2014 - A summary

Having just read the 2013 summary, I looked at the photographs of 'Mr F' which I took at the beginning of May 2013. Amazing how he has changed!

It is not just his shape that has shanged but his entire character. From a wild and unruly being he has become a creature who's company I greatly enjoy, with all the little and sometimes big, ups and downs.

Never did I expect a horse to be part of my life - I wish everyone would have a horse in their life ... it teaches so much, on every possible level. Winston Churchill was spot on when he said: "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."

 'Mr F' Beginning of May 2013

'Mr F' in August 2014

Perhaps the most important month in 2014 was July. It was a time where I realised that working with a horse really means WITH it and NOT AGAINST it. It was a month where I had a complete communication breakdown with 'Mr F' and he couldn't bear the sight of me. I had confused him and annoyed him and I did not even realise it for a long time. It got so bad he would walk away as soon as I would get near him in the field, where as before he would come straight up to me to say hello. And even if I managed to coax him to be fetch, I was not be able to move him out of the field. I had made a right muddle with our partnership ... 'Lillian' was witness to it.

I learnt A LOT in that month, I learnt mostly what NOT to do and I learnt to LET GO OF MY EGO. I also decided to NOT LISTEN TO WHAT OTHERS THINK YOU SHOULD DO but LISTEN TO YOUR HORSE instead. I also ignored all the 'you should do this and that' advice from books. More importantly, I STOPPED READING HORSE TRAINING BOOKS.

Because what most of these books forget to tell you is that you are working with a living, thinking being. You are working together and NOTHING is ever the same and nothing can ever be predicted or expected. EVERY DAY IS NEW. I learnt to stick with my intuition, to listen to my 'gut instinct', which so far has not let me down.  It was an intense month from a learning point of view and you can read some of what I discovered and realised in the  July 2014 archive . 

Then there is 'Annette' - 'Mr F's bodyworker. She has helped making things quite a bit more comfortable for 'Mr F' by freeing up his stiff hind quarters. She continues treating 'Mr F' (budget allowing). And she does know what she is doing.

And surely not to forget 'Rupert' - our every now and then riding instructor. I enjoy his company and feel that I more or less trust him to know / understand the relationship between rider and horse and  their current limits while progressing. What I perhaps like the most is that he adapts according to the horse and rider's needs and wants, which in my case is probably a bit of a challenge for him as I am not the easiest of pupils. He copes with my often perhaps odd requests and my admittedly stubborn approach: "If it doesn't make sense, I why should I do it?".

Although we don't have many lessons, for mostly financial reasons, but the 5 or 6 we have had were insightful.

 November 2014 - Preparing for our first big ride out (with over 10 horses - Chatsworth) - 'One Hell Of A Ride'

October 2014  'Hello there, are we going out?'

These boots are made for 'cantering' (unless its deep mud) - Renegade hoof boots, putting the carpet slippers to rest ...

 Those soft and all-knowing eyes.

Another highlight this year was 'Luke's development. I have always liked 'Luke' and find him most entertaining in many ways. He is perhaps as pure a horse as you can find. With pure I mean: if you do something wrong, you WILL know it. But if you do good, you will also know it. There is still a great innocence about him, something that some of the other horses I have met seem to have lost.

'Luke' does not have expectations ... he is somewhere in a dreamworld most of times, thinking A LOT and if something does not make sense or he feels insecure, well, then you best get out of the way. He had made himself a fairly bad name really, but I didn't know about that until I had already been dealing with him for some months. I never had a problem with him but I have seen what he is like when things go wrong once on a ride 'Lillian' up in the fields. He was put away over winter 2013 and returned to DB in February 2014.

Ever since his return in February, he has improved by the month. 'Lillian' took him to a horse training/behaviour clinic which did make a difference, too. By now we are going on rides at least once a week and 'Luke' is becoming a horse that enjoys going out. His face too has changed, he has a much softer expression in his eyes. Lessons with 'Rupert' also have helped both him and 'Lillian' greatly.

Above two:  'Luke'July 2013

 

'Luke' December 2014

 Like big and little brother (21 years and 6 years)

 'Mr F' and his stiff upper lip ... "Is that all you got, boy!?"

 From the post 'Hey, play with me!'

Happy New Year!

Its a dull day - lets play!

The roads have been too icy to go out and the boys are bored with the weather. 

I can see them from my studio window and sometimes I have the joy to witness them at play. With it being so cold I was getting myself a warming cup of tea and watched what was going on outside. 

Low and behold, 'Luke' was doing his best to instigate a round of play.

