Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2007 1:50:41 GMT
I'd arrived out to New Zealand to teach at a friends natural horsemaship yard in the South Island. Its a beautiful place with rolling hills and huge mountains. There have 11 horses and ponies in total, and all are naturally trained and handled. Everyone people who comes to the yard are taught NH theories & groundwork and riding before riding out on the horses.
Lots of different people come through our paddocks, from experienced riders, to complete beginners, so I though I'd share one of their stories with you............................. (very long story follows!)
__________________________________________________
A family from Singsapore had booked in for four days, right before Christmas. They had been taking riding lessons in Malaysia for a year or two, but they had mainly consisted of being put up on a horse and riding around an arena. No horse care, management, behaviour psychology etc.
On Thursday morning, the rain was lashing down (so much for summer down under!) With hail coming in sideways and black skies, we thought they'd definitely cancel and head down to the local pub instead for food & the hotpools..... instead we get a phone call to say that they had arrived, all their luggage had been lost, and they were all up in the village in the freezing weather, huddled around the fire wearing only shorts, tshirts and flipflops
Nevertheless, the two children were soooooo excitied to come and meet the horses, they said they would meet us down there at 12.30pm.
Six hours and about three inches of rain later, we had throroughly gone through the basic NH practises and groundwork with the two girls and their Mum. Warm New Zealand all weather fleece lined coats had been installed on everyone, and the ponies and horses had been hugged and rubbed. A series of horsmanship quizzes had been taking place in the tack room during the worst of the weather and hot chocolate was proving a great hit amoungst everyone. Everyone had got their own horse and pony and both parties had been working really well together during the gaps in the weather ;D
While everyone had filled out the safety forms, we had noticed that the smallest girl, Lucy, wasn't able to use her right leg as well as her left. When we'd ask her to squeeze her horse to move forward, we could see her left leg moving, but her right leg used to stay still. We found out later from her Mum that she only had partial use of that leg, and had been in and out of hospital over the years with it.
The little pony which she had been given was a fellow called Gemini, a 19 yo gentleman who was really good with children. However, as with all of the horses, he had been trained to do lateral work, and normally pressure only on one side would mean that his rider wanted him to do a yield or a sidepass.......... would he be back to take care and work with Lucy when she was in the saddle? In this case, could he undertand that pressure on one side meant move forward?
Next day, the weather had improved a little, and along with the improvement came the arrival of Dad. Like the others, he had done a little riding, but he seemed a little strange.........
We got the impression that he didn't really want to be there but had come along with the family, and wasn't really here because he wanted to be. He didn't really say much, so we decided that a very special horse was needed for the job and assigned him Cosmo, a well mannered 16h Clyde-cross with a huge head, four huge feet and a total gentlemen.
As the weather still wasn't great, we decided to stay up in the paddock for the morning and begin riding, focusing on working as individuals. The family had been used to riding in a school in malaysia, but in New Zealand its important that you can ride as an individual and have good leadership with your horse....... this means steering where you want to go, and not just following the horse ahead of you!!
In order to complete a trek in the southern alps everyone has to be confident & capable of riding on their own before we (literally) head for the hills.
After the basics had been practised, we set up an obstacle course which had to be completed first on the ground, and then in the saddle. It consisted of walking through an L shape, walk over the jump, round a barrel, over the jump again, through the L, front feet standing on a wooden platform and then the finish. Dad wasn't saying much, but the others were ready to go!
I had explained to them, that not only did I want them to go home as better riders, but I wanted them to go home with a greater understanding of how to work safely and produtively with horses, and the basic concepts of good horse training.
What I wanted to get across, as well as being able to lead their horses and turn, was to have patience, skill and insight to train a horse to do someting new.
One of their tasks was to get their horse to stand with two feet on a wooden plank on the ground. Usually with children, you can find that they give up easily if things aren't working right and they get a bit frustrated if their pony isn't doing what they want them to do. Would they be abe to use advance & retreat, praise and patience to get their ponies on the wooden plank?? And not just try to pull them onto it, and get upset and frustrated if their ponies sidestepped around it??!
One hour later, the groundwork obstacle course championship teamand individual events, had been won by Lucy and Gemini. What a team!!
It was really heart warming to see all of them being such patient and positive teachers to their horses, even during the competitions. I have to say I was really proud of them.
