Recent content by Caol Ila

I remember baby Ted! And all the trials you went through to teach him how to be a civilised member of the horse-human collective.

Who buys a horse in September, does nothing with it until end of December, then looks for a loaner/sharer....someone who's already having a bit of a mare (pun intended) with their current loan horse? It sounds like they hardly know the horse from a hole in the ground. They have no idea how easy...

Could be tricky. Depends on how magnanimous/bonkers the YO is as a person. I mean, we’ve met horse people….Just because the horse sounds like it isn’t a suitable loan horse doesn’t mean she won’t be terribly offended that you stopped loaning it and started with another horse at the yard. And...

Well, there is no magic, unfortunately. Only the owner will know if you need to ride or handle her differently in order to build more confidence. No one on the internet will know that. If she thinks whatever you're doing is fine, then it just takes time, and you have to go as fast as the horse...

What does the owner say? Do they have the same problems? Some horses don't do hacking alone, either because they haven't been trained to, or it's not a thing they can deal with. When I was looking for a sharer for my gelding, I was very, very, very clear that he. does. not. hack. solo. So no...

Are they used to bigger herds? I’ve come across horses (not mine, thankfully) who can’t deal with a herd of two. They need more to feel secure and happy. Not helpful in your set up, but could be a cause.

With my mare (2 when I bought her), I tried bribing with a Likit and it did f-- all but it depends on your horse. That's a whole 'nother sordid story, not helped by the fact that her breeder did not believe in training babies at all. Which meant she never had her feet handled until she became...

Yeah, that's quite far. But who knows! I am sure the human race has done harder things than move a cat from Cheshire to Glasgow.

I know you are probably quite far. We are not actively cat-hunting, but our door is open if and when a cat should appear.

The Likit might be the answer. It's Hermosa who is not very treat motivated. I have a Likit lying about that I've had since she was two, to try to bribe her into stuff and not terribly successfully. Should probably buy a new Likit. Fin, like a typical Highland, is a lot more open to bribes...

When we got Fin five years ago, he was really good with the farrier. His previous owner, who gentled him from wild, did a brilliant job (unlike me, who royally fkced that one with Hermosa and have to live with that). My lovely farrier could grab him, trim his feet, no bother, and I didn't have...

Yeah. I don’t know him from a hole in the ground (I don’t watch enough TV), so was a bit like, “okay, you patted a wild foal. Good on you. Cool?” I definitely prefer docs that are more about the critters being filmed than the presenter’s personal journey of enlightenment.

It wasn't easy to access for free. However, someone has put it on YouTube. She made a sequel or two about him. It might be possible to unearth them with internet digging.

Yeah, I'd call that red dun. Might be ND1 like my mare, but the dorsal stripe would be fuzzier on ND1. Looked pretty solid on the shots I saw. I liked it, but I was hoping it would be more concentrated on the horses, rather than Gordon's feelings and his personal journey. It wasn't nearly as...

I feel like taking photos of the baggies of dog poo people leave hanging from trees and fences and making an art installation.