TRAKEHNERS CAN JUMP part 2

WHY IT ALL STARTED:

My beautiful pony Brandy & John.

These are the cheerful musings of a girl who loves her horses (and hasn’t grown up yet).

I decided to write this, my horse diary, with more than a little encouragement from my husband John, because I feel proud about what I have achieved with my 2 young horses – and he is proud of me for doing it. My achievements are not Prix St.George or the perfect shoulder in, but loving, happy and content horses, who love to be with me, who are happy to be hacked out, shod, caught, visit the vet, and yes….the Everest of horse ownership will allow me to fling my arms around them and give them the biggest hug! My horses are 'very nice people' they aren't bargy or impolite, but they are a little bonkers, and later on I’ll tell you some stories about that....

firstly, i'll introduce you to the cast:

Tom (Holme Grove Constable)

Henry (Holme Grove Gwygion)

Like most horse keepers I too subscribe to 3 horse magazines a month, and after reading about many of the recurring ‘problems’ people were having with their horses – time and again, the answers for me were clear. 

No one is ever going to ask my advice about riding the perfect test or what exercises can help a horse who is behind the bridle, but they might want to ask me about the relationship we have with our horse and how a better understanding can lead to a lot of these 'problems' being solved.  The answers are, as with everything important: simple.  Spend more time with your horse…off his back.

My favourite place to be is with my boys

Humans and horses are very different; we don’t have the same instinctual need to ‘survive’ every minute of our lives like a prey animal does – as predators we are able to relax – the number one goal for any young horse owner is to try to achieve a level of relaxation with their horse.

First there are a few things that are important to remember, because in this next bit, everything you really need to know about your horse deep-down is explained: he is a prey animal and we are predators, it’s as simple as that...

Horses at liberty practice being scared, and running away, it keeps them fit for flight in mind and body, mine run together all the time.

A horse lives in a world of constant safety assessment, he is acutely aware of his surroundings and makes second by second behavior adjustments depending on which dangers he perceives.

Horses have prey animal instincts, if they decide there is a threat to their safety, they will run to achieve an approximate quarter mile distance between them and the foe. They will turn to face the threat and reassess.

A hunter was lurking in the hedgerow waiting for prey, but Tom knew he was there despite the man doing everything in his human power to discuise himself, after a few seconds Tom decided it wasn't worth his attention,. and carried on.

A horse needs time to think, an average of seven seconds to size up a situation, where he will often ‘plant’ himself rigid to the spot in order to give a problem his complete attention.

Horses can react in surprising ways to perceived foe, that’s why it’s important that horses are given lots of room by any vehicle passing them.

A horse is an intelligent and powerful creature, millions of years of instinct development mean he judges danger in different ways to humans, and though not a natural fighter, he can and will defend himself if he feels that is the only way to avoid certain death – if the horse wasn’t like this, it would have died out millions of years ago...eaten.

Tom, looking after me once the cyclists have passed.

It is importand to adopt a safe routine whilst out riding on the roads.  Always wear hi-viz head to hoof, even if you're mainly riding off-road.  Just in case a dog walker or people with guns are about - this will give them every chance to spot you and change thier plans if necessary.  treat all traffic with respect, and always be courteous.  I put my outside leg on gently to ask my horse to stay to the curb and straight.

 

Horses take exception to unexpected things to maintain their own personal feeling of safety – and being safe is the most important thing to a horse...even more important than food. It is difficult for humans to understand these reactions, because we are the opposite of horses, we are predators and have developed a very different existence. All we can hope for as keepers of horses is an understanding of our horses needs and give them the space they need to express them and to help them manage these reactions.

The more I think about what horses really are: the more I am amazed that they let us do the things we can do with them. A horse is an honest and wonderful creature with no agenda other than to survive (or get into the treat cupboard). They aren’t sneaky or vicious, they aren’t evil or spiteful – any horse who is scary to humans has developed his own version of evasion tactics as a defence against the things that have happened to him, it's not his fault, and if treated sympathetically, these manifestations of fear can be managed and overcome, but we need time, time and more time. Horses who are damaged, cannot be rushed, they need a quiet sympathetic handler who has the time and very importantly the patience to help that horse manage its behavior.

Horses are clever and inquisitive, which makes them fast learners and fulfilling to train.  I have noticed with my 2 that the ‘training’ has been a 2 way street:  while I am teaching them to yield to my touch and stand still when I get on, they have taught me to scratch their itchy bits and turn around so they can rub their heads on me, and much more...all with body language.

mine tell me when they want a scratch.

Tom & Henry make it very clear when and where they want a scratch: if you're willing to 'listen' your horse will tell you everything you need to know.

