Equine Harmony with Rachel

30/10/2024

Been having some great sessions with this little chap!
He really is a sweet monkey who likes to do things 🥰

28/10/2024

Been great looking after Little Baby again 🥰 She’s almost the same as she was before she went on loan.

Such a shame she came back with ringworm 😖- initially, I thought the scabs were from the other horse she kept company; even the vet didn’t recognise the ringworm through her long fluffy coat at first. 😖😩

05/05/2024

Yoggie’s first ridden hack out, along with his buddy Pie coming in-hand.

Wonderful horses! They managed to contain their worries about some sheep moving in the field adjacent to them and they walked out well.

We encountered:
Cars, cyclists, a heard of sheep running around, a man chasing two rogue sheep (they were giving him the run around), man shouting (at said rogue sheep)…
That was enough for one day!

Well done boys! Hopefully the next ride won’t be as eventful!!!

05/05/2024

This is one of the most important things I’ve seen in a while! ❤️

A farrier should understand a horse doesn’t mean to be “awkward” or “lean on purpose”. They can be uncomfortable and this needs patience! They need to be able to balance and reposition themselves.

I wish more farriers had this approach. ❤️

This topic rolls around my head all the time. The more horses I get under, the more I understand equine behavior and their body, the more I am convinced I don’t need to be stronger. Hear me out.

I am 5’6” and 125 lbs. I am a strong and fit person, with limits. Like most people, we all have limits to what our bodies can handle. Working with a 1000 lbs animal, has understandable limits. I have heard more than once, that the horse just needs “a strong man” to get under them and not have it be awful. That a man can “just hang on”. Just because that man can bear down and hold on, doesn’t mean it was any better for the horse than me being slung around. It just makes the human at the end of the lead feel better not seeing me slung around or struggle.

But here is the thing I know. Besides a handful of horses, very very few intentionally want to make it hard to hold a leg up. If they are struggling to stand well for the farrier, it almost always comes down to a few things. The following is said assuming that the farrier is truly a horse person and knows how to help your horse have a positive experience and adjust their approach when necessary.

1. Pain or fear of pain or altered sensation or awareness
2. A reduction in stability and appropriate loading patterns
3. Lack of understanding
4. Lack of emotional agility

As I primarily work with performance horses, I most commonly see 1 and 2. Yet, no performance problems are noted and an obvious head nodding lameness isn’t always present.

It’s tough because I know about how the body and nervous system works and equine behavior more than most farriers, more than a lot of horse people. I understand gait patterns and muscle development. I can feel your horse’s body every time I pick up a hoof. I have picked up 100s of 1000s of hooves (no joke, I did the math, it’s well over 150,000 hooves). Every single one of them is attached to a leg, attached to a horse. I have felt the bodies of so so many horses in every stage of life, from pasture puffs to Olympic level dressage horses and in many different compensation patterns, with all sorts of aches and pains from arthritis and other diseases. I know what a healthy body has the potential to feel like when I pick up a leg. I know what is possible for hoof care when the body is functioning well. I also know the possibilities of what a body will feel like that is struggling with nerve compression in the shoulders, hock arthritis, kissing spine, DSLD, Etc.

If a horse can’t relax, shift its weight, engage it’s core, lift a leg and keep it there, there is work to do to help the horse. Inherently, horses want to stay vertical and eyes level with the horizon to protect their spine, it is imperative to their survival. If they aren’t doing this, there is work to do to help the horse.

I know it can be an uncomfortable topic, especially when nothing seems wrong otherwise with the horse. It’s easier to blame the other human than take a look at the horse in front of us and truly listen.

I can also acknowledge that my approach isn’t right for every horse. I am not saying every visit with every horse needs to be perfect. But I know horses. I know what they feel like and I understand what they are telling us. If I don’t know, I will be the first to say it. I know the potential that exists in every interaction when we listen.

I don’t need to be stronger. I don’t need to hang on. I don’t need to be a man. We need to listen to what the horse is telling us. They don’t tend to be disingenuous with what they are saying. I will always seek to find a way to make hoof care easier and more relaxing for the horse and if I can’t find a way, we really need to look deeper at the horse and see what answers we can find.

Can we stop misinterpreting their behavior and take a deeper look?
Can we stop trying to out muscle and strong arm?
Can we collaborate more for the horse?
Can we start to recognize the subtle changes?
Can we get softer and listen?

23/04/2024

Yogs was a bit heightened at the beginning, so he needed to be let loose in the arena. I questioned how far I was going to get today! Luckily, we had our moment of connection so training could begin.

