Im moving to Edinburgh in September for uni 
so I will be half joining the Scottish lot. Ive accepted the place and now I just have a few months to sit and panic about it.
Dont even ask about Jack, I really have no idea. I suppose I should put him on some waiting lists soon, but I am a bit lost.
On the upside the Physiotherapist was quite thrilled with him, she said his movement is loads better, feeling him is like a different horse - there's no tension and hardly anything left for her to work on. He's allowed to start ridden work now to build him back up, but we have to be prepared for him broncing, especially for the first couple of weeks. If it persists longer than 3 weeks or so she'll need to come and have another session.
When I went away to Edinburgh last week I left him at 'Boot Camp' with my instructor. The day before Id spent my entire lesson sunbathing against a wall, having been told to 'perhaps get out of the way' as Jack went backwards at high speed on the lunge, and then went off on one for about 8 circuits having a tantrum (all because he'd been asked to change direction and didnt want to). He had lots of interesting things to say about him when I came back, which tallied very well with my own thoughts on him (which means perhaps Im a bit more perceptive than I thought).
RI worked with him every day and said he made progress in terms of Jack now changing direction without fuss etc, but we still arent getting any closer to desensitising him, getting him to trust us etc.
He follows me round now at liberty, I can walk him through hoops without any contact and I can stop him and change his direction etc. However there is no doubt in my mind that if he decided to spook he would flatten me without a second thought. When I last freeschooled him he spooked at nothing and galloped 8 circuits round our indoor school, completely oblivious to my presence. I tried to step across him to stop him but thought better of it and hastily moved when it became apparent he wasnt going to stop. It's like when he spooks everything vanishes for him and he just gets so worked up and wound up that he flies round, then he gets himself back under control and goes back to perfect behaviour (remember how when he first started acting up ridden I said it was like a switch? Perfect, then he'd switch and go into rodeo mode for AGES, until RI would manage to get his attention back and he'd click out of it and trot on like the last 5 mins hadnt happened and be perfect again for the rest of the lesson?).
RI thinks that as well as missing some stages in his ridden work he has missed a huge chunk in his handling, or has been given a reason at some point why humans cant be trusted. He has a 'veneer' (is that how you spell it?) which he puts on of being totally calm and laid back, but if he feels under pressure the veneer doesnt just crack, it explodes quite spectacularly!
When working with him we have to find a balance, between backing off him and treading on eggshells, or accidentally pushing him too hard and spending the next 5mins stood in the middle whilst he goes flying round. Having only worked with totally laid back cobby horses who you could happily wrap up in a tarpaulin without any preparation, working with a horse who flies off the handle at a patch of suspicious grass is quite a learning curve for me. I was telling Bay Mare that my reactions are much improved.
He may be getting ridden this week - last time he got about 10ft before trying to bronc, so everyone keep your fingers crossed that this week we will make 20ft. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that he will be a totally perfect equine citizen and give his mum a day off .
Next time I am going to have a psychiatrist evaluate my horse before I bring it home
And just so Im not too downbeat, Im very pleased with his manners in the stable now. He's very respectful of me (just me, he still doesnt like other people - but it's a start). As many of you know I have a real bee in my bonnet about good manners. My horse now steps back when I open his stable door and lets me in. He stands still to be rugged, picks his feet up without fuss, and waits whilst I put up haynets and doesnt start eating them until Ive secured them and told him he can have it. He never bites at me anymore (though he sometimes still clicks his teeth), and never ever headbutts anymore. He also likes to touch my face all over with his whiskers when Im stroking him, and shuts his eyes. He lifts his legs to ask me to stretch them. If I stamp my foot he takes two steps back out of my space and turns his head away (I stamp my foot when he's getting too in my face). If I tell him off he goes and stands quietly at the back of his stable and lets me leave and lock the door before coming to the front again (even though he's itching to run to the front as I leave - one of his main problems when I got him was him racing you to the front of the stable then leaning on the door and refusing to step back so you were trapped! And if you were between him and the door then he'd just squish you.). He doesnt overtake me anymore - in the stable or out and about in hand. A lot of them need fine tuning because he sometimes forgets himself or tries to push it, but we now have a much less stressful stable relationship and he even sometimes asks me for cuddles, as opposed to backing away with his ears back as soon as you try to touch him.
Funny onion.
Well Svenja - you did ask!
xxx
so I will be half joining the Scottish lot. Ive accepted the place and now I just have a few months to sit and panic about it.Dont even ask about Jack, I really have no idea. I suppose I should put him on some waiting lists soon, but I am a bit lost
.On the upside the Physiotherapist was quite thrilled with him, she said his movement is loads better, feeling him is like a different horse - there's no tension and hardly anything left for her to work on. He's allowed to start ridden work now to build him back up, but we have to be prepared for him broncing, especially for the first couple of weeks. If it persists longer than 3 weeks or so she'll need to come and have another session.
