A 17h just backed 4yo on his first hack, and a loose dog rushing out to see us…
No drama.
With so many accidents involving dogs and horses in the news and on social media, it seems the blame is often placed on the owner of the dog.
There is plenty a rider/trainer can do to mitigate risks when going out in the big wide world with a horse.
Groundwork - yes it comes into play. Good groundwork means your horse can stand, back-up, disengage, yield obligingly in any direction.
Despooking - Desensitisation - Familiarisation - whatever you want to call it. Also comes under groundwork. Introduce your horse to the things AND WORSE that he’ll meet out and about. At home I have Bryn - a whirlwind collie who is excellent at desensitising horses to dogs whizzing around. You can get creative; signs, banners, flags, bunting, all introduced incrementally can help a horses confidence levels.
You - the other 50% of the partnership! Are you balanced enough to sit a spook? Confident enough to face traffic, loose dogs? Are you able to have your horse stand, back up, relax, disengage, go in any direction softly? Can you still give clear and confident aids when you’re scared? Can you do all of this around distractions? Do you have a toolkit to deal with the unexpected… this could range from a neck strap to a one rein stop.
Assume all dog owners are ignorant, all drivers are morons. If your horse is spooked by a dog, stay calm, do not shriek or scream, and keep your horse facing the dog. Spinning and bolting will result in an even more excited dog chasing you. My advice would be to stay head on to the problem, if your horse stays still it’s likely the dog will lose interest. The owner then has time to retrieve them. If not, and the dog goes to bite/comes even closer, it’s likely the horse will react accordingly and strike or kick out. Whilst no one wants to see an animal injured, this would be my choice over a chase risking even more injuries.
Feel free to discuss,
Some recent Asbo antics 🤣🦅
He can say “come on” and cluck pretty well and enjoys trying to motivate (or terrify) most visitors. I’m genuinely not sure how many delivery drivers have asked to have their photo with him.
#magpie #bird #corvid #horsetrainer #assistant #petbird
The annoying side of Asbo… he can’t wait to steal my hoof oil brush!
#magpie #equestrian #bird #thief
I think this counts as proof Spring is in the air 🥳
#spring #sheep #wales #springtime
Asbo was happy to see us, and he’s expanding his vocabulary 😂🦅🤯
#talkingbird #magpie #comeon #bird #birdsounds
Right back at ya Flyover Farm - Jamie Jennings, Certified Monty Roberts Instructor 🤠
We made it through the storm! No sheep blew away, Asbo hunkered down, only a few bits of porch left the property. The horses are all totally fine - they had a duvet day or groundwork in the barn while Darragh raged on Saturday, and normal service has resumed…
EXCEPT for the fact we are now on day 3 with no electricity, and estimated restoration times keep getting pushed back.
We’ve just about exhausted all powerbank/laptop juices, so, combined with obviously no WiFi and dodgy phone signal at best, I’m apologising NOW to anyone I’ve seemingly ignored over the last few days and in advance to anyone I fail to respond to.
We’re all good - we were prepared with candles, the log burner heats my little house a treat, and I’ve always wanted to try ice baths but been too much of a wimp. I won’t have any phone use now till west wales rejoins the 21st century 🤷♀️
Professional horse training as well as home to showjumping sheep, a competiton winning mule and a tame & talking magpie.
