Whoa! Its Nearly October. A Visitor and Revelations!!

 Wow Its nearly October!! How did that happen???? So much happened in September my head is spinning!!!!!  So first we will start with the weather like a good Brit should.  It rained.  Off course it did!  I mean its Britain.  It always rains, except for June, July and August.  But finally it happened....and has been happening.  The temperatures have dropped severely and having got used to the high 20s / 30s we are now freezing at 13c today.  But the grass greened very quickly and although its growing again, we are still feeding hay.

The other major happening was Amanda Cowsill came to visit.  She brought the rain from oop North.  Literally in a glass jar, which we are keeping for the next drought.  But she also dragged the clouds with her.  And brought a massive insight about Charlie. On day one of her visit, she and her daughter Debbie came together.  Debbie and I bombed around on Lu and Daisy, while Amanda got to know Charlie.  They got on really well and he connected with her immediately, which is a really big deal, as for many years he wouldn't go near anyone else!!!!  Whats more Amanda addressed the problem I was having getting Charlie to sidepass.  All while Debbie and I were riding around at random on Lu and Daisy in a homemade 'school' measuring 15 x30. Ish.  Next I got on Charlie and we tried to move off.  At this point Amanda had an Eureka moment.  She sussed out why Charlie is OK with me mounting, but not OK with walking. She noticed he has non existent chest muscles and concluded with the extra weight on, he was frightened of falling over!!  Oh how did I not see this?? Its been apparent for a while that me sitting on him was cool, but moving off caused a problem.  I put it down to him being unsure as I wasn't in front of him. What with his poor eyesight and all.  I never noticed his weak chest.  He has great Topline and a big arse and muscled quarters, but thats no excuse to not notice that you could barely get a fag paper between his front legs!!!!   I feel terrible.  Especially as I have been here before with Harry, my ex stunt horse.

When i bought Harry he was only 5 years old, but had been a stunt horse. He had a reputation for being mean and dangerous.  I was sure it was a problem I could fix.  But Harry did not have a bad bone in his body.  He was so sweet and affectionate.  I would go into his stable while he was laying down and sit in the straw with him, and he'd lay his head on my lap.  But he could buck for England, big huge 'Get Off' bucks.  Or throw himself on the floor when he couldn't dislodge me ( I could ride in those days!!!!).  It got worse as he got older and I began to realise it was pain, not a mean temperament.  So the investigations began as he deteriorated to the point where he was lame and would pin me to the wall if i tried to rug him.  We discovered he had a broken vertebra that was sticking up, and so at 7 years old I had him PTS as there was nothing that could be done and he was in pain.   

So imagine how guilty I feel for not seeing that Charlie has a physical problem. Again I thought it was a mental problem.  I should have asked myself Why? But there we go. No point beating myself up even more.  Amanda has shown me some exercises to build up his chest muscles.  We have changed Farrier (not going into that, but they all needed a lot of work) and I have the fantastic Jade Monahan coming on Friday to do the Masterson Technique.

And so back to Amanda's visit.  On the Saturday, with Debbie working all weekend I went to Norwich and kidnapped Amanda.  Having put her to work poo-picking, I then took her to The Suffolk Punch Trust.  Amanda loves Suffolks, and being in Suffolk, we unsurprisingly have the biggest stud just down the road. We watched a demo in the indoor school.  Then the heavens opened. It poured. Tropically.  No-one could leave the school for at least half an hour! Including the demo horse and groom.  Who were at our mercy as we asked a million questions.  Did you know its about double cost to shoe a Suffolk!

When we were able to leave I took Amanda to Shingle Street, the weirdest beach ever, because it changes weekly due to the North Shore Drift.  Now I knew Amanda doesn't like the sea, whereas I love it and have a hobby/business beachcombing.  But she was keen.  Yup too keen. We scooped up a few hagstones, some seaglass (not usually found here, but just as I said that, Amanda pointed a piece out - which she possibly planted -) and made our way back to the car, where she tipped her 'finds' into my hands.  This included a 'Gold' chocolate coin!!!! Obvs this made me laugh.  Even more when I told Mark the Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer that we had found gold on the beach and for half a split second he believed us!!

