They say a picture says a thousand words, well i guess that saves me writing anything then.....

except to say that Fern went to her seond show on the weekend, and competing at a grade higher than last time, and went awsome. absolutely faultless, clear cross country, awsome showjumping and much admired by everyone, better than i could have hoped for, not bad seeing she used to look like this....

tussock

Recently i had the opportunity to work with another little pony that had once been wild, his name was Tussock. I got to know Tussock pretty well over the last few weeks, as did all the kids who came on camp and rode him. Because he turned out to be, one of those ponies that every kid should have, stoic, calm, kind and dependable., traits i have come to realise are quite prevalent among all the horse that come from the wild mountains of the central plateau.

I met Tussocks owner months ago, on a beach ride i did to raise funds for the Kaimanawa horses. She mentioned at the time a horse she would like to have worked, we kept in touch and then just before Christmas Tussock arrived just in time to join in with my last horse riding camp of the year.

He was every inch that old fashioned pony type, stocky, round, soft moving, and intelligent without being hot or fiery. He was however not always the most angelic of all ponies, like any pony worth his grass, tussock had learned a few tricks over the year he used to his advantage. He shoulder barged, or dragged you around a little bit when leading him, and sometimes threatened to charge right over top of you. He also had never cantered with a rider on his back before, no fault of his, but he thought a lovely slow trot or a walk were the only paces that would ever be required of him. I quickly explained to him the new rules around here, you were not allowed to crowed the person leading you, and when a rider squeezed with their legs he had to move forward immediately, even if he didn't want. It took me about ten minutes to teach this, and from then on tussock was the dream child's pony.

By the end of the first week of camp, he was jumping playing games, going on rides around the farm all with a tiny ten year old girl on his back. you know what i think he liked it to, he was always there to be caught in the morning, even though he knew it meant working all day long, He stood for hours being brushed plaited and patted.

I put Tussock on the market on behalf of his owner after this, he needed a home where he could be ridden every day and have kids fuss over him. A couple of people came to see him, but he wasn't 'flash' enough for their children, it doesn't matter how safe they are sometimes, people cant see that a amazing jumping technique and showstopper looks wont help your child if they are already a terrified rider. But it was okay that he didn't sell because i kept using him on camps where he was fantastic and every child loved him.

Finally on the last camp of the holidays, a girl traveled five hours with her mum to come try him over the course of the week. The little girl loved him, absolutely adored him, and so did the mother who couldn't believe how well behaved and safe he was. She just loved to canter tussock around bareback, finding that far less scary than cantering with a saddle on as it turns out.  When it was time to go home, there was a very sad goodbye and lots of tears, talking to the mother later the girl cried the whole five hour drive home.

So last Friday, after lots of consultation with the mother, i loaded up tussock, and drove the five hours south. The little girl had no idea he was coming, her mother wanting it to be a surprise, even getting her out of school early so they'd arrive home in time for Tussock to get there. I can tell you that was one happy girl who came running out looking a little surprised when i drove up, before running to look in the float window just to make sure that tussock really was in there.

Sometimes selling horses is a miserable work, trying to match buyers with the right horses, and selling animals you love with no guarantees with what will happen to them after they leave your hands, and no matter how well you produce a horse, your always liable to get the backstabbing and bitching when someone doesn't win everything on a horse they buy off you, your reputation is always on the line,. But in cases like this it makes it all worth it. A super special little pony went to a awesome kid who loved hims, and most importantly parents, who can see what his true worth as a child's pony is.  To make it even better he now lives at the most gorgeous equestrian property, with lots of other happy ponies, post and rail fences, beautiful gardens and arena and stable. Tussock is definitely going to be living the dream life with his new owners.

Just another update- got a call from tussocks new owners today, they have been to a show and pony club, bringing home a neckful of ribbons including 3, 1st places, the mother described having tears in her eyes as her daughter and tussock won best combination! they couldn't be happier with him, really this just makes it all worth it for me, I'm so happy to know hes gone on to be so successful and well loved! couldn't ask for more.

Lastly i would like to say thank you to Julie, who gave me the lovely Tussock to work with and sell for her, its always a pleasure to get to work with such nice people and horses, makes my job much easier. Definitely thinking of her and wishing her well, for what shes going through right now.