They are very good for each other, 'Luke' learns from 'Mr F'. 'Mr F' is very consistent and calm in most cases, something which the other horses greatly appreciate. 'Luke's playful moods on the other hand are keeping 'Mr F' in young spirits. 

 

Playtime is usually initiated by 'Luke' - he begins by nibbling 'Mr F's face, the mouth in fact, until he has a reaction of some sort.

 'Luke': "I am boooored. Do you wanna we play?"

 'Mr F': "No .... not in the mood"

 'Why not!? Nothing else to do ...

 "Come one ...lets play?"

 "NO!"

This can go on for 20 minutes or so. 'Luke' is not one for giving in. If he wants to play, he wants to play! But 'Mr F' being a right old grumpy pasture mate today.

 

'Mr F': "How many times ...

"... do I have to tell you that I am NOT interested?!"

 "Aww spoil sport!"

 But 'Luke' can be very persuasive ....

 "Play!"

 "No!"

 "Yes! Come on!

'Luke' really is not giving up and starts pulling on 'Mr F's rug at the back.

 And I know that 'Mr F' cannot stand that!

 "I said: leave it!"

But 'Luke' gets what he wants in the end:  "Yeah! At last ... !"

The next few minutes are being discussed mainly on their hind legs ... 'Mr F' has now woken up ...

"Now, there. That is enough play for now!" 

 There is 'Mr F''s  'stiff upper lip' again.

I remember when I saw them play for the first time the previous year; I had no idea it was play!

The view out of my studio window allows me to see them all day long if I want to and the first time they were playing I got up in a panic and thought they were fighting. But there wasn't anything I could do if that was the case, so I just stood and watched.

I eventually realised that it was just play; the only time they touched was during the 'interlude', when they nip at each other's faces, teasing. While they are on their hind legs, front legs in the air, they never touch. They pretend to go for each other's neck but they never bite. And the entire time the ears are not flat back but usually upright and pointing sideways. 

It is fun and very interesting to watch them play and they do it pretty much every day!

Snow

And indeed, the rain of the previous evening turned into snow over night. Lots of it!

In the morning I was greeted by 4-5 inches of snow and a sparkling blue sky. Beautiful! Just like home in my childhood (Switzerland).

The boys enjoy the snow and are rolling around in it a lot, which helps cleaning the rugs!

Snug and warm, 'Mr F' is soaking up the winter sunbeams ...

... so does 'Luke'. 

Later that day I join them in their field to take some more photographs. Snow is apparently very good for their feet, so I have been informed by the barefoot trimmer. It stimulates the frogs as it is of course a ground with plenty of padding, but it also cleans them. It's a very different story for shod horses like 'Madame', who ends up with huge clumps of snow sticking to the metal shoes.  

 'Mr F': "What is she (me) up to?"

 'Luke' (facing me): "Not sure, she has got a strange black thing around her neck again."

 'Luke': "Come on, I'm bored. Can we play?"
'Mr F': "No, I'm feeling lazy."

I have watched the boys play many times and it always starts like this: 'Luke' nibbling 'Mr F's neck until he gets a reaction of some sort ... if nibbling the neck doesn't work, he'll have a go at the legs. They really do like each others company and hang about together most of the day.  

As I said before: like big and little brother.

Suddenly there is a lot of sound coming from the distance. The direction of the sounds is behind me.  It's children and adults laugh and shout (pleasantly) on the main road where they are using one of the lanes to play with their sledges. Both boys noticed the sounds but don't care much.

 Suddenly 'Madame' came shooting out of the shelter where she had been hiding up til now. She comes charging out, carrying an aura of great importance with her, wondering about all the screams.

'Luke': "Oha! What's the matter with her!? Something's up ..."

'Mr F': "Seems so. Go on,  you go and have a look ... " 
 ' 'Luke': "Alright ... I follow her ..." 

Mr F' always sends out his scouts and herds the rest from the back. I have never seen him come and examine something strange in the field first. I guess he has the job of a stallion, even as a gelding. It's usually a mare (lead mare) that goes and checks stuff out. I observed this many times over the past months if the boys and girls were together in a field. 

'Madame' very purposefully trots into my direction, her focus aimed at where the noises are coming from. behind me in the distance.

'Mr F': "And? Anything important?"

'Luke': "Not sure, but she ('Madame') sure seems to think so."

'Mr F': "Lets go and have a look."

All three standing there, very attentive, their ears taking in sounds of the playing children.

A nice group shot.

 Strange marks in the snow.

