Amryddawn Welsh Cobs NZ

26/08/2024

Bridgeton in action
Video courtesy of EventStars Ltd

26/08/2024

It is still wet and muddy here in Clutha so it is going to be a while before we can get some decent photos of the herd. In the meantime here are some photos of Bridgerton courtesy of EventStars Limited. I'm sure they'll give you a pretty good hint as to why we chose her as our first mare for our crossbreeding program.

24/08/2024

We are very excited to welcome this little TB mare (Bridgerton) into our crossbred breeding program now that she has returned clear results for PSSM1, MIM, EFIH and WFFS. As well as being beautiful, well mannered, having a professional attitude, and having pretty darn good conformation, she is also bold, has a lovely little pop in her and moves very nicely. Her sire is Tavistock. We think she is a great choice for Shelyron Disgleirio and can't wait to see the results.

19/08/2024

The two boys living the life of luxury on this snowy day while the girls are roughing it out in the elements.

15/08/2024

It surprises me that science hasn't figured this out earlier. If you've ever had a horse who breaks into feedrooms, comes when called, or is even a bit opinionated you know they are perfectly capable of forethought and strategic planning.

Team hopes findings will help improve equine welfare after showing cognitive abilities include being ‘goal-directed’

14/08/2024

If we want to train our horses they must be in a mindset that is trainable. Here is some science to help explain why we are always seeking calm for our horses

Comparative neurobiology of horse and human.

Horses and humans are both mammals.
Our brains may not be the same size, but they are almost identical in their structure and function.

Why can our brains look so similar but our behaviours and sensitivity to the world look so different?

The area in the picture highlighted is the prefrontal cortex or the (PFC). Its job in humans, horses, dogs, dolphins, elephants, cats, mice, rats, all mammals, and even birds is to carry out "higher executive functions" such as:

🧠 problem solving
🧠 decision making
🧠 reasoning
🧠 risk assessment
🧠 forward planning
🧠 impulse control
🧠 intention

Obviously, these executive functions are more advanced in humans than in other species of mammals, but this part of the brain plays a pivotal role in higher levels of learning beyond primal behaviours and learning survival skills.

So why aren't we seeing these higher executive functioning skills and behaviours in horses as much as what we see them in dogs, dolphins, elephants and even birds?

Ultimately it comes down to safety!

The latest neuroscience research suggests that when the brain feels unsafe it causes the body to produce stress response hormones and these stress response hormones cause the PFC to go "offline".
This means that subcortical regions of the brain (deeper parts of the brain) such as the primal brain (AKA limbic system, survival brain, flight/fight brain) completely take over to increase the chances of survival.

Feeling unsafe causes the feeling of fear and it is fear that gets this party started.

So behaviours come from two areas:

1. The PFC, carrying out problem solving skills, reasoning, impulse control, forward planning etc. that may be interpreted as "obedience" and "partnership".

2. The primal brain, carrying out reactive survival behaviours. This brain does NOT carry out impulse control, forward planning, problem solving, etc. It just reacts to the world. This brain heavily relies on patterns and consistency. This brain will cause freeze/flight/fight behaviours such as shutting down, bolting, biting, rearing, bucking, kicking, barging, etc.

Which brain is the domesticated horse spending most of it's time in?
It's primal brain!

This is why we don't get to see their full intellectual and cognitive potential because most of the time, domesticated horses are perceiving their world in a fearful way to some degree.

We can help our horses with this!

Feeling fearful is the OPPOSITE to feeling calm.
If we want to help our horses access their PFC then we MUST do whatever it takes to help them feel calm.

☝️ ONLY when a brain feels calm can it slow down enough to develop TRUE confidence. Only when the brain feels confident will it access TRUE cognition (PFC).

☝️ We first need to understand that when we get "bad behaviour" from our horses, it's not intentional or naughty or rude. What you are seeing is either a horse that is just reacting to the fear they feel or they are carrying out their "coping mechanism" in response to their anticipation of feeling fear.