If anyone is going to the Kaimanawa show, and see a smallish  pony the colour of dry tussock grass, please go over and give tussock a hug from me, and introduce yourselves to his lovely new  rider and family, who are just the most wonderful people.

I didn't really get around to fine tuning my last post, i just typed the news out, didn't proof read and then pressed post. this is what happens when your tired though, nothing gets done with the usual finesse, used when you have time and energy up your sleeve. There was something i wanted to mention, but didn't get around to previously. Now feels like the right time to talk bout it.

i think I've talked before about how our expectations affect how are horses behave, as does our preparation and training we put into them. Well never are these things more relevant, than at horse shows.This is where a handlers/riders nerves, inconsistencies, or lack of training, all rears in ugly head in the form of horses misbehaving. Now i have never had a problem taking horses to shows for the first time, in fact i have taken four in the last month to there very first events. Its true that the wild mare was exceptionally quiet, but none of mine at least, behave much differently than they do at home. they don't suddenly become monsters, they might walk around with their eyes wide open, but that's about it.

some of it i think really does just come down to our expectations. I don't expect mine to misbehave, and they don't. Because i don't expect it, i handle and act the same way around them that i do at home, so they react as the normally would around me. Now i have been to hundreds of shows in my life so i am pretty calm about the whole thing, i still get nervous from time to time, but i know if i start acting nervous my horse will pick up on it straight away and reproduce the effect ten fold, so i always try and stay very outwardly calm. horses are also suckers for routine, they like the same routine day in and day out, it gives them security. So if your at home and it takes 20mins to brush, saddle up, and fuss over your horse, and then at a show, rush around in panic, it usually this change in their routine and your body language that upsets them. Same if your warming them up, why change the way you warm them up from what you do at home, all this communicates, is that something very different is about to happen, and they have no idea what. I always wander around on a loose rein at home for a couple minutes, i do the same at the show, I'm not suddenly clutching the reins, trying to pull their head in or make them look pretty in front of my fellow competitors, i just let them look around and then carry on like i do at home in the paddock.

Secondly you get out what you put in. If you've missed bits in your training, or don't practice certain things, its not magically going to come together on show day. The main thing is manners, if you kind of let your horse smooch all over you at home when hes relaxed, and be right on top of you, or even paying you no attention at all. You get to the show and suddenly it leaping all over you and dragging you across the truck park, its not because your at a show, it because you never taught it manners, and now when its nervous it doesn't have a leader to look after it. Its always just basic stuff, horses like leaders,  then they feel safe, if your getting walked all over, your not the leader and therefore not looking after your horse. Its not magic, teaching them to stand still when handled, not bump into you, and not be looking off in the distance, will produce a horse that stands calmly at show, because they know the rules, and they feel secure that someone else is the boss and looking after them. No magical, potions, gimmicks, or trick required. Get the ground manners right, so the horse, is calm and easy to handle, by the time you get on its back its already in a calm state of mind and then you can only improve from their. Horses arent born with manners and knowing how to behave its something we teach them, and teaching them always works out better in the long run

I know of, and have worked for, so many people that are sure that there horse is going to be 'wild' at the show, some even giving them calming medicine before the horse has a chance to misbehave. The poor horses most of the time would have been absolutely fine, we just get so nervous we feed our own expectations onto them. There was the one horse that used to drag me around the showgrounds like a steam train, and then leap in the air at the smallest thing, it wasn't a big horse horse but it was pushy, i remember praying that the lead rope wouldn't snap as i tried to hold onto it head and slightly point it in the right direction. I was youngish at the time, and my advice would definitely not have been considered, i was there to "let it look around until it settles, and not upset it". After a few shows i had enough of it, so as soon as the owners were out of sight, i made it stand still, it wasn't allowed to take a step without my permission, also the lead rope was always loose, i never had to pull on it, it wasn't allowed to jump on top of me, shoulder barge or run me down. You know what that horse was perfectly relaxed and calm after that, we never had issues and it was lovely to ride...of course owners thought it was just the calming past finally taking effect....

Wild horse to show horse

I'm late posting this, but i have finally got around to sharing the good news. The wild mare, Fern, went to her first show and did fantastically. Travelled well, behaved fantastically and jumped like a super star. Couldn't really have asked for much more.

