Une tempête particulièrement violente

La France commence à affronter une tempête particulièrement violente - tonight according to the meteo. I hate storms, especially lightning, which, since we arrived in France has fried my modem twice.  Happily lightning isn't forecast, but I'm not looking forward to the very strong winds and rain!!


It wasn't too bad this morning, fairly bright but with a strong blustery wind. I did some in-hand stretching and flexing exercises with Remy inside  and then took Anky outside to do the same. She's the perfect horse to start my in-hand work with, she's patient, and, most importantly, very forgiving. When I do anything with her it makes me want to ride her even more, I miss it.  I'm afraid to even think it in case she throws herself to the floor and starts rolling around in agony. I'm going to try my best to do more with her in-hand and on the lunge, if I can get her fitter I may be able to start riding her again.
We've brought the trailer back round onto the yard so we can recommence our trailer training, but by the time it came to bringing them in the weather was way too bad to do anything constructive. Just as I was bringing Bonbon out through the field gate the lid blew off one of our water containers and scared her half to death, but she was such a good girl and stood (relatively) calmly with me until it had stopped blowing around the yard. 
Roll on Spring!!!

A busy two days.

I had a lovely time yesterday over at Trudi's, good chat, tasty lunch and plenty of cuddles courtesy of Lydia, Trudi's daughter. Thanks guys for a good day.
Last night I went to the art class with Ricky, bloody hard when you're so tired you've the attention span of a goldfish. I managed to draw something very mediocre and totally unsatisfactory. The weather was awful, strong winds and heavy rain, lightning and even hail stones. On the way back the road was littered with branches off the trees, it looked like a tornado had gone through.
I awoke around 3.30 in the morning with the sound of the wind and rain on the skylight, to find the kittens on the bed. There's nothing unusual about that, they tend to sneak in after they've had their nocturnal adventures, but something made me reach down to stroke them. When I stroked J.C. she growled at me which cerainly isn't normal. She was rigid, holding herself in a really scary way.I switched the light on and there were a few spots of blood on the bedspread. I checked her out, trying to see where she was hurt but couldn't find anything obvious, so I watched her for about half an hour until she went off to sleep. Of course, I couldn't sleep properly after that and kept waking up to check on her. This morning she was very quiet and seemed a little stiff, but she came down and had some breakfast.. I don't know what happened to her, but she seems better tonight.
We had our monthly horse group meeting today, we had an equine vide grenier. I took some never worn long leather boots and about 5 pairs of jodhs, also never worn and unfortunately too small now for my fat, aging body. Huh, I only managed to sell one pair, so not enough to buy a new pair that actually fit me! Bev came over and it was great to see her and we had a good laugh.
Absolutely worn out tonight, but a good couple of days. Hopefully the weather might be ok tomorrow for some horsey time.

In-hand inside

The weather was awful this morning, it was peeing down when I got up, it stopped for about half an hour while I was grooming and tacking up, but then just as I was ready to go out it started raining again. The wind had got up and was really blowing. So, excuse or not, I stayed in the stable and did some in-hand practice.
I thought I'd start with Anky as I need as much  practice as I can get. I groomed her, which I think she quite enjoyed and then put the cavesson on. My aim was to do some flexions and stretches at halt,which is what I'm going to do with Remy as preparation for further work in-hand. She was a good girl and we got some nice flexions left and right followed by stretches down.
I then groomed and tacked up Remy asked him for halt and then moved to his shoulder. He's not used to the close work and was very interested in what I was doing there, snuffling in my pocket and trying to back up.
I stood him next to the wall with his bum in the corner and tried again and he stayed at halt (not that he could go backwards). It's funny how he can look round very easily when I want him to face forward, but then when I ask him to give me some bend to the inside , he looks resolutely ahead! Bend to the outside felt easier to me, I asked with the outside rein while pushing gently with my left hand to show him what I wanted and he seemed happy with that. Asking for the inside bend was trickier as he was resisting, so I  put my right hand on his neck and gently massaged until he softened and offered the inside bend. I don't know if that makes sense, it seemed to make sense at the time.  On one point he flipped his nuchal ligament which I was pleased with. I'm not sure how much we learned from our first time, but he stayed calm and wasn't too distracted so I'm happy with it.

Ma leçon française est maintenant mardi matin

J'ai une nouvelle routine, ma leçon française est maintenant mardi matin. Je suis une personne si indolente que je ne pouvais pas me lever à temps pour la leçon le lundi matin.
Je me suis levée plus tôt ce matin et j'ai mis les chevaux dans le champ. J'ai fait la plupart des travaux avant que je suis allée à ma leçon.
C'était une bonne leçon ce matin et je crois que j'apprendrai beaucoup. Nous devons aussi faire des devoirs qui est une très bonne chose!
Il pleuvait quand je suis revenu à la maison, donc je n'ai fait rien avec les chevaux. Ils étaient au fond du champ en tout cas et ne viendraient pas quand appelé

Je viens de recevoir un livre qui m'a été recommandé du soin et de mantenance de chevaux sans chaussures.
On l'appelle "Feet First - Barefoot Performance and Hoof Rehabilitation" by Nic Barker and Sarah Braithwaite.
C'est environ 3 mois depuis que nous avons enlevé les chaussures d'Anky et de Corky, donc ce sera un livre intéressant pour lire.