Amanda's visit went downhill from that moment!  We cannot have anyone stay at the house because our crazy Belgian Malinois likes to kill and eat visitors.  But we have a camper van.  The plan was to stay in the van somewhere nice.  But Mark was in the middle of welding it.  So lovely Leiston was the destination.  Leiston is not that bad, but I warned Amanda if anyone knocked on the door in the night to say she wasn't buying or selling.  We went into town and had fish n chips and by about 9pm I was knackered from having dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker and left Amanda to it.  

On Sunday things went downhill even further!!!! Yeah so we had breakfast at the Beach and the sun was shining. Great for a beach bum like me, but we already know beaches are not Amandas thing!!  Then it was off to work, picking up poo etc.  We had a short session with Charlie and then set off to a local nature reserve to check out the wild herd of Konig Ponies.  During the Summer they graze Aldeburgh Marshes and are easy to find.  But in Winter they are driven further up the coast to Minsmere Bird Reserve.  Which is massive!!!!   

We walked into the Visitor Centre to be greeted by several long lens cameras!!  Yes I thought as we shimmied down the steps.  Either they know we are here.....or they are excited over a rare feathered bird instead of The Lesser Spotted Great Northern Explorer !!!  They were looking at Finches or something equally common.  I inquired as to where the ponies were and we were pointed in a vague direction.  We walked about 5 miles (well it felt like that) checking out some bird hides along the way.  They were inhabited mostly by Great Bearded Tits getting excited over Ducks!!!!  While looking for the ponies we saw an Egret (although I have no idea if its rare here) and a Heron took off over our heads (definitely not rare here).   When we reached the gate to the Konigs ten square mile 'paddock', I looked through my phone camera at 30x.  I thought I saw something moving in the distance.  I also thought I saw a mountain lion (or maybe a Lemur).  So we walked alongside their perimeter another mile or so.....and found hay bales.   At this point I had walked way too far, and the walk back was slow to crawling.  We considered stealing someones off road mobility scooter, but they were still using it.  Another thought was Amanda dragging a bench with me laying on it.  But in true Brit Grit fashion I put one foot in front of the other and we made it back.  I bet Amanda was glad to get back to Norwich!!

So gluttons for punishment, Debbie and Amanda came back on Tuesday.  We were after visiting a Tack Shop.  But first we went for lunch at a local Riding Centre, which has a great cafe, and you can eat lunch while watching their Camel grazing with the ponies.  So we rocked up in the Cafe.  We ordered food.  "So wheres the Camel?" I asked.  "He died" whispered the waitress.  Oh No!!!! 2nd Fail!!!  Still we found a tack shop via Debbie's highly intelligent talking car.  And hopefully we had a laugh.....even if a few things didn't go to plan!!!

So since Amanda has left I have been working on Charlies's chest with excercises and lateral work. Co-incidentally the LHS task on Top Barn Level 3 was turn on the Haunches and Turn On the Forehand. We had a go. Charlie has never been good at Turn on The Haunches and left a leg behind, as well as doing more of a 'Turn on The Belly', but its been a good excercise.  In better news we did real good in The International Horse Agility August competitions, getting a First in the On-Line First Level, a 2nd in Liberty and a 2nd and a 4th in The Summer Of Sports competitions.  We have been working on the September Competitions.....and Daisy is sound so we have been on a short hack!

October promises to be an exciting month, so tune in next month!

Horsemanship Summit - Part Two

And so yesterday I spent several more hours watching videos....Just so I can pass the knowledge on to you lot!!  Oh The things I have to do 😊.

Again I scribbled notes.  And now I will try and make sense of them in a quickish summary!!

First up - The Importance of Touch and massaging your horse. This may sound a little Kookie.  But we all use a back person, without question. And if you only have 10 minutes spare after poo-picking, use it to touch your horse!  It will strengthen your bond if you just spend time with your horse without demanding anything of it. Run your hands all over it.  This will teach you what lumps and bumps are normal for your horse. Then if there is a problem you will spot it.  Watch his eyes.  If he blinks excessively at a certain point this may be a hint of trouble. Try a little massage. If you are unsure of this, then just figure out where his 'Sweet Spot' is and give him a scratch.  Most horses enjoy having their withers scratched, but all have different favorite spots. Experiment. If the horse starts pulling faces, lifts his head, mouths or goes parrot-mouthed you have found that spot.  And they will love you for it! Charlie loves having his chest scratched. Dora likes her chin rubbed. Daisy loves a forehead rub, while Lu loves having her ears gently pulled. Lily loves a good scratch behind her ears....and Mini? She just loves being scratched all over.  She loves having her bum scratched with a poo-picking rake. Equally she loves her chest and belly being scratched. I frequently sit down in front of her and do just that. In return she grooms my hair and back. Another day she will want a good forehead rub. She lets you know what she wants!!

