Ali Al Ameria Ebony and me

ebonyallen

ebonyallen

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First of all let me say after ther previous thread I am not a mate, do not work for, or am a new HHO forum member as was mentioned when others commented on him. I am just a Disabled rider who needed help with her horse. Over the past 6 years noone has helped me, RDA and others no use so this was our last chance really to try and get some help.

Ebony has a major fear of tractors and large lorries etc, after we were chased up the lane by a farmer with a load of straw, due to my lack of confidence now because of the leg, this does not help the situation. She also loves to canter but too much she will take off not stop and Buck not good with one leg, just do not need it, so we have not cantered for 6 years apart from a few strides when she flung herself around and bucked, confidence gone not done it since and this time of year do not go out on hack for fear of meeting the Tractor Monsters.

Long story short Ali, came down and spent 3 hours with her and then I got on and cantered my girl for the first time in 6 years around the whole school, I just cried with joy, then went into tractor barn did not bat any eye. My friend took her out today as still could not get into my head she would be fine, they met Dustcart emptying the bins, she was asked to stop and then asked to walk on and she did, may I also add that Ebony has not been out the yard for 2 months and not on her own for 10 years, they came back I got on went up school and cantered around again had full control and stoped, truly amazing. Not sure it does or would work for everyone but for us, it has changed my life, I will now be able to enjoy the rest of our lives together and have fun, seemed to have forgot what that is like.

Still in shock but something has changed with Ebony and its Great .


s
 
I'm so pleased for you.How fabulous!

We had a lovely lady out to help with knobberpony's longstanding problems last year and the transformation was unbelievable.Totally changed our relationship for the better,so know a bit of how great it feels.Well done to you both!
 
Please ebonyallen, could you give us a summary of what he did? I realise you cannot describe a three hour session in detail but would love to know more. And very pleased for you. :)
 
I love to read posts like this. Brilliant, and what a wonderful feeling it is when something makes such a huge difference! :D:D:D
 
So pleased for you, you really are one of the inspirational posters on this forum and I'm glad you can now enjoy your super mare to the full!
 
If Ebonyallen would like me to, I'm quite happy to describe what he did in detail some time tomorrow. I'll be typing it up anyway for my forum. I have a pretty good recall, which has got me into some tangles in the past... I know EA was quite stunned by what was happening at the time because she's never seen anything remotely like the way Ali worked before. Some was familiar to me, some wasn't. What I can say is that the outcome was truly brilliant and I am absolutely made up for Ebony and her mum. They already had a wonderful partnership, but this will mean that they can get out and have some fun together. Just great.
 
ebonyallen said:
First of all let me say after ther previous thread I am not a mate, do not work for, or am a new HHO forum member as was mentioned when others commented on him. I am just a Disabled rider who needed help with her horse. Over the past 6 years noone has helped me, RDA and others no use so this was our last chance really to try and get some help.

Ebony has a major fear of tractors and large lorries etc, after we were chased up the lane by a farmer with a load of straw, due to my lack of confidence now because of the leg, this does not help the situation. She also loves to canter but too much she will take off not stop and Buck not good with one leg, just do not need it, so we have not cantered for 6 years apart from a few strides when she flung herself around and bucked, confidence gone not done it since and this time of year do not go out on hack for fear of meeting the Tractor Monsters.

Long story short Ali, came down and spent 3 hours with her and then I got on and cantered my girl for the first time in 6 years around the whole school, I just cried with joy, then went into tractor barn did not bat any eye. My friend took her out today as still could not get into my head she would be fine, they met Dustcart emptying the bins, she was asked to stop and then asked to walk on and she did, may I also add that Ebony has not been out the yard for 2 months and not on her own for 10 years, they came back I got on went up school and cantered around again had full control and stoped, truly amazing. Not sure it does or would work for everyone but for us, it has changed my life, I will now be able to enjoy the rest of our lives together and have fun, seemed to have forgot what that is like.

Still in shock but something has changed with Ebony and its Great .


s
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Hi Ebony - he is amazing and so life changing. I was at the end of the line with Paddy, but Ali has just made a complete change - for the better. The hard work start now for me maintaining it. :) All the best.
 
