Post by Kelly Marks on Jan 5, 2010 22:51:24 GMT 1
Horse and Country TV ask me to do a blog each month and this is the first draft (i.e. feel free to critique I haven't sent it to them yet!) I've got some really good photos but still haven't got round
to learning how to set them up here. They'll go on the actual blog though (and I'll put some in the Listening Post)
H & C Blog January 6th
Here we are in January and more snow on the way! It’s not easy keeping horses fed and fit in this weather but we seem to be getting by. Something I’ve discovered this year are the Simple Systems Lucie Bricks. They're 'Bricks' of dried lucerne that horses have to work quite hard to bite bits off and it keeps them occupied for about 15 minutes at a time. I only feed mine one or two a day and needless to say they need fresh water available to drink - particularly any time you’re feeding them any dried food.
My aim for Christmas Day 2009 was that Rosie, Katrin and I would take ‘the giants’ (formerly known as ‘the babies’ but they seem to have grown somewhat ...) out for their first ride together. The weather set us back a bit but we drove our little horsebox to a small indoor school nearby and at least had fun getting them all exercised. Corky (the black and white giant) is just a delight. He was originally pretty nervous of humans but he’s getting over that and within a couple of days of Rosie first getting on him she was able to lean back on his bottom and pat him wherever she could reach with him just standing relaxed.
I guess it fair to say that Corky isn’t quite as classically handsome as Banksy, the other giant. Corky has rather a long face and his neck needs to build up considerably. However, we were astounded when Debbie Shilston (as seen on H & C TV on the ‘Slice of Pie’ programme) pulled his mane (well a scissor trim so not to upset him at all) and trimmed his jawline. His likeness to George Clooney now is incredible. He’s really starting to fill out as well now we’ve got rid of those horrid worms and he gets a cup of crushed linseed in his feed every night which is so good for them (Omega 3s get lots of good press now) and I’m sure is what has started to give his coat a lovely shine.
It was January 1st, my birthday, when Corky was ready and the roads and tracks were safe enough to take the 3 of them on their first ride. We even managed to get a nice photo. The giants behaved perfectly, it was only Pie who got excitable when he couldn't keep up with their long legs trotting - typical! Officially it was the horses' birthdays too with Corky now 4 years and Banksy 5 years old. Pie and I are don’t discuss our ages – we say it’s all in the mind.
On the Sunday Rosie took Banksy to his first show. The jumps were all of 1 foot high and he only knocked 1 down – clearly Horse of the Year show is only months away. The main thing is both he and Rosie had a good experience and so now it’s onwards and upwards for both of them!
On January 4th I had a lovely day filming for Countryfile with Adam Henson at his picturesque Cotswold Rarebreed Farm. Adam is delightful and has a small herd of Exmoor ponies on his farm. He has one filly foal, Venus, he’s planning to keep and wanted some advice on gentling her. As her only previous experience of humans was being grabbed and branded she was understandably going to be a bit sceptical!
I took along Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate, Sarah Weston, as a back up and she was great to have along. Since doing her courses and becoming an RA she specialises in working with native Ponies and has been doing a fantastic job. She lent me some her ‘untouched’ equipment for the day since most of mine is at Hartsop Farm ready for a course we were about to run there. I laughed at first at her tendency towards ‘fluffy’ materials but after using them it occurred to me that maybe the fact the little Venus was intrigued by them did mean she accepted me more quickly. I’ll have to test this out more. It’s great to be learning all the time from one’s equine and human students. Sarah has written a lovely book called ‘No Fear No Force’ and her website is logicalhorsemanship.co.uk
Venus was a complete delight to work with and although wilder than a deer in the first few minutes with our advance and retreat exercises (as written about in my ‘Perfect Manners’ or my little ‘Handling the Untouched Horse’ book) she was soon accepting a soft long line over her and then later the (slightly too large!) headcollar I had brought along. It was so nice because when Adam and the TV guys came back 50 minutes after they’d done the initial filming they were genuinely astounded at the progress. Adam put the headcollar on her as well and she accepted him stroking her – I don’t think he could quite believe it! They’ve told me this programme will be shown on a Sunday evening towards the end of January.
Exmoors often have a reputation for being ‘difficult’ but it’s my belief that their early handling is often responsible for their attitude. Adam has said next year they’re not going to brand them but microchip them instead which is great news. I’ve asked if I could come and handle some of them before they have to be held to microchip and I’m convinced they’ll be like different ponies altogether. Watch this space!
I can’t believe it’s only one month before Monty gets back to the UK and we’re back on the road again with our Willing Partners tour. I do hope we’ll meet some of you along the way. The dates and venues are:-
February
Sunday 7th South View, Cheshire - 1 pm start
Sunday 14th Hadlow College, Kent - 1 pm start
Friday 19th Berkshire College - 7.30 pm start
Friday 26th The Hand, Somerset - 7.30 pm start
March
Friday 5th Keysoe College, Bedfordshire - 7.30 pm start
So do come and see us. You can find more details on www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk
Keep safe in this weather. Don’t take any silly chances it’s just not worth it – we’re going to have such a great spring!
