Energy is as Energy Does

Last night I was sat watching a film, well I was playing with a certain naughty collie dog and the film was on in the background.  The film is called Beautiful Creatures and having been hit so hard by a passage of speech within it, I will definitely be watching it again.   This passage explains so much that goes through my head. Following the split with one of the best people I have ever had a relationship with, no one could understand my lack of anger.  Well, this might explain it.  This has also helped me to be happy that my beloved Thoroughbred moved onto a new home, one of the hardest decisions of my life but to see him now it was the best thing I could have done. So next time you feel bitter about something, that something has been taken from you or you have lost something. Maybe the sacrifice you had to make for something has a different meaning to what you first thought.  Without further ado, here is that passage, and here's to hopin...

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 comin...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 push...

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 a...

So this is being written whilst I sit at work, bored out of my brain because after a very early morning wake up call from my darling dog, it is safe to say I have overdosed with coffee. The result of this is that I am currently 100% ahead of the game in the office and am bouncing around like a Duracell bunny!!. Moving the boys last night went like clockwork. And it's good to know that my methods are effective. I led the old pony and my mum led the racehorse.  Well about halfway into our journey (about half a mile) It was clear that Buzz (the racehorse) was tanking with mum a little. Mum severed her cruciate ligament in her knee so has to be careful when leading pushy horses as her knee is liable to just give out. To save her knee we swapped over and Mum took over leading the much steadier Joe pony. I took over buzz and spent the rest of the journey putting some boundaries in place. He received a firm half halt and a flex to the left every time that he got too fast. After thr...

So being the insanely graceful human being that I am I managed to fall down my steps the other day, spectacularly.  So with my arm not broke (whoop), but all strapped up with ligament damage. Safe to say I was lucky. Its sore and irritating but it's done now so I'm simply on a mission to try and get it sorted asap, lots of using it gently and building it all back up.  Also in the land of me being brave this week, as part of my 'sort yourself out' campaign, I managed to get myself to a dentist this week.  This is something that literally terrifies me, and I haven't been for years, consequently, there is a lot to do, but like my horses, it's going to be done in small manageable steps.  If I expect my horses to face fears and learn then it's only fair that I expect the same from myself. Also, I have finally put the deposit down on my course to study equine sports massage.  I really want to build a career within the equine industry and I plan to...

Work is decidedly crippling my time at the  moment, however this week my focus has been on encouraging these ponies to use the thinking side of their brains.  For example, Stella likes to rush, run and react when ridden.  So I have started some groundwork to help her think about doing things a little differently.  Lots of Yeilding to pressure and moving her feet in different directions, anything and everything to get her to think.  Also this puts me in a better place when it comes to riding her, if I can move her feet then I have much more control. Stella is a dominant mare, which in my opinion is what makes her reactive.  She is seeing it as her job to look out for danger and to protect her herd.  So what does that mean for me? Time for me to become leader.  Now that doesn't mean dominating her, or scaring her.   I want her to respect me, not fear me. I want her to trust me, its my job to deal with danger, not...

Apologies for being so absent! The wedding of my lifelong best friend took over life for a week or so.  I have also spent a little while getting my head around a few things and getting organised.  So starting in September things will be running much more smoothly. I intend to start trying to get a guest post every month or so, if anyone is interested in taking part in that then feel free to contact me. The new aim is to get at least a post a week up for you guys. Both girls will have actual Training Schedules and as winter draws closer and the nights get shorter, there will be a much bigger focus on groundwork. I have found a new way to get organised in the form of bullet journaling! I would recommend everyone having a look at it! I am currently in the process of setting up my journals, one for me, one for the horses and quite possibly one for my mini flock of sheep. I will be featuring various ideas that I try out with this system and if anyone wants to try them out ...

Sunday! Sunday saw Gabbi and I brave a drive across Wales to go to the Aberaeron welsh pony and cob festival.   Safe to say it is a simply brilliant day out. It's a long day, for us it took four hours to get there. We did stop for breakfast which slowed us down as the journey home only took us about three hours. needless to say, it was well worth the travel. All shapes and sizes of Welsh ponies, cobs and part breeds were present. And it's safe to say that the Section D stallions were literally one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I am totally and utterly besotted. They are really truly a very impressive animal! Anyways here are some pics from Sunday. If you get the chance to go next year I would highly recommend it!! Monday! Monday saw Stella excel herself by going under the motorway with Gabbi. This is a huge step forwards for her as it unlocks many more hacking routes for us but also, she is nervous in traffic, so for her to behave whilst lorries pa...

I  walked into the barn to be greeted by tubby hunt horses that have clearly had a blast on their summer holidays. In what can be politely described as 'show condition'  They were stood in stables looking thoroughly miffed at being taken out for a walk, their fitting programme having started.  Once I returned for my office slog day job, I was in dire need of some equine therapy. Unluckily for them, this meant that it was time to lose the long manes and to become respectable and smart looking hunters.  Here was what I started with. This chap is double crested.... and we all dread tidying him up and attempting to tame that large amount of unruly hair. Challenge accepted. A short while later ( I really was impressed that this only took me about half an hour. I'm really getting the bug for this mane lark.) I had turned his Royal Highness into this.  Horse Number two of the evening was this gorgeous girl.  She ...