Oh ebonyallen I have been scouring H&H waiting for you to post. Wow what a positive and fabulous outcome - you so deserve it it. Thanks for posting and I am as others so very pleased for you :D
 
What did he do?
He started off by explaining that he wouldn't hurt Ebony, that what he does works, and that if there were problems after EA should ring him and he'd come back for free. He did warn her that Ebony would get a bit "scared", but said that as he was there to help her through being scared about things that couldn't really be avoided. (English isn't his first language, so my impression was that some of what he was trying to explain got lost in translation and came over a bit more harsh than he meant). He wrapped Ebony's legs in vet wrap and put boots on her as a safety precaution. He was saying that Ebony was a big dangerous animal, which at first upset EA a bit, but we realised that what he meant was that Ebony was a big dangerous animal when she was reacting to things like lorries and tractors (about which there is no argument LOL!).
He used a longer line made into a "war bridle". Took Ebony to the paddock and immediately insisted that she kept her attention on him, rather than gazing off into the distance, which I'm guessing is her more normal mode. Like many horses when they are first faced with this different approach, Ebony wasn't happy about that at first and pulled back and jumped a few times, but she's a very well behaved mare really and very quickly settled down and started to pay attention. I was watching to see if anything happened that seemed to shut her down rather than just get her attention (because I know that's always one of the questions that come up), and can honestly say that she just became more tuned in to him, eyes and ears on him, but pretty relaxed in her body language. This resulted in her becoming "hooked up" with him and following him around much as horses do in Join Up.
As he worked he was doing things that he wasn't mentioning, for example he would give Ebony a break by stopping, turning to us and talking, so she wasn't subjected to constant pressure. Having said that, this first stage only took a few minutes.
Then he worked with Ebony with hobbles. Sharp intakes of breath I'm sure... Ebony had some worried moments during this and so did we, but again, he was doing things he wasn't mentioning to control the direction she moved in and how she moved to make sure she didn't get into trouble. When asked he had two reasons for this. He said that EA needed to be really safe, maybe safer than other riders. He wanted to make sure the Ebony wouldn't panic if she got something around her legs, but that she would yield to the feeling and stay calm. He said to EA "I may be saving your lives".
He moved on to work with a bridle and long lines, and for the first couple of minutes kept the hobbles on. I asked him why. He explained that he is a Bedouin and that hobbles are his "walls". He said that they don't have fences and so where he comes from all horses wear them and geldings, mares and stallions are turned loose safely together. The stallions wearing two so that they can't mount the mares. In Ebony's case he said it was just to save him time because he only had a couple of hours to help EA.
He used his bridle with his bit, which he showed us. It was linked so that it was kind to the horse's mouth, and had large square bit rings so that it wouldn't pull through.
 
Part 2!
He stood behind Ebony and worked on asking her to flex her neck to each side, and also asked her to bring her head down and then backup. Again, not always pointing out what he was doing, but when asked he explained that although he was insisting that Ebony found the bend, he was instantly releasing her when she did. I have to say his timing was spot on, Ebony picked this up really quickly and was soon looking to hold her head in a relaxed and lower position rather than star gazing as she seemed more used to. Ali explained to EA that this was what would keep her safe, she had to be able to ask her horse to lower her head and to flex her neck.
He then got on and rode Ebony in walk, trot and canter, making sure that he had the flexion and that Ebony would halt well. The whole focus was on making sure that Ebony concentrated on what she was doing and was prepared to flex her neck. Important point - stop meant stop - not wander on a couple of steps.
Then off to the arena, where he worked on this a bit more. He also did some work to prepare Ebony to respond to aids from just one leg and explained to EA how she could use this - that was really impressive. He set up a halt aid that was particularly appropriate for EA, which was to raise on leg forward and lean back a bit, reinforced with the rein if needed. In the absence of tractors to play with, he then rode Ebony to the tractor shed and inside all around the various tractors and heaving vehicles that were inside!
Back to the arena and EA was mounted up and set to practise what he needed her to understand. Learning points were to be consistent, make sure that stop meant stop, keep working on the bending every time she rode and to make sure her reins were short enough to be effective BUT to also make sure that she gave some slack in them if she wanted Ebony to go forward. Ali commented to me that so many riders have their feet on the gas and the brake at the same time...
EA rode her horse! She had her first canter for years as she said above! It was brilliant to watch, just brilliant. :-))
 
There's probably more, but that's the basics for starters. Other snippets from the afternoon:
Never feed treats by hand, only from a bucket. (In his view this mimicks horses striking at each other, not sure I agree with that, but personally I agree with not treating by hand).
Be consistent.
Work means work, rest means rest. So when I read other forums people sometimes say "I can't see why this insistence on horses keeping their attention on the handler. Why can't the horses have more choices? It's just EGO!". Ali wanted Ebony's attention on him, when she and he were working together. He didn't insist on it when they weren't, and when he wanted to get something out of his bag he would leave her and let her eat, but when he went back and picked up the rope, she needed to concentrate on him again. When EA is out hacking and a tractor comes along, she needs Ebony's attention on her. Ali said that if you want your horse to do what it likes then that's fine, it's a pet, put it in a field and bring it in for cuddles and food every now and then.

