14802 lpost spring 08:14802 lpost spring 08 · 14802_lpost_spring_08:14802_lpost_spring_08 13/2/08...

Magazine for the Intelligent Horsemanship Association

The Listening Post

SPRING 2008

Exciting New Q&A SectionProfessional advice for you and your horse

March Madness with IHYour chance to bag a bargain

World TravelKelly’s South African tour -

a trip to remember!

www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

Scholarship NewsThree ways to be sponsored for

a Five Day Course

14802_LPost_Spring_08:14802_LPost_Spring_08 13/2/08 15:15 Page 2

“We have constant great reports about Sarah’s work” Kelly Marks

14802_LPost_Spring_08:14802_LPost_Spring_08 13/2/08 15:15

3The Listening Post

Happy New Year to everyone

We have lots of new members following the October tourand the hard work of Sandra Williams and you are all verywelcome. The Listening Post is your magazine and I value andwant any input you can give me – please do not be shy!

On that note I have an apology to Alison Beardsworthwho sent me a wonderful piece on Join-up in cattle whichI used in the last issue but somehow her name got missedoff it. My sincere apologies.

We have some 'super new membership benefits' includingspecialised help:-

• Donna Blinman for veterinary advice

• Dr Veronica Fowler an expert on colic, laminitis,steretypies and Equine Infectious Diseases

• Hilary Vernon the bitting specialist

• Jackie JA Taylor feeding and nutrition.

You can download enquiry forms from the website underMembers and send them to Kelly at IH.Office@ virgin.net

But that is not all! The IH office have gone crazy andorganised a March Madness Sale of your favourite books – see page 15.

On a serious note, Dr Veronica Fowler has written a veryinstructive piece on colic – I am sure each and every oneof us will have been guilty of some transgression she hasmentioned at one time or another (I certainly know I have)but only with education can we prevent ourselves doing thesame thing again. This article is not an excuse for anyone tofeel badly about themselves. Please remember that.

If you were lucky enough to be able to attend theFebruary tour, you will have seen our Little Star Caesur –he is for sale now (to help Daisy pay off some of herstudent loan!), see his details on page 23.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future butin the meantime,

Enjoy your horses, Sandra

Letter from the editor

Con

ten

ts

Editor of The Listening Post:Sandra O’HalloranEmail: [email protected]

Intelligent Horsemanship Office:Address: Lethornes, Upper Lambourn, Hungerford RG17 8QP Phone: 01488 71300Fax: 01488 73783 Email: [email protected] Website: www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

Sarah Weston Page 2

Letter from the Editor

Back to Form Page 4

Your Letters Page 5

Problem Kicker Page 6-7

Case Studies - Donna Blinman Page 8

Case Studies - Hilary Vernon Page 9

Case Studies - Veronica Fowler Page 10

Case Studies - Jackie Taylor Page 11

Learning to Listen Page 12-13

My Mother is a Wheelbarrow Page 14

IH - Courses Page 14

March Madness at IH Page 15

South Africa Page 16-19

Perfect Reading Page 20

Reviews and Bulletins Page 21

Have your cake and eat it Page 21

Great new business taking off Page 22

Caesur - a little star Page 23

Scholarship News Page 23


4 The Listening Post

Could you just start by explaining whatyour background is?

I am an Equine McTimoney and sportsmassage practitioner (quite a mouthful Iknow!). I work on the horse’smusculoskeletal system using spinalmanipulation, massage, stress pointtherapy, acupressure points, and stretcheswhere appropriate.

I am also a BHSAI and have a degree inAnimal Behaviour which has been thefoundation for my interest in the welfare ofthe animals that I treat. I treat horses (anddogs, and even the odd pot bellied pig!) inall disciplines including Advanced eventers;high goal polo ponies; Prix St Georgedressage horses; and PC/RC horses.

What gave you the idea for thiscourse?

I have been treating Kelly’s horses for thelast 4 years, and we have often discussedthe difficulty in knowing for sure whether ahorse is ‘misbehaving’ because he is in painor due to some other factor such asinappropriate feeding or training errors.Kelly’s horses are very lucky – they getchecked and treated regularly, but not allhorse owners are in a position to do that. Itreat a great number of horses who havebeen behaving ‘badly’ in one form oranother who have turned out to have verysore backs and their behaviour hasdramatically improved once they were morecomfortable.

We all want to understand our horsesbetter, and it can be frustrating to beunsure whether your horse is bucking (forexample) all of a sudden becausesomething hurts or whether it is because ofhigh jinks. Each situation would mean thatyou handled the bucking differently.

Whilst I obviously can’t train everyone tohave the touch and experience of a physicaltherapist in one day, there are plenty ofsimple checks that people can do with theirown horses on a regular basis to check thattheir horses are comfortable along theirback and muscular system generally.

Obviously each horse is different and theirweaknesses and strengths will vary, as withthe riders too, but each horse will give usgreat clues – how they stand, how thesaddle and their rugs sit, how they roll,

how they trot up and turn – the list goeson, that enable us to get a better picture asto what is going on.

Is it likely that our horses areuncomfortable?

Our horses are athletes; we expect a lot from them whatever theirjob. Just like human athletes,they can suffer from aches andpains from their everyday work,let alone adding a crooked rider,badly fitting saddle, high jinks inthe deep mud in the field, etc. If you are reading this magazineI can hazard a guess that thewelfare of your horse isextremely important to you, andyou probably do everything thatyou can to make sure yourhorse is happy.

However, we can underestimatethe profound effect that havingan uncomfortable horse canhave on how they behave andperform. It may seem obvious, but horsescan be incredibly stoic, and often it takesprolonged, increasing pain before theyfinally make it clear that something iswrong (of course there is always theexception who makes it VERY clear as soonas the slightest twinge occurs, and in fact ifyou own one of those, count yourself luckyas they actually make it a lot easier for youto spot and rectify problems!)

What is great is that if you know whatsubtle signals and signs to look for – muchas you learn the signals to watch for in joinup – then it can be easier to know thatyour horse may be in pain and then takethe right course of action.

I should make it clear that this is not acourse that will enable you to avoid everspeaking to your vet again! Your vet shouldalways be your first port of call if you everhave any concerns about the well being ofyour horse, even if it is just a chat over thephone to discuss the next course of action.This course will focus on signs that we canget from our horses that may suggest thatthere is a problem in their musculoskeletalsystem.

You say you will be focusing on thehorse’s musculoskeletal system. Canyou explain a bit more about what youmean by that?

My area of expertise is the spine and themuscular system of the horse. I am not avet, so I am not going to be discussinglameness or ill health. My focus will be onthings that my clients have in the pastfound helpful in keeping their horses’ backs comfortable.

The idea is to spotpotential or early stageproblems such as musclespasm along their back, ormuscle wastage in onegroup of muscles, beforethey become more seriousissues and therefore affectthe horse’s performanceand behaviour.

Can you give me anexample?

Ok, muscle wastage froman incorrectly fitting saddlecan happen gradually andit can often be after a longperiod of time when a lot

of damage may have been done to thehorse’s back that his behaviour may start tochange. I am not a saddler, but I can givesome basic pointers to watch out for – forexample, does your saddle always feel like itis slipping to one side when you ride? Doesyour horse sweat more in one area underthe saddle or more on one side? When youstand behind your horse or in front of yourhorse, do the muscles above his shouldersand in his withers look even on both sides?Has he started to pull faces, move awayfrom you, kick out or even bite when youput the saddle on? Has he put on or lost alot of weight recently? Any of these factorsmay indicate that you need to call yoursaddler out to check the saddle fit and yourphysical therapist to check his back beforethe problems become worse.

Who should do this course?

Anyone who wants to get to know theirhorse and his body better, and anyone whowants to learn some straightforward,effective stretching and massage techniquesto help their horse stay comfortable.

Contact Details:

For more details about this course and how to book, contact Jess at:[email protected]

Back to FormDo you know how to keep your horse comfortable and happy? Sounds obvious, but is it? IH talks to Jess Harkness about an exciting new course she is running at Hartsop Farm on the 24th May.

“I treat a great

number of horses

who have been

behaving ‘badly’ in

one form or

another who have

turned out to have

very sore backs”


5The Listening Post

Leading and loadingYou may recall me asking about my horsewho wouldn’t load, Kelly was very quick torespond which give me a lot of incentive! Ithen ordered Monty’s Dually head collar andthe book Leading and Loading by Kelly. Iread the book twice and watched the DVDwhich comes with the Dually about threetimes, I then spent 1/2 hour for four nightstraining him to the halter and thenattempted to load him on the fifth day afterabout 1/2 hour he went in, I made a big fussof him and loaded him again twice more,things have just got better and better andtoday I loaded him with nothing on the sidesof the lorry and he was dragging me in -literally! I can not thank you both enough,although I haven’t even spoken to you I feelthat I have learnt so much from you, Thanks again Debbie and Dandy!

Head ShakingHi Kelly,

I have just received my first copy ofListening Post, being a new memberfollowing the recent demo at Quob.I thought I would send you a story whichmay or may not be of interest to you.

Head shaking always seems to be apopular subject for discussion, especially inthe horse world's magazines spring andsummer editions. A few years ago Imanaged to 'cure' my welsh cob mare. Itinvolved no gadgets, no drugs or potions,and no vets fees. I had bought my mare inthe autumn as an unbroken broodmare.Over the next few months I started herridden education and all went well withher becoming a nice calm little ridinghorse. In the spring I decided to 'tidy herup a bit' for some local shows. I evenedup her mane, trimmed her beard and cut abridle path through her mane. She lookedgreat.

Unfortunately that spring she startedfidgeting with her head when I rode herand this progressed to shaking. I had herteeth checked, thought about any pollenwhich might be around, all the usualsuspects. Then I had my own hair cutshort, especially around the nape of myneck. This I discovered was a big mistake,anything touching my neck irritated me asit brushed against my newly short hair.This was my light bulb moment. Next timeI saw my mare I gently brushed my fingersover the short hairs on her bridle path.This caused her to fidget and shake myhand away. AHA!

Needless to say I never trimmed her manein that way again, when the hair hadgrown back I simply made a parting forthe bridle to sit in and she never shook herhead again. This may not work for everyhorse, but it’s simple to try and involves nocost. I called it a 'cure' but in actual factmy actions had caused the problem andsimply by letting her mane grow as natureintended I had removed the problem.