When I went away to Edinburgh last week I left him at 'Boot Camp' with my instructor. The day before Id spent my entire lesson sunbathing against a wall, having been told to 'perhaps get out of the way' as Jack went backwards at high speed on the lunge
, and then went off on one for about 8 circuits having a tantrum (all because he'd been asked to change direction and didnt want to). He had lots of interesting things to say about him when I came back, which tallied very well with my own thoughts on him (which means perhaps Im a bit more perceptive than I thought).- He's deeply untrusting in lots of ways
- He's very unpredictable
- He has a real issue with his Right side and having you in his right eye
- He's very spooky
- He has no 'middle ground' - he's either a sleepy donkey or he's going completely OTT and flipping out
- He's extremely difficult to desensitise - one day he'll let you run up to him and rub him all over with a lunge whip, another day bringing one into the school will provoke him to gallop round for about 20 circuits
- He tolerates the presence of humans but really wishes you'd just go away
- He's an 'onion' (or a funny onion, according to one of the staff ). Every time you work with him you peel away a layer and there's something new underneath. We want to know what's in the middle .
- He has a 'happy place' where he sets his head, switches off and behaves perfectly. When even the slightest thing goes wrong he's out of it instantly, broncing and shooting off (he was in it when I bought him).
- The broncing possibly developed as a spooking thing - when he spooks he takes off. Ridden he probably got held back and learnt to bronc, lose the rider, and then be free to take off.
RI worked with him every day and said he made progress in terms of Jack now changing direction without fuss etc, but we still arent getting any closer to desensitising him, getting him to trust us etc.
He follows me round now at liberty, I can walk him through hoops without any contact and I can stop him and change his direction etc. However there is no doubt in my mind that if he decided to spook he would flatten me without a second thought. When I last freeschooled him he spooked at nothing and galloped 8 circuits round our indoor school, completely oblivious to my presence. I tried to step across him to stop him but thought better of it and hastily moved when it became apparent he wasnt going to stop
. It's like when he spooks everything vanishes for him and he just gets so worked up and wound up that he flies round, then he gets himself back under control and goes back to perfect behaviour (remember how when he first started acting up ridden I said it was like a switch? Perfect, then he'd switch and go into rodeo mode for AGES, until RI would manage to get his attention back and he'd click out of it and trot on like the last 5 mins hadnt happened and be perfect again for the rest of the lesson?).RI thinks that as well as missing some stages in his ridden work he has missed a huge chunk in his handling, or has been given a reason at some point why humans cant be trusted. He has a 'veneer' (is that how you spell it?) which he puts on of being totally calm and laid back, but if he feels under pressure the veneer doesnt just crack, it explodes quite spectacularly!
When working with him we have to find a balance, between backing off him and treading on eggshells, or accidentally pushing him too hard and spending the next 5mins stood in the middle whilst he goes flying round. Having only worked with totally laid back cobby horses who you could happily wrap up in a tarpaulin without any preparation, working with a horse who flies off the handle at a patch of suspicious grass is quite a learning curve for me. I was telling Bay Mare that my reactions are much improved
.He may be getting ridden this week - last time he got about 10ft before trying to bronc, so everyone keep your fingers crossed that this week we will make 20ft
. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that he will be a totally perfect equine citizen and give his mum a day off .Next time I am going to have a psychiatrist evaluate my horse before I bring it home
And just so Im not too downbeat, Im very pleased with his manners in the stable now. He's very respectful of me (just me, he still doesnt like other people - but it's a start). As many of you know I have a real bee in my bonnet about good manners. My horse now steps back when I open his stable door and lets me in. He stands still to be rugged, picks his feet up without fuss, and waits whilst I put up haynets and doesnt start eating them until Ive secured them and told him he can have it. He never bites at me anymore (though he sometimes still clicks his teeth), and never ever headbutts anymore. He also likes to touch my face all over with his whiskers when Im stroking him, and shuts his eyes. He lifts his legs to ask me to stretch them. If I stamp my foot he takes two steps back out of my space and turns his head away (I stamp my foot when he's getting too in my face). If I tell him off he goes and stands quietly at the back of his stable and lets me leave and lock the door before coming to the front again (even though he's itching to run to the front as I leave - one of his main problems when I got him was him racing you to the front of the stable then leaning on the door and refusing to step back so you were trapped! And if you were between him and the door then he'd just squish you.). He doesnt overtake me anymore - in the stable or out and about in hand. A lot of them need fine tuning because he sometimes forgets himself or tries to push it, but we now have a much less stressful stable relationship and he even sometimes asks me for cuddles, as opposed to backing away with his ears back as soon as you try to touch him.
Funny onion.
Well Svenja - you did ask!
xxx
Last edited:
