Dedicated to 'Just Donald'

I'm working on my next book, '100 Helpful Hints from Holistic Horse Help', and Simon asked if I wanted to dedicate the book to anyone.  Happy memories instantly came flooding back of Donald, a coloured horse I once had the pleasure of spending 6 weeks with (I upgraded his name in my mind to 'Just Donald' because I felt he deserved a posher name than 'Donald').  If there is one horse who I believe should have been 'my horse', it was Donald.  I was 18, and pretty tough really, I'd seen plenty of horses come and go, but Donald touched my heart and has stayed there ever since.
He arrived at the show jumping yard that I was working at because he'd thrown his previous rider off into the fence and broken the rider's leg - since that rider was employed by the dealer who owned Donald I don't think this made him a popular horse on the yard!  He was deemed to be a very difficult horse to ride, and I can't actually remember what my remit was for him (except that I knew he was ultimately for sale), but I fell in love with him the moment he arrived. He was very spooky, particularly afraid of anything behind him, which included a rider on his back - not a helpful attribute for a riding horse!  It meant that if and when you did manage to get on his back, you had to stay very, very still, or you wouldn't be on his back very long!  In walk this isn't too difficult, but it's quite tricky in trot, as rising trot necessarily involves moving in relation to the horse, and sitting trot petrified him even more! His trick was to shoot off in a high speed panic, and not stop until whatever was terrifying him had gone away. I adored him, and did my very best to raise the £2000 needed to buy him, but failed miserably.
I would spend extra time mucking out and grooming him, I would sit in the stable and eat my lunch with him, and I spent a long time doing groundwork with him, particularly working on being able to mount safely (swinging my leg over his back was enough to set off the panic reaction).  All of this was a long time before I'd heard of Monty Roberts or any form of 'natural horsemanship', so I was making it up as I went along. I think that Donald was really the first horse to get me thinking of how to work with a horse, rather than how to make him work for me. He just made me want to do things right by him. Although I didn't see it as thinking about things at the time (after all, I was only 18!), I just 'did' what felt right.  Maybe there was an instinct there that I was tapping into, I'd ridden since I was 3 years old, but I'm pretty sure that I hadn't specifically been 'taught' to do the things I was doing. I can clearly remember glowing with pride the day I showed my boss that I could do sitting trot on Donald, and his surprised reaction that this was possible. To begin with we could only ride indoors, where there was less opportunity for him to take off in panic, and I can also remember the excitement (and nervousness!) of the first time I rode him in the paddock.  I was so proud of that horse, and how hard he worked to overcome his fear, and I was sure it was because he was trying hard to do it 'for me'.
Imagine how thrilled I was when I was asked to take him to a show, where I'd have a chance to really show off how well he was coming along and how much he'd changed!  The dealer he belonged to was a show jumper, who obviously wanted to sell him on as a show jumping horse (it's not easy to fold over a fence on a horse who can't cope with the rider moving on his back), so they asked me to ride him at an affiliated show jumping competition. It was his first show, and we jumped clear in the Discovery, with just the second part of the double down in the jump off.  I was over the moon!  I'll never forget the feeling as I came out of the indoor arena at Blewbury into the cold drizzle, bursting with pride and grinning from ear to ear... as I jumped off Donald to give him a hug, his owner took the reins out of my hands, and led him off to their lorry.  I'd had no idea they were going to take him away from me, and I cried my eyes out.  I never saw Donald again, and I've never forgotten him.
It was only years later that I looked back and realised that Donald was probably the first horse to set me on the path towards Intelligent Horsemanship. He had as big an impact on the way I work with horses as any I have met. And that's why '100 Helpful Hints from Holistic Horse Help' will be dedicated to Donald.  I owe him a debt of gratitude, and only wish that he could be here with me now for me to repay it. 

Is your horse's girth causing him pain?

Is your horse's girth causing him pain?  Read on for one reader's experience:

Hi Sue,
 
I just wanted to give you some feedback.  A few months ago you mentioned the new Team GB girth from Fairfax.  After looking into it, I subsequently bought one for my GP saddle, which I probably use more than my dressage saddle (I couldn't afford both at once!).  The symptons I was hoping to alleviate were:
 
- girthiness when tacking up - eg grumpy face, chewing the door/wall, which had progressed over time to lifting a back leg on about 50% of occasions
- slightly shorter stride than you might expect from a horse of her size/conformation
 
I had of course had regular saddle checks, chiro and physio visits over the years from trusted professionals, drawing attention to these symptons and also discussing your articles, to try and rule out any other cause.  With retrospect, it sounds obvious that just about the only thing I hadn't looked into was the girth - though to be a bit fairer on myself, none of the professionals had suggested looking at the girth either I suppose.  (It turns out that my saddlers - Saddle Doctors/Mike Norton etc, I think you know them - had designed a girth the same shape years ago, although it doesn't have the Prolite edge)
 
The difference the girth has made is both dramatic and immediate: although there is still a bit of displacement chewing, overnight there are no more grumpy faces or lifting of the back leg - ever. The effects also seem to have transferred in part to my dressage saddle & girth, in that there are reduced symptons whilst girthing.  I will still get a new girth for that saddle as soon as I can though).  She also feels to be moving much better, in particular in her trot stride - although I have to say I am also doing some RWYM training which helps that plus due to the weather she is unfortunately being kept in more which makes her more forward in the school, so it's probably a combination of all those factors.
 
