THE INTELLIGENT HORSEMANSHIP MAGAZINE€¦ · Page 14 IH in Competition Page 16 IH Olympic Year...

2 THE INTELLIGENT HORSEMANSHIP MAGAZINE

3THE INTELLIGENT HORSEMANSHIP MAGAZINE

Contents Spring 2012

Letter from Kelly

Page 4 Science Trials

Page 8 Spring Forward

Page 10 The IH News

Page 11 IH Courses

Page 12 Spring Loaded

Page 14 IH in Competition

Page 16 IH Olympic Year Awards

Page 17 Book Review

Page 18 A great start to HorseWorld’s 60th year

Page 19 IH Charity Update

Page 20 My World

Page 21 The Blood Transfusion

Page 22 Kissing Spine

Page 24 Meet Our Members

Page 25 Letters

Page 26 Splash!

Page 28 Practical Skills Development Course

Page 30 No Fear!

Page 32 Why Hi-Viz?

Page 33 Where are they now?

Page 34 To bit or not to bit

Page 36 Born to be wild! – Essex Exmoors

Page 38 Spotlight on IHRA

Page 39 Praise for IH RecommendedAssociates

Kelly Marks and Intelligent Horsemanship

Letter from KellyDear readers,With Monty arriving in the UK just as we were finalising the IHMagazine we’d have been crazy not to make full use of his expertise.He has written a couple of excellent educational pieces for the Springand Summer issues which we are very pleased to have. Monty is notonly an excellent source of wisdom, but having the opportunity to puthis advice into action on my own horses helps me to test his techniquesand refine the way I pass them on to IH members and students.

His counterintuitive methodfor training horses to keep tothe outside of an arena hasbeen particularly useful forBanksy’s showing career.Monty apparently used thistechnique throughout thescience trials written about onpages 4 to 7. IHRA RosieJones found this techniqueparticularly intriguing, butcouldn’t talk about it until theresults of the science trialswere announced! At long lastwe have persuaded Monty totell us all about it.

I’m looking forward toworking more with Monty onmouthing and bitting horses,and revealing our findingsthrough the IH Magazine.With more informationavailable than ever before,and more misinformation than ever before as well, it’s important thatIntelligent Horsemanship is not a collection of theories or things thatsound right but are actually ineffective in practice; our articles needto come from a reliable source of safe, ethical and effective advice. Be assured that we are dedicated to achieving this and to having funwith it at the same time! Do you have a contribution for Intelligent Horsemanship Magazine?

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: Highland Pony at Glen Affric - Photo courtesy of Sarah Weston.

Whilst we endeavour to ensure that all articles in the Intelligent Horsemanship Magazine are compatible withbroad IH principles, it should be noted that the views expressed by contributors to the IntelligentHorsemanship Magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or Kelly Marks.

Arch

ie’s

Tale

s

By SharonStephens

Archie’s new rain sheet

Archie was veryworried about hisnew rain sheet...

...But after some desensitising exercises... ...It wasn't scary at all

Photo courtesy of Matthew Webb


Under themicroscope!

It has been two years since the methods used by Monty Roberts and aconventional UK trainer were analysed by scientists Dr Veronica Fowler, Dr Mark Kennedy and Dr David Marlin. The results were revealed at the endof October 2011 at the 7th International Equitation Science Conference inThe Netherlands and can now be published. Here is what they found.

A comparison of the Monty Roberts technique with a conventional UKtechnique for the initial training of riding horses.

he initial training of younghorses, in particular the first timea horse is lunged, saddled andridden, has recently been

reported in the scientific literature as asignificant cause of stress (Schmidt et al.2010). This is of great concern from a welfareand ethical perspective and may in part beresponsible for the alarmingly high wastageof horses euthanised due to ‘behaviouralproblems’ (Odberg 2005). It is vital thereforethat we objectively assess as many methods as possible in order to generate anunderstanding of what methods we shouldand should not use particularly during theinitial training of horses.

To date there is a range of studies whichhave helped hugely our understanding of

certain horse training techniques/equipmentwhich may compromise the welfare ofhorses. Some publications have suggestedthat the use of the roundpen and the methodof Join Up™ may be potential causes of stressdue to the belief that these techniquesactivate the flight response and thus have thepotential to induce fear (McGreevy andMcLean 2010, Goodwin et al. 2009,McGreevy et al. 2009). Despite a steadyincrease in studies within this area of equinescience there are still many frequently usedtraining techniques which need evaluating inorder to obtain a complete and scientificallyobjective understanding of the positives andnegatives associated with the initial trainingof horses.

Dr David Marlin, Dr Mark Kennedy and I setout to add to the scientific understanding ofhorse training methods and we were thescientists responsible for the design of a studyaimed at evaluating the efficacy of twotraining techniques which had neverpreviously been evaluated by scientificmethodology but were used frequently forinitial training of horses; a UK conventionalstyle of training (CT) and the Monty Robertstechnique (MRT).

This study has been accepted forpublication after a rigorous peer reviewprocess. This summary of our significantfindings will be followed by a full article toappear in Anthrozoös.

T

Graduates of the Science Trials - Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

Dr Veronica Fowler at the ISES ConferencePhoto courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

By Dr Veronica Fowler


Experimental design

The study was approved by anindependent ethics committeeprior to being undertaken.

The study was approved by an independentethics committee prior to being undertaken.

The study was carried out at SparsholtCollege, Hampshire where we had soleaccess to an American barn of 18 stables(12ft x 12ft) and an indoor arena (23.5m x60m with cushion track). Horses were housedon rubber mats and wheat straw and had ad lib access to water and good qualitysoaked hay.

A selection of 14 untrained horses,consisting of 4 mares and 10 geldingsbetween the ages of 3 and 5 years old, weresourced from a variety of non-competitionyards in the UK. In order to ensure that eachtrainer had an equal proportion of horseswith similar temperaments, horses werematched based on i) level of difficulty whenbeing lead in hand and ii) behaviouralreactivity to a novel object test (suddenopening of an umbrella). The matching(pairing) of the horses was then tested usinga statistical test (Mann-Whitney U test) whichconfirmed that there was no statisticaldifference between the paired horses.Following this one horse from each pair was randomly assigned either the MRT or CT group.

Trainers were selected to represent twodiffering styles of training horses. MontyRoberts (MRT) represented his owntechniques whilst Phil Roelich, anaccomplished and experienced conventionalBHS registered horse trainer, represented theconventional technique (CT). Prior to the startof the study each trainer identified whatequipment they would need in order to traintheir horses to be ridden and once identifiedneither trainer was allowed to deviate fromthis list. The following equipment wasrequested by the two trainers. MRT:roundpen, Dually halter, long-lines, dummy

One of the MRT horses, ridden by Jared, day 9Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

Figure 2. Standardised ridden flatwork test thatwas used to assess the technical performance ofMRT and CT in walk, trot and canter following 20days of training.

The heart rate of the horses during the dailytraining sessions and the final assessmentswas recorded using a Polar RS800CX system(Polar Electro, Finland). Every training sessionand ridden test was filmed by a team ofdedicated camera operators. In order toassess the technical performance of thehorses following training, each horse wasscored by a panel of judges who wereblinded to the nature of the study and thetrainers involved. The MRT horses wereridden by the MRT assistant trainer and theCT horses were ridden by Phil Roelich. Toensure efficient ‘blinding’ each judge scoredvideo footage from the two standardised

ridden tests during which the horsesregardless of training group were ridden

in similar tack.

legs, plaited rope one metre in length, girth,saddle, stirrups and stirrup leathers, saddlepad, bridle, reins, Monty Roberts bit, breastplate, side reins, pacifiers, wood tapper, lifesized dummy rider, buck-stopper, umbrella,clippers, and plastic bag on stick. CT: lungingcavesson, lunge whip, saddle, bridle, reins,girths, lunge line, long lines, numnah, breastplate, side reins, eggbutt snaffle bit, stirrups,stirrup leathers and a 6ft turnout rug. Bothtrainers had access to all of the equipmentthey listed from the first day of training. Eachtrainer was permitted one assistant trainerand allowed 30 minutes per day to work witheach horse for 20 days following which thehorses undertook a standardised riddenobstacle (figure 1) and flatwork test (figure 2).

Figure 1.Arena layout for ridden obstacle test. Key to figure: 1) Mounting block

2) Poles (walk) a-one pole, b-three poles, c-five poles

3) Jump (from trot)

4) L shape (walk) a-forwards, b-backwards

5) Weaving cones a-walk, b-trot

6) Clover leaf (walk) a-forwards, b-backwards

7) Tarpaulin (walk)

8) Parallel poles (walk) a-forwards, b backwards

9) Curtain (walk) a open, b-closed

10) Dismount.

Under the microscope!

K E H

F B M

1. Walk K to F2. 10m circle in walk at F3. Walk out of circle to K4. Trot K to H5. Walk H to C6. Halt at C7. Back 4 strides at C8. Trot C to F9. 20m circle in trot at F10. Trot A to K11. Trot change of rein K to B12. Trot B to C

13. 20m circle at C14. Trot C to F15. Canter at F16. Trot at M17. Walk at C - change rein

C to A18. Walk A to K19. Trot K to C20. Canter C to C (whole arena)21. Trot whole arena figure

of eight22. Halt a C23. Halt at C

30 metres 30 metres

Arena layout

A C

➜Continued

Phil riding Minuet, day 19Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

‘‘

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Under the microscope!

Results Training progression and heart rateduring 20 days of trainingDuring the early training phase (Days 1-7), allof the MRT horses had been Joined Up™ withon at least 4 separate occasions, saddled,bridled, long-lined and ridden freely insideand outside of the roundpen. Componentsof the ridden obstacle and flatwork tests hadalso been introduced into the trainingsessions. In comparison all of the CT horseshad been saddled, bridled and lunged,however one horse had yet to been riddenfor the first time. Components of the riddenobstacle and flatwork tests had not yet beenintroduced into the training sessions. Duringthe later phase of training (Days 8-20), all of

the MRT horses were being ridden freelyaround the arena. All components of theridden tests were now being included in theMRT training sessions and being ridden as perthe test. In comparison, all but one (riddenfor the first time on day 9) of the CT horseswere being ridden freely around the arena.Components of the ridden tests had also nowbeen introduced into the training sessions.Despite these clear differences in rate oftraining progression there was no significantdifference overall between the MRT and theCT trained horses in minimum, mean ormaximum heart rates.

Effect of training technique on heart rate(bpm) during first saddle and first rider

All of the MRT horses were saddled andridden on day 1. In comparison 6 CT horseswere saddled on day 2 and the remaininghorse on day 3. The CT horses were riddenon day 4 (3 horses), 5 (2 horses) and theremaining 2 horses on days 7 and 9.

When the first saddle and the first riderwere introduced the MRT trained horses hadsignificantly lower average and maximumheart rates (bpm) when compared to the CThorses. Interestingly, the heart rates of the CThorses were higher when the first saddle andthe first rider were introduced in comparisonto the overall heart rates observed during the

➜ When the first saddle and the first rider wereintroduced the MRT trained horses had significantlylower average and maximum heart rates (bpm)

...the MRT horses were awarded significantlyhigher technical performance scores ...

Braving the curtain with Phil, day 16 - Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

20 days of training, whereas the MRThorses’ average heart rates wereequivalent or less. It is important toconsider that teaching a horse tolunge is now known to be asignificant cause of stress to ayoung horse (Schmidt et al.2010); since the CT horseswere lunged prior to firstsaddle and first rider this may explain why maximumheart rates at these two key training points weresignificantly higher than theMRT horses.

Effect of training technique on heart rate(bpm) and performance of horses duringstandardised ridden testsAll of the horses had similar mean heart ratesduring the ridden obstacle and flatwork tests.However the MRT horses were awardedsignificantly higher technical performancescores by the judges for both tests (figure 3).

Figure 3. Mean score for MRT and CT trainedhorses during the ridden obstacle test and riddenflatwork test. Mean score (±SD) for MRT (mid bluebars) and CT trained horses (light blue bars) duringthe ridden obstacle test (MRT n=7, CT n=5)(maximum score 180) and ridden flatwork test(MRT n=7, CT n=6) (maximum score 170). Therewere significant differences between scores fromMRT and CT horses during both the ridden obstacletest (un-paired t-test P<0.0001) and the riddenflatwork test (un-paired t-test P<0.0005).

Conclusion

Phil riding Chico, day 19Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

‘‘ ‘‘

‘‘

‘‘


The efficacy of the MRT for initial training ofriding horses appears to be greater than theCT as determined by significantly lowermaximum heart rates during the introductionof the first saddle and the first rider andsignificantly higher performance scoresduring standardised ridden tests following 20days of training.

Exploring the tarpaulin with Monty, day 9 - Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

ReferencesGoodwin, D., McGreevy, D., Waran, N. And McLean, A. (2009)How equitation science can elucidate and refine horsemanshiptechniques. The Veterinary Journal. 181: 5-11. McGreevy, P. andMcLean, A. (2009) Punishment in horse-training and the conceptof ethical equitation. Journal of Veterinary behaviour. 4: 193-197. McGreevy, P. D. (2007) The advent of equitationscience. The Veterinary Journal. 174: 492- 500. McLean, A. N.and McGreevy, P. D. (2010) Horse training techniques which maydefy the principals of learning theory and compromise welfare.Journal of Veterinary Behaviour. 5: 187-195. McGreevy, P. D. andMcLean, A. N. (2010) Equitation Science. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxon.Copyright © 1999–2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All RightsReserved McGreevy, P. D., Oddie, C., Burton, F.L. and McLean,A.N. (2009) The horse-human dyad: Can we align horse trainingand handling activities with the equid social ethogram?. TheVeterinary Journal.181: 12-18. Odberg, F. O. (2005) The evolutionof schooling principals and their influence on the horses welfare.In: Proceedings of the First International Equitation ScienceSymposium. Melbourne, Australia. 26th-27th August 2005.Schmidt, A., Aurich, J., Mostl, E., Muller, J. and Aurich, C. (2010)Changes in cortisol release and heart rate and heart ratevariability during the initial training of 3-year-old sport horses.Hormones and Behaviour. 58: 628-636.

Checking the heart rate monitor, test day 2Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

Monty’s reaction tothe outcome of thescience trials:

The nature of equitation has been changing steadily over the last few decades, but thehard evidence of science gained under the most intense and draconian scrutiny andscientific vigour means that rapid change must now come about. Schools can no longer,morally or scientifically, continue to advocate violence and the whip. It does not work.REAL results come from the language Equus and the art of communication.

