lpost autumn 10:14959 lpost autumn 08 · 2019-12-17 · equine touch instructor lara neighbour met...

Magazine for the Intelligent Horsemanship Association

The Listening Post

AUTUMN 2010

2 The Listening Post

Equine Touch Instructor Lara Neighbour met students on the 5-dayfoundation courses and provided a presentation of Equine Touch.Here are a couple of key points Lara believes are worth any horseowner or rider remembering:

1. Horses don’t yelpWhilst this may be obvious we can tend to forget that, unlike us, a horsedoes not vocalise its pain – they can only try to communicate it throughbehaviour. So if you observe ‘grumpy’ behaviour, make sure you checkwhether pain is causing the behaviour before tackling it with training.

2. Bodywork for youOnce you’ve got your horse’s body, behaviour, feet, teeth, saddle, bit, feedingall sorted (phew, that’s quite a list!) don’t forget to look at yourself.

Think about it…would you want to give someone a piggy-back ifthey hung off to one side all the time?

The Equine Touch Level 1 Foundation course provides skills to tackle both ofthe above. The simple, yet powerfully effective, body balance routine and ETtechniques taught over the three day course puts you in touch with yourhorse’s body so you can better identify physical niggles that could be helpedwith your new ET skills or may suggest you need to call professional help (thevet/saddle fitter/farrier etc).

The UK team runs courses nationwide and Lara regularly teaches courses atHartsop Farm and also in Kent, Sussex, Berks, Hants, Norfolk, Suffolk andStaffs. And as IH members you can claim a discount on courses costs. Contactthe National Co-ordination Centre for a prospectus and further details.

An added bonus at 5 Day Foundation Courses – Equine Touch!

www.learningequinetouch.comTel: 0871 641 2118 Mob: 07792 370959Email: [email protected]

HORSESINSIDE OUT

Presents:An audience with

Dr. Gerd HeuschmannFor the Good of the Horse

Saturday 11th September 2010 9am-6pm

At Vale View Equestrian Centre Old Dalby, Leicestershire. LE14 3LX

For further details and an application form please visit:

www.HorsesInsideOut.comor tel: 0115 921 2648

© Tug of W

ar, Dr. G

erd Heuschm

ann, J.A. A

llen

Co

nte

nts

Do you have a contribution for the Listening Post? Do phone, email or send your carrier pigeon to the IH office!

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

On the cover: Pie plays Uncle to youngster Aroma. Photo by Katrin Junker.

Letter from Kelly

A bit in hand! Part 2 Page 4

Taming a twelve-foot line! Page 5

What is that thing you are carrying? Page 6

Summer learning Page 7

Listening Post competitions winners Page 8

Your letters Page 9

Bridle shyness - easy does it Page 10

Ask the experts Page 12

The bare bones of life Page 14

Charity update Page 16

Announcements Page 17

The 5 things with horses I wish I had learned sooner Page 18

IH course dates/Horse psychology projects Page 20

Win tickets for two to HOYS Page 21

Shoulder control Page 22

Advertisements Page 23

Where do I stand? Page 24

Intelligent Worming case study Page 25

‘I’m Shy Boy’ announcement Page 26

IH Recommended Associates updates Page 27

Meet our members Page 28

Where are they now Page 29

Spotlight on RA Paddy Gracey Page 30

3The Listening Post

Hi Everyone,The last couple of month’s

we’ve been working extrahard to show ourappreciation to IH Membersand give you all sorts ofextra benefits. We don’twant you to miss a singlething so do go on themembers area of thewebsite and see the onlinefilm footage, specialmembers discounts andother great things we’veorganised for you there!

I know the major thing holding us back with our horses(apart from money) is TIME and I think the best book I’veread on the subject is called the 80/20 Principle whichasserts, among other things, that 80% of the results youachieve are from 20% of your efforts. So, of course, thetricky thing is deciding what that 20% is!

Another idea is that 80% of your pleasure comes from20% of your activities or relationships. The principle of thebook is to discover the key 20% areas of your life and domore of that and less of everything else. So with carefulplanning what changes could you make so that time wouldwork better for you?

For instance, our Listening Post editor does her editingwhilst going back and forth from London on the train – nowthere’s an efficient use of time! If you only have a certainamount of time with your horse on some days – how canyou best use it? Perhaps we should make that a feature inthe next Listening Post? Do let us know if you have any ideasto maximise the time spent with your horse. You may winthe Star Letter prize which will make it time well spent!

I’m looking forward to catching up with you at Monty’sOctober tour – and don’t forget to bring your friends!

P.S. The photo is of Corky - who is going to have to wake upa bit once I’ve got all this office work finished!

Letter from Kelly

Photo by Katrin Junker

Horse on the forehand

is ‘have we got rhythm and relaxation?’ Ifnot, why not? Aside from physicaldiscomfort, it could be that we are asking thehorse or rider to do more than they arephysically or mentally capable of at that pointin time?

But let’s assume that the schooling isprogressive, the back, saddle, teeth, feet, etc,etc have all been checked and the rider isbeing as sympathetic with his or her hands aspossible. Many people ride nowadays in flashand/or crank nosebands. How tight is thatfastened? Can the horse relax his lower jaw,chew and swallow easily? What effect is thenoseband actually having? Is it improving thehorse’s way of going or suppressingsomething such as the mouth opening or thetongue hanging out?

Usually, the noseband is there to stop anevasion and now we begin to get to theroute of the problem. What is it that thehorse is trying to evade? Resistance andrelaxation are the only ways a horse has ofcommunicating with us. Moving free andloose, you will be waiting a long time to seea horse demonstrate the evasions that youfrequently see when it has a bit in its mouth.

So the first priority is to ensure that wehave a mouthpiece that fits comfortably and(s)he is relaxed with it being there – beforewe even pick up the reins. There is such agreat choice of shapes, sizes, joints andmaterials available now, where do you start?Bits in sweet iron or with a copper contentare designed to encourage salivation and bewarmer in the mouth than stainless steel, butwhen the shape and thickness of the bit suitsthe conformation of the horse’s mouth, I findthe material that it comes in is less relevant.

Thick or thin bit? If you part your horse’slips at the side, you will see that the tongue

Part 2: What factors affect the contact?By Elaine Sutcliffe MRPCH of www.whiterose-equestrian.co.uk

A bit in hand!

This brilliant diagram is courtesy of ElwynHartley Edwards, who sadly passed away in2007. He called it The Equitational Wheel, a representation of the Buddhist Wheel ofLife for the horseman. It shows the 4 ridingaids which are the means of communicationbetween horse and rider.

The wheel is made up of 4 spokes (therider’s aids) and a hub (the rider’s seat), thecentral balance point, secure andindependent of the reins. Elwyn uses it toshow that the bit is only one element insuccessful riding, to be considered and usedin conjunction with the other elements andnot in isolation.

The first 3 spokes are physical aids – use ofthe legs, trunk/body weight and hands – andthe 4th comes from the head, i.e. ourthought process. All our physical actions on ahorse are preceded, be it subconsciously, by the thought of doing or not doingsomething and should always be appliedconsiderately and rationally.

As the head spoke is always the first link inthe chain to be used, the hand/bit spokeshould always be the last link to think ofusing.

When all these elements are used correctlyand thoughtfully, then equestrian ‘Nirvana’ is reached!!

Oooh, so many things have to be right,don’t they – and that’s before I startconsidering the right bit to use! What I’mreally trying to say is that a bit is a means of communicating with the horse, notnecessarily the answer to all schooling issues.On the other hand, get the message across ina way that the horse accepts, understandsand causes him or her no discomfort - andthe results can be magic.

Let’s go back to the building blocks inschooling that I spoke about last time, theScales of Training. First question we must ask

completely fills the mouth cavity. Where’s theroom to fit a thick bit? Imagine having agobstopper in your mouth for an hour ormore. To swallow, we have to close ourmouth, then, with our tongue, move thesaliva up to the top of our mouth and thento the back of the mouth at which point weswallow. With a thick piece of metal, rubberor plastic in there, this becomes moreuncomfortable to do and then, whenpressure is applied to the tongue, impossiblewithout freeing the tongue up.

A final thought for you for now. We use our mouth for breathing as well as

our nose, more often to take more air in.Many people mistakenly think that is why ahorse opens its mouth. However, a horsecannot breathe through its mouth, onlythrough its nostrils, so there must be anotherreason for that. We must ensure that ourmethod of riding and fitting tack does notrestrict the horse’s airways, as this willcompromise his ability to get adequateoxygen to his muscles and perform to hismaximum potential with ease.


HEAD

LEGS

BODYWEIGHT

HANDS/BIT

A nice working trot

“A Horse is a thing of suchbeauty... none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor.”Xenophon

5The Listening Post

Taming a twelve-foot line!By IH Recommended Associate Joanna O’Neill

ne of the most useful tools whenhandling horses is a longer-than-usual lead rope. The 12-foot‘Lanky Lead Line’ available from

Intelligent Horsemanship is a great every-daylength – short enough to tie up with, yet longenough to keep you out from under yourhorse’s feet even if he becomes, shall we say,‘challenging’! However, that lovely extralength can become a liability if you’re notused to it, and like all new techniques,leading with a 12-foot line takes practice.Everything can seem fine until you need tostop your horse treading on your heels orstriding past you, at which point you mightfind you have altogether too much rope andcan’t correct him.

I have always found it helpful whenlearning something new to have some clearguidelines in the early stages; later, when I’vebuilt up some experience, I can abandon the‘rules’ and work more freely.

So here are the guidelines I offer my clientswhen first using a 12-foot line. So long as nobody is around to laugh, I suggestclipping onto a convenient wall to check outhow it works before attaching the line to a real, live horse.

O

Too long

Too long

1.Slip a rubber band onto the line one arm’slength from the clip.

2.Coil the line below the rubber band, andthen hold the coils in your left hand withthe rubber band inside your hand and withyour hand touching the front of yourwaist, where your belt buckle would be.That is your ‘stay’ position.

3.Your right hand can now rest over the linenext to your left – thumbs touching – or, ifnecessary, can slide along the line right upto the clip.

With this position, when your horse walkswith you he will have the comfortable arm’slength of line between you, and your handswill stay together at your waist.

Joanna O’Neill is a Recommended Associate covering Berkshire,Middlesex, Surrey, North Hampshire.

Tel: 01344 421762 / 07889 422996 [email protected]

If he tries to fall in behind you or simplywalks too close to you, you can slide yourright hand up to the clip and correct him,moving his head out to your side, and thentake your hand back to your waist again. Youmight have to do this several times, buteventually he’ll find this position by himself.

If you have a very challenging horse, perhapsborrow an easy one to practise with first.

Once you are comfortable with the longlead rope, the rubber band can come off andyou can adjust your technique to whateverworks best for you.

One final note: remember that, as withlong-lining and indeed riding, the expertsappear to do nothing and yet never get in amuddle. In fact, of course, they areconstantly active, monitoring their horses,their bodies and their equipment and makingtiny adjustments all the time. That is whyKelly’s line never trails on the floor, loopsaround her knuckles or trips her up. So all thetime you are leading your horse, payattention to what is happening to the lineand make those adjustments if necessary.

Many thanks to Jack for starring in thisarticle, and to Emma for lending him to me!

Wall

Just right standing

Just right correcting leading

Just right leading


What is that thingyou are carrying?By IH Recommended Associate Sally Hamilton

Sally Hamilton is a RecommendedAssociate covering South Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Tel: 0118 9415498 / 0795 [email protected]

f you look on Mary Wanless’swebsite, in the section on her schoolhorses, you will find this pictureshowing Solomon the part Shire, her

newest acquisition. The rider is me, SallyHamilton RA, on a weekend clinic to improvemy riding skills, and as you can see mypersonal challenge at the moment is to curemy default position of leaning forward. The question I want to answer in this articlewas one asked by many people on thecourse – what is that thing you are carrying?

