lpost spring 10-40pp:lpost spring 10 › assets › magazine_archi… · except for the lipoma....

Magazine for the Intelligent Horsemanship Association

The Listening Post

2 The Listening Post

Ride ‘The Chiltern Hills’Have you ever thought how lovely it could be to ride through the Chiltern Hills with theRed Kites soaring above, through a splendid mix of open fields and enchanting woodlands.Where you may choose to call into one of the many village pub's for a refreshing drink anda tasty bite and even better experiencing all of this with your own horse.

Take in a Show in Theatre land London, explore The Spires of Oxford, brave The Caves atWest Wycombe or take in one of the many Stately Homes that surround us, there is somuch to see and do that you will want to return before you have left.

Bringing your horse with you when you take a break alleviates the worry of leaving him/herbehind. Your horse would live as part of the family for the shortest to the longest of breaks.Stable and field available with parking for trailer or lorry.

The opportunity to have a personal session with Sandra on Communication & Confidence,Ground Handling, Long Lining, Spook Busting or maybe taking an escorted ride.

Holiday breaks: Each Horse: £15 for 1 night and £10 for each subsequent night • Hay included • Bedding provided • Paddock and stable available(Please bring hard feed diet and supplements)

Free parking for trailer or lorry• Escorted Rides Start from £35• Private Sessions Start from £45• Round Pen available to hire during

your stay at £15 per hour

Contact Sandra Williams: [email protected] • 07785 544174 • for more details and bookings

3The Listening Post

Letter from Kelly

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Do you have a contribution for the Listening Post? Do phone, email or send your carrier pigeon to the IH office!

Intelligent Horsemanship Office:Address: Lethornes, Upper Lambourn, Hungerford RG17 8QP Phone: 01488 71300 Fax: 01488 73783 Email: [email protected]: www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

On the cover: ‘Hide and Seek’ courtesy of Simon Palmer www.into-the-lens.com

Letter from Kelly

Corrie’s story Page 4

To boot or not to boot Page 6

Your letters Page 7

Deb Butler’s proudest moment Page 8

A bad day at the office Page 9

Clipping Beau Page 10

Ask the experts Page 12

Meet the IH charity of the year Page 14

Countryfile, branding and a day with Venus! Page 15

Advertisements Page 16

5 top tips Page 17

More to win! Page 18

IH shop Page 19

Riding Western Page 23

Seat training Page 24

Book reviews Page 26

The importance of working a horse 'in hand' Page 28

Looking for silver linings Page 30

When shouting is a good idea Page 32

Open wide! Page 33

Pure Feeds crossword Page 34

Think before you breed Page 35

Where are they now? Page 36

Announcements Page 37

Spotlight on RA Rosie Jones Page 38

Paddy Gracey to the rescue! Page 39

Dear IH MembersAs you read this the

daffodils will be out andwe’ll start to see those‘bulbs’ (what ever form theytook) that we planted lastyear spring to life. When youread RA Rosie Jones article‘Looking for Silver Linings’you’ll appreciate that thingsdon’t always go to plan butas Intelligent Horsepeoplewe know looking for thegood in any situation is theonly productive course ofaction and then it’s time tomove on to Plan B ... or even Plan C ...

This year has thrown the IH Team a new challenge in theform of Harvey, a supreme champion in-hand show horsewho turned out to be so badly behaved that his professionaltrainers couldn’t even get him in the show ring. Harveyrears! He naps! He bites! He strikes out! He can’t be caught!What fun we’re going to have with him this summer!

If we can help him become a happier horse, because let’sface it, no horse behaving like this is a happy horse, IHmember Julia Topham-Barnes who writes about breeding onpage 35 has promised to guide me on some show classes toenter. This will be an interesting new world of horsemanshipfor me and another great learning opportunity.

For recreational horse time I plan to enjoy the odd longSunday hack or summer evening with my friend, AngelaHobbs, where we can put the world to rights.

It was actually Angela who started the idea of having anIntelligent Horsemanship Association as she’s passionateabout helping people develop ethical business models andshe writes on page 32 to explain more.


Corrie had quite a reputation for keepingup with the crowd. While out on a hack withlarger equines she ended up swimming, riderstill on board, while the bigger horses simplywaded through the water. Danielle had herfirst ever ride on the beach on Corrie. She accompanied my friend’s thoroughbredcross. It was funny to see the 17hh pristinegelding next to the slightly scruffy 12.3hh oldgirl in the trailer and breathtaking to seethem both galloping along the beach, Corrieway out in front (I suspect the thoroughbredwas listening to his rider and Corrie was justhaving the time of her life!)

Corrie’s only “down-side” was that shedidn’t understand the concept of going slowlyand no amount of tack would slow her down.She had come to us with a huge rubber bitand we’d tried a Pelham and curb chain to tryto keep her steadier but nothing seemed towork. Corrie would rather trot than walk,canter than trot, gallop than canter.

Corrie goes walkaboutOne evening, not long after we’d acquired

Corrie, she and our other mare, Emily, were ona neighbour’s field, which clearly didn’t haveenough grass in it to satisfy Corrie. We got arather worried phone call from the neighbour.

“Corrie’s missing!”We all dived in the car and headed up with

torches, hats and gloves – our hearts in ourmouths. It was a dark, cold spring evening.

We all split into different directions andheaded off into the night. The field was rightby the mountain beyond and was enclosedby barbed wire. I tore a large triangle out ofmy trousers as I searched fruitlessly.Eventually my mobile rang.

“We’ve found her”.I headed back, fabric flapping in the wind

and revealing rather more white, goose-pimpled flesh than I would have liked. Our other mare was frantically weaving toand fro against the wall looking for Corrie.On the other side of the wall I saw the flickerof torches. There stood Corrie, happilygrazing. Upon investigation we found she’djumped about 3 foot of wall and barbed wirefence, with her winter rug on and betweentrees. Both she and her rug were completelyunscathed. Panic over! Needless to say weraised the fence level.

A brush with disasterThe real drama came the following winter,

our first winter with Corrie. We had beenused to keeping weight off ponies. We weremoving house around the same time and wewere busy. This, combined with our lack ofexperience of the older pony, contributed tous not having our eye on the ball regardingCorrie’s condition.

The ponies got snowed into theneighbour’s field for three weeks andfeeding them was a challenge, involvingwalking many yards across three-foot driftsof snow with a bale of hay on the shoulder.Emily was the boss so got the best of thefood and I suspect Corrie just wasn’t gettingenough. She was losing weight fast, so muchso that her rug became unsafe due todangling surcingles and had to be taken off.All I had to replace it with was a thin, non-waterproof one but I reasoned it was Marchand she’d be OK until I bought a replacement.

I got a phone call from my neighbour on avery wet Friday, March 29th 2009.

“There’s something wrong with Corrie.She won’t get up.”

I rushed round and found her lying in herwet rug, looking very poorly. There followedone of the worst nights of my life, as Iwatched the little pony writhing in agony onthe floor of the old stone stable. It turned outCorrie had a pedunculated lipoma. A pieceof intestinal fat had wrapped itself aroundher gut, cutting off the digestive tract. In themorning the vet realised Corrie needed life-saving surgery or to be euthanised. My daughter and I came to theheartbreaking decision that the latter optionwould be best for her, considering her ageand the pain she was in.

The young lady vet looked at me as Iinformed her of our decision and somethingflickered across her eyes. Was it surprise?Disappointment? She had given me theworst case scenario and told me all thereasons why she couldn’t guarantee surgerywould work. Now she gave me all thepositives and said as Corrie was a nativepony she had a reasonable chance ofrecovery, but time was of the essence. The vet couldn’t tell me to go for it – it wasmy decision, but something in herdemeanour made me change my mind.

By Jayne Moore

Corrie’s StoryForget Coronation Street! This pony has her own story to tell.

e bought our Welsh Section C mare, Corrie, at the age of 21. Corrie

had been there and done it all. She was fast and furious; trained to

run, jump and win. Dressage pony she wasn’t! My 11 year old daughter was

smitten and Corrie took her to the next level of riding, including completing

her first cross country course – something she couldn’t have done on our

other, younger mare.

W

5The Listening Post

There was a frenzy of activity as the vetrang the equine hospital to book Corrie inand friends came to my rescue, one with atrailer and another to ride Emily to her yardso she wasn’t alone. I grabbed some snacksfrom the house as my husband hitched upthe trailer. Corrie was somehow loaded andwe were off.

An anxious journeyWhat a journey that was. Every bump filled

me with horror. How Corrie managed tokeep standing for the hour and a halfjourney I’ll never know, but she did. In thehospital the vets surrounded Corrie andbegan assessing her vital signs. They werefairly pleased with what they found. Theytook her shoes off and ran a tube up hernose to empty any stomach contents. We feltsick with anxiety, but it was reassuring tohave the experts crawling all over Corrie.

We were ushered into the waiting room.The vets said if they thought it wasn’t worthoperating on Corrie after opening her up,they’d ring us for our agreement to her beingeuthanised. We waited. No phone call wasforthcoming. We tried to read the horsymagazines. An hour had passed. Then afurther half hour. At last a vet appeared atthe waiting room door.

“Corrie’s operation has been successful.We found her intestine in good conditionexcept for the lipoma. We’re just waiting forher to come round from the anaesthetic.”

Corrie was going to make it! Relief beganto replace anxiety as the news sank in. Aftera few days in hospital we were allowed totake her out in-hand to graze for 5 minutes.Poor Corrie! She was so miserable. Despitethat, the hospital staff said Corrie had been adelight to work with.

After a long week, Corrie was allowedhome. My nearest neighbour had said wecould use her stable, which was lovely andclean and ideal for Corrie’s recovery. Afterthree weeks there, during which time myhusband frantically built a stable, we broughther home for the remainder of her eightweeks of box rest. I can’t describe howintense that period was. Grazing Corrie in-hand three times a day during lambing time,on top of holding down jobs and lookingafter the other farm animals (and our twochildren!) really stretched us. However, all thework paid off. Corrie and I bonded solidlyduring that period. I could write a wholearticle on those eight weeks alone, butsuffice to say, eight months later, Corrie isalmost back to her old self. Not only that, sheis learning new tricks, which brings me to thewonders of the Dually halter.

Corrie learns new tricksSlowly and surely Corrie became fit to ride

again. We took advantage of the time Corriehad been out of action, to start her again asit were, with the emphasis on slowing downand stopping. Danielle, now 12, attendedKelly Marks’ Perfect Manners course and Iattended as her guardian. We had awonderful time and purchased a Duallyhalter. When we got home, we couldn’t waitto get started with the training!

Corrie had been a tack-seller’s dream inthe past. Strong bit, martingale, curb chain.We began backing Corrie up in the Dually

and taking her forwards and backwardsthrough L-shaped poles on the ground, aswe’d learned on the course. She respondedwell and for the first time we saw her lickingand chewing. Danielle began to ride her withthe Dually. We did join-up with both poniesin an improvised pen and it worked well.Corrie had always been difficult to catch. Idid a kind of join-up with her every time sheran away, making her feel I was the onepushing her away and then eventuallyinviting her in, which she began to respondto. Now she never refuses to be caught.

Corrie is still a fast girl at heart, but shelistens to the Dually and is learning that notall humans want her to win, win, win orgallop, gallop, gallop, but we want a nicesteady hack sometimes! The curb chain isgone, the martingale is going mouldy andCorrie is now a bitless pony.

As far as the colic goes, everyone tells meit‘s just one of those things that happenswith older ponies and maybe that is true.However, I’ve been watching her like a hawkthis winter, as I believe deep down that whenshe got wet and cold in that inadequate rug,she was using up the last of her fat reserves,which loosened the fat and caused it to twistaround her gut. We’ll never know and coliccan be indiscriminate. Fortunately Corriepulled through and we think she’s a plucky,courageous and inspiring little pony. We’reso glad we made the right decision forCorrie, and us, in the end.


To Boot or Not To Bootand that is the question...

Hi SarahEek! Teaching humans is just like teaching

horses it seems - it’s not what you’reteaching it’s what they are learning thatcounts! Obviously I didn’t explain myself wellenough on this particular day. Let’s see if Ican do a better job now.

For loading the remedial horse I absolutelyrecommend, as you state correctly, closefitting front boots or well applied bandagingplus a poll guard for head and face protection.

In an ideal world when loading theremedial horse I would use the same style ofboots (you often just need a size bigger) onthe hind legs. I don’t make this a hard andfast rule though because in somecircumstances when you’re asked to load ahorse, you don’t have the necessary time itmight take to desensitise a horse’s back legs.You need to make sure he’s not likely to kickout or get panicky if boots are applied, andremember you’re going to need to be able toremove them too! So I leave this to people’sjudgement at the time.

Now, where the confusion lies I think is inthe difference in my feelings about loadingthe remedial horse and travelling the normalhorse. For travelling I tell students how I refuse to make a recommendation but I point out the way to get the best advicefrom professionals who avoid answeringdirectly in case it puts them in danger ofbeing sued (!) and that is you ask “what

would you do if it were your horse?” Usuallysomeone then gets the gist of this and says‘So what do you travel Pie in?’ To which theanswer is generally ‘Nothing’.

In fact, when Pie went to The NationalTheatre, some of you would have seen onthe Christmas DVD he travelled in his powderblue bandages with specially made padsunderneath and his purple tail bandage. The main purpose of this was to keep hiswhite legs clean! If I was taking a child to acertain local show this is probably the way I would dress the pony so the child wouldfeel part of the crowd (decisions are not justabout horses we all know that!) It’s sweet tosee some little cob with 10 inches of bonearrive at a show bandaged and rugged fromhead to tail and then you think about themulti-million pound racehorses who’ll arriveto run in the Epsom Derby with nothing ontheir legs at all!

However, when the decision had to bemade about Pie travelling to Scotland andback and in fact, all over Britain. I had noguilt about him wearing only a travel rugbecause I think there are plenty of times thattravel boots do more harm than good.Nowadays it is well understood that youactually want to keep horses legs cool.Excessive heat to horses’ legs weakens thetendons and ligaments. Dr David Marlin didextensive research on the use of boots with

event horses. He found that the four mainproblems with boots are the weight,restriction, heating, and discomfort causedto the horse if a poor fit.

At a recent scientific conference heexplained how they have learned that 10 minutes at 48 degrees Celsius is enoughto kill 80 percent of all tendon cells in a petridish. In Dr. Marlin's study many horses' legsreached degrees much higher than that andthe boots the horses were wearing preventedheat release. I believe some boots andbandages will cause unacceptable levels of heat in travelling. The type of boot Iparticularly dislike is the one I liken to a miniduvet. You see the poor horse struggling towalk in these boots which almost invariablyslip and they frequently cause horses totravel badly.

