Moor Natural Horsemanship

29/11/2023

😬

Horse owners are being urged to act to prevent potential resistance to tapeworm treatments, following the lack of efficacy now worryingly being reported to both praziquantel and pyrantel in equine tapeworm.

29/11/2023

A couple of days ago I posted a potential 'Manifesto for change' for the equestrian industry not expecting it to get so much traction, with many shares around the world. It is wonderful to know how many of us want to do better by horses.

I have just had to block a comment in order to not detract from the huge amount of positivity.

The commentator is one very familiar to me, telling me I don't know enough and that if I did I would realise that some horses need a combination of draw reins and leverage bits to keep them safe. The horse they were describing could only be ridden in the arena and if you wanted to ride out of the arena you need this kit to stop them bolting.

I feel it's only fair to explain what my solution would be which doesn't involve this amount of equipment.

----------------------------------------

I would not ride the horse out on the roads
I would not ride the horse in the arena either

---------------------------------------

If a horse feels the need to bolt then we fundamentally need to understand why. And then work out if we can help this horse find a different solution. That starts on the ground, and with very tiny things which indicate why a horse felt it needed to run for its life.

Because we need to ask WHY an animal would put itself (and by default, us) in so much danger. There are typically 3 reasons why a horse would choose this option.
-
-

* Pain or discomfort.
* Confusion and fear (which can include extreme separation anxiety)
* A human inadvertently taught them this, and it's been reinforced.
-
-

Using devices to cover this up is only papering over the cracks. The 'feeling' in the horse is still there, whether that's physical or emotional. If the horse is in physical pain and is running from that, then it is immoral to stop them running by using equipment they can't escape from. We either need to find the source of the pain and solve it there, or retire them from ridden work.

If the horse is running out of confusion or fear, and/or a desire to return to the safety of the herd, then we need to find ways to help them feel so much better about being out in the world with us. This has been significant part of what I do and help other people to do with horses. If this is outside of our skill set then we need find someone with the same ethics as us to help this horse feel better about being out and about with their human herd. A lot of this may entail not going very far from home at all initially, and being on the ground.

If a horse is bolting because it's a behaviour they learned which they subsequently believe it is saving their life (so they had better repeat it), then we need to step many hundreds of steps back from 'hacking out on the road'. Using equipment the horse can't say not to is not the same as finding things they can say yes to. This need to run for their life will be showing up in other small ways all over the place, it always is. We need to find the tiny spring and re-route it there, not try to block the ocean.

If I felt this behaviour was so ingrained that I could't change it, I would reach out to someone more experienced than me in this area. Or retire the horse from ridden work.

I am aware that this way is the slow way. It may mean stepping back from riding for some considerable time and addressing details in daily handling and much ground work. It may require us to admit we need help from others and don't know everything about everything (experience in years and horses doesn't always result in having all the answers). And it may mean that we discover our horse is in pain and has been for some time, and even that it's time to hang up his saddle.

We just have to make our choices, and mine looks like this.

28/11/2023

The grand Weekend of Learning hums and sings in me. It’s going to take a little while before I sift and sort all the glorious gems of knowledge and inspiration that I picked up there. There will be much writing and much pondering. (I shall almost certainly make lists, because I love a list.) And, of course, I’ll give it all to you, because this stuff is too good not to share.


I adore finding a sturdy, steady starting point. I do this with my mares and I do this with my writers. I do it with myself, because I’m always going back to the beginning. My mind is flinging and flying with new thoughts, and I need to find the reassuring place to put my first foot on the ground.


I go with instinct, as I so often do. And the first step presents itself. It is: I want to talk to you about how Ben Atkinson stands.


(I love that my intuition has given me something so marvellously plain. I cherish the small things and the simple things, and what could be more small and simple than standing?)


Atkinson only came on my radar this year. I was instantly in awe of what he does with his horses. I gaze at the complex liberty moves, which all rise from beautiful foundations. I could see at once that he was one of the good ones, one of those people who sheds light into the world.


