My next equine project horse

Best of luck Ted am sure you will do fantastically. i am sure Alice will through him a leaving doo and no doubt give the driver the wrong return address 😂
 
AdorableAlice said:
Well, this weekend has been, shall we say 'trying'. It started with a planned lesson for my friend with me as groom on Saturday morning. On the Friday evening friends horse decided he had never been through the electric gate before and yanked off, friend hung and as the horse, just a 4 yr old, was wearing the dually he did not get away. That was all ok until this morning when friend could barely get out of bed and arrived on the yard looking ghostly. Lesson abandoned and friend to GP, friend has strained all the muscles down her right hand side and is in agony. Horse in the dog house and called various names.

With Alice still on barn rest and friend on bed rest the weekend could only get better. Well maybe not, all the field horses were restless and noisy and I soon realised why, when the first of many groups of DofE students crossed the footpath. At least the land is bone dry unlike last year when the little dears lost wellies. I carried on mucking out without a worry because Ted the Twit and Dim Tim were not on the footpath fields. The old show horse was in the way but he is far too aloof to bother with children and he lives permanently on the footpath so he sees lots of walkers, so on hearing screams I was puzzled and then realised that the barge horse mare Martha was in the tiny paddock, she is on restricted exercise following her horsepital diagnosis.

Now this mare views everything and everyone as a food source, she is an equine black lab. I raced out, well ambled, out into the paddock to find 8 boys in a huddle, all with huge rucksacks and carrying walking poles, with Martha, all 730kgs of her, circling them with her best menace face on. I possibly didn't help when I screamed 'Martha leave them alone'. I decided to move her inside for the rest of the day and rode her later.

Well that was a mistake, all the lovely DofE's were in the village and sat on various grassy banks having their lunch. Martha thought this was outrageous and napped at every group. Inwardly wanting to drop the stick on her but worried about appearing to beat my horse up in public or knowing my luck, coming off her if I did drop her one, I was soon wishing I had not ridden at all !

The rest of the day will be better, er no...Ted refuses to be caught and when I finally get a rope around his neck he announces he has never seen a headcollar in his life and stands up to shake hands. No big deal had he not done it in front of someone interested in him. Whilst all this is going on Dim Tim decides he cannot possibly stay in the stables on his own and throws a hissy fit.

What a day, at least husband had the sense to suggest a meal out rather than the normal 'what's for tea'
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I feel your DofE pain! We seem to be on a main route and get some most weekends. Only our horses are now not in the least wary of giant back packs, they see them as the source of apples, mints and cuddles. The two of them have been trained by horse liking ramblers to plod gently towards, or follow any walkers and wait expectantly at the gate for the next cohort. This is interpreted by the less horse friendly as being stalked or held hostage/to ransom. We have installed an mains connected electric fence which if the DofEs touch it will teach them something else entirely.
I have followed your Ted Quest with interest, and tears of laughter, and have great admiration for your courage and perseverance.
 
JenHunt said:
oooh 'big school' for Ted! Hope you got him some new shoes, and have packed him off with freshly ironed shirts, trousers and a suitably full tuck box! :)
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Well he has gone. More crumpled shirts and baggy trousers really. His suitcase contained one rope and one head collar, nothing else allowed.

I am extremely grateful for the help I was kindly given yesterday, Ted was sleepy before being asked to walk onto an equine ambulance which had a floor level ramp and is articulated so he walked off the front in a straight line. The level of sedation was expertly calculated to achieve a calm but not comatose Ted and he did the 30 minute trip well, no stress no sweating or box trashing.

It will be most odd in a moment when I open the yard with no furry face over the fence, but I had a message confirming Ted is fine and out in the paddock at big school. Not sure what the curriculum is today, probably algebra and physics.

To be continued.
 
I know his task master , I'm not sure just physics probably space age travel and tap dancing... Wishing him loads if luck and don't worry I trust this person 120 % , Ted could not be in better hands.... Bet the place feels odd without him!
 
Ooh, I'm not sure that algebra or physics is really Ted's thing.

I know he's at big school now (I think he will suffer - in his mind anyway - without his tuck box), but I'd have thought that drama and creative writing are more Ted's forte.

Hope it all goes well.
 
Good luck Ted! Remember all your lessons. You will have to learn to take notes but don't worry too much. I fully expect you to excel at PE and Art as you will be able to express yourself :) :) :)
 
Highlands said:
I know his task master , I'm not sure just physics probably space age travel and tap dancing... Wishing him loads if luck and don't worry I trust this person 120 % , Ted could not be in better hands.... Bet the place feels odd without him!
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I was remiss of me not to PM and thank you personally for the recommendation, anyway - thank you !

Ted has not been sent back, perhaps not speak too soon as the postman has not come yet ! I have started day dreaming about doing a dressage test on him in the future, he has a huge movement and would certainly do a test. I have fanciful thoughts about doing it on the anniversary of my illness, so March 2016, he will be rising 5 and I will be rising 56. One can dream !
 
Yay go ted! Im sure he will soon realise how to be a good boy!

How is Alice getting on now? Im sure she was wanting to throw a party!
 
Good luck with your "hay-levels" Ted, just get your head down (to graft I mean, not graze) and you will surely pass with flying colours.
 