Remy back in the school

Same again today with Remy in the school. He was a little distracted as it was a little blustery and our neighbour appeared out of the wood with his dog, but when I asked him to refocus he came back to me and we carried on.
We trotted on both reins, the transition was ok, but the trot wasn't as relaxed as yesterday, I don't think he felt as secure, with the wind and the scary horse-eating dog but he listened and tried for me. On the way back down the field to the yard I stopped several times and asked for turn around the forehand. These were more forward and precise than his recent efforts and a couple of reinbacks. I was pleased with his efforts today as he was genuinely a little spooked by the weather and other distractions.
Looking at him today I realise that he's become a very large horse (when did that happen? :-o) and although I'm looking forward to starting some in-hand with him, it's going to be a challenge.
Anky seemed ok today and Corky hasn't coughed.

Empty day -Woke up to misty, dirty, wet weather, Corky coughing, Anky trashed bed !!! All in the field for the day, Anky stretching and uncomfortable - for christ sake, will it ever end? Brought in - dosed with colic calmer, back out again, all off down to the bottom field, thank god for that - out of sight out of mind!!!!!!
I've hit the bottle, no doubt I'll pay dearly!!!

We are lungeing !

Yes we are :-)
The sun was shining again today and I took Remy up to the school to continue our lungeing training. He was  brilliant, we started with walk work around the school and then settled on a larger circle, I asked for  trot and he obliged with a nice easy transition, there was no confusion, he's just twigged what I'm asking for. I asked for 4 or 5 walk/trot transitions on each rein and then called it a day. He seems to have realised that he has a job to do and I love the way I can see him watching me, waiting for instructions when we're working. Well, perhaps I'm imagining it, but I don't think so.
Jim took our old 4x4 for it's MOT today, we we're both resigned to the fact that it was going for scrap, but it passed so we're happy bunnies, him because he has a soft spot for it and me because it means he won't be driving my car!!!
I rode Corky this afternoon, she felt much better, no sign of a cough and she had more energy. We saw the deer family on the way round , they were running through the field at the side of the track, a good excuse for Corky to have a blonde moment, prancing and jigging -  naughty, but I quite like it really :-)

When I got back I saw Anky stretching in the field, she had just done some droppings and it was obviously uncomfortable for her. She only stretched for a few seconds, but the fact that she still does it really bothers me.. Jim has said it can take months and months for a damaged bowel to heal so we'll just give her more time. She is certainly better in herself and she looks in good condition. Anyway I brought her in to check her, she wasn't tight or bloated and she dragged me over to the lawn to try and eat the grass, so thinking that a bit of gentle exercise might clear any wind, I took her into the garden. I lunged her gently at walk and then trot and she moved pretty easily and wasn't bracing and holding herself and to me she looked fine. I then did turns on the forehand on both reins and practiced leg yield in-hand. I've never done it before and she gave me 3 or 4 steps which I was happy with. I'm going to start some gentle ground work with her, I think it may help her and it will certainly help me, I think she could teach me a lot and I'm going to need it for when I start the in-hand with Remy.
I went to an art class with a friend last night. It was really enjoyable and I had every intention of doing some drawing this afternoon, but the day got away from me. Perhaps tomorrow.

The boy can trot.

After a whole day of rain yesterday, this morning was a mixture of sunshine and showers.
I got the best of the weather though and took Remy up to the school. As yesterday, I moved him around the school and then settled on a circle, moving with him on a smaller circle.  I asked for some walk/halt/walk transitions and he was very focussed, so I asked him for trot by placing the whip behind him and upping my energy (starting to trot myself). He's never trotted on the lunge before and we had a bit of a misunderstanding which was totally my fault. The first couple of times that I asked for the transition I was inadvertently getting  ahead of him, slightly blocking his forward movement. He took this as a signal to halt, so that's what he did. I think that's pretty cool as he was just giving me what he thought I'd asked for.
So when I'd got myself in the correct position :-o, I asked again and he trotted off pretty calmly with a nice soft transition.  We did a couple of  walk/trot transitions on each rein, he was calm, pretty well balanced and not hanging on the lunge line, so we finished the session there.  Oh what a good boy, I'm so pleased with him.

Just like Spring

Well it's really thawing now and most of the snow has disappeared, but best of all the sun was bright and warm this morning.
I took Remy up to the school, he's not been up there in quite a while and he was such a good boy. I walked  about 2 yards away, level with his shoulder. I moved him around the school,using the long side and circles and he was very responsive, moving off and halting on command. I asked for a couple turns around the forehand which were ok, he starts off quite well  then tends to rush the last couple of steps, something to work on.
This afternoon I took Corky out for a hack, she had no motivation today and coughed 3 or 4 times. It's a dry hard cough that she sometimes gets from being in the stable over winter, so we've been out and got her some cough medicine and a homeopathic remedy (  hehe, I'll let you know how that goes Trudi ).

In the Company of Horses........... cont.

Continuing the write up.
6. Softness

"Being 'soft' doesn't mean I or my horse turn into a doormat.  This is a common misconception.  That's not soft, that's weak.  Softness requires that we retain our point of view through the process.  Soft isn't necessarily slow, soft isn't necessarily easy, soft doesn't necessarily look a certain way for every horse, soft isn't necessarily the path of least resistance, but soft is, well, soft.

A person or horse is soft when he's using as many muscles as necessary to get the job done and no more.  So we end up back at 'as little as possible and as much as necessary'."

7. Mean Well

Most of us don't purposely want to do harm, but sometimes I think it's possible to overlook this in the quest to accomplish something.