And there he was, this weekend, in real life and, as always, real life is different from the page or the picture or the video. All my senses sharpened. What would I learn, I wondered, from this maestro? Would there be fiendishly complex technical manoeuvres? Would there be fascinatingly recondite trade secrets, which I could steal and take to the field, so the mares and I could dance? I had my notebook at the ready and I was ready to listen and write, to absorb and imbibe.


I did do a lot of writing, but here’s the thing which stayed with me and which comes now to my inner eye, so I can see it as if it were a movie in full technicolour.


It was the special Atkinson standing. It’s the way he holds himself around his horses. He is their point of safety, of reassurance, of balance. They are, I saw vividly, not trained in tricks; they are trained in connection. He is speaking their language, so they understand, and understanding makes them feel easy and safe. So much of that language comes from his body.


He’s quite a slender presence. There is nothing dominant or big or swaggery about him. He walks lightly on the earth, like my little mare Tern. There’s something delicate in him, and yet there is meaning and purpose flowing like a river through his entire physical self. He stands tall, but not like a soldier - almost like a dancer, perhaps, ready to hear his inner music. He’s funny, with the excellent self-deprecating humour of the British, and he knows who he is, and so his horses know who he is too. Some of that is in his head, in his mind, in his thoughts, but it translates marvellously all the way through his physical self.


He is aware, and he is present. He is all there, every bit of him.


I’ll never learn his level of the dance. The red mare and I shall not be pitching up at Olympia, with Tern and Florence and Clova and Freya trundling along behind, and doing flowing, flying movements that make an audience gasp. But I can take that vision of the body, and bring that to the field. I can do that, with my own physical self. I can feel it and picture it and imagine it. I can play with it. The mares will say, ‘Ah, yes. Yes. There is a human who has something we want.’


And what is that? Ease, sureness, honesty. That purpose, which is so vital, but the lovely lightness that can travel with it. The strength to guard those prey animals from the mountain lions, and the gentle responsiveness that sees their needs, their quirks, their moods, their emotions, and tunes in to all of those.


Something like that. Something just like that.

27/11/2023

https://carsonjames.com

26/11/2023

🙂 tribe

21/11/2023

Oh yeah…every day 😂

20/11/2023

19/11/2023

No greys, ok?

19/11/2023

Hay is just dry grass, right? So what’s the difference?

Yes, while hay is essentially dried grass, there are important differences between fresh grass and hay, especially concerning the nutritional content for horses.

Nutritional Composition:

Grass: The nutritional content of fresh grass does vary based on factors like the length of the grass. Short grass pastures have higher levels of sugars and starches, which is a concern for horses health and well being.

Hay: Hay is essentially dried grass, but the drying process reduces the sugar and starch content, making it a more stable and consistent source of forage. Hay also has a higher fibre content, which is highly beneficial for a horse's digestive health.

Stability:

Grass: Fresh grass is subject to changes in nutritional content depending on factors like weather, time of the year, time of the day, and growth stage. It's also perishable and can be affected by environmental conditions.

Hay: Hay is more stable and can be stored for longer periods without significant changes in its nutritional composition. This stability allows for a more controlled and a species appropriate consistent diet for horses.

Accessibility:

Grass: Horses left to graze on pasture will selectively eat shorter, sweeter grasses, potentially leading to an imbalance in their diet, especially in terms of sugar and starch intake.

Hay: Providing horses with hay allows for better control over their forage intake. It ensures a steady and balanced supply of nutrients without the risk of overconsumption of sugars and starches.

Fibre Content:

Grass: The fibre content in fresh grass can vary, and shorter grass has much less fibre and much more sugar and starch.

Hay: Hay has higher fibre content, which is essential for proper digestion in horses. Adequate fibre intake helps prevent issues like colic and laminitis and supports a healthy gut.