Anyone belonging to IntelligentHorsemanship can answer the question –known either as a Giddy Up rope or a wipwop, once described as a curtain tassel,available on the IH website as an aid toforward movement. But surely they are onlyfor use on nappy horses, not in a dressageclinic? A dressage whip is only for the lightesttouch, surely, sometimes only a visual aid. For many people a whip is part of their outfit– what colour and style of jodhpurs are theywearing, what hat, what shirt, and of coursethe whip. Everybody has to carry a whip.

I have no problem with people carrying aschooling whip if they only use it to signal totheir horses, or touch them lightly. My problem is that I cannot trust myself,after years as a BHSAI riding the conventionalway, not to turn my tap into a hit. Anyonewill know, if they have experienced a buckafter using their whip more heavily than theymeant, that horses can be hurt by schoolingwhips. If you doubt it, try it on yourself, but be prepared for a nasty shock.

Riders tend to use schooling whips in oneof two ways. One is lightly, to reinforce a legaid they feel has been ignored, and the otheris to do what is euphemistically called‘waking them up.’ Or, to put it another way,belt them. This is a classic case of the humansaying to the horse ‘you must, or I will hurtyou’ – the attitude that Monty has spent hislife trying to change. Giddy Ups do work, buttheir action is to startle the horse rather thanhurt them. They are a clear example of usingassertiveness to influence a horse, ratherthan aggression.

I feel frustration on a horse who is ignoringyou as much as a conventional rider. I enjoythe lightness and grace of a horse working inan outline as much as a conventional rider.But what I am not prepared to do is to inflictpain as a way to increase energy. Which longterm does not work – think of the ridingschool horse, ridden three hours a day manydays of the week, called lazy, hit on a dailybasis both by novice and experienced riders(on the whole the more experienced the riderthe harder the hit) who year on yeardecreases his pace and energy as experienceteaches him that he is in a no win situation.

My solution is to carry a Giddy Up insteadof a whip. Not that I would expect to carryone in a competition, but as a training aid, sothat in a competition I would carry nothingat all. I use three different lengths – fulllength for a horse who might nap, medium(shown here) for flat work, and short forriding out just in case – small enough to bekept in a pocket.

For about six years I taught on Saturdays in a busy riding school without allowingsticks to be used, having previously been a traditional instructor who hit horses and taught her pupils to do the same. After 2001, when I became aware of Montyand Kelly’s work, any rider on a slow horse orpony was lent a Giddy Up, and if necessary I would throw a long line to help forwardmovement. My perception is that the poniesbecame more forward going as they learntthat Saturday was the day on which theywere not hit.

As for jumping, I would love it if Giddy Upswere the norm, but tradition being what it isI fear it will be many years before local showshave hoards of teenage girls carrying GiddyUp ropes instead of sticks. Think of thereduction in stress levels – human as well ashorse. Fewer tears, fewer tantrums, probablyfewer accidents. Perhaps if we could makethem a fashion statement? Lime green,shocking pink, shot with silver or gold… I can dream. In the meantime, I am verygrateful to Mary for her broadmindedness inallowing me to carry a Giddy Up rather thana stick in her clinics.

“Giddy Ups do work, but theiraction is to startle the horse

rather than hurt them. They area clear example of using

assertiveness to influence a horse,rather than aggression.”

I

How do I get one?Visit our online shop at www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.ukCall the office to place your order on 01488 71300

Also available at all Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks demonstrations

‘Giddy Up’ rope only £15 from Intelligent Horsemanship + £3.50 p&p

77The Listening Post

n my May Masterclass introductionsI noticed plenty of head noddingwhen I said “does anyone else herefind... it’s sometimes not what you

don’t know that holds you back... it’s whatyou know - but you’ve just forgotten!” It’swhy it’s so helpful to often be workingalongside former students, now excellenthorse people in their own right. They’ll comeup with some insightful idea and ‘I’ll saythat’s marvellous – how did you ever think ofthat?” And they’ll say “Well you taught it tome about 8 years ago!”

Moral: Mentoring works both ways

The following pointers, I knew before, butthis summer I’ve just been reminded again.

Horses are Addictive Because There’sNever That One Perfect AnswerYes there are certain basic foundations wemust lay to create a relationship with ourhorse. However, I find as soon as you think‘that’s it now I have the answer’ to one ofthose trickier little issues that can pop up; theUniverse sends you a horse who completelyconfounds you. This is where we British havethe advantage because we are tea drinkers.When problems get overwhelming we knowthe first thing we need (because it’s whatGrannie always told us) is to stop and have anice cup of tea. What is it in that cup of teathat so often means that we go back and thehorse works better and we work better?Some people might say this is ‘latentlearning’ or that we need to give ourselves‘thinking time’ but PG Tips might say it’s allin the leaves.

Moral: Horses need time to process andso do we

We’re all ‘time poor’ – so what are weprepared to give up to spend more timewith our horses?I was just involved in general chatter with afriend the other day and she came out withsomething quite profound. She said “there’sthis woman on the yard with two horses andtheir perfectly behaved but then they wouldbe, she’s retired and has got nothing else todo all day.” I thought actually that’s anincredibly interesting comment. This luckywoman has time for her horses. It may wellbe the missing link to all our horsemanshipendeavours TIME. In fact, thinking back towhen I got my first pony Seamus, a nervousbolting, uncatcheable, non loading, nonjumping grey Connemara who, you canguess, I adored, nothing much changedwhile he was kept at the local riding schoolbut when I was allowed to keep him at homefor the summer holidays andjust spent whole days withhim, everything changed forthe better.

Having studied countlesstime management books(mostly a waste of time hoho) my biggest ‘Ah Ha’moment came in the bookwhich stated the obvious(isn’t that often the way?) ‘Ifyou’re not able to cope withyour workload – there isnothing else for it but youare going to have to givesomething up’. It might be

Summer LearningBy Kelly Marks

“ “Pie at 15 though islooking great and hasbeen on a couple ofoutings with myniece, Daisy, this yearjust so he doesn’t startthinking he’s retired.

I

If I knew as much as I’ve forgottenI’d be a genius!

by delegation, efficient measures or justchoosing to drop something out of your life.You’d probably better keep your kids andsignificant other but maybe you couldpersuade them that poo picking is a greatgame or could you make other time savingsby say, shopping online, simplifying yourfeeding arrangements (horse and human)and get rid of some of your ‘stuff’ whichtakes up time and space?

Moral: Make sure the time you spend onthings reflect your priorities in life

Face the Facts – Don’t spend more than aminute thinking about what should,could or ought to have happened – facethe facts and deal with them.This summer I thought the new horses wouldbe representing IH at horse shows and makingus all proud. Sadly other things got in the wayand their training got put on the back burner.Rosie Jones who helps me and I weredisappointed initially but faced the facts andcame up with a plan that’s going to make2011 sensational. Romi and Banksy havespent the summer at new RA Jim Goddard’syard with Rosie schooling but will most likelycome back to Lambourn for the winter whileRosie continues her university course.

I felt sad I’ve missed some of their growingup time while I’ve had to catch up in theoffice. However, I feel sure it’s been thesensible thing to do all round because itmeans with just Pie, Herbie and Corkystaying here in Lambourn, Katrin (now my PAthough Lou still helps us from London) and Ihave been able to ensure that those boys getregular attention. Corky is just 4, I think allthe growing he’s doing is tiring him outbecause he spends a lot of time sleeping! Pieat 15 though is looking great and has beenon a couple of outings with my niece, Daisy,this year just so he doesn’t start thinking he’sretired. So by facing the facts we’vemanaged to have a fun and productivesummer – and look out for us in 2011!

Corky is growing and spends a lot of time sleeping

Photos by Katrin Junker

“ “

8 The Listening Post8

Listening Post Competition Winners

From our Equus Online UniversityCompetition Winner:

Dear Kelly,

I am the lucky winner of the Equus Online University competition and would liketo thank you and the IH office for such a fabulous prize. I had heard good reportsabout the Online University, though to be honest (as a working parent/horseowner) I thought I would not have the time to sit in front of the computerwatching endless videos. Well, I was completely wrong.

I had no idea that so much information would be on thesite, i.e. the bite size videos, audio lessons and ‘Monty’schallenge’ where you can check your understanding ofthe lesson and so much more. I especially like the timelinewhere the site remembers how far I have watched on thetraining videos, it is like having my own personal bookmarker! It is clear that a lot of work has gone intoproducing the Online University. I can now honestly say itis not only easier to use than searching for a particulararticle in a book or magazine, but has so much moreinformation and is a lot quicker!

So thank you for such a brilliant prize, it has taken theplace of (and is cheaper than) my usual horsey magazines!

Jenny Crouch

www.montyrobertsuniversity.com

March 2010Stef Stokes - ‘Schooling Exercises in-hand’ by Oliver Hilberger

Sam Davis - ‘Feet First – Barefoot Performance and Hoof Rehabilitation’ by Nic Barker and Sarah Braithwaite

Jackie Foulds - ‘Born to Whisper’ by Nicole Golding and Adam Goodfellow

Liz Beddows, Debbie Patrick - Premier Equine Sports Boots

Elaine Brookes - Happy Horse Hay Steamer

Lydia Wade and Stephen Robertson - Red Horse Products Sole Cleanse and Hoof Stuff

June 2010Philippa Ellen - Top Spec competition

The site is so quickand easy to use, the videos are broken up into short informative step bystep pieces. The details shown and the explanations given are trulyexcellent, easy for the normal horse owner to understand and follow.

“

“Congratulations to all our winners!!

9The Listening Post

lettersYour letters

Dear Kelly,Just to let you know we got Zena back

from Sparsholt College. I turned up withthe lorry and new Dually halter, spent a fewminutes establishing ground rules with herand getting her to respect the halter. Then she followed me straight onto thelorry! I am not sure if it was luck, or she justwanted to come home, but thanks to youagain for teaching me where I had gonewrong in the past.

I am looking forward to a summer of funnow, and am hoping to get out to one ofyour courses as I am now hooked on yourmethods!

Great result all round with the loading!Worth every penny (and more) of themembership to IH!

Kind regards, Helen

A copy of ‘Perfect Confidence’ by Kelly Marks goes to the writer of our Star letter

Star letter

Dear KellyI am sending you an upbeat, massive,

massive thank you! You won’t realise howmuch what I have learnt from IH has helpedtoday when we had to move to another yard. The liveryyard my horse and I have been very happy at for the last few yearshad suddenly and unexpectedly been closed. On top of this, just to add the stress,it happened while my mum was in hospital having an operation.

I don’t own transport, there’s not yet anyone hiring horseboxes locally, we don’tcompete and therefore travelling is something my horse, Toffee, has just not really done. Ido keep my eyes open for the chance to hire so that this situation could be different and Idid get the chance to practise loading a while ago using what I’d learnt at Hartsop - whichwent well.

Anyway this morning new yard owner transported him for me and he loaded perfectly!Couldn’t have been better and everyone was very impressed. This was despite having justhad to say some very sad goodbyes as we’ll all be scattered to various yards. So, havingloading issues at that point could have been like your loading video from the 5 day courseand more!

My red Dually is surely worth more than the £40 it cost! I was ready to use the sidewayson the ramp method you showed us on the course but didn’t need to. I think Toffeeresponded to the feel on the line I learnt from you on the 5 day course. You corrected myjerkiness and showed me how it should feel.