On more than one occasion I’ve hadsomeone say to me “I couldn’t travel herwithout this type of boot because she ripsthem all to pieces when she travels”. I haveto say “but that’s why you need to travelwithout these boots!” It’s actually theseboots that are causing them to panic andstruggle in the trailer.

Please believe that I know the type of peoplewho invest are the ones who love their horseand want him protected. How do I know that?Because I used to own some myself before I realised how impractical they were!

In summary, for loading protection I recommend a poll guard and close fittingboots or bandages, and for travelling I wouldn’t have anything on my horse forreally long distances (over five hours) but if I felt I had to have something (for whateverreason) for a distance of between one to fivehours I would ensure I had a boot or paddingthat was non-heating or encouraged airflow.Intelligent Horsemanship means we’vealways got to look at the individual case andin some circumstances... OOPs the editor has forbidden me to go on any longer! As usual more information on the IntelligentHorsemanship courses!Kelly

Sarah’s letterDear Kelly,I had this comment back from a student after watching her video and sendingfeedback. “One question I did have was about loading with boots on, we had thisdiscussion on the Leading and Loading course and Kelly said she does not useboots when she is loading, she said it was totally up to the individual person, andwas not recommending this, it is just her preference.”

I have it in my criteria that when students are loading they must use front boots(preferably close fitting) or bandages and poll guard as minimum safetyprecautions unless they state a good reason for not doing so. So my question is...is the boots rule now relaxed?

Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate Sarah Dent (reviewer for Stage 2 DVDs)

Win a pair of Premier Equine Sports Boots! Enter our competition on page 18.

7The Listening Post

Dear Listening Post,

Just thought I’d put a little note to you, I’ve been a member of Intelligent Horsemanship for5 years now and it was the best, and still is, £20 I spend every year. The magazine is excellentfull of advice, lovely pictures and great gifts of a DVD at Christmas.

I have just been watching the horse with a donkey phobia and found this very moving. It wasgreat! Monty and Kelly you are superstars – keep up the excellent work your doing.

From a No 1 fan always,C. Brown


I would just like to thank you all so much for the wonderful difference you are making to somany people and horses in all parts of the world. I work in a riding school in Northern Spain,which is not an area exactly steeped in I.H. concepts as far as treating horses in concerned.

However there are many people eager to develop a more understanding relationship withtheir horses and we are having so much fun in the riding classes. No stress, no shouting, andthe horses and ponies participating instead of just trotting round with bored expressions.

It’s not always accepted and we get a lot of criticism from more traditional quarters, but whenit gets tough I go and read Perfect Manners or a bit of The Listening Post and feel ‘back ontrack’ again. The Listening Post is such a great breath of fresh air and reminds me that thereare so many intelligent, imaginative horse-loving people out there.

I would like to say a special thank you to Nicole Golding. Her riding articles have been a realinspiration and the way she writes them is so easy to understand, she gets to grips with allthe real issues we deal with when we teach riding, and you get a big smile out of it too!

Thanks again to you all,Best wishes, Sam Davis


I received your book ‘Perfect Confidence’for Christmas and I just wanted to contactyou to say thank you for all the fantasticadvice and help it contains. Although I wasalready aware of NLP (neuro-linguisticprogramming) and goal setting - for somereason I had never thought to apply themto riding! I had a fall shortly beforeChristmas and had been losing confidenceand getting disheartened without reallybeing aware why.

Having read your book I realised that eventhough I have been ‘positive’ about theexperience I have been unconsciouslyrevisiting it by thinking ‘wasn’t I lucky not tohurt myself when I fell’ and talking topeople about how fine I am. Incidentally Ihad been worrying about falling off for thewhole week before the hack and I think thiswas definitely a factor in it happening! NowI am focusing on the fact we had anamazing ride on the beach and I am luckyenough to have found a fantastic ridingschool which rescues horses and reallyinvolves their clients in all aspects of horsecare and I am determined to become abetter rider. I have been riding for justunder a year and now when I look back Ican see so many things I have alreadyachieved and I know the future is going tobe even better.

Thanks again, Louisa Brown


Just a note to say how much I enjoyed myselfhelping at the Hartpury demonstration lastOctober. I am only now coming down toearth after a physically hard, but mentallyexhilarating, day. Where do the regulars getall their energy? What is in Monty’s specialbowl? How does Kelly make everything lookso easy? We need to know!

I met so many wonderful people that day.Like minded individuals who were keen topromote Monty’s message of non violenceand willing partners. I also enjoyed meetingCopy the quarter horse and talking to hisowner. I felt very sorry for all those folkswho had such a long journey to make afteran already demanding day. Such dedicationto a good cause!

Yours sincerelyOlga Griffiths

A copy of ‘Perfect Confidence’ by Kelly Marks worth £16.99 goes to the writer of our Star letter

Star letter


I am a big fan of Intelligent Horsemanship and havebeen to quite a few of Monty’s demonstrations over the years.

Today I am writing to express my appreciation of Gitte Monahan and Springtime Equine.Last year my horse Curyghan spent some time with Gitte whilst she worked through hisvarious problems. He came back to me at the end of January 2009 and I began hackinghim out and enjoying my time with him for the first time in 5 years of ownership.

Unfortunately in June my 15 year old son was killed in an aircrash whilst flying with theRAF. Gitte has been wonderful. Not only has she supported me through the last verydifficult 6 months, she also took Cury back to Hartsop a week after Nik’s accident and hehas remained with her ever since. Some of your students may have worked with him onyour courses – he’s a big, gentle chestnut, who is happy to help out whenever he can!

I cannot praise Gitte highly enough – she is kind, gentle and considerate and Cury is sohappy with her, I doubt he’ll be too pleased to be brought back home when I feel able tocope again.

So thank you Gitte, Ian and Sandy, Monty and Kelly for all your help, support andlearning that I’ve received over the last 5 years.

Julia (and Curyghan) Rice

lettersYour letters


IH Member Deb Butler’s Proudest Moment

t was rush hour around the shoppingcentre and busy roads of a major town.I was cycling home from work when I

heard the unmistakable sound of horsesgalloping on the road. I was shocked to seetwo very big, riderless horses cominggalloping down the road amongst the rushhour traffic. Without even thinking about mybike I jumped off, dumping it on the cycletrack and ran onto the grass field betweenthe cycle track and road. I called to thehorses, trying to get them to slow down andfrantically trying to think of all the things I’velearned through IH about body language.

The two horses saw me, galloped alongthe road to the hedge line of the field and Icould see the lead one had an ear focussedin my direction. I continued calling and doingmy best soft, inviting body language. Then tomy complete amazement they both did anabout turn onto the field, slowed down to acanter and then a trot. They finally walked,to my amazement, back the way they’d beencoming diagonally across this rather largefield, directly towards me!

With their heads now lowered and calm, Icontinued to do the best inviting in and nonthreatening body language I could manage,hoping I could get hold of them. At this pointI realised they were police horses and wereHUGE. I managed to invite them in to withinan arms length when something spookedthem again and off they went. This time onlydown into a far corner of the open field wellaway from the road.

At this point both horses put their headsdown to graze and were quite a bit calmer. Itwas obvious one was seriously injured as hergrey leg was completely covered in thickblood. By now they had also got their legsthrough the reins. I was slowly and quietlyapproaching them again using very quietnon threatening body language to try andget to them when I realised half the policeforce had turned up.

I did have to laugh at the “step away fromthe horses” command by one of them! Ididn’t get a chance to point out that I’dactually managed to get them off the road

for them. Both horses had been attacked bya dog, thrown their riders and bolted outinto the rush hour traffic. I still can’t get overthe feeling when they did that about turnand walked straight up to me, it really didmake me want to cry and burst with pride.

If I hadn’t have had the skills I’ve learnedby following the IH principles I would haveapproached the situation differently andprobably panicked the horses more. I wishsomeone had been there to see the twohorses walking quietly towards a completeloon who had been standing in the middle ofan open field not appearing to do much atall. To me it was my proudest IH moment andI cant’ think of another instance that hasshown how powerful a tool body language is.

Fate?I think the incident was definitely fate

because I normally leave work half an hourlater than I did that day and that’s not wherethe coincidences end! I was at a horseycoffee morning and got talking about theproudest moment competition. People askedwhat my entry was so I started talking aboutit and one lady, Jo’s, jaw dropped and shesaid “I was one of the riders”. We’d nevereven met before, it was really nice to hearthe whole story and hear how the horses

I

A recent competition on the Online Discussion Group challenged members to share their

‘proudest moment’ using Intelligent Horsemanship approaches with horses. Deb Butler was

one particularly impressive winner and was kind enough to share her story.

were recovering, she had been desperate tospeak to someone who had seen what hadhappened to the horses after they hadbolted. I can remember asking and asking‘what about the riders’ and no one seemedto know for definite, it was horrible.

I’ve never completed any IH courses I onlyhave the skills and understanding I’ve pickedup by watching demos, reading the books,and of course the fantastic work IHRecommended Associate Liz Pitman hasdone with me and my horse Seren. Liz hasbeen worth her weight in gold, she tweakedmy body language and helped me get abetter understanding of watching the horse’sreactions.

If I didn’t have the knowledge andunderstanding I have now I would have nodoubt run up to the road, waving arms,shouting steady, tried to run to them to catchthem. Adrenaline up and panicked and thesituation would have been made muchworse, it’s amazing how far reaching andeffective the techniques are and how younever know when you will need them. In away I’ve been lucky because I’ve got a rathertricky horse (Welsh) and I’ve had to get thetechniques right because she really needsconvincing that what I am asking for is theoption to choose.

Thanks from Jo (one of the riders)Thank you sooooo much for what you did ! I was the rider of the dapple greyToffee and as I said to you to today, I was thrown from her onto a dual carriagewayand the sight of the two horses galloping down the road towards traffic was anawful sight !! I was sure they would both meet a tragic end but luckily you werethere and helped them. I know your actions and your body language helped twotraumatised horses and saved their lives.

The coincidences continued as the pair then met at a horsey coffee morning!

What a coincidence!Deb wrote her story on the IH Discussion Group and by amazing coincidencediscovered that one of the riders was also an IH member and saw her story! IHstudent Joanne Bridge has attended several IH courses and was the rider of oneof the police horses that day. She thanked Deb online...

9The Listening Post

A bad day at the office forPC Bridge and PC Maginwith a lucky ending!

PC Michael Magin and I were on dutyon horseback in Harlow town centre andhad just stopped a car to do a stopcheck. PC Magin was talking to the driverwhile I was checking the vehicle. All of asudden a pit bull type dog came running, offthe lead, from the town centre and ran up topolice horse Rosie and began nipping at herlegs. This nipping suddenly became quitenasty and the dog began to bite at her legsshaking its head from side to side. It thenstarted to jump up at her belly and chest andwas hanging off her growling and shaking itshead violently. This caused Rosie to spin andstamp around trying to get the dog off.

She jumped a road bollard causing PCMagin to fall off onto the road. Rosie thengalloped off towards the main dualcarriageway. The dog had been shaken offand it shook itself looked around and ranacross to my horse, Toffee. It took off aboutten feet from her and landed on her chestand bit into her body again shaking itshead. Toffee span around trying toget the dog off and I was awarethat it went underneath herand was biting at her bellyand legs. As Rosie hadgalloped off Toffee decided

By PC Joanne Bridge

that was the best course of action and did thesame bucking up the road. I later found outthe dog was still attached to her back legs.

As I was still on board I tried to pull her upas she was heading for the busy rush hourtraffic and a dual carriageway. She continuedbucking and after picking my landing spot ina bush next to the road I was amazed to findmyself back in the saddle but not for long asone last buck made me land in front of a carwhich had luckily stopped after seeing thehorses galloping towards them.

The last sight I saw of the horses was themost awful of my life as the two horses weregalloping down the dual carriagewaytowards the rush hour traffic. The horseswere in a blind panic and galloping flat out.

PC Magin and I were taken to hospital onspinal boards but were luckily not too badlyhurt. The last transmission I heard on myradio was that both horses had been stoppedbut that Rosie had an arterial bleed and had

lost a lot of blood, it was touch and go forher and a vet was on route.

As a rider it was so worrying to thinkof the horses hurt, traumatised and inneed of urgent assistance and the onlyhorsey people around were both onthe way to hospital.

I later got anaccount fromother officers whowent to the areawhere the horseshad been stoppedand they werethankfully OK. Rosiehad surgery at theside of the road and then they were off tothe vets where they were stitched up andplaced on drips and remained there for aweek. Toffee has only just come back intooperational duties and Rosie is coming backnext week.

To meet Deb at an IH meeting wasfantastic and to hear her side really filled inthe blanks. It was so comforting to knowthat the first person the horses met in theirhour of need was a horse person but evenbetter that that person was a IH horsemanwho used her skills to catch them and advise

officers present whoare not horsey.


Clipping BeauWith the help of RA Suzanne MarshallBy Penny Price

o from Day One I worked at gettinghim used to clippers; massaging hisbody with them etc. I was soon able to

clip his body but he had an extreme reactionto clippers anywhere near his legs, neck orhead. This varied from stamping his footdown hard, “going up”, trying to kick or biteme or whoever was foolhardy enough tohelp me. We resorted to twitching him forthe difficult areas and even then at times theprocess was downright dangerous.

When I spotted that Horse magazine wereseeking candidates for their School forScoundrels I immediately applied. I wasfortunate enough to be selected and awriter, photographer and Suzanne Marshall,Intelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociate for Kent arrived to retrieve thesituation.

Suzanne and I both wore hard hat andgloves for safety’s sake. Suzanne observedmy normal approach to clip Beau and hisreaction. He duly responded by movingaway, at speed, “goingup” and a back footeven came out in mydirection in a neat cowkick. Suzanne was quickto point out that I wasrewarding Beau fornegative behaviour byoffering kind, reassuringwords when he movedaway and I even clicked;this she reminded me is the noise we maketo encourage him to move forward morequickly. How wrong could I be?!!

Suzanne worked with Beau schooling himwith the Dually in the field rather than on theyard. This surprised me as I had alwaysthought it would be more appropriate towork on the yard but Suzanne felt thesurface was softer and that Beau might bemore relaxed in the field. How right she was.Getting control of Beau’s feet by schoolinghim with the Dually gained control of hismind. He soon became more responsive toher; reacting more quickly than his usual “oh

S ok I’ll come in a minute if I have to” attitude.She instructed me to throw a long rope at hisrear end (just as Monty would when sendinga horse away in the round pen) when shepassed me at precisely the moment sheasked him to trot. The first time he shotforward but Suzanne rewarded him for thisresponse. We repeated the process but hesoon anticipated what he was supposed todo and didn’t need any reminders from mewith the rope.