☝️ Try to remove expectations that your horse should "know better".
"Knowing better" implies that all behaviours are coming from the PFC and there should be some impulse control and reasoning. Unless your horse feels calm, they can't access the PFC to "know better".

THIS STARTS WITH YOU!!!

You need to be consciously aware if YOU feel calm first. If you feel calm, your horse will have a better chance at feeling calm. Expecting them to feel calm when you don't is unfair.

The best way to create calmness is to intentionally be SLOW!!!
SLOW EVERYTHING you do down.
SLOW your movement down.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your walking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your horse down.
If you feel too slow, then you're going slow enough.

Calmness is slow, not fast.

This will help you and your horse to connect and feel safe together.
When the brain feels stressed, the stress response hormones cause the body to speed up.

Stress = speed

We can reverse engineer this process and create a calm mind through slow intentional movement and a relaxed posture.

The by-product of a calm brain is confidence and cognition (PFC access).

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 😊

Photo: Credit: Adult horse (equine) brain, sagittal section. Michael Frank, Royal Veterinary College. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

13/08/2024

Please pass on to all your non-horsey friends

11/08/2024

Not enough people understand the development of a horse and why it is so important to give them time to develop before engaging in demanding training schedules. A horse started too early (i.e. before fully formed) is far more at risk of breakdown than a horse that is allowed to develop appropriately.

Always a good reminder... And let's think of race horses for example, who are competing already at 2...: who knows why so many die every single day everywhere in the world💔

08/08/2024

This!!

Are You Really Having Fun?

I have a friend who is a vet, and today she told me a story that made me feel both sad and frustrated.

My friend had an appointment to visit a property to assess and treat another horse. While she was there, she struck up a conversation with a lady who had recently moved her horse to the same property.

The lady was telling the vet how her horse was so much happier at the new property than the previous property. She explained she had been able to ride the mare and she was so much more relaxed.

The lady then mentioned that she was worried about a skin lump that she had found on the mare's back. My vet friend offered to have a quick look at the lump and asked for the horse to be brought up to the stable area.

My vet friend then watched the lady struggle to catch the horse, halter the horse, and then walk the horse from the paddock up to the stables. The lady was clearly terrified of the mare who, once out of the gate of the paddock, became very tense and agitated.

My friend went and met her halfway as the situation was becoming dangerous but could not really get near the horse as it was so agitated. They agreed to take the mare back to the paddock where the horse calmed down and my friend was able to inspect the lump, which turned out to be nothing to worry about. The lady apologised and explained the mare had not left the paddock since she had arrived a month before.

My friend asked her if she had ever done any groundwork with the mare. The lady responded that this was her first horse and, no, she didn’t do any groundwork as she only had enough time in the week to ride the horse. The lady then went on to describe how at the other place she had kept the horse, the mare had been quite scary to ride but here she had just been walking the mare around her paddock and she was so much better.

My friend then asked her if this was her first horse, and was she enjoying the experience?

The lady responded that she was; in fact, she was having so much fun with the mare.

My vet friend responded that she could get some help with the horse if she was difficult to handle. The lady made an excuse that the horse just had "bitch days."

Hearing this makes me feel so sad for the lady and the horse.

Let's examine all the unnecessary conflict and stress in this simple yet common scenario:

1️⃣The mare had not left the small paddock it had been placed in for a month. Even when it was ridden, it had only been ridden in the small paddock. Confining a horse to a small paddock and decreasing the horse’s exposure to the world will shrink a horse’s comfort zone and decrease its ability to process the environment and regulate its stress and emotions.

2️⃣An inability to feel safe and reliably handle a horse on the ground around the property it lives in. Handling your horse should be something you feel incredibly confident in doing. It is for both your welfare and that of the horse. If it is disconcerting handling your horse, that needs to be addressed and resolved. Gaining ground handling skills to be able to teach and influence horses to be safe and easy to handle is something all equestrians need to learn and practise.