Very many thanks,Kathryn and Toffee

Do you have something you’d like toshare with us? If so, you can send yourletters to us at: Lethornes, UpperLambourn, Hungerford RG17 8QP Email: [email protected]

Dear Listening Post,I had to get in touch to say a very BIG thank you to Kelly and her team. What fantastic

people! They made both myself, Kyer and Blodwyn so welcome at Kelly’s demonstration inWales. We can’t thank you enough for picking Kyer and Blodwyn to come to thedemonstration and Kelly, Rosie, Linda have made my daughter one happy child. It meant somuch to her to get her boxed.

I wanted to let you know that Kyer tried loading her today on the box and she went onbeautifully. You are all very special people to us and do a tremendous job.

Kind regards, Paula, Kyer and Blodwyn

Dear Listening Post,Hi all, I would just like to thank everyone

involved in the 5 day foundation course thatI attended last week at Hartsop Farm. I cannow say that to attend it was one of the bestdecisions I have made. I was made to feelreally welcome and the other students wereall friendly and supportive.

I would like to say this of all the tutors onthe course - you are truly second to none!You have such knowledge, patience and awonderful ability to install confidence whenand where needed. This I have brought backwith me and have already got the beginningsof a better relationship with my horses. I really enjoyed the whole package and learntsuch a lot, everyone was so helpful. I will begoing on more of your courses next year,even though apparently my husband lived onham sandwiches and crisps while I was away,bless him.

And to anyone who may be consideringgoing on this course, I would say....GO!!!!!

To Kelly, Sandra, Linda, Julia, Ian, Rosie, allthe IH helpers and to Ian and Sandy forletting us use your facilities at Hartsop.

Thank you all so much,Kate Williams


Bridle shyness – easy does itBy IH Recommended Associate Sarah Weston

Solo was one of the very first horses I ever worked with.A big solid, tall Welsh Cob with a broad forehead;

a proper driving type with the capacity barge his way outof trouble, his owner had been struggling to put his bridleon for years and described how she would take a short cutby taking his bridle apart to put it on piece by piece everytime. This persisted until one day he threw his head up so

hard that he broke her nose. Julie didn’t know how theproblem had started in the first place, but now her

confidence had been severely dented and she wondered ifshe would ever ride him again.

he trouble with short cuts is thatthey inevitably become ‘long cuts’in that the way around a problemgets longer and longer every time.

So often, these horses are good abouteverything else and yet their bridle phobiacan be a real obstacle which has to besurmounted each time they are ridden. It canbecome a real disincentive to going outriding. No one wants to have a battle everyday – and that includes the horse.

It’s very easy to create a bridle phobic horse– someone simply has to mishandle the waythey treat a horse’s head on one occasion.Fortunately most horses are more forgivingthan that, but banging the teeth with the bitor jamming sensitive ears through the crownpiece may be all that it takes. Horses like tohave their bridles put on politely andsympathetically. The art, if a horse starts tobecome awkward, is to become even calmerand quietly insistent rather than to get angryor rough.

It’s really important to consider firstwhether there are physical reasons why ahorse is objecting to its bridle. Has the horsegot sharp teeth, broken wolf teeth under thesurface of the gum, ulcerated cheeks or sorelips? Does he have mites in his ears? Is thebridle too tight (especially the brow band) orthe bit too severe? How are the hands thatuse it? Does the problem only start when youattempt to do up a flash or crankednoseband? If the horse suddenly becomesdifficult to bridle having been fine for a longtime, neurological problems need to be ruled out.

The next step in overcoming the problem isto examine whether the horse is sensitive ona particular part of his head – if the horseflings his head about once the last ear goesunder the bridle it could be either his ear orhis mouth. Normal desensitisation work will

T

3 quick tips for avoidingcreating a bridle shy horse

• Make sure that the horse’s teethhave been checked and treatedby a vet or qualified dentaltechnician

• Make sure that the horse that thehorse is happy to have every partof his head touched

• Introduce the bridle withsensitivity and empathy


It’s very easy to create a bridle phobic horse – someone simply hasto mishandle the way they treat a horse’s head on one occasion.

Case Studies• Shinika, a New Forest x Thoroughbred,

was a horse that turned out to haveneuralgia (nerve pain) and was curedwith drugs. We had to trust ourinstincts here that something serioushad triggered the problem.

• One summer I went to help a ladywho had bought a driving pony soldextremely cheaply because the ponywould take ages to have her bridleon. Careful examination revealedthat the blinkers were actually restingon the pony’s short eyelashes. A bigger bridle and a different way ofputting it on, then the pony startedto take just two minutes to accepther bridle. This made the pony a verygood purchase as putting on thebridle had been her only problem.

• I went out to an Argentinean ex-polopony called Willow, that had terriblescarring just behind her poll where athin cord halter or gag attachmenthad pressed hard into her skin. Byworking with her gently and, in hercase, using food rewards, we got herto the stage where she was askingfor her bridle to be put on.

Sarah Weston is a RecommendedAssociate of Intelligent Horsemanship.Based in the New Forest she coversHampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and theIsle of Wight.

She can be contacted on 01725 512434 or 07871 252954 or [email protected] details of her work can be seenat www.sarahweston.co.uk

help to overcome this: I often employ a scarfto drape around and about the horses head,to gently tighten and release. I also massagethe horse’s face using gentle fingers to tracethe horse’s bones and rub the base of hisforelock – seduce his head.

To overcome real ear shyness it isimportant to give the horse some controlover the process. I start off by placing myhand on the horse’s neck as far up as I can gowithout the shyness being activated andthen begin to touch and move away. Oncemy hand is behind the horse’s ear (and if it isa tall horse I use a feather duster) I wait untilthe horse moves his ear back towards myhand and then reward him by taking myhand away. In time the horse starts to touchmy hand with his ear and I continue toreward him by taking my hand away. I waituntil he has pressed my hand more firmly.From here I am usually able to touch his earand then move away if he keeps still and soon. My aim is to be able to touch the wholeof his ear and if possible gently, very gently,massage it. It’s really important not to graspthe ear or to invade it with your fingers.

Next the horse can be taught to lower hishead to a slight pressure on his poll. I simplyplace my hand on top of his poll, wait untilhe lowers his head even a fraction, and takemy hand away. This is repeated until itbecomes automatic. If the horse is tall, I stand on my mounting block.

Once the horse is accepting of pleasanttouch anywhere on his head, then I will startto reintroduce his bridle. Traditionally thehandler has their hands around the horse’snose while they put the noseband and bit infirst. I have found that the IH way of puttingon a bridle works much better. Basically, I putmy right hand over the horse’s poll andbetween his ears and hold the crown pieceof the bridle. The left hand then holds the bitand asks the horse to accept it into hismouth – I gently put my fingers between thebars of his mouth on the off side in order to

stimulate him to open his mouth but in time,if you always do it sympathetically, the horsewill voluntarily open his mouth for the bit.Once the bit is in place, I use my right handto gently flatten the horse’s left ear forwardsto go under the crown piece (just as if it wereas long as a donkey’s ear) and then physicallymove to the offside of the horse to do thesame on the other side. I might give a horsea click and a treat for each stage of thisprocess or just at the end, and find this canbe a useful addition to my training even if Ido not use it at other times.

*Please note that the horse shown inmost of the photos is a complete love and doesn’t mind posing as a horse withproblems. He is modelling a genuineMasai Browband which are availablein different colours from Sarah. Pricedat £10 ALL proceeds go to a MasaiCommunity Project in Loisaba, Kenya.They are all 38 cms wide (14 ½") and can be seen at:http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/Sweston/Masaii%20browbands/

Horses need to be able to trust that thebridle would be put on sympathetically. In each of these cases, the horses went on tobe easy to bridle each time, every time.

“ “

Q12 The Listening Post

Q. I have a question relating to my 32 year old cob, Magpie. She is happy bright andalert and generally in pretty good shape for her age, except for her teeth and weight,she is now unable to chew hay/haylage, even some forms of chaff she struggles with,her teeth have worn down to a degree where they are pretty useless as a grindingmachine now.

The vet has said, they are 32 year old teeth there is nothing that can be done. Soshe is being fed huge amounts of High fibre nuts, 16 plus nuts, (both soaked), fastfibre beet and veteran chaff, this she manages to eat ok.My problem is that she won’t eat enough of it to keep the appropriate amount ofweight on, if I try to increase it gradually she just leaves it. She is turned out 24hours a day and is moved into fields with the longest grass as often as possible. Sheis gradually losing weight as time passes by, I was wondering if there was anythingelse that I could be doing to try and put a bit of weight on her, she is very bony now!

Many Thanks, Lucy Holland Veterinary Nurse (small animals)

A: There are a few things I would suggest.Firstly it might be an idea just to arrange ablood test and run a screening ‘endogenousACTH’ test for Cushing’s, as there is nothingwhich causes them to lose condition soreadily. A lot of older horses do show signs of‘pituitary ageing’ at post mortem apparently, so there may be more occult mild Cushing’sabout than we realise, and it is so easy andcost-effective to treat nowadays.

Personal ProfileJackie JA Taylor worked freelance in the horse feed industry for many years before takingseveral years out to research hormonal and metabolic conditions in horses. She nowspecialises in helping people with the management of horses with laminitis, insulinresistance, Cushing’s and their ilk, and has a broad base of knowledge of the feed and supplements market. www.metabolichorse.co.uk

Jackie JA Taylor

Other than that you can try and increasethe nutritional value of the feeds you areusing, or add ‘calories’ another way. I wouldenlist the services of a senior nutritionist fromone of the companies who’s products youare using, or get the calculator out yourselfand actually compare the protein and fibrelevels, and Mj/kg.

Possibly due to factors like pituitary ageingor lowered digestive efficiency, veterans do

need a higher protein level in their dietoverall. 12% is recommended by one leadingUS researcher in the area, Dr Ralston. Somefibre replacement products are a lot lowerthan that, maybe 8%, and that can make ithard for veterans to maintain muscle bulk. I know TopSpec offer a hay replacementproduct at 12% and there are alfalfa andgrass nuts at around16% which couldbalance a lower protein product.

In the same way a lot of high fibreproducts are aimed at the ‘low calorie’requirements of laminitic ponies and mayonly be 8Mj/kg when higher value productsare 11 or 12Mj/kg, so it’s worth doing someresearch and making sure you are makingthe best choices there too. The gut doesneed a minimum amount of coarse fibre tofunction properly, so again, making surelevels are adequate there is important (whichis why some specialist nutrition software todo all the maths helps!)

Lastly a good way to add calories withoutmuch bulk is to raise the fat profile of thediet. You can do that by choosing a higherfat cube, or by supplementing with a high fatsupplement or top dressing like micronisedground linseed, or even a cupful of vegetableoil in each feed. I would be careful aboutadding too much oil/fat if there is any chanceof laminitis or Cushing’s as it can causeproblems there. Linseed and fish oils high inomega 3 are the exception though, researchsuggests they are beneficial to such horses.

I hope this helps, you are obviously doinga lot right to get her to such a grand age!

Ask the Ex

Q&A13The Listening Post

Q. I have had massage and shiatsu onmy horse and both Practitioners said myhorse would ‘detox’. What does thismean?

A: Detoxification, or ‘detox’, is the body’snatural way of neutralising and eliminatingthe following:• wastes generated within the body as end

products of metabolism within cells• toxic or potentially harmful substances

that enter the body via the lungs,intestines and skin

• materials for which the body has noconstructive use (e.g. old cell fragmentsfrom regeneration or repair of tissue)

In normal circumstances the body has anincredible capacity to detoxify itself, withseveral organs especially dedicated to thecleansing processes e.g. liver, intestines,kidneys, lungs and skin. If for any reason thebody’s detoxifying system is overloaded orincapacitated, or elimination of toxins isimpossible, these substances can be ‘hidden’within the body. They are taken out ofcirculation and ‘safely’ stored in the liver, fatand other connective tissue e.g. deep andsuperficial fascia around the muscles. In thisstorage toxins cause less direct harm totissues and organs, however, when storedthey can cause pain as the build-ups candecrease pliability of the tissue which leadsto stiffness and pain.