Suzanne introduced the cordless clippersto Beau and stayed with him when he movedaway, schooling him to ensure he knew whowas the boss when necessary. Beau graduallylearned that he could train the nasty clippersto go away if he just stopped reacting. His previously learned negative reaction wasslowly being undone. Suzanne taught mehow to approach Beau, where to positionmyself safely and to rest quietly once I hadtaken the clippers away from Beau. This enabled time to think things through for

himself. I learned tokeep my energy low andconsequently Beau’sadrenaline kept low too.

Starting with theclippers at his shoulder,eventually we were bothable to run them up anddown Beau’s legs but hestill put in little defiantleg lifts, albeit they were

diminishing. Massaging his leg with onehand and the clippers in the other, in asteady rhythm seemed to move the processon somewhat and he did settle quite nicely.We worked with Beau for about an hour anda half and felt we had done enough for onesession. Suzanne was very encouraging andreassured me that Beau was a “poppet” andwould very quickly come to grips with hisclipping phobias. I have to say, I was a littlesceptical as I knew what dangerous behaviourhe was capable of, and I was, I am ashamedto admit, almost a little disappointed that wehadn’t managed a full clip!

I have had my horse Beau justover year. He’s 15ft 3in,

rising 5, a bold, sensiblecoloured cob x probably

warmblood. At the vetting I was informed that he

would need to be sedated forclipping. From the start I was

determined that Beau and I would overcome his phobias;

may be he’d been clippedroughly in his native Ireland or perhaps he was protectingthe backs of his knees where

he had some mallanders.

“He duly responded bymoving away, at speed,‘going up’ and a backfoot even came out in my direction in a neatcow kick.”

11The Listening Post

However, fast forward a couple of days, Itook Beau out into one of the paddocks onhis Dually and long rope, did a little schoolingand started clipping his hind legs. Almostunbelievably he settled into a relaxed frameand I clipped both legs up to the hock. No problems and not a cross word. I hadlearned to praise him when he was good andnot for bad behaviour. I also learned fromSuzanne that keeping my adrenaline low isfar preferable to getting cross and this hasbeen a real light bulb moment for me. That was enough for one session; Suzannehad advised me not to try to achieve toomuch in one go. To say I was pleased was areal understatement, I was over the moon!

Fast forward a few more days and I tookBeau into another paddock, a few minutes ofDually schooling, and then clipped a frontleg. Beau even allowed me to clip over thesensitive mallanders without a backwardglance. Had my clipper blades not gone bluntI would probably have continued, but, littleby little as advised and I was out in thepaddock first thing the next morningcompleting the other front leg. I felt so proudof Beau and my own achievements that itwas nothing short of a miracle.

Beau had been getting warm in his weeklylesson and so I gave him a trace clip a fewdays later. I had thought I would probablyhave to stop at his neck, but, surprisingly hefelt so relaxed and I was so confident that Ijust kept on clipping. Up and up and on andon and clipped half his head on both sides.He actually seemed to enjoy it. I was buzzing

inside (rather like those clippers I suppose).My husband thought I was bonkers as Icouldn’t stop saying “I clipped his face – Ican’t believe it!” He just rolled his eyes of course...

There is no way I could have achieved thiswithout Suzanne’s expert teaching. She gaveme the tools, confidence and processes toclip Beau safely and calmly. I love clippinghim now. I still have to convince Beau that it’sok to clip his bridle path and trim his ears butthere’s no rush. I am so grateful to Suzanne.I have always been a Monty and Kelly fanand have been to several demonstrations atHadlow and Blue Barn. In fact I put Beau forward as a difficult horse to clip at thelast Hadlow demo but wasn’t lucky enoughto be selected.

However having Suzanne come to myhome to help Beau and me has been just thebest thing. I use the Dually all the time now;Beau walks respectfully at my side, trotsobediently and goes back when I ask andhas more respect for me in general. This whole episode has improved our overallrelationship; I feel I am Beau’s leader now.Suzanne gave me my “homework” and hascontinued to give me support and praise formy achievements. So thank you Suzanne andkeep up the good work!

Suzanne Marshall is IH RecommendedAssociate for Kent and Essex

Tel: 01634 386 801 or 07767 755 524

Beau gradually learnedthat he could train thenasty clippers to go awayif he just stopped reacting.His previously learnednegative reaction wasslowly being undone.

“ “

Q&Q: I’m experimenting with getting my horse to go barefoot but it's notgoing very successfully at the moment.A friend suggested it could be his diet at fault. What are the dietaryrecommendations for a horse goingbarefoot and why?

A: Feeding the horse a diet that he hasevolved to eat is beneficial in more ways thanone. First of all, by acknowledging the factthat the horse’s digestive system is designedto digest forage and fibre, and by eliminatingsuch feeds that contain high starch andsugar, it is probable that a healthy happyhorse will follow.

Secondly, with regards to specific aspectsof health, feeding a correctly balanced dietwill have the most positive effect upon thehorses’ tissues, from the skin and hair, rightthrough to the musculature. The horses’hoof is no exception. There are manydifferent views on getting the bestphysiological results from feeding a diet thatis specifically designed for one target area –although supplementing with a specific

Nicole Golding Anna Pyrah Equine Nutritionist

Personal Profile Anna Pyrah BSc. (Hons), recently joined The Pure Feed

Company, as an Equine Nutritionist. Anna has had a longterm interest in equine nutrition and has had workexperience with the Sandringham Stud in Norfolk.

Anna’s dissertation at Lincoln University was “The effect ofCrataegus oxyacantha upon the heart rate of the ExercisingHorse”. This is probably the first study of its kind into theeffects of hawthorn on the horse and Anna has found throughsound scientific procedures some very interesting responses.

Her role at the company is to assist in the ongoingdevelopment of our range and to act as technical support to

our ever growing client base, whether they are a one horse owner or an Olympic rider.She has an excellent understanding of equine nutrition and brings up to dateknowledge and a solid scientific approach to the small team at The Pure Feed Company.


nutrient would be futile if all other aspects ofthe diet were unsatisfactory or absent.

For instance – in terms of the hoof,feeding the horse high levels of biotin withthe intention of improving the quality of thehorn will not necessarily have the desiredeffect unless calcium content is adequate.The main principle to remember is that mostseen benefits are a result of a complexinterrelation between a great many nutrientsthat occur within the diet.

Providing a high fibre diet with a highspecification of vitamins, minerals and a highamino acid profile will ensure that the horsehas the building blocks to use them to hisbest advantage. So, feeding your horse witha solid balanced diet should be thefoundation for improving physiologicalaspects such as the hoof, which in turn willenable the principle of going barefoot to bemore achievable.

Essentially, you cannot simply compromisethe nutrition of a horse and in its place add aquick fix of complex supplementation products(even if they do promise to produce a miracle).The key point to remember is you mustgive the horse the high quality diet itrequires, through doing this you willallow him the best chance of rectifyingthings himself. If this dietary foundationis already established and problems arestill occurring with the hoof, it is onlythen that a supplement of biotin, zinc ormethionine should be considered.

Q: General advice for riding sensitivehorses who hate bits and contact, howto recognise its sensitivity and how tohelp get used to bits?

A: As always, the first thing to consider isphysical problems, and aside from theobvious possibility of sharp teeth, pain in thetempo-mandibular joint must also beconsidered. This is especially important afterthe teeth have been rasped, as the process ofdoing thorough dental work will stretch thisjoint and is likely to introduce soreness. A cranio-sacral checkover is a worthwhileinvestment at the start of training.

But let’s suppose that these issues have allbeen resolved, and the horse really appears

to dislike the bit and even the lightestpressure on it. One obvious solution is abitless bridle, and many horses go so well inthese that the rider feels no need of a bit. Butif competition rules or other considerationsmake the use of a bit desirable, or if a horsedislikes the bitless versions (and they’re notnecessarily benign), there are ways to helpthe horse be more comfortable with the bit.

Ask the

The tempo-mandibular joint

First of all, a mouthpiece that fits the shapeof the horse’s mouth is important. Althoughthey are considered kind, thick bits are oftendisliked by the horse if there isn’t room in themouth for them. There is a new generation

&AQ: Recently when I ride my horse he hasbeen feeling a little unenthusiasticabout moving freely forward – it’s nothugely noticeable and the vet can’t findanything wrong. A friend suggested Itake a close look at his feet and I’venoticed that on both forefeet there is adeep crack down the centre of the frogthat looks like it might be thrushywithin. Could this be the cause? Whatcan I do about it?

A: It sounds like your horse may have acondition known as ‘deep central sulcus’where the frog splits down the middle andgets infected. This is very commonlyoverlooked, including by farriers and vets,and when found it is often not considered tobe much of a concern. What must beconsidered is that the base of the frog liesagainst the digital cushion (a sensitive andimportant part of the foot) so any infection inthis area could cause problems.

This low grade sensitivity can cause a myriadof issues ranging from nappy behaviour, tostopping through to lameness. When itappears in several feet lameness may be onboth sides hence can easily be missed with thebehavioural problems being more apparent.

Common forms or treatment are often illadvised. Peroxide and bleaches and will killbacteria in the crack but cause sensitivity andslow healing as will tars. A zinc basedantimicrobial is often the best course oftreatment as it will help the infection and

Veterinary Advice Disclaimer:Neither Ann Pyrah, Sam Austin, Nicole Goldingnor Intelligent Horsemanship accept anyresponsibility for any advice offered throughthese replies which is purely for guidance. Always consult a veterinary surgeon.

(RA) Sam Austin


Personal Profile Sam is Director of Red Horse Products and the creative mind behind the majority of theirhoof care products. These products were created by identifying problems and then usingknowledge gained from his scientific education, his father (a Vet) and innumerable othersources to create a solution. Many years experience with barefoot horses, including eventingup to BE Novice level, has given him valuable insights into the needs of the equine foot.

tissue regrowth, as will honey. It is importantto pack the crack once clean to prevent dirtgetting in and to keep any medications incontact with the infected tissues.

The most effective treatment for deepercracks seems to involve:

a) flushing with a non-necrotic (meaningdoes not kill healthy tissue) antimicrobial e.g.salt water or a eucalyptus and zinc sulphatebased spray such as ‘Sole Cleanse’.

b) Packing with a long acting antimicrobial,honey soaked cotton wool works in somesituations but for faster and strongertreatments a zinc oxide and honey based packsuch as ‘Hoof Stuff’ work well. If the packs arechanged every few days or more if conditionsare muddy this problem can heal up fairly easily.For more information on common hoofproblems visit: www.red-horse.co.uk

Experts

MRPCH, BHSII and Director of Red Horse Products

Win a selectionof products from...

We have 2 sets of Sole Cleanse and Hoofstuff to giveaway. To enter the prize draw pleaseemail: [email protected] with ‘Red Horse’ as the subject and answer the followingchallenge: Name one of the well known equine professionals offering producttestimonials on www.red-horse.co.uk Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010.

of nicely shaped, slim, curved mouth-pieces,and many horses seem to tolerate thesebetter than the old-fashioned snaffles whichare often crudely cast with pinching jointsand sharp edges.

However, nothing is going to make as biga difference to the horse’s experience of thebit than the hands on the other end of thereins. First, abandon the attempt to make thehorse submit to a fixed amount of pressure.There is no need to pull the horse’s nose in,or down, and many horses who “hate” thebit suddenly don’t dislike it so much when itisn’t being used to apply pressure to thedelicate tissues of their mouths.

A still, quiet hand is the next ideal, andsadly it’s a paradox that it’s easier to keep

your hands still when there’s a certainamount of pressure on the rein. Whilst theachievement of “good hands” might be alifetime’s work, there are ways to drasticallyimprove the rider’s stability, with seat-training perhaps being top of the list.

Don’t forget to take off the noseband, soyou can truly see what the horse thinks ofthe bit and the way it’s being handled.Strapping the mouth shut to mask“evasions” is not a solution.

The best way to improve the horse’sopinion of the bit, however, is in-hand. Usinga series of exercises, including Baucher’sflexions, the horse can be introduced or re-educated to the bit in such a way that theyno longer find it objectionable. The rider alsodevelops greater feel and understanding ofhow the bit functions and how the horseexperiences it and can develop much greatersensitivity.As it happens, we are holding an in-handclinic at Moor Wood Stables on the 27-28th March! Visit:www.whisperingback.co.uk

Deep central sulcus

Packing a deep central sulcus


Kelly Marks will be hosting the third IH Garden Party will beheld on Saturday 3rd July at Lethornes, Upper Lambourn,Berkshire, RG17 8QP, from 2pm. All proceeds in aid of Shy Lowen Horse Sanctuary.Tickets are available at £25 each from 1st March. Please contact Lorraine for tickets and information for payment:[email protected]

Shy Lowen Horse and PonySanctuary Shy has beenselected as IntelligentHorsemanship’s Charity of theYear for 2009/2010. Thecharity was founded as a resultof the lack of support for

unwanted, neglected or abused equines inthe North West of England. The training andrehabilitation programmes in place at thesanctuary are strongly influenced byIntelligent Horsemanship methods, givingeach equine the greatest chance ofrecovering fully.

Based in Merseyside the sanctuary islocated on land, previously used as a dump,leased from Sefton council. This land was onlymade available to them on the condition thatthey shifted 800 tonnes of builders rubblefrom the 8.5 acre site. This accomplished thesanctuary now offers a safe haven for equinesin need at the same time as working toeducate the public about equine care andwelfare. This educational centre includes alibrary carrying all Kelly and Monty’s books aswell as Monty’s DVDs. These are particularlyaimed at the young volunteers (some asyoung as 11!) who have formed their own‘care committee’ involved in running thesanctuary and planning for its future.

Equines coming into the care of Shy Lowenare rehabilitated and, where possible, are re-homed as ridden or driven horses, pets orcompanions. The new keeper is responsiblefor the horse but it will be owned by ShyLowen to ensure the horse never experiencesabuse or neglect again. Funds to support ShyLowen’s residents and activities are mainlygenerated through donations, sponsorshipand adoption (loan) programmes. These fundsare crucial to supporting the permanent

residents, who are too old or face healthproblems making them difficult to re-home,and allowing the sanctuary to continue torehabilitate each case that needs their help.

The Charity does more than simply helpequines and is particularly proud of its workwith young people as Bernadette from ShyLowen explained. “One of the things we areproud of for the sanctuary is the work we dowith young people. The sanctuary is in anarea where people would not get to spendtime with horses. We have a young teamaged from 11 to 18 who have calledthemselves Care Committee and there arenow 35 members. They learn the day to daycare of the horses, they are involved in thetraining and rehabilitation work and on thelast Saturday of every month they have aformal meeting where they are involved inthe management of the sanctuary and thestrategy planning thus providing them withlife skills.”

