Nostalgia - her journey from fear to.....here!!

[june]

We started working on softness today







and no spooking at her own shadow either!

[Louise C]

Looks like she has come on a whole lot since the last time I saw her - what a grown up girl!

[rj]

Well, look at her!!
Great to see her so calm, content and confident.
Well done June, she is coming on so nicely, and yes 'growing up'!

[june]

She's starting to feel like a normal horse. It's great. Every time she walks up to someone in the field it amazes me how generous and forgiving horses are.

[rj]

And the thing is she is far happier being a normal horse, she didn't have to be beaten, she is so willing :-(

[june]

Had a good trot today. Calm, several circuits and back to walk when I asked. Better on the right rein than the left but we did have another horse in the arena clomping around in hoof boots when we trotted on the left rein so she had a good excuse to be a little distracted.

[Jo with Ben & Schooner]

Further update on Tally! I've been riding her fairly regularly this past week or so and she's doing just great, we've had calm halts that have lasted long enough for me to have a short conversation, we've had the several calm walks that have almost felt like a calm walk through the woods or something - which is usually the moments when I just ask for a little softer and get a lovely response.

We've had some great long trots that have had sustained periods of calmness and rhythm and it's starting to feel like a really nice trot now rather than an odd frantic jog.

And...........get this we've had canters that have been all my idea and not hurried, panicking or anything resembling fear - just a couple of laps of canter and back to trot - no problem, thank you very much!! lol

Everything is coming so easy to her now, she's not flinching at all when I take off her rug, tacking up is fearless, there's very little, if any, shooting to the back of the stable or turning her back on me (or anyone else for that matter) when taking off or putting on rugs, tack etc etc Other than the odd off day she's easy to catch and is just a pretty little treasure to be around!

I love spending time with her - she's gorgeous!

[Jo with Ben & Schooner]

Had another ride and a big snog with Tal today - she was a little speedy to start with but I soon got myself in order and held her together better which allowed her to relax and enjoy her exercise today - had the most beautiful canter on her today that was slow, controlled, chilled and so easy to bring back to trot and then walk x

[june]

She thought the shadows from the arena lights yesterday were very exciting. And apparently the mounting block was a completely new feature! But she calmed down and did some lovely walk halts by the end.

[june]

Today was the first time I've ever seen this horse enjoy a scratch from a human. Previously she's tolerated being touched, but tonight she stood for ages while I scratched her neck. She leant towards me, adjusting herself so I was hitting "the spot", and did the lip quivering thing. rj did such a great job of getting her to feel more comfortable around people and its great that she's managed to generalise a bit and has worked out that we might be okay to trust too.

[lucyloo]

That is fantastic news

[june]

Haven't done an update for a while so thought it was about time.

Tal continues to gain in confidence. She seldom "sits down" now when her rug is taken off and seldom flinches when it is put on again. I can almost put it on like I'd put it on a "normal" horse whereas before I always made it a bit smaller and unfolded it once it was over her. She walks up to me in the field and is willing to say hello over the stable door, at least some of the time. She'll stay lying down in the field when we're poo picking. She used to get up immediately the gate was opened. She's out with just one other horse and a shetland which seems to suit her. She was in a group of 5 before and didn't really settle.

On the riding front I've been working in walk for what seems like ages. But its paying off. She needed to change her mindset from go to slow! Haven't quite done that yet but it is getting relatively easy to control the speed of her feet without having to resort to pulling. It used to be I got on and she felt the need to canter. Now I get on and leave the reins in loops and she thinks about going but more often than not she doesn't, and if she does we just turn a circle which brings her back to walk pretty much instantly.

She wanted to trot today so I decided I'd let her and see what happened. I kept her on a circle and we had an in control trot that I was able to slow down with my rise and get back to walk without reins. A little later in the session she was spooked by someone - we've got a KC trimming course on at the moment and one of the students walked past the arena and decided to put on her coat just as we were next to her - so Tal jumped and then decided she needed to move her feet so off we went into canter. Again, I kept her on a circle and just let her canter and we got trot easily with just asking for a smaller circle. It seems with her you get a lot of brownie points by not making an issue of things.

She can do a nice soft rein back and stand without finding it stressful now. So, we're continuing to make progress. She's such a rewarding horse.

The only thing I haven't made progress on is her fear of the reins going over her head. That really upsets her so for now I'm unbuckling them and putting them round her neck that way. She is fine with the bit being put in and the bridle going over her ears but the reins going over her head obviously remind her of some past trauma.

She had been quite stressed about the bridle being taken off as well and would throw her head up so the bit clonked her teeth. I've got over that one using treats. As soon as the bridle slides over her ears there is a treat under her nose and today she didn't even think about lifting her head and it was all very calm, so I feel the use of treats was justified! I used them because I didn't have any better ideas to show her it needn't be traumatic, but thankfully its done the trick.

[Casper]

What a great update June, really enjoyed reading that. Nostalgia has been so lucky with firstly her time with Row and then yourselves. She sounds like a completely different horse to the one who arrived.

[june]

Yes, she is quite different, thank goodness. She was a bit of a wreck when she arrived.

Today we used her on the trimming course. One of the other horses was playing up with his hind legs so I decided to take the chance and use her instead. She coped really well, even managing to deal with the American in the cowboy hat, aka KC, without worrying too much about him! From assuming things are going to be an ordeal she's begun to assume that they won't be which is great.

She still jumps at things, and probably always will. For example the hose was out and across the corridor when I brought her in today and that produced a big jump, but she gets over it very quickly now as she gains confidence.

I doubt she'll ever be described as a novice ride but I'm really enjoying her!

[Casper]

June I had a lump the size of a rock in my throat yesterday seeing you and Tal working in the school at the Kathleen Clinic. To say that she has blossomed into a beauty is an understatement. It seems like only yesterday that she arrived, abused, broken and scared by what man had done to her before she came to you.

She is testament to you, Row, Jo and everyone else who has worked with this gorgeous horse to help her feel more comfortable with the world. As you say, she may never be a novice ride but she's in such a great place now to where she was.

I'm so glad that like many others I was contributed to the Nostalgia Fund. Yesterday was a really wonderful day.