horses in the wild

When arguing or discussing or debating a point, it always seems that the point always comes back to '' but horses in the wild'', or ''i will slap my horse as a reprimand, because in the wild they do it''. I'm sure you get the idea.

Okay, so here is my question; ( bare with me, I will get to the point)I have 5 cats, all of whom are fairly young, they are aged between 16 months to nearly 3 years, and have had them all since 6-10 weeks old. We have quite a large garden and backing onto it, is acres and acres of orchard, full of rabbits, pigeons, mice, shrews etc, now, cats, being cats, love to play and catch these animals, and we regularly get, once a week, our cats bring up a deceased rabbit or deceased pigeon, and I seem to always get the delight of clearing up in the morning, as I'm the first one up. Now, this morning, my cat was trying to catch a pigeon in the garden, and missed. It got me thinking- ever since I've had the cats, they've always chased animals- like they are playing with string, but, they have never eaten them. One of my cats has eaten a bird before, but apart from that, they very rarely seem to eat their catch. Now in the wild, they would most definitely chase after it. In fact, my cats are all ( bar one) quite small and get hares double their size. They seem to have no fear of catching something their size or bigger!!!

However, when they are around us, or small children- or even in the house with my guinea pig, they do not batter an eyelid, they quite contently sleep next to Boo and they seem to be happy as larry sleeping on our laps, or ignoring my hair dangling in front of them, ( well when they were babies this was not the case!!!). So, my cats seem to respond to different things differently, they will kill, but they will not eat as though they were in the wild. They also respond to us as humans, and my guinea pig, in the domestic environment a lot differently.

Right, let me try and get to the point.So, the common excuse as to why one will get rough with a horse, is because they do it in the wild. But nearly ALL of our horses, have not been bought up in the true wilderness, they obviously have horse instincts, it's carved into their minds, but they are not truly wild animals and even with their own herds, don't behave how you would see true horses. The set up is too domesticated, as herds are generally more mixed, they are generally smaller and there are geldings apposed to stallions ( generally).So, is it right to treat horses, how they would be treated in the wild? They are not as inclined to behaving in particular ways, because they have been bought up in a domestic environment since the word go, they do learn life lessons, but really, are much tamer, much quieter etc.

Do we seek to 'horses in the wild' as an excuse- a poor one, to justify behaviour ( our behaviour) and our own. Do we seem to have a habit of using the word too much and so we end up using it to excuse and justify our behaviour.?

So, do we as horse trainers have to find an equal balance as to how they behave in the wild to how they behave in a domestic environment? My cats do not see me as their next bit of prey, nor does Shadow see me as a field companion, he does not play with me like he does his friends, he behaves differently around me than he does a horse, so do we WANT to be treated how a horse does? If we begin to start treating our horses, how another one would in the wild, do we run the risk of endangering ourselves and our role as trainers and risk getting treated like a horse, in order to be accepted in the herd?''

Right; so how do we tackle this? Is it a good response to justify actions? I'm in no way slating that these techniques are wrong at all, but should we be very careful to tread carefully on this subject. Horses of course, will go down to their inner routes, especially when in a herd/field environment, however, 99% of horses have been bought up in a domestic environment- even if turned out and left alone as a foal, they are generally bought up by domesticated horses. Like in the wild, if a horse sees a dog, or a person or something which is generally incorporated to their everyday routine, they would be inclined to the flight response. But in a domestic environment, they become desensitised to the stimulus- they accept it and do not see it as a major threat- if at all. So, should we allow ourselves to kick, punish and dominate as a horse would in the wild? Is this seen as fair, or should we know better and begin to seek a more enlightened approach? 

Quotes and what they mean to me...

I find that quotes sometimes bring a lot of meaning into my life which relate to myself. To some people they may be meaningless or irrelevant, but to me they help me to keep on track sometimes.

I like so many quotes- but there are some in particular that have more of a personal relation to me and help me cheer up and put a smile back on my face!!!