The latest addition to Shy Lowen is theinvolvement of the horses and ponies inEquine Assisted Growth and Learningprogrammes and Equine AssistedPsychotherapy which allows the horsesinnate ability to mirror the human to givetherapists and coaches clear insight into theneeds of the human client. The horses justhave to be horses. So now rescued horses arehelping people too!

Meet the IH Charity of the year 2009/2010Shy Lowen

Shy Lowen operates according to the 3 R’s • Rescue • Rehabilitate • Rehome

The sanctuary objectives as registeredwith Charity Commission• For the benefit of the public to relieve the

suffering of animals (in particular equines) inneed of care and attention and to provideand maintain rescue homes or otherfacilities for the reception, care andtreatment of such animals.

• To promote humane behaviour towardsanimals by providing appropriate care,protection, treatment and security foranimals which are in need of care and attention by reason of sickness,maltreatment, poor circumstances or illusage.

• To educate the public in matters pertainingto animal welfare in general and equines inparticular and the prevention of cruelty andsuffering among animals.

Shy Lowen Facts• Shy Lowen means ‘Home of Happiness’

in Old English• Registered charity number 1122891• Currently home to 29 horses and ponies

of which 9 are permanent• The occupants get through 320 large

round bales of haylage, around 730 bags ofhorse and pony cubes, 100 bags of coarsemix and 50 bags of Readigrass in a year!

Charity number: 1122891Sanctuary address is: Buckley Hill Lane, Thornton, Liverpool L29 1YBCorrespondence address is: 18 Back Lane, Thornton, Liverpool L29 7WD

www.shylowen.com

Support Shy Lowen!To support Shy Lowen visit the IHDG CharityAppeal Section of our online discussion group for details of fundraising activities.

Don’t miss the social event of the summer!


Countryf ile, branding and a day with Venus!

On the 4th January I had a lovely day filming for BBC’s Countryfilewith Adam Henson at his picturesque Cotswold Rarebreed Farm.Adam is delightful and has a small herd of Exmoor ponies on his farm. He has one filly foal, Venus, he’s planning to keep andwanted some advice on gentling her. As her only previousexperience of humans was being grabbed and branded she wasunderstandably going to be a bit sceptical!

By Kelly Markstook Intelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociate, Sarah Weston, as a back upand she was great to have along. Since

doing her courses and becoming an RA shespecialises in working with native ponies andhas been doing a fantastic job. She lent mesome her ‘untouched’ equipment for the daysince most of mine was at Hartsop Farmready for a course we were planning to runthere (but had to be cancelled due to snow).

I must admit that I laughed at first atSarah’s tendency towards ‘fluffy’ materialsbut after using them it occurred to me thatmaybe the fact that little Venus was intriguedby them did mean she accepted me morequickly. I’ll have to test this out more. It’sgreat to be learning all the time from one’sequine and human students. Sarah haswritten a lovely book called No Fear No Forceand her website is: logicalhorsemanship.co.uk

Venus was a complete delight to workwith and although wilder than a deer in thefirst few minutes with our advance andretreat exercises (as written about in myPerfect Manners or my little Handling theUntouched Horse book) she was soonaccepting a soft long line over her and thenlater the (slightly too large!) headcollar I hadbrought along. It was so nice because whenAdam and the TV guys came back 50minutes after they’d done the initial filmingthey were genuinely astounded at theprogress. Adam put the headcollar on her aswell and she accepted him stroking her – Idon’t think he could quite believe it!

Exmoors often have a reputation for being‘difficult’ but it’s my belief that their earlyhandling is often responsible for theirattitude. Adam has said next year they’re notgoing to brand them but microchip theminstead which is great news. I’ve asked if Icould come and handle some of them beforethey have to be held to microchip and I’mconvinced they’ll be like different poniesaltogether. Watch this space!

Advance and Retreat Simple Steps on How to Approach a Nervous PonyMany ponies run away simply because of theway people approach them. The ‘normal’ way(but the wrong way) is to look right in theireyes and march up to them. Some peopleeven think that shouting and putting theirarms out wide will help make them stand stillwhen in reality it will often make them panic!

The best way to approach a nervous pony (and I know I’m preaching to the choir herebecause I’m sure you’ve all seen Monty do this now!) is to first of all calm yourself andrelax yourself with long out breaths. Approach slightly side on to the pony and don’t lookdirectly in his or her eyes. This doesn’t mean you can’t see what the pony is doing, but itmeans you have ‘soft’ eyes, maybe mostly focussing on the chest area but being able toappreciate most of what’s going on with the pony.

Even in human relationships, it’s essential at times for people to back off a bit and give us time to feel we’remaking our own minds up.

Only take as many steps as the pony can stand before feeling the need to run away. Wait a little while and then move away. You don’t want to be watching the pony thenbut sometimes you can see out of the corner of your eye that the pony takes a step ortwo towards you or licks and chews as he mulls things over.

Starting your approach like this makes things so much easier in the long run. It’s notdifficult to see why it works. None of us like to be forced into things, even in humanrelationships, it’s essential at times for people to back off a bit and give us time to feelwe’re making our own minds up.

A pony knows that if you’re a predator and out to do him harm you’d move right intokill him - you wouldn’t be moving away at all. By making your approach gradual andmoving away at frequent intervals you arouse his curiosity which is the next step to himovercoming fear.

‘‘ ‘‘I

For those of you who would like more information on hot branding wild poniesthere has been much debate on the Intelligent Horsemanship Discussion Group.There is also a thread available with information on a petition against hotbranding for those who feel strongly on this subject.

£20 discount on Equine Touch course fees for members of Intelligent Horsemanship Association.


This makes our office administration so much easier and we really appreciate your support with this. Please could you ensure all yourdetails are up to date when you receive your renewal notice and also email: [email protected] through the year with any changes.

THANK YOU FOR PAYING BY DIRECT DEBIT

With Long Distance Students in Mind...For the first time we are having a series of Stage 1 courses ‘joined up’ so long distance students can take them in just one trip.The series start with 2 days of Horse Psychology with Kelly in Lambourn on June 22nd/23rd, going on to Feeding and Nutrition and TheHorse as an Athlete and then Foal Handling and Stud Practise with Ian Vandenberghe in Witney, Oxfordshire.

It then carries on to the full 5 day course with the full Intelligent Horsemanship team on the 28th June to the 2nd July. July 3rd is ourIntelligent Horsemanship Garden Party in Lambourn that students will be very welcome to attend for some well earned relaxation!

The Equine Touchbody work designed with the horse owner in mindThe foundations of this technique is taught in the Level One 3-day course and gives students theskills to bring about many positive effects on the horse’s body, with numerous benefits and uses:• Help maintain your horse’s soft tissue health• Stay in tune with your horse: detect subtle changes in muscles that might indicate a

small problem before it becomes a big one• Give physiological support when coming back into, or increasing, work• Assist with recovery after travelling, post competition or trauma• Give comfort and care when confined on box rest• Improve the bond between you and your horse

New prospectus now available Inside you will find full details about our organisation, and all the training we offer – equine, canine and human – plusinformation about the Equine Touch Practitioner Diploma qualification, FAQs, our students’ association IETA-UK, and a full listof training costs.

To obtain a copy and to find out about forthcoming courses please contact the Equine Touch National Co-ordination Centre [email protected] call 0871 641 2118, or visit the UK section of www.theequinetouch.com

Please refer to www.BondWithYourHorse.com/holiday.htm for full details of the courses and booking procedures.Jo can also be contacted by telephone: 00 33 5 63 94 58 69. We offer Bed & Breakfast accommodation here with us

in Perville. Alternatively there are many Self-catering cottages and Hotels in the area.

Jo offers 3 different courses. Each course costs €135.

• BOND WITH YOUR HORSE (3 days): 17-19 April 2010, 5-7 June 2010, 11-13 September 2010. Highlights include Ground handling, Liberty work and Desensitising techniques.

• AN INTRODUCTION TO LONG LINING (3 days): 1-3 May 2010.

• AN INTRODUCTION TO ENDURANCE (3 days):28-30 May 2010, 24-26 September 2010. This course includes crewingat an Endurance competition to get a real feel for the sport.

Horsey Fun in the SunCome and stay with Recommended Associate Jo Bond and her family inlovely South West France and join one of her courses or have individualtuition. We have Jo’s 4 ‘ideal partner’ horses here permanently, with a foaldue in April, as well as a variety of visiting horses for you to work with.

This is a beautiful rural area, with horses everywhere and for those non-horsey moments there are many other activities including manyvineyards, markets and Chateaux to visit.


Something that most of our horses aresadly lacking nowadays is ‘groomingtime’. In days gone by (and hopefully

there are still yards now doing the same) eachhorse would be groomed, or ‘strapped’, foraround an hour a day. This is good for thehorse in so many ways, mentally and physically(plus it does a great job of keeping you fit aswell!). With the time pressure that most of usare under today, an hour a day generally isn’tpractical. But any time that you can devote to grooming your horse can do nothing but good.

5Top Tips

By IH Recommended Associate Sue Palmer

To help your horsestay healthy whilehe’s on box rest

It’s that time of year – even if your horse isn’t suffering from an injury, he may still have to be on ‘box rest’ because the fields are either too frozen, muddy, snowy, etc. During the snowy period inDecember last year, a friend’s horse had to be stabled without turnout (they do at least have a horsewalker) for a whole month. Of course that’s not something I agree with, but I realise that there is just notenough grazing land in the UK for all our horses to have the turnout and grazing that we would ideallylike them to have. Practicalities always come into the equation, whether we’d like them to or not.

So if we’re in the unfortunate situation of having our horse confined for long periods of time, what canwe do to help them?

Grooming1 One of the things that your horseautomatically does for himself whenhe’s moving around the field or

being worked is to mobilise, or move, hisjoints. You can help replicate this to somedegree by gently helping him with some ofthe movements that he might do when he’swalking. Be aware that none of thesemovements should cause any pain and amovement does not need to reach the end ofit’s range for it to be effective – if you are inany way unsure then ask for help from aprofessional (see below). So for example youcan pick up your horse’s front leg and gentlyflex then relax his knee ten times, thenrepeat with the other leg. You can move thefetlock, knee, elbow, hock and stifle easily inthis way (always be sure that you are safe todo so – if in doubt, don’t do it!). Some of youmay also remember Monty’s ‘Apple On AStick’ stretches, if not, take a look at your2009 IH Christmas DVD to see Kelly and Piedemonstrating these!

Mobilisations3

The type of training that you can dowhile your horse is on box rest isgoing to be very individual,

according to the stage of training that yourhorse is at, the temperament of both youand your horse, and the particular trainingtechniques you subscribe to. One of the mostimportant skills that your horse can know isto stand still when asked (if anyone saw Kellyand Pie on the Willing Partners™ tour withMonty, you couldn’t fail to be impressed byPie’s ‘standing still’ piece!). This is somethingthat can easily be worked on when there islimited space available, and the strongfoundations that you build here can be builton once you have the option for your horseto be outdoors again.

Training4

Developing a stretching routine willhelp maintain good health andcirculation, retain performance

ability, and reduce the risk of injury (or re-injury) once your horse is turned out in thefield again. A very simple stretch with thefront leg is to take the leg slightly out in frontof the horse (generally until the hoof is about3 - 6 inches in front of the other front foot)and place the foot on the ground, so thatyour horse is standing with one leg slightly in front of the other. Let’s call this position’12 o’clock’. Ask your horse to stand in thisposition for a minimum of 10 seconds for thestretch to take effect, and repeat 3 times.Then take the leg just slightly to the side (to ‘3 o’clock’ for the left fore and ‘9 o’clock’for the right fore) and place it on the ground,same rules apply as before but this time yourhorse will be standing with his front legsslightly apart. Finally take the leg backwardsjust slightly (to ‘6 o’clock), so that he isstanding with one front leg slightly behindthe other, and repeat. You can do the samewith the back legs. If you find that your horseis resisting you, you are probably asking fortoo much movement – even a small stretchwill have a beneficial effect.

Stretches2If you need help:With stretching or mobilisation: To findyour local Veterinary Physiotherapist, whoshould be able to advise you on a routinesuitable for you and your horse, visit:www.acpat.org

With grooming or training: To find yourlocal Intelligent Horsemanship RA, whocan help with most aspects of horsetraining and behaviour, visit:www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

With learning massage techniques touse with your own horse: For details ofthe ‘Horse Owners Massage Course’ runby Sue Palmer, Veterinary Physiotherapistand Intelligent Horsemanship RA, visitwww.holistichorsehelp.com

Sue Palmer MSc, freelance VeterinaryPhysiotherapist and IntelligentHorsemanship Recommended Associate,is based in Stafford and worksthroughout the UK.

There are a few courses availablewhere you can learn a basic massageroutine to use with your own horse.

Imagine the peace, comfort and relaxationthat you feel after a massage – if you had theskills to offer that to your horse… well, whywouldn’t you?!

Massage5


Win a pair of Premier Equine Sports BootsAs recommended by Kelly Marks

Premier Equine Sport Boots feature an AIRTEC lining which we has been developed and improved to encourage airflow to keep joints & tendons cool. These boots offer support to tendons, the fetlock area and suspensory ligations. Kelly particularly loves these boots for protecting the legs of horses being trained to load happily. They are also used by racehorse trainers, dressage trainers, event riders, polo players, stunt riders and show producers!

We have 2 pairs of Sports Boots up for grabs!To enter the prize draw for a pair of Sport Boots email [email protected] with ‘Boots’ as the subject and answer the following question:Can you name one of the four international riders sponsored by Premier Equine?

You can find this and more information on these fantastic boots at www.premierequine.co.uk. Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010

With good quality hay increasingly difficult to come by in the UK, manyowners of performance horses are turning to steaming their hay tohelp reduce the threat posed by mould and fungal spores.

Hay Steamers from Happy Horse Products introduce steam to the hay at approx.100°C, which ensures that the majority of fungal spores, bacteria anddust mites are killed off and all potentially airborne dust particlesare sufficiently dampened down and neutralized. The hay is thenlush and ready for the horse to enjoy, complete with all its vitalminerals. With a number of larger systems designed for use athome on the yard, Happy Horse Products were well aware that ahorse’s diet should not be changed while away at competitionand that riders may not be happy with the quality of forage availableat show venues. As a result, the Traveller system was created.

The Traveller Steamer is completely portable and accommodates 8-10Kg of hay loose (or filled into a haynet) within its heavy dutybag. The steam is introduced by a way of a steam spike/lance that is fixed in the bottom of the bag, so the hay is steamed from thecentre and the steam then purged through the hay from the middle outwards, a method that is necessary for steaming hay within aconfined space. The hay is then kept clean and tidy within the bag for transport.