"Meaning well or the lack of meaning well is one of those things that under-lies and colours our horsemanship.  When we work with our horse, do we mean to help him, or do we mean to 'make' him?  I think there's a big difference to the horse."

"The more we know about horses and the more we try to accomplish with them, the more responsibility we have to do no harm.  As one's knowledge grows, so does one's responsibility to do no harm."

8.Breathing

I think this is very important, but something that's often overlooked.

"When we talk about breathing, we're not talking about the kind of breathing that just gets you by and keeps you from passing out.  We're talking about a deep, deliberate, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breath that fills up the lungs and oxygenates the muscles and brain. Most of us don't realize that even in our everyday lives, we don't breathe very well. When we get around our horses, we seem to breathe even less well, to the point that we end up breathing as little as we can and still survive, which is not a help to our horsemanship.

If a rider is holding his breath or isn't breathing well, it creates tightness, making it difficult for his horse to move.  If our horse gets scared or concerned, we often hold our breath.  that makes it hard for the horse to move under us,just when he's thinking that movement might really be the best thing for him. If we hold our breath, we can become a tight, restrictive, dead weight up there, which might make our horse go from 'kind of' concerned to very concerned."

9. Consistency

Emotion = lack of logic = inconsistency. Something I'm becoming much more aware of and learning to control.

"If we use emotion while we work with a horse, we risk losing our logical thought pattern. Once we lose logical thought, we become inconsistent. And then we lose softness as well, because we become reactive rather than responsive"

"The way horses learn is through consistency, for better or worse."

10. Simplicity
This should be easy for me (k.i.s.s.) but it's not as easy as you might think.

"Ironically, although it appears that it should be easier to simplify than to multiply, that isn't always the case. As a matter of fact, many of us did start with simplicity, when we were kids. As kids, we just rode. Somewhere along the way the simplicity was lost"

11. Hope

In striving to achieve goals with horses, I think sometimes it's quite easy to lose hope, but we keep coming back for more, that's a kind of hope, isn't it?
"If we have a passion for horses, that passion is often a combination of love and hope and fear and awe. It's all in there, and that's what makes the horse so magical to us.  I wonder somethimes if the horses have hopes for us as well."

In the Company of Horses...........

(A year on the road with horseman Mark Rashid) by Kathleen Lindley.

I've just finished this book, it's easy to read and easy to understand. I always feel that if I get even the slightest thing out of a book, be it a phrase, a paragraph an idea, it's been worth the read. So yes, I think this book was worth the read.
Maria at Horse of Course asked me to do a little write up...

Consists of 11 chapters;

1. Point of View.
Well to my shame I've not always thought of things from the horse's point of view although I always try to nowadays.

"Over time, I've begun to understand that if we can find the source of the (horse's)behaviour, the why behind it, we can reach deeper and more lasting solutions to the problems we want to work on.  In order to do that, it is helpful to develop an ability to see the horse's behaviour and what he's trying to say from his point of view"

"Horses actually have a lot to say, I think.  It might sound fanciful and it might sound like anthropomorphizing, but horses obviously communicate with each other, so why wouldn't they try to communicate with us?"

2. Creativity
I don't know if I'm creative or not. I always say that I don't have a good imagination, so is that the same thing?

"When a horse tries to do what we want, that try may not look like what we expect it to.  It might be a little abstract.  But if we miss that try, we won't have anything to build on.  If we can get the horse to do something close to what we want, we can then shape that into exactly what we want - with a little creativity"

3.Practice
I certainly don't get enough practice with my horses and my life is certainly not as calm and straightforward as I'd like (who's is!!), so practicing horsemanship as a 'way to be' rather than practicing techniques is an interesting prospect. Certainly not an easy one to carry and practice all the attributes of a good horseman through to everyday life.

"So I began to practice my horsemanship as a way to be instead of practicing techniques. Mark (Rashid) talks about becoming a 'student of the horse' and I think this may be part of what he's talking about.  If we're a student of technique, which I have been in the past, we'll only get so far with things. But if we can become a student of the horse, the possibilities are infinite. 

If we've focussed on technique when we're with our horses, we may also tend to focus on our tools.  A tool may be a special halter or lead rope, a whip or a stick, a rope or any number of other objects. But the truth is, the best tool we have is with us all the time, wherever we go , It's us.  Now that's an interesting idea, because if the best tool I have to work with my horse is me, I've got me with me all the time, and I can practice my horsemanship all the time, wherever I go."

4. The Box
I mentioned this the other day to Trudi. Up until a few years ago I wouldn't have given it a thought.  I didn't even realise that I was in a box, never mind what label that box had. I think 'ignorance' would probably fit the bill.
"I believe that horses don't profit when we get stuck in our thinking. Horses live in a world of feel, not technique, a world of sounds and smells and sights. They adapt and blend and change with the world around them. They haven't read the books that tell us people what we can and can't do with them, and I think that to them, something is 'correct' only if it helps them. They're not worried about where the helpful thing came from or how pretty it looks or who thought it up.
When we put ourselves or our horses into a box, we limit ourselves to that little box - top, sides, and bottom.  If we stay in that box, we may never have the chance to discover what else is out there or what is possible outside of those familiar walls. If our goal is to be with our horses, I think we're more likely to find them outside a box than inside one."

