This isn't something I would usually spend money on, but my down-to-earth, sceptical, crofting neighbours were having her out for the third year in a row and said she was uncannily accurate, so I thought I'd ask her for a session with Merlin and the dogs. This is what came out.
She started by pressing gently along his back and he nearly collapsed underneath her, which was a big surprise to me because I do the same thing regularly to check there aren't any sore spots and he's never even flicked an ear at it. She explained that it was to do with her energy and that he has a strong memory of having a permanently sore back, he's not always had saddles which fitted.
She got images of lots of other horses pulling things, lots of circles, endless circles, trees without tops, just trunks, endless featureless blue outside them - this kept coming through over and over again and she couldn't work out what it was. Then she got someone standing on his back and a horse doing fancy steps and we worked out he was trying to communicate a circus! He had a horribly severe bit and a saddle Isobel didn't recognise, there were donkeys there too and grey horses with huge necks.
He was gelded without anaesthetic. He says I'm soft with him and he doesn't mind me riding him but if he's not in the mood for doing something he won't (true). He doesn't like doing circles (true). There was a dark horse who wouldn't leave him alone, ever (Mac, last summer) and a grey pony he likes (Corky) that parades up and down the fence. There was a sad grey horse at the dealer yard (true, his best friend there was a grey who died).
He doesn't like children much. The postman likes to gossip with me (true!). He had two long journies of 12 hours or more (true). A needle got stuck in his neck and he span around in his box (Isobel said the vet looked like Keith from the Inverness vets - trying to check on this) and he'd had a lesson in an indoor school (Isobel says possibly James Gunn's place in Halkirk) where a girl fell off over his left shoulder, but it wasn't his fault (checking this with previous owner). He bucked with previous owners (true). He doesn't like jumping, he does like hacking but only on grass (true, the one bit of our failed beach hack he was relaxed on was when we were on the grass track heading inland). He doesn't like any pressure on his mouth (true).
His back feet sometimes get sore and he doesn't like gravel (true). He doesn't like being in his shelter, he prefers to stand behind it (true), and he doesn't like rugs (true) though appreciates that they're sometimes necessary in winter. He LOVES food (true). He can't always be bothered standing to have his feet picked out (true), but some days he just wants to be pampered (true). The farrier is nice but slow (true - he has an apprentice with him at the moment who's very careful). The dealer yard was busy and his stable had a drip in it.
He says I've been busy lately and haven't had as much time for him (true), but I like to watch him (true) and I like to watch the sea (true). He can't be bothered with humans to a great extent, he doesn't understand what they want of him a lot of the time and he's stopped really wanting to try (true, though this is slowly improving, he's much more of a people horse than he was a year ago). He knows Mick is a little nervous around him (true) and says he doesn't see Mick as much as me (true).
She has suggested trying clicker training with him, he's a horse who thinks in boxes and once he's happy with a box it's difficult to push him through the boundary into the next one (true) - CT may help with this.
By the end of the session he looked far more relaxed and when she pressed along his back again he didn't turn a hair. He's walking out more freely and this morning he cantered up the hill to say hello, which he hasn't done since he went lame.
All in all, if you hear that Isobel Hogton is coming to your area, do book a session for your horse, it's absolutely fascinating. She's based in Scotland but covers the whole country. http://www.horselistenerscotland.co.uk/ (And yes, the dogs were just as interesting and both of them slept like logs last night!)
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Sunday, 15 May 2011
What we've done to date
Last week I gave myself a good talking to and told myself that I was going to stop being a wimp and get on with it. The grass is coming through, Merlin is getting podgy and I either had to start exercising him or put him on strip grazing. Neither option was going to make him particularly happy with me, but I took up running so I could carry on eating cake and I decided to take the same approach with my horse. This week we've done the following:
Thursday 12th May
Rode. For a very low value of 'rode'. One of the things we've been having major problems with is steering; he's learnt that if he sets his neck and opens his mouth he can choose what direction he goes in and there's not a lot I can do about it. The bridle he came with has a loop for a flash strap and I've seen photos of him being ridden in Hungary in a flash, so I bought a strap last time I was in Inverness and this was the first time I'd tried him in it.
Tacked up, led him up to the school (my VERY lovely neighbours knocked a hole in the wall between our fields so I could get through to their manege easily) and took 10 minutes to get him lined up with the mounting block. I led him up to it, jumped on the lowest step as his head came level with it, he stopped and when I asked him to step forwards, he swung his quarters out so he was facing me. I hopped off the block, asked him to step over and he moved on, past the block. Eventually we got it right, so lots of praise once I was on board, especially because he stood still while I tightened the girth.