''To get the rainbow, you gotta go through all the rain'' - I believe this is said by Dolly Parton- it's amazing that these eleven words on a computer screen or a piece of paper, can have such a profound influence on my journey with Shadow- our journey and it reminds me of how lucky I am to have him as a friend and a teacher.

''When life knocks you down, you have the choice of getting back up.'' This quote is something which sticks in my mind. I've been knocked down so many times and most of the time it's my fault, but instead of whining about the problems I have, I am going to learn to get back up and solve them- try again, what do I have to lose? Complaining doesn't seem to resolve my problems, but trying my hardest to solve them does- I've learnt that crying and whinging about how hard my life is, isn't always going to be the best solution. I've learnt from my mistakes and they are no longer problems, but are just incidents that occurred on my journey- showed me what not to do and how not to do it, and it's helped shape my path.

''As one door of happiness closes, another one opens''
Shayden was and still is a very special pony to me- I messed up and spent too long pretending that Shadow was Shayden, I thought he replaced him and I thought he was going to be Shayden- he's not Shayden and he's not like Shayden was, but then Shadow has been, ultimately a wonderful experience, if not better, whilst I don't get the riding training like I could of, I've got this little 14.2 piebald pony who is wonderful in all aspects- he is a friend and a teacher and has picked me up when I've fallen and I owe it to him that no matter what happens, what ditches we fall on, what wrong paths we take- we will get back up and we will remember that I will be with him, every step of the way.

I love Shadow lots :)

Clicker Training progress

My Alex Kurland book arrived a week ago, have been reading it and slowly absorbing the information from it. I read the Rules of the Game and the rest of section one and now half way through section two and thoroughly enjoying it. It's such a concise read!

When I first began clicker training I wasn't really ready and it was unfair on Shadow's behalf- having some raving idiot who doesn't know what they're doing around a 4 year old cob who is very honest- but I'm glad he was honest, and I realized that I had made a lot of mistakes and we're back on track now!

So last Wednesday I went to the yard with a positive attitude that we were going to do it we were going to succeed, I bought the book with me and practically have the rules of shaping carved into my mind- I decided to start with a brush ( my resources are limited!) and began shaping with him touching it. I first of all held the brush out in front of him- he touched it and got a click/treat, I repeated this and then he was really getting the hang of it- so I felt it was time for the next step and I added in the verbal cue 'Touch it', this went well- he touched it when I asked and didn't touch any other time- it was really exciting and I was having as much fun as he was- it was a great sense of achievement of both of our behalves!

Step 3 was lowering the brush more and more each time- I remember reading in the book about lowering it a few inches and so I did this - et voila! He responded to it, I put it on the floor as we were by now pretty close and I asked him to touch it- he did seem to not understand, I bought the brush back up and asked again and he did it. He touched the brush and I was so happy with him.

 He was very enthusiastic, I had tied him up ( in previous sessions he was all over me) but then I realized he was struggling to reach it despite being at the end of the rope, so I moved it a little closer- being untied was the next step- well it was going to be and then I ran out of treats!!!! I wanted to cry so much!!

Yesterday we experimented with the cones I bought - I only could afford two because I'm a real cheap skate- 9 inch cones were a pound each and I stupidly thought £2 would be enough to buy like a whole pack- but there we go! I think I may have rushed him actually, and although the sessions wasn't overall bad, I think when I get back from my holiday I will get cracking- I'm going to forget the cones for moment and I'm going to solely focus on standing still at the moment, I think that's his biggest problem at the moment he's got ants in his pants and has broken the wooden tying rack several times ( okay the wood needs replacing as it's rotten), also I'd like to be able to do the fun activities with him when he's out of my space- I'd like him to back up, stand still, come forward and move over when asked- so this is what I'm going to focus on for now!!!