It was the first event of the Autumn calender, and i took three horses, just to keep me busy for the weekend. Fern, my big warm blood, and another young pony I'm schooling for a friend. The Wild mare however was the star of the show. doing a fantastic dressage test, clear showjumping, not blinking an eye at the colourful poles, and galloped around the cross country like shes been doing it all her life. Although, gallop may be a strong word, grey thought a sedate canter was far more appropriate, and so she cruised up and down hill, through the water jump and across the flats in a beautiful relaxed pace.

Showjumping



 Finishing the dressage

For those of you who may not know, i do eventing, which consists of three phases. First always is the dressage, based on how well you ride a pattern, and how your horse goes, it basically testing your accuracy and finesse as a rider and seeing how obliging and obedient your horse is. You get a percentage mark, that is then converted into penalty points, with the aim being to get the lowest penalties.

Second phase, in a one or two day event, is showjumping. This is just a course of colourful jumps set up in a set order. For every rail you knock down, you get four penalties, if your horse stops, four penalties again, also if you go over time, you get penalties for every second you go over. The idea is to be under time and leave all the jumps up, not adding to your dressage score.

Thirdly is the cross country, basically big solid obstacles like logs, ramps, ditches, drops into water etc etc, usually there will be about twenty jumps in a course, and its is a lot longer than the showjumping. For every jump you horse refuses, or runs out at, you get twenty penalties, and again if your over the time you get penalties for every second that your over.

The aim of eventing really is to get the lowest dressage score possible, and then don't add any jump penalties to it. which is exactly what Fern did. Which is awesome for any horses first competition let alone a wild horses.

Human vs humanely

Human vs humane, is there a difference? How do we perceive animals? How do we treat them?? Do you think of them as a cute little person in fur suit? Or as a just an animal that lives in the moment, similar, but the not the same as humans? With twenty children coming through my property and another ten in a week, I have been doing a lot of observing of people different interactions with animals. Not just horses, but the dogs, cats, geese, chickens and other assortments of animals we have on the farm.

 
 

Personally, I love animals; I can watch them and be around them all day. I don't find them gross or repulsive, yes it stinks when they crap, and its undesirable to be licked by a dog after its jus gobbled up a mouthful of rotten, decomposing animal. But is doesn't put me off them. But i don't see them as humans. They have emotions like we do, if can see that they get sad, happy, hurt, scared, playful and grumpy. But they do not think like we do, they think as their species would and see the world as it applies to them, not to us. I know my cat like to be stroked, the dog patted, my horses to be brushed and my pet goose likes to come sit down right next to me but not necessarily be touched at all, it what makes them all special and unique, but not human.

 
 

Watching the kids (and their parents), some wanted nothing more than to pick up and hold any animal they saw, it was like a cute little toy to them. Not saying they didn't love them, just they didn't see them for what they were. Some of the kids could never understand why the horse just didn't do what the kid wanted, not because it was a "naughty" pony, but because it didn't make that connection between having its name screeched at it, was meant to communicate to go trot over a jump twenty feet away. Or that crawling around on your hands and knees after a calf pretending to eat grass, was not going to fool the calf into thinking you're the same species.

 
 

But some kids naturally understood, they could tell when the dogs wanted a pat on the head, or when they were trying to get away from the throng of kids surrounding it, they could tell that to a baby bird being picked up and carried away from its mother, was not a pleasant experience and just let them eat out of their hands instead. They knew when the horse was being lazy and when it was just confused or anxious. They got that different animals, like different things, and behaved differently.

 
 

Now i think a lot of this understanding can be taught, but some of it just comes down to a natural awareness of what's going on around you. I had many a talk to kids, about how their behavior affected the horse they were riding, most of them really did understand what I was saying and then genuinely tried to improve the way they communicated with their horse. Like I said, all these kids loved, at least the idea, of animals, but only a few really understood the animals. Most of them once taught, could pick up on a horse mood once I showed them what to look for, and developed an understanding of how an equine mind worked, and they really improved their riding.