The fields behind 'Buttercup Farm' - mine and 'Mr F's playground ...

12 Miles

Having given 'Mr F' a little rest after that turbulent Christmas ride it was time to get him out again for some excersise.

'Lillian' and I arranged to go out for a ride with the boys but at the last minute,  'Alex' joined us on 'Rose' as well as 'Calamity Jane' on one of her horses. We left 'Buttercup Farm' aiming to meet up with 'Lillian's daughter in the 'next door' village.

Once we arrived, the three of us (Lillian, I and Lillian's daughter) continued with our ride while the others went back to 'Buttercup Farm' due to other commitments.

The three of us rode along part of the route that we took on the Christmas ride but this time Mr F' was perfectly behaved. He knew the horses and it was only three anyway, hardly worth trying to start a race I guess. He seemed to enjoy himself and took a keen interest in the surroundings. 

It was a bitterly cold day and our hands and feet were half frozen. It was time for a 'pit' stop at the pub although that didn't last long either as it was just too cold to hang around outside.

The entire ride was without major events except for when we walked past a cage with several fairly big and rather loud dogs. 

'Lillian's daughter did mention these barking dogs a little earlier but I forgot all about it. 'Mr F' was leading this time. When we reached the place with the dogs, they duely came running out, barking loudly and jumping at the fencing. 

I think 'Mr F' must have been daydreaming up till then. I certainly didn't expect such a big reaction from him. He was close to rearing but then changed his mind and instead backed up right into a ditch behind us. 

'Mr F' doesn't usually make a big hu-ha when spooked so he must have been woken up from his daydream this time. He got his bearings together very quickly once he figured that the racked originated from 'just' a couple of German shepherd dogs behind a rattling metal gate. 

While he backed up he slipped into the ditch with his back legs and his back boot came off. I had to dismount to sort it out. 'Mr F' is now so used to this routine that he simply stands still and 'offers' me his leg and waits patiently until the boot it back on. 

We returned back to the farm just before the rain started. According to 'Lillian's newly acquired 'toy' (that measures speed and distance) we covered some 12 miles at an average speed of ... (cannot remember!)

I wonder if the rain is going to turn into snow ... 

The Christmas Ride - Another Troublesome Ride

'Mr F' and I took part in our biggest outing yet, some 20+ horses / ponies gathered to be part of the riding club's Christmas ride on the 23rd December 2014. I really didn't fancy another group ride but thought that 'Mr F' had to learn somehow that groups of horses doesn't equal racing.

'Lillian' went with 'Luke', a first time for 'Luke' too ... he had never been out with this large a group.

We loaded the boys into the trailer and off we went to our destination. Upon arrival we left the boys in the trailer for a while, letting them 'chill-out' and take in their surroundings (windows and doors open. Both were as calm as one could hope for. Meanwhile we used the opportunity of being there first to have a quick glass of Champagne to celebrate 'Jane's' Birthday.

Soon more people arrived in trailers and on horseback. It was time to unload the boys. 'Luke' was remarkably calm and very interested in the other horses. He likes to go and say hello; I think it helps him to figure out where he stands in the crowd.

'Mr F' on the otherhand is not really interested in other horses and was doing his usual 'ok ok, where does the race start ... come on come on .. where do we start!'

However, I was pleased to see that he was still partly 'with me' - compared to our last big ride at Chatsworth, when his eyes completely glazed over in excitement/anxiety and no matter what I did or said, it didn't actually reach his mind. This time he was a little more present.

The time came to mount (we travelled with tack on and only had to put the bridles on).

Having been warned of some other participants I knew I was once again in for a 'bit of a ride'. This was confirmed as soon as we took off. There was a group of riders that had no control over their horses (to the point where they just canter wildly on the main road!) and also a few that didn't fancy walking and instead preferred to do the whole ride as fast as possible, would they have had their way.

Had I known of this I would not have gone. Not because of myself but it was not fair on 'Mr F'. I take him to these big rides so he hopefully over times learns that its not a race if there are more than 6 horses. Considering that he was feeling a little better this time I was hoping that the 'wild group' would behave.

Not so: they lived up to 'Lillian's warnings, and more on top of that!

To make the ride as calming for 'Mr F' as possible, I decided to join up with the group at the front. Or let me translate: being with the fast and somewhat out of control group. I was weighing up my options. Should I stick at the back and have yet another full-time jogging ride (upsetting the others) or shall I see if being with the front group will please 'Mr F' a little more.