5. Confidence
I lack confidence, and have a real fear of making mistakes with my horses,I hesitate to try new things, to experiment in case it's the wrong thing. It's something I need to work on.

"It made me think pretty hard about how we horsemen, myself not least among us, get caught up in all kinds of fears: fear of failure, fear of upsetting our horses, fear of upsetting our trainers, physical fear of our horses, fear of getting hurt, fear of doing the wrong thing.
Confidence in ourselves is something we don't often think of as an ingredient of good or successful horsemanship. But the more I watch and listen and learn, the more I start thinking that maybe confidence is one of those little-appreciated things that can truly make or break our horsemanship."


Fingers are starting to hit the wrong keys now so I'll continue tomorrow.
It's starting to thaw here now (finally!!!) I'm hoping for some riding weather soon.

Yes, you got it ...........SNOW!!!

Snow!   Snow!!   and Snow!!!  3 more days of Snow!!!!

As it was snowing yesterday and it was so bloody cooooold  and we were inside, we decided to do something constructive and have a painting day. Not the relaxing, fulfilling kind which produces something worth looking at, just the mind numbing, trying to keep everything looking ok kind. I painted the toilet/ shower room, (bodge up crummy space that previous owners (french!!) decided to erect in the corner of the living room!!!!) The only reasonable thing to be done with it is to pull it down, but as it's the only one we have, that's not going to happen. The OH rubbed down all the flaking paint off the kitchen ceiling in preparation and is now attempting to paint the kitchen ceiling which is bloody useless as it's all cracked and uneven , so I can't see the point. Any discussion of trying to smooth it out, line it etc have been waved aside as ridiculous..............

This is what snow does to you......... it sends you completely batty!! I know you can get snow blindness, how about snow madness!

SNOW!!!!!!..................

Noodles

I had a short  groundwork session with Remy this morning and he really felt like he was more in-tune with me. His halts were good, with less turning in towards me, he was staying at a good distance from me , respecting my space and seemed very focussed. His backing was really fluid with nice measured steps.
After my session with Remy, I took Corky out for a hack. We did a different ride today, one that Corky has done a few times, but it's a while ago and it all added to the excitement. We saw a family of deer in a field at the side of the track, they didn't move a muscle, even baby who was lying down, half hidden in the grass. Corky saw them and kept her eye on them as we went past but made nothing of it.

On our way back I had a chance to do a bit of schooling, with halts, reinback and some leg yield. Her halts are really good, if I still my seat and close my fingers on the reins she comes softly into a nice smooth halt. We practiced one or two halt/reinback/walk-on  transitions and she became lighter and much more mobile, even offering a reinback/trot transition which felt very nice. We had a nice trot on one of the uphill tracks and whilst it wasn't very active it did feel soft and relaxed.We stayed out for just over an hour and it was another enjoyable ride.
We gave the trailer training a miss when we brought them in from the field, both Jim and I were shivering it was so cold. It won't harm, it'll give them chance to thnk it over.
We've just had prawn and vegetable stir fry noodle for tea, yummy - who needs take aways!

Eventually

It started off really sunny this morning so I decided to take Corky out for a hack. We went our usual ride, but managed the whole circular ride which took us just over an hour. It's quite a while since we've done the complete ride and  she was a good girl as usual, but we had some excitement going through the little wood where a guy was revving his tractor and chopping wood with a very large, noisy machine. I like it when she gets a bit antsy, she fills up under my seat , gets her back end more underneath her and feels like a different horse :-) More excitement passing between two fields of mares and foals as they came over to say hello. All in all a very enjoyable ride.
When I got home all the stable jobs were done - even better!

I got the best of the weather -  it started to snow in the afternoon, not very much at all, but it turned very cold.
We brought them in early as they were waiting at the gate. After yesterdays success I wanted to have another trailer session with Remy and Bonbon so brought Bonbon in first. I'd lowered both ramps and tied a hay net inside the trailer at the front. I walked her over to the trailer and straight up the ramp, into the trailer and halted her. We stood quietly for a couple of minutes while she had some hay and then I asked her to walk out  down thefront ramp. She was so calm and matter of fact, I couldn't believe it, well to be honest I could because she's a little star.
We then brought Anky and Remy in and I took Remy over to the trailer. I thought that today I'd see how he coped with putting his own feet on the ramp, but he couldn't seem to get the hang of it.  He didn't appear to be worried, he had a good look around the trailer, sniffing the ramp, rattling the springs with his headcollar but wouldn't put his feet on the ramp. He didn't pull back, just seemed to get stuck, unable to process the information 'put foot on ramp'.  After the quick success with Bonbon, I could feel myself getting frustrated, but feel pretty chuffed that I kept my cool and if he got stuck at the bottom of the ramp I just asked him to back up a couple of steps and then forward again, really just to keep him moving and thinking. We joked that boredom might entice him in, but no, he's evidently got tons of patience! Eventually we reverted to plan B and Jim put one front foot on the ramp and I asked him to come forward with the lead rope. I kept the tension on the rope just long enough for him to put all his weight on the front foot and then start to bring his other foot forward. Once he'd got past this stage he walked into the trailer very calmly with no high stepping , I halted him at the front and like Bonbon, he stood quietly eating hay for a couple of minutes and then I asked him to walk down the front ramp which he did calmly and quietly. The stumbling block is obviously the initial stage of feet on the ramp, and while he's not as quick to catch on as Bonbon he's not a thicko, ( at least I hope not) just needs a little longer to process information, so I'm confident that after a few more tries he'll get it.

