Matais back.

I have my wild stallion back! well sought of.....





Matai came to stay the night at my place last night in preparation as i was to take him and my big jumping horse down the line to stay with my old boss and trainer, first thign in the morning. Matais new owner was to meet me down here. It was like my little wild boy had never left, he remembered his old freinds, and the wild weanling was delighted to see him again, screaming his greetings from the paddock. Matai just trotted into his old stable like hed never left, and it was great to see his familiar face greeting me from over the stall door, when i arived at the barn this morning.





So this morning i set off giant jumping horse and little wild horse squeezed into my trailer and off we went. Six hours later and we finally arrived in the waikato region, both boys traveled beautifully , the only casualty being a bay of hay i placed within reach of two hungry mouths that got completely eaten, i didn't know so much hay could be consumed in such a short space of time. Little Matai's stomach was bulging at the seams when i finally off loaded him. The wild horses view to eating defiantly being, waste not,want not, as they have known true hunger in the wild.

Anyway my old trainer loved Matai straight away, and as usual no one could believe he was once a stallion form the wild. I look forward to watching him and his new owner getting a lesson tomorrow, as hes starting to look quite the little dressage star. Then its off to be parting of the big equestrian extravaganza, that is equidays, and Matai's going to be part of it, his turn to really shine in the limelight!!

Just for laughs

I found this while scrolling through a horse selling website, and it made me laugh......

Miniature Horse

I am selling on behalf of my wife who has just come into the house and said she was up all night, in the rain, trying to catch this "real s#!t of a horse". I asked her if I could put him on Trade me and she said "yes, he's a s#!t and I can sell him!!!" (so angry and frustrated).....so I said, "OK, yeah I will!"...So hear we go.

The horse is 8 hands and she brought him off the intranet at work. Don't know too much more as I'm not a horsey person, but can tell you that it is bronze, white and quite small, like a small version of a horse. From what I've seen it's pretty good with my 4 and 2 year old but doesn't seem to like males very much, as it runs away from me and tends to throw my son around a get bit..... So, a good horse for the females of the family! Selling cheep, as want to take full advantage of my wife's utter frustration towards it and my utter desire to get rid of it.

The only completly honest horse add i have ever seen, and shows that horses are horses no matter what size they come in, and are not for people who want something more like a family pet. Unfortunatly minture horses sometimes end up in the worst suitable homes because they are so small anynody buys them without realising you still need to know what your doing....probably like the people with the horse horse in this add....still its a good laugh, love the fact that he described it as bronze and quite small. comedy gold.

surpassing expectations

I have been slowly falling behind on the story of the grey mare from the wild. Mainly i have written about Matai and his adventures, every so often dropping in details about the mare, and pictures here and there. But I have left out a lot of details, of what been going on behind the scenes. Its not just sneaky escapades to the local rugby fields, or day trips to the beach that have been taking up my time, horse riding is not that glamorous unfortunately.





Behind these outing have been the day to day slog of training horses, the mundane boring stuff. Teaching a horse to turn, stop, and go when asked, all these basics that when done right create the final product of an overall happy horse. But first is the hours of the baby steps where the horse learns the ABC's of being a ridden horse, much like a child learns the alphabet before they can read their first word. Because for those who maybe didn't realise, no horse and certainly not a horse from the wild is born knowing, what on earth a human wants when we sit on its back, its not instinctive to them unfortunately.





the first time you sit on a horse, it has no idea that squeezing with your legs mean go forward, pulling its head mean turn, and pulling back is the command to stop. Why would it, its not exactly logical, is it? Put yourself in a horse position, suddenly you have all this weight on your back and some creature squeezing you around the middle, would you really have a clue what was wanted, i doubt that the first thing that popped into your mind would be "oh of course i get it, i meant to walk forward when i feel annoying pressure squeezing my rib cage"...nope they don't have a clue, for all they know you might want them to walk forwards when you pull their mouth and stop when you squeeze their sides. In fact you could use any aid you wanted for any desired response and a horse would learn it if your consistent enough. consistency and timing...





