Sallygardens Smallholding

Learning From Horses

Getting horses has probably been one of the biggest decisions we have made, up there with starting a family and getting married. It's not something we have taken on lightly, we researched the idea by devouring books and internet websites and forums, talked to and visited horse owners, we took riding lessons and attended a few courses on horse handling and training. Of course you can do all of these things for years but you can't even begin to scratch the surface of the equine world without having some in your care and some carefully chosen guides. We are beginning to scratch that surface now.

At first we were all quite frightened, both the horses and the humans! Of course that's not the best scenario, but we all have to start our equine learning somewhere. It doesn't matter how many horses you handle on a course, they are all different and the chances of the horses you buy having identical personalities, insecurities or strengths of those you've previously experienced are virtually nil. That, I'm beginning to see, is part of the beauty of equines. They are as diverse in personality as human beings, and so the methods of teaching horses must be diverse enough to suit the needs of whatever horse you happen to become the guardian of. Owning a horse does not come without risk, it's a gargantuan and incredibly strong animal, and that's also something you need to weigh up.

Taking on these animals is a huge commitment both in terms of responsibility for their welfare but also in time and money. If we want these horses to be useful and happy working animals then we need to put in the time with them nearly every day, handling them, getting to know them, building a relationship with them and training them. It's a twenty plus years commitment. There have been times when I've seriously questioned what on earth we were doing getting horses, there have been people who have been wholly positive and supportive, there has been a minimum amount of undermining negativity and that led me to totally re-evaluate the whole idea ... I've been willing to admit if we were just plain stupid to take on such a massive commitment. Thankfully we have come through it with support and help from some amazing people who pulled us through with pure encouragement and belief in our abilities.

We are working with Sally and Conan at home with a trainer who visits us once a week for a three hour session and is pretty much available on the phone if we have problems in between.  Her approach is to train the owner to read and train the horse, so that when she leaves, we have the knowledge to carry on in the right vein. We fully intend to carry on doing our very best and if at any point we feel it's not the best approach for the horses welfare then we will re-evaluate again. But we are 100% in and thoroughly enjoying it and we are not going to throw in the towel without doing everything in our power to be good owners and trainers, we owe them that. Having said all that, I wouldn't encourage somebody else to do the same thing without first talking to them sincerely and honestly about the challenges we have faced emotionally in our journey to date. Keeping horses not only requires you to learn about horses, but also to identify and face up to weaknesses in yourself that need to be addressed. It requires you to delve deep into your inner strength and stillness, which can be frightening, because well, what if it isn't there? I've not only learned about how I need develop my skills and address my personal weaknesses to 'be' around horses, but also these skills have given me a level of personal development within myself and in my own personal relationships with people. I've not doubt there'll be a lot more to learning to do, a lifetime of it.

The approach we have decided to take is working wonders. It's neither a pure traditional or a natural horsemanship approach. It's a hybrid of many training techniques which takes on board the methods that work best from each school of thought and gives the most positive result in terms of experience for both the horse and it's handler. What we love most about this method is that the trainer, Cathy Griffin, comes to our home to teach us and she instills the confidence in us to feel like we can truly achieve a positive result and to choose from a range of approaches, choosing what works in our own particular case.

After six weeks we have come from being scared of these massive strong creatures which unsettled them, to loving the time we spend around them. We are seeing huge changes in our own confidence, and consequently theirs. Their behaviour towards us is evolving positively as we learn how to read their body language and act accordingly.  We are building slowly and steadily on our relationship with them and as our trust grows in each other we are achieving some great results and responses. It's all hard work and commitment and nothing of the nature I had imagined it would be like!

Sally is nervous and so we are generally working on her very gently. Our approach is not to teach her initially how to perform the tasks we ask of her perfectly, but to attempt to perform any response in a relaxed 'soft' way. That's our aim, to help her to soften up, relax, gain confidence and have fun. Over the last three weeks we have seen her relax and open up, it's wonderful. With that achieved we are now perfecting some of the movements we have taught her. She is a very fast learner and extremely sensitive. She will now perform some tasks by verbal command, and others with a point, or a gentle tap on the rope with my finger. This week Cathy has given us a specific thing to 'ask' Sally to do, which is a big deal for a horse as it leaves them feeling vulnerable and they must really trust their handler to put themselves softly into this position. She was able to demonstrate it on Conan because being young he has no trust issues or emotional baggage and did it immediately!