This proven system is ideal for those who travel away over night with their horses or where mains power is not available and can beoperated from a lorry generator or hook up enabling you to maintain a consistent diet. The traveller is also perfect for the one horseowner or for situations where power is unavailable on the yard, as the hay can be easily steamed at home and transported to yourhorse as he needs it.

RRP £145

Consumer contact informationwww.happyhorseproducts.co.uk

email: [email protected]

Tel: 0845 370 3113

Win a Happy Horse Hay Steamer!The Listening Post has 1 hay steamer to give away. To enter the prize draw please email [email protected] ‘Hay’ as the subject and answer the following question:What colour is the Happy Horse logo as used on their website?Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010

More to win!


Riding WesternLou Talintyre of The Mendip Stud talks about Riding WesternLou Talintyre, co-founder of The Pure Feed Company and Director of

Equitation at The Mendip Stud tells us about her involvement in western

riding and her famous Quarter Horse - Jays Master Copy. Lou one of the

rising talents in the UK’s equine industry has spent the last three years

bringing Copy back to the show pen following injury. Copy, the UK’s leading

Western competitor in the 2002 World Equestrian Games, made a

triumphant return to the world class arena as Monty’s Willing Partner.

“I crossed my fingers and wished for an outstanding horse to ride – Copy crossed his legs and my dream came true” Monty Roberts

ou, a devotee of Western riding for thelast twelve years, has developed herinterest at The Mendip Stud where she

is responsible for all aspects of teaching andthe Stud’s breeding and nutritionalprogrammes. Born and bred in NorthYorkshire her love of horses and all thingsequestrian was evident from an early age andshe started riding just about as soon as shecould walk. Doing the same as just aboutevery horse mad kid Lou was soon muckingout stables for the odd lesson here and thereand riding whenever she could beg, borrow orsteal a ride. Her first ride was on Imp, a blackShetland pony and from that small beginningshe has gone from strength to strength.

After twenty years of riding English andhaving collected a small herd of horses, Pony,Rocco and Bo. Lou found an interest in natural horsemanship. Whilst watching a western demonstration she wasimmediately struck by how soft the horseswere and how much they seemed to lovetheir work. Beingthe pro-activeperson she is Loubooked herself upfor a few westernlessons and she’s never looked back!

“As soon as I started it became clear thatWestern wasn’t just about charging aroundthrowing a lasso or galloping around a barrelbut was in fact a beautiful form of equitationwith as many subtleties and skills as in anyother discipline. I was hooked. Western gave

me what I had been after for a long time. I loved the logic behind the training and howthe horses responded so positively. They allbecame light and soft as I learned to releaseand reward each positive try. ThroughWestern I’ve found a new level in myrelationship with my horses.”

Lou and her partner John share their loveof their horses at their home The MendipStud, which has become one of the leadingequestrian and AI centres. They are alsoinvolved in education, running courses infoaling, groundwork and youngster training.They host Stud open days and shows – lookout for the ‘Horse Plus’ show later this year.

Monty has been using Lou’s gelding Copyas his ‘Willing Partner’ in recent tours. Copy,together with his buddy Kelly’s Pie, has beenhaving a great time, “It seems to have givenhim a new lease of life, he is a natural showoff” said Lou, “Monty talks about lightnessand motivation and it’s a joy to watch themtogether – they both have a ball showing

their skills andtechniques – Montyrides Copy beautifullyand Kelly is getting togrips with the western

style and judging from her smiles is reallyenjoying herself too.”

John and Lou offer Western ExperienceDays at The Mendip Stud, which havebecome popular as a way to try out andenjoy Western Riding. In safe andcomfortable surroundings customers get to

ride fully trained Western horses in smallgroups of no more than three or four over awhole day. Both Monty and Kelly have beenencouraging all horsemen and women tohave a go - especially IH members. They havearranged a special IH members discountworth up to £25 if you book before the endof March 2010.

“Quite a few of the R.A.’s havealready ‘had a go’ and loved it”

Are you interested inlearning Western then

try one of theseExperience Days?

All IH members are entitled to £25.00off the normal rate for a full day.

To get your discount all you have to do is call The Mendip Stud office on01934 751258 and when you buy yourvoucher just quote your IH number andyou automatically get the discount. Thevoucher system is such a good idea andthey are valid for 12 months. Eachvoucher has its own unique codenumber. As soon as you have some datesyou know fit with your plans you call theoffice, quote your number and your daygets arranged. As you don't need tobook the date at the same time as youbuy the voucher it allows you plenty oftime to plan.www.themendipstud.com

L


he picture is further complicated bya lack of agreement of what the ideal is.Many books mention the shoulder-hip-heel line, and then depict a rider who isclearly out of alignment. There is a lot ofdisagreement about what the ‘natural’

shape of the rider’s spine should be, withmany people considering a back to be hollowthat others consider straight. Some peoplespend years perfecting their ‘going with thehorse’, and others watching consider it to bewobbly or shoving.Some are proud oftheir stillness, whilstthe critics consider itstiff or stilted.Occasionally, people from the differentcamps will watch an elite rider and agreethat the picture is good, whilst claiming itsupports their view of correct, with the‘wobblers’ commenting on the fluidity andmovement, and the ‘stiffs’ pointing out thestability and stillness.

As always, it’s the horses’ opinions whichreally matter, and of course the differentcamps claim to be doing what’s best for thehorses. Perhaps the horses themselves don’talways agree, and spend hours in their fieldsat night arguing about the merits of ‘neutralspine’ and the importance of freedom ofmovement in the hip joint… Or maybe not.

Seat TrainingThe rider’s position, or seat, is the focus of a lot of debate in the horse world. Almost everyone seemsto have some sort of opinion on the matter, and every rider has thought about it to some degree oranother. On our clinics, we come across a wide range of attitudes. Some riders have more or less givenup on having a ‘good position’, often citing short legs, major asymmetries, or the lack of ‘proper’ lessonsin their past. Others understand the importance to the horse of a balanced, considerate, well-alignedrider, but have no idea of how to go about it. Some become so obsessed with achieving the perfect seatthat they seem to forget that the point is how it helps the rider interact with the horse, and isn’t so muchan end in itself. Some believe you can sit pretty but not be very effective as a rider, or be effective, butnot look so good. Certainly, if ‘being effective’ means holding the horse’s head down, it is difficult toachieve this without lowering the hands and putting a lot of pressure on the horse’s mouth, so thisapproach will inevitably lead to a corruption of the rider’s seat (unless you use mechanical means to keepthe horse’s tied down, but let’s not go there).

By IH Recommended Associate Nicole Golding

TGiven that we spend a lot of our timeteaching riding, we certainly have our ownopinions about appropriate biomechanics inthe rider’s body, honed over many years ofdiscussion and practice and learning, andwe’re sure that the answer lies somewhere inthe middle - enough core stability to removeextraneous movement, but enough fluidityto not restrict the horse. This is the beauty ofseat-training: the exercises themselves guidethe rider to this optimal place. Too wobbly

and you won’t feel safe enough to do themovements with enough freedom, too stiffand you’re tension will restrict you. Get itright and it has its own synchrony.

We were first introduced to Seat Trainingby Craig Stephens when we subjectedourselves and Sensi to a 7 day course on it,about 5 years ago. It consists of a series ofexercises not unlike some you may alreadyhave come across, but this approach is a lot more targeted and precise. Seat trainingnot only improves the rider’s position, it’s also great for balance, flexibility, confidence,co-ordination, timing and ‘informationprocessing’.

“This is the beauty of Seat Training: the exercisesthemselves guide the rider to this optimal place.”

Parallel processingThe ability to process information rapidlyis an essential part of riding. You need totake in information about what the horseis doing, what you’re doing with yourbody, how the two are interacting andaffecting each other, what the instructoris saying and asking, or if you’re out andabout, how that pheasant leaping out infront of your horse is likely to influenceyour trajectory. If you get really good atthis parallel processing you might even beable to talk about what you’re doing tosomeone else and think about what tomake for tea at the same time... Thisability also helps with scenarios likejumping. Instead of coming into a gridwith a hope- and-pray approach and‘coming to’ on the other side wonderingif you’ve survived, you might actually beable to make adjustments to your horse’space, give an encouraging nudge ifnecessary, and remember to sit upbetween fences. This ability is developedby the use of increasingly complexsequences of exercises and co-ordinations, perhaps performed while therider recites a favourite poem or doessome simple maths! It might seem like astrange way to improve your riding abilityand confidence, but it’s highly effective.


It also makes the horse safer and moreconfident with the rider and, perhapssurprisingly, more sensitive to the aids. It’s asthough the horse learns to ignore any large,crude movements, but can listen moreattentively to the more refined signals the rideris able to give after undertaking this work.

Although it could be used in an intimidatingor punitive way, with the instructorintimidating the student, most peopleexperience is as great fun, and it’s not unusualfor people - students, instructors andspectators - to end up helpless with laughter.It’s even been known for spouses to teacheach other using seat training, without risking divorce, and even mothers and theirteenage daughters give it a go. It’s great forfriends to do ona reciprocal basis,and is one of the quickest andmost effectiveways to bringyour riding backup to scratch after a lay-off.

There are many ways of doing seattraining, and even the exercises themselvescan be done with different emphases. It’s often done with the horse on the lunge(in which case great care must be taken toavoid the common pitfalls of lunging), but itcan also be done with the horse being lead,or with the horse being controlled by therider. It is most fun if someone else is callingout the commands, but a rider could do afew minutes of the exercises as a warm up atthe beginning of a ride. It is even possible todo it on a barrel or mechanical horse, andeven, to a degree, on a gym ball.

The accompanying pictures show some ofthe exercises. We approach seat training alittle bit differently to the way we learned it,but there are many different ways of doing it,and all have some benefit to the rider.

We usually do the initial work on a barrelhorse, so that we minimise the amount oftime a real horse has to stand around whilewe work with the rider. We make a basicassessment of the rider’s position andabilities, so we can tailor the exercises tothem, and also to show them what they’reaiming for. There’s nothing like getting yourhands on a rider’s body to ‘read’ it, anddiscover areas of tension, tightness, or lackof tone. After each exercise the rider returnsto a ‘neutral’ position, and it makes sense forthat position to be as close to perfect as therider is capable of, since these exercises serveto provide the repetitions that are necessaryfor ‘unconscious competence’ (where you dothe right thing without even having to thinkabout it) to occur.

We then run through the first levelexercises, again on the barrel horse, to makesure the rider fully understands them. Manyof the exercises are actually a little harder ona stationary horse as the movement helps sowe don’t overdo this stage.

The first sessions aboard a horse are aimedat making sure the rider is confident with theexercises, and can do them correctly. Work ismostly at walk or a gentle trot, and thecomplexity level is gradually increased. As well as improving the freedom ofmovement of the hip joint, this work helpswith co-ordination and the ability to processseveral instructions at once.

The next stage really brings this to anotherlevel, however, and with faster work andmore rapid directions the rider’s balance andstability are also challenged and improved,and confidence increases as more complexsequences are mastered. You might not be a rodeo rider at the end of this, but all of asudden things which the horse might

have done previouslyseem a lot moremanageable. Afterall, if you’ve beencantering aroundwithout reins andstirrups clapping

your feet together over the horse’s mane, theodd spook and buck are unlikely to worryyou. Of course, not everyone will get to thisstage, and even if you stay at a sedate trotand just do the simpler exercises, you will still benefit.

Obviously, the horse needs to be introducedto the exercises carefully, and graduallydesensitised in a systematic way. We normallydo this with someone holding the horse andthe rider doing very small versions of theexercises they feel most comfortable with,increasing the speed and amount ofmovement as the horse stays relaxed and stilland can cope with it. Going through thisprocess will obviously make the horse safer toride, and unexpected sudden movementsfrom the rider are unlikely to worry him.

Try this at home:Rotate your right hand and right foot in

the same direction. On a horse, the armwould be doing large circles, and the footwould be doing smaller rotations, from theankle, but if you’re sitting in a chair, the movements can be quite small. Once you’ve got in a good rhythm, changethe direction of rotation of your foot. Keep the hand circling as it was before.Tricky? This simple exercise is surprisinglyhard, but getting good at doing it will helpyour riding in surprising ways. You mightnever use an aid that involves this circling,but doing complicated co-ordinations willhelp train your neurological pathways tobe more finely honed, so you will be ableto incorporate new co-ordinations muchmore easily.

Incidentally, this exercise is lotseasier if you use opposite hands andlegs. Any idea why? Email youranswers to: [email protected]

“You might not be a rodeo rider at theend of this, but all of a sudden thingswhich the horse might have donepreviously seem a lot more manageable.”

Seat Training Clinics:10-11th April8-9th May12-13th June

Visit: www.whisperingback.co.uk

or call: 01285 831736 for more details


IH member Rosemary Hannah reviews:

Led by the Grey by Peter DeCosemo

Sarah Weston RA for Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Wiltshire and Dorset reviews:

Born to Whisper by Nicole Golding and Adam Goodfellow

In Praise of Alpha Mares and Older Women.

All horses are special, but to have thelove and trust of an alpha mare is aremarkable thing, and those of us whohave had it will never forget it. PeterDeCosemo plainly has enjoyed it, and he has woven that very specialrelationship through his fantasy-thriller,Led by the Grey.

Victoriana is the leader of HouseholdCavalry and into her well-ordered andwell-ordering life comes young FreddyHobbs, a sixteen year old lad with theunheard of ability to talk horse, and see Pegusinni, normally invisible smallwinged horses.

The attempts of the horses and the boyto communicate despite their differentassumptions and experiences are played

for all the comedy inherent in them, and theplot really takes off with the entry of threeaging female hippies, who will, I think, be women after the hearts of many older IH ladies.

These unlikely companions set out to foilthe attempts of an unnamed group tocommit a terrorist attack at the Trooping ofthe Colour. A deep anger runs through thebook at the IRA bombing of the guard andhorses in 1982, and against the weapon ofterror, which targets the most helpless tocreate fear.

This is a first novel, and like many such itmakes a slow start. It begins to hit its strideafter the first few chapters. Its mostappreciative readership is probably womenand girls who love horses and are happy to

imagine the thrill of riding a huge wingedgrey, who scatters light as he gallops thesky. The length of it (475 pages) will keepthem happy if the weather keeps themfrom riding, and there is plenty of actionand many puzzles to keep the pagesturning.

The book has a very filmic nature, andreally does cry out to become a familymovie. Given the potential for this andthe target readership, it is a pity youngFreddy has not been provided with a girlcompanion, or a fledgling love interest.Perhaps that will come in furtheradventures. One is confident that havingread this ripping yarn, DeCosemo’sreaders will want more.

