Withering Heights: 2014

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.