There are a few different Bodywork Techniques and they all have their merits. Many years ago when I ran the RDA we were lucky enough to have Linda Tellington-Jones come out to do a demo of her T-Touch technique. She used the RDA ponies and boy were they in for a treat. I have forgotten so much but one thing that I have used many times since was a technique that may or may not have been called Clouded Leopard.  It involves small circles along the neck, just below the mane on the Bladder Meridian Line.  It certainly relaxes the horse!!

So check out Tellington Touch on YouTube.

Another Bodywork Technique that I found fascinating from the Summit was learning about the Bladder Meridian Line.  This is a line that runs from just above the eye, over the poll, down the neck just below the mane, along the groove just below the spine, through the line on the quarters, and down the hind leg, following the grooves between tendons, right down to the coronet band. There are many videos on YouTube. Also check out the Masterson Technique which uses meridian lines and various simple exercises to release tension in your horse and help your bond. 

I then watched a couple of videos on tack fitting with increasing horror!!! 

First up.... saddle fit. I have used many different saddles on many different horses over the years, and think I am a reasonable judge of saddle fit.  But please please use a properly trained saddle fitter. The saddle is an important piece of equipment, and a saddle that is ok, is not perfect.  The saddle also has to fit the rider.  And must NOT place the rider or any pressure behind the 18th vertebrae as this is where the ribs end.

There was a story from an old Cowboy about "Local Tying Up". Long and short, we have all heard of Tying Up (Azoturia), or as it used to be called 'Monday Morning Sickness'. Happened when the horse was worked hard all week, had a day of rest in its stable on Sunday and come Monday Morning its muscles had seized up. Anyways this cowboy had ridden a young mare hard all day, rounding up the cattle, in a saddle that was an Ok fit, but not perfect.  When they got home the large muscle on her back had swelled and seized up.  She had "Local Tying Up". If she hadn't have had to work so hard she would have been ok. However, if her Saddle had been a perfect fit she would have been able to do that work without injury!!

When I had Paddy I finally saved up enough for a decent 2nd hand saddle. I had a saddle fitter out who had a brilliant reputation and had being doing the job for years and years.  He turned up with a van full of saddles, and proceeded to try them on Paddy.  We ended up with 8 possibles. I then had to lunge him. 4 were discarded. I then had to ride in the remaining 4. For a long time. Over an hour and a half! Walk, trot, canter, jump etc. 2 more were discarded.  The saddle fitter was happy. My choice. Then my field mate arrived. Having ascertained that Marie also rode and jumped Paddy sometimes he made her get up and ride over the jumps. He pronounced that only one saddle was good for us both.  It was £50 more than I had......But it was also the one I wanted. A 16in Ideal Working Hunter Saddle. Perfect for a wide, short-coupled Fell Pony with upright shoulders that I liked to jump.  The Saddle Fitter let me off the £50 so that we had the right saddle!!  If you have anything less of a service.....Don't bother!

And now onto Bits. For a long time now I have not used Snaffle Bits with a Nutcracker action, only french links or 'peanut' bits, but having watched this video on bitting I am now questioning the use of bits at all. We have already moved Dora and Mini onto simple Bitless Rope Bridles. And they have both responded really well.  But they are usually on lead-reins. Dare we go Bitless ? I think after watching this we will!!! 

The video showed a simple demo of a cloth rolled up as a tongue, with two fingers the bars.  Then a simple plain old harmless snaffle was laid on the 'tongue'. Oops. just from the weight of the bit the tongue was squashed flat.

Next up a ported straight bar. Ok maybe if your horse has an exceptionally narrow tongue. But they don't. The tongue was squished.  So you hurt your horses tongue just on a loose rein. Then you pull on the mouth.  The bars of the mouth get pinched, the nutcracker action of the good old plain mild snaffle,  then comes up and hits the roof of the mouth.  The horse opens its mouth, tries to put its tongue over the bit, sets it necks...anything to relieve that pressure. So what do you do?  You say the horse is strong. Its naughty. You need stronger brakes. You fit a Flash nose-band or Grakle. That stops it being able to relieve the pain. With no relief the horse may set its neck even more, it will start to panic. It runs off. Adrenalin takes over. The Horse just wants to get away from the pain, and bolts, or bucks.....or both. So what do you do next?  Get a stronger, nastier more painful bit.  How about a Pelham? Or anything with long shanks? Yeah lets put pressure on the Poll too. Force its head down. Or we could chose a thin bit, one with tongue plates, one that hurts the mouth more. 