 
 

Its sometimes a fine line between having a horse or an animal well behaved and under control, to being cruel to it. One girl loved horses, her parents raved to me about how much animals loved their child. I can tell you her horse's life was misery 90% of the time she was around it, and my animals went to great lengths to avoid her company. Yes she spent a long time brushing it, oiling its hooves and putting fancy sprays on its coat, but this means absolutely nothing to the horse, it didn't know that her parents spent a fortune on grooming supplies, even though they told the pony how much money it was costing them daily. All pony knew was that, the girl yelled at him every couple of seconds. He didn't lift his foot fast enough she screeched, no calmly keeping your hand their and lifting foot for it to be cleaned, nope she just yelled in his face. Didn't want the bridle, it got the bit banged on its teeth. Didn't go when she wanted she yelled and pulled on the reins, it did go and she kept booting it in the ribs, if she didn't have fun the pony didn't get fed. No matter what that pony did, he got yelled at, kicked, his mouth yanked on, or hit with the whip. That was one angry pony, there was no escape so he just shut down, and stayed away from her as long as he could.

 
 

Now she wasn't a bad kid, but didn't understand her horse, a bit of understanding and kindness goes a long way no matter the species. You don't have to treat it like a person, just like a living creature. Maybe yelling words at a person would work but to the animal they only hear loud angry noise. Needless to say that little girl's behavior, wasn't acceptable around me. We had a nice calm talk, and explained the error of her ways. E.g smashing a metal bit into his teeth didn't want to make him open his mouth, only communicated the fact the bridle was even scarier and more painful than he thought. I would like to say a miracle happened and from then on she was never mean to her horse, but that would be a lie. I had to constantly remind her to pause, think about how her horse saw her actions, and then find a new way of getting what she wanted. It kind of worked.  Horse and rider both got along better and improved.

 

Then on the last day, her parents arrived to pick her up, you know how they communicated as a family, they screeched and screamed and yelled, no different from how the girl treated the horse. I just gave a mental sigh,  how do you  tell a parent that the only way their child was going to succeed with her horse, was to treat it better than her parents treated her??

 
 

Human and animals alike we all need a bit of understandings and patience and to be treated humanely, but we definitely don't all need to be treated as a human.

Wow, is it the new year already? I'm only just getting used to 2011, and now its 2012. But no matter how fast 2011 went by, it will definitely be a year to remember. Natural disasters the world over, extreme weather patterns, political upheaval and war throughout many countries,not to mention the ongoing recession, the world was a slightly unsettled place the last 12months. So ignoring the Mayan calender predicting the end of the world, and the fact that the new year started to pouring rain and knee deep mud, its no wonder many of us are looking forward to a a fresh start in the new year, and globally a more settled year than the previous one.

Some of us have resolutions, goals and plans for the year ahead. I have a couple, i feel like 2012 is the year for adventure, hence the Egypt trip. But also it feels a bit like crunch time, a make it or break it, year for my business, and my competing. My good horse is getting to a level where it getting exciting, we have a goal in mind to qualify for certain event, right before i fly off overseas, and hopefully get top 5 placing, hes no longer 'green' and is at a stage where we can really 'go for it' as far as results. The pressure is on, so to speak, to show all these years of training have not been in vain.

As far as the wild horses go, i have set my self a deadline, January 21st is the date i have set for Fern, the wild mare's, first show. Shes is going to join my competition team, and i have set a jumping day as her first event. I am someone who needs deadlines and goals especially for my own horses, as otherwise things fall by the wayside, while i work clients horses, or get distracted on other jobs that need doing. , Fern is ready there is no point delaying, she happily jumps anything, goes well under saddle, and i just think it will be the funniest thing in the world to turn up to shows with my 17hh warm blood and my little wild mare....Although i don't think anyone would ever guess she is from the wild to see her go.

As well as Fern, and my warm bloods,i have a couple of other young horses, and  a couple of clients horses all to be out competing, and the number of horses i have in work has doubled.I even have another wild horse in my team, Tussock the kaimanawa, has come to stay, for a little schooling and to be ridden by kids. Did I mention the ten kids that arrive on Monday, to spend a week with their ponies, horse riding, camping on the farm, playing in the mud and generally creating chaos. 2012 is already shaping up to be a busy year.

Here are the nine kids that we had the week before Christmas. A really fun group of kids, who are at that level where sitting on your pony all day is the best thing in the world.Tussock the Kaimanawa is the third from the right.