In this important moment, I wish to thank YOU, the stalwarts and students of the horse, forfollowing your own instincts, listening to your horses and believing in the results. The path to force-free training is not an easy one, it takesdedication and strength, but today is a celebrationbecause science itself has done the most unlikely thing and endorsed something radically different,something natural and unusual.Equus works. It is official. It hasbeen scientifically proven.

Ready for the obstacle course,test day 1Photo courtesy of Audrey Scott-Hopkins

Important note: where the horses appear tohave been sweating, this is in fact water which hasto be wiped on to the body in order to ensure thatthe heart rate monitor can work effectively.


Mother Nature knew that survivalof the fittest meant that every young flightanimal should be motivated through theirDNA to learn to race at a very early age.Speed and athleticism would be their onlydefence against the lion’s claw or the wolf’stooth. The act of racing and winning couldmean the difference between dying or livingto reproduce fast and athletic offspring.

People ask me all the time what I thinkabout this sport of racing. I usually reply thatI love it when it’s done right and I hate itwhen it’s done wrong. One shouldinvestigate, and where appropriate attemptto improve racing, rather than condemningthe entire sport, even working to abolish it.Think for a moment what would happen tothe racehorses if it was abolished.

Horses love tocompete and I believethat we should workhard to create fair rulesfor their care andmanagement. It is mindlessand ineffective to whiphorses while they areattempting to run as fastas they can for us. It isinappropriate to keephorses in a four metreby four metre space fortwenty three hours aday, using the otherhour to expend supreme effort to run fast,get fit and prepare to compete.

Some people might say, “I would like to banall two year old racing”. That sounds like agood thing to do, but it would be extremelydifficult to execute and highly unlikely tosucceed. Wouldn’t it be better to suggestthat there is no problem with two year oldracing providing that the horse’s ephiaseal

closures are fully mature when they start racetraining?

Once owners fully understood that theirtwo year old horses weren’t ready to race, I believe that two year old races would startto peter out, then virtually disappear; withoutanyone fighting to ban anything. It’s a mucheasier case to make. I realise that there aredifferences of opinion as to what constitutesmaturity but I find the scientific facts are onmy side.

Horse racing should be a wonderful worldof flight animals expressing themselves,running with joy, and competing with pride.They should be kept as close to naturally aspossible and cared for like the preciouspartners that they really are. We should striveto eliminate the negative factors of horse

racing and accentuatethe best aspects.

My life has beenpunctuated withwonderful racehorsesthat I have loved deeplyand which I willremember fondly untilmy last day. It was mywork that created theprotective blanket in thestarting stalls. My effortsbanned the long bullwhips being used behindthe barriers in Australia.

In the US I have encouraged training fromfarms with a more natural environment thancity-bound racetracks.

If Mother Nature was the architect ofhorses, then man has stolen her ideas toproduce better automobiles, boats, airplanesand even horses. Just as Formula One hasbrought about improvements for the moremundane driver, many leisure horses have

Is racing compatible withIntelligent Horsemanship?

hat is racing? Who invented it? And whyshould any of us get involved with it in thefirst place? For horses, racing with oneanother to get from one place to another firstis one of the core behavioural attributes of

flight animals. So horse racing was invented by God, MotherNature, or a cloud of gasses if you prefer to look at naturewithout deity.

“Look, over there,” I told my friend. “Look at those twoflying around the meadow, each one attempting to negotiatetheir irregular course with the highest rate of speed possible.”What we were witnessing was two mustang foals less thanthree months of age learning the most important skill of theirlives. Without speed and agility they would most likelybecome a predator’s meal.

W

Racehorses Intrepid and Sargeant at Arms - Photo courtesy of Hamish Niven

By Monty Roberts

‘‘...many leisure horses have benefitted from theveterinary and otheradvances made becauseof the ‘high flyers’ of thehorse world.

benefitted from the veterinary and otheradvances made because of the ‘high flyers’of the horse world.

There are so many things in life which wehuman beings seem to want to attack with asledge hammer. Each of our equine disciplineshas its detractors and proponents.

In my opinion each of us should view thediscipline, sort the good from the bad, andthen act appropriately. Study the facts, workto accentuate the positive and eliminate thenegative in your life and your horse’s too.

Spring Forward

IHRA Lynn Chapman has always lovedracehorses and the world of racing, andeventually became a racehorse owner, usingIH methods to prepare her horses for theirwork. She now runs specialist courses forpeople taking on ex-racehorses where herexpertise and understanding of the horses’racing background is invaluable.

She says, “I have always been drawn to thespeed and power of the Thoroughbred horsewhether riding out at a local racing yard, in mycapacity as a working IHRA, or simply watchingthem play in my paddocks. Racehorses havehad a huge influence in my life.”

“A trainer friend he told me that if I reallywanted to learn, then the best way was toget involved.”

My horse, Hatman Jack, ran on the all-weather tracks over five to seven furlongsthroughout the winter of 2009/10. I travelledto see him working at home and when he raced. I recall one December morning I watched the string walking out to the all-weather gallops in when the temperaturewas -10 degrees, along snow coveredground, and in total silence; the stable lads

‘‘


Eventually we decided to try him oversteeplechase fences. At his first race I wassuch a bag of nerves that I hadn’t evenchecked who our jockey was. I should havedone as it was A. P. McCoy, the ChampionJockey! He mounted up and guided myprecious horse to a seven lengths win in hisfirst steeplechase. Home jumped fluently withgreat heart and hardly blew at all.

At Towcester, six days later, Home won byfourteen lengths. We went back to hurdlingat Fontwell on the day of the Royal weddingand got our third win in a row!

Following two less successful runs, the holidayscalled and Home came back home for a break.

I have gained so much from this experience,from both the horses and the people involved inracing. Who knows what the future will bring?

‘‘...if I really wanted tolearn, then the best way was to get involved.

‘‘

and lasses and their horses' hair and lasheswere beautifully dusted with frost! For me, itepitomised the dedication these people haveto the horses in their care, to each other, andto the owners who support the yard; there isnothing glamorous about their day to dayjob, just pure hard work, attention to detail,and team work.

Jack came home to me for his holiday andteamed up with one of my other horses. I now had ten racehorses having a lovely timeresting and getting fat. They were muchadmired by visitors, many of whom weresurprised to see these animals socialising andhanging out together. They were unawarethat racehorses have holidays, let alone livein paddocks like ‘normal’ horses.

When Jack needed to start work again Ibegan with ground work and it seemed as if Jack had read all the IH books. He accepteda saddle, long lines and a rider, and stood stillfor mounting. He was also relaxed to ride.This was not what many people wouldexpect from a horse that had been started asa racehorse at two. Back at his trainer’s yardhe worked well and everyone remarked howhe had filled out and changed shape. Whenit came time for Jack to retire, he started anew career as a dressage horse on a lovelyfarm in Gloucestershire.

In May 2010, I purchased a little horsecalled Home. I could not have envisionedwhat lay ahead – it is the stuff of dreams.

I visited the yard to see Home work andattended his first race. He was tense at thetrack and had to be saddled in the stable area.I was informed this was normal for him, andthat he always ran in a tongue strap. He ranwell and finished fifth. However, I felt lesscomfortable about his training so I took thedecision to move him to the same yard as Jack.

At his next race he behaved completelydifferently. However, after the race he wasmaking an awful noise. Following veterinaryadvice, Home underwent an operation tostabilise his soft palate. This was followed bya period of rest and re-fittening.

In his next flat race at Kempton, Home finishedthird and gave me my first placing as an owner;he was breathing normally and gainingconfidence. He gave me my first win at Southall.The joy of seeing him finish seven lengths clearcannot really be expressed in words.

As Home could jump the trainer and I thought we might try him over hurdles. He finished fifth in his first race, and thenfourth in the next. I could now see a verydifferent horse; he danced in the parade ringand had a real sparkle in his eyes.

Home over fences - Photo courtesy of Lynn Chapman

Elly, A.P. McCoy, Home, Denys (his lad) and Lynn - Photo courtesy of Lynn Chapman

Lynn’s Top Tips when considering purchasing an ex-racehorse1. Go directly to a trainer or a reputable re-trainer.2. Be realistic; you’re taking on a Ferrari. Know your own limitations and understand your

horse’s background and life experiences.3. Invest in experienced support early on to guide you both. 4. Ex-racehorses may be a cheap purchase but remember that they need high levels of

maintenance.

Lynn Chapman is based near Winchester, Hampshire and covers Hampshire, Surrey andBerkshire. She can be contacted on: 01962 712230 or 07834 067088 or by email at:[email protected]. Website: www.trainequus.co.uk


The Intelligent Horsemanship NewsAbsent Friends – A Tribute to Jock RuddockEveryone at Intelligent Horsemanship was saddened to hear of the passing of Jock Ruddock,founder of Equine Touch, in November 2011. Many IH members have attended the Equine Touchcourses and qualified as practitioners and, of course, many horses have been literally touched byhis work. Our condolences go to his wife Ivana and the Equine Touch team. He will be sadly missed.

Kelly Marks BHS TREC Winter Series

March Dates11 MAR 2012: Hafod Farm Stables, Llanboidy, Whitland,Carmarthenshire SA34 0ER. Newcomers and Open Classes.Jacqui Kedward: 01994 448629 email: [email protected]: www.hafodfarm.com

17 MAR 2012: Brenfield Farm, Ardrishaig, Lochgilphead, Argyll PA30 8ER. Newcomers and Open Classes. David Hay-Thorburn: 01546 603274 email: [email protected]: www.brenfield.co.uk

17 MAR 2012: Shuttleworth College, Old Warden, Biggleswade,Bedfordshire SG18 9HF. Newcomers and Open Classes. Kate Shannon: 01767 627469 email:[email protected]: www.shuttleworth.ac.uk

17 MAR 2012: Bryn Derw, Brynrefail, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 3PD. Newcomers and Open Classes. Hazel Kinnibrugh: 01286 660882 email: [email protected]: www.caernarfonshireridingclub.com

18 MAR 2012: Brooksby Equestrian Centre, Brooksby MeltonCollege, Brooksby, Leicestershire LE14 2LJ. Newcomers and OpenClasses. Caroline Ashmore: 07816 637827 email: [email protected] Website: www.white-horse-trec.co.uk

18 MAR 2012: Hyndshawland Stables, Elsrickle, South Lanarkshire ML12 6RD. Newcomers and Open Classes. Dot Still: 01899 810304 email: [email protected] Website: www.hyndshawland.co.uk

18 MAR 2012: Coombe Park, Littlehempstone, Totnes, DevonTQ9 6LW. Newcomers and Open Classes. Lynn Laramy: 07721 926502email: [email protected] Website: www.trecsouthwest.co.uk

23 MAR 2012: Etal Manor Indoor Arena, Etal, Cornhill on TweedTD12 4TL. Newcomers and Open Classes. Liz Hunter: 07872 692264 email: [email protected]

25 MAR 2012: Muirmill Equestrian Centre, By Symington,Ayrshire KA1 5SH. Newcomers and Open Classes. Lianna Bourne, email: [email protected]

My FriendDo you love sharing your horseyphotos? Would you like to exchangecomments on your photos, maybeeven have your friends help you takebetter shots in the future? If so, the IHFlickr group is the place to be.Flickr is a photo hosting site that is allabout sharing with others. It also hasa free and simple to use editor thatallows you to make simple changesand improvements to your shots. Youdon't have to be a great photographerwith expensive kit, you just need tolove photos (of horses, of course!).And they could end up in print in theIH Magazine!

So come and join IH on Flickr -www.flickr.com/groups/intelligenthorsemanshipPhoto courtesy of Lorraine Bascombe

Flickr

Photo courtesy of Bridget Hughes

New scientist?Congratulations to Dr. Veronica Fowlerand her husband, Robin, whose daughter, Eloise Niamh,arrived on the 15th of January weighing 9lb 3oz!

Migrating IHRA

IHRA Joanna O’Neill is now based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and can be contacted on the same mobiletelephone number as before: 07889 422996 or at homeon: 0191 232 8205. Her email is also unchanged:[email protected]

Photo courtesy of Russell Sach


Intelligent Horsemanship Course Dates 2012Come and have the experience of a lifetime with our expert tuition in the art and science of equine behaviour. It will change the way you view not only your relationships with horses but also the people around you.

Please telephone the office to confirm availability on courses before sending in your application: 01488 71300 Numbersare limited on all courses.Late spaces do sometimes become available. Please email us on [email protected] or ring 01488 71300 if you would like to go on our waiting list.

Perfect Manners 2 Day Course with Kelly Marks£325June 9th - 10thJuly 7th - 8th

Horse Psychology with Kelly Marks £170June 25th - 26th

Foundation Course with Kelly Marks £575March 26th - 30thApril 16th - 20thApril 23rd - 27thApril 30th - May 4thMay 21st - 25thJune 11th - 15thJune 18th - 22nd (Long distance students only)

Stud Practice/Handling the Young Foal with IanVandenberghe £170 (£85/day)May 26th - 27thJune 16th - 17th (Long distance students only)

Feeding and Nutrition/Horse as an Athlete withIan Vandenberghe £170 (£85/day)23rd - 24th June(Long distance students only)

Intermediate Course: Leading and Loading theLess Easy Horse £250Dates to be announced

Intermediate Course: Handling the UntouchedHorse £250 Dates to be announced

Stage 2 £550 Latest date: November 2012 - or once 8 students are ready

Long Distance StudentsTake advantage of our back to back courses to save on your airfares. First weekend Stud Practice and Handling the Young Foal,your Five Day Foundation Course, and then Feeding and Nutrition,and The Horse as an Athlete. Stay a bit longer and come to the IHgarden party too!

Integrated Equitation Clinicswith Adam Goodfellow and Nicole Golding

(IH Recommended Associates)On a weekend or four day ‘Integrated Equitation’ clinic, we cancover whatever is currently most appropriate for each horse andhuman combination. This might be riding, leading, loading, long-lining, stable manners, standing still to mount, or in-hand work.Participants might choose to concentrate on a specific skill, or mightlook at a variety of different areas. In addition, we can advise onother areas that may be having an adverse impact on the horse –saddle fit, foot balance, nutrition, or environment. There is no need to decide in advance what to work on as we operate a veryflexible structure.

Stage Two Video FeesStage Two students please note that it is free to submit youvideos for assessment on the first occasion. You are also entitledto one free reassessment. Any further reassessments will becharged at the rate of £15 per separate section, i.e. straight JoinUp, full Join Up and leading/loading.

Perfect ConfidenceIn-Hand and Under SaddleWith Julia Fisher, Linda Ruffle, Dido Fisher

(IH Recommended Associates & IH Course Tutors)

2012 dates:March 17th - 18th

May 12th - 13th

June 30th - July 1st

September 15th - 16th

IH Members £265 • Non Members £285

Four day:

October 15th - 18th

IH Members £455 • Non Members £475

For more information call Julia Fisher on 07950 965 099


Spring Loadedt this time of year many people’sminds turn to training their horseto load ready for the competitionseason. First time loaders tend to

be straightforward if introduced carefully,whereas remedial loaders can present allkinds of problems. In both cases theIntelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociates offer kind and logical training forhorses and their owners.