Thanks for reading :)

Love Amy and Shadow xxxxx

moving on and being who you are,,,

So sometimes we get that friend who thinks it's all you who is wrong, they can do no wrong and are perfect, blah blah, well nobody is perfect and we have to get on with that- much to our saddness.
I think over the past few months, I've learnt a lot of life lessons as such- how I behave, how I think, how I respond and also how I feel. I've learnt that I should trust nobody because you don't know whose behind you with a knife but also that we must stay true to ourselves and not follow the crowd. I don't want to be one of those girls who bum lick each and every showjumper, competitor or whatever on youtube and I've learnt that that isn't what counts- it isn't the list of subscribers that counts, but it's our journeys as people. I love horses so my journey is with my horse, but we're all on journeys, each and everyone of us.

So I've been wrong about many things, recently and in the past and I perhaps approach a situation in the wrong way at times- but I hate looking around and seeing all these ignorant people- or is it that I'm the ignorant person as I've got such a shallow view on so many people? I'm not sure! But I'm fed up of people treating their horses like they're machines, like they're just they're just there for the sake of, there to dominate and make submit- I've learnt that it isn't about that, I've learnt that it is actually a friendship. Do we try to dominate our friends? Should we smack our friend on the shoulder and tell them no when they stand on your foot? When they don't mean to- yes it hurts, but we've all stood on someones foot before, we've all gotten fed up and frustrated at someone because they don't understand us and we're all guilty to making mistakes- now, we must relate this to our horses, friends, family- sometimes we get mad, sometimes we get angry and upset but we have to give them respect and remember that they are not perfect! I strive and think that I have a friendship with Shadow- it may not be the perfect friendship to someone else, I don't ride him yet and we're both learning things each and every moment together, but what we've got is perfect to me!

Now, we can all say well it's my horse and I do what I like, or we're happy and it's nobody elses business- that is quite right, but everyone of us has an opinion, everyone of us has lied to ourselves ( I've done this on several occasions!) and most of us have moaned about other people. I think that having an opinion is a wonderful thing- it shapes who we are and it makes us that little bit more unique- I don't know all the answers but I equally do know some answers. We have to remember that whilst we have to take what people say on our chin and 'forget' it, it can actually be something very valid to us and help us discover new paths- after all nobody is a perfect rider- if someone thinks that they've reached their destination in a few months, then they are quite wrong- in my opinion- I believe our destination never ends because we're always striving for more. We're greedy and we always want that little bit more or want to do that little bit something- we may have done it with one horse, but doesn't mean that we've done it with each and every horse that crosses our path in our life!

But whilst baring that thought in mind, we also musn't forget who we are. We can't spend our whole lives trying to amend broken friendships when there is only one person trying, but we shouldn't hold grudges, we should just drop it and forget it - move on, it's all part of the journey and it will help us move forward. Everything that happens, happens- we can't change it and there will always be that little dent where it has been, we just have to leave it be and it will help our flowers to blossom...

Photos :)

Teehee, I love photography.

Happy Birthday me!!!

Good day! I got myself over £200 in total today! £125 of it has gone into the bank, I spent £20 on some clothes in Primark today- got a brand new outfit to wear to London on Saturday ( I never buy myself clothes so this is a rarity and when I do- I spend it in the cheapest shop available!!). 

The book I've been longing for Alexandra Kurlands Clicker training for your Horse should be here by the end of the week or beginning of next week- I couldn't wait any longer and as Amazon don't directly sell it, I had to order it via a private seller- got it for a good price of £12.96, well £15 inc P&P. On my list is also Emma Lethbridges 'Know your Horse', Linda- Tellington Jones ' Ultimate Horse Behaviour and Training Book', Klaus Ferdinand Hempflings 'The Horse seeks I' and Anja Beran and Egon von Neindorff books. So hoping that they arrive soonish- can't wait to read them all!!! 