Regards, Bee Lake

P.S. Have managed to get a place on a 5 day course in April. Cannot wait, mytrainer (Lynn Chapman) tells me I won'twant to come home again. Hopefully I willbe able to bring my Criollo with me.

(Lynn Chapman is RA for Surrey,Hampshire and Berkshire)

Psychology Dear KellyI attended your 'Psychology weekend' inLambourn on the 12th/13th January andwould like to thank you for a mostenjoyable couple of days. Yourpresentations were excellent and I learnt alot about how the horse thinks and reactsto situations, mostly those that wehumans put them in to!

The course should be compulsory for allnovice riders and most definitely foranyone thinking of owning a horse. If youever visit Jersey, please do let me know.How about holding a course over here atsome time in the future? You would bemost welcome.

Kind Regards

Martyn Le Brocq

lettersYour letters

Andrea and Alfie

Star letter

I just wanted to say abelated thank you toKelly Marks, MontyRoberts, and also toLinda Ruffle for mineand Alfie's great dayout at HartpuryCollege on November2nd. I was over themoon when Alfie wasselected to be used on

the member's demonstration and to havehim started on long lines and introduced tothe roller by Kelly herself has given me lotsof confidence that he has been given thebest start possible.

I just wanted to let you know since then hehas come on in leaps and bounds. TheDually halter was the best investment everas it reminds him about my space(something he is inclined to forget attimes!). After watching Monty with thedifficult loaders I picked up some hints andtips and Alfie has now been properlyintroduced to the trailer and loads in andout himself willingly (even turning himselfaround at the bottom of the front rampand going straight back in again!) I havelong lined him and after a moment of

'what the heck are you doing?', he remembered everything and walkedaround calmly with me trying hard toremember everything Kelly said (muchharder than it looks).

Our training is unfortunately on the backburner at the moment as I only have a fieldto work in and it is obviously a bit wet andmuddy, but I feel very lucky knowing he hashad the calmest and best start ever on theroad to his career as my riding partner.

The whole experience was just great for himand for me and I was so proud of how wellhe behaved with all the new things I askedhim to deal with. He had never even beenin an indoor arena before. I would like tothank Linda Ruffle in particular. She was sofriendly and helpful and made sure we werein the right place and knew what was goingon. She made us feel very welcome and at ease.

Thank you all a million times

Andrea

Thankyou Dear KellyI am just writing (belatedly) to say "thank you" for my lovely prize of the DVD set which I was presented with at theHartpury demonstration last November. Myfriends and I had a lovely evening and I amnow quite boggle eyed from being gluedto my computer screen as I work my waythrough the set!Also, many thanks to all involved for theirhard work.

Mary Davies

A signed copy of 'Ask Monty' goes to the writer of our Star letter



The same is not true of the horse’s chancesof being kicked by a human. The “problemkicker” I’m writing about here is the rider.Whether it’s one who uses their legs onlyrarely or the one who incessantly nags, I’mquestioning whether kicking of any sort isever really appropriate, orhas any part in the sort offinessed riding we would allaspire to…

I’d like to define “kicking” in terms of the amount offorce used, rather than aparticular action of the leg.So to kick would move afootball, for example, and itcould be either a bit puntacross the entire pitch, or alittle nudge, but the ballwould move. Looking at itanother way, I wouldconsider anything more thanthe sort of touch you woulduse if you were tappingsomeone on the shoulder toget their attention to be kicking. I wasgoing to write “anything more than isnecessary for the horse to notice”, but Irealised this paves the way for people tothump their legs against their distractedhorse’s sides, and that’s not what I meant atall. If you do tap someone on the shoulderand they don’t appear to notice, you don’timmediately resort to thumping them (Ihope), you’ll find another way to attracttheir attention.

I think perhaps that for people who rideschooled horses (I’m using the term veryloosely here to mean an established horse,ie, not one who’s only just been backed),the oddness of the way in which we’re

often taught to use the legs (strongly,repetitively, and inwards) isn’t thatapparent. But you only need to be the firstrider on a few youngsters to realise thatthere’s not much intuitively obvious aboutthese leg “aids”, as commonly taught to

the horse. The same is true forthe action of the bit, and yetnot true, in my experience, ofthe action of the seatbones.Once a starter is happy withthe concept of a rider onboard, and isn’t being led by a handler (so perhaps thesecond or third backing), they very often seem to “get”stopping and turning by theuse of the seatbones, but therequired response to the legs needs to be taught. If a youngster does moveforward when they feel thelegs against their sides, it’susually very rapidly and clearlybecause they were

surprised by the legs.

So what I’m asking the reader to considerhere, is what the role of the rider’s legsshould really be, and exactly what we wantto be teaching the horse about these possible “aids”.

I’ve mentioned that I would consideranything other than a very light tap to beinappropriate, but I would also add that thenumber of taps is at issue, too. Continuoususe of the legs does not fit into the“release of pressure” model, and we workvery much on the basis that the groundrules shouldn’t suddenly change becausewe’re on board. If we expect the horse tolead politely beside us without pressure on

the head, is it too much to expect the horseto move forward under their own steamwhilst being ridden without continuouspressure from the legs?

During the riding lecture on the Foundationcourse I always introduce this notion of theself-propelling horse, and almost alwayssomeone is incredulous. What I suggest isthat the horse should be trained in such away that one “please go forward” request,whether delivered by the legs or someother means, lasts until another request –say to stop, or go up a pace – is made. Soif you were only working in walk for anentire hour, there would be one requestmade at the start of the ride, and itwouldn’t need to be repeated – at all. Ifyou made ten transitions to trot, therewould be ten of the very lightest leg taps,and no more. If you made a hundredupward transitions there would be ahundred requests, but you would neverwithin the pace be using the legs to say tothe horse “please keep going, that’s it,continue moving your legs, that’s right,another step, oops, you’ve slowed down,please go on, that’s it, keep moving”. Oncethe horse was moving as requested therewould be no further conversation from thelegs, and they would never be used as areminder. In this way, we’re asking thehorse to take responsibility for their actions,and also giving them a chance to fail, two key IH concepts, applied in a ridden context.

Some people love this idea, and only wantto know how to make it happen, becausethey know it isn’t the case with the horsesthey ride, and they hate the constantnagging they feel they have to do just toget the horse to move. Don’t worry, thereare detailed instructions on how to get this

Dealing with a Problem Kicker (of the human kind)

Kicking is considered one of the worst vices a horse can have, particularly if it’s habitual. We’re soconcerned about being kicked that “don’t walk behind a horse” is one of the first things we say tochildren or people unfamiliar with horses. Yet fortunately, being kicked by a horse is really ratherrare, and usually only happens when we shut down their other options.

“I’ve mentioned

that I would

consider anything

other than a very

light tap to be

inappropriate, but I

would also add that

the number of taps

is an issue, too.”

by IH Recommended Associate Nicole Golding


77

desired response coming up in the nextissue! Other people have a morefundamental problem with the concept.They feel that the strong use of the legs issimply an integral part of riding, and beingasked not to use them takes away one oftheir key tools. I’ve even had someone ask“but if you can’t kick, how can you make ahorse jump a fence?”. I wasn’t sure whereto start with this one. But I am clear thatyou can’t make a horse jump a fence,although strong leg aids might sell the caseto him a bit, and that if a horse wants tojump, the use of legs against his side,whether gently pressing, lightly tapping, orbrutishly thumping, is in no way necessaryto him being able to launch his body off theground, and in the case of thumping orhard squeezing, could be positivelydetrimental. It sounds mad when writtenout, but people have claimed to have anepiphany moment when we’ve pointed outto them that horses manage to move acrossfields on their own – even reaching quiteimpressive speeds and clearing obstacles –without the benefit of a rider on their backpressing their heels into their sides… I thinkperhaps this idea derives from riding bikes,which really do have to grind to a haltunless we keep pedalling (or are goingdownhill, of course) that makes us feel thatsomehow horses can’t move withoutconstant input from the rider, but we onlyhave to look a little closer to see thefundamental difference, and to work outthat horses have their own legs and musclesand cardio-vascular systems, and areperfectly capable of moving without us.

Sarcasm aside, I feel so strongly about thisbecause I feel that it’s one of those manyunexamined assumptions about riding, andit’s an assumption I feel a lot of horseswould like us to re-evaluate. Of course, I’m

not claiming to be somehow morallysuperior to anyone in this. I’ve been a ridinginstructor for long enough to have shouted“leg, leg, use your leg!” more times than Icare to count in my earlier days, and evennow, years into pretty intensive training toimprove my own riding, I still have anannoying default that would bring my heelup and into the horse’s side if things aren’tgoing too well in one way or another. Butfor years now I have been riding with themost minimal leg signals, and the joy ofhaving a forward-going horse that I don’thave to cajole is such that I would really liketo share the method with as many people aspossible. I’m sure that the horses appreciate it too!

Another little issue we need to quicklyaddress is the whole using the legs to steerthing. I’m not fundamentally against thisapproach – indeed, a horse that movessideways away from the leg is very usefulwhen opening gates, for example, but I feelthat for most riders, most of the time, allthe stuff about bending the horse aroundthe inside leg and pushing the horse acrossthe school in some lateral movement iscounter-productive. The horse isn’t clear,often, whether the leg means go faster orgo sideways, and the exaggeratedmovement of the rider’s leg destroys therider’s alignment and often disrupts theirbalance. This is a big topic and for now Ijust want to say that during the process ofteaching the horse to respond to a verylight leg aid and to stay self-propelling, it isbetter that the legs aren’t used to steer, andthat if the horse doesn’t respond brilliantlyto direction from the rein, it is probably bestnot to sweat precision of movement for themoment. It will be something that can belooked at later. If you already steer from thecore, seatbones, reins and thighs, hopefullyyou should be able to continue doing that!

Riding Clinic Dates 2008More info at:www.whisperingback.co.ukTel: 01285 831736

March 19-23rd (Full)April 11-13thApril 18-20thMay 7-11thMay 30th-1st JuneThere will be more dates announced for later in the year.

“The joy of having a

forward-going horse

that I don’t have to

cajole is such that I

would really like to

share the method

with as many people

as possible. I’m sure

that the horses

appreciate it too!”