What PK has to say about the FEI.....

Philippe Karl Official Statement on LDR and the FEI Statement
 Today at 23:31
"The FEI has bravely decided to make no decision at all. Rollkur isn't officially permitted, but the same posture persists under another name (Low, Deep and Round). The rules haven't changed and everything will go on as before, in the most perfect hypocrisy. But we're not giving up yet; rather, we will continue to fight against this catastrophe."

Die FEI hat beherzt entschieden, nichts zu entscheiden. Die Rollkur ist offiziell nicht erlaubt, aber dieselbe Haltung bleibt uns unter anderem Namen („Low, Deep and Round“) erhalten. Das Reglement ändert sich nicht und alles wird so weiterlaufen wie bisher, in tadelloser Scheinheiligkeit. Wir geben jedoch nicht auf, sondern werden weiter gegen diese Katastrophe kämpfen.

La FEI a courageusement décidé de ne rien décider. La Rollkur n’est pas autorisée officiellement, mais l’attitude reste d’actualité sous un autre nom (LDR). Le règlement ne change pas et tout continuera comme avant, dans l’hypocrisie la plus parfaite. Mais nous n’abandonnons pas, nous allons continuer à nous battre contre cette catastrophe.

Philippe Karl

Rolkur is unacceptable, Low .Deep and Round is OK!!!

So say the FEI. So with a single blow they have side stepped the whole damn issue!!
Anky Van has already joined the Low Deep and Round Group on Facebook!!!

FEI PRESS RELEASE,
Lausanne (SUI), 9 February 2010


FEI ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE RESOLVES ROLLKUR CONTROVERSY

Following constructive debate at the FEI round-table conference at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne today (9 February), the consensus of the group was that any head and neck position achieved through aggressive force is not acceptable. The group redefined hyperflexion/Rollkur as flexion of the horse’s neck achieved through aggressive force, which is therefore unacceptable. The technique known as Low, Deep and Round (LDR), which achieves flexion without undue force, is acceptable.

The group unanimously agreed that any form of aggressive riding must be sanctioned. The FEI will establish a working group, headed by Dressage Committee Chair Frank Kemperman, to expand the current guidelines for stewards to facilitate the implementation of this policy. The group agreed that no changes are required to the current FEI Rules.

The FEI Management is currently studying a range of additional measures, including the use of closed circuit television for warm-up arenas at selected shows.

The group also emphasised that the main responsibility for the welfare of the horse rests with the rider.

The FEI President HRH Princess Haya accepted a petition of 41,000 signatories against Rollkur presented by Dr Gerd Heuschman.

The participants in the FEI round-table conference were:

HRH Princess Haya, FEI President
Alex McLin, FEI Secretary General
Margit Otto-Crépin, International Dressage Riders Club Representative
Linda Keenan, International Dressage Trainers Club Representative
Sjef Janssen, Dressage Representative
Frank Kemperman, Chairman, FEI Dressage Committee (by conference call)
François Mathy, International Jumping Riders Club Representative
David Broome, Jumping Representative
Jonathan Chapman, Eventing Representative
Roly Owers, World Horse Welfare Representative
Tony Tyler, World Horse Welfare Representative
Ulf Helgstrand, President, Danish Equestrian Federation
John McEwen, Chairman, FEI Veterinary Committee
Dr Sue Dyson, Veterinary Representative
Dr Gerd Heuschman, Veterinary Representative
Prof. René van Weeren, Veterinary Representative
Jacques van Daele, FEI Honorary Steward General Dressage
Graeme Cooke, FEI Veterinary Director
Trond Asmyr, FEI Director Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage
John Roche, FEI Director Jumping and Stewarding
Catrin Norinder, FEI Director Eventing
Carsten Couchouron, FEI Executive Director Commercial
Richard Johnson, FEI Communications Director

My brilliant babies

I had an early start this morning to be over at Trudi's for 9am, we were picking Bev up to go to the first meeting of a local (hehe, for Trudi and Bev) newly formed horse group. It was more curiosity, for me at least, as I'm already a member of another group closer to me.  I knew it would be good fun if Trudi and Bev were going along and we had a good laugh. Wanna know the name of this group?  Blazing Saddles Horse Group - hmph.... nothing to do with me!!!!

