23 March Confrontation

23 March

Over the last few weeks I have felt empathy with so many of these sensitive powerful horses. I have realised that I am just like a horse. I like being in a group (herd) of like minded people with shared objectives. I like to know my place in the group. I like to have clarity about things. I like to be respected for my contribution to the group. I have spent my working life helping my clients to gain clarity and focus. It is not surprising that I need that for me. But I also know that I have clung on to situations when things have changed and I have lost my clarity.

I have spent 4 weeks here with Willy watching him confront horses head on. I have even witnessed him creating situations where he suspected there may be an issue so that confrontation may occur. He does not avoid confrontation. He sees the smallest digression…or he creates a situation to bring out the digression where he suspects it may occur…..then he intervenes immediately. Then he is so quick to correct and reward. He does not avoid confrontation as I am apt to do. Why do I avoid it? Perhaps because I am afraid of the consequences? Perhaps because I’m not sure I’ll be able to deal with the reaction? Perhaps because I’m afraid of losing something?

Let me give you an example. This morning Willy rode Tamtam. He decided to ride him at feeding time. Eric, his mate and next door neighbour, was eating his feed. Tamtam didn’t get any feed. Instead he got Willy with a headcollar (which means work!) Tamtam was having none of it. He gave the horsey equivalent of two fingers and went to the back of the box and turned his bum on Willy. Willy said “au place” and again Tamtam moved to the other corner, bum directed at Willy. Willy said “au place” and Tamtam ignored him again. Willy hit him with the headcollar across his bum and growled “au place”. Tamtam was completely surprised. Turned around and put his head in the headcollar!!

If this would have been me I know I would not have done the same. First of all I wouldn’t have chosen to ride him at feed time. Then I wouldn’t have demanded Tamtam’s attention. I would probably have waited and approached from the shoulder with a treat. This is what Willy calls “Please Sweety sweety darling” behaviour. This is avoiding confrontation and trying to find a way around things to avoid confrontation. The problem remains!! I have just avoided it…..this time. Willy prefers to confront issues and resolve them head on so that they are resolved once and for all. I see it is better.

The issue is having the confidence to do this. If we are frightened of the horse’s reaction he will sense this and he will be able to win. We must confront only when we are sure of success…..so we need to work on intervening successfully….and the more we do this the more situations we will be able to confront. If we are unsure of our ability to handle the confrontation we must be wise enough to know that and to seek help.

The diagram above shows the vicious cycle we can get into with avoiding and ignoring issues. When we loose confidence we "avoid" and "ignore". When we avoid we do not confront so the issue remains. When we ignore the issue we are not there. We lose contact with reality. In both cases we do not learn and grow. We live with fear. The good news is that we can recognise our avoiding and ignoring behaviour patterns and experiment with confronting our fears head on.

Back with Tamtam in the washbox, Willy showed him that he had a whip and then tacked him up (normal saddle and leather Pelham) and took him into the manege. After a few tours loose in walk Willy got on and headed out of the manege for a hack with me on foot. As we reached the exit to the chemin, Eric called and Tamtam stopped. Willy asked him to walk on and Tamtam reversed and threatened to rear. Willy sent him forwards and Tamtam tried to push him into the hedge. This time Tamtam got the whip and he scuttled forwards before settling down into a nice active walk. After that he was impeccably behaved. At various times Willy asked him to stop and wait or turn around…and then advance again….all obediently done…..for which he received a lot of praise. It was a happy confident horse that returned to the washbox and received his reward of a piece of apple.

We talked about it afterwards. I am afraid to confront because I care about what others think of me. I want to be liked. I don’t like to hear someone say that I am nasty or horrible. It hurts me. Willy says it doesn’t hurt him. He doesn't need to be liked , he needs to be respected. He takes his feedback from the source of all honesty = the horse. He cares about his relationship with each horse and that it is growing in trust and mutual respect. He wants the same with the people but he knows that he cannot control what other people think. I think I need to learn to do the same.

On that note I want to bring this blog to a close as I have a book to write. I hope that like me you will want to know the rest of the story and will read the book when it is drafted.  I'm going to finish with just a couple of photos of the three of us "TamTam ,me and him". Thank you for reading.

22 March A lesson in not being there

22 March

This morning Willly rode Tamtam for the first time. I wasn't there. I was gutted. It is a landmark in the process and I missed it. Instead I heard about it afterwards.