So am I saying that you would never use astrong leg aid, that there are neversituations when it is appropriate to“support” the horse with the use of theleg? Not at all. In fact, that’s part of thepoint. If you don’t have to kick the rest ofthe time, imagine how seriously the horsewill take it when you’re coming into a dropfence and you feel him back off, and youdo dig in your heels and say “go on!”. Ifthe horse is fully accepting of the conceptof being responsible for their own forwardmotion, and consistently does so, then ifyou feel a questioning hesitation a littletouch wouldn’t be out of place. It’s just thatthe use of force with the leg introducesstiffness and risks unbalancing the rider. It’snot at all common for a calm horse to havethe idea of “keep going until there’s a newrequest to the contrary”. (There are plentyof nervous horses that keep going likesteam trains, but it’s clearly adrenaline, nottraining, that is fuelling this forward motion,and a horse that doesn’t stop and standwhen asked is also missing out on thebasics).

Next issue: 'What to do if you are aproblem kicker!'



New members benefit!Owning a horse isn’t just aboutriding and enjoying thecompany of your horse. We onlyhave to look at the amount ofquestions that we see daily onthe Intelligent HorsemanshipDiscussion Group, and also theamount of useful and variedsolutions that are provided bythe members to know that thereis definitely a demand forknowledge about your horse!So, we want to try to distillsome of this information intouseful questions and answers ineach issue.

Making it even more useful, wehave four experts who havestepped up to assist in makingsure the information really doeshit the spot.

Each issue will deal with aselection of question in variouscategories: Bitting, Medical,Food and Nutrition, and muchmore. If you want yourquestions answered then youcan download a questionnaireform from the IH Website underMembers and send to Kelly [email protected].

Q&ADonna Blinman Q&AQ: "I bought a beautiful ex racer 16.3, 5 year old recently that was rubbish atracing and jumping but took a weefracture to his sesamoid bone and wassold to me as almost sound, thishappened a year ago and he’s healedseemingly quite well. I wasn’t told thisbefore I bought him; anyway I love thisboy and will only do happy hackingwith a wee odd stretch-out canter. So,can you tell me please will this comeback to haunt me and how bad could itbe, and last but not least, what is thebone they talk of?"

A: A sesamoid bone is a small smooth bonewhich acts as a pulley for tendons and helpsto reduce friction when the leg is moved.Horses have three sesamoid bones in theirdistal limb, two which lie at the back of thefetlock and one in the hoof. Theconsequences of a fracture to one of thesebones depends greatly on the type andposition of the break. The position is veryimportant. If there is damage to the surfacewhere the bone bears a load, or where thetendons run, then severe lameness and long term complications of osteo arthritisbecome far more likely.

“An X-ray would be the way forward toknow for certain I think" Ed

Q: “Can you tell me more about afractured splint bone and if or what thetreatment is for this?”

A: The splint bones are two small boneswhich run down the in and outside of thecanon bone. In horses they are onlyremnants, they serve no function andduring the course of evolution they havebecome smaller and more fibrous. Damageto these bones by traumatic injury iscommon, and normally occurs on the insideof the leg. Typically after a knock the horsewill then develop what is commonly calledsplints, a bony protrusion over the damagedarea. Whilst this bone is being formed thehorse will typically be lame on that leg withheat in the area. Whilst cold hosing orcooling gels may be applied to try and

relieve the symptoms, time, rest andpossibly a short course of anti-inflammatorydrugs are normally all that is needed. Onceformed, although splints may look a littleunsightly, they are generally of nosignificant consequence in later life.

Q: “I own three horses, Molly, Paddyand Lucy. My oldest horse Lucy, 20 iscausing me too lose confidence injumping. I ride her most days, usually inmy field. We don’t have a proper arenaso I have to just ride her in open space.Whenever I ask her to jump straightpoles she either refuses or jumps themfar too big. I don’t think she is doingthis to be mischievous but it is still apossibility. She always seems to be finewhen I jump her in a nearby wood or inan enclosed arena but I can’t ride herout to the woods every night and Ican’t take her to the arena as I wouldhave to pay.”

A: At the age of twenty it is very possibleshe is refusing due to some physicalproblems. Especially as she will jump oncertain surfaces and not others, perhaps it islanding on hard ground which she finds souncomfortable? Jumping is a very athleticprocess so if she has mild pain anywhere inher body which you might not be able topick up on normally, jumping will greatlyaccentuate it, and refusing it is her onlyoption to try and avoid this. The most likelyproblem areas are her back, arthritis in anyof her joints, foot pain or teeth problems.Discomfort in the mouth is a commonreason for refusal to jump and is very oftenoverlooked. As horses get older they needto have their teeth checked more regularly.It is also possible her eyesight is going andso she simply can’t see to jump for you. Iwould definitely recommend getting herlooked at by a really good horse vet anddentist before you ask this kind of workfrom her again.

Personal Profile

Donna Blinman became a qualified Vet in 2005,and then studied at theDierenkliniek De Morette in 2007 as an Internfocusing on Equinemedicine and surgery. Sheholds the Monty RobertsPreliminary Certificate ofHorsemanship, and hasworked on the Monty Roberts and KellyMarks tours in the UK, as their tour EquineVet. Donna will be answering questions onmedical issues.

Vetinary Advice Disclaimer:

Neither Donna Blinman, Hilary Vernon,Veronica Fowler, Jackie JA Taylor norIntelligent Horsemanship accepts anyresponsibility for any advice offeredthrough these replies which is purely forguidance. Always consult a veterinarysurgeon.

Bones of the foot

Coffin Bone

Navicular Bone

Short pastern bone

Long pastern bone

Cannon bone

Sesamoid bone


9The Listening Post

Q&AHilary Vernon Q&AQ: "I've started my youngster in aDually and it's all gone beautifully, nowI've switched him over to a snaffle buthe seems to be leaning on it a lot. Is itsomething I should be doing differentlyor do you think a change of bit mighthelp? What are the options?"

A: I have not got any information on theage or type of Horse you have. Or what bitor bits you have tried on him or what stagehis training is at so I will try to give yousome general thoughts and considerations.

Firstly there is no reason why he should bebitted at all unless you feel you need moresignals now for the stage of training you areat or you would like to do some work withyour Horse that requires you to bit him.

It is quite large step for a horse to go wellin a Dually and then immediately do thesame work in a bit. In his Dually he will notcarry the same profile as will be expected ofhim in a bit so your training needs to teachhim how to adapt and move forward in hiscarriage and his responses. In your Duallyyou have signals over a larger area and onthe outside of his face with a bit thepressures are concentrated into a muchsmaller and more sensitive area. Work in hisDually follows on from control andacceptance of a headcollar from a very earlyage, so he has been trained too andaccepted over a period of time (probablytwo to three years) face and head pressures.So now he also needs time to firstly learn tocarry a bit in his mouth without worryingabout the new and strange feel and thenlearn to respond to all the new signals.

To transition your horse from a Dually to aBit requires a good introduction, to do this Iwould carry on working in the Dually butnow introduce a well fitting comfortablesnaffle on a Bradoon slip head so that theHorse learns to carry a bit in its mouth butyou still work him off the Dually. Then whenhe carries the bit well in a relaxed mannerand does not really notice the bit is thereadd a second pair of reins to the bit andjust start to pick up a little pressure on thebit reins and gradually over a period of timego to equal pressure on the Dually and thebit and then more on the bit until the horseaccepts the new feel and works as well ashe did before. You will have to teach him toyield to the bit so each time he lightens inthe bridle or yields well, you need to lightenyour feel on the rein so that you make apoint of reward each time he yields so thathe learns not try to balance himself on thereins, and adapts to carrying himself in a

rounder and slightly lifted profile. Some ofthis yielding work can be done on the floorstanding at his shoulder holding the reinseither side of his whither as if you weresitting on him so that he concentrates onthe signal without the addition of a rider’sweight or having to move and balancehimself. When he can do all this then youcan use only the bit on a bridle.

As to the type of bit used most horses havevery little available room in the mouth tocarry a thick bit. Some horses are slendermay be thoroughbred types or small ponybreeds that have small mouths and slenderfaces and although their tongues areprobably not unusually large because theirmouths are small the tongue fills the insideof the mouth. At the other end of the scalesome horses are larger and fleshier andhave thick tongues and a lot of lip so thatwhen you part the lips opposite the bars ofthe mouth and look in you find thereappears to be no room for a bit at all.

So a slim bit with a forward curve will bemore comfortable than a bulky bit withstraight branches or a straight bar. A singlejoint on a bit is not at all comfortable as itcan pinch the tongue between the twobranches as they close inside the mouth. As this is to be a working bit then you needthe horse not only to be comfortable but tohave good signals from the bit and with ayoung horse good directional support. Sochoosing a barrel or a lozenge or a smallport with a forward curve for the mouthpiece would be a good choice. And anEggbutt cheek or Eggbutt Cheek withcheek and rein options or a Hanging Cheekor a Full Cheek would be a good choice ofcheek pieces, to try to give a goodconformational fit as well as well clearsignals from the bit.

The horse is always looked at as a whole sogetting the bit as right as possible goeshand in hand with good management i.e.an appropriate feeding, training andfreedom regime coupled with regular dentalwork, the horse being in good health,sound and having a well fitting saddle.

I hope this has been of some help if youneed any more please don’t hesitate tocontact me.

Personal Profile

Hilary Vernon came up through thePony Club competing her own ponies invarious disciplines. She took exams andcourses in Horsemanship and her BHSAIexamination passing with distinction.

Hilary started her working career freelanceteaching and then ran an EquestrianTraining Establishment. Then she enteredthe retail trade by managing two busyEquestrian Retail outlets over a 20 yearperiod, while competing her own Horses.

After much research she set up one of thefirst Bit Banks in the U.K and ran it verysuccessfully for many years, gaining atremendous enthusiasm and knowledgefor Bitting, Bit related problems and BitDesign. Through all this experience Hilaryhas a well rounded and sound knowledgeof Horse Equipment and Training.

Hilary is the author of "The AllenIllustrated Guide to Bits and Bitting","The Allen Illustrated Guide to TrainingAids" and "The Allen Illustrated Guide toHorse Clothing" and "The Allen IllustratedGuide to Saddlery" and the soon to bereleased "The Allen Illustrated Guide toCarriage Horse Harness".