The first half of the ride 'Mr F' spent doing his usual jogging and head shaking (just as I had seen him do in a race when he was charging past his opponents for the win!). On that note: I have been thinking about this head shaking of his and it is exactly the same movement as when he walks up to horses in the field gesturing at them to move away. That gesture alone is enough for any horse to move out his way, I have observed this with interest (and tried to imitate it!) many times. It is a very powerful yet simple gesture but it clearly means business.

'Mr F' wanted for all the other horses to get out the way, he wanted to be at the front. But once we where at the front, he still wanted to go faster. As I did not know the route I decided to place ourselves behind the front two horses. After some quite hefty 'discussion' with 'Mr F', he finally agreed to reduce his movement to a fast walk (rather than a jumpy trot). All the while I was talking to him to see if he was still listening. He reacted well to my leg aids and I tried to concentrate on sitting as relaxed as possible, very gently wrapping my legs around him without too much pressure. Just enough so he knew I was there. If he would try and speed up I would  squeeze his shoulders with my knees. A tip Rupert once gave me in a different context but it works in this scenario quite well. This way I don't have to 'hang' on his bit (although there was quite a bit of that too, unfortunately).

Considering the circumstances, we coped well so far, certainly better than on that previous group ride. But I think that was also due to the fact that by now I knew what I was in for so I was able to relax more and accept it, even though in theory, there was nothing about this ride to be relaxed about!

It got interesting once we reached the bridle path. 

Although the invitation for the ride said that we all would be walking as there were many first timers taking part, the group I was with obviously did not read that bit of the invitation ...

As soon as the gate openend, they took off! I did hold 'Mr F' back just for a short while, but remembering the previous ride I thought it be better if I let him follow. This first bridle path was fairly wide and the overgrowth was high up enough not to cause me to much hassle.

I enjoyed this first canter greatly and so did 'Mr F' but he now had the racing bug even more. We both were very excited (yes I know I said in an earlier post that we had calmed down, but I do just love the speed and the force ... its the adrenaline!)

The next bit was too dodgy to canter and there were a few places of water to cross (We had done this bit before when we were scouting out the route some other time) This time 'Mr F' crossed the water without hesitation - were as the last time he made a BIG fuss. But water didn't matter this time because one HAS to be AT THE FRONT. Who cares about a bit of water!

We came to a crossing (thank god it was 'only' a country lane crossing). The unruly horses in my group would not stand still, setting of 'Mr F' again who decided to reverse backwards, half trying to rear and I had to kick him to make him go forward before he would walk into one of the cars by now waiting for us lot to get our act together. I apologised to the driver who thankfully was very understanding by saying 'Don't worry love, I got one like that at home myself!

At this stage I began to be rather angry with the group I was in but I just had to sit it out.

It go so out of hand that one of them charged past us, cantering up the road, followed by the others and eventually I had to let 'Mr F' follow them or I would have been in trouble. I was fuming by now ... it was NOT at all what I wanted 'Mr F' to learn!

Then there came a very large (I noticed later!) stretch of very narrow (noticed that too late, too!) stony bridle path. And without a warning, the person at the front raced off, the rest of my group followed in wild pursuit, including 'Mr F' and I. Oh and boy did he go - that wasn't a canter!

I thought to myself: 'Christ! Look at those branches, low and narrow! How the heck am I going to do this!?'  Back then I was still riding with a body protector but that was now getting in my way big time. I wasn't able to hunch down far enough and so my helmet got hit by several branches, one of which hit the helmet quite hard which in turn slipped down over my face!

I could not see a thing! The last thing I remember was a bend and being rather uncomfortably close to the stone wall. 'Uh-oh, 'Mr F' is not going to give me enough room for this'. A pull on my foot and a metal clank sound told me that my stirrup (these damn stirrups seem to get in my way all the time!) had hit the wall and got caught up in a branch (not strong enough to pull it off though). Feeling unbalanced I let go of the other stirrup. I tried to shout for the other people to stop but they had all lost control of their horses. This wasn't going to end well. I would have stayed on but because I couldn't see I thought it was better to get off. 'Mr F' would stop once he reached the others, that I was sure of.

I let myself drop sideways out of the saddle while 'Mr F' was still charging up that path. I was amazed later that I even menaged to keep hold of the whip!

As I was on the ground I rolled up so as not to be trodden on by followers
.
The person behind me luckily was in control of her horse and stopped (or the horse stopped seeing me on the ground, not sure which really). I got up thinking: 'Ok, nothing hurts ... so far so good'. When I reached the others further up, I did enquire why they did not stop. They couldn't stop their horses!

