Mylo & Myka

Ambers Echo said:
She still really doesn’t like it going on, but once it’s on she relaxes. She definitely holds grudges!!
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If it reassures you I had one that I stopped counting when I got over 100 for the number of times he threw the saddle off when I attempted to put a girth strap through the buckle. (He was by Rosewall Grandure in Alderley who was renouned for his quirky stock!) One day he didn't and then he never batted an eyelid again.

Joe's doing a great job there.
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She is an absolute beauty! Can we have a Felix update soon please? Glad your keeping him for another year as I've not yet won the lottery 😜
 
wills_91 said:
She is an absolute beauty! Can we have a Felix update soon please? Glad your keeping him for another year as I've not yet won the lottery 😜
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New pics and brief update on the 3/4 yo thread. But I’m still hoping to sell him this year… I’m just not overly fussed if I don’t. I’ve dropped the price and have now priced him as low as I’m willing to go. So I’ll just wait and see what happens.
 
I'm not a mare person - but Myka is STUNNING 😍😍😍

How is she with the saddle now bless her? I remember a few posts ago she wasn't keen on having it on, but once it was on, she was fine with it xx
 
Ambers Echo said:
She’s improving all the time with it. Thankfully! Yes she’s very pretty.

I want her to stay black! Any top tips?
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Feed her enough copper to counteract the high iron levels where you keep her. It needs to be balanced by more zinc as well, others you'll end up with a zinc deficiency.



ETA Myka lives in an area with sky high iron levels. This is known to cause copper deficiency which will bleach a coat before it appears to affect health in any other way.
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Summer very lightweight fly rug, it is the sunlight that turns that gorgeous glossy black to a sort of rusty dark brown.

On another point, she looks SO good in western tack, does he change to English style tack or remain in western through training. I only ask as my TWH came to me direct from America and only accustomed to western and was visibly surprised when I put a GP on him for the first time. ☺️ I can only assume it was the lighter weight that took him by surprise but he soon got used to it, although I did continue to ride him both western and English style.

Edited to add ycbm is right about the copper, I had forgotten I used that, but on my very black horse we still needed to keep the sun off his coat.
 
I’m hoping to event her but we will have to see. Joe is using a Western saddle because that’s what fits her best and she’s not good enough with a saddle yet to cope with a saddle fitting. Especially as I want to ride at the fitting. But he always starts them in a halter as getting on is just a progression of the groundwork, so he uses the same kit. Then introduces 2 reins in the halter. Then separately gets them comfortable in a bit with in hand walks and having the bridle in but actually using the halter to communicate. Then slowly using a bit instead and transitioning from halter to bridle.
 
Hackback said:
She's gorgeous. I actually went to say hello last week. Joe was talking to her too and she got all soppy, lower lip was going and everything 🫠
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She's a real softy. Joe keeps telling me that she's NOTHING like the horses he would normally go for, (ie a stressy warmblood!) but he really likes her. She's doing really well and I have the go ahad to sort out a saddle fitting now, which means I'll be getting on her. Excited but also a bit 'eeeek'.
 
Ok time for a bit of an update/roundup.

Myka came home after 8 weeks. She was walking and trotting calmly under saddle with Joe and I rode her twice before she came home. I have never seen Joe nervous before, but he was as I got on for the first time. Luckily Myka was fine and has not yet put a foot wrong. I have a series of 'pre-flight checks' to do before I ride and if she 'qualifies' at all of those he is pretty confident it will be ok.

Joe then came to see us both after 3 days ar home and I had a lesson with him on her. And she had a saddle fitting so we moved to English tack. I was super happy with the work Joe had done - she was relaxed and happy. And her mouth was super soft. She moved freely with no bracing. But she was still so, so, so green and I did (and do) not feel like I am the one to move things on. But Joe only comes up once a month. So I started asking for recommendations of local trainers and the same name was mentioned a few times as a sympathetic skilled event rider.

In the meantime I took her to an in-hand show (along with Felix) and she was amazing. Loaded with another horse for the first time. Travelled well. Stood tied up for hours on end. And although she was a bit lit up first time in the ring, she was fab the 2nd time.