Dad surprised me by being the only one who managed to backup his horse through the L shape. I was impressed!! Dad seemed pretty impressed too Could Cosmo be finding a chink in his armour?
After that, we did a little riding. Gemini was a star. Not the easiest to start, but good once he was going, he looked after that girl as if she was his best friend. They became an inseperable team. We stopped for lunch and everyone was tired but happy. What a morning!!!
That afternoon, with more dark clouds looming in the distance, we decided to do some work in the round pen, to get them a little more aware of how their body language affects their horse.
After a short demo, Dad was up first with Cosmo. He tried hard, but sometimes stood too far in front of Cosmo, causing Cossie to stop and face him. A good first attempt, but still work to be done.
After that, the two children and Mum did their horses in the round pen, as Dad videoed and 'advised'
from the side
After they had all been in once, I decided to bring out my horse Basil, and anyone who wanted to do it again could. (You can see 'basil brick' on the www.lyfordtreks.co.nz website, I tried to bring him back to Ireland but he wouldn't fit in my suitcase)
The two girls were in first, and it was really sweet to see Basil nose to shoulder following the little girls around. Mum was next, and did really well too.
I thought then that would have been it, as Dad probably wasn't interested in doing it again, but no!!!!! The video camera was put down the moment Mum was finished, and in Dad went. His body language was much improved, and Basil even got a hug at the end. There was something changing with Dad......
Over the next few days, we continued doing more riding and groundwork, and on the last day, we all trekked over to the Wandle river for a picnic lunch. Even the sun came out
The two girls had done tremendous work during the week. From only being able to sit up on a horse/pony, all the family could now lead their horse, tie up using a quick release knot, groom, pick out feet (even Dad!), help tacking up, desensitise, backup, know if their horse was ok, listen and read their horse, and teach horses to stop more softly, perform lateral work, and train them to walk on something scary.
Riding wise, they were different people. Always asking gently, working with their horses, turning softly, being good leaders, effective brakes and great emergency stops....they were also showing slight signs of the 'cowboy walk' which is all good!
After lot of goodbyes & hugs for everyone, and photos taken, the family were getting into their car. As Dad was getting into the drivers seat, as suddenly turned around and looked back as us.
'I just want to say thank you. I've learned something new here.'
Then he got back into his car, and drove away.
It was a nice moment ;D
Lots of different people come through our paddocks, from experienced riders, to complete beginners, so I though I'd share one of their stories with you............................. (very long story follows!)
__________________________________________________
A family from Singsapore had booked in for four days, right before Christmas. They had been taking riding lessons in Malaysia for a year or two, but they had mainly consisted of being put up on a horse and riding around an arena. No horse care, management, behaviour psychology etc.
On Thursday morning, the rain was lashing down (so much for summer down under!) With hail coming in sideways and black skies, we thought they'd definitely cancel and head down to the local pub instead for food & the hotpools..... instead we get a phone call to say that they had arrived, all their luggage had been lost, and they were all up in the village in the freezing weather, huddled around the fire wearing only shorts, tshirts and flipflops
Nevertheless, the two children were soooooo excitied to come and meet the horses, they said they would meet us down there at 12.30pm.
Six hours and about three inches of rain later, we had throroughly gone through the basic NH practises and groundwork with the two girls and their Mum. Warm New Zealand all weather fleece lined coats had been installed on everyone, and the ponies and horses had been hugged and rubbed. A series of horsmanship quizzes had been taking place in the tack room during the worst of the weather and hot chocolate was proving a great hit amoungst everyone. Everyone had got their own horse and pony and both parties had been working really well together during the gaps in the weather ;D
While everyone had filled out the safety forms, we had noticed that the smallest girl, Lucy, wasn't able to use her right leg as well as her left. When we'd ask her to squeeze her horse to move forward, we could see her left leg moving, but her right leg used to stay still. We found out later from her Mum that she only had partial use of that leg, and had been in and out of hospital over the years with it.
The little pony which she had been given was a fellow called Gemini, a 19 yo gentleman who was really good with children. However, as with all of the horses, he had been trained to do lateral work, and normally pressure only on one side would mean that his rider wanted him to do a yield or a sidepass.......... would he be back to take care and work with Lucy when she was in the saddle? In this case, could he undertand that pressure on one side meant move forward?