Willy told me that he had taken Tamtam to the manege and put the treeless saddle on him (the same one we had put on him before in the washbox when he reared and fell).When he secured the girth Tamtam had reared. When Willy let him go he had bucked and bucked in his effort to get rid if the saddle. After he had settled and accepted the breaking saddle, Willy took him back to the wash box. There he changed the saddle for his normal cobra saddle and his bridle with the leather pelham. He then took him for a short hack in walk for one hour.

I was not there so I don't know any more than what I have been told and how that plays out in my imagination. I think Willy may have excluded me so that I understand why he is always there for Josephine. He travels one hour each way to watch her ride Argenta....that way he can see and feel everything. Now I understand why!

I asked Willy why he is riding Tamtam before he is treated. He explained that it is just light work to understand his behaviour issues. The previous owner had told me that Tamtam couldn't be taken out alone. Well he has been! We will continue to work on Tamtam's attitude to work this week before treating him with Willy's muscle oil next week.

I am sorry to report that after going absolutely crazy in the manege Eric is hopping lame on his right fore leg again. I can't help thinking that it may be related to the nasty cut he got there when he got cast when he first arrived. More box rest for him.

In the afternoon we went to see Argenta at Jeans. It is the first time at Jean's in some time as he has been away on holiday. I felt privileged to see some beautiful graceful riding in a good rhythm and balance through some difficult combinations. Jean concluded that Josephine is ready for her first competition. As a trial she will complete a practice round at another venue on Saturday afternoon.Her first competition will be on 17 April we hope. Jean asked where Antoine was!

21 March Robert Miller

21 March

Willy told me he is a big fan of Robert Miller. We spent the morning watching a video by Robert Miller and talking about it.

The video covered:
(1) Desensitizing the horse through repetition. How it is situation sensitive;
(2) Teaching the horse to choose between evils with a lip chain;
(3) Using the hobble to train an aggressive confrontational horse.Important to note that the horse lives in a herd where there is a pecking order. It is important for him to know his place. Horses understand domination. It is important that the horse understands he is below humans in the pecking order. The hobble leaves then horse impotent and helpless. When he realises the trainer has the power to take away a leg and give it back he knows his place. It is important that this is done with no brutality or hostility. Patience, persistence and consistency are the important watch words. As Willy is always saying it isn't what you do it's the way that you do it!
(4) Imprint training at birth is very valuable. Foal is at his most receptive for learning at birth. It can set a foal up for life.

Willy told me that it is important to understand the cause of aggression/ bad behaviour. Is it because the horse has pain or is it a lack of submission? The two are often hand in hand.

A foal can be born with pain....maybe due to a difficult birth or to the way he falls from the mare!

Taking responsibility for my choices. Don't blame the vet or the farrier....they are doing their best....To grow we have to admit to our mistakes and learn from them. Blaming defeats this.

19 March A lesson in clarity

19 March

In the morning I loose schooled Tamtam in the manege then I took him to the washbox for a tidy up. He hesitated on entering but behaved like a gentleman. He is losing his coat. The hair he is losing doesn't look or smell nice. It is strange.

Afterwards Willy asked me to ride the young bay mare that had been so problematical before . You may remember the day that Willy had put her with another mare in the manege and then separated them (a challenge to each mare) and she had been a disaster to ride tossing her head around and generally not going forwards. Well today she was like a completely different mare! Willy told me had ridden her twice since then and swiftly driven her forwards with the support of the whip where necessary. Another successful confrontation! I watched him loose school her first. Fantastic rhythm, great outline, an old pro but only 4 years old!! What a difference when I rode her. Light. Forwards. Working over her back. Super! Only one issue I had was when I asked her to canter. I used too much leg and she shot forward bronking. After that I knew to ask quietly and she did some beautiful transitions.After we took her for a walk up the chemin. Her eyes were on stalks and she felt like an unexploded bomb. But she passed barking dogs, geese, horses in fields and on a walker....Not bad for only her 5th time under saddle!

In the afternoon we worked the stallions in the pessoa in the manege. Willy demonstrated the effect of no contact and contact using the equipment. With a correctly adjusted contact the horse rounded his back and worked properly from behind. With more freedom the outline was continuously changing with the horse going hollow at times and not working from behind. Willy said it is like the mother taking the child out. The mother that takes the hand firmly and says come on we are going out! And the one who has a slack hand and says maybe we will go out....Which one would you trust? Positive. Positive.