So What about everyone else, what big changes are happening this year, do you have new years resolutions, dreams, goals and plans for the next twelve months??

oh wait i do have one new years resolutions to share. I must get more photos of Fern for this blog! Because as to date, i don't have a single photo of her under saddle, to prove how well she is going, definitely something to work towards in the new year..

Okay back on track, in case any of you thought id completely forgotten my wild horses for Egypt instead, they are doing great. Life has been hectic, competing, on weekends, traveling Friday, working non-stop Monday-Thursday, i haven't had a chance to hit the keyboard and talk about the wild horses in a while.Well today even though its summer, we have torrential rain and flooding, and after getting up to find the stream had risen 3metres in the night and burst it banks,  blankiting every bit of flat pasture under a good few feet of water. I spent the early par of the morning making sure all assorted animals are away from the danger, i now have nothing to do, but sit inside and wait it out, until the flood waters go down again, this give me the perfect opportunity to catch up on everything so here we go....

I have learned many things since starting the wild horse project, in May last year. Some things,just from observing and comparing horses, from the wild ones, to the ones we raise. Lots of ideas and theories i had about horses, have become more established, and i have been reminded of lots of things that had slipped to the back of my mind after working in solely with show horses for the last few years.

• The biggest lesson, Horses are only as wild as you make them. I already kind of thought this but working with my three wild horses, just confirmed it. They are not born crazy, and given the chance they are pretty stoic animals, not as prone to flight as we think they are. We determine how settled they become in life due to the kind of handling, and the amount of time put into them. True of either horse born wild or in domestication. But really, nothing seems to upset the wild horses to much, they just take life as it is and don't get to phased by it.
• You can feed a wild horse half as much, and it will grow twice as fat as one of my precious sport horses. Some of this isn't just their great metabolism, but behavioural as well. The ones from the wild see eating as survival and are very focused about it. The sport horses see it as something to do for entertainment and pick and fuss, or stand at the gates wasting hours of grazing time waiting to come in to the barn.
• Wild horses are HAPPY, once domesticated. Mine give no signs of longing to be free in the mountains again, and seem totally settled in domestic bliss. Given the chance I'm sure they would lock themselves in the stable with a pile of hay and never come out.
• Domestic horses are a lot more prone to flight than wild horses. All my 'wilds' if spooked stop and stare and then just carry on with what they are doing. Some of the sport horses, whirl, and bolt before they even seen a thing. this can be in the paddock or ridden. Also while the domestic ones gallop headlong, excuberantly down the hill to be caught, the wild ones have always calmy picked their way down, even though they are the ones born runing on mountains.
• The biggest thing that surprised me though was the Independence that the wild horses showed. We think of herd animals as being together constantly, and unwilling to act alone. To this day, if the wild mare doesn't agree with what the herd is doing, she just takes herself off and does her own thing, completely out of sight of the herd if need be.Today is a classic example, the herd of mares is grazing where i can see them, totally exposed in the pouring rain, shivering and cold. The wild mare cant be seen, but i know is on the next hill over, tucked way back into the forest, where shes dry and warm, a looking out over the other idiot equines standing in the rain.
• they develop a lot faster and studier, than our purpose bred sport horses. Sonny the wild yearling looks like a fully grown little stallion in miniature, strong sturdy, glossy coat, and a good covering of fat and muscle. he looks like he could survive anything and behaves more like an adult horse than a you would expect. The purpose bred sport horses on the other hand, long, lanky, impossible to keep weight on, with no muscling, they are still very much babies mentally, apart from the colts keen desire to breed with anything, he is nowhere near as developed as Sonny. This makes sense if they were in the wild, the quicker they develop the better their chance for survival
• Going slowly as far as training, does not make it easier for the horse. Going to fast and putting to much pressure on them doesn't help either. But the people who take months and months, to get to where they can handle a horse, i think, only prolong the amount of time the horses spends scared of you. If you can get to where they can be haltered and handled relatively quickly, i think its better for the horse as they learn you mean no harm and can relax in their new environment.

These are just my opinions though, some people may have different experiences or not agree with me. That's okay to, every ones entitled to their own ideas. I'm also sure i have forgotten to put down about half the things i meant to, but as soon as i sit down and stare at a computer screen my mind seem to come up blank and i forget all i meant to write about...