Sinéad Christie Equine & Pets

13/03/2024

Without me having to work hard the horses are becoming desensitised to traffic. A lorry with reversing sounds dropped off a digger. It's great for them to be exposed to traffic sights & sounds

03/03/2024

Beautiful way to start the day. Blows the cobwebs away while aiding fitness plan 🐎

02/03/2024

Moved bungee to be with Mr Happy today. Excited to see how this chapter pans out

23/02/2024

The other evening I sat on Mr Happy with a bridle. No saddle. Walked up the yard, stopped and dismounted.
Why was it so short? Why no saddle? If he was so well behaved why not do a little more?
These are questions I get asked a lot.

So to start with, I don't want to end the session because we are tired, he is becoming stressed or that I've asked too many questions and I'm starting to get answers I'm not looking for. I'm looking to end the session on a win.

How do I know it's a win?

Although I've sat on Mr Happy in a field before, once with a head collar. We are at a new yard, added a bridle and was in the dark with other horses moving around.
There are plenty of components to deal with for the first time mounting.
He stayed relaxed for the whole session and kept his concentration on me. Achieved all I asked and all I needed to see.
The aim was to mount not ride away

How did I make today more likely to end on a win?

On previous days:
We had worn the bridle around the yard
Worn bridle in the stable
Checked bit pressure cues were known
Stood at the mounting block

On the day:
Seen that he dislikes big jumping mounting movement so chose a higher block. (This will be something to work on in other sessions).
He is happier with others around than alone.
Kept it short
Lots of positive rewards
Broke it down into stages
He flinches at the saddle so no saddle (something to work on longer term).

I think it's really important to work within your horses limits and keep the work positive. Pushing them a little bit but not to confusion, fear or where they remember previous pain and go into survival mode.

22/02/2024

Nothing like fair weather riding

19/02/2024

Always forgetting to take photos while working.
We have had a successful couple of days with pole work and trying on multiple bits/bridles.
Hopefully we will have the combination of bit and bridle that works this week to start riding work 🤞which is super exciting

Although that means we get closer to considering ⛵🏡. Maybe I'll hold off the riding because he is too cute and I'd like to keep him 😅

17/02/2024

Snoozy ponies yesterday, enjoying a bit of ⛅ warmth

12/02/2024

We went into the lunge pen for the first time today.
We just focused on keeping the walk and ignoring the distractions of hay, grass and moving horses. He achieved this pretty easily. By the end of the session Mr Happy was following me around the pen over exploring the distractions. So then we explored them together.
It was great to see many relaxing signs and gaining his concentration, such a good starting point

09/02/2024

Typically I forgot the lunging equipment so the session ended up being getting him used to turning from side pressure.
His done this all years ago but it's good to check ground work before getting on.
I know he'll halt and walk on when asked and follow for the turns but I wanted to get turning aids in, without leaning on me, ready to long rein and ride.
First time he went backwards then he started to get the hang of it. 👏

Next time let's hope I remember the lunge equipment and find a bit to use

03/12/2023

A little schooling session with a mega horse.
You can't even see his clip from here, fluff monster from this angle 😅

17/11/2023

Can't believe I now get to drive this. Feel like it fits the horsey life much better.

14/11/2023

Had a lovely weekend at a friend's, had a little jump and led a youngster down the road for his second time.
How anyone can do non-horsey things on their days off I'll never know.

Forgot pictures so here's Mr happy instead

06/11/2023

Grooming at different heights.
They are too cute

30/10/2023

During training I like to expose Bungee to all types of things we might come across.

One of the things I find we often forget about are dogs. And no, I'm not just talking about the dog itself. I know many of us have dogs we take to the yard and competitions.

However when we hack through forests and we meet the un-horsey dog they come with noise and movement we often don't think about. For instance, how many times have you seen squeaky, flying toys before a dog or owner?
(This is where I learn it's just me 🫣🤣)
The flying squeaky, unpredictable thing can be enough to spook a horse. Then with time they learn that it comes with a fast running, sometimes barking, dog chasing it. Maybe even children playing too and the person walking it. So over time a horse can learn it's a big deal and it really needs to be run away from because of how unpredictable it makes their environment.