If you are lucky to have a good relationship with your horse their answers to our questions can be interpreted and understood and worked on in a very fulfilling way. I can tell you that the moment my youngest let me put a rug on him without him moving away from me, I was so happy….and it’s the little moments like this, that for me, are the important and fulfilling milestones that make me feel like I have achieved the world, it’s a great feeling.

I don’t believe in punishment: shouting, hitting, getting cross…I believe that if a horse is not doing what you are asking then you are either not asking it right, or he doesn’t understand the question – either way the problem is yours, since your horse would probably rather be out in the paddock munching and playing, he has no incentive to work this out with you, you will have to rethink how you are asking…and most likely it’s with a horse version of please, lots of time (don’t rush anything with horses), and of course half a bag of treats. I don’t even have to tie mine up, they stand still for tacking-up, the vet, farrier, for bandages and cold hosing too...because they are relaxed when I’m with them, they know they don’t have to be scared, I won’t do anything to hurt or upset them.

Me: I would never upset my boys xx

If you have a horse that’s scared, the very worst thing you can do is to scare him more by getting upset and worst of all punish him.  He won’t understand what it’s for, he’ll just worry that the very person who’s supposed to support and help him, has failed to do either.

let's share some ideas how you might get better at working with your horse...

TRAKEHNERS CAN JUMP part 3

HOW IT ALL STARTED:
and how the story unfolds, please read on...

I have always known I would get a horse when I was grown up, with my own place so no one could tell me what to do or forbid me going to see him any time out of hours.  Anyone who has had a sick pony on DIY livery may know what I mean – you want to sleep in the stable and be there to watch over your best friend (who has never made fun of your Clarks shoes), not have to leave them and go home. So that was the plan…next marry someone who understands you and loves you unconditionally despite all that, and is happy to eat curry every week and never complains about another pair of jeans or handbag!.enter John.

John: doing some structural modifications.

So John and I bought a cottage in rural Essex, after marrying and conditioning him to a life with me, cats, horses, curry and of course….'the Rands' (my family).  This needs explaining…I am a Rand – and the things you must know about us are:  we love to nap and eat and we hate anything that prevents us from napping and eating (actually my horses have turned out to be Rands too!). 

some more cast members:

Lemmy 'the fluff' Rand

Coco 'the stealth' Rand

John, on the other hand is a ‘Brown’, these 2 species are as different as day and later on that day,  Browns like caravans, cars and won’t buy anything unless it’s been endorsed by Which magazine, the Rands read, love art, and if you wake one up you are in for a world of pain.

That said we have been together over 20 years and have had a wonderful time........more about the adventure of horses.

So John says OK, you can start looking for a horse in the New Year, and so I started looking straight away for research purposes of course...well I am still a girl!  I did a mountain of obsessive research and really thought hard about what a perfect horse for me would be like.  A boy, of course because my Brandy pony was a boy and I loved him so much.  Tall and powerful, because I’m not a small person, and he would be the most gorgeous horse in the world, kind and lovely to be with and not too larey. This was likely to be the only time in my life I would be able to have exactly the horse of my dreams...well read on the story gets better.....

I decided that a Trakehner was the way to go for me, and the breeder I chose was Holme Grove Farm in Biggleswade.  Brilliant people with masses of experience breeding the perfect horse, widely accredited and have many champions in their fold, and they had the best advice for me, and really managed my expectations by having already bred the very one for me.  They have a website which should come with a warning siren loud enough for husbands to hear - because on the site you can view all the horses for sale, and you may 'accidentally' fall in love with one (as I did) nearly a year too early.  I was in trouble as you can imagine. We had bought a property which needed a not insubstantial amount of work doing on it - the yard had to be poured and the fencing needed replacing, to a large degree it wasn’t just the budget that wasn’t ready.  But I could not be reasoned with, and John knew me well enough by now to know that this was no fleeting fancy, but I really had found the horse I was looking for all my life…well I was very nearly off my food – and that is bad.

HG Constable

I had fallen for Holme Grove Constable (Tom), an elegant horse, standing at nearly 17hh as a four year old, he is a beautiful bright bay – his mane tail and legs are the brown colour of Gucci bags, that lovely expensive looking brown, with the prettiest most kind face with the hugest eyes, and son of their most prolific Daddy of champions Solomon himself.  Before the day was out I had made his picture my screen saver and I couldn’t nap either, so I knew it was serious - and so did John!!  I was worried someone else would buy him before I could, there was an open day coming up and I couldn’t go because I was in Hong Kong with work - a disaster, that was it someone else would get Tom, and I would be inconsolable.  As luck would have it though, that year people wanted small mares - so my dream horse remained unsold.  We made an appointment to go and see him (he was only just 4 and hadn’t been started yet).  He was taller than I had imagined and clearly a clam and thoughtful horse, I flung my arms around him and fell properly for those big brown eyes.  Poor John, now he had to either break my heart or work a miracle with the finances.  Either way my love for expensive handbags was about to have to end! But what I got in the end, no handbag could ever replace.