After being invited out to America byBelstane Marketing (distributors of MylerBits) to work with the Myler Brothers, andthrough working with them over here inthe U.K Hilary was made the MylerClinician for the U.K and Europe. Thisreally complimented the work that Hilaryhad already established here in the U.KShe has over the last 4 years worked asan independent Bitting Clinician travellingover the U.K and parts of Europe lecturingand demonstrating on the art of Bitting.

Hilary has launched a highly acclaimedDVD under her Informed Bitting banner"The First Steps to Bitting" and is in theprocess of completing a trilogy of groundbreaking Bitting DVDs.

Contact Details:

50 Francis Gardens, Warfield, Berkshire, England RG42 3SX

Tel: 01344 862022 Mobile: 07775 851051E Mail: [email protected]

www.equestrianknowledge.co.uk



Q&AVeronica Fowler Q&A

Q: “Can you tell me what colic is andwhat signs I should be looking for?”

A: There is no such thing as a horse whichis ‘prone’ to colic and it is not acceptableto label a horse as ‘colicky’. In fact of allthe words to describe colic, preventable isnot one commonly used, yet colic islargely preventable!

Contrary to common belief, colic is not adisease but is in fact a broad term used todescribe abdominal pain which is usuallygastrointestinal in origin. Gastrointestinalcolic can be broken down into four maincategories:

1) Distension (gas/spasmodic colic),

2) Simple obstruction(feed/ascarid/enterolith/sand impaction),

3) obstruction or blockage(twists/tumours/intussusceptions)

4) enteritis (salmonella/clostridium/ulcers).

Non-gastrointestinal colic can result from,trauma, impending abortion, ovariandisease, ruptured bladder, heart failure, CNS disease, rhabdomyolisis (tying-up) andfounder etc. It is for this reason that colicis considered a complex and multi-factorialdisease which when recognised should betreated as an emergency.

Q: “What are the clinical signs of colic?”

A: Clinical signs of colic include: rapidrespiration (normal resting respiration ratefor an adult horse is 10-14 breaths perminute) and elevated pulse (normal restingheart rate for an adult horse is 28-48beats per minute), stretching out (nourination), looking at water bowl,sweating, cool extremities, rolling(violently), looking at flank, repetitive lyingdown and getting up, sitting like a dog,lack of appetite, depression and lack ofbowel movements/digestive sounds.

Q: “What are the risk factors of colic?”

A: When considering the risk factorswhich are associated with colic is itnecessary to consider a) the horse and b)its management. It is now known thatunless there is an underlying medicalcondition, a horse generally will onlyexperience colic if its management is sub-optimal. Scientific studies have highlighted

specific risk factors which can lead toepisodes of colic and these include:

1. Parasites: Parasite infestations can causemotility disturbances and peritonitis(Strongylus vulgaris), ileal impaction andspasmodic colic (Anoplocephala perfoliata),caecocaecal/ caecocolic intussusceptions(Larval cyathostominosis) and obstruction,rupture and abscesses in foals (ascarids).

2. Forage and concentrates: Horseswhich are fed more than 20% concentratesin their diet are at higher risk of colic. Asudden change in feed type or practiceincreases the chance of colic. Concentratedfeeds fed without either some form of chaff or addition of water can increase therisk of colic.

3. Stabling: Horses which spend themajority of their time in the stable are at anincreased risk of colic although this isprobably related to the feeding practises,rather than the time spent in the stable. Inaddition, sudden changes in housingincreases the chance of colic but again thisis probably related to changes in feedingpractises.

4. Water: Horses denied water for more than 4 hours become at heightened risk of colic, in particular impaction colic. This isexaggerated further if the horse is intransportation at the time of waterdeprivation.

5. Owner factors: Horses which are cared for by their owner are at a lower risk ofdeveloping colic than horses which are not,for example horses on loan.

6. Previous history of colic: Horses with a previous history of colic have beenidentified to be at increased risk ofsuffering further episodes, especially horseswhich have required surgery following anepisode of colic.

7. Oral stereotypes: Horses which crib-bite or windsuck have been identified to beat significantly increased risk of sufferingfrom simple colonic obstruction anddistension. However it is unlikely thatcribbing or wind sucking play a direct rolein the aetiology of these types of colic, it ismore likely that certain management factorsplay a role in the development of colic andoral stereotypes.

Personal Profile

Veronica Fowler has been riding since avery young age, progressing from stubbornriding school ponies to both national huntand flat racehorses. At the age of 14 (aftermany years of nagging!) she got her ownhorse Pushywoman (GB), a 4 year old,extremely green, Thoroughbred by SwingEasy (USA), which she still proudly ownstoday. Veronica and Lily competed togetherfor a number of years before Veronica wentto University and Lily went on loan toFrance as the lead horse for the GreatFrench Ride. At University Veronica studiedfor a degree in Animal Science. As part ofthe requirements for the degree in AnimalScience Veronica undertook a researchproject investigating the effect of crossbreeding on coat characteristics andbehaviour of the Scottish Highland andBritish Shorthorn.

Following graduation, Veronica wasemployed at the Veterinary LaboratoriesAgency as a Research Scientist, duringwhich, in her spare time also voluntarilytaught Biology for the Institute of AnimalTechnology. In 2001 Veronica studied for anMSc in Equine Science at Hartpury College,spending a large part of her studiesinvestigating equine airway diseases at theCentre for Equine Studies in Newmarket.On completion of her MSc Veronica took onthe challenge of a PhD in Exotic AnimalDiseases, during which she tutored RoyalVeterinary College students and alsocompeted in the Biotechnology YoungEntrepreneur competition, coming runner-up in the UK Final. Following completion ofher PhD Veronica now works as aPostdoctoral Research Scientist in theVeterinary Industry.

In addition to this, Veronica runs her owncompany ‘The Smiling Thoroughbred’ throughwhich she uses her extensive scientific andequine background to communicate EquineScience to the general public in order toimprove the welfare of horses.

Utilising her wealth of scientific experience,Veronica is now working within the aims of IHin coaching stage two students, providingthem with clear and simple advice on how toconduct their studies in order that they have asound scientific basis. In cases where studentswould like to undertake a project.. but arehaving difficulty picking a topic, Veronica canadvise. The introduction of scientificmethodology into these studies will enableprojects to be considered for publication inpeer reviewed journals and/or books.

Continued on next page..


11The Listening Post

Veronica Fowler Q&A continued..

Q&AJackie JA Taylor Q&A

8. Influence of sex: Some types of colicmay be gender-specific in nature (e.g.,inguinal herniation in stallions and uterinetorsions in mares) but overall there is noclear association between gender and colic.There are undoubtedly other risk factors yetto be identified which involved in thedevelopment of equine colic but as long aswe are aware of the more obvious ones wecan go along way to helping prevent colic.

9. Extremities: I mean in particular base ofears. This sign however should be incombination with other clinical signs sincehorses can have cold ears when they havebeen out in the wind all day or if theyhaven't been rugged appropriately.

Regarding round bales, this is still anunknown in terms of scientific evidencehowever, round bales are believed to bemore 'prone' to containing mould if theyare baled before the grass has properlydried or if the bales have been stored in a

damp environment. Poor quality (rough) hayalthough not scientifically proven has beenlinked to the development of colic since it isnot passed as easily through the intestinesas better quality (soft) hay.

10. Adding water to concentrate feeds: Horses spend less time chewingconcentrated feedstuff such as mixes andpellets which means that not only are theyconsumed quicker than forages such as haybut also that they are swallowed at asignificantly altered hydration status thanthat of grass and hay. Feeding of dryconcentrated feeds has been linked toepisodes of colic.

Q: “Do you recommend having a saltand/or mineral lick available in the fieldfor horses who live out 24/7 withrestricted grazing and no hard feed (butwith a vitamin and mineralsupplement)?”

A: Yes, I would always try to make sure theyhad free access to plain loose or rock salt,and maybe a free choice mineral lick if youare using a budget supplement. Rockies 5-star cube has reasonable trace mineral levelsand Dodson & Horrell do a couple of not-too-high sugar mineral licks in a bucket,which have quite good profiles.

Q: “What is the best way to assess ahorses vitamin and mineral status? Imean blood samples, hair analysis etc?Is this more useful than sampling grass,hay, and feed for a baselineassessment? Also if a horse moves howlong before his body has adjusted andwill give a true profile of his currentenvironment?”

A: In my opinion, neither blood tests norhair analysis are much use as nutritionalassessment really (as opposed to medical).Blood only gives you 'one moment in time',and of course the horse will compensate agreat deal, for instance drawing calciumfrom it's own bone stores, before letting

serum values go too far out of balance.Even blood and urine combined, as in acreatinine clearance test, are open to hugevariations in interpretation, and again canradically change in a matter of hours.

Hair should be less changeable, and I thinkcan be used to determine things like heavymetal poisoning or trace element deficiency.But, interpretation of hair analysis is farfrom an established science, and I have afeeling is still very unreliable.

So, all in all, I do believe that analysing thediet is still the best way to go. We do knowroughly what horses need for good health,and I think avoiding deficiency andachieving a good balance in the diet wouldbe a great improvement in most cases. Andafter all, if you analyse your blood/hairyou'd still have to analyse your diet to workout how to compensate.

“We do know roughly what horses

need for good health, and I think

avoiding deficiency and achieving a

good balance in the diet would be a

great improvement.”

Personal Profile

Jackie JA Taylor worked freelance inthe horse feed industry for many yearsbefore taking several years out toresearch hormonal and metabolicconditions in horses. She nowspecialises in helping people with themanagement of horses with laminitis,insulin resistance, Cushing's and theirilk, and has a broad base ofknowledge of the feed andsupplements market.

“This transfer of knowledge from

IH students into the public domain

will enable the equine industry to

step not only into the present but to

stroll confidentially into the future,

ultimately improving the welfare of

horses all over the world.”

Stop Press! IH is arranging a Garden Partyin Lambourn on the 28th June.No other details are availableyet but please keep a watch onthe website as details willappear very soon



My first experience withIntelligent Horsemanship

When you get to the stage where you havean overwhelming feeling of dread in the pitof your stomach at the prospect of bringingin your daughter’s pony then it’s time torealise that something’s got to change.