I got a new camera- a Fujifilm Finepix SI730, the nice black chunky old fashioned looking ones- but boy is it amazing, I'll attach some photos I got with it this morning!!! 

 

interesting day at the yard.....

Fox got into the chicken shed last night, got one of the chickens and attacked another and broke the poor hens neck, she was alive this morning, none of the men were down it was me, Barb, Lyns and Fi and none of us wanted to ring her neck but then at the end of the day she was in so much pain the poor little thing- Fi got ready to do it and I had to walk away as I couldn't watch. She wrung it's neck and it's head came off- next thing it started running around headless- I don't think I've ever been so bloody freaked out, whilst trying to hold back tears!!

I had to laugh when Fiona asked me if I wanted to take out Percy- a little 12hh pony, you can imagine my reaction! Anyways eventually got on him- his saddle was flat and resembled a racing saddle and I can't remember the last time I was so close to the ground and on a horse with a much smaller girth! Had one of the most enjoyable rides though- the first half hour was torture- I struggled to sit on him and balance myself and found myself balancing on the reins- suddenly he shot off and after that it was fine, he was v. v. fast and we cantered through the woods and corn fields- he was going at rocket speed and didn't stop- he was a very speedy little pony and he was great fun to ride- which is why I love ponies so much- they're so fun and cheeky but I felt safe and relaxed and really enjoyed my ride!

Didn't get a chance to work with Shadow today- as he is in a new field and so we spent the morning re-wiring the fences and checking for any screws/loose wires and getting ragwort up. I wish I had more time today, but it may sound selfish but sometimes I do like to just go out for a ride and relax for a bit. I had a really fun ride!!

Amy :) . x

I'm a very foolish person...

I've been a bit of a twat. I think I jumped in head first into the deep end. I expected too much from Shadow and now I'm paying the consequences for it!!!

Let me explain as best as I can ( and if it comes out as a totally unstructured ramble, my apologies!)

Shadow is one of those horses, whom, just like me, needs everything broken down into small, digestible chunks. Which is basically what Alexandra Kurland says about 'Shaping', rewarding when they think about things, when they move toward that behaviour etc. However, after consoling in some good friends on a clicker training forum, they've reassured me and explained how I need to go back to baby steps- I tried to do some in-hand work with Shadow yesterday and I was foolish and perhaps should of just carried on with basic behaviours- i.e anti-mugging sessions, targeting sessions and basic, primary work.

It was also suggested about the treats I use- Shad gets VERY enthusiastic about the treats, he loves them ( which is good because it's the primary reinforcer and the motivator), however, I think the problem is that he's TOO keen on the treats, which means mugging is becoming a top problem- but nevertheless, we are going to overcome this. I'm going to be ordering Alexandra Kurlands books off of Amazon and Emma Lethbridges- I reckon these will be the key ones which will help me and Shadow to unlock.

Tazzle on Equi-Click forum said to me that 'Enjoy the journey- there is no destination'. And it's true- the whole point of horses is a learning experience for us, and for them, we're constantly learning and discovering new things, not only about horses, but about ourselves. I've learnt a lot about myself since having Shad.

schools out for me- schools in for Shadow!

So, this is it. Summer has FINALLY arrived ( well it did a week ago but I'm useless at updating this often!) and so the work begins for us both ( the title is incorrect but I thought it was funny- I know it's sad)....
This is my last summer which I'll probably get freedom, because I'm sure after next years study leave, I'll need a job to pay for Shadow so not as much time. So every moment needs to be precious.

It's my 15th birthday next Tuesday ( 3rd August), so I've asked for money for books and have constructed a rather large list of books. Mum asked me earlier what I wanted to do for my Birthday and I said, not a lot- I'll go to the yard and do some bits with Shadow and then come home and read my books ( hehe!) I'm definitely one of Amazons favorite customers. Alongside books I'm planning on booking some lessons with Jill ( EE instructor) and I'd like to get a nice bridle for Shadow and get myself some new riding boots as my boots are good for mucking out and general bits, but do get a bit big for riding in!!!