And then, a miracle! Nearly a whole circuit in walk without any arguement about direction! Then we got back to the mounting block, he decided it needed a Hard Stare and stopped dead while he looked at it. After that it was really tough to get him going again and then he started arguing about direction again - even though he couldn't open his mouth, he could still walk round like a giraffe with his head bent in the direction he wanted to go. So the flash might have initially helped the steering, but I also gained a handbrake and reverse gear!
In the middle of it, I got about 60 seconds of really nice walk - he mouthed his bit (he's in a French link snaffle), stretched down and started to swing through from behind. Then something caught his eye in the valley and he went back to doing giraffe impressions again.
Friday 13th May
We went for an in-hand wander around the village. Merlin is unshod and his feet are great, but he's not used to roadwork and the farrier had suggested that five minutes on the road every so often would help him harden them even further. Just over the road from us is part of the village common grazings, a steep hill which has the young sheep on it in winter. At this time of year it's empty, so we mooched over and walked straight up it on the grass rather than taking the stonier track. I don't know who was breathing harder at the top, him or me! Eventually I'll be hacking him up here, but a) I didn't want to ask him to do it with 10 stone of me on top and b) I've been told he's not brilliant at hacking out alone.
We went across the top of the hill and back down through a different gap between two croft houses, past the Grazings Clerk's cows. There's a cow in there with last year's and this year's calves, the calves came cantering over to the fence to see what was coming past and over-protective mum saw a possible threat and came charging over after them. Merlin grew about a hand and did a bit of piaffe - we were so close to the fence that he probably couldn't see it was there - but went past them after having a good look.
Back home down the village road, which surprised a few people. They're used to seeing me running or sometimes walking the dogs, but a horse on a rope is something new!
Saturday 14th May
Day off. Had a nice half hour with him in his field shelter just scratching up and down the roots of his mane while he went gooey.
Sunday 15th May
I was planning to ride today, but two bars of chocolate and a bag of Kettle chips tells me that it's PMT time and after an unfortunate experience last year I don't ride when I'm hormonal - it's better for both of us. Lunging, however, I can cope with, so I put his bridle on (minus the flash strap, that's gone back in the odds and sods box) and because Mick had lit the incinerator, decided to lunge him in the field.
Bit of history here. We first tried lunging him when he was on loan and he only had two speeds - stopped if the lunge whip was on the ground or flat out wall of death if it was pointed in his direction. His owner told me that he was scared of whips, so I carried the lunge whip with me the following morning when I went to feed him and he didn't bat an eyelid. I rubbed it all over him. Not a flicker. Back in the school - wall of death. The most I'd ever got out of him in the past was half a cirle of walk, but someone on HHO (Horse & Hound Online) suggested going back to basics and lunging and long-reining, so we need to get it cracked.
We had the expected warp-speed take off and by the time he'd come back to a stop I was so dizzy that I swapped reins straight away. Amazingly I got walk from the off, calmly, obediently, for two whole circles. Lots of praise and then stop for a bit of carrot for being such a good boy :o) Tried it back on the other rein - disaster. He kept coming to stand in front of me with a slightly confused expression on his face and nothing would persuade him that he needed to be away from me and side on, so I took him up to the school, despite the incinerator, to see if having the fence there would help.
Nope. Totally non-plussed horse. After about 10 minutes of trying to communicate what I wanted him to do without success, Mick appeared at the back door and I commandered his help. He came over and led Merlin round, letting him walk on his own for a few steps and then taking the reins again when Merlin tried to turn in. Two circuits, lots of praise and a carrot and then back onto the left rein for another couple of circuits under his own steam before we called it a day.
Thursday 12th May
Rode. For a very low value of 'rode'. One of the things we've been having major problems with is steering; he's learnt that if he sets his neck and opens his mouth he can choose what direction he goes in and there's not a lot I can do about it. The bridle he came with has a loop for a flash strap and I've seen photos of him being ridden in Hungary in a flash, so I bought a strap last time I was in Inverness and this was the first time I'd tried him in it.
Tacked up, led him up to the school (my VERY lovely neighbours knocked a hole in the wall between our fields so I could get through to their manege easily) and took 10 minutes to get him lined up with the mounting block. I led him up to it, jumped on the lowest step as his head came level with it, he stopped and when I asked him to step forwards, he swung his quarters out so he was facing me. I hopped off the block, asked him to step over and he moved on, past the block. Eventually we got it right, so lots of praise once I was on board, especially because he stood still while I tightened the girth.
And then, a miracle! Nearly a whole circuit in walk without any arguement about direction! Then we got back to the mounting block, he decided it needed a Hard Stare and stopped dead while he looked at it. After that it was really tough to get him going again and then he started arguing about direction again - even though he couldn't open his mouth, he could still walk round like a giraffe with his head bent in the direction he wanted to go. So the flash might have initially helped the steering, but I also gained a handbrake and reverse gear!