In conclusion, while both hay and fresh grass provide forage for horses, the differences in their nutritional content and stability make hay a more species specific choice for many horse owners who want to manage their horses' diet more precisely. Providing free access to safe, fibrous forage, in the form of mixed meadow hay that is rye grass free, is best practice to meet horses' dietary needs.

Healthy gut, healthy horse.

HMIS

19/11/2023

One of ours so would 😈 The other it’s never even cross his mind 😇

18/11/2023

17/11/2023

😂

16/11/2023

😂

🧙 Hands up if your horse is your therapist too 🙋‍♀️

16/11/2023

What they do with this knowledge depends 😂 Alfie ⬛️ Eddie ⬜️

Explains for people who can't understand why their horse 'zones out' ....

16/11/2023

🤔

You are told to obsess over hay.
To soak it and to weigh it.

You are told to balance the nutrients to the hay, and yet….

How many weigh and soak your grass? (Rain doesn’t count)

How many of you balance the nutrients to your grass?

We cannot tell you how many clients we go and see that have an abundance of lotions, potions, powders and pills - then turn their horse out on grass.

We never hear owners say “I’m balancing the grass”.

The hay is the cornerstone of your horse’s diet not the grass.

Horses need hay 24/7 365 because they thrive on fibre.

Your horse doesn’t need the green growing grass because it’s full of sugar.

Interesting isn’t it?

Your horse needs to thrive not just survive.

HM.

16/11/2023

Eddie has chronic and has suffered one bout of acute…he’s VERY difficult to manage 😬

16/11/2023

Holly 🤷‍♀️

15/11/2023

Not met one of these…yet 😂 “Things” you can’t train for and yet you can because it’s not about the…

15/11/2023

😍

14/11/2023

Speechless 😮

14/11/2023

Do it more like this, Alfie 😂 He probably could if he was in 6th gear but he’s usually in 1st (no idea what the ones in between are for…)

14/11/2023

There is a beautiful poem about Shetlands or Shelties as they are known, it’s my all time favourite written by Homer Hawkins in 1932, it’s brilliant I hope you enjoy!

The Sheltie,
Bonny, bijou dray horse
Some forty inches high,
little kiddies’ riding horse
Trotting gaily by,
Constitution hard as nails,
Sound as any bell,
How long you’ve lived in Shetland Isles
Nobody can tell.

You’re a perfect model
Of what a horse should be;
Fine head, arched neck,
Action straight and free,
Good shoulder, short back,
And ev’ry leg correctly placed
To carry you along.

Deep chest, round ribs,
Broad and sturdy loin,
Well ribbed up and well let down
Where flank and stifle join;
Long above the knees and hocks,
Short, flat cannon bone,
Pasterns springy, long and clean,
Tough hoofs as hard as stone.

Then you haven’t bobbed your hair
Like a modern girl,
Plentiful and straight it falls
Far too fine to curl;
Mane to point of shoulder,
Forelock to your nose,
And tail that reaches to the ground
When you are in repose.

You can live on seaweed
If other food should fail,
You can stand the driving sleet
Of bitter winter gale;
Shelter you object to
Because it is your boast
That snug within your woolly coat
You’re just as warm as toast.

Down in deepest coalmines,
Working like a mole,
Many thousand times you’ve dragged
Hutches full of coal;
Formerly you lived there
Till you lost your sight,
Now thank God, you’ve been redeemed
From perpetual night.

Trotting with a rider,
Trotting in a cart,
Everybody looks at you
And thinks your jolly smart;
All the children love you,
Women gush and coo,
And every man admires your style
Who knows what you can do.

Taken altogether,
Ev’ry one must own
You’re the greatest little horse
The World has ever known;
Beautiful and hardy,
Diligent and strong,
I wish I knew more folk like you
To help the world along.