All of the IHRAs have undertaken therigorous Leading and Loading the Less EasyHorse Course as a vital part of their practicaland theoretical training. The courses takeplace at Hartsop Farm (see details on the IHcourses page). During the course theemphasis is on ‘feel’ and asking horses toload calmly and willingly. Students are alsodirected to pay particular attention to safety.

Kelly points out that there are innumerablereasons for a horse refusing to load, evadingthe ramp or travelling badly. This can includephysical reasons that cause the horse to beuncomfortable when loading or travelling. Ifa horse has previously travelled well and nowhas become resistant, it could be thehorsebox that needs servicing; the horse can detect a failing floor or a spring thatneeds replacing.

On the course students encounter a widevariety of scenarios where horses have real-life problems with loading. After the course,it they wish to then go on to become anIntelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociate (IHRA), students then need to workwith a variety of loading 'issues' togetherwith other equine challenges, as part of theircase studies which have to be submitted. As a result IHRAs are equipped with a widerange of techniques to help horses overcometheir fear of trailers and horseboxes that sooften underlies their reluctance to load. Not only that, they understand how topersuade a horse to stay on board withoutrunning backwards, collapsing against thepartition, or rushing out of the front door.Many IHRAs also have access to a set ofpanels which can be invaluable when loadinga difficult horse, providing both a safe placeto work and limiting the horse’s less helpfuloptions. Even when the panels are takenaway, the horse continues to load withoutproblems, once he understands he needn'tbe afraid.

A

...the Intelligent Horsemanship RecommendedAssociates offer kind and logical training...

She is a miracle workerand I can’t thank herenough.

Another owner wrote on the Horse andHound forum:

“Sue Palmer turned up and I gave herthe low down on Chico’s behaviour. Afterabout two hours Chico was happilyloading himself. She is a miracle workerand I can’t thank her enough. I found itso interesting and learnt loads, andhopefully I can continue to educate Chicousing the methods Sue has shown me…watching it, it all made perfect sense andyou could almost see the cogs turning inChico’s mind.”

Another wrote to the IH office:“We had some problems with our horse

travelling. Dido Fisher set out aprogramme for dealing with ourproblems and gave us homework to carryout in between appointments. We saw a difference within a few weeks. He istravelling brilliantly now and is happyto stay in the trailer when requiredto. Dido is very professional,concise and informative.”

Catherine MacLeod-Smith talks about herexperience of working with RecommendedAssociate Julia Fisher and using IH methodsto overcome her homebred 7/8 TB mare’s fearof loading and travelling:

“Hattie became a non-loader after afrightening experience in a trailer. We checked for physical discomfort beforeseparating the problem into components –leading, the ramp, travelling and overcomingfear. I started using a lorry and practicedloading and driving a short way beforeunloading and re-loading. I repeated thisregularly for about three months until itstarted to become routine.The key things that I learnt were:• Allow sufficient time to achieve realistic

goals• Manage both of our energy levels and

stay quiet and calm• How to get Hattie ‘unstuck’ by using

groundwork exercises • Allow Hattie to travel how she likes to

and make the journey as smooth aspossible

• Be clear about whose assistance you doneed and ask others to leave you alone

IH methods have given me the tools thathave turned Hattie into a horse that nowloads and travels confidently.”

By Sarah Weston

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All photos courtesy of Sarah Weston

Setting up for Success• Make sure that your trailer or lorry has been

properly serviced before the season beginsand before the RA comes to visit, inparticular checking brakes, electrics, springs,tyres, wheel bearings, floor, and couplings.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(VOSA) have produced an invaluableguide for horsebox and trailer ownersgiving detailed advice about vehicle safetyand the rules and limits which apply toweight, licensing and carrying horses. This is available free to download as a PDF from the internet at:www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/publications

• Check that it is otherwise safe all round –nothing sticking out that can injure your horse.

• Find a safe place for a loading session awayfrom other obstacles – an enclosed spaceand a soft surface is essential.

• Ensure that the trailer is attached to avehicle so that it cannot see-saw.

• Collect together your horse’s protective gear(sports boots are better than wrap-aroundtravel boots) and your own hat and gloves*.Make sure you are wearing sturdy boots. If you are familiar with IH groundwork, practiceyour exercises and use the L-shaped poles.

• Be prepared to literally ‘think outside thebox’. If your horse is afraid of going insideyour horsebox or trailer, the RA may wantto set up a mock situation to help him getover that fear first.

• Tell the RA everything you can about yourhorse’s experiences of being loaded andtravelling. Make sure you mentioneverything that is of significance and behonest about what has happened before.

If you would like to attend a loadingcourse ring the office on 01488 71300or email [email protected] and youwill be contacted when the nextcourse becomes available.

IH is often on the look out for difficultloaders for students to work with on thesecourses. Providing you can get your horseto Hartsop Farm, he will be worked withfor two (sometimes up to four) days andhave the opportunity to make a significantimprovement - especially if you choose towatch and learn at the same time.

*Poll guards as shown in this article areavailable from:www.brownfoxleather.co.uk priced at £35

Haylor B.H.S.I. and ex-Chief Examiner for theBHS. She has a very similar approach to IH.

Our starting point was to get Murphy‘unravelled’. He rode well, but held himselfvery tensely with his head tucked in and hisbody bunched up, and when cantering it feltas though he was jumping waves. He hadlots of bounce and enthusiasm but it wasalmost as if he wasn’t sure what to do with allthat power and energy. We worked ongetting him to relax, stretch out his neck toerase the wrinkles at the base of his neck, lifthis shoulder, and gradually become lessreliant on the contact.

We competed in our first dressage test thatOctober. I was petrified before the event to theextent that I couldn’t even school Murphywithout getting butterflies. As I pulled into thecar park on the day, I felt everyone else lookedsmarter, better prepared, more knowledgeable,and were better riders than me. I was sotempted to drive straight home again!

As my nerves began to settle in the warmup area, everything else seemed to disappearand it was just Murphy and me. I can’tremember anything about that first testexcept grinning from ear to ear when we hadfinished. I was over the moon when we wereawarded fifth place and I took my first rosettewith Murphy home. A couple of weeks laterwe went to the same venue and this timecame second - and we won a trophy!

Our work together was improving but I was increasingly aware that although I worshipped the ground that Murphy walkedon, he was pretty independent of meemotionally. As humans we have a tendencyto feel that our emotions should bereciprocated, so although on the one hand I felt I was being a bit silly on the other I feltthat we were missing a piece of the jigsaw.

A good friend of mine rang me to say shehad been to a Monty Roberts demonstrationand told me how good it was. She also toldme about Intelligent Horsemanship and KellyMarks, here in the UK. I went along to the nextMonty Roberts demonstration in Novemberand was hooked! Monty worked with adifficult loader and I remember the owner’stears of joy when she loaded her horse herself


IH in CompetitionDressageBy Sarah Bingham, IH Member and Student

Murphy is a 15hh black Connemara cross.Although he is priceless to me, he wasn’t anexpensive horse and I am certainly nodressage expert, so everything that Murphyand I have achieved together is within everydedicated rider’s reach.

Murphy is generally a fairly straightforwardchap but was somewhat aloof when he firstarrived. He didn’t appear to relish lots of fussor cuddles, and would plant his feet andrefuse to move when coming in from thefield or when leaving for hacks. He was a bitanxious hacking alone, and would jump orstart, but never spun or really spooked.

With plenty to work on, and lots of time toget used to each other, we started in theschool with my very patient trainer, Alma

bought Murphy just a monthafter the birth of my third sonin the spring of 2007. I waskeen to get back in the saddle

after a long break and tried to find ahorse that I could hack out andcompete with locally. I was aware thatI shouldn’t ‘over-horse’ myself asthere would be no back up at homeif I ran into problems.

I

...everything that Murphyand I have achievedtogether is within everydedicated rider’s reach.

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for the first time. I saw nervous, jumpy horseswalking willingly over tarpaulins after a sessionwith Monty, but what rooted me to my seatwas the relationship between Pie and Kelly.That was what I was looking for. I wanted thatbond, that partnership with my horse, and Iwas going to find out how to achieve it.

The same friend told me that she had bookedto go on the five day foundation course atHartsop Farm the following June. I decided togo along and find out more. As it happened,my friend was ill so Murphy and I went alongknowing no-one. That fantastic week made afundamental change in our work together. Our first Join Up was a highly emotionalexperience for me and completely changed ourdynamic. We began to work as a team andtook our first steps as a true partnership.

Our work on our return went from strengthto strength, and by now we had formed adeep attachment. I could literally feel hisconfidence grow each time he learnt a newmovement or perfected a previously learned

one. We began to be even more successful incompetitions, being picked for the Riding ClubTeam and taking part in the National Qualifiers,the biggest competition I had ever been to!

There was no doubt Murphy had a realtalent for dressage and clearly loved his work.Although he was a successful competitionhorse, he also enjoyed a very normal life,hacking out to the forest regularly and acrossstubble fields, on his own and incompany. Out on hacks he wouldoccasionally buck but later beganto throw huge bucks incompetitions, in particular as wemoved up to Novice level andtrot/canter/trot transitions. Whilst itdrew ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the

crowd, it didn’t impress the judges or helpour marks. When he launched me into therails with a particularly athletic buck, I felt I should give this some careful thought. I hadhis teeth, back and saddle checked, but evenafter some tweaking here and there, therewas little change. After two years of steadyprogress, painstaking practice and carefulphysical development, it seemed as thoughwe had reached our limit.

I contacted Liz Pitman IHRA for some help.She asked me to send a video of Murphy andI together, both to her and to BridgetHughes, then still a student. Watchingoneself on video and then sending it tosomeone with such an eye for detail is hugelyeducational. Liz gave me some extremelyhelpful feedback on it and recommendedthat Bridget come out to see us.

Bridget observed us from the moment I brought Murphy in, from tacking up,warming up and then working through somemovements. She noticed him very subtly

moving me when I was tacking up andleading him. She saw that I had mistakenlyallowed our relationship to become too‘democratic’; because I trusted him socompletely I had become a bit woolly withmy leadership and this was transferring intoour ridden work. One day I would let himdecide whether to trot or canter up the fieldand then the next day I would decide. I realised that I was being inconsistent andnot only was this confusing him but it wasmaking him anxious and insecure. It wasmaking him think that he had to take over asI clearly didn’t know what to do!

With some subtle refinements we wereback on track. It was really fine tuning and I wouldn’t have seen it without a fresh pair of trained and observant eyes. Just bygoing back to our groundwork and re-establishing our boundaries, thebucking disappeared. Murphy became

even more willing, and his

With some subtle refinements we were back on track.

The BubbleSuccessful dressage requires completeharmony of horse and rider. You need tobe able to exist in a ‘bubble’ with yourhorse so that the spectators, the judge, thearena with its decorations and distractionsjust melt away. He needs to be completelycomfortable and desensitised to hissurroundings at the same time as beingattentive to the most subtle movements inbody, leg and hand. This is asking a lotfrom an instinctive flight animal andrequires mutual trust beyond the norm.

Every competitive rider strives to get 'theedge' over their competitors, often viagadgets, training, supplements or calmers.IH has given me 'the edge' by opening myeyes and ears so that I am able tocommunicate with my horse, be aware ofhis needs, and clear in my expectations.This has created a true partnership.

Murphy’s Laws of Dressage - 5 TopTips for competition success1. Preparation – Learn your test and

practise it well before the competition.Clean your tack and your horse thenight before and pack all yourequipment, so all you have to do is load(which obviously you will havepractised!) and go.

2. Nerves – They help us perform to ourbest. ‘Reframe’ them as excitement/anticipation at spending an entire daywith your lovely horse.

3. Focus – Arrive in plenty of time to dothe social bit, then get ‘in the zone’ andfocus on yourself and your horse.

4. Accuracy – Learn the size of a 20mcircle, a 10m loop, a 15m circle and soon, ride to the markers and use yourcorners.

5. Keep positive – If you make a mistake,put it behind you and focus on yournext movement.

enjoyment of learning reappeared and hasnever left since.

Murphy has won the Preliminary and Noviceleague in our Riding Club for two yearsrunning as well as Horse and Rider of the Yearin 2011. For over eighteen months we havebeen placed in the first three every time out,and we have competed in the NationalQualifiers and other team events. However,this is not how I judge our success. For me,success is having a happy and willing horsewho genuinely loves his work and progressingthrough the scales of training as I do myself. I know he has the potential to go further but,whatever the future holds for Murphy and me,I really do feel that we have achieved our mostimportant goal already. He truly is my bestfriend and soul mate.

He truly is my best friend and soul mate.‘‘

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Intelligent Horsemanship Olympic Year Awards

New for 2012, and inspired by the sporting values of the Olympics, (respect, fair play, excellence andfriendship), we are delighted to announce the Intelligent Horsemanship Olympic Year Awards.

Aiming to acknowledge and celebrate all levels of achievement by our IH members across the globe, there are threecategories to celebrate ‘success’ in its broadest and truest forms. Winners will receive a beautiful sash and a bottleof champagne, and will feature in the IH Magazine and website.

Whether your aims are humble or high, there is a category for you and your horse:

1. Intelligent Success StoryDescribe in no more than 1,800 words your most impressive competition success. This does not have to be ahigh status win or even a first prize, but a story of intelligent effort that yielded great results. To be judged bya panel including IH Magazine Editor Sarah Weston.

2. Competition Success VideoVideo the story of your most impressive competition success which should last no more than five minutes.Whether modest or a more high profile triumph, credit will be given to both style and content. The judgingpanel will include H&CTV programme director Katie Gormley. Footage will be placed on the IH website.

3. Highest Status WinThis category is for the highest status win by an Intelligent Horsemanship member in any discipline. In under 300 words just let us know the competition you won and an example of your ‘intelligentapproach’. Judges in this category will include top breeders and HOYS showing sponsors Julia andDavid Topham-Barnes.

Special credit will be given to those who demonstrate an ethical and ‘intelligent’ approach to trainingand competition success.

The Rules:Entrants must be up to date members ofIntelligent Horsemanship (joined by 1st June2012 latest). Entries must be received by14th October 2012 and winners will beannounced in January 2013. The judges’decision is final. For more details go to:

www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk.

