As my work in the equine rehabilitation world continues, I gain more and more faith in the horses that I am working with.  Having got two horses in for rehabilitation at the moment, I have to say that even the worst habits are slowly disappearing.

Even for me, there is the occasional moment where you think, oh my god is this horse ever going to become a safe, sane and sensible ride, usually in the first week or so of getting a new project in.  However, I always have to remind myself that most horses are not innately mean or out to get you and they can learn and un-learn equally well.

I hear stories all the time of horses being put to sleep for behavioral issues and I always find it depressing, but at the same time I understand that some owners just don't know what to do or where to turn and when faced with an animal that appears dangerous and unrideable, this seems to present as the only option.

My mission is to provide an alternative and a bit of hope.

One horse that I have in at the moment came with a very serious rear, even I thought about making a quick exit out of the saddle on the odd occasion, but, with time and finding what the horse needs in his mind, his behavior has made a huge turnaround and he has behaved impeccably for a few weeks now.

Now with his more settled behavior, I can see his true potential, not only can he jump amazingly well, hunt like a gentleman and be handled on the ground like an angel, his flat work is great.  For me, dressage is one of those super difficult things, give me a badly behaved horse any day than sit me in a dressage arena.  However, this naughty horse has made dressage understandable for me so much so that I can actually say I enjoyed my flat lesson.

I am loving the fact that a horse that was close to being off to the otherside is now not only behaving like a saint, but he has a huge amount of talent to boot, what a lovely surprise.

Off we went on Sunday morning with a lovely bunch of girls, I think 5 of us in total all dressed up in hunting kit with bottles of port and hip flasks flying around.  With the last pony loaded we were on our way.

This was my first time out hunting on my new pony who came to me as a rehabilitation project due to rearing, he arrived about 6 weeks ago.  Since that time he has done one sponsored ride a couple of jumping clinics, all without issue so I was feeling confident! 

Once unloaded we threw our bridles on, whipped off our travel gear and jumped aboard our trusty bunch of steeds to let the fun begin.  The meets are always fun as sausage rolls and various other belly filling type things are plentiful and there is an excited feel to the air.

One of our little group had her first time hunting so was feeling a little nervous but the meets are always so friendly that they are great to help alleviate first time nerves.

Anyway, we were soon off to what I might call a 'baptism of fire', the first line was incredibly fast, deep and big and fortunately none of us really had time to think too much about it, by the time you had thought about the next hedge coming in your direction, you were already over it so that was quite a relief as they were rather large.

We managed to lose two of our party in the first line and our lovely newbie managed to face plant in the mud twice, but twice she heaved herself back on and galloped off with the rest of us, super impressive for her first time out on a horse that is fairly new to her.  Most people might have considered running a mile!

My horse was also behaving impeccably which I was super grateful for given the going was deep and fast.  He didn't hesitate at anything, kept a civil head, retained his breaks and was a darling, could not have asked for more.  The rest of the days lines were not quite so eye watering and with plenty of tiger traps and long gallops, all in all a great day!

For a horse in for rehab, I think we have found his favored form of therapy - HUNTING :)   Onwards and upwards !!

Thank you to the Kent and Surrey Bloodhounds for a really fun day with lovely friendly people !  More info here: http://www.kentandsurreybloodhounds.com/

Fortunately, there are usually more ups than downs and with this gloomy weather we have been having, I am pleased that the sun is finally making an appearance. 

With four horses in tow, this winter is definitely being a tricky one.  But I am finding that now I have a plan, things are running a lot smoother than they were.  I am concentrating on my two rehab projects and letting my lovely sharer ride my youngster and my mare is out in her holiday paddock enjoying the quiet life for a while.

The two rehab projects each need riding at least 5 times a week, preferably more and its a challenge with a regular job also, but we are making headway with the lighter nights.  Having taken one to a sponsored ride this weekend, he was an absolute superstar and I couldn't be more pleased with him.  He may have some naughty habits which are slowly lessening (even after only 5 weeks) but god can that horse job, anything, from any stride of any size, he is a pleasure.

