General ground manners. Some horses or ponies have never been taught general ground manners and have then developed behavioural problems such as: barging, having no respect for the handler's personal space, not standing still to mount or generally on cue, walking off as soon as mounted, or generally bolshy or flighty in manner.

 

Leading. It is not then therefore unusual to find that the horse described above doesn't lead well, perhaps always pulling in front of the handler, or tanking off if spooked. With this type of problem then the horse may think nothing about nudging you all the time with his/her head and perhaps always walking too close for comfort.

 

I train your horse to walk calmly with their nose in line with your shoulder, and not allowing them to rush ahead of you and therefore avoiding the scenario of the horse putting you back at the shoulder where a foal would naturally walk!  I teach the horse to remain a good arms length away from you, mirroring your footsteps and speed of walk with absolutely no pressure from the lead rope, stopping immediately when you stop walking too and increasing speed when you do too.

All this can be easily achieved in a short space of time, within one session. 

 

Please check out Seren's video in my 'case study' section to see an example of what we are aiming at with the leading work.

 

Loading problems are a common call out for me. Calls can range from horses that load but then try to fly back out of the horse trailer at the speed of lightning! to the horse or pony that refuses point blank to load, and just plants themselves at the bottom of the ramp. 

There are some that walk half way up the ramp and then refuse to go the rest of the way in, or those that evade off to the side of the ramp, or some that rear upwards.

 

But sometimes there are those that have never been trained to load or  may have had a bad experience or past accident whilst either loading or travelling previously. 

 

Occasionally I have been to visit the horse that won't actually come out of the trailer!

 

Travelling problems such as: chlaustrophobic behaviour from the horse or pony that panics and kicks out once in trailer are also common or generally bad travellers who are terrifed or shaking and sweating loads during the journey.

 

For help with loading problems or training horses to load for the first time,  then depending on the individual horse and /or the nature of the problem, then several follow up visits may be required.

 

I have featured a video in the menu me working with a lovely horse called Cara, helping her to overcome her fear of loading to give you more of an idea how I work. 

 

Catching. Whether this be foals or a horse or pony that is generally hard to catch, this is one of my favourite problems too that I really love working with. 

 

Foot handling problems are one of my favourite problems. Seeing the huge difference it has made to the quality of Duke's life featured in my case study page and to see him so much more relaxed generally and not having to harbour and carry around that fear constantly within himself is really lovely and rewarding to see. 

 

Typical problems are horses or ponies that tend to be difficult with giving their feet to the farrier, either kicking out or not standing still, or generally not wanting to give their feet willingly. 

 

Head shy.  The horse or pony that is afraid of a hand or strange unusual  objects touching his/her ears or the head area in general. Horses that don’t like anything above their head or are difficult to bridle.

 

Spookiness. Horses or ponies that seem to be frightened of their own shadow! Making a horse safe and bombproof for a child to ride. Making a safer, quieter hack. Work includes desensitisation to umbrellas, bikes, different noises, traffic, binbags and bins, sheep and cattle and other things you you might encounter whilst out and about. My focus is on teaching the horse to listen to the rider or handler when unsure and not to revert to flight as their default. 

 

Clipping. Some horses have a fear of being clipped. I train your horse to willingly accept the noise, vibration and feel of being clipped. 

 

Starting young horses. Alternatively I can come out to your premises on a regular basis to prepare your horse for their first rider. A safe and suitable good footing area must be available to work in. 

 

I work together with my rider Alex who is fantastic with youngsters and remedial horses, she is calm and patient and has a natural feel and understanding of young horses and we work well together. I concentrate on all the ground work preparation and work with Alex through the early stages of your horse being backed after which she continues developing the horse according to the owners wishes. Alex is also available independently to exercise or school horses and can be contacted through me at this site.

 

Your horse would need to be physically sound before any work commenced and if in any doubt about this then I would need confirmation from a vet or qualified equine physiotherapist or relevant practicioner, to be able to continue. 

 

My work would include: Creating a trusting and respectful connection with your horse, developing polite ground manners and training your horse to lead well. I cover foot handling preparation for the farrier and trimming, long-lining, fully accepting the saddle and rider, a suitable degree of spookbusting, introducing the horse to the various objects, sounds (including show sounds, clapping, bells etc) and scary things that you and your horse might encounter when out and about in the real World.

 

 

 

I can introduce mouthing of the bit subject to the horse's mouth being checked out by an Equine Dental Technician, but all initial riding is from a dually halter until the horse or pony is more developed. This keeps the mouth soft and protected during these early stages. Please note however that if you are riding out of your premises in public areas, you would need to check with your insurance company to see if you are insured to ride out in a dually halter as this is not classed as a bridle.  Wearing a bridle over or under the dually, whichever sits better, can work well in these early stages so you can have 2 sets of reins, one on the dually and one on the bit, so you can switch accordingly to help keep the mouth soft. Alternatively there are also plenty of bitless bridles available now a days, so finding one to suit your horse in these early stages is something I can help with. 

  

Long lining. An incredibly useful skill to have, which is fun and easy to learn, keeping yourself fit, building your confidence of handling your horse on the ground and above all a great fun and easy way to exercise your horse.

 

The benefits that long lining offer to the horse are numerous including being a fantastic confidence builder for the nappy or young horse.

 

Long lining is physically beneficial to the horse, allowing the horse's spine to stay in alignment with its head at all times and keeps your own body in a position that isn't contradictory to what you are asking of the horse, the horse therefore working more willingly and not displaying resentful, frustrating behaviour, which can sometimes be the case with traditional lungeing.   

 

I am happy to come out and help you develop this wonderful skill which is easy to learn and gives you an alternative, fun packed, exercise option that you can do with your horse or pony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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