Peter DeCosemo, Led by the Grey (York Publishing Services: 2009) ISBN 0955922119Hardback and paperback editions available from www.ledbythegrey.comAll proceeds from the Hardback sale to be donated to the Household Cavalry Casualty Fund

Win a copy of ‘Born to Whisper’The Listening Post has 1 copy of Born to Whisper to give away. To enter the prize drawemail: [email protected] with the answer to the following question:How much money was raised by the book launch of Born to Whisper? (hint – you’ll find a clue on the books homepage: www.borntowhisper.com)Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010.

ISBN 978-0-9564440-0-4I LOVED this book. I started to read it at 11 o’clock one night and finished it at 5 o’clock the

following morning! There is a raw honesty, integrity and lack of ego about this true life story, and thepictures that go with it, which makes it really accessible to anyone involved with horses. Yet, for abook about horses, it’s also a really good book about humans and humanity. Although Nicole andAdam take it in turns to write each chapter, it is still seamless- quite interesting to get a male and afemale perspective on the same events (and sometimes the horse’s perspective too). The experiencesthey record are sometimes heartbreaking and yet they remain positive, optimistic and thankful fortheir good fortune all the time. I laughed, I cried, I learned – what could be better than that?

Adam and Nicole have moved on from their early days setting themselves up as horse trainers and are now working with a great degree of confidence that the work thatthey do and the philosophies they follow are good and sound. Nevertheless, they remain non-judgmental and wait for the time to be right for the owners as well as the horses. It’s goodto hear that they still believe in having fun with horses and I thoroughly approve of anyone whorides an Exmoor pony bareback.

I’ll be reading it all over again, very soon.


The Barefoot ‘movement’ has gainedmomentum over the last ten years and ithasn’t been without its problems. There havebeen people who have got so carried awaywith the theory that they forget the reasonthey didn’t want shoes on their horse in thefirst place.

Just as in IH we have to remind people ‘it’snot about the Join Up – it’s about therelationship with the horse’ I’m sure thebarefoot brigade have to keep an eye out forthose who get carried away and forget theonly reason to take the shoes off is for thewelfare of the horse. There is no value to it ifit hasn’t caused the horse to be healthier and happier.

Some trial and error has been necessaryand I like this book because the authorsappear to operate in the real world (i.e. theyown horses which they ride long distanceand compete) and they sound experiencedand know the pitfalls as well as the benefits.They don’t just talk about the theory but giveyou plenty of case studies of how things cango this way or that. They address some of theproblems and myths that have been aroundin an easy to understand way.

For instance, in the section entitled ‘TheConditioning Myth’ there’s a paragraph aftersome recommendations, starting: ‘Be carefulthough! A horse’s capability over a toughsurface will not improve simply because ofexposure to that surface. It is never

Published by J.A. Allen. £22.50 available from saddlers and bookshops or online from www:allenbooks.co.uk

productive or fair to force a horse to work ona surface that he finds uncomfortable, and itis a myth that a horse who is uncomfortableon a surface needs repeated exposure to thatsurface in order to become sounder. A horsemust be comfortable on a surface before youcan usefully increase his exposure to it -otherwise you will simply make him sore.

They go on to say: “‘The ConditioningMyth’ is very pervasive in some barefootcircles, so let’s spell it out: working a horsewhen his feet are uncomfortable risksmaking him miserable, injuring him anddamaging his trust in you.” However, don’tbe concerned that they’ll spend time puttingother practitioners down, they are very openhanded in giving details of other horse carepractitioners and they give an extensivereading list and a variety of useful websiteaddresses.

The book concedes that shoes can seeman attractive option if you have limited abilityto control your horse’s diet and environment.It gives some of the reasons people mightfeel it’s necessary to shoe their horse. Asmany of us have as yet not got around toinvesting in a ‘Paddock Paradise’ (go towww.performancebarefoot.co.uk whereyou’ll learn a good deal about this and more)I’m pleased that this has been acknowledgedto some extent, as I think as much harm canbe done by an owner feeling their horsemust not have shoes whatever the

circumstances as the previously incorrectassumption was that riding horses musthave shoes.

They have a whole chapter on ‘Diet andFeeding for the Healthiest Hooves whichis excellent. On the inside cover it says“This ground-breaking book explores theissues surrounding barefoot horses in theUK and looks in detail at how to improveoverall hoof health, in both shod andbarefoot horses. The book offers apractical, hands-on advice on achievingbarefoot performance in a variety ofdisciplines - from eventing and hunting toendurance - focusing on the essentialelements for healthy hooves: diet,environment, exercise and trimming orshoeing.”

It continues “In addition, the book hasstep-by step advice on rehabilitatingproblem hooves with case studies ofhorses with a range of issues, fromnavicular or tendon damage to metabolicdisorders like laminitis and insulinresistance. The authors have successfullyridden and competed their own horsesbarefoot for many years and have helpedmany hundreds of their clients' horseswork successfully without shoes.”

I found this book educational andenjoyable to read. Recommended.

Win a copy of‘Feet First – Barefoot Performance and Hoof Rehabilitation’We have 1 copy to give away. To enter the prize draw please email [email protected] with ‘Barefoot book’ as the subject andanswer the following question:What is the most common name given to the rubbery triangle found on the base of each of the horses feet?Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010.

Kelly Marks reviews:

Feet First – Barefoot Performance and Hoof Rehabilitation by Nic Barker and Sarah Braithwaite


The importance of working a horse ‘In Hand’Advanced Ground Work by Heather Moffett

“Teaching the horse from theground, it is possible to correcttypical habits such as the horseweighting the inside shoulder.

“

n hand work is so often looked downupon as something for people whocan’t ride to do. Yet the importance of

good in hand work cannot be sufficientlyemphasised. Starting a young horse in hand,means that he can be taught from day one,the meaning of the aids even though therider is standing or walking beside him, andnot on his back. For the handler/trainer, it isan opportunity to see from the ground,whether the movements the horse is makingare correct. You can see exactly what anglethe horse is at whetherhe is square and otherimportant points.

Teaching the horsefrom the ground, it ispossible to correcttypical habits such asthe horse weightingthe inside shoulder. It isalso possible to teach him to accept andwork ‘on the bit’, move away from the hand(which will replace the inside leg), work fromyour inside leg (hand) into outside rein, justas we would ask, when mounted. Bend canbe taught from the outset. Early lateral work,shoulder fore and leg yield, can all be taughton the ground, before the rider ever mountsthe young horse.

I remember many years ago, attending alecture demonstration by Kalman DeJurenak, a famous Hungarian trainer. He wasbased in German and trained the Hanoverianauction team riders. He brought over a team of horses and riders from Hanover. The horses ranged from just backed three

year olds, to an eight year advanced horse,but what astonished us was the fact that thethree year olds were performing shoulderfore and leg yield! In those days, if we had ahorse who could do even leg yield, wethought he was doing advanced work!

I remember asking Kalman De Juranak,why they had such young horses doingadvanced work. He looked puzzled andreplied that if the horse didn’t know how tobring his forehand and quarters in, howcould he bend? It was some time before I

really understoodjust how much theoutside, not insideaids, are used tobring the outsideof the horsearound the rider’sinside leg, and itwas my old

classical mentor, Capt Desi Lorent, whofinally clarified this for me. Being able toteach this from the ground first, makes it somuch easier to teach under saddle. The waywe teach in hand work, is so that thetrainer’s hand will press in the same place asthe rider’s leg will, once mounted.

Becky Holden, one of my EnlightenedEquitation teachers, is especially expert in thework in hand, and also long reining. WhenBecky showed a young Hanoverian horse ofover 17 hands, with whom she had workedsince a three year old (he is now four) at ourannual conference, the audience wereastonished at how mature he was. Themusculature had built up with the work in

hand and long reining, so that he is alreadyin complete self carriage under saddle, allwithout any gadgets or force, and in a simplesnaffle bridle.

Even in my indoor school which is only 45feet wide, by 105 ft in length, this hugehorse worked with consummate ease,performing shoulder in, leg yield, as well asthe basic school exercises, in hand first andthen under saddle. Older horse may alsoneed retraining and it is so much easier tostart the work on the ground first and thentransfer it to the saddle. This is especially trueif the rider is working on her own, with no‘eyes on the ground, so she is able to makecorrections straight away.

Horses which are not quite sound enoughto be ridden, can often be kept supple andcomfortable by in hand work. In fact, somehorses, thought to be unsound, havereturned to work after in hand training, asthe problems have been resolved by thegymnastic stretching and suppling possible.German classical trainer, Anja Beran, calls this work ‘physiotherapy for the horse’. Anja is renowned for bringing horses,written off through unsoundness, back tofull fitness utilising work such as this. She’llfirst work them in hand, and then continueunder saddle.

Many riders still view lateral work, asbeyond them, but when taught it in handfirst, find it so much easier once in thesaddle. I feel strongly that learning in handwork, should be a part of learning to ride,but there are so few people in the UK whocan teach it well, or even teach it at all!

I

“The way we teach in handwork, is so that the trainer’shand will press in the sameplace as the rider’s leg will,once mounted.”


Horse people learn to love it, especially onceshown how effective - and fun, it can be!

There are a couple of good books which Iwould recommend, along with the DVD byRichard Hinrichs entitled ‘Schooling in Hand’,his book, is of the same title. Another recentbook, ‘Schooling Exercises in Hand’, which Ican also recommend without hesitation, as itis exceptionally clearly written and illustrated,is by an Austrian trainer, I confess I had neverheard of, Oliver Hilberger. The latter is anexcellent read to get you started on in handwork, and the story of the horse featuring inthe photos, is inspirational!!

Equisimulator workshops at Heather Moffett’s farm in South Devon are held monthly.

For information please visit:www.enlightenedequitation.comor ring Debbie on 07877 202950

WinA copy of ‘Schooling Exercises In Hand’ worth £19.95 by Oliver Hilbergeremail: [email protected] with the Heading ‘Schooling Exercises by Hand’answering the following question:What is the postcode of the Enlightened Equitation Office?Closing date for entries: May 31st 2010.


Looking (even on snow clouds)

y the time this article goes to print, I am hoping the snowwill finally have cleared and we will be back to worryingabout lush spring grass and sweet itch rugs. At the

moment however, I am in the same situation as so many horseowners lugging water carriers across fields, and dragging copiousamounts of hay to chilly ponies and without a hope of riding.

On top of that, for any RAs or riding instructors, the frozenground means there is little work that can progress and trainingprojects have to be delayed until mother nature gives the nodwith a few days of sunshine. For me, this beautifully cruel weatherfollows on from another banana skin of luck – dislocating my armwhile preparing for the October tour.

As some of you may know, last autumn I started university as amature student. My first term was an exciting one. In part because Iwas able to justify many hours lost in a library reading 19th centurybooks with titles like ‘Notes on the Strange Behaviour of Women’.Then also because I had Banksy, the four year old Irish Draft crossThoroughbred Kelly bought when we visited Ireland, staying inSussex with me to prepare for the upcoming Monty Roberts tour. Asis often the case it was unclear what four year old Banksy had donebefore we got him but whatever, I was determined to show him offas an ‘IH poster boy’ to make everyone proud.

B


Those first few days Banksy was at work orplay with me three times a day, and thepressure I put on myself to have him readyturned to excitement as I realised how hethrived on this accelerated learning. Hewasn’t physically working hard and eachtime he came out it was with renewedenthusiasm. Before long he was absolutelyastounding Hilary (the yard owner and Pie’stour nanny) and me. We realised we had themakings of a great routine.

It was impossible to concentrate on eventhe most interesting lectures and readings asthe first demo loomed closer. I talked withKelly and we agreed a sensible decision to miss out the long distance journeys andquietly introduce Banksy to a demonstrationat Rodbaston College, Staffordshire. We’dsee how he took to it all - rather than showany of our ‘party pieces’. Banksy did meproud and was an absolute star, showingobedience, willingness, softness and trust –and of course, Perfect Manners! I was soproud to show Kelly and Monty how we hadgot on, but couldn’t wait for his nextappearance when I was really going to showthem something!

Driving the lorry home after the demo lateat night, Hilary was kept awake by myexcited planning of the next demo where Ihoped to show the preparation of accuracy,trust, bravery and precision for a young eventhorse using bath toys, stuffed toy dogs, andtinsel. Finally, while we munched on a latenight takeaway (I mean prepared a balancemeal), Take That’s ‘Greatest Day of Our Life’came on the kitchen radio and we grabbedat it as music for the final demo – ‘YourHorse Live’ where Banksy would be plaited, Imight even wear a shirt, and we would showoff our complete masterpiece.

But then disaster struck… during arehearsal at home Banksy stumbled afterjumping a cross-pole. I hit the deck andinstantly knew something was wrong.Instinctively, I grabbed my left wrist with myright hand, holding it to my chest so tightlythat it swelled up! At first it didn’t hurt toobadly but then with every heartbeat ashooting pain ran down my left arm. I sat inthe corner of the school while Hilary longlined Banksy over the fence a few times(perfectly – bless him!).

By the time she came back to check how Iwas I knew we needed to go to hospital. Inthe waiting room, I snuck a look at my leftshoulder and could see white bone pressedup against the skin, in an ugly lump and witha brick in my throat I began to realise the

extent of the injury – and the likely effect itwould have on my tour riding.

Sure enough I didn’t ride again on thattour. Although the IH family welcomed me tocome along to the demos anyway as part ofthe tour team, Kelly sent an email around allthe team members explaining what hadhappened and to request them not to ask meabout it as to be honest I felt devastated (andyes I know there are far worse things that goon in the world but I still felt horrific!). Irealised after a couple more demos that I justphysically wasn’t up to much. I guess thepainkillers didn’t help but I felt drainedemotionally as well. I soon realised I justneeded to go home and heal.

Once my arm was better and I was ready towork again, I began to start young warmbloods under saddle at a lovely Warm BloodStud, near Newbury. Between snowy days theirprogress has been exceptional and I absolutelyadored being full time with horses again.Riding Banksy after the break was fabulous,particularly because I was able to work atLambourn with Kelly and IH Student Katrin. Ihave benefited greatly from Kelly’s showjumping experience as we began to get Banksyoff the ground and out to his first showjumping show for a clear round jumping.

When Kelly bought Banksy from Ireland,there was also a piebald three year old (nowcalled Corky) we noticed in a field with a lotof other horses. Although not as classicallyhandsome as Banksy (maybe I’m biased)there was something about him that justcaught your eye and now he’s home we’refinding a lot to like about him. Thiswinter seemed the perfect time tostart his under saddle career and ashe has come more into thespotlight we are all thrilled to seehow nicely he has turned out –both mentally and physically.

It was our ambition to takethem all out for their first hacktogether on Christmas Day butthe weather set us back intraining. However, we managed iton January 1st (Kelly’s Birthday) sothat was just as perfect! WorkingBanksy alongside Corky has been a joythis winter – both boys are so quick tolearn and honest, and now provinglight and soft to ride also. I’m excited tosee where their careers take them next!