Many types of bodywork can help torelease these stored materials, by using thepressure of the fingers or hands and bygently manipulating the soft tissue. Movingthe skin, fascia and muscles can help tobreak up the fibrous tissue that holds ontothe fat cells and permits fluid build-up to be

Ivana Ruddock

Veterinary Advice Disclaimer:Neither Jackie JA Taylor, Ivana Ruddock, Sam Austin nor Intelligent Horsemanship acceptany responsibility for any advice offered through these replies which is purely forguidance. Always consult a veterinary surgeon.

Q. My thoroughbred struggles to stay ata reasonable weight. A friend suggestedit is because she is ‘parrot mouthed’. I’mnot sure what this means or why itwould make it difficult for her to put onweight. Would an Equine DentalTechnician be able to change this?

A: A ‘parrot mouth’ is when the front part ofthe upper jaw of the horse (i.e. it’s incisors)overshoots the lower. This can cause theteeth to meet badly and overgrow wherethey are not meeting - hence the upperincisors can become quite long. If theproblem also applies to the molars (the backteeth) it can cause further problems wherethe teeth do not meet (or are ‘un-occluded’in dental speak) and overgrowths form. Anyovergrowth of the front or back teethprevents correct movement of the jaw andwill interrupt chewing, thus weight loss islikely as it will prevent the horse properlybreaking down its food. If the incisors aretouching very little or not at all then thehorse will also not be able to graze effectivelyas it will be unable to grip and tear the grass.If this is the case alternative means of foragewill need to be supplied.

In less major cases the problem is easy tomanage through regular dental maintenanceto remove overgrowths where they are occur.Unfortunately in a mature horse only smallcorrections will be able to be made to theparrot mouth itself - but the correct care canhelp prevent it ever being much of a problemfor the horse.

Personal ProfileMVDr. Ivana Ruddock the Director in charge of Education is aqualified veterinary surgeon from the Czech Republic and a memberof the AHVMA (American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association). A consummate researcher, she is also a qualified university lecturerin anatomy and physiology who brings with her a wealth of trainingand knowledge from the orthodox veterinary world.

released. Bodywork can also stimulate theblood circulation and lymphatic drainage.Waste products will come back into thecirculation via fluids in these systems whichare then eliminated or, once again,neutralised in the liver.

Although the cleansing is ultimatelybeneficial, sometimes rapidly releasing largeamounts of these materials can stress thebody’s detoxification systems. All the organswill need to work harder to get rid of theirritating or toxic substances. The eliminatoryorgans, the bowels and kidneys will work totheir limits. Signs of this include higherfrequency of urination or defecation,perhaps with loose stools or diarrhoea. A runny nose or sinus drainage can be a signof high activity of the respiratory system anda skin rash or hives can develop due to detoxthrough the skin. A low fever can be a proofthat the immune system has mobilised toprotect the body against released toxins.Aching muscles, swollen and stiff joints canbe unpleasant signs of the detox.

These symptoms of detoxification canappear during the bodywork session orperhaps afterwards - in some casesdeveloping these signs up to three days later.Occasionally the ‘original symptoms’ of thedisease may return and this is called the‘healing crises’. However, these signs arealways temporary and should not last morethen couple of days. To help withdetoxification and to minimise the healingcrises it is important to provide plenty ofclean, fresh water to help the kidneys, skin,respiratory system and colon function toprocess waste and flush toxins.Immediately after bodywork it isbeneficial to walk the horse in-hand tostimulate lymphatic drainage.

MRPCH, BHSII and Director of Red Horse Products

Sam Austin

Personal Profile Vet recommended, Sam Austin trained inNew Zealand with The American Schoolof Equine Dentistry and in the UK withBEVA and other bodies. Sam has beenpracticing dentistry since 2001 regularlyworking alongside vets and nervoushorses has given him a wealth ofexperience in the field. Sam’s IntelligentHorsemanship training (MRPCH holder)and his experience with difficult andscared horses has enabled him to treatthese horses with tact and patience.

xperts

ue is a Veterinary Physiotherapist and holds Horse OwnersMassage Courses throughout the UK, giving hands onexperience in understanding your horse’s body and how you

can help maintain his health and improve his performance. Here sheintroduces equine anatomy and links it to common issues that occurin horses.


The bare bones of lifeThe ‘need to know’ of how your horse is put together

The Horse’s BackThe horse’s back is a complex structure, andone that is very important to us as riders.When we ride we place stresses and strainsthrough our horse’s body that can lead totension and pain. It is our responsibility ashorse owners to do what we can to keep ourhorse comfortable. In the case of the horse’sback, this includes ensuring good saddle fit,and regular physical checks from aprofessional. Understanding the structure ofthe back can help you to know where to lookfor problems.

The spine protects the spinal cord, and ismade up of bones called vertebrae. Eacharea of the spine has vertebrae designed tosuit the function of that area. Ligamentsattach each bone to the next, and musclesthat move and support the structure areattached to the bones via tendons. The muscles are also designed to suit thearea of the body in which they are situated,so whereas the neck muscles are able toproduce lots of movement, the back musclesare designed more for stability, and themuscles in the quarters for power.

Problems in the back can be related to themuscles (as well as to other structures). It iswell documented that lameness in the lowerlimb can lead to back pain. Try deliberatelylimping for a while, and you’ll soon realisewhy! Another common cause of muscularpain in the back is poor saddle fit. Think of

S

By IH Recommended Associate Sue Palmer

The forelimbThe forelimb consists of the shoulder blade(scapula), upper arm (humerus), forearm(radius and ulna), knee bones (carpal bones),cannon bone and splint bones (metacarpalbones), long pastern (proximal phalanx),short pastern (middle phalanx), coffin bone(distal phalanx) and navicular bone (distalsesamoid). The joints involved are theshoulder, elbow, knee, fetlock and pastern.The horse’s knee is the equivalent to ourwrist, and his cannon bone is the equivalentto the middle bone in our hand. Effectively,the horse is standing on his middle finger!

the blood flowing through the blood vesselsin the muscles as bringing nutrients to thosemuscles to feed them, keep them healthyand help them grow. If your saddle pressesdown too much in a particular area (commonareas are the wither pockets or under theback of the saddle), the blood will besqueezed out of the muscles in that areawhenever you are sitting on the saddle. The muscle won’t be so ‘well-fed’, and willbecome tight and sore. If the problem is not addressed, the muscle can literally waste away.

Back pain can quickly lead to behaviouralproblems such as bucking, rearing, bolting,napping, and much more. Anyone who hassuffered from back pain will relate to a horsenot wanting to or being unable to work athis best. The pain must be addressed beforethe behaviour can be resolved, and asalways, prevention is better than cure.

3 top tips:

1. It is well documented thatlameness in the lower limb canlead to back pain

2. Poor saddle fit can lead to backpain

3. Back pain can quickly lead tobehavioural problems

The skeletonThe body of the horse can be thought of asa barrel (the rib cage) hanging from a pole(the spine), suspended between 4 struts (thefront and back legs). The attachment of thetrunk to the front legs is purely muscular, andso the trunk can be thought of as attachedto the front struts by very strong elastic. Theattachment to the hind limb is through thesacroiliac joint (commonly recognised as the‘jumpers bump’), and is therefore a moresecure connection.

The horse’s back is a complex structure.

The attachment of the forelimb to the trunk ispurely muscular.

Assessing the shoulder.

© Simon Palmer, Into The Lens

© Sim

on Palmer, Into The Lens



Soft tissueLigaments attach bone to bone, as thoughthey are strapping the bones together tosupport the structure of the body. There areseveral ligaments supporting the limbs,including the check ligament and thesuspensory ligament. Tendons attach muscleto bone, and are more elastic than ligaments,with a better blood supply. Controlling themovement of the limbs are many muscles,which attach to the bone via tendonsincluding the superficial and deep digitalflexor tendons. The muscles are found abovethe knee, and some of the tendons belowthe knee are quite long, contributing to thehorse’s athleticism and stamina.

Compensatory movementLameness causes altered movement, whichcan lead to pain in a seemingly unrelatedarea of the body. For example, if your horseis lame on his right fore, he will try to avoidputting weight through his right fore, andwill take more weight on his left fore. If youlisten carefully you’ll be able to hear himlanding more heavily on his left fore as hewalks. He does this by tensing the musclesaround the shoulder and in the back, and sothese areas may also become sore.

LamenessInjury can affect any of the complexstructures of the body. If your horse is lame itis important that the vet assesses what mightbe causing the lameness, as damage todifferent structures requires differenttreatment techniques. Depending on thecause of lameness, your vet may recommendphysiotherapy or massage to speed up yourhorse’s return to peak performance.

Some of the neck and shoulder muscles. It is well documented that lameness in the lowerlimb can lead to back pain.

Neck muscles produce lots of movement

A common cause of back pain is poor saddle fit.

The gluteal muscles, the main muscle bulkof the quarters, are equivalent to the musclesin our buttocks. The horse’s hamstringmuscles, equivalent to the muscles at theback of our thigh, compose most of the restof the visible muscle bulk. These muscles arepowerful propulsion muscles. The musclesthat bring the hind limb under the horse arecontracted automatically to support the riderwhen you get on a horse. If any of thesemuscles are restricted by tension or pain, theperformance of the horse will be affected,including his length of stride and ability toengage correctly.

The locking mechanism of the stifle makesuse of bone and ligaments to allow the horseto stand with minimal muscle engagement.‘Locking stifle’ (upward fixation of thepatella) is seen when this systemmalfunctions. The hock is connected to thestifle in such a way that if the stifle is held inextension then so is the hock. Thus a horsecan rest a hind limb without the supportingleg getting tired.

Problems in the hind limb can result in yourhorse not wanting to go forwards in hisridden work, or refusing to jump, becausethe hind limb is so important for propulsion.They can also lead to back pain, and oncethe hind limb pain is resolved, the back painwill disappear. You can reduce the likelihoodof problems in the hind limb through aregular massage and stretching routine and acarefully planned exercise plan.

3 key facts:

1. The combination of powerfulmuscle and strong tendons givesthe horse both speed and stamina

2. The locking mechanism of thestifle makes use of bone andligaments to allow the horse tostand with minimal muscleengagement

3. Problems in the hindlimb canresult in your horse not wantingto go forwards in his ridden work

The hindquarters of the horse provide the powerthat makes riding such an exhilarating experience.

Sue Palmer MSc, freelance Veterinary Physiotherapist and Intelligent HorsemanshipRecommended Associate, is based in Stafford and works throughout the UK.www.holistichorsehelp.com

© Simon Palmer, Into The Lens © Simon Palmer, Into The Lens

© Sim

on Palmer, Into The Lens


3 top tips:

1. The attachment of the front legsto the trunk is purely muscular

2. The attachment of the hindlegs tothe trunk is through the sacroiliacjoint

3. If your horse is lame it’s importantthat the vet assesses what mightbe causing the lameness

The hind limbThe hindquarters of the horse provide thepower that makes horse riding such anexhilarating experience. The combination ofpowerful muscle and strong tendons givesthe horse both speed and stamina. The hindlimb of the horse also has a special ‘lockingmechanism’, allowing the horse to reststanding up.