I am ashamed to say I have used Dutch Gags (Poll Pressure), Pelhams, Rollers (I naively thought the horse couldn't pull coz it couldn't get a grip on the bit, more likely the gaps between the rollers were nipping its tongue), and even a Running Gag (Cheltenham Gag) years ago on my very strong mare.  The thing is, I owned her for 12 years. I knew the more you held her back, the stronger she would get. If anyone else rode her I would advise them to ride on the Buckle. If she got faster I would say "Don't pull, just relax". Why the hell did I not see the connection and ride her in a headcollar????????  My only excuse is  thats how it was then. We didn't know any better.

 But we did....If only we had looked back a hundred years or so. Apparently in the old days, when horses worked for a living, there were Bitsmiths. Skilled men who traveled the country fitting and making custom bits according to each horses mouth and tongue.  When the Horse was sold, the Bit went with him. I can't help feeling since horses have become animals for leisure only we have lost all skill as horse-keepers.  For thousands of years, man used horses for work and transport. One horse had to work all day, and last for many years. It had to pull all goods. It was a taxi. It carried the whole family, it hauled logs, carried other animals (killed for food). It went to War. It delivered Milk, Coal and the post. It pulled the plough and brought in the harvest. It pulled canal boats, and went down mines. And there were no vets, ex-rays, hard feed, rugs. Ordinary people were extraordinary Horsemen, just because they lived and worked with horses all day every day. The horses had long working lives, because they worked! They were muscled up, unafraid, didn't eat sugar and were treated with herbs when they were sick. Sorry I digress. Thats only my opinion...Not the opinion of The Horsemanship Summit.

And so back to the Summit. Bitless Bridles.  As I am interested in going Bitless, I gobbled this up...And had to change a long held belief that Hackamores are severe. English Hackamores have a long shank....so I always assumed this meant they were severe.  But they are milder than any bit.  Yes they put pressure on the poll, jaw and nose.....but not the tongue or bars of the mouth. As Daisy seems to hate a bit, as soon as she is declared fit to ride, I am going to try her in a Hackamore.  And I am now saving up for a leather Sidepull which is the mildest.  Dr Cook Bridles put pressure on the opposing cheek, so not all horses like them. And plain old rope Bosals came in last, purely because a thin piece of rope is more severe than something thicker...although putting a bit of sheepskin over the nose-piece negates that. 

That said, it is important to fit Bitless Bridles correctly.  The noseband MUST sit on the bony part of the horse nose.  If its too low it will sit on the cartilage...and cause pain!

I have to say Daisy has concerned me for a while. She came to us in a bobbly bit and a Grakle. She pulled, she was on the forehand, and would lunge into canter. I have never been a fan of Nosebands, so before long had removed it. I had realised she pulled against the bit, so ride her on the Buckle, pushing from behind. Over the years she has become a lot more balanced and 'under herself'. She stopped bucking (mostly) and tripped a lot less. Sometimes she tanks off. I normally just let her go.....Once she is in front of Lu, she stops. Only once has she outright took off in a gallop with me. We were out alone and I steered her into some trees, which stopped her. She did rear a bit, and canter on the spot, but soon calmed down.  Occasionally she has these moments out on a hack, but I know her so well, I just sit quietly and laugh.  But one day I tried to see her from a strange riders point of view. I figured she may scare them.  So I got her a Dutch Gag with a French Link.  Mild I thought, but with a bit of stopping power if needed.  And yet when ridden by other people who don't trust her enough to leave the reins loose, she still opens her mouth against the bit. Despite the bars of her mouth being hard (through years of pulling), this bit obviously puts too much pressure on her tongue. I will be trying her in a Hackamore!

And thats it for tonight!!

Here is a picture that, in Hindsight I am not very proud of.  It was taken in the early nineties and i am riding Skittles in a Riding Club Horse class, where we had to use a 'plain old snaffle'.  She is pulling, and I am hauling back. Look at her mouth! 😦