Having heard nothing for a few days an email appeared in the in box from the breaking man. I stared at it for ages not daring to open it for fear it said fetch him !

Phew, he is behaving, has not broken anything or any humans and is progressing with his lessons well. He has been gone 5 days and the yard is odd without him.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I was remiss of me not to PM and thank you personally for the recommendation, anyway - thank you !

Ted has not been sent back, perhaps not speak too soon as the postman has not come yet ! I have started day dreaming about doing a dressage test on him in the future, he has a huge movement and would certainly do a test. I have fanciful
thoughts about doing it on the anniversary of my illness, so March 2016, he will be
rising 5 and I will be rising 56. One can dream !
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Not a dream, he will do it! Glad he's being good, honestly no news is good news!
 
Great news that Ted has settled, and what a good idea to have a target in mind to aim for, that would be cause for celebration. Hope we can look forward to seeing the photos of Ted all tacked up with a rider on board!
 
Ted's first school report has just come in and I am so relieved it is good news. I was a little bit proud when the pro said he liked the horse and thought Ted was heading towards being a nice type. I fell off my perch when the pro said Ted is highly intelligent, did I hear that right! The horse is a furry fool in my view.

The horse has had major issues with his poll and ears from day one. So I was shocked to hear that he is wearing a bridle without problems. I have never been able to slide anything up his face and over his ears, he has never worn a browband. Putting his headcollar behind his ears is an art form and as he got bigger became evermore difficult for me. I tried to teach him to put his head down by bribing him, that worked to an extent but was not a proper answer.

I was intrigued and then bemused at how they sorted the problem out. They simply put a tall block by the horse in the stable, Ted put his head out of reach as usual, breaker got on the block and was taller than Ted. Did the horse panic ? did he heck, he just had his bridle on without a fuss. He is happy to have his ears messed with and the head up business was naughty rather than nervous. Bless the little SH one T. Looks like I failed to see the move from nervousness to naughtiness on the ears issue.

With acceptance of the block and somebody above him, he was lent across without issue and felt the first weight across his back. He moved a few steps with the weight too.

I need a horse that uses it's intelligence for me not against me. I am too old for silly games so our future together will be interesting.
 
It sounds as if going off to boot camp has had the desired effect of making him grow up, you have done a good job of preparing him, the breaker being less involved is actually not having some of the issues you may have expected, he also sounds like the right person to work with a sensitive horse by not giving in to his insecurities but working round them and thinking slightly outside the box, often going away is the only answer as they are less confident and cocky yet far more able to learn when they are in a new unfamiliar environment, as long as you send them to the right person.
I think he will be a totally different horse once he is confident and will come onside fairly quickly, it reflects well on you even if you do feel you have slightly misread him at times, looking forward to seeing photos.
 
It's so lovely to hear Teds progress, he is such a character and I sure you WILL do your dressage test with him in 2016. Sometimes you just need a cold eye to see what is fear and what is being naughty. AA you should be proud of yourself to have got so far with him with your own health problems.
 
I want to know what you have done with Ted's ahem inflatable rider!

Sounds as though all going swimmingly. Please keep us updated on Ted Kindergarten.
 
Nicnac said:
I want to know what you have done with Ted's ahem inflatable rider!
Sounds as though all going swimmingly. Please keep us updated on Ted Kindergarten.
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So do I did Trudy( was it?) go to... I must wind D up about her... Actually I could give him inflatable Ian who I used on Moon... Found him invaluable when the those who don't pay tax kept on trying to sneak round the house...
 
I'm so pleased to hear that he is doing well and behaving himself! It must be a relief for you too!

and how has he grown again? surely he's quite big enough by now! ;)

how is Alice doing without him? and how is her home-schooling coming on?
 
JenHunt said:
I'm so pleased to hear that he is doing well and behaving himself! It must be a relief for you too!

and how has he grown again? surely he's quite big enough by now! ;)

how is Alice doing without him? and how is her home-schooling coming on?
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Alice is confuddled at the moment, we have had two dexter calves and she is totally bemused by them. They only come up to her knees. Her half brother, Dim Tim is in love with them and does nothing but stare at them all day.

I have decided I am too old and unfit to break a horse properly so Alice has not been restarted after her accident and having seeing how Ted is being started I think I am going to send her to the same people later in the year. She is very bum high at the moment. She is 4 next week and is good enough to be County standard, fingers crossed she hits and stays at 15.1. I am not bothered if she does not compete this year. I don't know how proven it is but a elderly vet told me years ago that he felt the less a horse does before it is 5 the more it will do after 15. Her sire Avanti Amorous Archie has several top show horses and I am hopeful she is good enough so the right start is crucial.

Visiting Ted yesterday was lovely and it was only the white splodge on his flank that persuaded me it really was Ted I was watching. The trust he has in the breakers is incredible. A lot of ground work has been done and Ted now chooses to stay rather than run when he is unsure of something. I have lots of pictures but as the yard he is on is not mine I don't think it is appropriate to post them, so here is just one. It is a busy yard and Ted is doing his lessons amidst all the activity, last night a pen of piglets were squealing their heads off. I quite like the idea of a pig proof horse !

The normal order of breaking has been turned upside down, the long lining will be done after he is backed because he finds the ropes so terrifying, the health and safety department might have something to say but each to their own and I can't wait until next weekend when I can see him again.

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