The hind limb consists of the pelvis, upperleg (femur), lower leg (tibia and fibula), hockbones (tarsal bones), cannon bone and splintbones (metacarpal bones), long pastern(proximal phalanx), short pastern (middlephalanx), coffin bone (distal phalanx) andnavicular bone (distal sesamoid). The jointsinvolved are the sacroiliac joint (the jointbetween the sacrum and the pelvis), hip,stifle, hock, fetlock and pastern. As in theforelimb, the horse’s hock is the equivalent toour wrist, and his cannon bone is theequivalent to the middle bone in our hand.The long pastern, short pastern and coffinbone are equivalent to the 3 bones in ourmiddle finger.


Update from our charity fundraising team By Lorraine Luke

Firstly I am absolutely overwhelmed by all theamazing people connected with IH because in 7years of Charity Fundraising you have managedto help out 7 charities and raised a whopping

£22,000.That total does not include the current appeal for Shy Lowen,

so massive congratulations and thanks to each and every person whomade that possible.

After the Shy Lowen appeal the fundraising is taking a little breakand will then have the following new arrangements:

• During the summer (2011) the Garden Party will be held andthe new charity of the year announced

• The following year (2012) at the Garden party the team willhand over the funds raised during that time and the nextcharity will be announced

You should all be very proud that you make a huge difference tothese charities and the brilliant work that they all do for horses.

The 3rd Annual Garden Party was a great success and lovelymeeting so many new members. The party had a theme to encouragethe guests to find an outfit purchased from a charity shop for less than£10. It seems that this bought out the competitive nature of manyincluding Garry Bosworth who sported a stunning little purple dress!

Jenny Semmence ran a quiz whilst Derek (Del Boy) donated a supertrophy and laid on a croquet competition on Kelly’s lawn. David Topham-Barnes was a worthy winner and headed home with his trophy.We were very grateful to all of those who generously gave raffleprizes: Alex Jacob-Whitworth, Mr and Mrs Topham Barnes, VeronicaFlynn, Julie Mussell, Red Horse Products (www.red-horse.co.uk), Annabelle Harling (www.horsevideoanalysis.com), Liz Henderson(www.hendersonsculpture.co.uk), Jenny Semmence (www.earthstones-direct.co.uk),Amanda Place and Kate Foster. RA’s Liz Pitman, Zoe Chipman andJoanna O’Neil also donated prizes.

Three years ago, Eileen Cottam offered to organise a Bring & Buysale and this has grown with each Garden Party. Thank you to Eileenand everyone who donated a percentage of their sales to the fund.Huge thanks to Kelly for hosting this event and to the lovely ladieswho do all of the preparations of wonderful food and drink. In particular the IH Office team, Ally Sixsmith, Ele Milwright, Alex Jacob-Whitworth, Jenny Semmence and Katrin Junker.

Photos by Katrin Junker

17

Thank you from Shy Lowen!“For us this is better than winning the lottery, I have tears in my eyes as I am writing thismessage. Shy Lowen means Home Of Happiness and your efforts will be helping immensely tomake it exactly that. Thank you for choosing us, the telephone call from Lorraine which gaveme the news that we’d been chosen arrived on the 10th ‘birthday’ of Shy Lowen.

Thank you to everybody who has donated items as prizes in the wonderful competitions thathave been happening throughout the year. Thank you to everybody who has entered thecompetitions, bided for items and made donations. Thank you for the encouraging messagesand support. Thank you to Kelly for everything and, of course, for the wonderful Garden Party.The £3650 you have raised will make a massive difference to us. Fundraising is very difficult intimes of recession and this makes your effort that much more fantastic – raising this sum indifficult times is a reflection of the strength of the organisation.

Words aren’t enough to say thank you, I hope you can pick up from this the deep gratitudewe have for what you have done. The title alone of Intelligent Horsemanship Charity of theYear 2009/2010 is something that will live with Shy Lowen Horse and Pony Sanctuary forever.

Thank You, Bernadette, Eric and the Trustee team, the volunteers, Care Committee youngvolunteer team and the horses and ponies

IH Kids link up on Facebook!

IH Kids is now on Facebook, with a secretgroup for members only*. Run by RA LizPitman, the Facebook group has photos,discussion pages and a Q&A section. Thisis in addition to the monthly Pony Postmagazine, so there are now 2 ways tokeep in touch with IH Kids.IH Kids may be changing to becomemore easily accessible and interactive,but one thing hasn’t changed - it’s stillfree! Nearly 700 children from across theUK and beyond (we have members in 8different countries) have signed up so far.Open to anyone up to 16 years old, allyou need to d to join is email:[email protected] with thechild’s full name, age and home address.* Automatic invitations to join the Facebook group are sent tomembers who are at least 13. Younger members can also joinwith a parent’s permission.

Dear members - having trouble online?(website guidance)

Are you having trouble accessing the online features of theIntelligent Horsemanship website? It can be a littleconfusing as we have two brilliant online offerings both ofwhich contain exclusive areas for IH members which no-oneelse can access. Hopefully the below guidelines will help!

It’s worth clarifying thatthe online DiscussionGroup (DG) is a totallyseparate website fromthe main IntelligentHorsemanship website.We link to the DG fromthe website but the DGitself is run byvolunteers and not theIH Office. To fully takeadvantage of the onlinebenefits of IHmembership you need

to register with both the website and the DG. Your loginusername and password for one website will notautomatically give you access to the members only featuresof the other. There’s no reason not to setup the sameusername and password for both websites though – it canmake life a lot easier!

The following tips should help to make sure you don’t missout, and with exclusive videos, Kelly’s blog and educationalvideos for members only, there’s a lot you could be missing!

To access the members board on the DGFirst you must have a DG login, if you don’t then click‘register’ or got to:http://ihdg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=register

Then email: [email protected] to let them knowyou are a members. Once you’ve done this your login will beupdated to ‘member’ status and your username will nowappear in green with ‘IH Member’ underneath it.

Now when you log into the DG you will magically see the ‘IHMembers Board’ in the list of forum names you can select(guests to the DG don’t see this option).

Problems with the DG?Email: [email protected] NOTE: The IH Office cannot help with DGproblems – not because they don’t want to be helpful justbecause it is not controlled by them!

To access the members area on Intelligent Horsemanship.co.ukFirst you must be registered with the website by clickingMAIN MENU > MEMBERS AREA> REGISTRATIONor you can register here: http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/component/option,com_comprofiler/task,registers/

You MUST INCLUDE YOUR MEMBERSHIP NUMBER* so thatKatrin/Bridget/Brenda/Lou can upgrade your account to giveyou access to the members area. This typically means theywait a day or 2 after registering for us to update your details.

*actually don’t panic if you can’t remember your number, justput MEMBER after your first name and we’ll look it up for you.

Once registered you need to log in whenever you visit thesite so you can get to all the added extras you are entitleddo. You can do this by clicking MAIN MENU > MEMBERSAREA > LOGIN or by using the link at the very bottom rightof any IH website page.

If your still stuck the log in form is here:http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/component/option,com_login/Itemid,123/

Once logged in the home page reappears and you can thenaccess all the wonderful benefits we’ve been working on foryou by clicking MAIN MENU > MEMBERS AREA

If you have any wonderful ideas about what else theonline area could offer to members please email yoursuggestions to [email protected]

I wish I had known sooner howfast we would move towardmaking violence the exceptionrather than the rule and the

world would start to change for thebetter. I think now about how hard it was towatch my father’s actions as a child,witnessing procedures that he used on adaily basis. These included the use oftwitches, tying up legs, striking with a whip,tying heads to tails and an endless list ofactions that I was to learn later wereunnecessary and simply brutal. I have writtenextensively about the huge changes thatcame over me between 1942 and 1948.These were the years in which I becamefamiliar with the language Equus and then torealise that violence was not the answer intraining horses. 1948 marked the transitionfor me away from violence of any kind. Onceaware of how affective non-violent trainingwas, it was impossible for me to watch myfather work.

People often ask why I have chosen Britainand later Germany to initially show my workwhen they are two of the kindest places onearth to horses. I tell them “The answer issimple – Britain and Germany invited me.”Recently I had an extraordinary time in Brazil;it was my fourth visit to this beautifulcountry. The first three times, however, I sawhorses treated similar to what I watched as achild. South America in general toleratessome of the harshest treatment of horsesanywhere on earth. This latest visit, however,was punctuated by some of the some of thestrongest acceptance of my techniques that Ihave experienced. Brazilian horsemen cameto me en masse with a similar message. “Youchanged my life. You caused me to be abetter person both with my horses and withmy family. All of Brazil thanks you,

Mr. Roberts.” It’s an extraordinary feeling whensomeone says something like that to you.

It was incredibly gratifying to see a massivechange come over a country which forgenerations had operated on the theme of“the more macho the better.” I must say thatprior to April of 2010 I had no idea that mybooks and videos had made such adifference. It has ignited within me theknowledge that if I work hard enough andexpand my message to the widest possibleaudience, it can make a difference. I now amchallenged to open the door to Argentina,Chili, Peru, Venezuela and even Mexico toinvite a different way of thinking intocultures that have been driven by violence forhundreds of years. I am re-energised with awhole new continent to help. It is my sincerebelief that South America has reached thattipping point where it is moving rapidly toembrace non violent training.

I wish I’d learned sooner aboutthe needs of a horse’s foot.Within the past twenty years or so, Ihave become far more aware of

shoeing and foot care than I ever was duringthe time of my competition career. It seemsto me that in my earlier years all of theprofessionals thought, “You just startshoeing them when you begin the trainingand you re-shoe about every six weeks.” Ibelieve too few of us even understood thevalue of foot flexion or hoof angle. It hasbeen extremely helpful for the medical andfarrier industries to come together and giveus more information. I feel I am a betterhorseman now because of the process ofeducating myself in this subject.

1


I wish I’d learned sooner that’s itnot as much about theequipment as the hands thathold it. Intermittent trends

regarding horse equipment are brought intoplay for several reasons. Many horsemen areoften looking for a quick fix. I believe thatmost professionals will, from time to time, trya new piece of equipment with that aim inmind. Another reason for these fads is thatequipment producers can sell a whole newline. There have been times in my trainingcareer that I now realise that I reached tooquickly for certain pieces of equipment, andpossibly gave them too much opportunitybefore discarding them. Experience hastaught me that the most important part ofany equipment is the hands that hold it.

A good trainer should keep this idea firmlyplaced in their mind and take great carewhen expecting a new innovation to do anyof his work for him. Although I feel bylistening to the horses and putting togetherthe Dually Halter and my Starting StallsBlanket has been enormously beneficial tohorses and horsemen worldwide, mostparticularly because it means harshermethods aren’t used, generally speaking Ibelieve I could accomplish my best work if Iwere to use only the equipment that wasavailable to me fifty or sixty years ago.

Recently, I did a demonstration inRotterdam with Albert Vorn, Show JumpingSilver medalist at the Sydney Olympics. Mr Vorn went into great detail about hisopposition to the use of so much harshequipment in Show Jumping. It is unbelievableto watch the modern day competitions andobserve the incredible array of forcefulequipment. Nose bands, tie ups, tie downs,

5Thethings with horses I wish

I had learned sooner!By Monty Roberts

1 2 3 4

3

2


leverage producers of every description. Itfilters down to young people and novices sothere are now people who believe this is allessential equipment. Of course, I am notagainst innovation and I am proponent ofkeeping an open mind, but I believe that weneed to keep reminding ourselves ‘it’s therelease that teaches’ and think not aboutforcing horses to do things but causing themto want to get it right for you.

I wish I’d learner sooner thatcereal grains are really notnecessary for the majority ofhorses and in fact, in some cases

can do horses an awful lot of harm.When I was brought up it was believed thatcereal grains were a necessity to produce anenergetic horse that is ready to go to workwith you. Prior to the discovery of methodsmore user friendly than the use of grains, Ibelieve that all of us as professionalhorsemen unknowingly abused the digestivetracts of our horses. The answer to this, andeach of these five items on the list, iseducation. It is essential that a goodhorseman becomes far more aware of theequine digestive system than we ever were inthe past. Through education it is now easy tosee how little we knew, and how wrong wewere, but it is now an easy fix.