Oh, I missed the bit where he cracked a whip a bit to create a noise (shock horror!). Ebony wasn't bothered about that at all, but just stayed calm and looking at him.
 
Just to add, please be considerate when posting on this thread. Most of us know, Ebonyallen has been through some very tough times and she loves her Ebony to death. Part of the reason I went was so that if she felt Ali was doing anything too tough with Ebony, I could help her to call a halt to proceedings. It didn't get to that point. (I was more comfortable with what I saw that afternoon than work I've seen done at demos by some high-profile trainers.) The result is that now these two can start to go out for adventures together and expand the wonderful partnership they have on the ground into riding. There are lots of threads where we scrutinise and pick training methods apart critically, but pretty please can this not be one of them?
 
Wow, sounds amazing.

Was he expensive?

EA you must be so chuffed, Hope you and ebony have many more canters together! :D
 
Tinypony said:
Just to add, please be considerate when posting on this thread. Most of us know, Ebonyallen has been through some very tough times and she loves her Ebony to death. Part of the reason I went was so that if she felt Ali was doing anything too tough with Ebony, I could help her to call a halt to proceedings. It didn't get to that point. (I was more comfortable with what I saw that afternoon than work I've seen done at demos by some high-profile trainers.) The result is that now these two can start to go out for adventures together and expand the wonderful partnership they have on the ground into riding. There are lots of threads where we scrutinise and pick training methods apart critically, but pretty please can this not be one of them?
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Interesting reading Tinypony! Would be great to hear the updates on how Ebonyallen progresses.
 
Really interesting TinyPony. What I find so brilliant is the timescales that he achieved so much in 3 hours - he obviously is very talented.

My friend has been working with my WB - using a mix of her own intuitive horsemanship and a bit of NH. She rode my boy for the first time in 18 months (he has been on rehab following a long standing injury diagnosis) and funnily enough one thing she did was gave him a treat whilst on board making him flex to her, It has taken hours of patience and months of turnaway to achieve some great results now with my horse. Had this been last year I would have had Ali out no hesitation.

Thanks for posting - great description.
 
It's just different approaches isn't it? I'd never treat a horse when I'd first got on as a re-start or newly started horse... because the leaning forward tips your balance to just where you don't want it to be. Also I think when you're doing that work you need to think about which hand is holding the rein, and which direction you are flexing the horse. IMHO you need the rein held in your outside hand, which is normally the left hand. The head is gently flexed to the left as well. Then if you need to get off quickly you slip to the floor and the flex in the rein turns the horse's hindquarters away from you. Not saying I'd be expecting bucking or kicking, just be prepared for it. For something nice as a thank you for letting me get on I'd probably go for a wither scratch, if that horse liked that, because in that position you can stay sitting upright with weight slightly back... just in case. :-))
I am sure some people will be highly critical that Ali got so much done in such a short space of time and will probably have some things to say about rushing horses. All I can say is that Ebony didn't look rushed at all. She took it all in, enjoyed munching a bit of grass when she had a break, and seemed a little bit tired but relaxed when it was over. No more tired than coming back from a decent hack.
I'm pleased people enjoyed the write-up, I like to get everything written down, helps me to remember.
 
im so pleased that this has worked for you EA and i have to say the fear of my horse killing Ali is holding me back! he wouldnt tolerate most of what tinypony has described, but im just thrilled its made a difference for you.:D
 
Sounds great I would love to have him come out to my horse but can imagine the shock and horror from other liveries and YO when fluffy bunny is made to give attention and hobbled.

Was he very expensive?

Clinton Anderson also insists on the horse giving him "two eyes" as he calls it.

Very interesting and I am happy for you EA.
 
archiepoo said:
im so pleased that this has worked for you EA and i have to say the fear of my horse killing Ali is holding me back! he wouldnt tolerate most of what tinypony has described, but im just thrilled its made a difference for you.:D
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If that's really what's holding you back and you'd actually like him to visit then I'd get in touch. Your horse won't kill him. He won't do exactly the same things with each horse, but I'm sure what he does decide to do will be tolerated. The bloke has worked with 1,000's of horses including valuable and highly strung racehorses, I think he'd cope. :-))
Asking a horse for "two eyes" is very common. It's just a way of saying that you want the horse's attention to be on you. As for hobbles, I'm not sure if he uses them with every horse. I do know one trainer not so far from me who teaches all his young horses to hobble though. I tend to think of all the things horses can get their legs caught up in and don't have a huge problem with it as long as the trainer doesn't damage horses in the process.
 
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