So pretty.

How could I resist that head, well the answer was I couldn't, Tom is simply the most beautiful horse I had ever seen.

Well of course it didn’t stop there, as with all the best stories there are chapters...

Henry jumped this on the lunge!

Trakehners Can Jump!!!

Henry took this in his stride, and jumped straight out of the arena!

I needed a second horse as a companion for Tom (he wasn’t Tom then yet), and Susan at the stud suggested a lovely horse she had Holme Grove Gwygion (Henry). A truly really stunning little horse, his beauty took my breath away, with lots of presence and the most amazing movement, (well his Dad is Prokofiev the dressage champion) he came straight over to say hello and I didn't want to leave him. He has a dishing front leg not suitable for her ‘usual’ customer looking for the perfect specimen of sport horse (dressage types), but I didn't mind at all, to me he was and is just perfect.

  – but you know…the ‘dressage types’?, (I will refer to ‘dressage types’ throughout these ramblings  many times, as my friend is one – but I mean it in no way to be disrespectful, but a way to describe those people who’s coiffured horses step in a perfect Travers around the mud and they wear all the correct gear too (never ride in jeans) and can do a perfect medium trot (we are secretly jealous of these people but would never let them know)). 

So it was then that day that John had to consider the real possibility that we would end up buying 2 horses.  I had planned on loaning a rescue horse, but Henry, with his dishing was so adorable, that I kind of felt like I was rescuing him, you know, before he needed rescuing….that’s girl logic.

Henry: HG Gwygion.  Henry is the most stunning horse I have ever seen, he moves like a dream and has a wonderful presence and personality too.

So then, I was excited and hysterical at the same time – I was most likely not going to be able to have these horses because we didn’t have the money – it was a disaster.

Henry took this corner the next time and 'popped' right out of the arena.

So I carried on as best I could, getting up, going to work, pretending that I was OK, then I had to go to Istanbul on a work trip and on the way to the airport John called me…”hello darling, how are you? in the cab?”,  “yes”, “there’s a prêt at terminal 3, your favourite lemon drizzle cake, that’ll be nice?”…”yes”, I couldn’t even think about food – I was about to lose my Rand status!

…”I’ve just bought Tom & Henry for you” the most beautiful words next to, will you marry me, and here’s your tea – do you want a biscuit!!!!!

Love this picture, I have had one from this series painted by an artist, but that's for another post.

Well you can imagine, and actually since they’ve been here Tom & Henry have made me happy to rival that feeling almost every time I’m with them..Horses are just so amazing aren’t they?

Deep breath, and carry on.

The fantastic thing about buying your horse from the breeder is you can know their entire history, their family tree, what they looked like as babies – and how they have lived.  At HGF (Holme Grove Farm), the youngsters grow up together in groups, it is a lovely natural way for a horse to start life – they are handled regularly, are visited by the usual horsey people, vets and farriers.  The farm has a team of trainers and grooms who look after the horses from birth, so they know them all very well.  And if, like me, you have chosen horses who haven’t been started yet, they will back, hack, train and school them for you before you take them home.  This was great, because this early learning you really can’t afford to get wrong, and plus you need to be either very brave or a maniac to get on a 17hh horse for the first time! (Not me). 

Being able to hack out on my new baby with their trainer Jon, riding the other one was such an amazing experience, they had only been backed a few months when John took this picture, and already they both ride relaxed and happy.

I was lucky enough to visit my boys during their training, by this time they had ‘proper’ names – I had named them Tom & Henry after my Granddads.  I was able to watch some of their training and ride them too in the very early stages, there was an early hairy moment with Henry, referred to later as ‘the incident’, when I was unceremoniously flung to the ground.  Henry was a little unnerved by this and I was seeing stars! But we were both fine, and forgave each other.

Me riding Tom for the first time. he was just  4 years old.

5 STAGE VETTING:

We had a 5-stage vet done on both the boys.   I would have had them with 3 legs by now but one has to be sensible about these things and the insurance company, or in my case the BHS Gold Membership, needed to know about their medical history both past and likely future.

The vet was neither mine nor HG's, but an independent practise.  I was amazed about the thoroughness of his assessment of my boys, we were there for a few hours.  He examined them with a fine tooth comb, and then did flexion tests and a trot-up and saw them lunged too!   I wasn't worried.  I was hoping of course that they were both strong and healthy, but nothing would stop them being my horses.

Of course they passed with flying colours!.  Phew!!!



TRAKEHNERS CAN JUMP part 1

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared.”

Seneca Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD

Assuming Seneca meant ideas, because I can't agree to share: Tom & Henry (horses), John (husband) or curry! Shelley xx