This was the stage I had reached earlierthis year. Our daughter’s pony, Delboy, thathad seemed so meek and mild when wefirst got him, had turned into some sort ofunrecognizable demon. Intent on biting orglaring at us with his ears back in equalmeasures when the mood took him, horseownership was not a state of affairs any ofus were really enjoying. However, throughit all my daughter, Charlotte, loved thisstroppy chap we had taken on and sosomething definitely had to be done.

When it finally reached the stage whereshe was in tears for the umpteenth timeafter he had swung out to bite her for nogood reason I decided that no amount oftears would persuade me otherwise. Ifthings could not be resolved he wouldhave to go! As a final resort I decided toseek the help of the IntelligentHorsemanship Association.

A friend had recommended I gave them atry and, although I had already got thedetails, I had not done anything about it. Iam a firm believer in fate and so as itwould happen that when I was at the localriding school picking up a rug, I saw a cardfor one of their members. It prompted methat I should give them a call.

I found the details of the person I wantedto use having looked through theirwebsite. The various skills of the differentmembers will appeal, I’m sure, to differentfolks. For me it was Sandra Williams (nowknown as my equine saviour!). I rang herup and, as luck would have it, she couldsee me within 24 hours – which was justas well as I was due to go away for fourdays just after her visit – which was a hugerelief. When you get to the stage that I hadreached and you need help, you need itNOW!

I had decided that as I didn’t really knowwhere the problems began, or ended, itwould be best for Sandra to be able toobserve everything I did with Del so that ifI was doing something wrong right at thevery beginning then she would be able tosee immediately.

From the very first time we had boughthim we had done nothing but love himand treat him kindly. The only times we gotcross with him were when he bit us – andeven then I think we were pretty feeble ifthe truth be told - despite the fact that heis only 14:1hh, when he is backing awayafter biting he can look enormous as theypull their heads up as far away from you aspossible! (a sort of smash and grabroutine!)

When I arrived at the yard where we keephim, I felt such a feeling of relief seeingSandra’s car with the IH logo on the back.Like seeing a lifeboat bobbing on thewaters when your ship’s just sunk! After aquick “hello” and collecting his halter etctogether we headed off across thepaddocks to find our disgruntled pupil.

Now I would like to point out that I am thetype of person that will often be moreconfident just knowing that there issomeone more experienced around. Sowhen I entered the field it was withreasonable competence that I managed tocatch him (funnily enough not one of hisproblems, I think because he likes his foodtoo much!). Whilst we walked, Sandra was

“I felt such a

feeling of relief

seeing Sandra’s car

with the IH logo

on the back. Like

seeing a lifeboat

bobbing on the

waters when your

ship’s just sunk!”



talking to me and one of the things shesaid was that she never caught her ponies.I did wonder then how she ever managedto do anything with them, as shecontinued to talk I heard her say ‘they allcatch me’, and so the lesson began. We walked back to the yard with Del and Itied him up.

Sandra did mention that she does a lot ofwork with children and I am pleased to saythat she kept her language and instructionin such a way that it would be impossiblefor anyone not to get the message.Through both verbal and physicaldemonstrations she explained first wherethe horse was coming from, and thenthrough demonstration showed how usingIntelligent methods he could a) understandand b) would be willing to follow/comply.

Having worked with dogs for many yearsand both given and received training, I waslike a sponge to this new concept withhorses. Instantly I could understand betterhis concerns which, once recognised,allowed me to adapt my behaviour towardshim so that he was more accepting of meand my requests.

After our initial discussion of what we weregoing to do we then moved onto thepractical level. With the use of the trainingaids that Sandra had brought along,namely the Dually and “Reece” rope, I hadmy previously “hooligan” pony walkinghappily with me. If he didn’t stop whenasked he would be told to step back. Wediscussed “asking” on a level of 1-10 with1 being a gentle “ask” and 10 being amore assertive “ask”. If anyone was a flyon the wall they would probably have beenin stitches as we began this voyage ofdiscovery. But through it all Del seemed toknow what was being asked and helistened to it all as any studious studentcould. With progress in this most basic ofskills we then progressed into the ménage.

Here Sandra laid out some coloured polesin the shape of an “L” and asked us towalk through it. By now, Del was happilyfollowing me and stopping with the “ask”of a level 1. He was reading my bodylanguage and I his. We had what I woulddescribe as a genuine “harmony” for whatseemed like the first time since we got him.My heart felt as though it would burst withpride at this achievement!

We walked though the “L” poles as if theyweren’t there. Del had a brief look but wasnot concerned that these were going toharm him and with his new found trust inme he was happy not to give them undueattention. Then came the real test. Sandraasked me to back him up through the “L”.We took it a few paces at a time. With themost gentle of pressure on the lead rope,that pony backed up as if he had beendoing it every day! As we approached theturn we paused and allowed him to thinkabout what he was doing then continuedalmost seamlessly! What a champion! I wasSO thrilled with what we had achievedtogether I don’t think I took the silly grinoff my face until long after Sandra had gone.

It goes without saying that I couldn’t buythe Dually and Reece rope from Sandraquick enough. These training aids hadworked with Del and as I now knew howto use them properly I was confident thateven when Sandra wasn’t there I would beable to control Del. (This had been one ofmy other concerns, that whilst Sandra wasthere Del would behave well but withouther there my confidence woulddisappear…)

Since that first visit we now have a totallydifferent pony. He still looks the same, hasthe same name but inside he is a muchhappier chap.

Del is only 6 ½ yrs old, a cob-thoroughbredcross, and for the last two years hebelonged to someone who buys and sellsponies and, by her own admission, shenever “bonded” with him because she wasalways planning to sell him on. She hadhim produced to be a show pony. In hisfirst season out he qualified for the RoyalInternational, so it goes without saying thathe is very bright. Once he realised thatthrough his biting he could misbehave heacted like an unruly teenager and we didn’thave the knowledge to stop him properly.But I don’t think it made him happy. It’salmost as though he finally realised thatafter three months we were staying andonce we used “manners”with him he washappy to respond in kind.

I have since shown my daughter whatSandra taught me and, hopefully, havetaught her too. We have done lots of“ground work” and if he comes across

something that causes him to stop, forinstance a small jump, instead of takingthe approach to kick him on (if he’s beingridden) we let him take a good look thenif necessary I will go and talk to him, thenwalk alongside him and he has thenshowed his trust and walked over it withme. We have even had him off the leadrope and walking free in the ménagewith us going around over poles andsmall jumps of his own free will. Theseare the times when my daughter and Ijust beam at each other and share aprecious moment together at each smallachievement in our journey with Del thatwe hope will now continue for many,many years to come.

My next step in this journey is to startlong-lining with him. Something I havenever done before and although I haveKelly’s book, it is a chapter I haven’t gotto yet. So I think I shall save it until I havehad the practical version first and thenread up… at my age the brain takes in“practical” over “theory” every time!

I sincerely hope that if there is anotherreader out there who is feeling as I did,that you have got yourself some kind ofequine monster, that they realise thatthey can try the “listening” approach, the results I can confirm can be trulyquite amazing!

Helen Wynyard-Wright

(Sandra Williams is RA for Buckingham,Bedford, Berkshire, Hampshire and Oxon)

with Recommended Associate Sandra Williams‘Learning to Listen’


The IHDG has been closely following theprogress of two orphaned foals this year.Freddie and Sterling, both New Forest ponies,both left mother-less as a result of hit andrun road traffic accidents in which theirmothers were killed outright. No-one knowshow long they stood next to their mothers’bodies hoping that they would get up again.

In Freddie’s case he was taken inimmediately by Sue NF and given milksubstitute and lots of love and care. Sterlingon the other hand was brought in but leftto fend for himself amongst older ponieswith no supplemental feeding – like myhouse plants, he had two chances, he couldeither live or he could die. I spotted himwhen I was working with some unhandledponies and knew that I wanted to get himout of there. My friend Sheila has been

broody for a foal so I knew I only needed tointroduce the two of them to each other forsomething to come of it! The inevitable wasinevitable and for £35 she had herself arather two dimensional colt.

By this time, Freddie had found his way toAnn NF’s who along with Bobbin’s Mumhad the time and facilities to cope with ahigh maintenance foal and it seemed logicalto ask them to take on another one in theshort term. They had already receivedinvaluable advice from Joanna Vardon at theNational Foaling Bank as well as Jane VanLennep at Simple System. As a result theboys were being fed what looked likespinach soup but really comprised soakedSpring Grass Nuts and milk replacer. Sterlingmust be one of the only ponies to havebeen reverse weaned and immediatelylooked more cheerful. Good nutrition is vitalto orphaned foals, and there is a fine linebetween malnutrition and over-feeding.

Sheila and Ann were also conscious of theneed to treat the foals as horses rather thanas human babies. They’d heard direwarnings about how bottle fed foals canbecome obnoxious monsters as they getolder and wouldn’t understand thelanguage of Equus. The foals were handled

using IH techniques from the Handling theUntouched Horse Course and were soonaccepting touch and a headcollar and beingled. Freddie was integrated into a smallgroup of ponies as soon as possible andSterling was taken home to live with Sheila’sbrood mare and companion. It was a reliefto see them “snapping” their mouths at theolder horses and being moved around bythem. They were fed from buckets ratherthan the hand and it was hysterical towatch Freddie stir his milk with his foot.Sterling ran in front of the wheelbarrowwhich was carrying his feed and backed upto it just as he would have done his motherin order to force her to stop and let himhave a drink.

By the time of writing, Freddie is a welladjusted self confident young man withlovely manners. He doesn’t mind beingkissed on the nose, leads beautifully andpicks his feet up nicely. Encouragingly he isas big as my naturally reared New Forestpony. Sterling no longer looks like acardboard cut out and is developing a realcharacter. Today he got full marks from thefarrier who trimmed his feet for the firsttime. He is living out full time with Rowanand Vanity, who is due to have a foal byAntics in 2008.

Freddie and Sterling are just two of theponies that were saved from anuncertain future by people on the IHDG.Harriet and Henrietta, the Dartmoorponies were redirected to Suzie Qwhilst Leo also found a safe haven atAnn NF’s. Numerous French horses cameover as refugees to people likeSixfootblonde.