When we first got the horses I naievely thought 'ah, foal, cute, easy, cuddly'. I have learned quickly that being responsible for a foal is a serious business and a huge responsibility, whatever we teach, or fail to teach him now, will set him up for the life he will lead. It's up to us to make sure he grows into a safe and respectful animal. Conan is a whole other horse and totally different in comparison to Sally.  He is a young 7 month old colt full of the joys of life. He loves racing around the field, throwing his head, kicking and rearing. He wants to play! He isn't scared or nervous at all and performs everything with gusto but we just have to make sure he doesn't encroach on our personal space in case he can't help trying to 'play' with us, which would hurt! In two weeks he has gone from being a live wire on the rope to being respectful of our space and eager to be asked to do plenty of tasks. If we don't keep him busy in a training session he gets bored, after all he's only a kid, so we keep his lessons very short but interesting. He is full of spirit and a joy to be around.

We Are Horsey

It's been a very eventful week here at Sallygardens. Last Sunday our horses arrived and we were very excited to welcome them to their new home. We'd seen the mare at her owners three times; once by ourselves, again with a knowledgeable horse friend and finally we went to watch during the vet check. On all occasions she was respectful and never aggressive and we were sure she'd be right for us. We bought her from Tom Divine near Newtownforbes, Co Longford, who has a selection of lovely Irish cobs for sale that he breeds himself (087 7667091).

The horse was called Patch when we got her, but that didn't seem very ladylike so we renamed her Sally! Her foal is six months old and we've called him Conan. During the week that followed we hit highs and deep dark lows, we experienced self doubt, despair, helplessness and finally hope, understanding and optimism. I've cried several times in sadness and today I cried with relief and joy. Oh yes, the horsey world will teach you many things, not just about horses, but about yourself too.

The first two days were fantastic. I refer to them as the honeymoon period! Sally was gentle and respectful with no signs of aggression as we expected, but on the third day she nipped me. I was then on the look out for it again  and kept my elbow stuck out when I was near her so she'd knock into it instead of nipping me. Once I was in the courtyard with her we were fine together, but then she began to get nippy at the gate making it hard for me to get in. She began to pin her ears back when we simply approached the gate and yesterday she flung herself around to kick when we tried to enter.

Why should this happen? At the time I was very upset because I knew it was probably something I/we had done wrong. At some point she tested us and we missed it. She tested us because we are her new herd and she needs to know that we are strong enough to be the herd leader. If we are then she can relax and go about grazing and leave the stress of watching for predators and decision making up to me. Unfortunately I missed her 'asking' me and so she thought, 'damn, I have to be in charge'. A horse will much rather not be in charge but once they are it takes a bit of confrontation and strength (inner strength, not physical) to turn it around again.

Having had next to no previous horse experience various friends offered advice and came to help us with routine stuff. But it had become so bad that we didn't feel safe to enter her pen and so we called in expert help. Joanna Shaeffer of Natural Bridges Horse Training (087 3284251) arrived to assess Sally and within a few minutes she could tell us that she wasn't a headstrong alpha mare and that things would be ok again with a little work. After about an hour of work to make Sally safe and get her listening I went in a took control. On the lead rope she moved back for me, she moved her hind quarters away when I asked and presented to me head first. Finally she went out on a lunge line and turned in when I asked her.  I had to stand my ground because she hadn't previously let me be in charge of her so it was an education and a change for the both of us. If Joanna had not worked through it with her first I'd have been in trouble, she laid an easier path for me.

At the end of the hour Sally had turned from a horse that bit and kicked at the gate not letting either of us into her pen, to the horse she was when she first arrived ... ears up and happy to have a rub. At her previous home she was well cared for and she lived in horse heaven in the fields with little day to day human contact. She simply isn't used to being in the control of a human.  Now she needs to learn to pay attention to us and know that she is not in control of the new herd here, and that it's ok to leave that up to me.

We are to practice what we and she learn't today every day for the next ten days and then we may be ready to move on with more training. At the moment we are just laying down the basic rules to keep us safe in her proximity. Joanna told us Sally is likely to behave for a couple of days and then may test us again. So stay tuned. I'm optimistic that by the end of it we'll have a great horse ready to work with us and a great relationship too.

To say this week has been an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement. Getting a horse has been like having our first baby, nothing anybody can tell you will prepare you for it. Life and priorities change and the sense of responsibility is huge but the rewards will come.