When I first received this book my firstreaction was that it oozed quality. I likehow the book feels and the photos standout. They include photos of many very wellbred, flashy looking horses, but also moreeveryday horses that people like me wouldown. I really like this because it shows howany horse can and should be taught selfcarriage and beschooled to a higherlevel. This book hasinspired me to go offand help my clients toachieve more with theirhorses in a simple buteffective way.

The second thing thatstruck me is that it isaimed at everyone.Whatever your level, there is something foryou. I like the fact that Heather takes intoaccount the rider’s conformation as well asthat of the horse. We are often told abouthow a horse’s conformation may affect itsability to work correctly but how often are weforced into a position that is at best slightlyuncomfortable for us, and occasionally cancause physical problems. As a rider with hipproblems, I have found the exercise of rollingout my little toe so that it is slightly lowerthan my big toe and opening the kneeslightly has made a huge improvement to my

By Lisa Geraghty, IH Member and BHS qualifiedfreelance instructor. She is currently studying forthe HND in Equine Management

riding. Too often I have had instructors pullingmy legs out and away from the saddle whichonly succeeds in making my hips and backvery stiff and makes me less effective. Now Iwill always make sure I watch my clients asthey walk and stand as this gives a good ideaof how they will ride.Heather manages to get across her methodsin a clear and easy to understand way. While

reading the chapter thatexplains the seat, I spent timewalking and skipping to feelhow my pelvis moves just asshe explained. I have alsospent some time sitting onmy hands on a stool to feelexactly how my seat bonesmove and distribute myweight and it has truly been a

revolution to me! Had I been taught this whenI first started riding I feel I would haveprogressed much more quickly.

The book starts off by clearlyexplaining how to move withthe horse, learning ‘feel’, andthe aids and how to applythem. As an instructor, it hasbeen amazing to finally findthe very clear and simple way to explain this tobeginners. The best analogy has to be usingthe car as a comparison: how to turn a horsefrom a ‘front engine model’ to a ‘rear engine’

one. It is very easy for most beginners tounderstand.

Heather progresses to explaining some ofthe well-used but often misunderstoodequestrian terms such as tracking up andimpulsion. Great pictures are used todemonstrate these. The chapter on turns andcircles has pictures that I am sure all riders willrecognise as we seem to spend so much ofour time doing circles!

What I love about this book is that it takesaway all the myth and belief that lateral workis only for amazing top level riders withhorses to match. It reminds people thatlateral work is, primarily, for developing bend,suppleness and engagement in a horse andnot just for dressage tests. How can you havea well-trained horse without lateral work?There are pictures showing a good and a notso good shoulder-in, half-pass and so on.

This book is a must have for everyone,whether you are just startingout in riding or have beenriding for many years. It isn’t abook that you will read andthink that you will neverachieve half the stuff in it. It will inspire you to go out,

get on your horse and discover how to workwith him rather than be a hindrance to hisnatural movement.

Enlightened WinnersIH Members: Brenda Miles, John Dowsett, Abigail Leeming, and Sally Morgan have each won a copy of Heather’s book in our IHcompetition. The answer to the question asked was ‘a swan’. Congratulations to our lucky winners!

Heather manages toget across her methodsin a clear and easy tounderstand way.

...a must have foreveryone...

Enlightened Equitation 2nd Edition

by Heather Moffett

Book Review


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orseWorld has secured a flying start to its Diamond JubileeYear with news that Monty and Kelly are to become patrons.Their acceptance of an invitation to become patrons follows

their special visit made to the charity in November 2011. They foundout more about its rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing work, andmet some of the animals, staff, volunteers and trustees.


H

given a great boost to staff and studentsworking on our increasingly popularDiscovery courses.”

“It is now our hope to fundraise in order toexpand this to include disabled facilities anda fully equipped learning room with teachingaids and computers. These would go a longway to helping young people adapt whatthey learn on the yard to a positiveeducational experience in casual andwelcoming surroundings.”

Discovery also: • Uses horses as a learning tool to

promote personal development.• Supports emotional growth and

learning through a curriculumcombining outdoor physical activityand close contact with horses.

• Improves students’ capacity toconcentrate, communicate, interact,work as a team member, be selfmotivated, feel confident and exerciseself control.

It therefore equips young people withcompetencies that give them the best possiblechance of succeeding in the future andAmanda Cranston added, “Bringing youngpeople together with horses can havestaggering results. The experience ofDiscovery course tutors working with youngpeople shows that those who struggle tocommunicate can find working with horseshelps them learn about themselves, enablingthem to interact more positively with others.Those who find it hard to concentrate or tocontrol their impulses can focus on a horse forlong periods while grooming or leading theanimal, and withdrawn students often beginto express themselves, developing words orgestures they haven’t previously used.”

HorseWorld’s evolving dual aims attractedMonty’s attention.

HorseWorld Chair of Trustees, JohnNewman, was delighted by the charity’scoup, “Our special anniversary year couldn’thave had a better start than this. To haveMonty and Kelly join the HorseWorld team aspatrons is a huge honour for our staff,volunteers and supporters.”

John Newman, Mark Owen and Monty Roberts withHorseWorld’s SoulPhoto courtesy of Up Close Photographyupclosephotography.co.uk

Happy participants on the Discovery coursePhoto courtesy of HorseWorld

People wanting to know more aboutDiscovery courses can go to theHorseWorld website at:www.horseworld.org.ukwhere you can also find thesuperb special DVD celebratingthe 60th anniversary of theHorseWorld charity featuringMonty Roberts.

By Amy Williams

Going the Extra MileIH member and jazz musician, Wil Robinson, is certainly going the extra mile forHorseWorld as he plans to run the London Marathon on their behalf and withoutthe help of a horse!

“I have contacted Horseworld who were really pleased I had chosen to run, orperhaps occasionally stagger, the marathon for them. I have set up a JustGivingpage at www.justgiving.com/wilrobinson-horseworld (note: only one ‘l’ in Wil) sothat people can sponsor me online. I have set a target of £2,000.”

“The marathon will be a tough one for me. I've been on the NHS waiting list fora new hip for six years!”

“Since I got together with Claire, my partner, who is horsey through andthrough, I have fallen in love with the animals. That, coupled with seeing Kellyand Monty in action, and blubbing like a fool when I saw my first Join Up, hasmade me want to do something positive.”

During their visit, Monty and Kelly alsolearned about the ‘Discovery’ project whichemploys horses to help young people withemotional, behavioural and learning issues.They heard how the project is becoming anincreasingly important part of the charity’swork, and is making a huge difference to thelives of local disadvantaged young people.Just a couple of weeks before Monty andKelly’s visit, staff at HorseWorld had beencelebrating the opening of new officefacilities housing the ground-breakingproject. The new Discovery Office, based inthe charity’s Equine Welfare Yard, provides asociable meeting place for students, staff,and volunteers, as well as a place for staff tocarry out administrative work.

Discovery Course Manager AmandaCranston said “This new office space has

DVD available atwww.horseworld.org.uk

A great start toHorseWorld’s 60th year


IH Charity UpdateMonty and Kelly to become Patrons of HorseWorld and Shy LowenMonty and Kelly have formally announced that they have become patrons of these two charities having been requested to do so by each of the organisations.

Monty says, “In the recent past I have been introduced to two charities in England. Coincidentally eachof these institutions works with a similar goal in mind. As I observed their work it became clear that themain goal of each of them is to improve the lives of horses and children. By now a great portion of thehorse world knows that these two subjects are the prime motivations in my life. Shy Lowen is mostprominent in Liverpool, while HorseWorld is in the Bristol area.”

“It seemed evident to me that each of these non-profit charitable foundations are dedicated andextremely motivated to help needy animals and youth at risk. Both are wonderful examples of sanctuariesfor those who are in need of their services as well as those who have the time and motivation to assist in theseefforts. Anyone who loves animals should become familiar with these two charities and wherever possibleassist them with their laudable efforts.”

Kelly adds…“I’m very honoured to have been asked to be a patron for both of these organisations. I'malways aware that I mustn't spread myself too thinly but Shy Lowen is very close to my heart; I am so pleasedthat the IHDG members have chosen them to be the next IH Charity of the Year. The staff at HorseWorld doan amazing job too - and all with IH techniques which I'm pleased to say are clearly serving them very well!”

And all that Jazz!!!Charity Garden Party 2012 featuringThe Southside Jazz Band

“Wil, blowing his own trumpet!”

Kelly Marks will be hosting the fifth IH Garden Party onSaturday 30th June, 2012 at Lethornes, Upper Lambourn, Berkshire, RG17 8QP, from 2 p.m.All proceeds will be in aid of Shy Lowen, the IH Charity of theYear for 2012/13Donations of £25 for each ticket. Please contact MichellePowers for tickets: [email protected]

For one afternoon only, the Southside Jazz Band, starring Wil Robinson, our very own IH marathon runner, will entertain. Not to be missed!!!

Photo courtesy of Up Close Photography

“Horse and Country’s Katie Gormley scrubs up well!”Photo courtesy of Ste Tillson


With Banksy and Corky both appearing in theshow ring over the coming months, I was keento find out Monty’s special technique forencouraging horses to stay straight and closeto the edges of the arena where there may bemany distractions from the audience or othernovel object near to the ring.

When a horse violently shies away from the outside of the arena, theinstinctive reaction of most riders is to pull with the outside rein to tryto keep him out. Where a rider carries a whip they may well hit himon the inside shoulder at the same time.

With a horse that gradually creeps inwards away from ‘the wall’ mostriders will use their inside leg and the outside rein to try to move thehorse’s shoulders back onto the desired track. Each of these actions is designed to force the horse to the outside track but experienceshows that actually a tense horse goes ‘into pressure’ and istherefore more likely to push harder in the direction that you don’twant him to go.

It has become clear to me that the best course of action is to train ahorse in a way that persuades him to want to do what you perceiveto be the right thing. At the same time you want him to choose notto do what you perceive to be the wrong thing. As a result, you willneed to do the opposite of what a traditional horseman might dogiven the same circumstances.

You might ask, “Why would you go the opposite way to the onewhich most horsemen choose, and what psychological response areyou looking for when you make this choice?”

When you are training a horse to tolerate a given stimulus comingfrom outside the wall you circle the horse inwards if he moves inwards.You then continue to ride your horse around in a small circle at thedesired pace (not in a punitive way) and ask for as many as eight totwelve small circles on the same rein away from the edge of the arena.You would then gradually bring your circles back to the outside track.

When the horse has settled again, you might ride around the arenaa few times repeating the same stimulus. You should note twosignificant changes that come about. Firstly the horse will begin tospook and then check himself as if to say he has made a mistake.Secondly the horse will begin to consider the stimulus ‘old hat’ andforget to spook at all. Having completed that exercise, you can moveon to the next.

It’s important that you don’t over-face the horse but create a learningcurve that is incremental. If you raise the bar too quickly this will causejustifiable fear in the horse before he is able to make rationaljudgements about the stimulus.

When you use workload as a negative consequence for undesiredactions and then lessen that work load as a positive consequence forpositive actions, you are much more likely to achieve a willing changeand cause the horse to want to do what you perceive to be the rightthing. Whereas if you act in a forceful way by attempting to push thehorse back to the outside rail, it is much like pushing a personnearer the edge of the cliff when they are terrified of heights.Inevitably, the horse will tend to fight. Unlike my system describedabove, it increases adrenalin rather than reducing it. It may work butit usually takes longer and causes fear and acrimony.

Monty explains:

Sam Austin has a ride on Banksy - Photo courtesy of Louise Austin

Photo courtesy of Sarah Weston

MyWorldBy Kelly Marks


The Blood DonorHow George Marks became a hero!

By Kelly Marks

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT EQUINE BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS?If a horse has lost a lot of blood in a short time, an emergency bloodtransfusion may be essential. A wound involving damage to a major bloodvessel, blood loss during surgery and severe trauma can be life threatening.Unlike humans, there is no ‘universal donor’ blood type for horses, so thereis always the potential for a transfusion reaction, such as an allergicresponse, which the vet must take care to avoid.

Rapid bleeding reduces the volumeof blood in the horse's circulation and limitsits ability to deliver oxygen to the body'stissues. The major benefits of a bloodtransfusion only last for a few days, but thenew blood will provide immediate help to thehorse by supporting the circulation,improving oxygenation and allowing time forits own bone marrow to respond andproduce a fresh supply of healthy red cells.

Generally, it is safe to give a firsttransfusion to a patient who has notpreviously received blood, even if thedonor and patient are not of the sameblood group. This is fortunate, as the firsttransfusion is frequently carried out during anemergency when there is no time to carry outa detailed cross-match. However, if a secondtransfusion is performed more than a weeklater, the donor and recipient blood typesmust be matched carefully to prevent seriousallergic transfusion reactions. Cross matchingis expensive and only performed in a fewveterinary centres in the U.K.

Unlike plasma, blood cannot be kept infrozen storage and must be refrigerated.Refrigerated blood products are only usablefor thirty days after collection, making a

blood bank for horses very difficult tomaintain. Some hospitals keep one or moreblood donor horses on site and a donor cansafely give 20% of their total blood volumeevery thirty days. The ideal donor is a healthygelding that is fully vaccinated, unrelated tothe recipient and that has not received ablood transfusion himself.

I knew none of this until I received a callfrom my veterinary surgery where Georgewas just finishing his ten day stay. “We havea horse trying to bleed to death here – canwe use George as a donor?” asked Jessica. I must admit that there was quite a longpause before I replied. My romantic vision ofGeorge having a perfect upbringing hadalready been dented. Now, after a ‘kissingspine’ operation and a period of box rest, I was being asked to subject him to anotherinjection and procedure...

Then I thought, if someone was dying andI could give blood then of course I would,wouldn’t I? Or, what if it were my horse thatmight die if he didn’t get some blood?

The decision was easy to make. The vet sentme a phone picture as the transfusion wastaking place within minutes of her call.

In fact, collecting blood from a donor is verywell tolerated because the donor cannot feelthe catheter which is used to collect theblood. The donor is lightly sedated, an areaover the jugular vein is clipped, and the site isinjected with local anaesthetic and madesterile. The hardest part is asking the horse tostand still for thirty minutes.

George came out of the procedure with noill effects. I received a message, “Earlyindications are that the other horse willsurvive thanks to George’s blood donation”.George was pronounced ‘a hero’. There arehelpful and unhelpful labels in life but I thinkbeing ‘a hero’ is a good one for George tolive up to, so I shall keep reminding him of it,especially as I have some concrete ideas ofhow he might go out and do good for horsesand people in the world. You just have towatch this space.

Did you know that 96% of us rely onthe other 4% to give blood. Pleasedon’t leave it to someone else. If you’re generally healthy and agedbetween 17 and 65, do somethingamazing, give blood.

Do Something Amazing... Give blood. Visit www.blood.co.uk for details.