So, Shadow met an umbrella for the first time on Tuesday ( 27th July) and his reaction was quite funny - he wasn't scared or freaking out, he just looked and cocked his head to the right and started to flehmen (sp?), I gradually made the umbrella bigger- clicking him each time he touched it and accepted it ( I hope that is right?) and then I managed to get it open- he took it all in his stride- he ended up holding the handle of it and walking with it at one point and he let me hold it above him and either side- so when we're out on our wanders eventually, if anyone ever does open an umbrella, he won't freak ( knowing Shadow, he'll most probably eat it!!!). Also had our best record for standing still- I got about 7 foot away from him and he stood for around 10 seconds- which is a huge step. I'm hoping as we progress this will get better.
Unfortunately, as expected and always said, we've hit the mouthy stage- I'm trying to ignore him when he pushes, but sometimes when I lead or handle him, he does try to bite, so I just push his nose away ( any other tips on dealing with this would be grateful!). But nevertheless, we're going to overcome this hurdle and he's going to make me prouder than I already am of him!

Tomorrow, I think we're going to do some standing still and perhaps try some pressure yielding- either that or I may do a bit of in-hand with the clicker- i.e walking forward and standing to the rein, but we'll see!!!

Thanks for reading!

Love Amy and Shadow. xxx

To myself

I doubt anyone else will be reading this, but I'm writing this to myself and will want to look back on this if I ever need to. 
So I really do love Shadow so much, he means the world to me at the moment and suddenly everything seems to have fallen into place, I love him a lot and I think he's so so so special. 
So we began our clicker training, and like it was said to expect, we've hit the mouthy stage, but nevertheless he's still behaving and being the good boy which I know he is and I love him a lot for being a star. 
We've pretty much mastered the backing up- today we were in the field and I thought I'd see how he'd respond, I asked for back up and we got it, he started walking backwards and I needn't touch him. This week I'm hoping to carry on pursuing our stand still task and see how long we can keep going at walking away. 
I sometimes think that I've messed up everything and I'm useless, but wanting sympathy will get me nowhere and nor will feeling sorry for myself, so I've got to bite the bullet, stand up and we're going in for it. With the saying which is probably ruling my life at the moment 
'All great achievements require time' 


I know everyone has specific goals, but all the goals are floating around in my head and I think I need to break them down into small chunks and decide which ones would be better to go for to start with. So task number one? 


- Basic ground manners- stand still, back up, move over, head down and leading without running off for the grass. 
   That goal we're doing pretty well in, he backs up well, he is beginning to stand still more and leading there has been a big big big improvement despite having the odd moment- but he will lead in without being held! 


- Riding- walk forward, stop, back up
 Okay so these ones will take a while, we're getting a school at the yard thank goodness, with rubber surfacing which will make my life a whole lot easier- because to Shad it's just like being back in the paddock with the grass, so it's not really his fault, but I do want him to understand that when I'm on him, he listens to me. Everything else we'll take as it comes, no matter how much I get upset and can't do it, I need to remember that we CAN do it and we WILL do it. 


So basically, Amy, if you're reading this and are either on a all time high or low, then read this and remember. 


All Great Achievements require TIME 

clicker fun!

I think I had a day of breakthrough today, thanks to the clicker.

Shadow has never really responded to pressure and yielded to it, he always needed a strong 'push' to get him to respond. So today, we began with 5-10 minutes of target training- he responded well to this, v.enthusiastic and seemed to latch on that click = treat, as he wasn't mouthy before or after that at all. So then I went and grabbed my schooling whip, some more treats and my camera- had to film it too look back and compare as we progress- and it clicked ( excuse the pun!!), he know will back up with the voice, a little encouragement from the whip and to begin with I lifted my feet at times, but hey- it's better than a strong push!!!! I'm really happy at such a small progress, but nevertheless a important one! Also he know stands as I walk away, which is brilliant!!! 