Contact Details:

Sarah Weston is a Recommended Associatecovering Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. She can be contacted on 01725 512434 or at: [email protected]

(SueNF, SuzieQ, AnnNF and Sixfootblondeare all pseudonyms from the IH DiscussionGroup)

My Mother is a Wheelbarrow

Sterling

Freddie

Perfect Manners £299

May 17 - May 18 2008 full

August 09 - August 10 2008 full

Horse Psychology Course £170

Nov 15 - Nov16 2008 available

Stud Practice/Handling the Young Foal with Ian Vandenberghe £85/day

April 05 - April 06 2008 full


June 14 - June 15 2008 available

July 19 - July 20 2008 available


Feeding & Nutrition/Horse as an Athlete with Ian Vandenberghe £85/day


August 01 - August 02 2008 available

Five Day Foundation Course £550

March 03 - March 07 2008 full

March 10 - March 14 2008 1 place

April 07 - April 11 2008 full

April 14 - April 18 2008 1 place

April 28 - May 02 2008 full


June 09 - June 13 2008 full


June 30 - July 04 2008 available

July 07 - July 11 2008 1 place


July 28 - August 01 2008 available

Leading & Loading the less easy horse £250

March 29 - March 30 2008 1 place

March 31 - April 01 2008 full

Handling The Untouched Horse- will resume in November £250

No Current information

Basic Massage and Stretching Technique for the Horse Lover £75

May 04 - May 04 2008 available


IH Course dates for 2008




March Madness at the IH Office

Want to get Perfect all in one go?

Ok so the staying out in the cold during the fabulousFebruary tour might have gone to IH HQ’s head becausethey’re extending the tour promotions on merchandise tothe website. So now’s your chance to bag a bargain beforethey warm back up and realise!

Perfect Manners, Perfect Partnersand Perfect Confidence by KellyMarks – buy the three together forjust £40 (that’s a £10.97 saving). Or buy Perfect Manners or PerfectPartners on their own for just £15(saving over 10%)

All the newest releasesPerfect Confidence by Kelly Marks,the 10th Anniversary edition of TheMan Who Listens to Horses byMonty Roberts and Ask Monty byMonty Roberts for £35 – that’sbuying the first two get the last one free!

Prefer to watch rather than read?Then get Shy Boy, Perfect Match,Gentling a Spooky Horse, Rosie andthe Follow Up and Fix Up series for£145, saving you a whopping £45

www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

On top of those massive savings there’s also all kinds of shopping available from t-shirts to tack. Why notcheck out the Shopping pages on the Intelligent Horsemanship website to catch up with it all!

Save 10%

Buy 2 get 1 free

Save £45



There are times in your life that seem sosurreal that in retrospect you aren’t quitesure whether they are memories or crazy,vivid dreams. Picture this, you are at aninternational airport, the clinical straight linesand empty, waiting faces could make itanywhere in the world, but it is in fact,Johannesburg airport, South Africa. The stalesilence is punctured, through, finally, by thewhizzing of wheels and the screeching oflaughter as you hurtle down the corridors,pushing a luggage trolley stacked high withbags of equipment and Kelly Marks sittingatop reliving her jockey days! Well, that’sexactly the situation I found myself in, inNovember, at the start of Kelly’s SouthAfrican Tour. The faces of the scatteringofficials and giggling children were priceless,and already, I knew this was going to be atrip to remember.

Looking back at the whole tour now, Iknow I can’t do it justice. I wish I couldwrite down every moment, every landscape,every horse – I wish I could capture thecontrast of the cultures and people, thepoverty and the perfection, the vastness ofthe views from tabletop mountain and capepoint, the chatter around the open fire andbraii, the laughing, cheering, busyatmosphere of the demos and thewonderful transformation of the horses weworked with. But, sadly, I cant, there is justtoo much to write about! So please forgiveme for picking out a just few of my mostmemorable tour moments in order toattempt to share with you the experience ofa lifetime.

Gina and Harley teach us about subtlecommunication

Our first ‘horsey’ appointment in SouthAfrica was visiting Gina and her horse,Harley, so that Kelly could demonstrate join-up. Gina was a young lady who hadpreviously enjoyed dressage but hadsuffered a stroke leaving her almost entirelyparalysed. She could still enjoy horsesthough, with the help of her family and theyard manager, she was able to be driven byHarley in a specially designed vehicle. WhenHarley reached out to her wheelchair so hissoft nose was just inches away from her,she had no way of moving her hand tostroke that warmth, and no voice to asksomeone to help her. And then Carmen,Gina’s mother, reached forward and liftedGina’s hand to touch his muzzle andforehead, Harley paused, breathing slowly,blinking softly, and holding as still as awaxwork. Gina communicated entirely with

a trip to remSouth Africa



minute eye movements, which her motherinterpreted for us. How strange that wewere here to demonstrate a wonderfultechnique of non verbal communication,and yet our audience were already expertsin this field – having found cooperation andharmony based around an intricate andversatile language of gestures themselves.Kelly worked wonderfully with Harley (aftera demo with ‘the old grey gelding’ IanVandenberghe) who proved a sensitive andexpressive lad, and it was great to watchKelly use the most subtle shifts in bodylanguage and energy levels, instinctivelyfeeling how and when to move in order todraw Harley forward, until he seemed toeffortlessly fall in behind her as if this wasthe most natural place to be in the world. Ilove that moment, being init, or watching it, its as ifconfusion is replaced withclarity, it’s like finding a setof lost keys, or clutching hotchocolate by the fire whenits raining outside, orsleeping in your own bedafter an epic adventure; itfeels wonderfully indulgentbut righteous at the sametime, tension melts intosoftness, and for a fewseconds at least, the worldis forgotten and both horseand handler feel totallycomfortable in each otherscompany.

The Lipizzaner hallexperiences Bananarama in full glory

The first demonstration tookplace in the Lipizzaner Hallin Johannesburg. There is a sort of brilliantlybusy, organised excitement on theafternoon before a demonstration, butassembling the round pen under a grandchandelier and red and gold drapes waseven more exciting then usual. All of thehorses were fabulous of course (I haven’tmet a horse yet who isn’t!) and notsurprisingly the highlight for me was ridingthe starter, Oscar, a Friesian stallion. Oscarwent perfectly ‘to plan’ but I am going totell you about Anoushka, who taught methat really there is no place for plans withhorses – just lots of ideas!

Anoushka was a large warmblood showjumping mare who didn’t jump water, wasdifficult to load (impossible on a trailer) andvery difficult to clip. Leggy and athletic, with

her rich bay coat gleaming over superblytoned muscle, she certainly was animpressive young lady. Kelly began with ajoin up, and then worked with Anoushkaon the Dually over tarpaulin. Anoushkaprovided a perfect demonstration of a waterphobic horse, but soon Kelly had herleaping and skipping, then tip-toeing andfinally striding gracefully over the tarpaulinas if she hadn’t a care in the world. ThenKelly asked for the clippers.

I passed the clippers to Kelly and Anoushkadidn’t seem to have really noticed them orregistered them as any threat at first. ThenKelly switched them on and momentarily,Anoushka turned to stone, consumedentirely by her fear, her sharp eyes fixated

on the clippers, beforeerupting in an impressiveleap – demonstrating herimmense speed and power,and then spinning to aquivering stop. I glancedback at Kelly, who wasstood firm and calm,holding Anoushka in onehand and the clippers inthe other.

The next series of eventsincluded Kelly trying everymethod I know of to helpdesensitise a horse toclippers, at times I was inthe pen, at times outside,watching intently, as Kellyworked her way throughnot just plan B, but plan E,F and G, finding the easiestand least stressful way toshow Anoushka thatclipping was safe. From the

hairdryer, to plastic desensitisation, tovarious applications of advance and retreatand pressure and release, Anoushkas fearwas so intense and she was so athletic, shewas a real challenge, and it was wonderfulto see Kelly continuously adapt her methodsto suit Anoushkas behaviour and keepfinding ways to make it easier for her to getit right. Gradually, Anoushka became moreconfident and accepting, until Kelly couldstroke Anoushka with the clippers-turned-off, and hold them 2 foot from her turnedon, but it seemed to me she was still amillion miles from touching her with theclippers turned on.

Outside the round pen, I was tryingdesperately to guess what Kelly might beaiming to do next, what might she need,

what should I be finding to pass into thepen? But I was lost – it seemed like astalemate to me that just simply couldn’t befixed in one session. As Kelly spoke to thecrowd, calmly and confidently explainingeverything she was doing, I wondered if shehad a plan H. I was split between myabsolute faith in Kelly’s training and theapparently impossible nature of the problemin front of her.

Kelly asked for the soundman to turn onthe music – (Bananarama – ‘Venus!’) and,bewildered, he did. ‘Louder’ Kelly said ‘Turnit up, more, louder, that’s it, louder still’Totally confused, the soundman turned thecheesy music up to blaring levels, and Kellycontinued to work with the clippers, whichwere now turned on, unknown toAnoushka who (like the audience) was a

“Stalin, our spooky

horse, a grey arab, had

had an upbringing that

was anything but

lovely and

straightforward, and

involved, among other

things, living with

antelope for a

considerable amount

of time rather than a

horse herd.”

emember By Rosie Jones (R.A)



to her feet and marching over the top.When Kelly asked what the mare’s generalmanners were like, the owner replied“Great!” Kelly tactfully mentioned theearlier incident and asked what hadhappened there. “Well she has perfectmanners but that groom let her tread onmy foot””

Suzanne Marshall (R.A.Kent and Essex) wasrunning a riding andground handling clinic inSouth Africa at the sametime as Kelly’s tour – shedid a brilliant job ofsomehow keeping herstudents smiling despitethe weather providingregular, extreme bursts ofsoaking and sun burningthroughout her teachingdays! (Every morning thatfirst week we all hopefullyapplied handfuls of suncream only to have itwashed off it a typically

English downpour!) It was Suzanne whotold me about a lovely young lady whocame up to see her after a demo. She wasthrilled with herself for having found a newapplication for ‘pressure and release’ toteach a horse to back up. ‘Sounds great’thought Suzanne, and asked to hear more.The lady had stuck a drawing pin to the endof a short whip, and simply said ‘back’ toher horse, and then poked the horse in thenose with the pin-end of the stick until hebacked up!! What a reminder to us all thatwe really need to make sure that people arefully understanding what we do and whywe do it, because here is a perfect exampleof good intention of a willing student goingslightly astray and missing the whole pointof what we do – which is to take the painout of horse training.