3️⃣Not having an interest in groundwork because you only have time to ride a horse is actually a very common thing that many people who own horses think! It is something I used to think myself and it is so strange to think of myself back then. I could not see the purpose of groundwork because I didn’t understand what it was or why it is important for both safety and fairness to the horse. It shows how little idea of horses we have. It is like we have this inbuilt assumption that they are born to be ridden by humans with special installed buttons and it is no effort for them at all! Once you truly understand horses and what we are actually nurturing between ourselves and them to be able to ride them safely and ethically - the idea that we only have time to ride is crazy on all levels!

4️⃣Owning a horse that you can hardly catch, struggle to lead, cannot remove from its paddock, and that can be scary when you ride it - equals fun and meets your expectations for a fulfilling experience of horse ownership is depressing. None of that is fun, and the horse definitely does not think this is fun. That is an example of cognitive dissonance, which is the term used to describe why people sometimes act irrationally or hold onto beliefs that are contradicted by evidence. It is a protective way of thinking to protect individuals from the harsh reality of their choices or deal with contradictory evidence of what is occurring in their lives.

On one hand, I can say it is strange that with so much information at our fingertips online, so many people like myself sharing good ideas about how to influence and care for horses, that we still have such ignorance in the equestrian world.

However, on the other hand, it is not surprising. There are still way more poor management, handling and riding practices going on that it depends on what a person has been exposed to as normal! There is still so much ignorance about the horse.

I can’t even talk because I was not much different to this lady. It really takes a reckoning to shake you out of your delusion that you need help. Then the outcome of the reckoning depends so much on the people you are surrounded by.

As my vet friend showed, unsolicited good advice can be rejected. However, what can be more powerful is to be a person that lives good practices and care of their horse. I hope that at this property, this lady comes across someone who demonstrates good care, handling, and riding of their horse. I hope that this lady will one day get interested in what this person is doing and get curious and approach this person and start asking questions.

I hope that…because I hope this lady can one day discover just what a meaningful and rewarding experience owning a horse can be. You just need to learn how....and that is enjoyable in its own right❤

08/08/2024

We really do need to start trying to understand our horses better. In this day and age there really is no excuse for remaining ignorant about their comfort

Research has indicated that many common behaviour issues are bit-induced, and we are failing to recognize the signs.

06/08/2024

The best training results from being able to connect and hear what your horse is trying to communicate to you as well as using well timed rewards.

⭐️Welcome to episode 1 of the award-winning Listening to the Horse, the 7 part documentary series,created by Elaine Heney. Join Elaine as she explores this q...

05/08/2024

Correct training of our horses can help reduce injuries. Phillipe Karl is a wonderful source for explaining the classical principles of dressage which are biomechanically sound and intended to prolong the health and welfare of our horses

Här ges tydliga exempel på utbildning i den klassiska ridningens grunder. En utbildning där hästen alltid sätts i centrum.Philippe Karl har verkat som berida...

04/08/2024

It's important, for us as carers for our horses, to be aware of the signs of pain and lameness in our horses as often, by the time they are clearly visibly lame to most of us the damage is great. I thought this video was very helpful.

The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain is a film that dares to challenge the way we look at "badly behaving" horses, and promotes the notion that lamen...

04/08/2024

100%

02/08/2024

So genetics tells us we will definitely get a chestnut foal from these two but will it be liver chestnut with flaxen main and tail, a blaze and 3 while socks as well?!

01/08/2024

As a R3, this little lady currently home measures at 14hh but she still has a lot of filling out and some growing to do. We are going to take our time with her. She is in the hill paddock for now to build up some big strong muscles.

25/07/2024

After much contemplation I think Charlotte Dujardin's abusive training methods deserve some comment.

After watching the video I'd be very surprised if this was a once off. I couldn't see anything in the video to suggest a momentary loss of judgement or control. To my semi-trained eye it very much looked like she was cool calm and collected... as if the behaviour was habitual.

If habitual she has learned if from someone and therefore if the FEI truly is taking this seriously they should be investigating everyone involved with CDJ's training including but not limited to her coaches.

To date I haven't seen any statement from CDJ showing any empathy of concern for the horse or for the dangerous position the pupil was put in (everyone is lucky that horse acted with the incredible grace it did). That to me suggests she is sorry for being caught out, not sorry for what she did.