The first few times I mounted, I did have my trusty helper with me to hold the lead rope (just in case). After 5 goes, it was time to do it alone.

My trusty helper then became the photographer! 😍 thank you!

Amazing progress.

23/04/2024

A mounting session, followed by a relaxing, wind-down long rein out.

This sweet chap has a few mounting issues which needs addressing before any ridden work can commence. You can’t miss these little steps to positively reinforce new thoughts.

Even tacking up, I put the saddle on from the off-side - every little helps break the negative thought process.

His association with mounting from the near side was negative, so he didn’t want to stand next to any of the blocks. We didn’t work from the left side at all.

With the help of lots of blocks in the arena, stepping up and down, walking next to them, away from them, Yogs soon realised everything was ok. ❤️

01/04/2024

Yoggy is a very forward going, power pushing, quick thinking horse.
He feels he has to power on ahead. Here he is walking past the ‘scary’ corner in a relaxed walk.

Aim: to relax in trot - without powering on, while lovering his head and lifting his back.

Soon we will go out for a long rein out - getting him out the arena will do him the world of good. 🥰

Today, he enjoyed the variety of polework and breaks to process everything 😍

31/03/2024

The importance of poles!
Look at Yoggy’s core lifting when he lifts his hind feet higher. ❤️
In time, this will develop more of his topline. ❤️

31/03/2024

Recently started working with this chap! He’s a very sweet boy, who likes to learn and be kept busy.
More updates to follow on him, I’m sure ❤️

08/10/2023

Busy teaching a 15month Dartmoor Hill Pony that life isn’t bad!
Never seen a hose or had a bath.
Never been on the yard to meet other horses. ❤️

11/07/2023

Tommy and little Ted… what a warm welcome. Ted is certainly feeling better after his foot trim!!! ❤️

11/07/2023

Love it when you can work with another professional to help a horse.

Last time I met Tommy, he wouldn’t let me touch him. It was a surprise when he let me catch him at let the farrier loose on him! ❤️

Maybe little Ted told him he feels better after having his feet done!

09/03/2023

Wow!
Third time hoof picking the Baby Wildling. Thought I’d play with a few farriery tools, to get her used to them. Before I knew it, I’d scraped out her flaking soles, then trimmed and rasped her hooves! All four feet are a much better shape. Such a good girl!
A good first experience is vital! ❤️

We also had a practice going in the trailer and shutting the ramps. This went very well! Both girls in together.

Only thing to watch out for - Millie’s head while the pony is walked out, as she put her jaws around Baby’s neck 🤣 Not a bite, but a bit of annoyance displayed 🤣🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

01/03/2023

The Baby Wildling explored the trailer with no pressure! Im still completely shocked that she went in! She even went in to see me, without being asked. She also stops and walks one step at a time to come out the front! ❤️

01/03/2023

Wow!
I’ve had this pony since the end of October. She was completely wild! If I’d have known how wild and scared of humans she was, I probably wouldn’t have bought her as a companion 🥺❤️‍🩹.

I knew she’d been kept in a barn for two weeks, with 3-4 other foals.
However… it soon became apparent that when she had come off Dartmoor, she was grabbed at to be caught and this just reinforced her fear of humans. She was also treated like a calf to get into my trailer - one pulling the front end and another pulling her around by her tail (I was horrified and stood there looking at this foal’s spine curve in the most unnatural way😔😣). I knew at that point this girl was going to take time to trust people!

Fast forward…
4 months later… the Baby Wildling has become inquisitive and loves taking treats! Everything has been in her own time and her choice!

I’ve only lead her about 5 times and today we achieved something we’ve never done before!

I was able to comb her mane without her worrying about one hair being pulled. I groomed her whole body and removed lots of moulting hair. Then… I hoof picked all four feet!

This girl is a super fast learner and is realising that the strange things that humans do brings her treats! 🤣❤️

Ignore my baby voice! 🤣🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

13/09/2022

🗝 Getting used to the sounds of the ramp 🗝

Walking over the ramp can help your horse understand the noises associated with the trailer.

🗝 Always have some pieces of wood available, that are different thicknesses. Use them to level up the ramp on uneven ground! 🗝

30/08/2022

Always remember to close all the ramps and doors in stages e.g, ensure they’re happy with each step, before putting them together in one loading movement.

Move slower than you think you need to, as the perspective in the trailer is very different. When the horse becomes more confident with the movement, you can begin to move it quicker! They need to get used to the movement and the sounds. Repeat this over and over, until the horse pays no attention to it happening. 🗝