These are the only two real ingredients to training horses, especially in those first early break in days, when i horse acts like a sponge soaking up everything you teach it unintentionally or otherwise. So the last few weeks for the wild mare have just been boring consistency and rewards and asking things of her at the right time. you just keep asking the same thing the same way until you get the right response and then reward, and you do this hundreds of times, until the horse just knows and reacts straight away. then bada bing, bada booom, and magically one day you realise you have a horse, that at the lightest touch trots off from the leg, slows down when you change your seat slightly, and turns to the lightest touch on the reins.





So the wild mare has been going through this process, and to be honest she has surpassed all my expectations, just like people some horses have different aptitudes for different things, some are more intelligent and some are more sensitive. Of all the horse i have broken in Fern the little wild mare, has surprised me the most.





Fern has never been difficult, but until she started being ridden she radiated a slight air of suspicion, always doing what was asked but not completely happy with the situation. She always came across as a bit withdrawn, she took her time to asses things before reacting, and would often take a fair bit of encouragement to get good work out of her. She also never really seemed to grasp the concept that other people were trustworthy, she was fine with me, and got to know the boyfriend and a few other regular farm visitors, but would eyeball any people she didn't recognise and back as far away as her lead rope would allow. The opposite of the wild stallion, who within a short while loved all people, was not suspicious in the least and loved to work. Ferns love was her baby and food and the rest she tolerated.





Not anymore. For whatever reason it is, that little wild horse dropped all barriers once she had a rider on her back, maybe it just finally allowed her to drop all that suspicion she was carrying around, but whatever the reason she relaxed completely both physically and mentally. her neck dropped her back relaxed and she got this lovely soft but alert look in her eye. It took one lesson for her to learn what go forward meant and she naturally just picked up the cue to slow, and from then we have never looked back. Where i thought she was going to be a bit dull and resistant she has become one of the most sensitive and willing horses ever. She surpassed even the little stallion in willingness and progress. instead of being lazy she loved to work happily trotting and cantering right on cue within days. where Matai was chilled out and happy to go with the flow, she was alert and ready for action, just the kind of horse i love to ride, sharp and sensible.





Funnily enough all others issues she had just fell away after that. When i took her to the beach, everyone came up and patted her all over, some thing that would have sent hers eyes rolling and as far away as she could get a few weeks ago, but instead she happily stood there quietly excepting everything no matter how many people surrounded her. I guess all those defense barriers she had are now well in truly gone. The trip to the rugby fields, you would never know she hadn't been there a hundred times, she just quietly grazed under the goal posts, nowadays she just accepts everything as if it just another day at the office.





All of a sudden now that all the tedious basics are done the future for the wild mare is looking very exciting indeed. i think she may even have to start her competition career in the not to distant future ( opening a whole different can of worms entirely). Funny how life is, i was sure she would be the one i sold and the stallion i would keep for myself, but it ended up the other way and far better for it because Fern has turned out to be just the kind of horse i love.

Our boys, congratulations the All Blacks!!

And this is my version........

For those of you who might not know the Rugby World Cup was just held in New Zealand. We are a rugby nation, the All Blacks, our national team, and now our national hero's. That's right people, we won the rugby world cup, the first time since 1987, when we won the first world cup ever held.


I have never seen such a happy country, the whole 6 weeks of the Cup, we all came together dressed in black, decorated our towns, sung our national anthem in the streets, and became 4 million patriotic kiwis supporting our boys on the field. As a country we all came together and our lives and mood depended on the fifteen boys in black uniforms smashing the other nations on the field of play. We screamed as they did their pre-match haka (moari war dance), cheered as they scored a try, moaned if they missed a conversion, winced if a player got hurt, and for the finals game, i think we all felt absolutely sick to the stomach, prayed to our god, and felt like crying until the final whistle blew, and we knew that our boys would be holding up the sacred trophy. It was an awesome couple of weeks




In case you haven't guessed I am a HUGE rugby fan, huge. To show my support, i took the wild horse on a little adventure to our local rugby fields....

I went all out i dressed my wild horse up, got a friend to meet me their, put supporters flags on my saddle blanket. I spent actual money and got my self an official supporters shirt.....My wild horse became my rugby horse... which is kind cool because Fern or CS Silver Fern, which is her official name, well she is named after the symbol of our national sporting teams, the Silver Fern. Every kiwi with sporting aspirations dreams of putting on the black uniform with the silver fern on it.