I thought about riding when I got home but it was getting late so we decided to have a little trailer training session when we brought the horses in.
We've had 2 or 3 sessions now with Remy and Bonbon and it's been interesting and enjoyable, our last session was really positive. I brought Bonbon in first and went straight over to the trailer, we'd already lowered back and front ramps.I asked her to follow me and she came up the ramp to the top, put one back foot on then took it off and just stood sniffing around and looking in, stretching her neck as far as she could but not wanting to walk in. I asked her to back down the ramp and she did so nice and calmly. Corky was standing at the gate waiting to come in so I suggested that Jim walk Corky through and I would follow with Bonbon. So that's what we did and as Corky got to the top of the ramp I followed and asked Bonbon to walk on with me. She just walked through with me and down the front ramp as if she'd been doing it all her life. I'm sure she thought 'well, if it's ok for Corky, it's ok for me', but she was so calm about it I'm hoping it will give her the extra confidence to go through on her own next time. She'd not made a big deal of it and neither did I, I gave her a pat and told her she was a  good girl and  then took her straight into the stable. I was so proud of her though, I wanted to jump up and down with glee!!
Anky and Remy were still waiting at the gate so we brought them in together and tried the same thing. Anky walked through but Remy was distracted and walked out to the side. We tried a again, but the second time he just stopped at the bottom of the ramp. It's funny,it's like he doesn't know where his legs are, he picked one of his front legs up but caught his hoof on the bottom of the ramp so just put it back down again. Jim put Anky in the stable and came back and lifted one front leg  and then the other onto the ramp. I then asked him to walk forward and he stepped forward enough to place first one and then the other back leg onto the ramp, he looked really funny, if you can imagine a triangulated piaffe, back legs almost touching the front ones. He stood for a few seconds and I asked him to walk toward me into the trailer, he hesitated, but I just kept the tension on the rope for an extra few seconds and he started to walk toward me. It was like John Cleese's ministry of funny walks. If you've ever seen a horse with travelling boots on for the first time,high stepping, you'll have a very accurate picture of what he was doing. He came into  and through the trailer to the front ramp,he was pretty calm apart from the funny walk, he hesitated at the top and then high stepped down to the end of the ramp and hopped off. He then turned towards me as if to say 'ok then, where's my treat'!  What a good boy! I praised him and took him into the stable.  My brilliant babies, they bring me joy!!!

Rollkur, Hyperflexion, Behind the Vertical: The Damage Inside

Not easy viewing and someone, somewhere, sometime (hopefully soon) has got to say STOP.

I managed to ride this afternoon. It had been raining all morning, but about 4pm we had a window of sunshine, the horses were hanging round the gate so I brought Corky in. Unfortunately by the time I'd groomed, tacked up and booted her I'd missed the golden window of sunshine, but I went out anyway. She was a good girl as usual and it was worth every raindrop!

Hee hee,.....

Anyone in HERE that you recognise?

Klaus Balkenhol Letter to The FEI

Just seen this on Horse of Courses' blog
Good news and an impressive list of signatures!!
Klaus Balkenhol Letter to The FEI for the February 9th Meeting

Originally Sent Feb. 3 2010

Translated from GermanFederation Equestre International

Avenue Rumine 37
CH – 1005 Lausanne Rosendahl
SWITZERLAND

February 3, 2010
Dear Sirs and Madames:

We submit herewith some comments concerning your upcoming roundtable discussion, scheduled for February 9th, at which you will be establishing a final plan for the handling of the topic of Rollkur/Hyperflexion.
Those of us who have signed this letter wish to point out sharply that new or amended rules with regard to the accepted classical precepts of riding, which are contained in the guidelines written down in your Handbook, are absolutely superfluous and therefore unnecessary. These precepts, which the FEI has up until now felt obliged to uphold, are already fully developed, tried and tested! They are already recognized world-wide as authoritative, and as fair to the horse. Based on centuries of experience, they offer a stable and secure foundation even for today’s riding.
No changes may be made that constitute a burden to the well-being of the horse, either physically or mentally. If you accept riding in hyperflexion as a permissible training method, you legitimize aggressive riding. We protest that in the strongest possible terms!
As horse people, we expect the FEI to maintain unaltered their regulations, which have until now been valid, resting as they do upon the classical precepts of riding – for the good of the horses and the continued good repute of international equestrian sport.

The undersigned support this statement:

Klaus Balkenhol (Olympic medalist)

(Joined by, in alphabetical order)
- Laura Bechtolsheimer (British Record Holder, 3. Europameisterschaften 2009)
- Wilfried Bechtolsheimer (Trainer)
- Ingrid Klimke (Olympic medalist)
- Ruth Klimke (Vice President of the German Riders Union)
- Beezie Madden (Olympic medalist)
- John Madden (Trainer)
- Debbie McDonald (Olympic Bronze medalist)
- Susanne Miesner (Trainer)
- George Morris (Chef d’equipe USEF show jumping team, Olympic silver medalist)
- Martin Plewa (former German national Three-Day Event trainer, Director of the Riding and Driving School of Westfalia)
- Michael Putz (Trainer and judge)
- Klaus-Martin Rath (Trainer, member of the Dressage Committee of the German Olympic
Committee)
- Matthias Alexander Rath (German Meister 2009)
- Hinrich Romeike (Olympic medalist)
- Hubertus Schmidt (Olympic medalist)
- Günter Seidel (Olympic bronze medalist)
- Christine Stückelberger (Olympiic medalist)
- Paul Stecken (Trainer)
- Hans Günter Winkler (Olympic medalist)
- Harry Boldt, Dressur. Doppel-Olympiasieger, früherer Bundestrainer Dressur, GBR
- Beatrice Büchler-Keller, Swiss, FEI O-Richter
- Nadine Capellmann, Dressur, Olympiasiegrin
- Carsten Huck, Springen, Olympia Bronze-Gewinner
- Michael Klimke, Deuscther Meister, Dressur
- Ann Kathrinne Linsenhoff, Olympiasiegerin, WElt- und Europameisterin, Mitglied im FN-Präsidium
- Michael Robert, Olympia-Gewinner Bronze, Trainer

------------------------------

In the Company of Horses...........

.......by Kathleen Lindley( A year on the road with Horseman Mark Rashid)

I've been reading quite a bit recently and I've just started this one. I think I'm going to like it - we'll see.

"Horses are fantastical creatures, all at once beautiful, powerful, funny, charming and frightening. It seems sometimes that the very things we love about them are the things we begrudge them.