Learning How to Harness Train a Horse

Although we had already decided which horse breed we wanted to bring to Sallygardens we also needed to do something about the fact that we are total  and utter horse novices. It became apparent that a horse trained up to do the pulling ('driving' in horsey terms) of carriages/loads of wood/etc.  is an expensive animal. We began to look at buying a younger horse that could be trained a couple of years later but training costs are high and the animal has to go to stay where it's being trained for a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months at €120 per week. I just didn't like the idea of sending my horse away (and I didn't even have a horse!). I started to wonder what it is that people actually do to train a horse, it all seemed so mysterious and secretive, something that a layperson couldn't possibly ever contemplate doing themselves for fear of death.  We were warned off this idea by a lot of people.

Then I happened across something that has changed our entire approach. I got in touch with the ispca in Longford to see if they might have a horse suitable to foster that would meet our needs. Through that connection I was introduced to Vanessa Bee. She runs a variety of courses, one of which taught participants how to train their horses to drive. I was sure I'd need to be a highly qualified and experienced horse trainer to attend, but I was assured that novices were more than welcome. What's more I didn't even need to own a horse to do the course, for those of us without an equine, we were paired up with an experienced horse handler and an  ispca rescue horses.

I have to say I was very scared at first but after we'd gone over the basics of how to build a trusting relationship with a horse based on respect and confidence, it all began to make sense. The key to those things seems to lie in learning how to politely 'ask' a horse to do something and crucially, how to recognise a 'try' and give immediate reward.

The course I attended first was two days of Pony Power during which we learnt how to introduce a horse to a harness, rig it up to something to pull and get the horse to move forward and drag the object. There were three horses and out of those one was successfully pulling heavy logs out of a wood, another was happy to drag a tyre around a field (a similar sensation to harrowing) and the third happily wore the harness and long reined nicely from the ground.

Tilly being long reined, she has previous driving experience

But before we familiarised the horses with any new equipment we first had fun tying it out on eachother.  We actually learnt an awful lot about how it felt to be a horse, actually it can be quite confusing deciphering all those 'asks' via the long reins! We also trialed a few quick release ideas incase a horse became scared and we needed to drop the load without delay.

This is Maria of Gaia's Horse blog with Pepsi and Crystal watching with anticipation

This horse Pepsi had never previously had a harness on before. She excelled and really loved the work. You can see how proud she is of herself. Once Vanessa had long reined her for a while and she was sure Pepsi was happy with everything she did her first job ... pulling a log out of the woods, and she did it like a pro.

This horse is only 14.2 hands high, which is the threshold from pony to horse, so she is a small horse. However you can see she is strong, her leg bones are chunky, her chest is broad and muscly, her rump is large and rounded and her back is short in length. These are the attributes, along with a gentle temperament, to look for in a working horse.

The course changed my attitude to horse training. I'm sure that with a little more help we'll be able to train our own horse. Apart from my own revelations with regard to horse training it also became apparent that the ispca rescue horses were undergoing a very valuable form of rehabilitation. They were being transformed from horses that sought kind hearted folk to offer them a place to live quietly in a field, to being very useful farm animals that can be utilised for work ... but of course the folk who foster them still need to be kindhearted. I'll be revisiting the ispca in Longford soon and telling you more about each of the horses there that are seeking a home.

Working Horse at Sallygardens

A few months ago we started researching the idea of getting a working horse to join us on our smallholding. We've pretty much been researching this idea full time since then. I've gone from not knowing anything about horses, other than what they look like, to having at least enough knowledge to consider what horse might suit our needs. We  considered various breeds such as the French Percheron, UK shire horses or Clydesdales and the Belgian Ardenne.

Finally we set our hearts on a native traditional heavy Irish Gypsy Cob. They are ideal because they've been bred to suit our wet climate and do well outside the year round.

This is a yearling colt 'Shruna's Boy', not fully grown, from www.gypsyirishcob.com
 

They are also economical feeders and generally  have a very gentle nature. The traits have been selectively bred into the gypsy horses by the Travellers for generations because this animal was just the thing they needed on the road... something that could survive outdoors and didn't need expensive stabling, something that could feed economically on the roadside grass, a horse strong enough to pull a family and it's caravan, and last but not least, an animal kind enough to be easily handled by the children of the family. It's all of these qualities combined that have made the Irish cob a horse that is bred extensively in Ireland and one which people from all walks of life seek out. When I was a child in Dublin these were the horses seen being ridden by inner city children, used to pull cart loads of vegetables into Moore's Street or coal to the housing estates. They were often left to graze the central reservations of the city roads and I'll never forget the excitement of waking up one morning to see a lost horse standing in our own front garden. Indeed their legendary gentle nature means that people from as far as the UK and US are now eagerly importing these gentle giants.