Yesterday was one of the most awaited days of the year at RAF Halton Sponsored Ride in Buckinghamshire - http://www.haltonride.org.uk/.  It is a brilliant course of 50 jumps over 8 miles.  You can go at your own pace, in a group and its perfect for in-experienced horses to find their feet.  The jumps are all optional and range from 2 foot in height to 3’6 for the more confident jumpers.

Well I had the time of my life as usual.  My group was made up of a bunch of brilliant friends who are all as crazy as heck and everyone massively enjoyed the day.    Not a single element of bad behaviour and the horse can jump the hind legs off a donkey to say the least, whether he is in front or behind that beasty can leap.

As we cantered along the gorgeous routes, hip flasks in hand, shouting and laughing at each others various steeds throwing themselves around, you really cannot beat it.  All the prep, getting horseboxes organised, mixing various amounts of whiskey and cherry brandy combined with cleaning tack and loading/unloading lorries, it’s all food for the soul and super fun, I can’t recommend it enough.

This particular chap still has a long way to go in his re-training but it’s great to see progress in the 5 weeks since he arrived with me.  From death’s door to hedge hopping in a few weeks, definitely glad this guy has got a second chance.  

Next ride is West Wycombe on the 28th March, cannot wait !!

I would be lying if I said I am loving the ownership of 4 horses in the rainy, horrible, mud filled paradise that is 'horseland' according to Bex.  So, yes I think to myself  - I am absolutely and truly insane and why the heck did I do this?!  At the moment, I just don't know.  What I do know is that I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have an absolute love of horses and the desire to help and fix things when they are down. I know 100% that I would rather be rolling around in the mud and rain whilst filling hay nets than doing most other things.

At the moment I have recently taken on two horses for behavioral rehab.  I have had each of them for nearly 1 month now.  What have I learnt?  Well for starters, nothing has been as it seemed.  The horse that started off with impeccable behavior that made me question where the bad was is now an utter shit and the other that started off clearly mentally challenged is very well behaved.  Each has now done a complete switch around.

Horse A's issues: does not like to be mounted from a mounting block, twists, spins and moves to avoid you getting on;  once on the horse, it will rush off and what I like to call 'rodeo'.  In 4 weeks this horse will now stand reasonably well at the mounting block, albeit with some fidgeting and although it feels like it will go in to rodeo, it has not for some time.  The cause ? Yes, this horse does have some behavior issues, its been in a large number of different homes in just the last 6 months, it has no trust of its rider and doesn't know what's going to happen when the rider jumps on - hence it just avoids the rider at all costs. 

How to treat? Build trust with the horse, bring on slowly - repeat, repeat, repeat.  Hopefully in time this horse will let me hop on and trot in to the distance without issue but my feeling is that this horse will never be just anyone's ride.  It will always be distrustful of someone new and will only really be suited to a one 2 one rider situation.  And you know what, that's fine, because what you get out of this horse will be just awesome, it jumps like a stag and moves at the touch of a button.  My feeling is that in time, this horse will be hugely worth it.

OK, so horse B.  This one has not quite followed suit.  It has a rearing habit that is not in any way discreet.  You get on, go to leave the yard and it rears, or does a vertical as my mum has called it.  Most people call this napping, the horse does not wish to leave its herd (as my good friend tells me).  And that is pretty accurate, its unsure in its surroundings, would rather be at home with his friends and lets me know succinctly by refusing to leave the yard unless we have a long discussion.

So, do we leave the yard? Yes, we do.  It takes a long time but eventually he comes around to the agreement that leaving the yard is in fact a good idea and no need for the vertical.  As it happens, yesterday we had less disagreements than usual and I can only see this as progress.  XC schooling he was an absolute legend. This horse needs to realize that life outside of the herd is fun too and that verticals need to be unlearned, so off I go at teaching this.  

Roll on the bludy spring !!!