H:: Back down to earth

Our journey began on the ground: having a nervous un-handled two year old, I had no option. First and foremost I needed to convince Drifter that I wasn't out to get him! I started using join-up (the only tool I had in my box at the time) which helped us start communicating, but I realise now I was sending him rather confusing signals. It was a real breakthrough for us when Drifter allowed me to sit with him, whilst he lay down in his stable. This was the first time I felt he trusted me and from there he has come a long way. I ran with Drifter in the field and in the school, getting him to follow me, back up and come to me. Another hugely important part of building a relationship, was spending time just being in his presence without asking anything of him. I still find join-up useful however I very rarely send Drifter away nowadays - why would I if he wants to be with me?

Here is a short video of how we started with groundwork:

I have found groundwork is so crucial as it not only helps us to build partnership, but it also helps to form boundaries: personal space is of such importance when working with half a tonne of horse!! I have always taught Drifter to respect my space, to the point where he will back up if you so much as turn around and look at him. I did this because when he was younger he was so playful with his front legs and he had no idea of his power; I got flattened on many occasions, never aggressively, he'd come back and look at me on the floor in confusion: we had to form a boundary. But it has it's downsides, because now when I'm teaching Drifter movements at liberty, his default response is to back up, to give me more room, although he is improving!!

Drifter has his boundaries for me too; he isn't afraid to say no if I ask too much. He teaches me to be patient, to read his signals and that if he does say no- it's me that has done something wrong.

After doing liberty work in the saddle with Drifter - I almost lost touch with groundwork and I forgot how much we both enjoyed it. Since I hurt my back in August last year, I have been unable to ride and I have remembered my love for working with Drifter on the floor!!

So for us it is all about positive reinforcement and having fun:

-Drifter has got to enjoy what we do otherwise he will just decide not to; he's at liberty, he has the choice!

-I have to use clear body language and reward exactly what I'm after: I was teaching Drifter to walk sideways in his stable over the winter and after two strides, because there was no more room, Drifter went to his default and took a stride backwards, but I responded 'Good boy'. So he thought that what I was after, was two steps sideways, two steps back! So it is so important to reward him straight away for what I want him to do

-I always reward Drifter for trying- he doesn't like being wrong

-'Look away' and 'Being still' are two of my favourite things that I have taught Drifter to do, as they are so useful!

-Teaching Drifter things from the ground, makes things so much easier when I'm in the saddle, as it's easier to show him on the ground what I'm after, than to tell him in the saddle.

Here is some clips of some groundwork I do with Drifter;

  

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding:: Albert Einstein

K:: Update: Russia and the trailer

We did it! Russia has had two further training sessions with the trailer since my last update, and the improvement is vast.

Taking it back to basics again, we have built a relationship on trust and he sees us as part of the herd. Spending evenings doing groundwork, building trust and developing a partnership has been a major stepping-stone in getting Russia to do what is asked of him. As always we used patience and a little bribery and managed to reduce the loading time down to ten minutes.  

 

Sunday we hit a turning point. Russia was having nothing of coming onto the trailer and we feared we were about to take ten steps backwards. A thought was to feed him on the trailer, so leaving him with Hayley I went to prepare a tempting dinner. From the yard (150ft away) I heard what I could only describe as an almighty scream- thinking there was something wrong, I quickly raced back. Arriving back to them both, I couldn't believe the scene I was watching- Russia following Hayley with no hesitation through the trailer continuously. The scream was Hayley in great delight. 

To ensure this wasn't a fluke we did the same the following day - opened the ramp and Russia this time followed me through the trailer with no hesitation. So what created this turning point? Space. When I left to make the feed Hayley sat on the ramp, wanting to be with her Russia made his way up the ramp to investigate, she moved backwards, he followed. Now when we walk up the ramp we make ourselves as small as possible, giving the illusion of a larger space in the trailer. 