So with the February tour coming up,Banksy’s first competitive season ahead,a new term at university starting, and atiny bit of grass peeking through the

snow today, things are certainly looking up! Irealise now that having something to aim for– the October tour last year, with Banksy’sshow jumping show in the Christmas break,and with the February tour now, keeps mytraining productive and creative. Even ifthose things never come about due to theodd banana skin, the motivation andexcitement of a set goal seems to enrich mylife as much as it does my training.

The work that I did with Banksy in theAutumn was so worthwhile for him and forme even though the tour never happened forus. So my advice is for all of you to getonline or to your tackshop, or gettogether with some horsey friendstoday and choose something to aim for,put it in the diary.

As for the snow, well at least my car hasbeen cleared out and my accounts are up todate – and isn’t there a good old saying?

If life throws you snow… make snowmen!

for silver liningsBy IH Recommended Associate Rosie Jones

Intelligent Horsemanship issomething that everyoneshould shout about, becauseit’s good for people andhorses and it makes a positiveimpact that can changebehaviour and create a sharedunderstanding that benefitsall concerned.

I was brought up aroundhorses and was taught to rideas a child by a formidableriding instructor who terrifiedme. One of her lessonsinvolved getting each pupil toslide a sheet of newspaperunder both knees and thencanter around an arena. Ifyou lost your grip and thenewspaper your name wascalled, the finger was pointedand you were sent outimmediately. As you canimagine, twenty children,forty sheets of newspaperand fear of failure was notthe best combination forhorse or rider! I never totallyunderstood how to improvemy performance but I quicklygrasped that arriving last in

the arena was a good idea!When I met Kelly I hadn’t ridden for a long

time and had rather avoided the issue, but sheencouraged me to start again and because ofher I have been able to regain the wonderfulenjoyment of being back in the saddle. Hercalm, reassuring patience made everythingmake sense for the first time and the onlynewspaper involved is the one we read over acup of coffee and a piece of toast, after amorning with American Pie and friends!

Kelly’s work with horses has touched manypeople and she demonstrates a commitmentthat only comes from true passion for whatshe believes in. A few years ago, she wastalking to me about Intelligent Horsemanshipand how to create a group for like mindedpeople to share ideas and at the same time


When shoutingis a good ideaBy Angela Hobbs, IH Member

o reasonable person, especially anIntelligent Horse Person, will tell youthat shouting is a good idea and I

totally agree. With a couple of exceptions. Perhaps if

an over excited colt is flying towards you it’spermissible to wave your arms and shout.And when you find something good that hasa positive impact – then shouting about it isactually a great idea. I am a great believer inthe idea that by spreading the news of yourdiscovery you can help the “good” thing togrow and reach an ever increasing audience.Malcolm Gladwell explores this phenomenonin his book The Tipping Point and describes“The magic moment when ideas, trends andsocial behaviours, cross a threshold, tip andspread like wildfire”.

help horse owners find reliable, trustworthyhelp when they needed it. Together wedeveloped the idea of the IntelligentHorsemanship Association which now hasover 4000 members around the world.

This is another kind of shouting, peoplejoining together to share ideas andexperiences, with the added benefit of thesupport that comes from being part of acommunity that is greater as a whole, thanthe sum of the individual parts. A tippingpoint, the power of intelligent action thatspreads through the people it touches asthey find new ways of doing things thatmake sense.

My work has the shouting element too, Iwork with businesses to help them grow in ahealthy, positive and socially supportive way.Some business owners focus on “the bottomline” what profit will be made and howquickly? I prefer to work in a way that focuseson the triple bottom line, people, planet andprofit. This kind of work has lots of othertitles - sustainability, green business,environmental polices and corporate socialresponsibility but, in my opinion, they reallyall mean the same thing- its about gettingeveryone to recognise that living and workingin a caring, thoughtful and responsible way ispossible and creates behaviour that can “tip”into a healthy epidemic.

Don’t be discouraged by thinking that youcan’t make a difference on your own, youcan. Every time you do one thing that has apositive impact you are becoming part of theenvironmental tipping point, and as aresponsible horse owner think how you canre-use, recycle, shop locally, share journeysand reduce waste in whenever you can andwhen you do something good, shout aboutit, tell everyone and use the power of digitalmedia in every way you can to spread thosegood ideas. Be a part of a positive tippingpoint and watch what happens next!

If you’d like to see ideas for BusinessesThat Care visit my website at:

www.plan-mml.com

N


By Sam Austin EDT (BHSII and holder of the MRPCH) Understanding why it is necessary for a horse to receive dentaltreatment and the processes involved can help to reduce the stressassociated with a visit from an EDT for both you and your horse.

orses’ teeth grow (or moreaccurately erupt) through a largepart of their life. The majority of

dental care is the removal of overgrownareas of the teeth, ranging from the removalof sharp points, that can interfere with thecheeks and tongue, to large uneven areasthat can completely lock the jaws together.

Dental issues can effect the way the horsetakes a contact, it’s ability to eat andtherefore its condition and even its generaltemperament (just as chronic tooth pain canmake us grumpy as it can with a horse!)

How to pick an EDTChoosing a good EDT is a difficult process,

the BEVA (www.beva.org.uk) register is agood place to start but it does not guaranteethat a registered EDT will be ideal for you.One of the best ways is to ask some local vetswho they would recommend and ask somelike minded horse owners – both of theseshould have seen the EDT at work in real lifesituations.

What to expectThe EDT should give your horse a thorough

examination prior to starting work, ideallythis starts with feeling the outside of thehorses head for lumps and bumps –incorporating a nice head rub! They will theneither put their fingers in the horses mouthto see what the front teeth feel like or applythe speculum (a large metal mouth openingdevice) to examine all the way back. SomeEDTs will want you to hold the horse others(including myself) like it to be just them andthe horse in the stable for the safety of theowner. Once they have examined areas,hopefully having told you what is going on,they will proceed to rasp (or ‘float’) sharp orovergrown areas to make the horse morecomfortable. The whole process should take

somewhere between 30-45 minutes for abasic treatment. If your horse has seriousproblems the EDT may recommend thatwork is done with a power tool undersedation to prevent excess strain on thetooth roots from repetitive hand rasping.

The speculum and equine stressThe speculum is an essential part of a

dental examination and treatment, allowingthe EDT to feel for problems and treat themwith the least interference from the horse.Psychology studies by IH students haveshown that short applications of thespeculum do not cause significant stress tothe horse. However if the speculum is kepton for over 10 minutes the horse starts toshow minor signs of stress which graduallyincrease. So as long as it is only on for a shortperiod at a time it will likely cause you morestress than it does your horse!

You are always best letting your EDT knowif you are unhappy with the way they aretreating your horse, but do try and be tactful.Believe it or not some horse owners get cross

if you are not ‘firm’ with their horse! Make itclear how you want your horse treated –remember not all horse people know that agentle, intelligent approach is the best one. If your EDT is not happy with doing it yourway there are plenty others who will be!

It is not in the interests of your EDT to makeyour horse stressed as it only makes their jobharder. It is worth mentioning giving thehorse breaks from the speculum, most EDTsknow they should but it is easy to forget ifyou are getting carried away with the work!

Dealing with ‘difficult’ patientsIn my experience the calm, calculated

approach is best with horses that are notkeen on the experience. Pressure (rasping)and release (stopping rasping) is very usefulalthough it is hard to reward the horse forbeing still whilst treated – it is very easy to fallinto the trap of stopping working when thehorse moves and starting when it stands still,hence training the horse to be difficult totreat. My IH training has been invaluable tome in this area.

Indicators of a job well done andchecks you can do.

Apart from having spent an adequateamount of time treating your horsethere are other ways to check the EDThas done a good job. If you are braveyou can (very carefully) check the horsesfront molars (i.e. the ‘bitting area’)yourself.1. With your palms facing the horses

head grasp the underside of its jawwith your fingers (leaving yourthumbs on top).

2. Then you can insert your thumbswhere the bit would go, gently slideyour thumbs along the lower bars tothe teeth.

3. Have a feel around the front andsides of the teeth being VERY carefulnot to let your thumbs slip betweenthe teeth or you will get them bitten.

4. You can also check along the sides ofthe upper teeth with your thumbs(with you facing in the same directionof the horse) or your index fingers(with you facing the horse).

5. If these areas feel anything other thansmooth and slightly rounded then thejob is likely not good enough to keepthe horse comfortable for more thana few months.

6. If you can feel any sharp edges thenthere really is an issue with the job done.

If you are not brave enough to do this thenyou can press your fingers against the teeththrough the cheek, if the outside of the upperteeth feel excessively ridged or you get a painreaction from the horse then you need to thinkof getting a second opinion on the job done.

Open Wide!

H


Pure Feeds Crossword

ACROSS2 If linolenic acid is 3, what is 64 Which oil has the best Omega 3:6

ratio?6 Feeding a high grain diet to pregnant

mares may cause the foal to have thisgrowth related disease

8 Which hay contains the most energy?11 The sporadic form of this muscular

syndrome can be more likely to occurafter an over feed of starch and anunder feed of forage and fibre

12 Spring grass contains high amounts ofwhich sugar?

13 A ratio of 2:1 should be maintained inhorses' feed between calcium andwhat other mineral?

14 Chewing food into a mass and thendropping it outside of the mouth isknown as...

DOWN1 Injesting fresh or dried Ragwort can

cause damage to the?2 This dietary protein has one of the best

amino acid profiles for horses3 What is the correct scientific name for

Eohippus?5 The antioxidant vitamin C is also

known as...7 What is the American name for

Lucerne?9 Allergic reactions which appear as

bumps on the skin can be a result of ahigh...diet?

10 Which part of the digestive system isroughly the size of a football?

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ordweaver.com

Photo courtesy of Matthew

Webb

Crossword answers can be found on the members area of www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk


Think before you breed!Whether you plan to breed or not you can only benefit by attending one of IanVandenberghe’s breeding clinics taking place on May 15th/16th or June 26th/27th.

Facts about indiscriminate breeding• There are at least 1.35 million horses and ponies in the UK.• It is estimated that around 14,000 of these are being cared for in

equine sanctuaries. The current economic downturn is likely to seethis number rise significantly.

• The recession caused a dramatic slowing down of the market witheven quality horses selling for far lower prices than they previouslyachieved. The situation is much more serious at the bottom end,with poor quality animals regularly achieving less than the price ofa tank of petrol. Horse and Hound (20/12/08) reported poniesbeing sold at a North Wales market for just £35 and The Irish Times(26/01/09) carried a story about animals changing hands for aslittle as €20 or being swapped for a computer game!

• It is therefore essential that we address the problem of overproduction as a matter of urgency.

Intelligent Horsemanship urges all horse owners consideringbreeding to seriously consider the financial and emotional ties. Do you have safe paddocks, shelter and expert help as well asemergency help to hand? If your situation changed how would youcope? Are you prepared to give both mare and foal a home for life if necessary?

Breeding HORROR stories from the OnlineDiscussion Group“The only experience I have of costs are when my friends mare foaledlast summer and the foal needed a blood transfusion (or 2) and itcost £1600.”

“Eighteen months ago, four weeks after foaling, one mare went intoliver failure as a result of the strain of feeding her foal and died after36 hours in the vet hospital. That cost us £1500 for a dead pony, andan orphan foal.”

“I always understood it cost about £7000 to breed and keep a foaluntil it is 3 years old - depending on breeding and type.”

“Swabbing of mare and checking of health (£can't remember).Transport to suitable stallion (£200 each way) keep at stud (£privatenegotiation) scan to reveal no foal but mare caught infection. Lots ofvet visits, transport home, local hospitalisation and tests until mare isclear from STD. All together over £1K and no foal. tell me again whyI bother, when so may poor horses need homes.”

“One very experienced friend who breeds nice papered warmbloods,ended up with a huge (£5,000+) vet bill for her 4 month old foalwhen she came down with a mystery illness that nearly killed her. She had to sell mum to pay the vet bill and now the little filly is rising 3 and isn't going to be suitable height wise for what she wants, so will be sold. Despite advertising her at an extremely good price forher breeding/type she's finding it impossible to sell her.”

“You don't have to buy trouble, but you can easily breed trouble. A friend of mine had her nice show jumper mare covered at greatexpense - she had a straightforward pregnancy and foaled indoors inthe early hours when my friend wasn't there. The mare scraped backher bed and foaled standing up. The foal took all the skin off herhock as she hit the ground. Six months and much heartache, tearsand vet bills later, the foal, a grand big filly, was put to sleep. My friend has never bred anything since.”

It doesn’t have to be a nightmare!IH ‘Showing Advisor’ Julia Topham-Barnes writes:

My passion for Show Ponies which then led on to Show Hacks wasonly realised when I got my first pony in the early 60's and I was ableto show at local and town level. This led on to me buying a showHack mare who I eventually bred from in 1976. I discovered that Iwas better at breeding and showing in hand than I was at showingunder saddle.

The number of foals I have bred is relatively small although I havedelivered countless foals for other people. My stock has won in handor under saddle at virtually every county and National show in Britainfrom the South of England Show and Royal Cornwall to the RoyalHighland including Royal Windsor Horse Show, The RoyalInternational and the Horse of the Year Show.

Handling the Young Foal ClinicOn this one day course your studies will include:

• How to identify the three stages of foaling • How to identify the vital early stages of life in a new-born foal • Aspects of imprinting the foal • The main diseases and problems related to a neonate • The correct and most humane way to handle the young foal • How to recognise foal behaviour • Various methods of weaning • The best methods of parasite control • Appropriate vaccination programmes • Foal growth and hoof care (including corrective trimming)

Stud Operation & PracticeOn this one day clinic your studies will include:

For more details ring 01488 71300 or visit oureducational courses page atwww.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk

• Broodmare management • Stallion selection • Stallion management • Codes of practice for major contagious diseases • Foaling and foal management • Disease control • Discussion on ethics

Derwent Soldier’s Tale Derwent Mr Wordly Wise


The Listening Post caught up with horses lucky enough to have

been used in a Monty Roberts or Kelly Marks demonstration.

This quarter we caught up with Kizzy and her owner Judith.

they now?aving decided to part companywith my loaned horse and to startsaving for a 3 year old to bring

on in the summer of 2004 a friend spottedan advertisement for Irish Draught xThoroughbred foals for sale. The rest they sayis history, it was love at first sight (for both ofus I think) and in the august Kizzy camehome with me.

All was fine until she was 3 and a half/4 years old and she began to rear and buck with real determination to get me off.My confidence hit an all time low.

Which demo was the horse part of?In the August I saw the Monty Roberts

demo in Myerscough (October 2008) andwrote to Intelligent Horsemanship explainingmy difficulties with Kizzy. Once selected,which I was delighted about, we travelled tothe demo.