Well, i don't have the black uniform with the silver fern. But i put on a black uniform, dressed my horse up in black, down to taping the white on black stripes on her legs and rode silver fern to support my team.

GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!!!!!

Okay so its late at night and i dont have time to upload all the photos, but Fern and I had a wonderful day at the beach . No one could beleive that she had only been ridden a couple of weeks, because she behave impecably, walking calmly withinj the group. Even crashing waves wernt to scary. To be honest though, i think most horses will behave calmly given the chance. Nevertheless both Fern and Matai were a big success with many people coming over to sat hi, once they realised once they realised these were ex-wild horses.

Discovering a sandcastle.

Matai and his new owner

My eve veiw of the ride

We've come a long way baby

leaving the stock yards for the first time, then months later days before she foaled, Fern the wild mare

These are old photos....hopefully twenty four hours from now i will have uploaded some new pics,because Fern, the wild mare will be doing her first public outing, under saddle, on an organised beach ride for Kaimanawa wild horses. I'm excited, the grey horse is going so well under saddle, and i love beach rides, double bonus. Not only that but Matai and his new owner will be there to, and i cant wait to see him again because...

... i may have some exciting news.....i have been talking to some people with the Kaimanawa wild horse preservation society, and it seems that a plan is in the pipeline for my little grey mare from the wild to be a demo horse, not only that but Matai and his new owner,i think are going to be included as well.

In mid November New Zealand is having its first ever Equidays, which is basically going to be a festival of all things equestrian. Training seminars, nutrition and breeding lectures, riding clinics and heaps of horse demonstrations and performances. So when i saw a notice in the Kaimanawa newsletter, asking for people interested in bringing their Kaimanawa horses down to do demonstrations, i of course applied. Later in the week, i talked to Matai's owner while out on a ride together, and she was keen to. That night i asked my old boss and trainer, if he would mind me and the wild ponies coming down to stay with him and train,before the big event, and he liked the idea to.

Matai's owner and i have been excitedly talking and making plans non stop ever since. Matai is looking every inch the little dressage super pony these days and Fern is going fantastic under saddle, even popping over some small jumps. I think these two horses, who are completely different examples of the wild horse breed, but both schooled and performing just like any well trained English riding horses, will hopefully show people how fantastic and valuable our wild horses can be.

Now i just have to come up with some cool tricks , for her big demo, because lets face walk trot and cantering in a circle on the bit, is a bit boring. To ride she is a completely different horse, shes sensitive, forward moving and relaxed, quick and eager to learn and gorgeous. under saddle she just has that little bit extra, that you don't see when shes just tied up or out in the paddock. I love riding her and just am so impressed with her general attitude, i cant believe this is the same horse, im sure we can come up with something special for the show.

Man, thinking back over the last year and a half its just flown by, everything has happened so fast, you would never pick that either Matai or Fern had ever run wild, every time i sit in the saddle i think "we've come a long way baby" but we still have a long way to go. Watch this space



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Horsmanship?

I have just plonked down at my desk, still in my riding gear, after one of those days where you work so hard, your feet ache, your muscles hurt and your dogged tired, but it feels good because you know you got heaps of done, and for once everything went your way. The horses all behaved and performed well today. The wild mare was excellent to ride,even going for a walk down the road, the other break in's all behaved and my performance horses all co-operated, its a nice feeling because , i managed to get every horse that need it, ridden. Now with the left over buzz of energy from a successful day, I'm going to ignore the cat clamoring for attention on my lap and type down somethings that been on my mind for a while.

What is horsemanship, or rather what do you say is good horsemanship? how do you define it? If you envisioned a horse trainer what qualities would they posses? I'm in a dilemma which i cant totally explain in this post, but i will try to in time. but back to horsemanship what is it? Is it that rider who has elusive 'feel' for every horse they ride, the rider that can see a stride for a jump no matter how far away they are, the trainer that can produce a happy obedient horse, or the rider who really has that pizazz in the show ring and squeeze every ounce out of a horse in competition, is it the ride who has the best cared for horse. Because a lot of people have differing opinions when it comes to what is good horsemanship.