 

We have reduced Russia's loading time from over two hours to under two minutes in three weeks. How? Simple. Be patient, clam and listen in every aspect of working with your horse. He will show you the light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

“You feel and listen to the horse. The experience of the results of his response helps you understand for the next time.”  Tom Dorrance.

H:: Spice up your life!

So this is little one:

Spice has had arthritic changes in her knees since she was 14, which was attributed to her showjumping at 100mph form an early age and she also did mounted games for some time. We then retired her to a life in the field with the odd hack now and again. The nodules on her knees have been slowly growing since then and she is now quite sore when she trots but is fine in walk and canter - she is happy though and to me, that is all that matters. 

Sun, sea, and a good old roll.

Spice has lived out 24/7 for all the summers I have had her, but due to amount of grazing she had to come at night for the winter. She was always extremely stiff walking out into the field in the morning; we tried Devil's claw to no effect. In the summer of 2013 she put on a fair amount of weight and became quite lame: I put her on a crash diet and Boswelia, but was pressured into putting her onto Previcox. It is a drug used for dogs, but it had not been properly tested on equines (it may have been since). She went onto half a tablet each day and she began to fall over in the field. It was one of the most frightening times with her: she would be trotting down the field and suddenly fall to the floor, it was awful.

So out came the vet again and I said that I was taking her off Previcox without question and she suggested putting her onto Danilon instead (Spice won't eat Bute). The vet said she would perhaps make it to winter - but would suffer in the frost and probably wouldn't make it through. So she lost some weight, went onto the Danilon once a day and she had a hefty scoop of micronised Linseed to see her through the winter and she made it!!

Poor girl unable to stand properly in her stable

So came the summer of 2014! Spice gave me another horrendous scare where she became very sore after spending the night in her stable (we think she may have stiffened up and gone down). She was so sore and I thought she wouldn't make it through the day. Me and Drifter stayed by her side all day and I gave her a feed full of Linseed and Danilon. By the evening she was walking okay again and by the next morning was happily bossing Drifter around the field again: another huge sigh of relief.

The following evening, standing normally again!

And so was the build up to another winter with little one. This was when the best thing happened - Katrina bought Russia and Spice became Mum all over again. She now has the choice of standing in the stable, on a track or of course her favourite place; in the field! She has a new purpose and loves having a new youngster to look after. Russia and Spice have a special relationship built on a mutual understanding of one another.

 

So a move off the yard, meant a move off the Danilon thanks to reassurance from Katrina and back to the natural stuff and so came the Golden paste- time to Spice up her life! I had put her on turmeric for a short time years ago, but I didn't use it in a high enough quantity to notice a difference. She has been on turmeric consistently now for some weeks and she is able to lift her legs up far easier than before even when she was on Danilon; and the best thing about turmeric as a natural healer; it's been scientifically proven. I have no doubt that living out has made a huge difference for her and of course letting her grow the feet she needs to, in order to support those poorly limbs.

I have my dear friend to thank for the lifestyle Spice is now able to lead.

So our next challenge: Grow our own turmeric!!

Sharing the love...and the hay!

K:: Update: Russia and the trailer of terror.

Important behaviourism #1: Horses are as we all know a herd animal, naturally they want to cooperate. Given the chance Russia will always find himself close to me when I'm about the yard.

Important behaviourism #2: He only has to be shown something once in order to understand the concept, so we know tricks won't work.

Sunday, we walked him through the trailer, reducing the 2.5 hour time down to 40 minutes, still a long time but ultimately a huge improvement. So how did we do it- by basically ignoring the very reason we were there. Firstly we placed the trailer between the exercise area and the route back to his beloved companion spice.

Hayley and myself were catching up on the trailer with an old friend Charlotte. To our surprise Russia was very keen to be involved in our conversation and slowly began the creep up the ramp.

