86. Jumping

I didn't do much with Spice today just a bit of groundwork which she was excellent at and a quick walk down the road to help harden up her hooves more than anything. She was slightly hesitant due to there being quite a bit going on, loud banging noises from builders and building materials on the road but all in all she managed to stay focused and calm which was good.

The exciting news is... i have just ordered our first set of jumps! (pink of course) so we can finally start doing a bit of jumping.

Spice seems to love jumping like her father (pictured above) so i think it would add another enjoyable/interesting dimension to our training sessions.

I purchased the jumps from http://www.aivly.com/ which i found quite reasonably priced and should hopefully get them in the next couple of days. :)

85. Creating impulsion without force

Had another brilliant day today. Since Spice is still in her barefoot transition phase we decided to take our horses for a walk around the village through a field with a stream to see if we could get them to jump it. Knowing that Fen the naturally more confident horse out of the two of them has an issue with water we thought it would make a valuable learning exercise and it really did...

As we approached the stream with Fen in front and Spice behind Fen had decided that she was not going to cross it. It didn't seeem that Fen was scared of the water for she showed no real signs of fear but it seemed that she just didn't see the point and would rather not. Spice on the other hand quite literally leaped at the chance and showed no hesitation whatsoever, in fact she was so quick to jump it she almost landed on top of me - note to self stay well clear of landing zone! In the meanwhile Fen and Alex continued to be as persistent as each other with Alex saying 'come on' and Fen saying 'No'. Watching this i kept hearing something i had read in my head...'if your horse isn't doing what you're asking it to, you're not asking it the right way.' So, i was wondering what else Alex could do... She had walked through the water to show Fen that there was nothing to be afraid of, she had asked Fen to follow her using 'pressure' and 'release' she had given her time to put her head down and sniff the water, she had walked onwards in the hope that Fen might follow and she had tried to create impulsion by trotting her up to the edge but absolutely nothing was working. How could we create the impulsion Fen needed to jump?

Determined not to give up as a last resort Alex suggested that i stand at Fens hind quarters and put pressure on them whilst she stand in front hoping that Fen would follow her lead. Within a matter of seconds we had her jump across - it was as easy as that. Two or three claps and waves of the arms aimed at her hind quarters and heaps of encouragement from Alex at front and Fen was over.

To make sure it wasn't just a flook and we really had cracked it Alex wanted to do it again and within a minute using the same technique she was over.

No actual physical force or pressure was needed just energy.

It was a wonderful victory for both Fen and Alex and a really valuable lesson for all of us. I don't doubt that next time Alex attempts to take Fen over the stream she will be over in seconds and i commend Alex for her perseverance and ability to remain calm and collected throughout the process. At times like this it is so easy to lose your temper and resort to violence and learn nothing but fortunately Alex was patient enough to allow herself the opportunity to learn an invaluable lesson and strengthen the bond she has with Fen.

Well done Alex and Fen. One of my best days yet!

84. Nappy horse to Happy horse!

I didn't know what title to use for this entry...i thought about 'Crying tears of happiness on my horses back', 'The future looks bright', 'Groundwork really does pay off' but i chose 'Nappy horse to Happy horse' because the truth is 3 months ago both myself and Spice were incredibly unhappy but thanks to someone very special who has supported and believed in us from day one i can now with 100% certainty say that we are both happy...and here's why...

Today, i finally plucked up the courage to put all my groundwork with Spice over the last 3 months to the test by deciding to ride her around the field of my yard. I began with a 2 minute warm up on the ground and she responded well so i was quite confident we were both ready...

On approaching the 'scary corner' of the field (a part of the field which for whatever reason Spice feels uneasy about) i started to re-affirm my leadership skills and direct her attention towards me by doing small sets of circles. Shortly after this she noticed a white sack and began to tense and start backing up and attempting to rear - this was my test...had i learned enough to be able to get her to go up to the object without having a fight like before?

I proved to myself i had :) I used calm, consistent cues - no force. So, whenever Spice went to turn left away from the object i used my right rein to turn her back towards the object and made sure that every single time she went the way i wanted her to go i completely took the pressure off and praised her. Within a few seconds i had her complete attention and for the first time she was looking to me for direction - asking me which way to go and with as much gentleness as i could use i was telling her. We were finally having a 'conversation' and not a 'fight'... We made it all the way up to the white plastic bag with no whipping, no shouting, no aggression, i let her move at her own pace giving her the time she needed to see for herself that it was nothing to scared of and as her reward i let her stand and be calm by rubbing her neck and behind actual tears of joy telling her how good she was. After i was sure she was no longer afraid of it I asked her to walk away from it and approach it again and without ANY hesitation whatsoever Spice walked straight up to it :) Result!