Tomorrow we're going to have a recap with the backing up for 10 minutes or so, then yielding sideways to pressure, by using my crop very lightly on his side to represent my leg, so fingers and toes crossed- will try and catch it on camera.

I just can't believe how brilliant clicker training is, today I felt we made a HUGE achievement!

He also has seemed to taken quite well to the hose and gotten over his fear and drank from the hose.

Videos from today, I love my little man!

www.youtube.com/watch   ( he has a fly mask on because there was some HUGE horsefly which would pee off and kept going near his eyes, and he was covered in them even when I was there, not nice!!! ) 

First Clicker Session 3/07/2010

Shadow has his first clicker training session yesterday ( 3rd July 2010), and we began with some basic target training.
I used a tail brush, with treats inhand and the clicker at the ready and we began by reaching for the target and clicking- so far so good- he seemed pretty keen and kept touching the targets, followed with the click then treat- so I'm hoping that we can progress forward.
Next session, I'd like to do some more target training and then this time I'd then like to teach 'stand'.
Hopefully ordering Shawna Karrasch's book 'Teach your Horse to do Anything!' as Amazon don't have Alexandra Kurlands book, but I've watched some of Shawna Karraschs videos and quite like what she does.
So watch this space...
Very proud of Shadow :)

...

Life is good. I'm going to Portugal in September- finally, for some lessons- well, 11 of them! With Morgado Lusitanos, or at Quinta do Archino with Francisco de Bragança, all very exciting stuff!!!
Finally, a chance and oppurtunity to ride some beautiful Lusitano horses, and have some good training. I really want to begin to crank up the pace with Shadow now, and increase his workload and training, but it's such a pain because he's so far away. But I am not going to give up, nor be beaten, I just need to find a way.


In my Phillipe Karl book, 'Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage', I was reading about the Learning Sequences, and I am going to apply this to Shadow; 
Language of Aids;
Objective;
Prepare;
Assess;
Reward;
Repeat;
Perfect. 
At the moment, Shadow's problem is that he isn't very keen on walking forward with a rider on him without someone next to him. I don't equally want a horse which is dead to the leg and needs constant kicking when I can eventually be able to lightly ride him with a wee nudge if that, and a little tap of the crop if need be. So I need to plan a way to vary and make things 'exciting' for him, make a reason for walking forward, lol, I'm considering dangling a carrot on a rope in front of him haha! But what can I make interesting out of walking forward? So need to rack my little brain a tad!!! 
Small steps make big steps...

and so the work begins,,,,

as the title says....
Shadow was a angel last week. We went for our first walk up the 'jumping' field, bareback, just for a little walk up and down. He listened to my voice, my legs and my seat- when I asked him to stand and walk on, he did. He was a angel. I am so so proud of him.

GCSE's are coming up. I've decided that I'd like to go to Veterinary School and become a Vet- eventually. I do need to work extra hard at school, but I am willing to do so if it means I can enjoy a career helping and saving animals. Perhaps it'll be time consuming, but I think it'd be nice and beneficial for horses and owners and any other animal, the thought of rescuing and helping their beloved pets.
I'd like to go to Nottingham University. So yeah :-).
If I want to be a vet, I really need to freshen up my school grades...!!!
Watch this space!

Shadman End of April

Well, Dentist came out today. Shadow's passport says that he is 4 in June- ah- but the Dentist said he's definitely four! So Shadow is 4 and I don't know when his birthday is! Cassie was really good, Longlined her today, I took the long lines and Kel walked with her, she didn't batter an eyelid! Loved it, Shadow, again got scared, so we're going to have to work on how we're going to get him used to them- desensitizing him to them, and telling him that they're not snakes- thing is, he was petrified of it, turned round after putting them down and he began eating.... Oh Shadow <3 How I do love this pony!!
Tomorrow, I might let him eat the deadly ropes, and throw it over my head, and round me, make myself look really silly! Whilst he's watching, Kelly will be there to help anyway :) 


Wish me luck, Blogger ;)..
I will update myself tomorrow :) 

Shadows first time wearing a bridle! ( && bareback!)