The following day I took her with me to Somerford where I was running a camp. Took her round the site in hand, showed her the water etc. She was very happy about everything. The trainer I had been told about came to ride her. He rode her well but she looked a bit tense and afterwards he said she was sweet and he'd be happy to take her in for training, but she 'knows nothing about anything' and was really behaving like a horse at the very, very beginning of the backing process. I asked for more info and he said she could not steer and did not understand contact. I felt very deflated, beginning to question/doubt what Joe has been doing. But I then reflected that I am fairly sure she knows quite a lot about quite a few things. And that perhaps she did not know some of the things he'd expect a young green horse to know before being ridden, but equally she'll know a lot more about other things..... I am sure he is a good trainer and could produce her but I want a trainer who builds on what I have been doing already, as opposed to one who will dimiss all that and start again from scratch. But equally Joe is Western and I'm not and I started wondering if there was anyway of bridging that gap when I don't know enough about either system!

Anyway yesterday another name who was recommended to me, who is a dressage rider/trainer and judge and rides at PSG/Inter1 came to meet her. I said that I was not sure what direction to go in and just wanted an opinion on where to go from here to bring her on further. She first watched video of me, Joe and Trainer A trotting around on her and said her own training approach was much more aligned with Joe than Trainer A. And that Myka looked a lot more relaxed and happy with both me and Joe. She rode her and said she was a very light, soft horse and Joe had done a great job with her.

I feel very relieved that I think I have found someone who has credibility in the English world, but who also likes how Joe has started her and also thinks his approach is more classically correct (not worrying too much about contact till she is more forward and supple). She is now going to teach me on her once a week and school her once a week and we will see how we go.

She did say that Trainer A is a good rider and once she's more established, then a month with him could do her a lot of good to get her out seeing water/ditches, jumps etc. But not necessareily this beginning bit.

So we have a plan. Some pics and a short clip of me trotting her today - my first solo trot (ie not in a lesson with Joe!) I like how responsive and soft she is here.


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Sounds like the second trainer is ideal for you . I’d be wary of the first purely as their expectations seem a tad far out given Mykas age and time under saddle . At 8 weeks I certainly wouldn’t be looking for contact etc etc . I’d just want them sat on and comfy with that and able to hack out . As long as eats forward and keen to learn I don’t know what more you’d expect .
I know I’ve said it before but Riding away is an art and totally underestimated.
I’ve changed the lady doing the riding away for us as I don’t feel she was doing anything I couldn’t . Which is what I was paying for ! I’ve now got a young dressage rider who will hopefully get mine going and do some comps when she’s ready .
 
Thanks Asha, yes Trainer B wanted me to hack out too. Said she’d really benefit. So I really need brave pants on for that but I’ll do it. She hacked fine with Joe.
 
Riding skills are easy to build and take years anyway. To get good riding skills you need ....... A happy, safe, relaxed horse which is 100x more important, and you only get one shot at that with backing them, so it's a no brainer what is more important. My 4yo are hugely unimpressive, as mostly go on a long rein often can barely canter in an arena all because I would rather they were happy and confident and enjoyed themselves within the capability of their own bodies.

For me, I would rather they can go downhill as a 4yo looking at where their feet go on a rocky path on a loose rein than canter a circle beautifully. I know which one will keep a horse sounder for the future, give them the skills for xc and able to problem solve when something gets a bit stressful. I find it really interesting as all the ones I have started have very good problem solving skills on the whole because essentially their 4yo year is spent piddling about doing bits and bobs and mainly hacking or very low pressure outings. I picked up one as a 4yo in Ireland and he had zero problem solving skills. I spent most of his 4yo year putting those in. 4yo year is the equivalent to nursery school. They are learning about the world, developing physically, learning social skills and communication. The 5yo year is for school where everything can be more structured and they learn the ABCs of being a sport horse.
 