'Mr F' did stop when he reached the others as I thought and hoped he would. Somehow, he had a quite smug face on, I guess to him he won the race. We walked for a while, I was leading him until we found somewhere to mount. I hoped that he hadn't learnt something bad by me getting off. Well, it can't be undone. What is is and what will be will be.

I did get back on at the end of the stony path and we continued to our pick-nick spot were we enjoyed 'Tom's home made mulled wine, which is most delicious!! To my great surprise - and it made my day despite everything else: 'Mr F' was now totally relaxed and eating grass!
On the last ride he never really relaxed, so to me this was a big improvement.

The ride back to the trailer was fairly event-less and 'Mr F' calmly rode up to the trailer. Both boys quite happily loaded.

'Luke' was perfectly behaved during this ride. I did not get the chance to ride with 'Lillian' as they were in the slower group (the sane group!) and mostly out of sight. But apparently, he coped VERY well. He certainly was happy when we returned, he was very affectionade and pleased with himself. Well done 'Luke' and 'Lillian'.

Looking back, it was A LOT for us to take in and equally as exhausting as the previous group ride, mentally, not physically. I was shattered. 'Mr F' had to be washed down upon our return, which I did while enjoying some well earned southern comfort!

I am entirely thankful for having 'Mr F' as my first horse to ride however. I could not learn so much in such a short time with another horse, at least that is how I see it.
As I learn, 'Mr F' keeps pushing me further; whenever we reach a level where things become easy, he will drive me on. I started riding last August, never did I think I would do what I do now just a little over a year later!

The souvenirs to take home are some quite bruised toes.

To finish off - notes to self:

- get a fitting riding helmet!

Merry Christmas!

Hanging about & Preparing for Christmas ride

There is not much to do in winter. Although we still go on our regular rides, there is not much else to do ... no grass, playing is difficult too as it is slippery ... so generally the sight upon entering the field is that of  general doom and gloom: "blaah .... boooooooring ..." - "oh look, a human, wonder what happens now?"

With it still being very mild for the time of year, I had to get 'Mr F' a lighter turnout rug. As I get all his gear (and mine!) 2nd hand, there was now pre-fitting and this rug clearly doesn't fit at all.  It will do for a couple of weeks until I have a better replacement.

 'Luke' ....

 'Madame'

Preparing for the Christmas fancy dress ride
I had some red velvet left and used it to make this helmet cover. There are supposedly up to 20 horses in tomorrow's ride ... I wonder how 'Mr F' behaves this time ... last ride it was 10 horses and as soon as he got out the trailer he had only one thing on his mind (or more: he thought he was there for one thing only: to race ...)

House Trained 'Luke'

As I have said many times before: 'Luke' is very different from all the other horses I have met so far. I have taken a liking to him from the start.

He can have the strangest ideas, do the silliest things (and spend ages thinking about them) and needs much much time for everything. This isn't a horse that is to be rushed at all. If you ask him to do something he doesn't understand, you WILL find out quickly and possibly painfully. He needs clarity, and consistency. Perhaps that is why he (and all other horses) enjoy being with 'Mr F'- 'Mr F' is clear about what goes and is consistent with it. All horses know where they stand with 'Mr F', there are no doubts at all and this in turn gives them safety and lets them relax.

When 'Luke' arrived at the farm and was joined with 'Mr F', it meant that I was to handle 'Luke' too along with 'Mr F', if I wanted to move them to a different pasture for example. I remember well how he was testing me out right at the start by attempting to push past me through the stable door. He attempted that a few times until I introduced him to my elbow. It startled him at first but I cannot accept unruly behaviour, simply for safety reasons. He understood the message alright and the next time I walked towards him he moved out of the way. For this he got praise and he understands I am no foe but that it might be wiser to accept what I call 'personal space'. Ever since that small incident handling  'Luke' was effortless.

Other people however have had different experiences with him, so I found out over the months. 

But 'Luke' has been doing himself proud by behaving very well in general and slowly people are seeing 'Luke' in a different light.

He simply is on a planet of his own but he tries very hard being 'a horse for humans'. 

Oh, and did I just say he can come up with the silliest of ideas .... 

One morning when I went to feed the boys there was only 'Mr F' waiting in the stable. This was unusual as the boys mostly hang out together and so I went looking for 'Luke' only to find him on top of the muck trailer, leisurely eating some of the disposed hay as though this is normal.

It took me some doing to coax him off the trailer safely ...

None of the other horses would even think of goin on the trailer, but as I said: 'Luke' is different.