4

I wish I’d learned sooner that‘the horse will tell you’ and thatnot every horse (or human) canmove along at the same pace

that I can.It was 1950 when I won my first World

Championship. I was 15 years of age and fullof myself. I was winning competitions weeklyand began to develop goal setting standardsto start to live the life I dreamed. Uponreflection, although these goals were rightfor me, nowadays I’m far more aware thathorsemanship is a partnership and bothparties need to feel the benefits. There weretimes when I hadn’t checked in with thehorses and expected too much from them,too fast. The horses would always tell me butI wish I’d learned sooner how to really listenso they never had to shout in order to get meto pay attention!

As I wrote about in Horses in My Life therewas an example in the early 1970s, when thehorse Fancy Heels brought that lesson homeso clearly I hope I’ll never be able to forget itagain. Since that experience I know that Ihave become a far better partner for myhorses than I was prior to my Fancy Heelsexperience. I also believe the experiencemade me a far better teacher than I wouldhave been otherwise. I feel I have no right tohide away these experiences as they are so

5

valuable to people with less experience thanme. If those of us who teach could reallybring home our experiences good and bad toour students think of the frustration wecould save horses as they struggle to teach awhole new generation of horse lovers!

I do hope my experiences help IntelligentHorsemanship members, and remember - Idon’t want any student to be better than me- I want every student to be better than me!


s many of you are aware I havebeen striving for the last few yearsto ‘Join-up’ scientists and practicalhorse people so that we can make

greater progress in improving ourunderstanding of equine science. One way which I have been achieving this isby injecting a little scientific methodologyinto Intelligent Horsemanship horsepsychology projects. My motivation has notbeen to try and make scientists of horsepsychology students but instead to enablestudents to gain the most meaningful resultspossible from their projects. It is a fact thatIntelligent Horsemanship horse psychologystudents are some of the most dedicated andhardworking students that I have had thepleasure to work with and continue toproduce projects which are directly relevantto everyone who is involved with horses.The start of 2010 has personally been a greatyear for me as finally the students hard work

Horse psychology• Dec 4th/5th 2010 (Oaksey House, Lambourn) • Jan 8th/9th 2011 (Oaksey House, Lambourn)• Jan 15th/16th 2011(Oaksey House, Lambourn)

Feeding and nutrition/the horse as an athlete• Nov 18th - 19th 2010

Five day foundation course• Mar 14th - 18th 2011 • March 21st – 25th 2011

Perfect manners• Apr 2nd - 3rd 2011

Intermediate courses

Handling the untouched horse• Nov 30th - Dec 1st 2010 • Dec 2nd - 3rd 2010

Leading and loading the less easy horse• Dec 6th - 7th 2010 • Dec 8th - 9th 2010

Perfect confidence in hand and under saddle*• Sept 8th - 9th 2010*This course is offered by Recommended Associates Julia Fisher, Linda Ruffleand Dido Fisher. For more information or to book, call Julia on 07950 965099. This course is not organised through the Intelligent Horsemanship office

is starting to be realised in the greaterscientific community. In March I was invitedto deliver a talk on the difference betweenconventional and natural horsemanshiptechniques when starting horses at the 4thannual equine science conference. This was agreat opportunity to critically evaluate bothtechniques in light of current scientificunderstanding, including contributions madefrom horse psychology students, to anaudience including scientists, veterinarians,nutritionists and students. Following on from the 4th annual equinescience conference was my attendance as aspeaker at the 8th equine behaviourscientific symposium. I had been invited togive a talk on a subject relating to equinebehaviour and I chose on this occasion tospeak about the great work undertaken bytwo IH students, Louise and Sam Austin, onthe effect of equine dentist speculums on theheart rate and behaviour of horses. This

presentation was very well received and thework of IH students highly commended.My vision for the future is to continue tooffer the results of horse psychology projectsto the greater scientific community viasubmission of selected projects to scientificconferences and hopefully throughpublication in scientific journals. I wouldparticularly like to see horse psychologyprojects accepted for presentation at the 7thAnnual International Conference of ISES(International Society of Equitation Science)in October 2011. The theme of thisconference is ‘Equitation Science: principalsand practice - science at work’ and thereforeit is very relevant to what we are doing atIntelligent Horsemanship. I will be selectingpossible projects for submission to thisconference from this year’s horse psychologyprojects and will announce those ones whichI have selected later in the year so watch outfor your name!

Horse psychology projects: future plansDr Veronica Fowler

A

IH Course Dates

Call 01488 71300 to book!

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We have 2 bags of TopSpecComprehensive Feed Balancer as aprize for one lucky reader.

TopSpec Comprehensive Feed Balanceris a very palatable ‘non-heating’pelleted concentrate that contains nocereal grains and only low levels ofsugar and starch.

TopSpec Comprehensive Feed Balancer is a veryflexible, nutrient-rich feed designed to balance therations of most horses and ponies simply by adjustingthe rate at which it is fed and the products it is fed with.

For further information please contact the MultipleAward-Winning Helpline on 01845 565030 or visitwww.topspec.com

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Email: [email protected]

with ‘TopSpec competition’ as the subject and answerthe following question:

What size, roughly, is a horse’s stomach?

Closing date : October 31st 2010

IH and Kelly now have an OFFICIAL Facebook page. Join by searching for ‘Kelly Marks and IntelligentHorsemanship’ at www.facebook.com

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Win tickets for two to the Horse of the Year Show

Sunday Gala Performance and meet up with Monty and Kelly

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ollowing the most successful showever, Horse of the Year Show 2010promises to be anotherexceptional event not to be

missed! This year’s show will take place from6th – 10th October at Birmingham’s NEC and will host the finals of the most highly regarded showing and show jumpingchampionships, alongside an exciting line-up of equestrian entertainment. Fromspectacular displays to tense competition,Horse of the Year Show is not to be missed.

Intelligent Horsemanship has teamed upwith Horse of the Year Show to offer you thechance to win tickets so you can experience theincredible atmosphere first hand.

As well as featuring the finals of the mostprestigious national showing & show

jumping championships, HOYS also runs afull programme of international showjumping classes, five of which offer worldranking points.

Alongside the competition, and exclusiveto HOYS visitors, the headline entertainmentact will be the much acclaimed FredericPignon! Brother of HOYS favourite JeanFrancois Pignon, Fredric will perform his veryown unique, awe-inspiring display for thefirst time EVER in the UK!

In addition, HOYS will also play host to thewinning H Factor act The Knights of MiddleEngland. Their exciting display features fastpaced stunt riding and jousting by a team ofregal and very handsome Knights.

The high speed Osborne RefrigeratorsScurry Racing and the thrilling NFU

FCountryside Pony Club Mounted Games forthe prestigious Prince Philip Cup also returnto the Show alongside the HOYS DressageSpecial (Friday’s performance only) and thenew Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle duringSunday’s Daytime performance.

With two arenas, 1,500 horses, 1,400competitors and a huge variety of shoppingat over 250 stands, The NEC is transformedinto an equestrian extravaganza withsomething to excite every visitor.

Tickets are on sale now. For show information and ticket prices:www.hoys.co.uk

Intelligent Horsemanship has a pair of tickets to be won. These tickets cover the evening gala performance on Sunday 10th October 2010. The winner will also have the opportunity to meet with Monty and Kelly at HOYS on Sunday.

To enter simply answer the following question and send your answer, togetherwith your name, address and telephone number to Intelligent HorsemanshipCompetition, Grandstand Media Ltd, 7 Waterside, Station Road, Harpenden,Hertfordshire, AL5 4US (Closing date –17th September).

Q. What is the name of Frederic Pignon’s brother?

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ne of the best ways to gentlybegin to build the horsesconfidence in lightening hisforehand is to move his shoulders

about, because in moving his shoulder hehas to support his weight a little more on hishind end. Not only that, but it seems to havethe most positive effects on the horses neck,poll and jaw softness too. It really seems toloosen the strides, and can also be a greatway to engage their mind in the schooling. I began to play with this exercise for remedialhorses, because I find the more lateralsoftness the horse will offer, the morerelaxed his mind is.

It’s like the chicken and egg conundrum,it’s hard to know which comes first really, butexploring some gentle lateral movementgames like this one can certainly unlock anappy, evasive, or resistant horse. Also, somany evasions or remedial problems beginwith a lack of control of the shoulders, or abracing, or locking up through them.

Many riders worry at the word ‘lateral’,partly because it conjures up images ofintensive dressage production, or maybebecause they have been yelled at by aninstructor for not getting a perfect shoulderin, or perhaps because it has simply neverbeen taught and seems a bit of an illusivegoal. If we stay relaxed though and accept itonly means ‘sideways’, there is no reasonwhy any horse and rider, at any stage, can’tstart to have a play with it. The youngsters Iback all work on these exercises from thevery start.

Have a go on the ground first, set him upto succeed by thinking about where to puthis feet. Encourage him to lift his head

Experiment with different feels of pressure,you will find if you get it wrong he leans intoyou, for some horses body language andintention works better than any touch forthis reason!

RiddenRide along a fence line andget a good halt.

Use your outside aids tomove his shouldersaround. His head myneed to lift so don’tworry if he seems to

lose his outline.You may need to

use an open insidehand to explain what

you mean.

Remember pressure andrelease - don’t try to pushhim all the way round atonce, each correct thoughtneeds a release, and if he tries topush forwards through your hands let himmeet a resistance.

Where to go from herePlay with shoulder control in walk, see if youcan bring him round corners with hisshoulders a little to the inside, outside, canyou move his shoulders in or out of a straightline, and is it the inside or outside rein or acombination which achieves this? As long asyou are reading your horse and being kind tohim, feel that you have permission to try outhow to change the angle of his body, even byone or two degrees for a couple of strides.

Once you are getting pretty good, ride afigure of eight from the outside aids, it willfeel a little strange because he will not bebending around your inside leg, and need tolift his head and neck, but you will really seethe benefit immediately after the exercise,when, if offered a nice soft rein and asupporting inside leg, most horses willstretch beautifully down into some lovely,round swinging strides.

I was aiming to write an articlecalled ‘Top Tips for Youngsters’ for

this Listening Post, but I foundmyself writing in such depth aboutthe first ‘tip’ that I have decided to

dedicate the whole article to it!When a horse is standing sixty

percent of his weight is supportedby his front end. The weight

distribution changes depending onhis posture and the way he is

moving. Most dressage mindedtrainers are constantly striving to

get the horses weight through hisback legs. This is because the back

legs can act like springs, (ratherthan weight baring struts like the

front legs) and by holding hisweight over his back legs the horse

is poised and balanced enough to change speed and direction

very quickly and smoothly and comfortably.

O

Shoulder controlBy IH Recommended Associate Rosie Jones

Rosie Jones is a RecommendedAssociate covering SussexTel: 07872 589514 [email protected] www.rosiejones.yolasite.com


Jim Goddard HorsesGriggs Ghyll House

Battle RoadDallingtonEast SussexTN21 9LQ

T: 01424 838427M: 07540 607231

[email protected]

Our newest East Sussex RAis ready to take in liveries!

During October if you buy a friend a subscriptionto IH Membership - with their welcome pack theycan also receive a personalised signed Christmas or

Birthday card from Monty and Kelly!~

For more information contact the IH Office on01488 71300 or email [email protected]


Where do I stand?By Esther Stirling and Tamsin Paling

s the Dually halter grows inpopularity, increasing numbers ofpeople consider this question,though they may find that the

halter gives them more, not less, controlwhen leading.