The short answer would be that no one truly knows right?  We communicate in different ways to our animals.  How on earth would we know what they are feeling, and can we really call it emotion? In my own personal opinion... Yes. We recently lost one of the family dogs, a beautiful black lab. He wasn't very old and it was a tragic accident that took his life. Since then all of our other dogs have been out of sorts. They don't know what happened to him but they do know that he is missing. To put a human emotion on it, they are sad. They are out of sorts and less active, at night they all look a little lost when they go to bed without him. In my opinion, they miss him, they are grieving for their missing friend. Whether they feel sadness, and grief in the same way as us is unclear, but they certainly feel something. Let turn it to horses, and tie it in with some behaviour. Separation Anxiety, for example, a horse like Robbie that doesn't like working alone....

Well, I think I have taken the first few layers of skin from my left hand, and my fingers have classic mane burn! However, that's two more horses off the mane pull list and the gang are all starting to look rather smart!! Last night was the turn of my mum's little Irish horse Louis and then my sisters oversized ginger dog! Louis was great, he has the worlds thinnest mane to start with so in all of five minutes, I was done! He is also one that I can do alone as he is quite happy to stand there and let me pull, it makes a nice change from horses that try to give you their emotions in a less helpful way.   I have however always been one for feeling guilty about mane pulling, I mean, it can't really be all that pleasant. In response to my own musings, I have come up with my own little method that combines thinning, minimal pulling and then trimming. See what you think of the results, here are Louis shots :D Yes, I was standing on a sheep lick to reach ...

Well this Sunday, whilst looking for ways to entertain myself  I just happened to look up at the girls in their paddock and realised that what with recent events and a lack of time they are both looking a little feral. Queue the grooming!!  I decided to tackle Thimble first as being the smaller of the two she wasn't going to take me so long. Here is the before picture, of Madam, looking like she has been running wild for a while instead of being the well groomed driving pony that she should be!  As you can see, the mane is mental and is not in a fit state to be arranged into neat little rosebuds when I decide to plait her up and go out looking pretty. Well after a lot of thinning, minimal pulling and some trimming, my little lady had been transformed! Currently, her mane is lying on the wrong side so next step will be to train it over onto the correct side. I am rather pleased with the outcomes, and I have a feeling clipping will be next as she alre...

Today I introduced Robbie to a clicker and the basic idea of targeting. Tonight was him Targeting my hand, something that he has picked up incredibly quickly. Next time we will move onto using a stick. He was a very good boy being very polite and not getting pushy about the treats.  In a twenty minute session he worked out that the clicker meant the reward and he also worked out that the only way he would get a click was by touching my hand when it was outstretched.  I am very careful when introducing targeting as I dont want them to turn to biting my hand. I am very clear that the rewards comes when they touch and for no other reason.  Anyways here are some photos of The good lad getting the hang of things.  As you can see he found the whole things rather amusing to start with. Love his expression!  We then established that one could earn rewards by figuring out the right answers to the questions. Working his way along my arm as...

So after taking a few days to sort myself out, safe to say it's all systems go again here.  Stella went out yesterday and in true chestnut, mare fashion decided that traffic was fine yesterday (ok so where has the whole terrified of all things motorised gone?). She allowed a touring caravan to come past without missing a beat.  Don't get me wrong I am thrilled with her progress, but it does make me chuckle when she changes her mind about things.  At least she keeps me on my toes.!  Yesterday instead she decided that jumping was impossible, sideways and backwards and lots of leg movement.   jumping though... no. Bare in mind she has jumped these logs before (more like sticks, she could trot over them). There was no way on earth that she was going. But she did let me take some pictures. This is a huge breakthrough as she gets nervous when you reach for your pockets. Also, Aunt Gabbi returns in a week or so, meaning we can get Thimble fully enr...

This last 24 hours has been hellish, the families Labrador got hit by a car and killed on the road and I also went thought a very amicable but still heartbreaking split with my partner.  It has knocked the wind out of my sails a little but We will be ok.  I still have the ongoing friendship of my partner and i still have my collie. The loss of  the lab has hit everyone so hard. Including the other dogs, everyone is out of sorts today. At least we know that despite having a short life, he had a very happy one. And an extend one as we took him on as he was going to be put to sleep. I hope he is having fun over the rainbow bridge. I am sure he will be as loved there as he was here.  If the rain stops I am meant to be working with Robbie again later, introducing some targeting. hopefully that will still happen.  So applogies if the content is a little weak for a few days, we are all struggling a little here. 

Manners. Confidence. Tolerance. Leading. Which one first? Since my last post I have been busily analysing Robbie's reactions in his last session, and working out my plan of action for any future work with him.  It's amazing the different views people have on how to manage a horse like him. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that he needs firm get forgiving handling.  The boundaries need to be put in place but at the same time, he needs a good amount of guidance in order to understand them. With this in mind, I decided that the best way forwards would be to teach him targeting. I believe that this will get him thinking and will encourage him to investigate things instead of running away. As for the others.  Stella is coming along beautifully and now that she has settled in properly I am going to begin teaching her some more in-depth ways to deal with things that she still finds difficult.  Thimble is fat and happy but will soon b...