I do not think cruelty to horses wasnecessarily any more prevalent in SouthAfrica than it is in England, but I do think

little baffled with the musical interlude.Advance and retreat, back and forth Kellywent with the clippers until Anoushkabecame so used to the rhythmic touch andaway that she hardly noticed the clippers atall, and Kelly signalled for the music todrop. Soon there was nothing butawestruck silence and the drone of theclippers as Anoushka stood, on a loose line,with the clippers running and stroking herneck. Looking back now, I think thesoundman, and some of the audience musthave thought Kelly had either gone mad orsimply run out of things to say, because the‘OOhhh! Now it makes sense’ look wasevident on so many faces. I led Anoushkaout and as we were swallowed into thedarkness outside, I heard the arena surgewith applause.

The third horse of the evening was Ruben, a horse with a loading problem. Ruben hadhad a very tough time in life so far, whenhe was being started he threw his rider, thesaddle slipped round his belly and he ran offinto the mountains for two weeks before hecould be caught and untacked. He hadbeen castrated without sedation oranaesthetic, and had clearly been roughlytreated. His owners were so convinced hewould not load, “If that horse-whispererlady can get him to load, I’ll kiss the groundshe walks on!” one lady challenged. Well,needless to say, Ruben was loading by theend of the session very happily, and so, trueto their word, out came my owner and twoof her friends and they dropped to theirknees right in front of Kelly and the wholeaudience!

‘My groom let her tread on my foot!’

One of my favourite parts of tours ismeeting the horse owners in the afternoon,hearing their stories and watching the horseselection when each horse is trotted in thepen to check for soundness. It’s great to tryand get a complete understanding of ahorse, his owner, and their relationshipalmost instantly upon meeting them, and

it’s always fascinating to hear the differentways that owners can interpret variousbehaviours.

It surprised me that all horse handling,grooming, tacking up, all ground trainingreally, was seen as unimportant andunskilled by most horse riders – and somost horse owners employed cheapuntrained, ‘unhorsey’ labour todo everything but the actualriding, resulting in a real lack ofbasic understanding of horsestemperaments and a huge gapin the horses training offundamental manners. Mosthorses (but not all) seemed tobe either very rude or veryscared during ground handling.

An example:

As Ian was being searchedrather roughly by the greedymuzzle of a big bolshy bay colt,Kelly asked the owner “Is heever hand fed?”

“Oh goodness no!” She repliedin rather a stern tone – offended at the veryidea – (you may like to imagine the reactionof a typical old fashioned pony club schoolmistress when asked if she usescomplementary therapies) “No not at all wedon’t believe in spoiling the horses”

“Oh,” Kelly replied as the colts teethsnapped angrily shut again, “It’s justsometimes when they get a bit Nibbly likethat it can be caused by hand feeding”

“Well none of our riders would hand feedor tit-bit what so ever… but the groomsgive them treats of course, would thatmatter?”

Another similar story – one poor ownerhobbled in to talk to Kelly about her horse,a big chestnut mare who was being trottedaround the pen. Earlier in the day, several ofthe team had seen the mare literally ploughright through her owner, knocking her right

“It surprised me that

all horse handling,

grooming, tacking

up, all ground

training really, was

seen as unimportant

and unskilled by

most horse riders.”



people were more open about it there, Ifound myself on several occasions in thedifficult situation of being told, by a friendlymember of the audience, about kicking afoal in the stomach to stop him rearing,beating a horse the day he comes to ‘makesure he settles right’, – one horse that wasdue to arrive to be used in a demo didn’tmake it because while trying to get himthere he had rushed off the box and cut hisback squeezing under the chain behind him– the vet though it was fixable but it wasthe last straw to the owners and it wasn’tworth the fuss for a horse who ‘wouldnever come right’ – I guess we won’t getthe chance to prove them wrong on that.

Spooky Stalin

At the second demonstration, in Capetown, the starter was Zsuzsanna, achestnut warmblood mare, lovely andstraightforward and a delight for me toride, having had lovely and straightforwardupbringing! Stalin, our spooky horse, a greyarab, had had an upbringing that wasanything but lovely and straightforward,and involved, among other things, livingwith antelope for a considerable amount oftime rather than a horse herd. I’m not surewhat antelope behaviour is like incomparison to horses, and whether this waspart of the reason for his extremespookiness or not, but he must be one ofthe most expressively spooky horses I haveever seen. Kelly joined up with Stalin (Howrelieved he was to have someone to lookafter him at last!) and we worked with himtogether with plastic bags until he becamereally brave, then Kelly worked with himover the tarpaulin – giving him the intervalas a chance to relax and come back to thesame lesson. And finally we worked withhim with the clippers. I will alwaysremember Stalin because he walked intothat arena frenzied, chaotic and lost.Snorting like a dragon, so ready to run hecould hardly put his feet on the floor forfear it might snap him up, his darting eyeswere like wet black pebbles and his ears likespinning radars, jaw clenched, heart racingand every muscle ready to react to thisterrible impending doom which he foundaround every corner. As he worked withKelly he was so emotive, so easy to read, hebegan to dare to trust her. And then it waslike he collapsed into that leadership he hadbeen craving, finally he could relax, andrest, and just let things happen. Clearly hehad spent all this time in a herd of one,alone and vulnerable, and he was

My goodness, what alot of support wehad. People were sowilling to learn, sofriendly andpassionate abouttheir horses. Thescenery and wildlifewere absolutelymarvellous, I metsome wonderful, kind people andhorses and had anamazing time.

exhausted by it, and all he wanted wasto sink into the knowledge thatsomebody safe was with him, and hewas being looked after. He totallymelted, that day. Oh I know there isplenty of work for Stalin’s owners tocontinue with, but when he jogged inon hot coals I had no idea how far Kellywould get with him, and it was such ajoy to watch and I am so proud to havebeen a little bit involved in that, so Ithink Stalin will always be one of myfondest tour memories.

I’d like to say a big thank you to Hamishand Robyn who organised the tour, andKaren, who we stayed with, to Gitte forholding the fort with our horses athome, and to everybody both in SouthAfrica and England who helped make itsuch a success, and of course, a bigThank You to Kelly.



Perfect Reading

Dear KellyI would just like to give you a big, heartfelt

THANK YOU. I have just bought your Perfect

Confidence book and it's been a godsend. I

have loved horses from, well, always but thanks

to a few bad early experiences (unplanned

flying lessons, terrified mother and extremely

aggressive trainers, all combined) I was terrified

of them. And I mean, terrified. I started riding

when I turned 30 and it took me months not to

freeze in panic as soon as I was mounted and

to be comfortable grooming. I have been

making progress - slowly - but what your book

has helped me identify is the way in which my

behaviour, mindset and lifestyle both on and off

the horse are stopping me becoming a happy,

confident rider and person. Still a long way to

go, but I now can see the path a lot more

clearly.

Thank you, Anna Valdiserri

Dear KellyFor Christmas, I asked my boyfriend to buy mea copy of your book, Perfect Confidence. Thereason I wanted to read it, is that I had a nastyfall, whilst out hacking a couple of years ago.This dented my confidence more than I thoughtit would. Consequently, hacking alone terrifiesme so I always go in company. However, I didmanage to get out and about alone during thesummer, which boosted my confidence andmade me venture out alone again, until I cameacross a trespassing dog walker, whose dogwas on one of those extendable leads, lungedat my Horse and scared him so that he turnedtail and cantered off with me still on board.Thankfully, I was able to pull him up but he didnot want to go back the way the scary dog hadterrorised us. This has now shattered myconfidence again, plus that of my horse somuch so that he began to nap badly if we setoff for a hack on our own. I have not been outalone for some months.

Anyway, I have completed the first twoassignments in your book and as it was quitelate last night, I read both of the assignmentsback to my self before going to bed. I got upthis morning and set off for work at 07:30 andwondered why I felt more cheery than usual ona dark and miserable morning. I went over in mymind what I had read in your book so far andthe two assignments popped into my head. Ithink these two stories I wrote have been in mysubconscious since last night and I am usingthem to keep my thinking positive andconfident. Is this the idea? Am I getting it right?I’m at work now and I can’t wait to get homenow for more reading. I know you advise not toattempt this chapter unless you can devotetime to it but I find that I can retain more bytaking smaller chunks and have time to digestthe information.

Cathy Cooper

Dear KellyI’m writing to give you some positive feedbackabout your new book. I went to one of yourdemonstrations and was thrilled to hear aboutyour new book. It arrived last Saturday (thevery next day after I ordered it from IH) it wasan unexpected pleasure to read yourhandwritten comment. I was eager to read itbut had visitors so started it on Monday. Iusually say I don’t have time to read but whenit’s anything to do with horses it’s a differentstory – same for the mending too. Anythinghorsy gets done!

I read your book every spare moment I couldfind and make last week but have to confessthat I did not have time for the assignments orexercises * but am re-reading it this week andwill work through them. I was doing my first longarena dressage test on Saturday (walk and trot)and wanted to improve not only my marks butmore particularly the awful gut-wrenching, heart-pounding nervousness of the lead up. You saythere is not a fairy in your book but I believethere is! I felt as though you were talking to meand I felt positive. I particularly liked the adviceto act as “if” confident and put it into actioneven smiling at my next door neighbour stablemate when she asked if I was ready. When I

rang for my time on Thursday my heart waspounding as knowing the time brings the realityto the situation. When I heard I was number 7 Iwas immediately pleased and said to myself itwas lucky number 7. Well the day went well.We had some nice comments and I scored thebest I have ever scored so it was all positive.The nicest comment by the way was “a nicepartnership” What an encouraging Judge! Thenext day I hacked around the first field of thefarm where I keep my 15hh Connemara. I havenot done that on my own for 15 weeks. Well itwas character-building but we did it. Thank you so much for this book. I’m sure youwill get lots of letters in support. Yours sincerely, Penny Barker* Some have been playing on mysubconscious and I have resolved to do yourfoundation course.

It’s been great to hear that Perfect Confidence hasbeen as life changing for people as Kelly had wishedfor (another dream came true!)

Hi KellyAs I'm sure you're aware, your new bookPerfect Confidence 'Build Complete Confidencewith Horses' has more far-reaching applicationsthan to just horse riding. After reading yourchapter 'No More Excuses!' several times, I'vefinally got up the courage to apply to VeterinarySchool. It's something I've wanted to do formany years... but, could always find an excusenot to do it.