Abuse is abuse. Just because other people do worse things to horses doesn't mean this should be swept under the carpet like some people suggest.

For those people out there saying the pupil should have spoke up earlier, the pupil was in a very difficult position, not only was the pupil young, CDJ was in a position of power (due to being the instructor and a champion rider). Anyone who truly believes they, under the same circumstances, would have had the bravery to speak up is in an extremely small minority. Also, whistle-blowers generally aren't treated well as a rule. Please stop victim blaming.

The timing is appropriate. Any sooner and it would have been swept under the carpet and ignored by the media. Those sorts of training tactics need to be seen, heard and stopped. We need to be advocating strongly for our horses and people need to realise there is no social license to act this way. If we put her right to compete above the right of the horse to live abuse free we are in effect supporting the abuse.

Hopefully the fall out will encourage other trainers using abusive methods to rethink their approach. Today is a new day, let's all do our best to do better by our horses.

23/07/2024

The first of our purebred Welsh Cob mares has arrived. Afallon's Royal Celebration. Like Shelyron Disgleirio, she has exceptional bloodlines which go back to some of the Welsh Greats. She loves people more than horses, is bold, inquisitive and brave. She is Negative for PSSM1 and MIM and although she is muddy right now, we are pretty convinced she is a diamond in the rough. Many thanks to Amanda Tulloch for allowing us to bring home this lovely lady and to Lucy de Klerk (Afallon's stud) for breeding her.

14/07/2024

So very true. So important to remember this when we interact with our equine friends. In my experience they always do the best they can, with the training they've been given in the environment they are in. Often they do better than we deserve.

Imagine you’re assigned a partner project in school. Only one of you gets to read the directions for the assignment, and then you have to explain it to your partner in a language that is secondary to both of you. You’d expect some miscommunications and misunderstandings, right?

That’s basically what’s happening while riding a horse. Whether in a lesson or a ride of your own direction, you as the rider are the only one who knows the assignment. It’s then your responsibility to relay that information to your horse, speaking through intention and cues that are a second language to both you and your horse. Your horse doesn’t understand what your trainer is saying he’s supposed to do - he’s relying on you to tell him.

Keep this in mind any time you’re riding and you feel like your horse isn’t listening, or you get frustrated with a missed distance or a sloppy transition. Remember that you’re the only member of this team who knows the assignment, and your horse is relying on you to tell him the game plan. Sometimes we make mistakes in our cues or our timing, we start thinking too many steps ahead or we forget to clue him into the next movement in time. Sometimes the horse is a little distracted, or tired, or not feeling it today. But most of the time, he’s doing his best he can with the information you’re giving him!

10/07/2024

It's a long read but something everyone who takes on a new horse should be aware of. We expect so much of our horses when sometimes it is just plain unfair to do so

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

09/07/2024

I often hear the statement "every interaction with your horse is a training opportunity". I think it is incorrect. Instead, I think the statement should be "every interaction with your horse is training!

Now for those of us with duller horses we may not see the relevance but for those of us with highly trainable and tuned in horses everything you do with or around is absorbed by them and therefore matters.

03/07/2024

Riding horses is a privilege. It isn't a right. This is something we try to ALWAYS keep at the forefront of our minds.

Photo credit: Lydia Reynolds, Shelyron Welsh Cob Stud

01/07/2024

Thinking of warmer days

Photo Credit: Lydia Reynolds from Shelyron Welsh Cob Stud

30/06/2024

We dont use bandages on our horses or any other leg "protection" for that matter either. Thats because the research says we are putting our horses at greater risk of injury from wearing them than we are when we don't.

Already outlawed in eventing there, bandages will no longer be permitted in vaulting, show jumping, dressage and driving.

28/06/2024

Pedicures all round today but its yet another sogging day here in Clutha so a flash back to sunnier days with Shelyron Disgleirio enjoying some ☀️

Video credit: Lydia Reynolds Shelyron Welsh Cob Stud

27/06/2024

We had a tiny break in the weather so started on a little liberty work. Stay tuned

26/06/2024

Curious about everything, even the piglets ❤