I have finally proven to myself that natural horsemanship really DOES work. It takes time, it takes effort and it takes a lot of patience but the joy i felt on Spices back today made it all worth it. I have never before felt so elated.

If i ever managed to get her past an object she was scared of before i never felt happy afterwards because i knew i'd just bullied her to go past it. There was no communication going on just bullying - she knew it and i knew it.

I feel like i finally have the relationship i've always wanted with Spice, and know that she respects me not because she is FORCED to but because she WANTS to and this is an amazing feeling.

I am so proud of myself and her for changing our future. Thankyou Spice for showing me that there is another way. :)

I will continue over the next few weeks to ride Spice around the yard setting up spooks in various places to build on our relationship and will definitely post some videos of our progress. I can't believe i didn't video our first journey out today but i think i was so pre-occupied with it going well that recording it was the last thing on my mind!

83.How to get your horse to stand still when mounting...

82. Clinton Anderson

81. How to eliminate your horses fear...

Today, i took Spice to the corner of a field away from the herd where she normally for whatever reason gets scared. The main problem i experience with Spice as her rider is her level of fear and her reaction to fear (generally spinning around, rearing etc) so my thinking is...i need to spend as much time as i can with her 'being scared' in order to know how to best deal with her in these circumstances so we can have as safe and as enjoyable a ride as possible and avoid such reactions.

The main thing i learned today was that trying to keep Spice's focus on me AFTER she has become distracted is a lot harder than trying to keep it on me BEFORE she gets distracted.

So, as i walked Spice up to the scary part of the field instead of 'backing her up' which is something i normally do when she gets scared (because i find she sometimes speeds up her pace) i simply concentrated on yielding her hind quarters so that it was physically impossible for her to focus on anything but me. I realized that 'backing her up' as i normally do still allowed her to 'physically focus' on whatever was 'scaring her' in the distance whereas yielding her hind quarters didn't and was therefore far more effective.

For the first time i was able to lead Spice up to the 'scary part' of the field without having 'lost her attention'. :)

Spice is the kind of horse that looks for things to be scared of, she is incredibly alert and therefore needs consistent and constant direction. If she were in the wild she'd be a very successful horse as she would be the first to notice anything dangerous and would also be the first to react.

At the moment, I am looking forward to riding Spice again and putting into practice everything i have learned. Spending all this time on the ground with her has developed my knowledge of her needs as a young inexperienced horse and my duties and responsibilities as her rider and handler.

I don't think Spice will ever be a 'calm' horse although with age she may and will hopefully become more confident. But for now, the best thing i can do is learn how to make her feel as safe as possible by almost taking over her role. By this i mean almost being 'one step ahead' for example if i am more alert and quicker to react than she is to her fears then i will be the one in control but if she is then she will be. I need to act before she acts.

I do not think i will ever stop learning with Spice and in a way although at times i long for an 'easy' horse Spice is a wonderful challenge and if it were not for her i would not be learning everything i am and becoming the rider i am.

I have learned that great riding is not just about sitting on a horse and sitting to the 'trot' and the 'canter' but actually it's about knowing how to 'communicate' with your horse whilst on their back using as little pressure as possible because if you truly know your horse and know its needs you shouldn't have to use any force. You should be able to have a conversation with your horse and not resort to having an argument - if it gets to the point that you have to have an argument you have communicated ineffectively as a rider. There shouldn't be a loser or a winner there should just be a 'team' that has a mutual goal to have a relationship which is based on respect and trust.

I don't doubt that i will make mistakes along the way - that's inevitable being a novice rider but i know that i will learn from the mistakes which is the main thing.

My dream is to prove to myself that i can ride Spice without using fear, domination and force. I know i can direct Spice on the ground without using these things so in theory if i am a good enough rider for Spice i should be able to do the same on her back.

79. Magnesium

The last time my podiatrist came to see Spice she noticed how highly strung and over-reactive Spice was and recommended that i try giving her magnesium as she was showing signs of being magnesium deficient. So since then for the last 10 days i have been including 45ml of magnesium in her food and i think i am beginning to notice an effect. Although the weather has been good lately i.e not windy (which normally gives her the spooks) she does seem calmer than usual i.e is holding her head lower and generally being 'less reactive'. I hope it is the effects of the magnesium rather than weather as it would be nice to think that this calmer temperament could be maintained.

I will assess her behaviour over the next few weeks and let you all know how she is.

According to my podiatrist many horses can be deficient in magnesium/potassium due to the fields being fertilised which often only allow the richest/strongest of grasses to flourish thus creating an imbalance in nutrients and minerals.

http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/magnesium.html