As with most legal problems, the answer isnever black and white.

A party who is involved in an accident isvery seldom ‘automatically liable’, thoughaccidents involving animals can lead to afinding of strict liability under the AnimalsAct. In this article, we discuss the principleswhich would be applied to determine civilliability in the event of an accident, in thecontext of using a Dually.

The law(1) NegligenceAll users of the highway owe a duty of careto others to proceed with care. If someonedoes not take reasonable care and causesdamage or injury, they may be found liable topay damages to an injured party under thelaw of negligence.

What amounts to reasonable care dependson the circumstances. If you lead along abusy high street, for example, you would beexpected to exercise a higher degree of carethan if you are on a quiet country lane.

The Highway Code is one yardstickestablishing what amounts to ‘reasonablecare’. Rule 52 states:“Before you take a horse on the road, youshould…make sure you can control thehorse…”and that you should:“Never ride a horse without both a saddleand bridle”

Drivers are warned that to take extra careon country roads, being prepared for horses.

The Highway Code does not specify that abridle must be used when leading, asopposed to riding. It does not specify in whatkind of bridle you must ride. Nevertheless, it’sclear that you should ensure that you cancontrol the horse.

The word should is important: failure tocomply is not a criminal offense, but will berelevant in establishing whether you areliable in negligence.

(2) The Animals Act 1971Under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971,the keeper of an animal can be held strictlyliable for damage it causes, i.e. they will haveno defence to reduce their liability. In general terms, an owner or handler will beliable if:• their animal was likely to cause severe damage • this was due to abnormal characteristics,

or characteristics only found in particularcircumstances

• which the owner or handler knew about.

The courts have applied this testinconsistently, leading to uncertainty.

For example, in Mirvahedy v Henley(2003), a frightened horse broke severalfences and hit a car, causing injury. Theowner was liable under the Animals Act: thehorse was not behaving in a ‘normal’ way,but bolting as the horse had done was usualin the particular circumstances of the case.

In contrast, in Welsh v Stokes (2007), theowner of a horse which reared and injured itsrider was not liable, even though the horsehad no history of rearing and so wasarguably behaving ‘abnormally’.

There have been recent moves to amendthe Act, to limit its application, protectingthose who take reasonable steps to preventan accident. For now, while uncertain, itremains the law.

InsuranceThere has been recent discussion in the pressabout the extent to which insurance covermay be invalidated if a bit is not used.

The British Horse Society have recentlyclarified that their insurance does cover usersof bitless bridles. Each insurance policy isgoverned by its own terms and conditions,however, including specific exclusions.

Following some interesting discussion on our onlinediscussion group The Listening Post tracked down somelegal expertise in order to get some clarity on a key question.

I use a Dually halter and find it much the safest way to leada horse. People tell me that I must lead out using a bridlebecause if there were an accident a bridle is the onlyrecognised way to lead and I would be held automaticallyliable. Is this true?

“ “

AYou should check these carefully. If in doubt,consult your insurers, or a solicitor.

ConclusionIn the event of accident, there are twopossible kinds of liability for damage causedby a horse: liability under the law ofnegligence and under the Animals Act 1971.

Liability in negligence is the more commonand depends upon whether you had takenreasonable care to avoid causing harm toothers. Animals Act liability is strict, andgenerally requires a horse to exhibit unusualcharacteristics, or normal characteristics inunusual circumstances, but the law here isnot always applied consistently.

Each case will depend on its particularfacts, but consider whether you coulddemonstrate that you exercised reasonablecare, and were sufficiently in control of yourhorse, given: • the horse’s age • its characteristics• your experience • the surrounding conditions (traffic, weather,

road conditions, etc)• your horse’s tack; and• your own clothing/equipment

Use of a Dually may well be raised by aninjured party, but to establish liability, ingeneral terms, they would need to show thisled you to be insufficiently in control of thehorse, or to the horse behaving in aparticularly dangerous way. It would be oneof many factors to be taken into account. It would not, in itself, lead to an ‘automatic’finding of liability.

Esther Stirling and Tamsin Paling are solicitorsin the dispute resolution department atHenmans LLP. A horse-owner and IH follower,she deals with disputes involving horses,amongst others. Henmans LLP handlescommercial and personal matters forindividual and business clients, with expertisein the rural and agricultural sector. www.henmansllp.co.uk


Case Study - RA Nicole Golding’s FirstExperiences I suppose like many horse owners Ihaven’t always been exactly fascinated byworms. I know what damage they can do,and how serious a health issue they canbe, and that pretending they don’t exist isnot a good way of controlling theirnumbers, but I haven’t spent as longlooking into their life cycles as I havestudying, say, feet, or saddles.

However I’ve always beenuncomfortable with the idea of worming‘blind’ - the notion that pushing a tube of wormer down a horse’s (usuallyreluctant) throat at more or less regularintervals will take care of any wormburden that the horse might be carrying.Not to mention the problems that are being created by the misuse ofwormers leadingto resistance to thechemicals. I haven’treally investigatedherbal wormers, sofor years we’vebeen religious aboutmucking out thefields. (I was wondering if that was reallyan accurate representation of ourcommitment to keeping the fields clean,and then remembered that I’ve beenknown to be mucking out the field inwinter with a wheelbarrow, carrying my15 month old son on my back whilstpregnant with my daughter, and I think‘zealous’ isn’t overstating it too much!).

We’ve had sheep grazing the fields,rotated the paddocks, and for the past fewyears we’ve been sending off poo samplesto get worm counts. We’ve been delightedthat they have always come back with

either a zerocount or a verylow one, and havebeen convincedthat our fieldhygiene has beenpaying dividends.

We’ve wormed for tapeworm annually,because blood tests had shown signs of tapeworm activity, and because tapeworm numbers aren’t much affected bypoo picking.

Intelligent Worming is designed to take the guess work out of worming, and tosave the owner from having to work out anindividualised worming programme. It startswith a poo sample, taken at least 13 weeksafter the last wormer was given (this is howlong the chemicals stay in the horse’ssystem), and I was shocked when I got theresults. Sensi (the only horse we tested with

this free trial) came back with high levels ofstrongyles. The next day a five day courseof Panacur Guard arrived in the post, withinstructions to take another poo sample 5-10 days after the wormer course wasstarted, to check for resistance to thiswormer. This is where I’m at now, and willbe sending the sample off tomorrow.

I’d thought we were fairly on top of theworm situation, but of course poo samplesonly provide a snapshot of any givenmoment. We’ve usually taken them at thetime that we would be consideringworming, to see if it’s necessary, and sincewe own nine horses (eek - anyone wantone?) we’ve usually only tested half, withthe idea that if any of them come backwith high counts we would test the others.We clearly now need to send off somemore samples from the other horses to geta proper picture of where we’re at.

“Intelligent Worming is designed totake the guess work out of worming,and to save the owner from having to work out an individualisedworming programme.”

£5 Off Newprogrammes to IH membersSimply quote your IH membership number

www.intelligentworming.co.uk ■ Tel 01267 223322


A beautifully illustrated hardback for young people of all ages!£19.95 + p&p. Limited availability so order your copy now by visiting our online shopwww.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk or calling the office on 01488 71300.

NOW IN STOCK

AT INTELLIGENT HORSEMANSHIP

New book byMonty RobertsAvailable EXCLUSIVELY from Intelligent Horsemanship

As the evening sun cooled, we would resume a searchfor water. My mother knew how to seek out the low-lying areas where underground water might beclose to the earth’s surface. She seemed to be keenlyaware of every location where water might be found.When we arrived at one of these spots, she would walkto the center of it and then scrape the ground with herfront feet. If she continued for more than a minute orso, then other mares would join in and soon the wholefamily group was digging away in search of water.

I wasn’t much help as my feet were still quite small,but I tried the best I could. If it was a good spot, theearth would become moist after a few scrapes andthen I would see tiny pools of water at the bottom ofthe hole I was digging. My mother and the othermares were much faster than me, and as soon as I could see them drinking, then I would run to mymother’s side and request a drink from her dug outarea. My father was very good at this digging; hewould often make a very large hole and after gettinghis fill of water, he would lie down in the pool and rollin the mud. It seemed like fun, so I would copy him.It was great to feel my skin becoming wet and coolafter a long hot day. The life of the family groupdepended upon my mother’s skill at finding both foodand water. I came to appreciate her very much andcontinued to be drawn close to her in times of need.To this day, I enjoy a good roll in a muddy water hole,even when somebody is riding me.

Monty’s new book ‘I’m Shy Boy’ has finally arrived at the IH Office and we are extremely proud to be the only European distributors for this title. Here’s a sneaky extract:

“

“


“You’re telling me the Victoriaand Albert Museum only existsbecause seven Victorians neededto hide a handful of objects for ahundred years?”

Finding she can draw nothing but vines,Rebecca reluctantly puts her ambitions as anillustrator on hold when she is drawn intothe machinations of a Victorian societyfounded to make safe an interface betweenparallel worlds.

But first she has to grow up.

Dragged into helping a cause in which shebarely believes, Rebecca finds herself playingHunt-the-Thimble amongst England’s oldestinstitutions. Over one summer she will breaka code, discover her astonishing ancestry,and half fall in love – twice.

But what begins as a game will shake her tothe core…

Updates from our IH Recommended Associates

A Happy Ending For Harvey… a home with RA Rosie Jones!

Joanna O’Neil launches her latest book‘A World Invisible’

hat’s a girl to do? I really did try to keep a professional distance, we evenadvertised for a new home. But I found myself describing to different peoplethe type of person I wanted to have him, only to see them look back at mewith confusion and gently reply ‘isn’t that just a description of yourself?’

I thought long and hard about exactly why it is that I really don’t want to own a horse atthe moment, and what other likely options for Harvey would leave me feeling at allsatisfied, I drew brainstorms, pros and cons lists, and budgets. Finally, with great relief, I realised that I had really already made my mind up and was only seeking to justify it, soI gave up on the brain-ache, and took over ownership of Harvey myself, and then wenttotally gooey and spent the next few evenings looking at photos of him, planning whichrugs to buy him, and acting like any other honey-moon horse owner. Day 2 of horseownership and I am bandaging Harvey’s foot because he lost his shoe and trod down onthe nail, but the farrier has been to look and is confident it will only be a couple of daysbefore he has his show back on and we can go and explore the cross country course withinhacking distance. I’ll keep LP updated with Harvey’s progress!

W

By Joanna O’Neill IH Recommended Associate

Sorry – no horses in this, but acracking read according toreviews from IH members:

“Dan Brown meets C.S Lewis.Once I picked it up I couldn’tput it down.”

“The imagery made thepictures jump off the page(the ivy is still with me now)…”

“…all the pieces slotting into place to makean intricate pattern.”

- and from RA Zoe Chipman:

“Gripping from the first paragraph, this booktakes the supernatural and the natural andweaves a scarily believable tapestry whosepicture becomes revealed as the storyunfolds. I can’t wait for the sequel!”

(Zoe won’t have long to wait – A WorldDenied is scheduled for release by WoodenHill Press in late autumn 2010.)

‘

‘

A World Invisible is available fromAmazon and major booksellers. Moreinformation, including the prologueand first chapter as a taster, can befound at www.a-world-invisible.com

SPECIAL OFFER FOR IH MEMBERS!

£1 off cover price and FREE postage andpacking (no limit on numbers).Send a cheque for £6.99, made payable toJoanna O’Neill, to: Joanna O’Neill, 34 Stratfield, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8WTOffer expires 31 December 2010

Photo by Katrin Junker

The Listening Post would love to find out more about our members! If you would like to be featured here please email: [email protected] for a questionnaire.