Next day, the weather had improved a little, and along with the improvement came the arrival of Dad. Like the others, he had done a little riding, but he seemed a little strange.........
We got the impression that he didn't really want to be there but had come along with the family, and wasn't really here because he wanted to be. He didn't really say much, so we decided that a very special horse was needed for the job and assigned him Cosmo, a well mannered 16h Clyde-cross with a huge head, four huge feet and a total gentlemen.
As the weather still wasn't great, we decided to stay up in the paddock for the morning and begin riding, focusing on working as individuals. The family had been used to riding in a school in malaysia, but in New Zealand its important that you can ride as an individual and have good leadership with your horse....... this means steering where you want to go, and not just following the horse ahead of you!!
In order to complete a trek in the southern alps everyone has to be confident & capable of riding on their own before we (literally) head for the hills.
After the basics had been practised, we set up an obstacle course which had to be completed first on the ground, and then in the saddle. It consisted of walking through an L shape, walk over the jump, round a barrel, over the jump again, through the L, front feet standing on a wooden platform and then the finish. Dad wasn't saying much, but the others were ready to go!
I had explained to them, that not only did I want them to go home as better riders, but I wanted them to go home with a greater understanding of how to work safely and produtively with horses, and the basic concepts of good horse training.
What I wanted to get across, as well as being able to lead their horses and turn, was to have patience, skill and insight to train a horse to do someting new.
One of their tasks was to get their horse to stand with two feet on a wooden plank on the ground. Usually with children, you can find that they give up easily if things aren't working right and they get a bit frustrated if their pony isn't doing what they want them to do. Would they be abe to use advance & retreat, praise and patience to get their ponies on the wooden plank?? And not just try to pull them onto it, and get upset and frustrated if their ponies sidestepped around it??!
One hour later, the groundwork obstacle course championship teamand individual events, had been won by Lucy and Gemini. What a team!!
It was really heart warming to see all of them being such patient and positive teachers to their horses, even during the competitions. I have to say I was really proud of them.
Dad surprised me by being the only one who managed to backup his horse through the L shape. I was impressed!! Dad seemed pretty impressed too
Could Cosmo be finding a chink in his armour? After that, we did a little riding. Gemini was a star. Not the easiest to start, but good once he was going, he looked after that girl as if she was his best friend. They became an inseperable team. We stopped for lunch and everyone was tired but happy. What a morning!!!
That afternoon, with more dark clouds looming in the distance, we decided to do some work in the round pen, to get them a little more aware of how their body language affects their horse.
After a short demo, Dad was up first with Cosmo. He tried hard, but sometimes stood too far in front of Cosmo, causing Cossie to stop and face him. A good first attempt, but still work to be done.
After that, the two children and Mum did their horses in the round pen, as Dad videoed and 'advised'
from the side After they had all been in once, I decided to bring out my horse Basil, and anyone who wanted to do it again could. (You can see 'basil brick' on the www.lyfordtreks.co.nz website, I tried to bring him back to Ireland but he wouldn't fit in my suitcase)
The two girls were in first, and it was really sweet to see Basil nose to shoulder following the little girls around. Mum was next, and did really well too.
I thought then that would have been it, as Dad probably wasn't interested in doing it again, but no!!!!! The video camera was put down the moment Mum was finished, and in Dad went. His body language was much improved, and Basil even got a hug at the end. There was something changing with Dad......
Over the next few days, we continued doing more riding and groundwork, and on the last day, we all trekked over to the Wandle river for a picnic lunch. Even the sun came out
The two girls had done tremendous work during the week. From only being able to sit up on a horse/pony, all the family could now lead their horse, tie up using a quick release knot, groom, pick out feet (even Dad!), help tacking up, desensitise, backup, know if their horse was ok, listen and read their horse, and teach horses to stop more softly, perform lateral work, and train them to walk on something scary.
Riding wise, they were different people. Always asking gently, working with their horses, turning softly, being good leaders, effective brakes and great emergency stops....they were also showing slight signs of the 'cowboy walk' which is all good!
After lot of goodbyes & hugs for everyone, and photos taken, the family were getting into their car. As Dad was getting into the drivers seat, as suddenly turned around and looked back as us.
'I just want to say thank you. I've learned something new here.'
Then he got back into his car, and drove away.
It was a nice moment ;D