Fresh blood collected for a horse which was anticipated to lose a large volume of bloodduring surgery.

Collecting blood from George.

Three litres of blood collected into a bagcontaining anticoagulant.

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here are some things in life we areonly going to try once; indeed, wemay only have one chance to getit right. We may put a positive spin

on things by saying ‘it was quite a learningcurve’. However, some ‘learning curves’ can behorrendously expensive and waste years of ourtime. When it comes to the well-being of theanimals in our lives the less we use be trial anderror and the more we can base our decisionson research, experience and trusted advicethe better.

I feel that a major role of IntelligentHorsemanship is to share experiences andattempt to give our members the most up tothe minute advice. Even then there are still noguarantees!

There has been a lot of interest in Georgeand his ‘kissing spines’ operation and,although it’s a shame that such a sweet, younghorse should need to go through thisprocedure, I looked at it as an opportunity toeducate myself, and then others, about thebest route to take in the circumstances.

George’s ‘kissing spines story’ is a long wayfrom complete, and much of his future

depends on how we bring him on, so sadly Ican’t present you with all of the answers or aquick cure. However, discovering whether yourhorse has ‘kissing spines’ doesn’t have to behorrendously expensive or over complicated.

One woman suspected that her horse had‘kissing spines’ following a thermographicimage being taken. She was told by her vetthat she couldn’t just have a back x-ray taken,and she would need to transport her horse tothe referral hospital for a bone scan whichwould then highlight the area that needed tobe x-rayed. This would cost about £2,000. Shewas pretty sure that her insurance wouldn'tcover the investigation since the back pain wasa pre-existing condition when she acquired thehorse. She asked me how this fitted in withmy experiences as an owner asking forinvestigation into a potential spinal problem.

In George’s case it cost nowhere near asmuch as this, nor was it nearly so complicated.I contacted my vet, Dr Jessica Kidd, atLambourn's Valley Equine Hospital about whata basic ‘kissing spines work up’ would entailand a rough guide as to the price. She repliedthat an examination, DSPs radiographs and aDSP block would usually cost about £300 plusVAT Over to the experts to tell you more…

‘Kissing spines’ is the colloquial name for over-riding dorsal spinous processes. The dorsal spinous processes, or DSPs, arevertical projections of bone from the horse’sspine. They run the length of the back andare tallest where they form the withers. Atthe front of the thoracic spine, the DSPs areangled slightly backwards so that they pointtowards the back of the horse. In the lumbarvertebrae, behind the saddle, the DSPs areangled slightly forwards, so that they pointtowards the front of the horse. The anglesbecome less severe towards the middle of thehorse’s back. When these bones are too closeto one another, they are said to be ‘over-riding’. This can cover a spectrum fromtouching each other when the horse’s back isflexed and extend to bone rubbing on bone,bones physically overlapping or, in longstanding severe cases, the bones actuallyfusing to one another.

By Kelly Marks, Jessica Kidd and Sue Palmer

Part One Diagnosis

T Note: The dorsal spinous processesin the thoracic region of the spine

are angled slightly towards theback of the horse whilst in the

lumbar region of the spine theyare angled slightly

towards the front ofthe horse.

Gorgeous George

The First Timers’ Guide toInvestigating ‘Kissing Spine’


Many people have heard of kissing spinesbut are unsure as to how to go about findingout if a horse is affected by kissing spines.

Any age of horse can get kissing spines andat any stage of their career. The signs maycome to light in some horses when theybegin training, others in the middle oftraining, or commonly when they have juststepped up a level either because it wasalready there and the training is making itclinically evident, or, least likely, the training isincorrect in some way. It is more common inhorses with a short back (closely coupledhorses); just as having the correct number ofteeth in a very small jaw causes overcrowdingof the teeth. All breeds can develop kissingspines although it is very rare in ponies. It ismost commonly seen in jumping anddressage horses, most likely because of thedemands of their discipline and how muchtheir action is scrutinised.

Signs which can be indicative of kissingspines include being ‘cold backed’, a reluctance to jump or work in an outline,an exaggerated response to stimulation or to palpation of the back or the reverse, which is little or no movement in the backwhen stimulated as the horse guards his backfrom motion which will cause pain. Someresent having the sternum (breastbone)pressed because this stimulates them to lifttheir back which may be painful. Manyhorses show low grade bilateral hind limblameness, or, rarely, a more severe orunilateral lameness. Horses often show adecrease in hind limb impulsion, generatingless power from their hind quarters. Somehorses resist collection, some bolt, and someshow profound behavioural changes. Whatmakes the diagnosis difficult from just ahistory is that there are many otherconditions of the horse which show exactlythe same symptoms

If you, your vet or your horse’s physiotherapist,chiropractor or osteopath suspects that kissingspines is a possibility in your horse, what next?The next step is to speak to your vet where theyhaven’t been involved before, or, if your vetdoes not commonly deal with back problems,you can ask to be referred to a specialist. Whenyou discuss your horse, make sure to mentionany signs you think might be related.Ask for a breakdown of costs at this time.

The next step is an examination of yourhorse’s back. This is often performed in stocksso that the horse can’t move away and sothat the back can be viewed from above,looking down the length of the spine. The back is also manipulated and palpated.Many horses with long standing back painhave a poor topline because of wasting of thelarge epaxial muscles which run down theback on either side of the spine.

A dynamic examination follows and thisinvolves examining the horse at walk and trotin hand on a hard surface and being lungedon a hard surface, if it’s safe to do so. This enables identification of any lamenesspresent. The horse should then be lunged ona soft surface to allow examination at canterwhich is the gait at which back pain is mosteasily and commonly seen. If the signs yourhorse shows are present or worse when

ridden, make sure you also arrange for anexamination under saddle; it makes sensethat a horse with a sore back may be evenworse with someone sitting on it.

If by now there are consistent signs of backpain, you may be given several options.Radiographs (x-rays) are fairly easily obtainedfor DSPs in the mid back area, and can bedone on a portable x-ray machine, althoughwith these it is not possible to x-ray moredeeply.

DSP x-rays are a good screening tool. Mosthorses with active kissing spines will havesome physical changes visible on their x-raysalthough the severity of the changes is notrelated to how much pain the condition iscausing the horse. It is unusual for kissingspines to be present in a horse with normalDSP x-rays although very occasionally this willhappen. But it is rare!

If there are changes on the x-rays furtherinvestigations are warranted, but doremember that a horse can have abnormalDSPs on x-rays and have no back painwhatsoever. This is why x-rays are a goodscreening tool but can’t be used to make adefinitive diagnosis.

Alternatively, your vet may suggestscintigraphy, also called a bone scan. The major advantage of a bone scan is that itcan help to spot other conditions affectingyour horse, not just kissing spines, which mayalter the overall picture. For example, if abone scan and ‘work up’ confirms that ahorse has kissing spines but also has sacroiliacdisease, there are now two problems to treat.If the kissing spines had been diagnosed butthe sacroiliac disease missed, the horse mayrespond poorly, if at all, to having the kissingspines treated. Bone scans also are a goodcomplement to x-rays because they tell you ifthat area of bone is more active than normalat the moment, whereas x-rays alone mayshow changes that have been there for years.

The disadvantage to a bone scan is the cost.If your horse is insured, obtain authorisationfor the bone scan from the insurersbeforehand as some insurers will not pay fora bone scan if they have not been informed.

If back x-rays are normal, there is only a tinychance that your horse has kissing spines. If there are changes on the x-rays, then thenext step is to decide if the changes arecausing the horse any problems. The bestway to do this is to desensitise the suspected

DSPs with local anaesthetic after the horsehas been examined or ridden. Once the blockis in place, the horse is examined or riddenagain and any changes gauged.

It is very useful for owners to see the horsewith the DSP block in place because then theytoo can observe any improvement (or feel it, if they are riding the horse) and will also have anidea of how much improvement treatmentcould provide. The block is straightforward - theareas to be blocked are marked on the horse’sback, usually with almost imperceptible clipmarks matched to markers on the x-rays. It’s notpossible to do a good DSP block without x-raysas a ‘road map’. Ideally the vet will do the blockwithout sedating the horse so that no residualsedation clouds the evaluation after the block.

If the block makes a difference to the horse,now is the time to discuss treatment optionswith the vet examining the horse. There is nouniformly successful treatment and it isprobably fair to say that the overall outlookis worse if the horse has other orthopaedicproblems.

By the time you have reached this point andthe horse has been examined, x-rayed andblocked, (but not bone scanned) you willhave some very useful information and it islikely to cost a few hundred pounds plus VAT.Again, enquire about prices when theappointment is made.

Occasionally, ‘response to medication’ isused as an initial test. This is where the backhas been medicated and the horse improved,only to have the signs recur when themedication wears off. This test obviously takesmuch longer to ascertain any effect, but it ispossible to mix medication and localanaesthetic together so that there is animmediate test following the local anaesthetic,and a longer test using the medication.

In the next edition we will discuss thetreatment routes available and thepossible prognosis.

Photo courtesy of Valley Equine Hospital

Dr. Jessica Kidd, European Specialistin Equine Surgery – Surgeon. Head ofSurgery, Valley Equine Hospital Ltd.Tel: 01488 71999www.valleyequinehospital.co.uk

Sue Palmer - Chartered VetrinaryPhysiotherapist and IHRA is based inStafford and works throughout the UK. www.holistichorsehelp.com

Photo courtesy of Sarah Weston

Laura Lloyd 29 from Flintshire, North Wales,IH member for 12 monthsHow did you first hear about IntelligentHorsemanship? I have followed Monty and Kelly’s work for a number ofyears and became aware of IH when ‘Googling’ Kelly severalyears ago.

Do you have horses? I have an eight year old Appaloosa called Pippa. Pip cameinto my life as a three year old ‘problem horse’. At that ageI became her fourth owner. The person that had her beforeme kept her in a small stable with no turnout because thatwas the only way she could control her.

Pip had quite a few ‘issues’, especially at feeding time.Although she had the paddock to herself, she was veryaggressive at feeding time. In the beginning, in order to geta bucket of feed into the field I had to put the bucket on theend of a broom handle, because if you went into the fieldwith her she would rear up and lash out at you with herfront hooves.

I knew I had to take things slowly with this special girl asshe was aggressive, nervous, bargy, unbroken andpractically unhandled. I’d been told she’d been halterbroken by being tied to a tree in the field and left to thrashabout. I couldn’t believe that she had been through somuch; it was no surprise to me that she hated people.

Although I’d owned horses for twenty years, I had noexperience of training young horses and, after being turnedaway by three local horse trainers who labelled Pip asuntrainable, I knew I would have to go it alone. I also knewthat I wasn’t going to give up on her.

It took me three days to get close enough to her to get theDually on, but since thatday we really haven’tlooked back. We havedone lots of groundworkexercises, long lining, anddesensitising and sheseemed to enjoy all of it. It was the first time everthat she was being trainedwithout being shouted at,whipped and abused.

Unfortunately, everythingwas put on hold when Pip

suffered a septic tendon sheath following a nasty cut. She needed to have emergency surgery at a specialisedequine hospital and I was told to prepare for the worst. Even if the surgery was successful there was a risk ofsecondary infection and septicaemia and there was noguarantee she would be sound afterwards.

Pip stayed in the hospital for two weeks beforebeing allowed home to endure two months of boxrest and three months of daily bandaging. She must have thought that her life had revertedto being trapped indoors forever and I wishedthat I could make her understand why she had

to stay in. Luckily, four months after her operation, she hadmade a complete recovery and we were able to startworking gently again.

I spent about a year working on the ground with her,building up her confidence and trust before I even triedbacking her. But when the time came, it all went smoothlywithout a hitch. Five years later, I am the very proud ownerof a beautiful, calm and well behaved Appaloosa and it’s alldown to IH. Without IH training methods she would havebeen relegated to life as a companion horse.

What involvement have you had with IntelligentHorsemanship ? I went to the demos in Myerscough, Preston in 2009 and2011 and I attended Kelly’s demo in Reaseheath, Nantwichin 2011. I would love to do the Foundation Course whenfunds allow!

What’s the best thing about being a member of The Intelligent Horsemanship Association?Having support from the team whenever I need it and usingcruelty free but effective training methods.


The Intelligent Horsemanship Magazine would love to find out more about our members! If you would like to be featured here please email: [email protected] for a questionnaire.

Mee

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mem

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Photos courtesy of Laura Lloyd


lettersYour letters

Dear Monty and Kelly,

This is just to let you know how much am looking forward to hearing Dr VeronicaFowler's talk about the science trials here at the University of Cambridge VeterinarySchool. I have followed Monty and his methods for over twenty years. I believe it was1989 when we had a young horse, Trooper, started by him. As the person in chargeof teaching horse handling here I use Monty's methods in the practical teaching andthe lectures, and we do Join Up with all of our horses. All the young horses here are started by his methods andonly last week we demonstrated Join Up to the 4th yearstudents with Tadpole, a home-bred three year oldConnemara cross Criollo.

I really enjoy the Equus University and have just receivedmy double medal for 166 lessons. Thank you for providingsuch a wonderful resource.

Alison SchwabeLecturer, University of Cambridge

Star letter

Hi Kelly,

I was very surprised to hear that I hadwon the prize draw at Your HorseLive. I really thought it was a joke atfirst. It was actually my partner thatput me in for this competition so hemust be my lucky man. I am lookingforward to the Perfect Mannerscourse that I have chosen.

Kim Walsh

Dear Kelly,

I was so interested to read your article 'Why do fools fall in love' in the last edition ofthe magazine. I purchased Pilgrim eight years ago and he was certainly a horse withserious issues concerning saddles, but I just loved him. After struggling for three yearswith various types of saddles and advice, plus three falls in quick succession, I decidedto listen to him and to accept his limitations.

He had had a traumatic life as a racehorse and had suffered health problems and franklyhe just needed a break! I decided to retire Pilgrim from riding and to build up his abilitieson the ground. Today Pilgrim, now aged 21, does groundwork demonstrations and isan outstanding Equine Assisted Learning horse working with autistic teenagers.

Thank you Kelly because over the years you encouraged me never to give up my dreams.

Jackie Tye,New Life Horse Care, Devon

Dear Kelly,

I just want to thank you all so muchfor your excellent service. I haveordered a number of things from youover the phone and the internet, andI'm very impressed with, and gratefulfor, your helpful and speedy service.My husband has contacted you too inthe past to ask you to ‘play along’ andhelp him get demo tickets andmembership organised as a surprisebirthday present for me, and he toosaid you were brilliant.

Hazel Bird

Hi Kelly,

Just to say how much Angus and Ienjoyed our night out at the HartpuryCollege demonstration. Angus wasonly a few weeks old when he sat atthe back of Kelly's classroom with hisgrandmother whilst I attended one ofher courses. That was 11 years ago!