Later I talked with Willy about what we had seen during the day. He told me that the horse that doesn't understand feels stress. And that when the horse feels stress it is difficult for him to learn. When we are clear and positive the horse can understand and this reduces his stress. Being "moyenne" (maybe) does not give the horse clarity. It is yes or no not maybe. Black or white not grey. Of course there are always shades of grey but the closer we can get to black and white the better for the horse. I think that it is the same for people.

18 March 2+2=

18 March

Started the day with mucking out 4 boxes...Madame Crotte was very happy!!

Then a team meeting to discuss the way forward. Some important decisions need to be made but we will wait for Francois so that we can take into account  his opinion.

I have been thinking a lot about Eric and his shoulder problem. I was not correct when I said that the only tie he had been lame was when the farrier had over tried his hinds. The last time he was hopping lame was 5 years ago. It was just after I had met Stephen Goodridge, Willy's apprentice, at Pompadour with his stallion, Vigo. I had made arrangements to visit Le Frelut but Eric came in hopping lame from the paddock on his right shoulder. I called Stephen to say I couldn't go, and, after consulting briefly with Willy, they told me that they would come to me the following morning! On that occasion I decided not to get Eric treated. I hot and cold hosed and massaged his injury and he got better. At least that is what I thought! He has carried muscle tightness in his left loin for some time. I am always massaging there....but as Willy says it is not deep enough. My Eric has been working with an old injury for 5 years......it is only as I have pushed for more that the old injury has once again made it's presence known. That is my hypothesis. As Yves the vet has already told me, it will improve again and he will work with it but I will have to be very careful. I think I owe my horse the chance of something more. I think I want him to be treated........

Willy took me to the wash box and put my hand in a jug of the special oil he uses. I felt nothing. It had no effect. The only sign was that the skin on my hand went white and dry. I have taken a photo of my hand that I will attempt to share. Willy wanted me to feel this so that I would know that if Eric is ok he will feel nothing.

When I arrived again after lunch Willy had turned Hermanus out in the paddock. I found him sitting watching and talking to the horse. He told me afterwards that he always sits with his sports horses in work when they are turned out. That way he knows exactly what has happened and he can intervene if things start to go awry. As with Eric's shoulder injury, he told me that most injuries occur when the horse is turned out. He does what he does to limit the risks.

Before we set off to visit Josephine and Argenta we talked about feeding. I shared the interesting conversation I had with Jo Bower of Horsesource Solutions. Jo told me that she wasn't surprised about the length of time it takes for the horses here to eat their forage mix. She told  me that short chop forage and chaff takes 1.5 times as long to chew as long fibre such as hay and haylage. I told her about my search for data to understand the digestibility of feed when the horse has for example poor teeth or parasites. How much of the feed is wasted due to such oversights? She told me that she once took samples of the dung at a yard, dried it and made it into brickettes. then she burned it in front of the yard's owner...to show how much energy was being wasted by their feeding regime. Willy told me that it wasn't really fair as all dung would burn in this way (that is why so many much heaps are set on fire to reduce!) He told me that he is more interested in what he can actually see in the dung. If he can see whole pieces of components of feed then this is clearly not digested. I wonder if I can find any proper studies on this? I am particularly interested in the effects of dentition and parasites. Jo told me that the two biggest effects are feeding poor quality feed and the ultimate is stress. Limiting the horse's stress is the best way to enhance digestibility and avoid wasting money.

Josephine did a super job of managing Argenta through a variety of jumping exercises Willy set for her. No running out and all very cool and calm. Once again well done Josephine. Jean is back tomorrow so we will see what he thinks of her progress in the coming week.
 

17 March A drive out in the countryside

17 March

This morning I spent a quiet time catching up with cleaning and things at the gite. About time!! I also spent some time starting thinking about the book. I have lots of information now so better get started!!

In the afternoon I gave my two boys a brush. Both seemed to enjoy the attention. Eric not so sensitive when I touched him where he was sore yesterday. And Tamtam not running away!

I spent a quiet time with my mentor, Willy. We took Antonio out in the caleche for a 2 hour balade. The sun was shining and everything was perfect in the world. Antonio was "extra" special. He is a 9 year old New Forest pony stallion...jet black with a blaze and 4 white socks and boy can he go!

I asked Willy about how he built him up to his level of fitness.He said little by little. This pony can trot at medium trot on the road forever......but that is because he is very very fit. A horse like my Eric that has been wrapped in cotton wool can't do that. Why have I done that to Eric I found myself musing as we drove along........
.................The answer is interesting. In short I'm afraid of breaking things.....so I always hold back.