Lorraine Luke48 from West Sussex, IH member for 10 years.

Bryony Gale16 from Reading, IH member for 5 years.

How did you first hear about IntelligentHorsemanship?

My sister Julie and I went to see Monty at a demonstrationin Henfield 11 years ago. I clearly remember that the wholeaudience were moved to tears seeing a little pony who hadpreviously been terrified of trailers, not only wanting tofollow Monty into the trailer, but actually just wanting tofollow him everywhere.

Do you have horses? I had Luke and Sunny. Sadly I lost Luke

recently to colic after he had battled withcushings disease for 7 years and evensurvived peritonitis. He was the mostbeautiful pony, full of character and verychallenging in the early days. He helped to

trial the benefits of Vitex (chasteberries ) for cushings poniesthrough the Laminitis Trust.

Sunny is now 17 and he has been with me since he was 4months old. Having been removed from his dam early to beincluded in a sale ring, he has no social skills around otherhorses and definitely prefers the company of humans! Sunnyis recovering from repeated bouts of laminitis andsubsequent pedal bone damage so his future health requiresme to dust off the tack and attempt to regain my riding skills.The exercise should benefit us both.

I am lucky enough to share the daily horsey chores with mysister and her four ponies and we quite often say that we willprobably still be humping hay and feed about in our twilightyears together!

How did you first hear about IntelligentHorsemanship?

Someone on my yard had been on the 5 day course andsuggested I look into IH because my pony used to attack mewhen I tried to lead him.

Do you have horses?I got my first pony when I was 10,

a 7 year old 13.3h New Forest calledMinstrel. In hindsight, he wasprobably the worst first pony I couldhave found! He’d been passedaround a lot as a youngster and wasvery unsettled when he came to us.He used to bite, barge, kick, buck,stop and refuse to move. He haspulled several stunts at Pony Clubrallies including rolling during ashow jumping round and sittingdown on the trailer ramp while wewere loading him.

I have outgrown him now so he isa happy hack for my mum and I occasionally take him to smallshows so he still feels important. I got Golden Reputation(Snap), a 16h, 10 year old TB X Welsh chestnut mare, at theend of 2007. She was very calm when we bought her butturned into a bit of a firecracker once home. She was tootense and excitable to do dressage, scared of show jumppoles and I couldn’t do sponsored rides on her because shegot too excited and started rearing.

With a lot of help from my instructor (an IH Student andBHSII) her dressage is now improving (she came 3rd in her firstdressage test last September) and she is confidently jumping

small clear rounds. We even managed tocomplete a sponsoredride last October.

Just as everythingwas starting to cometogether, Snap startedbucking whenever shewas ridden and I knewsomething wasn’t right. Following 2 visits from 2 differentvets and a chiropractor, we were told she either had kissingspine or a bone disease in her poll and it was likely she maynever come back into full work. However my mum wentdown the alternative route and got an Osteopath to comeout and work with Snap. She is now coming back into workslowly and will hopefully be back in action soon!

What involvement have you had with IntelligentHorsemanship?

I went to a Monty demo when I was first introduced to IHbut all I remember was being totally star struck when Montyasked me to help him draw the raffle! I have regular lessonswith an event rider who is also an IH student and anotherstudent, working towards being a Recommended Associate,has recently been helping me with Snap’s pole phobia. I waslucky enough to get work experience at the IH office lastOctober where I got to meet Monty and Kelly and help lookafter Pie and Herbie- totally the best week of my life!!

What’s the best thing about being a member of TheIntelligent Horsemanship Association? Definitely the usefularticles in The Listening Post and knowing that if I ever haveany problems, there is a whole network of like mindedpeople I can go to for help!

Lorraine (second from left) with the IH charity fundraising team

What involvement have you had with IntelligentHorsemanship ?

Dido Fisher came out some years ago to help my sister withher rescued mare who had loading issues. We have seenmany demonstrations by Kelly and Monty and always comeaway with something new to help us with our situationsback at home...plus a handful of IH clothing of course!

What’s the best thing about being a member of TheIntelligent Horsemanship Association?

One of the main benefits of being a member is theextremely important support network. I have made manyvery good friends through IH and all of the people that I havemet are genuine horse lovers. I was honoured to be asked tobecome a part of the charity fundraising team some yearsago and seeing what the charities do, day in and day out, tohelp the rescued animals is amazing. In the 7 years since Kellyfirst decided to do this IH has helped 7 charities and jointlythey have benefitted from £25,600.

I love the Listening Post magazine and the discounts ondemo tickets, clothing, books and more are superb. It isunlike any other horse association that I know of and I amvery proud to be a member.

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eet Havanna and her ownerJane Reeves

I hadn’t intended to buy another horse afterI lost my old mare in 2008, after having hadtwo horses for 15 years, I couldn’t get usedto having just one. Surfing the internet onewinter’s afternoon, I found an advertisementwhich led to a phone call and then a trip toa stud and before I knew it, I’d bought thehorse of my dreams – a 2 year old,brown/black Trakehner filly by the Grand Prixdressage horse Axis.

Havanna was delivered to me on 31stJanuary 2009 and was quiet and easy, incontrast to my gelding! She was in quitepoor condition and suffering from severe rainscald but to me, she was beautiful.

Which demo was Havanna part of andwhat happened on the evening?I had already bought tickets for the Montyand Kelly demo at Quob stables in February2009 and subsequently put Havannaforward as a potential demo horse, althoughI did have some reservations about it as shewasn’t even three at that stage and lookedlike an overgrown foal!

I was delighted when Havanna was chosento be the horse used for the Members’Audience before the main demo – this meantshe would be finished early and I could thenrelax and enjoy the rest of the evening!

During the Members’ Audience, Kelly andRosie worked with Havanna and as well asdoing join up with her, putting on a saddleand getting her first ever rider on, theyworked on getting her to stand still shouldher ‘rider’ fall off, using some sand bagsattached to the stirrups and then a dummy,which they slipped off her side. She took tothis very calmly and I am sure this will comein handy one day, though I hope I won’t haveto find out!

Havanna was the first ever horse to wear aheart monitor during a demo and during thewhole session, she didn’t even go into

‘moderate intensity’ and other than buckingwhen the saddle was put on, was reasonablycalm and co-operative throughout. (If any ofyou have seen the IH DVD ‘Starting a SafeHorse,’ the main equine star is Havanna andthe DVD uses the footage of her filmed atthe demo!)

Monty said that Havanna was ‘superior inher innate tendencies to move towards co-operation’ and that she had fantasticpotential as a Willing Partners horse. I couldn’t have been more proud of her andpleased at the great experience she had atthe demo!

How did Havanna progress after thedemo?As she was physically immature, I didn’t dotoo much work with Havanna in the monthsfollowing the demo. I walked her out in handregularly and she took most things in herstride. Over the summer of 2009 she filledout, matured and started to develop apersonality, becoming a very bold mare wholikes to be in charge of the other horses andwho likes her personal space!

During the summer of 2009, we startedlungeing and long reining her and sheaccepted everything pretty easily, excepthaving her bridle put on, which she objectedto strongly. Some days it was just toodangerous to persevere with it, so for severalmonths we had to work her in a headcollarwith the bit attached.

The solution to this problem was to putthe headcollar on by undoing thethroat piece and pulling theheadpiece over her ears and to turnher out for a few months wearingher headcollar with a Velcro flyfringe attached, to simulate a browband. (We only considered thisbecause she was in a safely fencedfield, where she couldn’t get caughtup on anything!)

This helped a great deal, andalthough she is still not 100%happy, I can generally put her bridleon without too much fuss by takingthe cheek pieces and bit off the bridle andputting them on separately. This is somethingthat I need to work on with my local RA SarahWeston, but for the moment I am just happythat she’s accepting the bridle.

By the winter of 2009, Havanna had shotup, filled out, got stronger and was goingreally well – she was being ridden in the

school and showing her amazing paces andlovely self-carriage. She was very brave tohack out and was always very well behavedunder saddle, although could do someimpressive bucking on the lunge!

Plans for the futureI had planned to start competing her in BDintro dressage once she had turned four inMarch of this year, but unfortunately, as sooften happens, these plans didn’t come topass for various reasons – the weather,lameness (both her and me!) and a hormoneimbalance that led to some behaviouralissues (her, not me!)

Due to ongoing lameness, she was out ofwork from May to early July. Following visitsfrom the vet, farrier, physio and chiropractor,she now seems to be almost 100% soundagain, so we are back to walking out in hand– I seem to be back where I was this time lastyear with her, but I’m in no rush.

Maybe by the time this has beenpublished, Havanna and I will have takenpart in our first dressage competition - wemight even have our first rosette! Well,you’ve got to have a dream - if you don’thave a dream, how are you going to have adream come true?

M

Where arethey now?


SpotlightSpotlight on Recommended AssociatesThe Listening Post meets Paddy Gracey

Paddy: I was taken to a demo as a birthdaysurprise and I knew instantly that what I sawwas revolutionary, inspiring, and the only wayto truly deal with horses. I booked myself onthe courses and found I had a natural abilityto use these concepts.

LP: What is typical day for you?

Paddy: There is no typical day. Each day isdifferent and brings new and excitingchallenges. One day a horse might have afear of tractors, the next it may be a difficultloader. Every horse is an individual, and mustbe treated as such.

LP: What’s important to you whenyou see an owner and their horsefor the first time?

Paddy: There is no typical day. Eachday is different and brings new andexciting challenges. One day a horsemight have a fear of tractors, the nextit may be a difficult loader. Every horseis an individual, and must be treated as such.

LP: If you could change one thingin the world of horses what wouldit be, and why?

Paddy: To eradicate all accessories that causepain, i.e. the whip, spurs, and excessive bits.

LP: What would be the first piece ofadvice you would give someone lookingat buying/loaning their first horse?

Paddy: The first thing I would sayis not to rush into anything. A horse is a big commitment andshouldn’t be taken lightly. It isimportant to get backgroundinformation on the horse anddon’t be afraid to ask questions.Ask for a 2 week trial. Genuinehorse owners will be happy toprovide this.

LP: What is the most commonissue you have to deal withwhen working with horses?

Paddy: I have to say that the mostcommon issue I personally havecome across is loading horses.

Owners often, unintentionally, traumatisetheir horses when loading them because oftheir own frustrations and will try everymethod possible before contacting me. I amalways the last person they contact, whenreally I should be the first. The problem couldbe resolved straight away if I was the first portof call.

LP: What are your plans for the future?

Paddy: In the very near future I intend toopen my own therapy centre. It will focus onhorses and children and will offer a uniqueinsight into our concepts and enable childrenfrom all walks of life to get involved.

This dream is very real, as on the 16th ofOctober, Monty Roberts will be cutting thered ribbon, and will be assisted by Kelly Marksat the grand opening on this exciting,innovative project. Tickets will be available ona first come, first serve basis. They are freeand are open to the public and IH membersalike. We intend to provide the famousWigan pies along with other lightrefreshments and make it a day for all toremember. People will get the chance to view our facilities, meet Monty and Kelly, andgain a lot of knowledge on our concepts.Everyone will leave feeling inspired, educatedand impressed.

Paddy Gracey is a RecommendedAssociate covering Lancashire,Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

01942 518309/0770 [email protected] www.horseshrink.co.uk

LP: How long have you been involvedwith horses?

Paddy: My wife has been around horses allher life and decided to get my daughter apony when she was three years of age. Of course I took an interest myself, and mypassion for horses continued to grow as theyears went on. I have now been involved withhorses for 20 years.

LP: Why did you decide to qualify as aRecommended Associate?

lpost autumn 10:14959 lpost autumn 08 · 2019-12-17 · equine touch instructor lara neighbour met...

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