We learnt lots, in particular, how you and Monty work so hard topreserve the owner’s self-esteem andconfidence. It was thrilling to hearthat Monty’s methods are beginningto be accepted in South America.

About 20 years ago I spent some timein Brazil, working with horses. A lot ofthe time I was with the gauchos in RioGrande do Sul. Their methods werefairly horrific. The owner was intriguedabout European girls working withhorses and I ended up startingCriollos, Sports Horses and someWestphalians using the round pen asmy arena.

When I went back a year later theranch were using these ideas.

Shuna Cameron

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


Splash! In March 2010 I boughtmy stud-bred New Forest pony, Splash,from a reputable breeder. As a potentialshow-jumper, she had all the rightcredentials, had been broken in, and wassix years old. By June 2010 however, shecouldn’t even cope with being touched,and it appeared that the foundations ofher education were just a thin sheet ofice over a very deep lake! What shatteredthat ice was a single incident when Splashcat-leaped over a dead branch when wewere out riding, and spooked badly. My safety handle broke and I fell offbackwards. By the time I found her, an hour and a half later, she was coveredin mud and sweat and had managed toget injured. Seeking to build up herconfidence again, I wanted to long reinher but I had only attached one reinwhen she bolted with the rein ‘chasing’after her, and jumped the field fence. A few days later she did the same thingagain when the farrier came to visit.

I sent her away for some training, butunfortunately this was also beset withdifficulties, and when she came home shewas actually worse not better.

Having been born and reared in a largedomesticated herd where she had beenunhandled for her first five years, Splashhad regressed to being practically wildagain and wouldn’t even let me put aheadcollar on her. Her default positionwas to bolt, and in blind panic she wouldgo straight through anyone in her way.Her whole body would tense if I eventouched her neck although she was quitehappy to just stand next to me.Worryingly her feet were becomingovergrown and beginning to break off,she needed her teeth and back checked,and her flu injection was due shortly. It was clear that I was going to have tostart at the very beginning.

I couldn’t catch her with a normalheadcollar with metal fastenings, so Ipurchased a cloth field-safe head collar.This didn’t jingle and would break easilyif she got caught up. I used advance andretreat to persuade her to wear it, andthen asked her to follow me into theround pen.

I progressed to using different types ofheadcollar but initially Splash hadproblems accepting any equipment ortouch; the least noise or movement alsoaffected her.

By Jenny Crouch, MRPCH


Splash!

too far and her default setting would return;just one extra noise or stimulus and off shewould go. Changing the round pen into asquare-shaped pen encouraged her to slowdown physically and mentally.

Although it was fascinating it did sometimesfeel like Groundhog Day. However, by the endof August 2010 I had a pony I could catch andshe could be tied up and groomed. To myrelief she also had her feet trimmed and herflu jabs done.

As we made further progress some funnyincidents occurred - things beyond mycontrol. Once when I took Splash out of thefield for a walk, a cat ran across the road infront of us and a car had to screech to a haltto avoid it. Then a dog tried to catch the cat!As she was becoming braver and moretrusting and seemed to know that I wouldnot push her too far or too fast, I begandeliberately to train her for when things wentwrong. This led to the biggest breakthroughof all as she started to understand that itreally didn’t matter, for example, if a numnahfell off her back. I even got hold of a ropeyold saddle and incrementally built up tothrowing it around beside her.

This journey was mentally challenging,every detail counted, and many eveningswere spent reading to further educate myself.I also did all my IH courses over this time.

Eventually Splash accepted a saddle simplyplaced on her back even though shewouldn’t accept a surcingle. However, whenI wanted to introduce the girth it becameobvious that she could not cope with memoving to her offside with the saddle still inplace, and it was not safe to cross in front ofher for fear of being trampled. Going behindher was not an option, nor could she copewith an assistant. Dropping the girth overfrom one side would result in her bolting, andputting my arms around her to reach thebreast girth would result in me beingsquashed. How could I put the saddle on,complete with breast girth, and then do thegirth up all from one side?

I needed to break up every stage into thesmallest steps possible which meantintroducing equipment bit by bit. I placed aplait at the base of her mane through which Ithreaded the breast girth to stop it slippingforward. Then I fastened it to itself using clipsand thin string. The string ensured that ifsomething went wrong it would break and thebreast girth could come away. I then workedwith a girth without the saddle. I lowered itdown on the opposite side to me very slowly,over and over again, building up the size of themovement and the jingling noise that it made.Later I was able to attach the girth to thesaddle and do it all over again with the saddle.

Finally I was able to put the breast girth inplace around her neck, lower the girth down,clip the offside of the breast girth to the saddleby reaching over her back, clip the nearside ofthe breast girth to string on the saddle, do thegirth up, transfer the breast girth from thestring to the D ring and then breathe!

I set about writing my action plan, whichlooked rather like a cobweb, detailing whatshe needed to be able to cope with for basicday-to-day handling, having her feet done,and being treated by the vet. It’s amazinghow much training is needed for just thesethree areas – it was not enough just to beable to put her headcollar on, but she mustaccept a rope of any length and colour,accept being touched and groomed all over,and hold up her legs in different positionswhile her feet were picked, trimmed andrasped by a stranger who would want toplace them on a stand. What if she needed tobe rugged or to have a wound cleaned?

Because of her fear of ropes, I had no optionbut to work with her loose in the pen. Thistook some of the pressure off her as she could‘leave’ any time she wished but, to avoidsetting up a pattern inadvertently teachingher to ‘leave’, I had to really pay attention toevery aspect of her body language. She wasso sensitive that it was very easy to push her

I continued working with the saddle andthen found she was ready to accept thesurcingle. By the beginning of 2011 I was ableto put two long lines on albeit that they hadto both be on the same side to begin with,and then one of them was carefully loweredonto her off side by another special systeminvolving clips and string! Then, within twomonths, Splash was accepting her first rug.

Having thought I would never be able toride her again, I was able to re-start her inApril, 2011. Having already climbed what feltlike a mountain, Everest was still to come!

Nothing is ever straight forward. Splashstarted to be intermittently lame. A thermal

image highlighted a problem with her stiflewhich was subsequently confirmed by thevet. He told me, “Get out and canter her uphills and work her hard in straight lines”. I had to laugh, we were nowhere near readyto go out and do that! Her mental well-beinghad to be my priority so we started off bywalking out in hand and then progressed toriding part of the way. Gradually she gainedphysical and mental strength although we didhave one nasty episode of azoturia. We werealso amazed one day to be ‘attacked’ by afive foot high silver helium filled teddy bearwhich landed in our field. Rather than run,Splash wanted to go and investigate it.

More recently Splash has been to someshows, competed in in-hand classes and beenridden on the showgrounds. We are enjoyingour rides out on the Forest where there is nopressure. Our finest hour so far was takingpart in an organised Christmas ride with our local riding club. I have achieved everygoal I set for us – a happy pony that can behandled normally – and far more besides;everything from this point is a bonus. I couldnot have achieved all this without IntelligentHorsemanship.


“We came up with the idea for the courseafter talking to students who were workingtowards the Monty Roberts PreliminaryCertificate of Horsemanship”, said Jim, IHRAand Tour Manager for Monty Roberts andKelly Marks. He was also a tour rider for Kellyduring her May Masterclass in 2011 on thefamously tall horse, Harry. “Rosie and Irealised that the students we were talking towere desperate for access to starter andremedial horses so that they could apply anddevelop their newly-learnt skills, but also feltthat they needed the support of experiencedRAs while they were doing it.”

Both of these things were hard to come byand so the idea for the Practical SkillsDevelopment course was born.

The course won the support of Kelly Marksand Sandra Williams, who also volunteeredto be the third tutor. The first IH two-dayPractical Skills Development course was heldat Jim’s yard in East Sussex on 10th and 11thSeptember 2011.

One student commented, “The PSDcourse was an amazing opportunityto continue my learning anddevelopment of IH skills and methodswith close personal tutelage from thefantastic RAs. After having completed allthe courses at Hartsop that I wanted todo, I felt a bit stuck as to where I couldgo from there… This course was perfectas a continuation of skills building and Icould come back time and time again aseach course would be different… I couldnot recommend this course more highly.”

The course covers two days, usually at theweekend. It has been designed to giveparticipants as much practical hands-on-horse time as possible, whilst also includingseveral debriefing sessions where the groupcome together to discuss what they haveexperienced and how they could take thetraining forward.

Arriving on day 1, students register andhave a chance to chat over tea and coffeebefore the first whole-group session starts.During this session, all the participants get achance to meet each other and the tutors,find out why they are all there, whatexperience they already have (or don’t have –everyone is welcome!) and what they arepersonally hoping to get out of the two days.This allows the three tutors to divide thestudents into three groups according to theirexperience and their own objectives, and tomatch this experience and the student aimsto the horses available for the two days.

Each of the smaller groups is allocated one ofthe three RAs to work with them for two days,but there are frequent stops in what they aredoing to observe if something interesting isgoing on with one of the other groups.

Jim’s yard has a 40ft x 20ft manège, a 52ftround pen and a secure yard, so the threegroups have ample space to work safely andindependently whilst also being able to see ifanything exciting happens that can beapplied to all the students’ objectives.

Jim explains, “On the first of thesecourses, the horses worked included a totally untouched two year old colt,

By Anna Goddard

COURSES IN DEPTH

The Practical SkillsDevelopment CourseWhether you are thinking of training towards becominga Recommended Associate or you simply want to practiceIntelligent Horsemanship methods so that you can applythem to your own horses, the Practical Skills Developmentcourse is for you.

The course was designed to give all IH students a safe andsupported environment where they can apply IH solutionsto real horses with real issues, whilst being backed up byIHRAs, tour riders and course tutors Jim Goddard, RosieJones and Sandra Williams.

The next Practical Skills Development courses are due to take place on12th and 13th May and on Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd June, 2012 in East Sussex.For more information please contact Sandra on:[email protected], mobile: 07785 544174, or go to:www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/courses-offered-by-our-recommended-associates.html


a sharp young filly who had been startedand returned to further her education, afour year old Quarter Horse returning towork after rehabilitation from a life-threatening leg injury, a seven year oldmare who tended towards nappiness, agelding needing groundwork and riddenwork and a green mare of unknownhistory and age whose owners werelooking for assistance with her all-roundeducation. This provided a broadspectrum of backgrounds and issues towork with.”

The student groups are allocated twohorses each to work with over the weekend– working as a team to agree an approachand methodology, apply their programmeand then feeding back as to how they wouldsuggest the owner continue.

The whole group get together for the finaldebriefing. During this session the groupsfeedback to each other about the issues theyhave faced, how they approached them,what happened as a result, and what theywould recommend to the owner.All of the students get to chip in and makesuggestions so there is a real sense of passingon experience and sharing knowledge.

One student commented, “The horses Iworked with were such good teachersand definitely let me know if I hadn't gotit right! (After the first training sessionthe horse)… was noticeably calmer,much less aggressive and more trusting”.

Another said, “Working with (thehorse) it was so clear what an advantagea good IH upbringing is for a horse. Shewas a pleasure to work with and clearlyenjoyed both working and being withpeople. To long line out on a blustery dayin an open field after a summer off wasa credit to those that had previouslyworked with her.”

The final theory session comprises adiscussion on the ethics of training in termsof how far you go with horses, the methodsyou use, your own boundaries as a trainer,and when you know you have done enough.

“It was useful to reflect on our learningexperiences throughout the day and great towork with fellow students from very differentbackgrounds and skills. Everyone hadsomething to add and bring to the mix.”

All the students agreed that the coursereally can be attended again and again aseach time the group of horses will bedifferent, and the course content wouldchange according to their needs. Those whoreturn would be able to move on to different,possibly more complex issues as theirexperience and confidence increases.

Asked to give a final reflection on theweekend, most of the participants agreedthat the welcome and the atmosphere reallymade it possible for them to relax and get themost out of the experience…

“I thought Jim’s place was great andthe atmosphere was lovely. It seemed toevoke the feeling that anything mightwork, as long as it’s safe – which meantwe felt comfortable making suggestionsand didn’t feel inhibited in case we saidsomething wrong.”

“The fact that you are in a ‘controlled’environment with a reassuring RA rightby your side helps you deal withsituations where at home you may havecome unstuck and panicked. I could notrecommend this course more highly.”

“I learned so much in such a shortspace of time. It was fantastic being able to work with true remedial orstarter horses on our own but withthe excellent back up and supportfrom you…”

The PSD course was an amazing opportunity to continue mylearning and development of IH skills and methods... ‘‘ ‘‘

All photos courtesyof Sarah Weston


By Liz Pitman, IHRA

FearAccording to the dictionary: “A painful emotion excited by danger: Apprehension of danger or pain.”

Anxiety“The state of being anxious”, which is defined as “uneasy with fear regarding something doubtful.”

Fear and its relation, anxiety,are probably the main emotions we aredealing with when training horses, yet wespend comparatively little time thinkingabout what fear is and what it really means tothe horse. There is too often an assumptionthat, if we perceive an object as being safe,the horse should too. Even more illogical isthe conclusion that because we knowsomething has been changed (been repaired,no longer there, etc.) the horse should knowthat too and therefore know that there is nolonger anything to be afraid of.

So let’s give fear and anxiety the attentionthey deserve, and let’s also take some time tosee them through the horse’s eyes.

The starting point has to be to look at whatfear is - what purpose does it serve, how doesit affect the body and why is it sofundamental to the horse? In very basicterms, fear is the emotion of survival. Fear isthe emotion that guards an animal fromdanger and prepares its body for reaction tothat danger. It stimulates the release ofadrenalin, which in turn increases heart andbreathing rates, and puts the animal into‘fight or flight’ mode. In other words, fear isthe starting point of the vital mechanism thatallows the animal to respond quickly todanger. Without fear, without an appropriateresponse to potentially life threateningsituations, animals wouldn’t last very long. It is, quite simply, that important - life or death.

Our greatest fears are generally of things weknow to be dangerous through experience, of

things we know instinctively to be dangerous,and of the unknown. This is equally true forour horses. A horse that has experienced painfrom, say, an electric fence will be fearful ofthe fence and avoid it. On the other hand, ifhe has no experience of a lion he’d still knowinstinctively to run like the wind if he met one.Then there is an extensive list of things thatare not the horse’s natural predators buthaven’t been encountered before andconfirmed to be safe. Although its degreemay vary, the fear felt is equally valid in eachcase, whether it makes sense to us or not.

