On Tuesday when Harry had his second treatment, which also included gelding scar manipulation, the vet said to have a ride on the weekend and see what happens.
He was a little bit apprehensive but I waited until he was relaxed and ready for me to mount, then waited until he was ready to walk.
He wasn't sure when I thought trot but again I waited with no intention. To my surprise when he did decide to trot he went down the long side, around corner and lined up the trot poles and away he went. 😍
To think on the 7th of April I decided I would never ride him again.
It was so nice for him to trust me and for me to trust him by giving him a free rein and let him make his own decisions to gain confidence in his new body. 🙏
4 days after treatment and Harry is like he has a new lease on life.
After his dinner he let rip with a big buck and play, my partner said he had never seen him leap so high 🫨
I replied, I'm actually a little concerned about riding him again 🤯😅
But all jokes aside it's wonderful to see him happily moving around again.
Tomorrow he will start some light lunging on very big circles, while we continue his other exercises. 💕
Little bit of fun with flags today.
Enjoying the cooler weather and a good time to do a bit of training with my young horse, who has just been spending time growing out, in the paddock as baby horses should.
This was his 3rd experience with a big flag. 😃
Hard to believe this horse was hard to catch. 😉🥰
Having a play with the bridge on the weekend 😍
Following on a bit from my post about claustrophobic behaviour in horses.
I thought I'd share this very short video of Harry on the weekend at a Heartland Equestrian Liberty clinic.
At first Harry went around the maze, which i expected. But he then followed me in, although racing through.
In this video I tried to halt him by putting my whip to his chest. In a normal situation when I slowed my body he would slow and if I put the whip up to his chest he would stop. But you can see here, while he is going through, he is still not comfortable with stopping, and quickly motors along.
After a couple of tries I was able to get him to halt at the end. This was a massive achievement so we stopped this exercise there. It is something I will continue to work on. 💕
Sam mastering the double slalom 🤩
(Note, jump poles on the ground are a training tool only)
One of those moments today you wish you had a before video.
Harry has always lived with his sister and has always had severe separation anxiety.
Our old property was tiny, so if you were in the arena, the other horses were still right beside you.
The only time they are really apart is when they are taken off the property, normally in a horse float. Attempts to ride Harry off the property down the road have been unsuccessful in the past, and if I ride Chip's off down the road, you could still hear Harry screaming 2 or 3 kms away. 😢
So this time round, I've had to really work on this anxiety if I was going to be able to ride and train him again. I really didn't want to have to make sure Chip's is be side him all the time.
At the start, I would have Chips in the round yard near the Arena paddock. Then Chips would be in the paddock with some hay near the arena paddock. If Chips went up the far end of the paddock, Harry would loss it.
Gradually, he has become more comfortable with Chips moving further down. I would never reprimand him for his anxiety. I would just try and acknowledge it and try and have him focus on some relaxation type exercises.
Today, I took a video as I'm just so proud of how far Harry has come. Two weeks ago I wouldn't of thought, he would be able to cope with Chips being so far away and even at times out of sight. 😍
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Pole work is such a valuable part of your training routine.
It improves balance, rhythm, coordination and strength.
I recently introduced some risers, and my horse at first didn't like them, so needed to very slowly introduce to his training sessions. I did this by adding one side at a time and now we have progressed to the full height.
At the start he would refuse to go over, then started to race over them. But I would just calmly ask him to slow, and lots of praise for when he got it right.
The video is rough as you know it's hard to lunge and video, but I love how he looks at me after going over as if to say " did I get it right? Oh I did! " 💕
My boy also thought he needed another "obstacle " so I've shared that too in the comments 🥰
“He is the light when you open the door! He has a soul your willing to seek. He keeps you earthed and knows no boundary of time. He is powerful & beautiful, courageous & agile, clever/ spirited & honest. He is a teacher in which to listen, a touch you appreciate, a feel that allows you to open up doors to follow your dreams. I am captivated by them.”
This is what the horse means to Jose Mendez.
Lesson number 1 😍
How to get your horse to move.