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Another round up..... Myka started throwing shapes again when tacking up, broncced when I tried to get on, and lifted her back when Trainer B got on though did then come to a 1 rein stop nicely and relaxed and the rest of the ride was good. I had a lesson soon after that with Joe and he watched me with her and saw lots of little areas where she was saying 'I'm not entirely comfortable' and I was missing it. I was overly focused on what she was doing, and not how she was feeling. Ie she was standing still at the mounting block and flexing her head towards me. But she was holding her breath and when she flexed, her eye did not follow. So it was mechanical and I did not have her mind. My pre-flight checks were a 'pass' from my point of view but a 'fail' from Joe's so I just needed to take a bit more time with each step. Once he said ok she's find to get on, she really was. She was half asleep at the block and we had a nice ride.

2 days after that I took her as demo horse to a Joe camp. We still have 2 days and there will be a full camp report, but I am so proud of her. She was totally chilled travelling and being in a new place.

And I rode her in the demo in front of lots of people! She was tense so the 'pre flight checks' took literally an hour and Joe was saying just no pressure to get on her at all. But she felt fine - eventually. Though half way through the demo someone opened a can of Pimms and she was slightly over dramatic about that. So we did say please stay quiet while I am actually on board.

When she is calm she is very very calm 🥰 🥰

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AE I think you are very, very brave to get on a reactive youngster at all, never mind in public. Joe is some kind of horse training wizard and that the advice you've had to push on through is completely wrong for the pair of you and probably how some warmbloods get a reputation for being "a Pro's horse".
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Day 2 done. Wet and windy. And all the horses were a little more unsettled but all worked through it to a peaceful resolution. Myka was pretty wired coming away from her new best friends but Joe showed me how to get her brain back in the game and she calmed down after some focused groundwork. At first it was 95% on staring back at the corrals where the horses were, and calling for them, accompanied by lots of movement and snorting. And 5% on trying to comply with the irrelevant human on the end of the line asking her to move. So Joe advised to just keep switching up requests every few seconds so she had to listen to comply. Hind ends, 4 steps, then back 4 steps, then fronts over 4 steps, then lateral 4 steps then back again, then hinds the other way et etc etc. She more or less 'did the things' but the movements were erratic. So at that point the mind was about 80% her friends, 20% me. She needed to give me more attention because I kept drawiing it back to me with a new instruction , but it was fleeting attention, erratic movement, mind off again, new instruction etc.

But we kept at it and slowly her energy levels dropped, her mind came back to me quicker and stayed longer until she was calm and focused. So it was time to ride. But that felt VERY SCARY after all the leaping about. But Joe said there is no point working her through that till you get the change you want if you then don't trust the change. If you genuinely don't think she's with you, do more groundwork. But if she has relaxed then she's not the same horse that came in. You'd not get on THAT horse but there is no reason not to get on THIS one.

So I did, And she was fine. Until her attention was utterly fixated on what we later discovered was a young deer behind the hedge and she began to reverse away from it. 1 rein stop came into effect again and I love it. I can't believe I never learned it earlier in my ridden career. It is SO SO useful. She took a while to stop moving her feet but Joe just kept saying 'keep the bend keep the bend', so there was not a lot she could really do from there. And eventually she stopped and got a release. Which was scary but necessary to give. But she was fine. And after that we ambled about the arena a bit: some fig 8s. some side pass, some back up. And that felt enough. Super proud of her for coping with a new environment. And quite proud of me for being able to trust the process and get on despite absolutely bricking it. I am committed to this path. I think that other riders could push through and emerge unscathed the other side, that would never work for me. It just makes sense to me that I want my horse's mind with me on the ground before I get on her back. And then ideally I want to keep her mind when up there. But if I haven't even got it on the ground I certainly won't have it from on top.

One more day to go.

Pic spam incoming......

I like my new field......

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I am very pretty

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Stressed

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Calm

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I'm ok mum really. You can ride now.

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On board! Modelling tension release breaths....IMG_1919.PNG

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She's gorgeous AE makes total sense to me, you are super brave doing all that travel and riding in front of a crowd.

I really want to get to a Joe clinic but in order to get there at the moment I'd have to ignore all the advice 😆
 
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