Anyway...thanks,

Andy Vile

P.S I should have added that I didn't just re-read the chapter, I did do the exercises

Terms and conditions:

1. For IH members only. 2. Valid only during March and April 2008. 3. Only one voucher per order please. 4. Not exchangeable for cash. 5. Sorry this voucher is not valid for phone or internet orders.

£6 OFFPerfect Confidence

you can send for asigned copy for yourfriends too. IH isoffering you a £6.00saving if you buy duringMarch/April 2008

Special Offer!


A delicious creation by Jane Moor from Exeter

Whenever Monty goes to The Grangevenue, Jane bakes him a fabulous cake.The latest one was on the theme of awestern cowboy asleep by the fire. Itwas beautifully done and round theside of the cake were the names of allMonty’s Horses in His Life! Monty wasthrilled and had it photographed fromevery angle.

All of us who were lucky enough to geta slice agreed, it tasted as good as itlooked!

Thank you Jane

Have your cake and eat it!

ReviewsEquine Injury, Therapy and Rehabilitationby Mary Bromiley

Chartered physiotherapist Mary Bromiley isrevered in the horse world; this is an updatedversion of a book first published in 1987. Itbegins by exploring the horse’s musculoskeletalsystem and common types, sites and causes of injury.

A large section is devoted to thetherapies available to physiotherapists,and I appreciated the fact that Maryexplains how the healing processes work– understanding the science involvedmakes the practicalities of managingsuch injuries less daunting. Also hugelyuseful is the advice on returning to work– a time fraught with worry for theowner.

Riders are not excluded: Mary devotes asection to our injuries and recovery andexplains in detail equine and human backs.

The rehabilitation process is alwayslittered with questions and doubts forhorse owners and Mary’s book isinvaluable in helping the readerunderstand the processes the injuredequine body must undergo to recover. Itsupbeat tone is also a great help – Icertainly recommend it.

Rachel Twine

Available from: Wiley-Blackwell Price: £16.99 + p&pTel: 0800 243407 (UK only)or +41 1243 843 294online fromwww.blackwellpublishing.com

Join US horse trainer Mark Rashid at one of four 3-day clinics across the UK. Mark is author of 6 books & renowned for his gentle approach to problem solving from the horse’s point of view.

Special price for IH members £30/day (normal price £40/day), tickets must be bought in advance for this offer, put your membership number on the spectator form and write “IH offer”.

Each spectator needs to be an IH member to take advantage of this offer.

For more information & booking form go to www.amandabarton.co.uk or contact Amanda Barton on 01590 622393 or [email protected]

Photos: Viola Ehrenheim www.pferdeohren.de and Mark Rashid

Special offer to IH members forMark Rashid Horsemanship Clinics 2008

July 7 – 9 Shuttleworth EC, BedfordshireJuly 11 – 13 Hoplands EC, Hampshire

July 15 – 17 Westfield Park EC, South YorkshireJuly 19 – 21 Kingswood EC, West Midlands

Competition riding for applicant. Good conditions; Short term or longterm;

Contact:Faith Gray Weedon Tel: + 1 805 237 2021 3191Email: [email protected]

Bluegrass Place, Creston California 93432 USA.

A chance to practice and learn more ofMonty's methods, also visit anyinteresting, fun happenings in horseworld and visit Flag Is Up.

Definitely a Hands on Job caring for thephysical state of horses whilst studyingthe psychological. I am happy to pass onany knowledge horses have given to me,you could also study for B.H.S, N.V.Qs:Vast library, films and notes here: Strictlyno B.S. though, except when we visitthe local cowboys... they have fun 5minutes from here at Creston RodeoGrounds.

Wanted in Southern California,enthusiastic, competent riderfor quality young TB x WarmBloods.

Hi, I’m Jill Shephard; I havebeen involved with horses for

over twenty years, seven of which I have been involved with saddles

and their design. When my daughter,Maggie, was born three years ago I wasadamant that she wouldn’t have a ponyuntil she was old enough to understandthe concept of riding. This idearemained true right up until herwonderful godmother, Sarah, gave us a pony called Dinky. With a restlesspony and an even more restlessdaughter I was hounded into action and came up with the design for my first child friendly saddle, the Inky Dinky.

The Inky Dinky is totally unique; its treelessdesign ensures a good fit whatever the size

and shape of your pony whilst the seat ismade from luxurious Memory Foam to

provide ultimate comfort for tiny bottoms. As your child grows the saddle grows withthem. Adjusting and sculpting the MemoryFoam pommel and cantle will always maintaina cosy snug fit.

Available in a number of colours and madewith quality leather by experienced Englishcraftsman; the Inky Dinky has beendesigned to keep your young rider safeand secure whilst providing you with pieceof mind. Maggie has now been riding inthe Inky Dinky saddle for eight months andloves every moment of it. I hope your childdoes too.

• Safe• Secure• Unique design• Comfy memory foam• Tried & tested• For toddlers up...• Adjustable Pommel & Cantle• Available in black, brown & pink

Tel: 01797 344 202Mob: 07789 963 891www.inkydinky.uk.com

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Rosie Jones (RA) and Gitte Monahan(MRPCH) recently started a newbusiness that now runs from Ian andSandy Vandenberghe’s Yard at HartsopFarm in Witney, Oxon. This is where theIH practical courses take place whichprovides us with superb facilities and agreat support team, working at the hubof Intelligent Horsemanship:-

We take in horseswith a range ofbehavioural issuesor training aims,which haveincluded three ofKelly Marks’ ownhorses - (did yousee Caesur on tourwith Monty thisFebruary?).

Horses come to stay with us for handlingproblems, remedial ridden issues includingbucking and rearing, schooling issues on theflat or over fences, or simply straightforward youngsters for starting, bringingalong or competing. From ex-racehorses,competition horses or family ponies, we havea real passion for working with them all, andas such we look at each horse holistically andindividually in order to find a solution thatworks for both you and your horse.

We really enjoy and encourage ownerinvolvement while your horse is in traininghere, in order to ensure success as youcontinue your horse’s education whenhe/she returns home.

While horses are with us whether for longor short term training, they become part ofthe family. At present, we have thefollowing horses staying with us; Ruben, a15.2hh cob who came for aggression andspinning when ridden, Castaigne, a lovelyTB ex racehorse to be restarted, Willow, anaggressive TB yearling who could not behaltered, William, a 5 year old Warmbloodto begin competing, Bronwen a Section Dwho used to buck and panic, Maggie a14.3hh cob who came to us for chasingowners out of the field and mountingissues, Maisie a Fresian X who is here towork on schooling issues, Dino a 4 year oldWarmblood is staying to be brought on,and Caesur the Cob who was lightly backedand turned away and has come back intowork and is preparing for tour.

When the facilities permit, we can workwith you and your horse at your own yard,and have great success working withloading, ridden or handling issues, in eithera one off, or a series of sessions.

We are running a few day clinics this year,starting with ‘Bombproof your horse’ onMarch 1st and 2nd, and can arrange a daysclinic or a lecture for a group of willingapplicants at our place or yours – includingchildren’s days – so why not get a grouptogether and we can tailor a clinic focussingon your interests and working with yourhorses.

We also use ‘Horse Whispering’ techniquesin order to access personal development,

and have found huge success working withteenagers and young people withbehavioural difficulties, so get in touch ifyou think we can help someone you know.

Please ring to talk about your horse andhow we can help you, and feel free tocome and watch us ride or work somehorses.

There are a variety of courses running atHartsop Farm throughout the year, fromShiatsu with MRPCH Anne-Marie Marek,Equine Touch with Lara Neighbour andEmma Knowles, Massage and Stretchingwith RAs Sue Brown and Sandra Williams,RA Carrie Adams riding course as well asIan’s course Starting the Young Horse –contact Ian Vandenberghe on 01993868914 to find out more.

Rosie teaches on both IH courses and IanVandenberghe’s Riding courses and will beriding on Kelly’s UK Tour in May.

Contact Details:

Springtime Equine Services Ltd

www.springtimeequine.co.uk

Telephone: 07515 417 723

[email protected]

Rosie Jones (RA) and Gitte Monahan (MRPCH) Great New Business Taking Off!

“Horses come to stay

with us for handling

problems, schooling

issues on the flat

or over fences, or

simply straight

forward youngsters

for starting,”


Scholarship


Three chances to qualify for a scholarship to do the IH Five Day Course

Mr and Mrs Gill have devoted their timeand energy for well over twenty yearsto excellent equine care and liverymanagement.

They have given many an owner supportand guidance during this period developinga more effective bond between horse and owner.

This special award will fund one person,employed by an equine welfare/charityorganisation, annually to complete theIntelligent Horsemanship 5 day foundationcourse. This course aims to promote anddevelop a better understanding of equinebehaviour and communication.

Applications to: [email protected]

The Mr and Mrs DouglasGill Award for OutstandingEquine Welfare

In honour of Karen Cunningham whowas one of our RecommendedAssociates who sadly died of BreastCancer in 2004, IntelligentHorsemanship has organisedsponsorship for one deservingstudent each year to have all theirtuition fees paid for a Five DayFoundation course.

If you think you or someone you knowdeserves this scholarship opportunity,please write before 1st May to Karen'ssister Lynne Shepherd at:

51 Newmarket Road, RedcarCleveland, TS10 2JD

Explaining why you feel you or your friend is the right person for the place.

The Karen CunninghamScholarship

Supporting onestudent per year toparticipate in theFive DayFoundation Course

The Antics Scholarship is open to studentsof 17 or 18 years old who are undertreatment for cancer, have a sibling orparent under treatment or have sufferedbereavement of a sibling or parent through cancer.

The charity raises money for childrenaffected by cancer through the stud feesgenerated by our skewbald stallion named‘Antics’. We also hold other fund raisingevents throughout the year such as theAntics Summer Ball.

To apply for the Scholarship or forinformation on Antics standing at stud,please write to:

Antics Charity, Hartsop Farm, Witney Road,Finstock, Nr Witney, Oxon, OX7 3ASTel: 01993 868914

www.anticscharity.org.uk

Charity Registration No: 1102359

The Antics Scholarship

Caesur - a little star

ADVERT COPYTO GO IN HERE


Back page TO COME


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