Its the partnership and bond that forms between a human and its horse is wonderful. It's the sheer size of them, their generosity in the way they let us borrow their strength and athleticism,
their big brown eyes , the sweet smell of them and although they're domesticated, just scratch the...
i used to live pretty close to John Paul Jones - bass player for one of my favourite bands, Led Zeppelin, and sometimes hacking past his ginormous house I'd see him in his recording studio , which looked out over one of his fields. Sometimes the gate to this field would be open, and to my...
Temple Grandin writes that horses hold images in their minds of familiar places, so if something new appears in their familiar image that to their mind shouldn't be there, they will react, and their attention to detail can be amazing! If they're taken somewhere thats new or not so familiar...
I'm often quite surprised by how many people who hack on the roads, and although their horses may be traffic proof, their horses haven't been taught how to leg yield. There are so many occasions when Ive had to move 'over' to tuck in somewhere, or 'shoulder in' to get past the tigers hiding in...
I'm always doing a bit of schooling out hacking. If the boy gets distracted or dramatic about something (easily done) I get his attention by asking for an outline and a bit of lateral work for a couple of minutes, then back to the buckle when he's settled.
Leave some jumps up in the arena, and just do some flat work schooling around the jumps. It can certainly help get the pony to focus more on the aids and get rid of some of the excitement.
To a certain extent, you have to fit in your handling and behaviour to fit in around her personality. If I tried to groom one of mine while he was eating his feed, he'd probably try and hospitalise me, and yet in all other respects he's as good as gold. They all have different personalities...
Yes, Ive heard Bates saddles seem to suit them quite well, but when I rode in one I wasn't that keen for myself, but perhaps I should maybe give them another try.
At some point in the near future I'll be getting a new saddle for my PRE. Ive been recommended Luisa Cuomo saddles and Hulsebos.
Does anyone have experience of these makes? They certainly look lovely on their respective websites, or can anyone suggest another make that would possibly suit?
The...