Well there is almost too much to write about than there is time to write it in, so bare with me as I begin to blast through the exciting events of the last 2 weeks.

Firstly, I spent a fantastic couple of days with Kelly Marks in Lambourn. Its really good fun to have the chance to learn both with, and from, Kelly as she has such a fantastic attitude to training. Everything is a chance to learn and explore, the horse is never 'bad' and there is always something we could be doing better. It makes it all very exciting and rather adictive. I particularly enjoyed exploring the finer points of join-up and working on a theory that relaxing and softening the horses body often enables their mind to relax too.

The theme this week seems to be spooky horses, particularly those who spin. And one of the horse I went out to last week spun so violently she has even fallen over in the school before my visit.
Teaching these horses how to soften and move laterally round an inside leg does wonders for relaxing their body and mind, and working moment by moment to keep them relaxed, soft and rounded rather than focussing on just getting past the spooky object really helps - this sometimes means working in curves and circles, and of course using pressure and release with rein and leg aids to help them to find the comfortable place.
Also, going back to some despooking exercises in hand can have a totally transformative impact, and so, handled correctly, tarpaulins, plastic bags and baloons are not just gimics or novelty items and can make a very real difference to even  the most serious of horses and riders!


On Friday we had the first Monty Roberts demo of this tour, which was at Aintree. The facilities were absolutely beautiful! And heated ! Hurrah!!! There were two highlights for me. One was a little grey pony the RSPCA had bought along. Kelly worked with him in the private members audience. He had been tethered by the side of the road, got loose and been involved in a car accident, which resulted in his chain getting stuck somehow in the car so he couldn't get up. The RSPCA had done a wonderful job getting him used to being handled again, but he was very worried about lines and ropes and faught any pressure on his head, causing him to bolt off when led.
Monty showed Kelly and I a new little exercise towork through with longlines. We each had one longline, which meant that we could stand apart from eachother and the lines werent touching his sides. Then we could gradually introduce one line at a time, using pressure and release, and the other handler could be ready to guide his head to stop him twisting himself up in the lines.
Gradually we were able to move closer to eachother, and came up with a really nifty way to turn him and change directions! I dont think I can even describe it, but it was like a syncronised dance! Eventually, Kelly was able to longline him in walk and trot and he was really relaxed. I gave the RSPCA guys some tips on how to continue working with him to get him braver with lines and less inclined to fight pressure on his head, and they promise to keep us up to date with his progress.

The starter was lovely, a nice straightforward bay gelding, who had a little buck with the saddle but accepted a rider happily, and even got down a rolled in the roundpen after we took his tack off, so obviously didn't find the experience too stressful!

I'm going to have to come back later to tell you all about Poppy, one of the trickiest loaders I have ever seen, and to update you on my newest revalation with Harvey (if you promise not to laugh!)