We love them for their power, yet it scares us. We want to borrow their physical freedom, while at the same time we strive to take it away. We know they're highly intelligent, but we treat them as if they were stupid. We expect them to read our minds, then deny what they find there. We praise their sensitivity, as we seek to desensitise them.

Our relationship with the horse is marked with fear, awe, love, passion, and of all things, contradiction."

This is the preface to the book, you can decide if it's for you or not...

"I stood in the middle of a big paddock in western Colorado, trying to learn how to catch my horse under the watchful eye of horseman Mark Rashid and a handful of clinic auditors.I'd arrived at the clinic two days earlier and had the audacity to tell Mark that I didn't know who he was, and I didn't care, as long as he could fix my horse. Well, something was getting fixed all right, and it wasn't the horse. The trouble I was having catching my horse, Ashcroft, was pretty indicative of our whole relationship - neither of us wanted much to do with the other.

I've lived, dreamed, and breathed horses all my life. When I was thirteen years old, I wrote an essay for school detailing how I was going to become a horse trainer when I grew up. My mother spent my college fund on horses and horse shows and talked herself into thinking that the horses and the horse shows were my college.When I impatiently graduated from high school, I did indeed become a professional horse trainer. I trained hunter and jumper show horses in the Midwest for a few years until, at the age of 28, my life took an unexpected turn when I found myself in an emergency room after having a stroke, of all things. A blood clot had become lodged in my brain, paralyzing my left side. Recuperation was a gruelling process. I learned to walk again, learned to operate my left hand again, and spent hours and hours struggling in occupational and physical therapy.As soon as I was able to, I moved to Aspen, Colorado to be with my boyfriend and two uncles who lived there. It wasn't long after I moved to Colorado that I got the idea bo buy a horse again. I suppose my real motivation was to prove that I could do it, ride and handle a horse, despite my handicap. Heck, I was still working on walking and opening milk cartons!
I told my friends and family that I wanted a "resale project", a cheap horse that I could train for about six months and resell at a profit.That's how I met Ashcroft. I saw an ad in an Aspen newspaper for a "sixteen-hand grey thoroughbred gelding, five years old" and figured he was worth a look. He was a sorry sight when I went to see him the first time. He was, indeed, a fabulous dapple grey, and additionally he had very clean, beautiful legs and a nice head. But he was very thin, had tangles in his mane and tail, and was standing up to his ankles in muck, surrounded by a family of goats. When I rode him, I found that he didn't stop, didn't steer, and didn't go forward on cue, but he was willing to jump a railroad tie for me. I talked the seller down to $1,500 and took him home. I assumed this horse would fit right into my plans for a horse to resell - uneducated but pretty and well bred.

Well, that was the first of many assumptions that Ashcroft shattered for me. Though I was a skilled horseperson and former professional trainer, I found myself out of my league with Ashcroft. He was easy to anger and would fight at the drop of a hat. He was fussy and high-strung. He was sick or hurt most of the time, wouldn't stay trained, and woudn't be caught. I tried to sell him but nobody would buy him. If I got someone interested in him enough to do a vet check, he was lame when the vet showed up. I was stuck with him, and I hated it. I prayed he'd get hit by lightning, just so I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.

After two years of frustration and fighting, I figured I had to do something drastic. I was out of patience and out of money, and I had nothing but a mess of a horse to show for it. I had heard that Mark Rashid was going to be in our area doing a clinic, and on impulse I signed up. It was a last ditched effort on my part. That's how we ended up there that day, in that paddock, practicing catching. Mark had caught Ashcroft a few times, and it was my turn to try. Mark suggested that I not expect Ashcroft to do all the work when I went to catch him: that it was plenty good enough if he just stood still and allowed himself to be caught. So I went out there, halter and lead rope looped over my arm, mainly hoping my horse wouldn't turn tail and run when he saw me. Ashcroft was standing on the far side of the paddock, whinnying to some horses over on the other side of the property. I approached him from behind, as Mark had suggested. I saw Ashcroft's ears flick back to me occaisionally, but his eyes stayed fixed on the other horses. When I looked at Mark questioningly, he simply nodded at Ashcroft, encouraging me to keep at it.I got to within about eight feet of Ashcroft's hindquarters, and I shifted off to one side so we could make eye contact. He whinnied again to the other horses. When he was done calling, I kissed to him, hoping he'd turn around and face me so I could halter him. But he didn't turn. I kissed again. And then he moved. To my utter consternation, he backed up, eyes still on the other horses, until his tail was within easy reach. I was about to kiss again, to ask for a turn, when Mark said, "You've got him, he's caught"

What was so shocking to me about this was that my horse had offered me what I wanted, but in a way I didn't expect. Therefore I didn't recognise it. This revelation begged the question, then, of how many times he'd done this during the previous two years of fighting and frustration. How many times had he offered what I wanted in a way that made perfect sense to him but not to me?

When I looked at the catching incident from his point of view, his actions made perfect sense. I wanted to catch him. He needed to keep his eyes on his friends across the way. so he accommodated both of us at the same time. Now, if Mark hadn't been there to stop me, I probably would have insisted that Ashcroft turn around to face me, because it's just not "respectful" to present one's hindquarter for catching. And that was the difference right there. It was why what I'd been doing with Ashcroft hadn't been working - I had failed to see things from his point of view. It had actually never occurred to me that it might be important to a horse that I be willing and able to see things from his point of view.