Shadow was such a sweetheart today, tried the bridle on him again today and sat on him bareback and let him get used to it, he absolutely adored having the bit in his mouth and loved it.
We went into the field and walked round that, it was lovely and I really enjoyed it. He was so sweet and so behaved and it was so magical to ride with him like that. He's never done this before, and he took to it so well. Tomorrow, if it's still warm, we'll be having baths!! Want to walk him in the bit again tomorrow, or lunge him possibly.
I love Shadman <3

Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling

So my Dancing with Horses book arrived on Tuesday, and it's great, it's beautiful and so well laid out, and really, really quite an inspiring book to read and enjoy and makes me think that my goals for myself and Shadow are achievable, with perserverance, patience and being happy along the way. Riding collected on a loose rein. Riding  in a halter and rope, would be my dream, eventually we will achieve this. It won't take months, but take us years to develop our relationship and trust. When I've finished the whole book, I'll post my review on it to here as well as Amazon.

Gemma gave me her old new ( if that makes sense) Cavesson bridle, it's beautiful, Cob size and will use it for Shadow to wear with his Snaffle tomorrow. My boy was so good the other day on the lunge for me, and it ended on a high. Eventually we'll be doing free lunging with a rope. One day....

It's funny how inspiring and thought provoking words can be. Which is also another thing, how our body language is a word, sentence, paragraph to our horses- how every movement and gesture we make is horse language. So we have to 'learn the lingo' and speak horse. We have to learn that, not the horse has to learn human ( even I struggle with that!!!).
The horse is really a magnificent animal. Beautiful. Pure and powerful.

Lunging Shadow

Today I got in my boy and lunged him. The vet gave him the all clear and said he wasn't actually lame- just sore- so maybe I got a bit overworried ;). He hasn't been worked or done anything for a week, so I did 10 minutes of lunging in the school. Shadow was such a good boy, he was listening to me, he walked and trotted and halted when I asked and although a bit slow to begin with was such a good boy. Let him try his sweet iron bit on today, and he loved it- salivated all over and got it all sloppy- but what was funny, was that when he had the bit in, he was trying to eat his hay, but couldn't quite get to grips with the strange metal thing in his mouth and trying to get mouthfuls of hay at the same time, was quite funny and the face he pulled! I took it out and he carried on munching. Going to borrow and possibly buy my friends Hunter Cavesson- for Shadow- I think that's suit him and I quite like the Cavesson type noseband- so I think he'd look smart in that. Lunged him in his Dually and he was really well behaved in it as well- so going to gradually introduce the bit into his mouth and then wean him into it. Lunging and in-hand work first. Once we're over the scariness of the longline issues- we'll then attempt to longline and ride him with the bit- I don't want to ruin his mouth, so I'm going to try and do as much on the ground with him as much as possible.
We're going to achieve it and we're going to achieve what we've wanted to do. I will make this work and so will Shadow. We're now a team.
I love him lots- and he is becoming my best friend- not Shayden and will never replace my handsome boy, but Shadow is different to Shayden and I love Shadow how he is. He's perfect the way he is-
As himself.

Ideas

So, going to try Shadow's Sweet Iron snaffle and then lunge him this week- eventually attempt to long-line him.
Vet's out tomorrow morning- to do boosters and can check over Shadow's leg! Hopefully nothing majorly wrong, just stiff! 

Love Shadow.

I like quotes!

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

There is no determining how many miles we have to run in order to chase a dream.

It doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop.