Still he wouldn't take the plunge and bring those back feet on the ramp. So, Hayley stood behind him, Charlotte took the lead rein and I had the pleasure of his wonderful agile front legs. I encouraged him to walk forward, Hayley kept pressure behind him, but only enough for him to know if he stepped back he would so onto her and Charlotte bribed. With some coaxing, and a little patience, the back feet were on the ramp and he walked through the trailer.

Yes, we did it. And we will do it all again next week. We did it our way, the horse was happy to do what we asked, not once had a fight with us and we all felt there was a vast improvement.

Important points to note:

Horses will bide their time. Stepping backwards is his way of taking the process backwards.

If we apply force, they will apply more - the outcome is humans will always lose the strength battle.

Herd animals want to be with the herd, allowing them to make that choice when the trailer is the only option to get there is a good start with a positive outcome.

K:: When nothing goes right, go left.

Russia doesn’t like the trailer; he isn’t frightened and I have quickly learnt that he has the most amazing defense mechanism of any horse I have met. He shuts down, eye’s glaze over and plants his feet. Great a 500kg animal that refuses to move.

Leaving the yard Saturday he stopped at the bottom of the ramp. Hayley and I pushed him back 100ft, walked him forward and repeated. Each time he stopped at the ramp. We quickly learnt he didn’t like to go backwards and on the third attempt he ran up the ramp. Great, job done horse fixed we thought. How wrong we could be.

Coming home, Russia stopped at the bottom of the ramp. This time he wouldn’t go backwards, too clever to fall for that trick twice, he wouldn’t walk forwards and his shear strength snapped my very beautiful new leather head-collar!!  Not only this; both Hayley and I are wearing fantastic bruises from the antics.  Two hours after the first attempt and every clever idea we could think of, we finally walked him on foot by foot and were on our way home.

What did we learn? A LOT
Always ensure the long-reins you're about to use as a guide are solid - mine have a velcro connector. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry first as I saw Hayley lay on the ground after one gigantic pull!!
Never travel a youngster in your beautiful new leather head-collar – its bound to be broken.

Never assume because you have achieved something once that the problem is fixed – practice makes perfect and your horse could decide he wants to give you a false sense of security.

You won’t ruin your relationship from one bad day. Russia has forgiven me and I have forgiven him. We both needed a sleep after the day.  

A horse that is desensitized to most things isn’t frightened and therefore will think nothing of a broom up the bum!

From the weekend I plan to document how Russia is going to learn to love the trailer – starting this week with the trailer gaining a new home on the gravel track in the field. 

H:: Drifter's bare necessity!

I didn't realise it at the time, but in September 2011 my whole perspective on horses was about to change for the better. Drifter was forging badly in shoes and after being reassured by my farrier, then numerous vets telling me different things, I decided to do my own research and read online about what would be best for him. This is when I stumbled across the UKNHCP forum and realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks. I knew precious little about my horses health, and as someone who had always looked for an alternative way of keeping horses I couldn't believe I hadn't questioned it before.  Shoes weren't the be all and end all of a sound riding horse, and after reading through very few posts, I had made up my mind that the shoes were coming off.

September 2011 - A day after the shoes came off - surfaces were no problem

His right fore 3months bare - 2 distinct event lines which coincide with our worming cycle and when he had a colic scare

Drifter does everything barefoot now; we used boots during his transition, but they have been tucked away in a box and haven't been used in over a year and a half now. His feet are fascinating and the event lines tell me the month he was wormed, when I gave him too much grass, or when he escaped and ate other liveries feeds!! Drifter forges little in comparison to when he had shoes and trips nowhere near as much. He is also a very clumsy horse, and the fact that he can feel his feet, has definitely helped with his his proprioception. I now question everything I do with my horses from wormers, to shampoos and lotions I use, from training principles to medication. I want to learn about every part of my horses health, so that I personally make the decisions about what is best for my dear friends, and not just trust someone else to do it for me!

Enjoying some barefoot xc schooling April 2014