(Image created by Emma Massingale some of my Shetlands driving across Bodmin moor in the rain with little Albert & Ernie in the back)

13/11/2023

They were both seriously unimpressed with the treats we took last time 🙄 Mind you, no one else liked them either 😂

11/11/2023

10/11/2023

😂

This is 100% spot on but still 2 great hobbies to have 🥰

07/11/2023

Every movement has a balance point from the rider that allows the movement to happen. If we are tight, heavy in the hand or overly active with our pressure, our horses will not be able to find our balance nor move within a state of self carriage. There are two forms of balance; positive and negative balance. When a horse is in a negative balance, they will be releasing part of their body but something else will be compensating with tension. When a horse is in a positive balance they will be in a state of self carriage that honours their physiology. As you are deepening your learning of riding, do your best to allow your horse to find their balance under you rather than attempt to create a frame. Your hand should feel the horse’s body and thoughts, receiving them softly, allowing them to find their balance underneath you. Collection is then a natural process of developing muscles that support self carriage!

06/11/2023

Cheaper than the special devices they make 🙂

01/11/2023

Made for Devon 😂

What a journey it’s been. I can’t believe we are here celebrating EQUIDRY turning 4.

Having 2 pony mad daughters here in (definitely not sunny) Devon meant hours stood outside in gale force winds and driving rain. On a daily basis we’d be going home drenched, shivering and complaining. We could never find warm, waterproof clothing that actually worked in the saddle. One day my husband, Nick turned around and told me to stop moaning and create my own riding coat. After a few sarcastic comments I realised, for once he might actually have come up with a good idea! He was straight on the phone to his life long friend Sam and the planning began.

We needed a coat that really worked and ticked so many boxes from allowing the children to wear body protectors underneath without being restricted, for always cold me to be able to wear extra layers under, to us being kept fully dry whatever the weather - the list of demands was big so we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

Myself, Nick, Sam, my talented seamstress friend Jane and Jo who I shared a yard with then went on to spend months designing, sewing, chopping up coats and sending our harshest critics, our children out testing them until the finalised EQUIDRY was created!

Sam built a website & my fantastic friends bought our first batch of coats without seeing them to help fund them. Within weeks of them arriving we were all getting stopped constantly at shows by envious people who could see how warm and dry we were. There were also a lot of people who would look alarmingly at us and tell us they’d “never be seen dead in one of those”. I’m sure you’ve all experienced those comments 😂

We decided to bite the bullet and produce another 500, they sold by presale before even reaching us. It was at that point we realised we might be on to something and our full focus began to turn to EQUIDRY.

Last year Nick, Sam & I walked away from our other jobs to work full time on EQUIDRY, fast forward to this year I’m now lucky enough to have my sister, daughters, Dad and closest friends working with us daily. We all love every single second we spend here and it’s because of you, our incredible customers! Some of you are utterly bonkers, some of you own numerous versions of our coat, some of you make us cry with emotion when we hear your stories, some of you make us smile on a daily basis with your entertaining posts and messages but all of you have made EQUIDRY the brand it is.

Thank you for your support over the past 4 years, it means more than words could ever say!

We have lots planned this month to celebrate our birthday from giveaways to new product launches to unmissable offers so keep an eye on our social media daily.

The codes EQUIDRYBIRTHDAY and EQUIDRYIS4 will run throughout the month with the offers associated changing weekly. Don’t worry we’ll let you know on here each time the offer changes.

The first 2 of our 4 birthday products, the new EQUIDRY Shorties and dog coats go live tonight at 6pm… use the codes above when making your purchases.

Thank you again for supporting us here at EQUIDRY and giving us the best job ever!

Vicky and the EQUIDRY Team x

31/10/2023

Don’t tell Alfie that others have this facility 😂

31/10/2023

👍

30/10/2023

Fascinating stuff. Gives me a headache but I know people who properly understand all these things…so that’s ok 🙂

30/10/2023

Love how they tack up before they load Stateside. I often think we are missing a few things over here!