There are some horse care practices that i look upon as torture and other people see as a sign of a competent horse person. I don't really who right or wrong. I look at some people at shows who horses are immaculately groomed, to the point where they wear 6 rugs, hoods, bandages, tail bags and there bodies only feel the sun when they are ridden. They have to be stabled and wrapped in cotton wool at all times, separated from other horses, because god forbid they get a scratch on them. To me this is lack of horsemanship , not a sign of it. Because the horse loses every horse sense it has, no socialising, rolling in the dirt, grazing everything that makes it horsey. But i hear again and again "o so & so is such a good horsewoman look how well presented her horses are"....and i think to myself surely this is just a sign of good grooming not horsemanship.. but i could be wrong, and this is just an example.

My old boss, a dressage trainer, who i have huge respect for, he was a good horseman, in the saddle. He felt that every horse could and should be improved through training. He was not snobby, or particular about the horses he rode he just tried to improve the way of going of every horse he sat on. The horses were happy to work for him, and were beautiful soft and elastic feeling to ride. Yet when it came to things like presentation, he was not the most perfect example of it. He didn't like tidy pulled or plaited tails, and he always looked slight rough around the edges, but i don't think this made him a bad horsemen at all. he also taught me a lot about horse fitness and conditioning, and i had huge respect in him for that. he made sure his horse got galloped and forest rides each week, not just drilled routines in an arena. They were all happy fit and healthy horses. However while he was an amazing rider, his horses lacked even some most basic ground manners that would have made life a lot easier, yet in the saddle that man was amazing.

Then there is the horsemen who take obsessive care of their horses. the horses are not allowed to trot down hills, to hard on the joints. the legs are bandaged with pedantic care, the Velcro must always finish in a exact spot. you can only use certain brushes, and tails are never brushed but separated hair by hair with you hands. You must never ride on hard ground, nor ground that is to deep or muddy. instead of a bit of hay, hard feed and good grass, nutrition is forefront in these horses training, everything from a good top line, and behaviour issues can be fixed with the right food.Each horse must do a certain and exact amount of competition before moving up a level, or competing at nationals. Their is a set routine that is never changes no matter the horse. The horses comfort and well being is paramount to everything, even manners and schooling

But then there is another kind of horsemanship and this is what i picture when i think of the word. One of my biggest mentors and someone who has influenced my entire career, is an old cowboy type, nothing like the dramatic show queens, dressage masters, or pedantic jump trainers. He taught me that every horse can be well behaved, and safe to handle, they can all be responsive and fancy bits are not required. from this guy i learned how to read a horses behaviour, teach ground manners, correct behaviour problems, and break in and deal with any kind of horse. He knew more about a horses psychology than anyone else Ive ever come across, he understood how horses learned, reacted, and how much you could ask from any animal at a time. This guy knew how to teach all the fancy 'show tricks' like getting a horse to lie down, play dead etc etc. But his real talent was that he had an amazing 'feel' for every horse and he showed that every horse could and should be sensitive, calm and well behaved, and safe to handle. Nutrition, fitness and presentation however were not in his familair repertoire.

My last thought, is that competition results are not always the best indicator of horsemanship. i know plenty of fantastic trainers and riders, that for some reason cannot get it together and perform in the ring. They don't enjoy the pressure, they get to worried about how the horse is feeling, what ever it is, that amazing training just doesn't show through when it counts. There are also riders who have the amazing ability to shine in competition. They can jump on a horse they never ridden before and win the class. They may never have the patience to train a horse themselves, but they can perform under pressure when it counts and get the most out of the horse they are sitting on. This is a skill in itself. I'm not sure if one type of rider is better than the other, just different.

I don't think there is one type of horsemanship either. unfortunately i never found anyone who covers all aspects, the nutritional, and physical health, the behaviour, the training and the presentation. Usually its a beautifully presented horse trampling their rider into the ground or a scruffy looking horse happily behaving beautifully. some riders cant bear to push their horse that extra 10% to produce a wining performance and some cant be bothered to train a horse at all. Some people spend so much time worrying about unsoundness they don't let it do anything, and others don't do enough and pay the price. Who knows who right and wrong, who is the better horseman and who isn't?

What is your opinion what quality makes a good horsemen or woman?