Willy told me that with horses (as with all things in life) he is 100%. He never stops saying "Willy pas moyenne". He pushes for the extra all the time...with horses and with people. He is not afraid to push the limit. He knows just about where the limit is and if he gets it slightly wrong he is confident he can make it better again. I have a lot to learn. I do this in so many aspects of my life....holding back because I'm afraid of loss.

Afterwards we loose schooled Casper and Romano in the manege. I can assure you there was nothing moyenne about it at all.

16 Mars Esperance pour Eric

16 Mars

Dès que je suis arrivé, j'ai vérifié la température d’ Eric et l'impulsion numérique dans sa jambe antérieure droite. Température 37,7 celsius (normal) et le pouls 36 bpm (normal) . La respiration normale . état de son box normal . Jusqu'ici tout est bon.Je l’ai brossé et fais un petit massage, mais il ne voulait pas me laisser toucher entre ses pattes avant ou derrière son épaule droite .  Eric se retournant et claquant ses dents contre moi . Je comprend. Je comprend.

Yves , le vétérinaire , est arrivé plus tard dans la matinée. Tout d'abord , il a vacciné Tamtam car c'est le moment. Puis il a donné un coup d'oeil à Eric . Il était beaucoup moins boiteux aujourd'hui je l'ai noté . Nous avons marché au pas et trot sur ​​la route et Yves a confirmé ( comme nous avons pensé ) qu'il c’est la jambe avant droite. Il a ensuite fait une vérification complète ostéopathique ( Yves est également un ostéopathe ) et testé son sabot . Yves a confirmé que le problème ne vient pas du squelette ou du pied. C’ est dans l'épaule et c’est un problème musculaire . J'ai demandé si ça pourrait être lié à l' arrière gauche en diagonale et le muscle trop dur dans la zone le long de son dos . Yves a dit que ca pourrait bien être le cas et qu'il a devait avoir une douleur depuis un certain temps .

Je lui ai demandé ce que je devais faire et il a dit en premier repos au box pour quelques jours . Après ça? Il m'a demandé l'âge du cheval = 18 ans. Il a dit que s'il était plus jeune, il recommanderait le traitement musculaire de Willy . A l'âge de Eric , il est à moi de décider. Je peux juste faire très attention à ce que je fais avec lui ..... ou je peux le faire soigner . Yves a dit que Eric a l'air si bon que ce serait dommage de ne pas  le remettre en pleine forme . Je pensais avoir le muscle postérieur a traité alors peut-être cela est le signe que je dois rétablir Eric correctement  . J'ai besoin de réfléchir......

Yves a confirmé que Tamtam est maintenant cliniquement correct .... tous les signes internes sont ok . Il y a 3 étapes pour la remise en forme:

( 1 ) Clinique (maintenant fait ) ;

( 2 ) psychologique - traiter les problèmes mentaux et le comportement que Tamtam aura acquis à la suite d’avoir travaillé dans la douleur ( TT a l'habitude d'essayer de se libérer quand il voit une selle .... et se débarrasser de son cavalier ) ; et

( 3 ) physique - Traitement de la structure musculo-squelettique.

 Nous sommes maintenant dans les étapes ( 2 ) et ( 3 ) .

Un tel soulagement. A peine dormi la nuit avant ... malade d'inquiétude . Pensant que  l'histoire de Shantie allait recommencer. Maintenant, j’ai un peu d'espoir .

Dans l'après-midi , nous avons travaillé les étalons en liberté dans le manège sur le plat et en obstacle . Nous avons également travaillé TT dans le manège (pas de saut !!!!! ) Il a marche correctement au pas  et au galop . C’ est seulement dans le trot que l’on peut voir sa jambe postérieur boiter. Ensuite, nous l'avons emmené à la douche . C’ est la première fois qu'il a été de retour là-bas depuis sa chute . Une légère hésitation à l'entrée , mais alors pas de problème . Nous avons changé son licol fait spécialement pour être très robuste.Incassable en cuir fait pour ceux de Willy et j’ai tenu la corde alors que Willy a donné TT une douche avec la pression à l'eau chaude à l'aide du karcher . TT était un ange . Il ne bougeait pas même une fois quand il a fait sa tête. Après nous avons séché  sa tête et grattée l'eau sur sa robe , puis on l’a enveloppé dans une couverture polaire . Il semblait vraiment apprécier d’être dorloté. Un bon début.