What happened on the evening?Kizzy went into the pen with no issues and

to be honest was very chilled and relaxed. I must admit I did think that she wouldn’trear. How wrong was I?

Monty came into the pen and talked aboutKizzy’s desire to rear, and to be in control,and how dangerous this could be, especiallyas most of it was on tarmac.

Tim the rider appeared, Kizzy was tackedup, he attempted a trot and right on cue shereared. He tried to canter and again anotherrear - she almost looked like she was havinga tantrum. Monty said she was a clever mare

as she knows that if she rears the rider willgo away. This is what I did as she scared meso much I dismounted.

Monty then appeared with a pacifierwhich basically looks like blinkers andexplained what it was used for, it was thenplaced over Kizzy’s head and thingsprogressed so well that Tim was able toeventually canter her. Kizzy was thenuntacked and followed Monty around thearena nice and calm and relaxed.

How did you progress after thedemonstration?

After a couple days of rest, and the arrivalof my pacifier, I placed the pacifier on herand lunged her to allow her to get used to it,she didn’t appear to be troubled by it sodecided to tack her up and ride her.

I asked my instructor for assistance andstarted to have lessons on her. I was petrifiedof the cantering so we held back on this andwent back to basics until I felt I could trusther more. Eventually I cantered her andalthough scared I enjoyed it.

We went out hacking more and shebecame safer on the roads, even taking thelead on a hack with a 9 year old horse.Things were getting better. In the Easter of2009 I removed the pacifier and we venturedinto the unknown. We visited Kelsall with myfriend whom I trust and had some lovelygallops.

After this I decided to compete at the localriding club but for some reason she wasnaughty, rearing and broncing. The problemshad reared their ugly head again but wepersevered and kept going. In the in handclasses she managed to win the section and go through to the UK showing even.

The rosettes were also mounting up for theridden classes - always last but it was thepartaking and I actually enjoyed myself.

At one show she became almost un-rideable rearing and generally out ofcontrol again. After a chat to my experiencedfriends who witnessed it I rang my instructor.

Daniel appeared and gave her three weeksof boot camp and went back to basics again,completely ignoring any signs of naughtybehaviour. After this I had a couple of lessonsand then off to the show. I was determinednot to let this stop me and bingo we camethird in our show hunter class. To say I wasdelighted was an understatement, fellowcompetitors couldn’t believe their eyes.

In all the time I went to the shows thejudges just adored her and even got a offerfrom a judge to buy her, there was no way Iwas going to part with her.

What are my plans for the future?Well since we competed last summer she

has been fabulous she went to a dressagecompetition with my friend and got a scoreof 71% narrowly missing out on a rosetteand a placing but we were gob smacked asthe judge said “a horse to watch for thefuture.”

I am going back to the local riding cluband hope to compete at Warrington HorseShow in May 2010 so here’s hoping?

I have jumped the occasional fence, beenout hacking and to be honest she hasbecome a sweetheart. I’m sure I wouldn’thave been at this stage if I hadn’t been to seeMonty Roberts and with the help of myinstructor and good friends I probably wouldhave still been struggling with her.

HWhere are


Make sure no-one misses Kelly Marks’ May Masterclasses!If you have any other ideas to get the word out – do get in touch!

Your chance to be part of the team! Volunteer at the May Masterclasses.We love (and appreciate) IH members coming to help us at demonstrations.There’s quite a band of loyal helpers that turn up to a range of demos nowbut if you’ve never tried it before, don’t be shy, everyone is friendly andyou’ll soon feel part of the team. Plus you’ll get to meet American Pie andIH’s new project horse.

It’s a great opportunity to experience what goeson ‘behind the scenes’ and so next time youhear something crazy like ‘all the horses aretrained beforehand’ or ‘they only chose theeasy ones’ you can give your first hand report ofwhat really happens as the owners and horses arrive!

We ask that helpers stay to help pack everything up andyour evening should finish by 12 midnight. Yes, hard workbut fun! If you are interested in helping, please [email protected] or call the IH Office on 01488 71300.

1. Please email your friends with the demonstrationdetails from our website.

2. Please pin up Kelly’s tour leaflets/posters, availablevia the discussion group and the IH Office.

3. If you would like extra leaflets just contact the office on 01488 71300 or email [email protected] can also download them from our website onthe Demonstrations page. You can then pin them up EVERYWHERE local riding club, saddlers, feedstores, livery yards, show centres, doctors surgery,bus stops, traffic lights…

4. Don’t forget to tell your local gossip and swear her to secrecy!

IH Member Jane Moorcreated this fantastic cake for Monty and presented it to him at The Grange

Equestrian Centre in October last year. She also sent a lovely selection of home

made jams and pickles for the girls in the IH Office. Many thanks Jane!

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Exam Results!

Well done! Photo courtesy of Katrin Junker

Congratulations to the following IH students who, having workedincredibly hard to gain a place on the exam week, passed the Stage 2exam in December 2009 and now receive the Monty RobertsPreliminary Certificate of Horsemanship:

Ross Copland Sophie Warren-Smith Gillian Bradley Bronwen Packham Clair Turner Sam Austin Lou Austin Bridget Hughes Alison Johnson Elaine Sutcliffe Ina Merete Schjerpen Mel Betts Catherine Walker Emma Richardson

Spotlight


Spotlight on Recommended Associate (RA)Listening Post meets Rosie Jones

LP: How did you get into horses?

Rosie: Like most little girls into horses, myparents weren’t horsey and I worked for rideslocally, (including at a donkey sanctuarywhere I caught the bug for training,) until Icould afford to buy my own pony– which wasrather prematurely done as a teenager atReading sales. I bought a Shetland pony, gothim going under saddle (I was a very skinny13yo, and he was quite a hefty Shetland!)and in a little cart that I fixed and painted up,and sold him with the trap in order to buy a13h NF pony from the next sales.

LP: What's it like touring with Montyand Kelly?

Rosie: Surreal! Time passes in a very strangeway, days between demos seem to dragbecause you can’t think about anything butthe last demo and the next demo, long drivespass quickly with the right music andcompany, nights in travel lodges blur into oneand then the whole team eats breakfasttogether on the morning before a demo andits only then that time seems to behave itselfand settle back into normal fashion for anhour or so. After breakfast it goes crazy and4 hours feels like 2 minutes, before you knowit Pie is rehearsing and then the queue seemsto have materialised, the demo starts and thenext time you blink is packing up chairs withthe last hardcore helpers at midnight! The IHteam is really like a family when tour timecomes around, so even though its hard work,there is always a bit of a lull after a tour as weall get used to being on our own again.

I used to be a bit worried about riding infront of Kelly or Monty, but riding in front ofeither of them has some real benefits. FromKelly you get absolute support, positivity,strategies for success and the feeling of beingon a continuous learning curve, from Montyyou get total (sometimes terrifying!) honesty,clarity and focus. Of course there’s atremendous generosity of time andknowledge from both, it genuinely neverceases to amaze me how passionate theyboth still get when its gone midnight and ahelper asks a question, or early in the morningworking in the indoor arena at home. When ever I have been travelling with Kelly, we have spent as much time talking abouthorses on the journey as we do in the demos.

The hardest thing about tour has to befinding healthy or nice things to eat withoutspending a fortune at service stations! Andthe best thing has to be some of the cakesand gifts that are made for Monty! Noseriously, the best thing on this tour for me isgoing to be riding a young horse in trainingand seeing the progression – that’s seriouslymore exciting than cake.

LP: What's important to you when youmeet an owner and their horse for thefirst time?

Rosie: Quite often a horse and owner havebecome somehow at odds with one another,and I think the initial thing is to get the horseand owner back on the same side again. Inthe early days it’s almost like a detective gametrying to work out not only what is going onbut also a solution which will work for thisowner in this situation. My favourite thing todo to as one of the first clues is not only towatch the owner with their horse, but toactually feel the horse myself – by taking therope or riding (if it’s not a dangerousproblem). I really like to come up withefficient and effective solutions, practicalchanges people can start to make instantlyand see improvement.

LP: What does a typical RA day look likefor you?

Rosie: There really isn’t a typical day! I’mactually studying towards a degree this yearalongside my RA work. This means that mytime could be spent working with Banksy(Kelly’s youngster) at home, in the library inthe evenings, or on home visits all over theplace. Most of the time I am based aroundEast Sussex and Brighton at the moment, buthome to Newbury during the long studentholidays – so I’m not even consistent in myworking area! Home visits for me areoccasionally one off visits to one owner at ayard, say, for a loading problem. Sometimes itis a block of work – for instance recently Ibacked 5 young warmbloods at Stud XIXspending 3-4 hours a day there, or, moreoften it’s a repeat session e.g. a weekly ridinglesson or schooling session. Sometimes I get acall from a long way away where there are nolocal RAs and have to try to fit a few sessionsin together to make a few days work – I’mcurrently planning 2 days in North Waleswhich has grown around a lady who saw ‘thefalling off trick’ on TV and wants her horse tolearn it. (If you didn’t come on tour last yearthis is where Caesar the cob learned to stopfrom a canter if I ‘fell off’)

LP: Do you have a favourite type ofhorse that you enjoy working with?

Rosie: Well, isn’t it just the way thatwhichever type of horse you’re working withat the moment is your favourite type ofhorse?! So it’s hard to say. But I do particularlyenjoy working on ridden problems of allvarieties - not just severe remedial work butalso horses with hard mouths, or who jig jog,who don’t work correctly and softly in theschool, who are rushing jumps etc. I have a

What is an Intelligent HorsemanshipRecommended Associate (RA)?

Intelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociates are specialists in training andunderstanding horses, ponies, both young and‘horses with problems’. They have undergonean intensive programme of training and examsto achieve this status and are the only peopleIntelligent Horsemanship Ltd. recommend toassist with the training of other peoples horses.

Using established principles of psychologyand equine behaviour together with years ofexperience this way of training has becomeincreasingly popular. Sympathetic to both horsesand people our Recommended Associateshave helped horses and horse ownersachieve a better understanding and achievetheir full potential all around the world.

Whether you have a young foal or weanlingthat needs handling; a horse that needssaddling, long-reining, backing; a horse whowon’t shoe, catch, load, clip, needs schooling,hacking out, or anything else you can think of,one of our Recommended Associates canprovide you with a solution to get youheading in the right direction.

real soft spot for nappy, sour or backwardthinking horses too! Starting youngsters isalso really rewarding, and almost relaxing,when done correctly compared to remedialhorses. I really like taking the principles ofbehaviour, and pressure and release, that IHcourses teach on the ground and applyingthem under saddle to help horses becomemore willing and understanding partners inany discipline.

LP: What does 2010 hold for you?

Rosie: Well, not only Monty’s February tour,but also The May Masterclasses with Kelly,which are a major highlight for me becausethe content of them differs slightly from aMonty tour and I find it a really exciting tourto be part of. I will also be teaching on the IHcourses in Witney, and this is going to beBanksy’s first year of competition so watchthis space, we will keep the LP updated withhis training and progress!

Rosie covers Oxfordshire, Wiltshire,Berkshire, Warwickshire. Tel: 07872 589 514


Paddy Gracey to the rescue!Here at IH HQ we are constantly thrilled by the exceptional praise wereceive for the work of all our Recommended Associates via the evaluationforms client’s complete. This quarter Paddy Gracey (RA for Lancashire,Greater Manchester, Merseyside) has been receiving volumes of praise fromseveral clients. In particular the owners of a bolshy cob mare called Jill.

“We were stunned at how quickly ournervous beast responded to Paddy and howmarvellous he was. He was equally fantasticwith my 13 year old daughter whose horse itis. He spent 3 hours showing her how to helpJill, ensuring that she fully understood howto deal with the mare and how to ‘listen’ towhat the horse wanted and needed.

Paddy is truly gifted. Since his visit much ofwhat we do daily has been miraculouslyimproved and that which is yet to improvewe at least now understand why. Paddycarefully and gently showed Jill what to do,then showed our daughter and helped her tobe able to do it herself.

At several points we asked Paddy ifhe’d had a duplicate horse in his boots –such was the immediate transformationof our horse. Jill is an extremely anxious andsomewhat stroppy girl who, we hadthought, was vicious. She has had somethingof a chequered past and at some point beenbadly treated – not a good combination for a13 year olds first full loan!

Paddy explained that Jill wasn’t violent,just very anxious about what was happeningto her all the time. He showed us how todeal with the biting, to remain calm and tothen allow her to blossom. Since then, shehas not ‘gone’ for anyone – just nips at us –but with continued work we will help herovercome this. She has also gone on to jumpfences – something that her previous ownercould never get her to do as she would ‘run’at them and barge through.

We have purchased the Dually Halter andlong lines, and she is now longlined daily.The improvement in her is marvellous andlittle short of miraculous, even down to thefact that she will allow us to touch hertummy. Saddling her up is much lessdangerous. Other horses and riders are nowprepared to stay in the indoor school as sheis ridden.

We cannot thank you or praise Paddyenough. We have learned to understandmuch more of what she is trying to tell usand how to listen to her. She is much morerelaxed and obviously trusts us far more.Once we have fully implemented everythingthat Paddy taught us, we will ask him backfor another lesson. He has given us hismobile number and assured us that if weever need him we can just call and he willtalk us through the issue – utterly marvellousman.

I could wax lyrical about him for pages butyou are busy. I will end by saying that I havenever known three hours to pass so quickly,or for the effects of a lesson to have been soprofound and long lasting.”

When asked how they would suggestIntelligent Horsemanship could improveour service their reply was simple, “Havea ‘Paddy’ at every yard!”

And the good news didn’t stop thereas we received another update on Jill’sprogress from her owners:

“Since I wrote Paddy’s review Jill hasattended a Pony Club jumping session.

The parents groaned when they saw her -apparently she’d been a nuisance a couple ofyears ago when last a member, and theparents weren’t happy to see her at all!! Theman in charge also groaned when shearrived, and said that in his opinion the horsejust didn’t jump - he had spent hours withher and her owner and the horse justwouldn’t do it.

After Jill had cleared her first round, theman looked at me in sheer bemusement,flung his arms wide and said; ‘Jill doesn’tjump’ we all laughed - me somewhat smuglyas I watched my daughter line her up for hersecond turn. Once again Jill cleared thecourse - with inches to spare - the manlooked at me and once again said;

‘That horse doesn’t jump’ I replied ‘You’dbetter tell Jill that, not me. She doesn’t seemto understand that she can’t or won’t do it’.

Thanks to Paddy’s time with us, Jill trustsKate and the two of them are a realpartnership who will do anything together.They are a genuine team who just love eachother and know that the other one is alwaysgoing to do her best for her at all times, in akind, gentle and positive way that allowsthem both to learn and grow together.”

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