Funny thing is- I could sit and read quotes all day long, but they've helped me discover and think in new ways- when I lost Shayden back in October- I spent so long- and still do sometimes now- thinking about it- how I wish I could have him back, how I wish I hadn't messed up- how I wish I could turn back time- but unfortunately that isn't going to happen- I'd love to have Shayden back- of course I would! But then I have something else now- something to look after and love, to cherish and care for- I spent to much time comparing Shadow to Shayden- I shouldn't and musn't- there not the same horse, Shadow is young, green and curious and slow- Shayden was fast, funny and experienced. But both are a challenge- they both challenge me- Shayden I gave up on. Therefore I've had to learn from my mistake- and make sure I don't make the same one again- obviously I will make another mistake- but this time I will get back up- you can never trip over a mountain- and I'm still at the bottom.

I'm going to stop dwelling on the past- but also try to stop thinking about the future- I can dream it- and I can think it up- but the only way I can make it- is by living for now. Which is what I'm going to do.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

Shadow's now lame :(

Poor pony, was a silly billy and whacked into a fence post- so a prescription of grass eating and field rest is in order- he's not severely lame, but we have no stables- and the wee lad did himself no favours running around like a raving looney the other day- but horses will be horses- he's just a bit stiff, putting weight on it, we've got the vet out Monday for boosters and so will ask him nicely :-).

Shadow Progress- 3rd April 2010

The rider starting to train a young, green horse must have a definite idea of what he requires from his horse and the method by which he proposes to achieve it. The greater his knowledge and experience, the more quickly he will obtain success. But the thoroughness of the training should never be sacrificed to the temptation to gain results too quickly. Above all the rider must be warned against trying to hold too rigidly to a pattern and should give priority to individual education. Only then will he be able to perceive the many fine characteristics that will reveal to him the latent talent of his horse and will help him to obtain the best results from his training in the easiest manner. Throughout the entire training the rider must develop his horses mental and physical proficiency so that he will not only obey but also want to obey to the limit of his powers.

That paragraph comes from Alois Podhajsky's book 'The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'

which is going to be my bible for the next God knows how many years! I think it's true though

and really does refer to how we should train our horses and that we shouldn't be rushing into

things directly and just to take things slow, I know how it feels to be rushed into things and

then ending up confused trying to do to many things at once and getting brain freeze,

which poor old Shadow also suffers from, so small chunks- small steps make big steps- that's

what I keep saying in my head. Patience IS a virtue and I know it'll be worth it in the end.

So anyway, Saturday we had our first lesson with a women named Pennie, it was good, she

was okay, and was quite helpful, and I understand he's young so we musn't rush these things

but what I did is what I do with Shadow anyway, I did pick up a couple of tips, but I am

not going to spend my money on lessons for a while, I might go and have some on other horses

to help my riding, but for the time being, we're going to work on the basics and take it

in our stride. Our issue has been at the moment that Shadow struggles to listen and respond-

his reactions are slightly delayed and he has to think about what he is being told, he will

walk on beautifully, but is still ever so dependent on someone walking next to him, even

with a rider on his back, he'll want somebody walking round next to him in the school, so we

need to wean him off that issue, so I think the solution to that will be to lunge him with me

on him and then he will get the idea that he doesn't need somebody next to him all the time,

so that's the plan and my idea for the time being.

We also need to work on our halting- it's all well and good having a nice walk, trot, but the

halt is my main priority at the moment.

Our other task is to stop power walking to the gate to get out- he wants to get to his hay and again, I know it will take some time for him to learn not to do this, but I hoping that he does stop this eventually, but again, these things take time and however long it takes, we'll just keep going at it, hopefully we'll overcome it though in the not to distance future.

So our tasks for the end of April are as follows-

• Halt and Walk on when asked.
• Walk past the school gate without stopping.
• Be able to walk round the whole school and walking on and halting when asked.
• To begin working In-Hand.
• Walking and Trotting on the lunge.

I don't expect him to achieve this all by the end of the month, so even by May time would be nice ;).