There are, of course, degrees of fear andanxiety. A horse’s fear of an electric fencemay be less than his fear of a lion. One maybe a fear of pain, the other is a fear of death;one is something you just make sure youdon’t touch, the other sends you into instantflight. That makes sense to our logical brain.What may make less sense to us is that sameintense fear, the fear of death, can be inflictedupon horses by us in many every daysituations – travelling, clipping, and hackingout on their own. Horses with travellingproblems, confined in an enclosed space withno means of escape, clipper-phobic horsesterrified by the approach of a buzzing thing,spooky horses that panic at the sight of aplastic bag in the hedge - all these horsesexperience intense fear to the extent ofbelieving that they may well die. We knowthey won’t, but how can they?

In these cases the horse’s reaction is all tooevident. Wide eyes, thumping heart and

No Fear!!Part 1Photo courtesy of Sarah Weston

Photo courtesy of Hannah Steedman


pounding lungs, attempts at flight and even,if flight is impossible, fight. Horses that try toclimb out of trailers, that trample a handlerin their need to get away from clippers, or bolt for home - their fear is obvious tomost people. But what about lesser fears?Are we always so good at identifying them?Sadly, the answer is no.

A typical caller to an RA may say somethinglike, “My horse isn’t scared of loading, he’sjust stubborn. He plants himself at the footof the ramp and won’t move. But he’s notscared. “ He may not be rearing, he may notbe covered in sweat, but there are moresubtle signs, often overlooked, that willindicate his unease.

One of the clues it to observe closely whatyour horse is looking at, or indeed what he isnot looking at. On the one hand, a horse mayfeel he needs to pay very close attention tothe item, or a part of an item, that he fears.For example, a horse who feels the ramp of atrailer is unsafe may concentrate on it.Another horse, though, who has been askedto deal with something he fears, may try toturn his head away, so that he doesn’t haveto deal with it again.

Anyone who has watched Monty work witha spooky horse with the plastic bag on a stickwill have observed the horse obviouslysteering its body away from the feared object.If you observe carefully horses may make thesame movement but to a lesser degree to any object of concern. A horse that has a fearof being mounted, for example, may move his body away from the waiting rider. Thatmovement does not indicate terror, but itdoes still highlight the horse’s anxiety.

By working slowly, you can read initial cluesas to a horse’s fears through slight headmovement, ear flicks, a tightened mouth,yawns or other small muscle movements.

problem, causing a new fear to beestablished. Fear can also be linked tophysical pain which then multiplies the effect.

You may be left scratchingyour head at why yourhorse will no longer go inhis stable, for example -after all that hasn’tchanged one bit - whereasto the horse that has nowbecome a scary place

because he felt fear there, even though thatfear may have been nothing to do with thestable at all.

This ‘pain’ caused by fear is what confirmsto the horse that an otherwise innocuous itemis indeed a threat. Because last time heencountered that item he felt that dreadfulfeeling of fear, he becomes anxious aroundthat item because he expects that samefeeling of fear again, and in doing so hecreates the very feeling he’s worried by, andfrom there the downwards spiral can begin.This explains why that silly horse of yours stillplays up at that same point on the hack, eventhough you’ve been past it countless times!You know that he’s not been hurt on any ofthose times which should prove there isnothing to worry about. He, on the otherhand, knows he’s felt fear there time, aftertime, after time...

The fundamental lessons, though, aresimple. If your horse appears afraid, assumehe is – believe him. It doesn’t matter whetherthe thing he is afraid of is actually a danger tohim; his perception is what drives hisresponse. If he has a problem doingsomething, give him the benefit of the doubt- it’s highly unlikely that he’s ‘just making itup’. Break things down, work slowly and givehim the chance to tell you how he really feelsabout it. Above all, take the time to workthough fears as soon as they arise. A sessionor two early on will prevent things fromgetting out of hand later.

In the next edition of the IH Magazineuseful methods for getting a horse overtheir fears.

These movements all mean something. Thereis a reason the horse yawned, and if he’sstanding at the bottom of the ramp refusingto load while you tug away at his head, it’s unlikely that he’s just drifting off to sleep.

Context is the key. A resting foot on a horsestanding under a shady tree on a summer dayindicates a relaxed horse, a hind foot tippedonto its toe as you approach with thedreaded clippers is quite the reverse - he’sbraced to leave. The important thing is tokeep reading your horse and to understandwhen he genuinely is happy with somethingand when he is anxious.

Usually it is possible to see what the horse isafraid of. There are the usual candidates oftrailers, wheelie bins and puddles. There areother times where we cannot for the life of ussee what he could be frightened of. It ispossible that your horse has seen somethingyou haven’t - his movement vision is muchbetter than ours. It isalso possible that hehas seen somethingthat reminds him ofsomething that he isalready scared of. Ahorse that has a fearof whips, for example,can often react to other similar shaped objects,especially if presented in a similar way.

All this we can see if we look hard enough.There is, though, one more fear we haven’ttalked about yet, and that is the fear of fearitself.

If we go back to our initial definition of fear,we’ll see it says ‘a painful emotion’. Unlessyou are a horror movie junkie fear is anunpleasant emotion. Fear itself is somethingto fear. That ‘painful emotion’ can then easilybecome coupled with other events that ledup to the one that originally caused the

Fear is the emotion that guards an animal from danger... ‘‘

‘‘

The important thing is tokeep reading your horse...‘‘ ‘‘

Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman

Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman


Why Hi-Viz?By Ele Milwright, IH Member

Is there a good case for always wearing hi viz when you are out withyour horse? One of the strongest arguments I have heard for wearinghi-viz on the roads is that vehicle drivers can see fluorescent coloursearlier, giving them up to THREE seconds extra ‘reaction time’ thatcould save the life of both you and your horse. Three seconds is theequivalent of a car driven at 30 mph travelling the length of a fullsize dressage arena.

This additional reaction time canbe just as vital on a bright sunnyday as a dark rainy one. So surelywearing hi viz really does makesense, whatever the weather?

There is often a feeling amongst more‘traditional’ riders that hi viz is okay fornovices but somehow not necessary for‘experienced’ riders. However, a car drivercoming around a corner on a narrow countrylane who doesn’t see a horse and rider in theshadows until the very last second won’tknow whether you’re a novice or not; all theexperience in the world won’t necessarilysave you. It seems logical to want to protectboth yourself and your horse whatever yourlevel of experience.

Hopefully attitudes are slowly changing.Who remembers the outcry when it becamethe law to wear seat belts in a car? Manythousands of lives have been saved since withthis simple precaution. It is now an automaticresponse to ‘clunk click every trip’ for themajority of drivers – I would love to think thatreaching for the hi viz could become thesame for riders.

Currently there are no official regulations inplace about what to wear whilst riding on apublic highway (apart from children under 14who must wear a hard hat), although theHighway Code does recommend the wearingof fluorescent clothing during the day andreflective clothing at night or in poor visibility.

After the tragic death of rider Heather Bellin June 2003, which was found to be directlyattributed to an incident with a low flyinghelicopter, the Ministry of Defence undertooka major review. Extensive trials wereundertaken with two riders, and it was foundthat when they were wearing full hi viz(jacket, hat band and fly sheet), the pilot of aChinook helicopter could see them up to halfa mile sooner. This gave plenty of time for thepilot to take evasive action to avoid flyingover and frightening the horses.

As part of this review, the MOD issueda number of free hi viz tabards and flysheets, and I still use mine today. I live a fewmiles from Salisbury Plain where there arecontinuous military exercises including plentyof low flying jets and helicopters. A Tornadojet pilot friend of ours, cruising at around

420mph, could always tell me exactly wherein the village he had passed over us, becausehe could clearly spot The Badger and me inour hi viz evenat those speeds.

The BHS has recently undertaken their ownhi viz survey, the results of which werereleased in the Sept/Oct edition of theirmembers’ magazine, British Horse.

Nearly half (46%) of those who participatedin the survey thought it was not necessary towear hi viz off-road because they see nodanger. Yet traffic is not the only hazard outriding as one of the respondents noted:

“Riding along a bridleway, I ended upin the middle of a pheasant shoot! Theycould see me because of my hi viz andstopped the shoot until I had passed”.

If you are unlucky enough to suffer a fallwhilst hacking off road, it is far easier forrescuers to find you if you are wearing hi viz,whether your searchers are on foot or the airambulance is trying to find you.

Consider also whether your horse needs tobe wearing any hi viz. If you part company,he needs to be protected too:

“My horse slipped over on the road ontop of me breaking my ankle, six ribs andfracturing my pelvis. She got up andtrotted the three miles home on theroad. She was wearing a hi viz exercisesheet, and drivers of several cars thatstopped to assist me mentioned that shewas easy to spot on her way home!”

There is a myriad of hi viz items available,from simple tabards and fly sheets to jackets,gloves, leg bands, martingales, tail wraps andhat bands. Intelligent Horsemanship hasdecided to promote the use of hi viz byadding a hi viz tabard (priced at just £12.99)to the range of IH branded merchandise.After all, we strive to ‘Be the owner yourhorse would choose’, and I think most horseswould choose to be seen and be safe!

Many thanks to the BHS for allowing us to reproduce their hi-viz survey findings. See www.bhs.org.uk for more details.

Do you notice the horse on the right?

Tell us a little about your horse:Evolution is a three year old piebald Dutch Warmblood that was bred in Holland butcame to England shortly after being weaned. As soon as I met him I fell in love withhim. His owner at that time was very honest about his character and said that hewould need a lot of time and patience as he was very jumpy whenever you touchedhim. You could not get anywhere near his head other than to put a headcollar onbut, if you moved too quickly or did something different to usual, he would throwhis head back and run away. He was wary of everyone and everything. The vet cameout and had to administer two sedatives before he could look him over and checkhis ears. He gave him the all clear and confirmed that the problem was not physical.

How did you become involved with Intelligent Horsemanship?I saw on the Facebook page ‘Hooked On Horses’ that Monty Roberts was doing ademonstration at Brook Farm Training Centre in Essex. I went on to the IntelligentHorsemanship website and put Evolution forward for it and he was picked. I wasalways slightly sceptical as to whether natural horsemanship really did work as Ihad seen on TV, but I was willing to try anything that might help in the slightest way.

When Monty first saw Evolution’s reaction to having his ears touched, he saidthat he might not succeed in one session but he would see how far he could

get. On the evening, Monty came into the round pen riding Copy. He explained to the audience that Evolution perceives things with twolegs (people) touching his ears as a negative thing, but that as someoneon four legs had never tried to touch his ears there would not be sucha strong negative association. Twenty minutes later, Evolution wasstanding with his head resting on Monty’s lap allowing him stroke hishead. I left convinced that his methods do work and this gave me thedetermination to carry on.

How did you progress after the demo?Monty recommended that I carry on working in the same way as he had

done. However it wasn’t really possible for me to work usinganother horse so I looked at other IH methods

that people had used to desensitise their horses, for example using a feather duster. At everyopportunity the duster was out and within a weekEvolution was already accepting that. After that Iused everything I could find to touch him all over,including his ears. Just three months later I canrun the clippers over his entire face and bodyincluding touching behind and even on his ears.His confidence has vastly increased and theworried look in his eyes has gone.

What are your plans for the future?I plan to continue with all the hard work that Ihave done so far to keep Evolution improving. He will be started this September which wassomething I was dreading. Now, with MASSIVEthanks to Monty and his team, I cannot wait tosee him matured and under saddle. He is a specialhorse with a kind heart but being head-shy hasalways held him back. I hope he will go on toachieve big things and that one day I will ride himdown the prestigious centre line at HOYS as thechampion that he is!

Where are they now?

By Jodie Still, IH Member

Photos courtesy of Jodie Still andSimon Palmer - Into-the-Lens



To bit ornot to bit?That is thequestionWhether to use a bit in a horse’s mouth isa subject guaranteed to excite debateamongst horse owners. The IntelligentHorsemanship magazine asked threepeople for their opinions:

Bitless riding By Alice Beardsworth

Bitless Bridle Configurationwith kind permission of Dr Robert Cook

Photo courtesy of Alice Beardsworth

Alice Beardworth from Newtonmore,Inverness-shire, is the Scottish Representativefor the Bitless Horse Association, a usefulresource for bitless riders. The association iscampaigning for bitless bridles to be allowedin FEI dressage.

She can be contacted on:07530821676 or by email at:[email protected]

had waited most of my life to owna horse. However, seven years agoI was given the opportunity to loana Welsh Section D mare called

Amber. The original dealers had described heras a straightforward ‘ploddy cob’ but her newowner had fallen off her a few times when shehad spooked and bolted, and then become toofrightened to ride her.

I started again from the beginning, using JoinUp and groundwork and then I startedschooling her. I tried hard to get her to relax asshe had a tendency to rush, panic and becomestrong. On the advice of a good friend Ichanged from a snaffle to a pelham bit. Itseemed to stop her rushing quite so much, butit was clear that she was very stressed. She wastense through her whole body, particularly herback and neck. She was spookier than she hadbeen previously and did not seem to be able torelax, even just out hacking.

I changed back to the snaffle believing it tobe kinder. She seemed happier, but whenever Igave her a long rein after working in collectionshe started to toss her head from side to side.

To rule out medical reasons for this I had herteeth and back checked, but the head shakingcontinued. As it got progressively worse, I foundways to manage it, such as asking for a side-bend through her neck and maintaining thebend until she relaxed. However, this wasprevention rather than a solution and I did notknow what was causing the problem.

I continued trying to build Amber’s trust bydoing lots of groundwork over poles and

stiffness in her body. I could school her properlyand keep her supple. I now always ride bit-free.

There are now over thirty different types ofbitless bridle available and new ones beingdesigned all the time so that it is easy to findone to suit every horse. If you are not surewhich bridle would be best, you can even hirethem for trial periods.

I

obstacles, and long reining. I tried manydifferent exercises to help Amber relax intoher work, yet she still shook her headwhenever I gave her a long rein. I feel thatreleasing the pressure is a vital reward for ahorse that has worked hard or done whatwas requested, and I certainly didn’t want towork her continually in an outline.

My epiphany came when I picked up theVeterinary Times and read an article by Dr. Robert Cook. It described all the sameproblems that my horse was having andattributed them to the bit. I hadn’t realised thatthere were so many alternatives to a bit; I wasonly aware of the mechanical hackamore whichI understood could have a very harsh action.

I bought a cross-under bitless bridle, and sincethe very first day Amber has not had a problemwith head shaking again. I noticed that she wasable to move a lot more freely, highlighting any


I choose to train my horses with a bit becauseI have spent the time needed to develop aseat that is fully independent of the reins. As a specialist teacher of the classical seat, it causes me constant dismay that generallymere lip service is paid to the development ofa secure, independent seat. When the riderhas a seat that is fully independent of thereins, the reins are never needed for balance.The bit can be used as an instrument to givesmall but clear signals to the horse, withouttraction or strong pressure, and never abackwards pull.