Best Wishes
Kelly
to learning how to set them up here. They'll go on the actual blog though (and I'll put some in the Listening Post)
H & C Blog January 6th
Here we are in January and more snow on the way! It’s not easy keeping horses fed and fit in this weather but we seem to be getting by. Something I’ve discovered this year are the Simple Systems Lucie Bricks. They're 'Bricks' of dried lucerne that horses have to work quite hard to bite bits off and it keeps them occupied for about 15 minutes at a time. I only feed mine one or two a day and needless to say they need fresh water available to drink - particularly any time you’re feeding them any dried food.
My aim for Christmas Day 2009 was that Rosie, Katrin and I would take ‘the giants’ (formerly known as ‘the babies’ but they seem to have grown somewhat ...) out for their first ride together. The weather set us back a bit but we drove our little horsebox to a small indoor school nearby and at least had fun getting them all exercised. Corky (the black and white giant) is just a delight. He was originally pretty nervous of humans but he’s getting over that and within a couple of days of Rosie first getting on him she was able to lean back on his bottom and pat him wherever she could reach with him just standing relaxed.
I guess it fair to say that Corky isn’t quite as classically handsome as Banksy, the other giant. Corky has rather a long face and his neck needs to build up considerably. However, we were astounded when Debbie Shilston (as seen on H & C TV on the ‘Slice of Pie’ programme) pulled his mane (well a scissor trim so not to upset him at all) and trimmed his jawline. His likeness to George Clooney now is incredible. He’s really starting to fill out as well now we’ve got rid of those horrid worms and he gets a cup of crushed linseed in his feed every night which is so good for them (Omega 3s get lots of good press now) and I’m sure is what has started to give his coat a lovely shine.
It was January 1st, my birthday, when Corky was ready and the roads and tracks were safe enough to take the 3 of them on their first ride. We even managed to get a nice photo. The giants behaved perfectly, it was only Pie who got excitable when he couldn't keep up with their long legs trotting - typical! Officially it was the horses' birthdays too with Corky now 4 years and Banksy 5 years old. Pie and I are don’t discuss our ages – we say it’s all in the mind.
On the Sunday Rosie took Banksy to his first show. The jumps were all of 1 foot high and he only knocked 1 down – clearly Horse of the Year show is only months away. The main thing is both he and Rosie had a good experience and so now it’s onwards and upwards for both of them!
On January 4th I had a lovely day filming for Countryfile with Adam Henson at his picturesque Cotswold Rarebreed Farm. Adam is delightful and has a small herd of Exmoor ponies on his farm. He has one filly foal, Venus, he’s planning to keep and wanted some advice on gentling her. As her only previous experience of humans was being grabbed and branded she was understandably going to be a bit sceptical!
I took along Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate, Sarah Weston, as a back up and she was great to have along. Since doing her courses and becoming an RA she specialises in working with native Ponies and has been doing a fantastic job. She lent me some her ‘untouched’ equipment for the day since most of mine is at Hartsop Farm ready for a course we were about to run there. I laughed at first at her tendency towards ‘fluffy’ materials but after using them it occurred to me that maybe the fact the little Venus was intrigued by them did mean she accepted me more quickly. I’ll have to test this out more. It’s great to be learning all the time from one’s equine and human students. Sarah has written a lovely book called ‘No Fear No Force’ and her website is logicalhorsemanship.co.uk
Venus was a complete delight to work with and although wilder than a deer in the first few minutes with our advance and retreat exercises (as written about in my ‘Perfect Manners’ or my little ‘Handling the Untouched Horse’ book) she was soon accepting a soft long line over her and then later the (slightly too large!) headcollar I had brought along. It was so nice because when Adam and the TV guys came back 50 minutes after they’d done the initial filming they were genuinely astounded at the progress. Adam put the headcollar on her as well and she accepted him stroking her – I don’t think he could quite believe it! They’ve told me this programme will be shown on a Sunday evening towards the end of January.
Exmoors often have a reputation for being ‘difficult’ but it’s my belief that their early handling is often responsible for their attitude. Adam has said next year they’re not going to brand them but microchip them instead which is great news. I’ve asked if I could come and handle some of them before they have to be held to microchip and I’m convinced they’ll be like different ponies altogether. Watch this space!
I can’t believe it’s only one month before Monty gets back to the UK and we’re back on the road again with our Willing Partners tour. I do hope we’ll meet some of you along the way. The dates and venues are:-
February
Sunday 7th South View, Cheshire - 1 pm start
Sunday 14th Hadlow College, Kent - 1 pm start
Friday 19th Berkshire College - 7.30 pm start
Friday 26th The Hand, Somerset - 7.30 pm start
March
Friday 5th Keysoe College, Bedfordshire - 7.30 pm start
So do come and see us. You can find more details on www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk
Keep safe in this weather. Don’t take any silly chances it’s just not worth it – we’re going to have such a great spring!
Best Wishes
Kelly