The horse itself is magnificent to look at, especially when the feather (lower leg hair) and mane is long and they are running or jumping with hair billowing out behind them in the wind. Yep, we got it bad! I apologise if this blog takes a bit of a 'horsey' turn for a while, I promise to try and balance things out with various vegetables and other smallholding animals!

And some very exciting news ... if all goes according to plan our very own Gypsy Cob is due to arrive here at the weekend. Stay posted for news.

Natural Horsemanship Courses

I'm delighted to promote the following courses which will be held at the ISPCA Centre in Co Longford, Ireland.

Positive Horse & Pony Power Workshop

 

ISPCA Centre, Co Longford
Thursday 18^th & Friday 19^th September
Trainer : Vanessa Bee of www.positivehorsemanship.co.uk is visiting Ireland
On this two day course we show people how to train their horse or pony to carry out jobs around the farm or smallholding saving fuel and helping them, and us, get fit! So often we turn to diesel power to carry out a task which could so easily be completed by a pony for no cost at all in money or environmental impact.  Do you have a fat, unfit pony bored in his field with nothing to do? Are you worried about laminitis? Would you like to do something fun and get fit at the same time?

Round Pen Course 

ISPCA Centre, Co Longford
Wednesday 23^rd & Thursday 24^th September
Trainer : Vanessa Bee of www.positivehorsemanship.co.uk is visiting  Ireland
On this 2 day course we examine types of ‘round’ pen be they square or round and explore the reasons behind using them. You will learn how to construct a simple round pen, when to use a round pen, how to use a round pen with different types of horses and how to work a horse on long reins and at liberty.

All courses cost €200 per place including lunch, tea coffee and snacks. A €50 deposit is required to book a place.

 To book a place contact Cathy Griffin ;

087 9378393. email cgriffin@ispca.ie

Positive Horsemanship

Since publishing a recent post about our decision to think seriously about getting a horse to work alongside us on our smallholding we've been contacted by quite a few people with information and advice. One of the things that has captured our attention (and our hearts) has been an approach called natural and positive horsemanship.

Rather than relying on just the traditional method which often involves dominating the horse, sometimes with harsh and heavy handed methods, a more gentle approach is used combining a range of techniques.  A trust is built up between handler and horse until eventually they are so in tune with each other that often merely thinking an instruction results in the horse obliging. Natural methods of care are also often favoured ; keeping horses in the field as nature intended rather than stables and keeping horses barefoot rather than shod. Barefoot doesn't mean simply not shoeing the horse, specialist care and trimming is still required but the method mimics that of horse hoofs in the wild.

At the weekend we were invited to a positive horsemanship demonstration offered by Liz of Metal Free Horse. Liz spoke of the struggle she had when she first took on her horse Magpie and how using ever more stringent equipment and methods were resulting in her horse becoming more and more unmanageable. That is until she stumbled across positive horsemanship. Pictures speak louder than words so just look at the trust and fun that beams out of this image! The demo and the people we spoke to afterwards was amazing.

To find out more about this gentle approach to horses visit Metal Free Horse or the eye opening Gaia's Horse in Ireland and Positive Horsemanship in the UK hosted by Vanessa Bee. Vanessa comes to Ireland on a regular basis to work with the ISPCA and also to teach courses, one of which I intend to go to myself. For a listing of courses coming up visit the Sallygardens Forum here.

Working Horses and Ponies

It's amazing what you can find on your doorstep when you start looking and people hear of your interest in learning about working with horses. I've just discovered a series of positive horsemanship courses given by Cathy Griffin at the ISPCA National Animal Centre in Co Longford.

Courses for September cost €200 and include Positive Pony Power on the 18 & 19th ; training horses and ponies to work on the farm and fields thus having fun, getting fit (horse and owner!), saving fuel and reducing carbon footprints. Email Cathy to book a place cgriffin@ispca.ie

As part of our quest to find a horse or pony to work with us at Sallygardens we've decided to have riding lessons! I'm hoping to discover a riding school that will take on all four of the family to have lessons together, that will be quite a challenge with the age range being from 4 to, well, er thirty something. We are all total novices so it will be an interesting journey, perhaps we'll rapidly change our minds when we come face to face with these enormous creatures!