In the middle of it, I got about 60 seconds of really nice walk - he mouthed his bit (he's in a French link snaffle), stretched down and started to swing through from behind. Then something caught his eye in the valley and he went back to doing giraffe impressions again.
Friday 13th May
We went for an in-hand wander around the village. Merlin is unshod and his feet are great, but he's not used to roadwork and the farrier had suggested that five minutes on the road every so often would help him harden them even further. Just over the road from us is part of the village common grazings, a steep hill which has the young sheep on it in winter. At this time of year it's empty, so we mooched over and walked straight up it on the grass rather than taking the stonier track. I don't know who was breathing harder at the top, him or me! Eventually I'll be hacking him up here, but a) I didn't want to ask him to do it with 10 stone of me on top and b) I've been told he's not brilliant at hacking out alone.
We went across the top of the hill and back down through a different gap between two croft houses, past the Grazings Clerk's cows. There's a cow in there with last year's and this year's calves, the calves came cantering over to the fence to see what was coming past and over-protective mum saw a possible threat and came charging over after them. Merlin grew about a hand and did a bit of piaffe - we were so close to the fence that he probably couldn't see it was there - but went past them after having a good look.
Back home down the village road, which surprised a few people. They're used to seeing me running or sometimes walking the dogs, but a horse on a rope is something new!
Saturday 14th May
Day off. Had a nice half hour with him in his field shelter just scratching up and down the roots of his mane while he went gooey.
Sunday 15th May
I was planning to ride today, but two bars of chocolate and a bag of Kettle chips tells me that it's PMT time and after an unfortunate experience last year I don't ride when I'm hormonal - it's better for both of us. Lunging, however, I can cope with, so I put his bridle on (minus the flash strap, that's gone back in the odds and sods box) and because Mick had lit the incinerator, decided to lunge him in the field.
Bit of history here. We first tried lunging him when he was on loan and he only had two speeds - stopped if the lunge whip was on the ground or flat out wall of death if it was pointed in his direction. His owner told me that he was scared of whips, so I carried the lunge whip with me the following morning when I went to feed him and he didn't bat an eyelid. I rubbed it all over him. Not a flicker. Back in the school - wall of death. The most I'd ever got out of him in the past was half a cirle of walk, but someone on HHO (Horse & Hound Online) suggested going back to basics and lunging and long-reining, so we need to get it cracked.
We had the expected warp-speed take off and by the time he'd come back to a stop I was so dizzy that I swapped reins straight away. Amazingly I got walk from the off, calmly, obediently, for two whole circles. Lots of praise and then stop for a bit of carrot for being such a good boy :o) Tried it back on the other rein - disaster. He kept coming to stand in front of me with a slightly confused expression on his face and nothing would persuade him that he needed to be away from me and side on, so I took him up to the school, despite the incinerator, to see if having the fence there would help.
Nope. Totally non-plussed horse. After about 10 minutes of trying to communicate what I wanted him to do without success, Mick appeared at the back door and I commandered his help. He came over and led Merlin round, letting him walk on his own for a few steps and then taking the reins again when Merlin tried to turn in. Two circuits, lots of praise and a carrot and then back onto the left rein for another couple of circuits under his own steam before we called it a day.
What's this then?
This is a training blog for my horse, Merlin. I want to keep a record of what we do so I can look back and hopefully see progress being made.
For anyone stumbling on this blog by chance, I'm Caroline. I'm 35 and I live on a croft on the north coast of Scotland. Merlin is a 16 year old 15.3hh Hungarian horse (Magyar Felver, according to his passport, which means half bred or part bred Hungarian) who came to stay with me temporarily last summer and never left. I bought him in January this year.
We've got a great relationship on the ground, but under saddle it all seems to go wrong. I'm not the most confident rider and he's learnt from his previous homes that if he takes the piss he gets out of doing any work, so he's spent the last four years (ever since he was imported to the UK) doing not a lot. Back, teeth and saddle have all been checked, so I just have to man up and learn to deal with it :o)
For anyone stumbling on this blog by chance, I'm Caroline. I'm 35 and I live on a croft on the north coast of Scotland. Merlin is a 16 year old 15.3hh Hungarian horse (Magyar Felver, according to his passport, which means half bred or part bred Hungarian) who came to stay with me temporarily last summer and never left. I bought him in January this year.
We've got a great relationship on the ground, but under saddle it all seems to go wrong. I'm not the most confident rider and he's learnt from his previous homes that if he takes the piss he gets out of doing any work, so he's spent the last four years (ever since he was imported to the UK) doing not a lot. Back, teeth and saddle have all been checked, so I just have to man up and learn to deal with it :o)
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