Photo courtesy of Heather Moffett

I am indebted to my old mentor, Capt DesiLorent, who not only taught me myindependent seat but also the finesse neededin applying the aids. He likened a ‘goodcontact’ to feeling like shaking hands with alittle old lady, you don’t want to pull her over,push her over, or crush her fingers! He taughtthe delicate use of ‘asking’ fingers and whento ‘give’ so that the horse learns to carryhimself.

There are times when a horse is going to takea strong hold, going into pressure just as theywill if you press strongly on other parts of theirbody; their reaction is to lean into thatpressure. I am currently working on a lovelylittle project horse, a pure bred registeredAndalusian. He could be pretty hot, runningthrough the bridle and taking a real hold. I would have to close my seat and resist asmuch as possible without a strong hand. In reality, I had to take as much pressure on thebit as he did or be run away with. However, thepressure is not a solid one - leg into hand asmany trainers seem to encourage. The fingersask gently with the reins, squeezing or latermerely vibrating, and the split second that thehorse yields his jaw, the fingers open slightly,releasing every ounce of tension as a reward. If the horse scoots off again, the process is

Why use a bit? By Heather Moffett

Decisions about what to use to communicatewith your horse through the reins require aresponsible thought process which includesseeking the best advice possible.

It is extremely important to use theappropriate headgear for the individual horsebut it isn’t always as straightforward as onemight think. One has to take into account theage, breed, health, conformation and size ofthe horse. What discipline is he destined for?The answers help to clarify what is best.However, remember that the type of bit orheadgear constitutes about 10% of the finaloutcome; it is the hands that hold the reinswhich make up the other 90%.

If your intention for the horse is hacking orendurance your mouthing goals are going tobe different from dressage, reining orshowing. For the sake of your own educationthough, and certainly before advising others,you need to be fully conversant with how the mouthing process can benefit or harmthe horse.

It is important to be well educated in theoryand practice, and to accumulate plenty ofhands-on experience, in order to developsensitive hands with which to send messagesto the horse. When one is concerned about abit because it appears to be harsh, a properresponse would be to investigate how itworks, and the final results that it achieves;

the only harsh thing about any bit that weuse is our own two hands.

When I travel the world, I find massivecultural differences where bits are concerned.Horsemen glance at a particular bit, wrinkletheir noses and say, “I don’t like that bit at all. I wouldn’t want that on my horse.” I don’t care what any human thinks about abit, it’s the horse that matters. Often horsesare more comfortable in the very bit that ahuman would tend to dislike.

Sometimes a rider, despite very goodintentions, will teach a young horse toplough the ground with his nose orsnatch at the bit, which can becomea lifetime habit. One often seeshorses with their heads in the air andmouths open or that are totallyunresponsive to the reins.

I look forward to writing a seriesof articles on bitting for the IHMagazine which call on myexperience with several thousandhorses that I have worked withduring my career.

Look out for the first one in the next edition of the IntelligentHorsemanship Magazine

Communicating with your horse through the reinsBy Monty Roberts

Heather Moffett is thefounder of Enlightened Equitationand author of the book EnlightenedEquitation featured on page 17.www.enlightenedequitation.com

repeated, and repeated until the horse forgetsto run and lean on the hand, and carrieshimself on the weight of the reins. Now, whenhe is in self carriage, it is the most wonderfulfeeling in the world and he almost floats.

So am I anti bitless riding? Yes and no. I donot believe that you can, for the most part,train a horse to high levels of dressage bitless,but it is perfectly possible to ride them withouta bit once trained. I tested a well known bitlessbridle for its designer some years ago. My Arabstallion had a fat tongue and absolutely lovedit, having been trained already to higher levels,but my Dutch Courage mare truly hated it andleant on it constantly.

As with any tool, a bitless bridle or a bit is onlyas mild or as strong as the handsthat employ it. My advice isalways to “listen to yourhorse”!

Monty and CopyPhoto courtesy of Simon Palmer Into-The-Lens

By Leanne Sargeant, IH student and Reserves Manager for the Essex Wildlife Trust.

or a long time ungrazed, TiptreeHeath has become overgrown withinvasive species which needcontrolling such as silver birch. Time

to bring in the specialists - four Exmoor ponies!The ponies are going to be a real asset in

the ongoing grazing programme run by theTrust as these hardy ponies do very well onrough grazing; their native homeland ofExmoor is very low quality grazing and theyare used to browsing for food. Luckily for us,they like to eat saplings and bramble, even gorse, nibbling it off and turning itaround in their mouths to avoid the sharpends. This means that the ponies will help toreduce any new scrub encroachment onTiptree Heath, and may later be moved ontoother EWT reserves.

The four Exmoors, two yearlingsand two two year olds, are allgeldings and fairly wild, havinghad only limited handling forgelding, microchipping, etc.

As they will remain as conservation grazinganimals on reserves that are open to thepublic, a lot of thought has had to be givento what training, if any, we will do. At oneend of the scale, they have to remain semiferal so that they do not become friendlyenough to hand feed with all the issues that can create, including mugging people for treats. Other reserves outside Essex havehad to review their use of ponies after a herd of Dartmoor Hill Ponies startedharassing anyone holding anything thatresembled food.

On the other hand, they will be exposed tochildren, dogs and horse riders, and requirebasic handling for foot care and movingbetween reserves. We felt that it was in theirbest interests to have some basic training butfinding the right balance would not be easy.

The main question was how we could teachthe ponies that human contact was okayduring training but not okay at other times?Would trying to keep that distinction be fairon them, or even possible? We concludedthat we had to try.

Away from the main reserve, we embarkedon a brief programme of initial desensitisationto walkers and dogs, and also carried outsome initial handling training. The dogdesensitisation was important as a pony

running away could encourage an exciteddog to chase even more, whereas a ponythat has learned to chase dogs in defencecould result in injury to dogs and evenhumans if the owners tried to intervene.By using advance and retreat, it wasrelatively straightforward to put a physicallimit on how close the ponies wereallowed to get to a dog that we had eitheron a lead or running free before we woulduse body language to ask the ponies to goaway. They soon learned to carry ongrazing and ignore a barking or runningdog. Stage one had gone as smoothly aswe had hoped.

Stage two of the ponies’ training wascarried out in a penned area over a period ofthree days with each pony having two halfhour sessions per day. Employing soft bodylanguage, we used tools that will be familiarto Sarah Weston’s IHRA students – a featherduster and a soft scarf – before using aheadcollar. It was very interesting to see howthe two younger ponies, with less experienceof human contact, were much moreaccepting than the two older ones, eventhough one of those, Gadwall, was inherentlymore friendly and confident than the otherthree. Just a few extra times of being man-handled appeared to have made the twoolder ponies very wary of being touched,especially on their left hand sides. Gadwallwas particularly wary of the headcollar too.

Within a short space of time, both yearlingswere happily wearing headcollars and werelearning to release themselves from thepressure of the lead rein. One of them, Plover,even discovered the joys of receiving a goodold scratch! Gadwall learned to accept a scarfover his nose but still remained a littleguarded around his head, especially on theleft. For the second two year old, Peregrine,just accepting being touched by a hand wasa great achievement.

Shortly after this initial training, the poniesmoved to their present site at Tiptree Heath.We felt that it was important to be disciplinedand make it clear that we didn't want themto be brave and come up to us for a rub,tempting as that may be for us! We wantedto distinguish between outside a pen, nohuman contact; inside a pen, human contactis fine.

However, after a very short time in theirnew environment, curiosity began to get thebetter of them and it wasn't long before theywere sidling up to anyone who pausednearby. There was curiosity on both sides andmany people were of course stopping toadmire them. Fortunately, a group of Tiptreeresidents and Heath users, including IHRA Liz

F

THE INTELLIGENT HORSEMANSHIP MAGAZINE36

Gadwall, Petrel and Plover with Peregrine in the backgroundPhoto courtesy of Leanne Sargeant

Peregrine, Gadwell and Plover - Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman

Gadwell with LeannePhoto courtesy of Liz Pitman

Born to be wild!


Pitman, undertook to walk regularly in theponies' compartment for the first couple ofweeks, stopping near to them, assessing theirreactions and, if necessary, shushing themaway if they got too close.

Watching their interactions with strangersis interesting. Again, Gadwall appears to bethe most relaxed and curious. Petrel andPlover, the yearlings, show a passing interestbut are, on the whole, more interested ineating. Peregrine is like a mother hen, nottrusting these people himself or for his herdmembers, so he will often round the otherponies up and move them away.

How they cope physically with whatappears to be very little to eat is also veryinteresting. To begin with they sought outany remaining grass left by the cows that hadbeen grazing over the summer. Due to theexceptionally mild weather there has beenmore new growth later in the year thanexpected, but as this ran out the ponies hadto find food elsewhere. They have picked atthe remaining bramble leaves and nibbled atgorse and heather. They have also found ataste for roots, in particular bracken roots,which are not poisonous or carcinogenic. We had expected the ponies to help controlthe bracken by trampling it but to have themactually dig it up and eat it is a real bonus;there are places that look as if they'd beenattacked by a rotovator, so we are absolutelydelighted with their work!

A less welcome source of food was the pileof neatly sliced carrots found by the gate onemorning. Despite notices, it was inevitablethat someone would leave food for theponies. Fortunately, they have no idea whatcarrots are and left them alone.

After a three month gap, it was time tocontinue with the ponies’ training as it won'tbe long before their feet need trimming. Theyalso need to be moved from one compartmentof the Heath to the other, which will involvebeing herded between lines of helpers holdingelectric tape. It will be useful for them to have

had a little more close contact with us to makethat herding less stressful.

We had no idea whether the ponies wouldhave progressed or even regressed in that timebecause, of course, they have learned plentymore since they were released. We needn'thave worried, though. All four boys wereabsolute superstars. Petrel and Plover acceptedtouch and headcollars very quickly indeed,followed by leading and leg handling. Gadwallmade huge progress from the start: He wasable to accept a headcollar and handling fromboth sides, and then moved on to leading andleg handling like the others. Our figurative redrosette, though, went to Peregrine. Althoughnervous at first, he soon made rapid progress.Given it had previously taken him six sessionsto accept a human hand touching him at all, injust four sessions this time I was standingcalmly at his shoulder and stoking uphis neck. It may not sound much butwe were so proud of him.

Once again we will need towatch over their interactionswith Heath users after thetraining has taken place,when they may feel less waryof people. We also need to see how they fare physically in a relatively small space withundemanding terrain; withlimited exercise, there is a riskof excess weight and laminitis.

So far the experiment bothfrom the pony point of view,and from a conservationgrazing point of view, has been a great success.We hope that when springarrives the ponies willdevelop a taste for birchsaplings and help returnTiptree Heath to its full,heather covered, glory.

The Essex Wildlife Trust has taken on four Exmoor ponies, gifted by the RSPB, to helpwith restoration work on the heathland at Tiptree Heath. The Heath, a SSSI, is thelargest surviving fragment of heathland in the County of Essex and supports a numberof plants which are rare in Essex.

If anyone is wondering where on earththe ponies’ rather unusual names camefrom, don't forget who they belonged tobefore - the RSPB. Peregrine, Gadwall,Petrel and Plover are all birds.

Anyone in the area who would like tovisit Tiptree Heath and see thesegorgeous ponies for themselves canfind more information at:http://www.tiptreeheath.co.uk

More information on The EssexWildlife Trust can be found at:http://www.essexwt.org.uk/

Petrel - Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman Plover and Petrel - Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman

Petrel - Photo courtesy of Liz Pitman

on IH Recommended AssociateSpotlight


How long have you been involved withhorses? I’ve been involved with horses for over thirtyyears and it is now fifteen years since I clutchedthe Monty Roberts Preliminary Certificate inHorsemanship in my hand.

Why did you decide to qualify as aRecommended Associate? My wake up call was in 1994 when I wasthrown from a young horse in an arena andunfortunately landed in a way that tore my liver.This led to a lifesaving operation from which thedoctors did not think I would recover. I made afull recovery but I emerged from my hospitalbed a very different person.

I realised then that I knew very little aboutwhat made horses ‘tick’. When I look back itdoesn’t surprise me that the accident happenedbecause although I would ride any horse andwas completely fearless I had no idea what wasgoing on in their brains; I had very littleunderstanding of the psychological aspect ofhorses’ behaviour.

What is typical day for you? Most of the time I am on the ranch runningeducational courses. These range from weekendand week courses and family courses to monthly

student programmes and also a course whichcovers hoof maintenance and care. New for2012 is our fantastic Shiatsu weekend.

I live and work in the beautiful heart ofAndalucía, Spain, where I have a herd of fifteenhorses living and roaming around the olivegroves. The ranch creates a perfect environmentfor the courses I run. There is breathtakingscenery on the doorstep and it’s a ‘T-shirtclimate’; it really doesn’t get any better than this!

What's important to you when you see anowner and their horse for the first time? I like to see the horse away from the owner firstof all, and then see them interact of together.

The horse’s demeanor and energy tell meeverything I need to know with regard to whereI go from there.

What are the common challenges youface in your work as an RA? I like to get one important message across.When you start to learn another language, it’salways very complicated to begin with. You canlearn it from books and videos but we all knowthat living in the country and speaking thelanguage is really the only way to progress. It’sjust the same when learning the language ofthe horse. Yes, you make mistakes and it gets

frustrating, but with perseverance, patience, theright concepts, techniques, and a good teacher(the horse himself), you will become fluent.

If you could change one thing in the worldof horses what would it be, and why? I would like to change people’s idea that horsesthink like we do. Once they understand thedifference between predatory and prey animalsit changes their whole perception of the horse.

What would be the first piece of adviceyou would give someone looking atbuying/loaning their first horse? To chat with their local RecommendedAssociate who will help them to look for andfind the horse which is most suited to theirpersonality, ability and requirements.

What is the most common issue you haveto deal with when working with horses? I often find that the horses I work with don’tactually trust people. It usually takes me only amatter of minutes to gain their trust so my workreally is teaching the owner how to be aroundtheir horse and to be part of the solution, notpart of the problem.

What are your plans for the future? I need to finish my book and make my secondDVD. I shall also continue to offer courses in thisbeautiful environment.

IHRA Tracy James is based in Malaga, Andalucia,Spain and can be contacted on:0034 9527 20271Email: [email protected] Website: www.naturalhorseridinginspain.com

Tracy’s unique coaching style offers a way to work with horses through feel, helping tobuild a connection based on trust, clear communication and respect. Tracy’s insight,energy and creativity has helped me in a very positive way. Client’s comment‘‘

IH Magazine meets Tracy James

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