So... before I get there, I try to expose my horse to movement and noise separately then together.

The other day I actually found a dog toy in the field and Bungee's first reaction was to play with it. He even made it squeak and carried on.

It made Enzo a little tense but when he saw his younger buddy so relaxed he chose to stay.

24/10/2023

Teaching this evening was super. I love little breakthroughs, such as over bending can cause the horse to go the other way and therefore less rein aids and more leg/body aids creates a smoother turn

08/10/2023

When you forget your girth so go for a stroll instead...

05/10/2023

I feel like I'm getting old going for glasses that change in the sunlight. But I'm in love with how useful they are.
Any morning light even in the winter means they start shading my eyes. It means no squinting, no sunlight damage to eyes and I don't have to keep remembering two pairs of glasses while riding. Because honestly, who hasn't started their riding in sunlight and finished in pouring rain?

04/10/2023

Started training with noise, appears we have a classical lover. He just relaxed here to the music. He really is sweet

28/09/2023

So last week included dismantling and putting back up this stable. It was far more work than expected, but very lucky there was a team of people to help. They even gathered woodchip and put up the fencing for one very lucky pony.

26/09/2023

A little up date

I have my horses in this lovely field where there is another resident horse. He had been … Sinead Capon needs your support for Lend a Hand Helping a Horse

24/09/2023

Scientific study concludes ...

https://scootboots.com/blogs/blog/barefoot-horse-hooves-can-move-50-more-than-shod-hooves?fbclid=IwAR0yl_KR6yxb7X0mf9G7dzZ1vhtijHepFsujJUm_M4ovAXz7h7-al7ctZOw

New scientific research concludes that barefoot hooves can contract and expand up to 50% more than shod hooves, and barefoot horses can move more efficiently.

22/09/2023

The weather hasn't been too fun this week. Been caught out riding in it a few times ☔⛈️🌧️
Glad for a little sun this morning

17/09/2023

It feels weird creating a go fund me page. I looked into charities and all sorts. But to receive donations and register as a charity you must have had £5k donated to the cause already.

With a few suggestions that people may want to help this horse too, especially as they may have seen his previous owner looking for a home for him, I've set up a go fund me page. I'm not expecting anything but want to be open to support as who knows what may come in the future.

I have my horses in this lovely field where there is another resident horse. He had been … Sinead Capon needs your support for Lend a Hand Helping a Horse

14/09/2023

"Why is your page quiet?"
Did you know that working as a freelancer it can mean attending private homes and yards?
Because of this certain pictures/posts could give away their location or that they're away. So sometimes people ask for things not to be posted.

There's that but also, I often forget to post or take photos. Life can be a little busy 🫣

13/09/2023

So I did a thing and took on a fourth horse 🙈
Thinking his journey will be an exciting one to discover... just where to begin

LegUpforTalent

09/09/2023

Early morning riding to avoid the heat

22/08/2023

At university I ended up writing about horses. I found myself wanting to be with them instead of writing about them. So after one year of studying I went back home.
The following day I went to my local riding school, CV in hand asking if they had jobs available. They weren't even advertising for any at the time but I went anyway.
This riding school was the one I learnt how to ride at and became my first full time horse job.
Here is a memory of schooling their horse Pop.

It's lovely looking back 🥰

20/08/2023

Freelance Equestrian Available 23rd August

Due to some swaps and changes I now have Wednesday 23rd available.

Anyone looking for a freelancer for yard work / riding / teaching?

Based between Hook & Arborfield

✨Insured▫️BHS Complete Stage 3▫️UKCC L2▫️First Aid✨

19/08/2023

A lovely day of teaching, on to tomorrows evening of teaching too 🥰🏇
No pictures so using this old one as hacking was also done today, just not at sunrise

17/08/2023

Had fun working with this little man for a couple of weeks. Who would have guessed he is still a youngen