257. Riding Confidently...

Yesterday i hacked Spice out by myself and as usual she was great - no big dramas to report except for a short attempt to spin backwards just as we were passing a lorry but as soon as i told her to go forwards she did. The biggest difference i have noticed in Spice is her fight/flight disposition...unlike before where she would put up the biggest fight to avoid going past something she now backs down as soon as i tell her to. It seems that because she now trusts me and has confidence in my authority she actually prefers to listen to me rather than carry on fighting with me. Seeing Spice change so dramatically has given me the belief that no matter how bad a behavioural problem is it can almost always be rectified. My friend at the yard said that having seen how bad Spice could be whilst out hacking she never thought she'd be able to hack out on her own and that's someone who has dealt with horses with behavioural problems their whole life but it just goes to show that where there's a will there's a way. Now that the whole napping thing has been resolved I'm really looking forward to doing some jumping with Spice. :)

256. Riding past our first tractor!

Today i took Spice out for a hack and not long into our hack we were confronted with a tractor. Tractors aren't one of Spices favourite road friends so as we approached the tractor she decided it was far too scary to go past and attempted to spin, run backwards and rear. Unlike the olden days where i'd have become nervous i actually relished in the opportunity to take control of the situation and demonstrate my authority. Sitting deep in my seat i kicked her on when she was running backwards, sat to her rear and pulled back on my right rein with not just my arm but the whole of my body preventing her from turning around. As soon as she realised that all three attempts to avoid the vehicle had failed she started listening to me and walked forwards to where i made her stand quietly whilst the tractor went past. It was a brilliant victory and made all the better without having to use a whip or any other kind of pain inducing device!

255. Spice gets thumbs up from Farrier

This week i had the farrier come out to see Spice because i was concerned that due to increasing her work load to 3 hacks a week she may need to have shoes on her front hooves. However, the farrier said that her hooves were in good shape and that unless i intended on riding her on the roads everyday she should be able to cope just fine. It was reassuring to hear these words come from a farriers mouth as normally one might assume that a farrier would be biased but this particular farrier was very neutral on his stand point which was refreshing. When i asked him how many horses he saw that he thought could go barefoot but didn't he said 30-40% - quite a shocking amount in my view. I am not against the usage of shoes but it would be nice to think that owners were only using them because they were necessary...

254. Spice...

253. Another depressing video...

252. Can you change a horses behaviour?

Yes! There were so many times when i contemplated selling Spice due to never feeling able to ride out confidently on my own with her and as a horse owner this was obviously highly frustrating as a lot about riding is having the freedom to jump on your horse and gallop off to wherever your heart desires but for me this was NEVER the case and NEVER felt like it was going to be. It was more like try to mount a horse that moves away from the mounting block 10-20 times and then trying to get out of the yard whilst the horse attempts to spin around and run backwards in the opposite direction! If i did get out of the yard i had a horse who generally spooked at anything and everything and would attempt to rear at anything they found too scary to pass. I never wanted to beat Spice up for not going past something she found scary because i didn't want to have that kind of relationship with her and i am pleased to say that no aspect of her training has involved doing this. People used to say to me 'you wanna put a martingale on that horse to stop her rearing' or 'you wanna ride that horse with a stronger bit' (i still ride bitless) or try using the whip on her - something which i did try with little success. The three major things which i feel have contributed to Spices improved behaviour are 'time off', 'groundwork' and 'consistency' - the latter being the most important. There was one day which i feel was particularly effective in turning Spice around - it was about 4 months ago when we were trying to cross a ford which had become so overflown you couldn't see the bottom - both myself and my friend were literally there for about 20 mins with Spice rearing, spinning and even throwing in the odd buck or two before she finally gave in and crossed - it was clear that this had a huge impact on Spices confidence and trust and i am sure that even though it was some time ago the memory of this event stuck. I feel that 'Time off' allowed Spice and myself to have a completely fresh start (both physically and mentally) and 'groundwork' which involved me walking Spice up and down a busy main road several times gave Spice the chance to see and walk pass lots of vehicles all shapes and sizes with me by her side giving her commands which enabled me to gain her trust.

251. Am i dreaming?

Had yet another amazing hack out on my own with Spice today...still think i must be dreaming. Went passed every single vehicle and obstacle without any hesitation whatsoever. Loving riding her at the moment and whats even better is that i think Spice is actually loving being ridden. :) Sure i will wake up soon...

250. Bombproof?

Today i took Spice out for another ride on her own and once again she was amazing. We passed lots of things that back in the day would have been 'scary' that she barely batted an eyelid at and even had a sneaky canter which was great :) Things are almost too perfect to be true at the moment what with Spice being completely sound and no longer spooking. If someone had have said to me 6 months ago that i'd be riding out on my own with Spice i'd never have believed them. At best i thought i might be able to hack out in front but never hack out on my own (at least not without a big fight!) Never thought i'd be able to describe Spice as 'bomb proof' but at the moment that term definitely springs to mind when i'm on her back. :)