EquiLateral: Hayls: Blue, Drift with a touch of Spice

So I'm Hayls and like so many of us, I've been a horse addict since I can remember. My Mum first took me riding in the summer before I started school, so I was riding pretty much before I could count! It’s her fault! Horses have been a huge part of my life ever since, having lessons and part loaning horses until I was 12 when I got my first pony, and my first love, Blue.

He was a 14 hand connie x, and he was definitely a teenager. So you could say we were perfectly matched: First and foremost emotionally inconsistent!! Moody, happy, fun, stroppy, out-going, independent, stubborn, but most of all, desperate to be going as fast as we possibly could! We did everything from Dressage to mounted games, working hunter to cross country and even some good old drag hunting (our favourite; hunting where nothing dies).

He taught me so much, here's a few things:

How to hang on to a rampaging pony going from a hundred miles an hour to emergency stop, at a fence he'd already jumped a million times
How to avoid a hoof to the head when one is picking out unwilling feet
How respect is not learned, it is earned
How horses understand English, and don't take too kindly to sarcasm: "Ooohh someone's looking happy today" result; a large bite to the neck and a ridiculously brightly coloured bruise to show for it!
To be determined and trust my instincts
That jogging on the spot is only really acceptable in dressage tests
That when you've forgotten your bridle when going hunting, don't make one out of odd bits and pieces you've got in your tack box, it looks ridiculous, (See picture below)
That when you get back from hunting, never remove the bridle without securing the pony, no-one wants to see a crying 16 year old sprinting down a main road after a pony that is ready for hunting round two (bareback)
That I will never be able to give as much to horses as they have given to me

I had him for about 4 and 1/2 years before I got a beautiful 16hh eventer on loan, Millie, as I had grown far too big for Blue. So I decided, the best thing for him was to go to a home where he would be competitive; he was born to run. He has gone on to compete in his favourite discipline, Mounted Games, at HOYS and has been on the England team. Blue was the best pony I could have wished for and I've regretted the day he left me ever since and I can't wait until he's an old boy and can maybe come back and retire with me.

After having a great year with Millie, showjumping and eventing and even the odd moment of madness as above (running backwards before launching into space!!), I decided that I wanted a young horse that I could start myself and a companion.

I bought Spice off a friend and she hasn't disappointed, she has been the best Mum in the world to Drifter and she is a loving and easy to do pony. But Spice hated being ridden and would rear and fight all the way; she is a strong willed little character. I had to ask why? So I found out she was bred to show jump and made to do so at whatever cost. She was branded a 'psycho pony' and my friends thought I was mad to buy her, but it was her that perhaps suprised me the most out all my horses. We built a relationship based on mutual respect, I let her be independent, and she would give me her time and be with me, always at my side though, never behind, we had to be equals in her eyes. When I got on her with no tack she walked calmly with me around the open field - an extremely important lesson for me; to love a horse is not to force, it is to ask, and accept their answer for who they are.

I went to see several beautiful young horses, that had all been around people and were well-bred, but none of them were 'the one'. Then I stumbled across an un-handled, terrified, odd-looking but completely endearing 2 year old. I went to stroke him in the stable and he shivered with fear and my heart melted. So again, like it was the day I met Blue, it was love at first sight and the nameless, scruffy lunatic was coming home with me.

After spending a few months with Drifter as a young horse I knew it was going to be another huge learning curve for me. From the start, Drift had the most kind eyes and a real loving nature, but at the same time he was totally dependent, the most spooky horse I've ever met in my life, terrified of everything, and absolutely positive the world was out to get him.

A few of Drifter's highlights:

He jumped a 5 bar gate to escape a field full of grass to run down the A50, before ending up in the petrol station, (I think he took me saying to him, that we both needed re-fuelling quite literally)
He put his head through the bottom of a metal gate, before spooking and lifting his head, lifting the metal gate off its hinges, and proceeding to run 100 meters down his field with a gate around his neck
When a friend came out of her stable to tell Drift he had to go back in his field as someone had left the gate open, he decided that jumping the 3ft fence into his field from a standstill, was a much more sensible option than walking through the adjacent open gate.

So we did lots of join-up, loose schooling and just spending time together to help us to form a trusting relationship. I wanted him to be with me because he wanted to, not because I was forcing him to be and I always wanted to do things differently with Drifter. He let me back him fairly easily when it was just the two of us in his stable and so one day I decided to take the plunge and ride him in the field for the first time. Walk was okay, so we did a few circuits of the field. Then after some time, (he seemed relaxed) I asked for trot and I got catapulted through the air!! I thought perhaps he'd spooked at something so got back on and again after a few circuits got catapulted again. 'Great, just great,' the only thing Blue never threw at me was Drifter's finest art form: Broncing + Shoulder dropping!

Following this I did more long-reining and strengthened his canter on the ground before trying the dummy approach. I strapped it on, off he went. Needless to say, the dummy came back in pieces, no head, no legs, and two arms left dangling from the reins. (How I envisaged myself to end up with this horse!) After putting the dummy, myself, an Irish jockey and a horse trainer over his head on several occasions, we managed to get him hacking out fairly calmly, walking and trotting nicely in the school. Our only problem: canter. I think I fell off for the first 6 months almost everyday, when asking for canter until I finally got him strong enough to balance himself with me on his back.

Not the best video as you can't really see where he drops his shoulder, as the other horse is in the way but this was one of the first attempts at canter. Looking back with experience, we needed some straight long stretches, where I could have developed his canter, with a lead horse as the school was not ideal for a youngster with an extremely wobbly canter. But you live and learn from your mistakes and breaking two of my friends horses last year was a walk in the park in comparison. By taking our time with Drifter and never using aggression to teach him, made the step from riding with tack to riding at liberty simple. He trusts me, and I trust him - that's all there is to it! Now we can canter like this, so for me it was all worth it and hopefully for Drifter too.

Things I have learned from Drifter

Patience is a virtue
A sense of humour is the ultimate necessity when breaking a young horse; you will lose all dignity
To be true to yourself and your beliefs, even if other people think you are mad
That horses can definitely be as odd as humans; apparently sniffing other horses poo whilst hacking is so much fun, it is definitely worth dragging Mum half-way across the road for
Anger only ever creates anger and fear, respect earns respect and kindness breeds kindness
Never try and teach Spanish walk from the ground, black eyes and nosebleeds aren't ideal when picking out feet
The horse can never be wrong, I make the choice to be in his presence and should respect his power; I choose to climb onto his back, therefore if I fall, it can only be my fault

Drifter is now a gentle and trustworthy partner and we do everything from liberty work to cross country, jumping to hacking and we are working to improve our dressage and showjumping away from home; I'm sure we'll get there. Although I learnt an awful lot from Blue, Drifter has been by far my greatest teacher. Our relationship is built on listening to one another, 'he may not talk, but he speaks if you will listen'. I listen to him and tell him if he has overstepped the mark and vice versa he isn't afraid of letting me know when I've asked too much. Buying an opinionated, nervous, but loving and true appaloosa, has been one of my greatest decisions so far and I wouldn't change him for the world.