I took what I learned at that clinic seriously. I felt a profound change in me and in my horse, and I wanted more. I could feel the presence of a whole world out there that I'd previously been unaware of. I think there were two things in particular that led me to the change in attitude I was experiencing. One was the horse I had, who chose not to give up, not to kill me, and not to change who he was, and second, there was my handicap, which suggested to me that technique would
only take me so far: I was going to have to think that all over carefully."
_________________________________________________________

Our barefoot trimmer came today and was really pleased with all the horses. Corky and Anky, who've had their shoes removed are doing great, he also said that Ankys feet were very strong which would suggest that she's digesting her food well enough, he's seen lots of horses with digestion problems and they invariably have poor feet. He also thinks the youngsters have great feet. Hee hee, I'm chuffed.

Homeopathy for Horses....

.....by Tim Couzens. I received this book today having bought on a friends recommendation. It's a fantastic resource, giving many different remedies with detailed information, for many different ailments. I have it on good authority that you can get a lot of these remedies cheaply from the pharmacy here in France, but I've yet to test that out. The only drawback I can see is that the author gives so many options for a particular ailment that I would love to have 10 minutes chatting with him, I think it would be highly enlightening. I'd recommend it to any horse owner.

Agility.............

....for horses? Just seen this on FB, looks like good fun!

Hanging about.......

.....waiting for our barefoot trimmer person who was due to come at 12.00 today. Thinking that the horses would be in all afternoon, we put them out early. Brought them in at 11.45 and at 12.15 got a call saying that he couldn't make it as he was ill and had to go home, but he could rearrange for the same time Friday. Ok, no problem, we'll put them back out again - no, can't do that, our friend Pascal has just arrived to spread the muckheap!
I decided to have another trailer training session with Remy and Bonbon. Having given it some thought, I opened the front ramp also. When they feel happy to walk into the trailer I want to be able to just walk them through nice and easy.
I started with Bonbon and again she was calm, straight away walked to the top of the ramp, peered in but wouldn't walk any further. She kept her back legs firmly on the ground though. I backed her off quietly and took her around to investigate the front ramp, then came back and asked her to walk up the ramp again. No problem, backed her off and called it a day. She's not the slightest bit worried, just needs to get her head round it. Knowing Bonbon I can't see a problem if we give her time to work it out for herself.
Remy next and he needed a little encouragement. He stood at the bottom of the ramp looking in, but didn't want to step on it so jim lifted his leg and placed it on the ramp. No problem so I asked him to walk towards me and he stepped up and placed his other leg on. He then took another step forward and placed one hind foot on the ramp. We stood for a few seconds while he investigated the inside of the trailer, then I asked him to back off which he did nice and calmly. We repeated the procedure, let him investigate the front ramp and then called it a day. Goodo , I love my babies!

Hey, it's warmed up - or has it......

Well according to the thermometer it has, but it's that damp kind of cold that seems to get into your bones!! Is that a legitimate excuse for not riding?

Before I put the horses out I lowered the ramp on the trailer. After yesterdays success I was feeling positive, and after putting Corky in the field I took Bonbon over for another look.I stood at the top of the ramp whilst she sniffed the bottom of the ramp, I asked her to walk towards me, but as she raised her foot, she caught it on the ramp so I asked her to back up a few steps and then asked again. She put one foot on the ramp and hesitated, then put the other foot on and took a step towards me, peering into the trailer. We stood for a few seconds, she remained calm and then I asked her to back up off the ramp. No problem, Mum! No back legs on yet, but I'll happen.
As I was putting her into the field, Corky was waiting and had a little yahoo moment, legging it to the bottom of the field, Bonbon was brilliant, waited until I unclipped her and then cantered over to join Corky. I was intending to have a little trailer session with Remy, but didn't want him distracted by playtime in the field so left it.
When I brought her in tonight I did the same thing. I stood at the top of the ramp and she just walked up the ramp to me, spent a little time searching my pockets for a sweetie and then when asked, backed down the ramp. What a little star!
Remy is much more suspicious, he's fine sniffing the bottom of the ramp and quite happy to peer inside, neck like a giraffe, but he's not yet willing to put his foot on the ramp. Petit à petit, he'll get there.
I've always had a horse box and never had a trailer before, so I'm not sure of the best way to proceed. Do I open the front ramp so that when I ask them to walk into the trailer, we can then walk straight through, or leave it closed and ask them to back out (this may not be a problem as Bonbon seems ok backing down at the moment). We've taken the partition out to start and I don't want to risk them trying to turn round once they're in there. I also don't want them to panic once they're in there and rush backwards down the ramp. Should we put the partition back in and just open it to one side? I suppose we could leave the front ramp closed, but be ready to open it in case there's a problem. Lots of thoughts,any advice welcome.

In-hand and Trailer Training

A lovely session with Remy this morning. He was very responsive and calm. His walk halt walk transitions were good and his backing was really fluid, nice unhurried steps. It felt today like he'd 'got it' and it gave me a buzz. Jim took some pics, but they're not that brilliant, according to Jim it wasn't 'good' light. :-o

When we brought them in tonight we had a little session of trailer practice, Jim lead Corky up and through the trailer whilst I held first Remy and then Bonbon, letting them watch and investigate the trailer. They were pretty calm, more inquisitive than anything else. I stood on the ramp whilst they sniffed the bottom of it. Ironically it was Corky who got a bit huffy, obviously impatient to get in to her tea.