that she minds, she is incredibly fat and happy currently with her best buddy out keeping her company. Stella has turned into a stable diva and would much rather be in than out, so she is now living in and being spoiled rotten. Going out for rides and a chill in the paddock every weekend.   Sheep wise, everyone is happy, and hopefully, we will be seeing the first of my own lambs in April, as Kerry is currently running with a very nice Ram lamb. To give you an idea of what is coming up I have a few h

In a bid to let Stella work her legs out, and to ease her nerves about being in the school I decided to do some groundwork in there. She copes with being in the school and she copes with pressure. Put the two together and she worries. So I thought to start with I would just take her in there on a lunge line, let her stretch her legs and get a feel for it without having to worry about a rider.  We started on the left rein, all good and soon she was trotting around at a constant pace.  A little faster than we would like but still, she wasn't stopping and then darting forwards so I was pleased with this. The aim was to let her work it out, not ask any questions and demand no answers. This approach was working well so I decided to change the rein and see if the same would work the other way.  Well, this is where things got interesting. As is often the case with horses she has a better rein. And this is her left rein. And what she is showing is very typical of a horse t

Well after the initial success with Stella not minding the large saddle and milder bit of the western saddle we have decided to pursue this further. We have 300 sheep on the farm and in the winter the bottom of the old marshland can be incredibly difficult to cross with a vehicle. Though it was drained years ago it sits on a floodplain and is still incredibly wet in the winter.  So in preparation for this, we have been doing more ridden work in the western tack. Currently, the majority of this is in the school whilst we are focusing on being able to hack calmly in her English tack as that is what she is used to. But by the end of the winter, the aim is to be able to use her to get down onto the bottom fields and move the sheep if we need to. Here is the checklist for what we need to do. Become comfortable in walk, trot and canter in western tack in the school. Improve suppleness and responsiveness with the bit. Improve the groundwork to make it easier for her to un

Well all of the ponies seem to have gotten that bouncy fresh streak that comes with a change of seasons.  They have taken to randomly galloping around when they are out in the field and when turned out in the school for a leg stretch then they seem to be up for some serious fun!!  So with the bad weather looking more and more threatening and the need to be stabled much more coming up, what can we do to keep our ponies on the straight and narrow? Its important that if they cant be out and stretching their legs that they at least get some mental stimulation.  So what can we do with our beasties when we cant ride them.  Or even when we can, how can we make things more interesting.  Here is my list of things that I like to do with my guys. 1) Groundwork - When I cant ride I like to brush up on othger things, manners, space, flexibility, giving to pressure, desensitising to scary things, sensitising to my aids. You name it I like to brush up on it when I cant ride.  2

Such a common thing to hear. I love him/her, I don't want to tell them off. The lack of discipline that comes with spoilt horses never fails to amaze me. And frustrate me.  There is nothing that I can do to make people put boundaries in place, but I personally believe that just like we should respect our horses, our horses should also have respect for us.  Now that's not to say I think they should be beaten into submission, or battered when they do something wrong. Quite the opposite My view on leadership is this. If you take the responsibility away from your horse, they feel safe.  You manage the danger. You decide what is safe and they trust you. But with that, you need respect both ways. A lead mare does not keep her position by simply grooming everyone in her herd.  A stallion does not keep his mares by doing nothing.  Leadership is earned, Respect is earned. It comes with Discipline.   For example, If my horse pushed past me and blunders in

My horse wont load. My horse wont lead. My horse is a nightmare. My horse bites. My horse kicks.  Issues... issues and more issues.  And I have been there, I was one of the people that used to complain constantly about what a pain in the backside my horse could be. One day I got some advice.  Go back to basics, if he's not what you want, start again and go back to basics. Teach him to be what you want. Show him the way. Start again.  So your horse won't load. So stop asking him to load.  Why won't he load? Scared of the small space?  Had a bad experience? Doesn't like the noise when he sets foot on the ramp? Claustrophobic? Or is he just lacking in respect? Well, take the trailer out of the equation.  Go back, way back. Imagine that your horse or pony has only just started to be handled. Think about the lessons that they have learned. Have they learned to yield to pressure? Are they sensitive to your aids, on the ground and in ha