So purely on the positive effects it has had on her comfort, I would like to say a big "thank you" for your regular updates, and for continually prompting people to think about how we can do things better.   We have to keep reminding ourselves that there is always a reason for a particular behavior  (& my poor L had no other way of telling me her girth was painful - and being a little Monty Roberts horse it must also have been distressing her mentally to have to act in a "negative" way around us humans), and there is no excuse for just "putting up" with something.
 
Kind regards,

K

Anger

Anger can't be a pointless emotion, or we wouldn't have it as part of our repertoire, but boy sometimes I'm angry that I get angry! I'm writing this at just gone 11pm while the rest of the household sleeps and I wait for Philip to fall peacefully asleep again. For months now (well, he's not quite five months old bless him so I guess it can't be that many months!) he's settled to sleep really well by 7pm and then slept peacefully until after midnight. I'm someone who really doesn't do well on not enough sleep, yet strangely and unexpectedly I have no problem with these early-hours-of-the-morning wakings, in fact I look forward to them as cuddle time.
But this past week he's started waking up before midnight. Normally again I make the most of the extra cuddle time, but for some annoying reason, tonight the fact that I've been woken unexpectedly has triggered anger in me. It's most difficult for me when I've literally just fallen asleep and he wakes up. I squash the anger of course, and cuddle him and love him with all my heart and he's soon happily in the land of nod again. It got me thinking though, about anger and how irrational it can make a person, and how that can affect their behaviour towards others, human or animal. Some people lash out physically, some verbally, most have a way of controlling their anger so they don't lash out. But perhaps the reason not to lash out has to be stronger than the urge to do so, and I think sometimes horses get a bit of a raw deal.
The most common reason I know for people lashing out in anger is them (the person, not the horse) not knowing a solution to the problem. In my case, I know I don't want to let Philip cry himself to sleep, there are more than enough studies proving that's a bad idea. And I know how to get him back to sleep relatively quickly and easily. But I don't know how to have him sleep through in the first place (and the reality, of course, is that he doesn't need to until he feels ready to). In the horse world, loading is one of the areas you most commonly see people lashing out in anger (sadly often physically), and its almost always because they don't know how to get their horse into the lorry or trailer. They know that once he's on the trailer he'll travel comfortably (or at least, that's what they believe), and they know that he'll enjoy the hack or show they're heading for, but they don't know how to get him into the trailer in the first place. They might have read the books, watched the DVDs, listened to the experts, but when they come to try it with their own horse, it just doesn't work! Working as part of the team at the Monty Roberts demonstrations in the UK, I regularly hear people say 'I've tried everything, but nothing works'. I say to them 'If you gave your horse to Monty to work with, do you think he'd be able to get it in the trailer?'. The answer, of course, is yes. So it's not that nothing works, it's that we don't know the answer.
If you're in the horse world then you're in luck, the Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associates can come and work with you and your horse to give you individualised advice to help you get back on the right track. In the meantime... 'quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep'.

A new approach...

One of my favourite phrases is 'To teach is to touch a life'. Every so often I hear from someone I've worked with, and I'm reminded just how true this is.

'I was moved to write to you as I so enjoy getting your helpful hints and I particularly like this one:

"If you don't have good balance and core stability when you are on your horse, your hands will not be able to be soft in relation to his mouth."

I have fully understood the meaning of this after many lessons with Julian Marczak who has solely worked on my seat (6 months of weekly lessons on the lunge) and then my hands, both on my own horse and his school masters. I am enjoying my riding SO much more now that I really appreciate how to 'feel' the horse's mouth with a gentle sponging effect when wishing to request more flexion or a change of pace or direction. Horses go so much better for me and the achievement of harmony between horse and rider is wonderful.

I first met you when you delivered a massage course at my friend C's home a couple of years ago. Your visit and fantastic massage teaching marked a change in my approach to horses. My horse was the only one who showed some discomfort upon massaging the longissimus dorsi that day and upon your recommendation I had her saddle checked. It was indeed pinching her, to my shame and horror. Since then I have been so much more attentive to my dear trusting horse's every comfort, purchasing more comfortable saddles, bridle headpiece and noseband and engaging a local physio for a six monthly check as well as regular home massage as you showed us. I enjoys all human contact and nickers every time myself or my daughter appear whether hungry or not. She makes herself understood at all times now that I am more attuned to her needs. We now ride her in nothing more than a snaffle with a cavesson noseband.

With many thanks from a happy rider and horse,

T'

Another favourite phrase is 'Smile and the world smiles with you'.  This might not be the case with horses, but certainly your horse work is improved if you are smiling while you are working (or playing, depending on how you view your time with your horse!).  It's difficult to act harshly or impatiently if you have a true grin on your face - try it sometime soon!