Post by amanda on Aug 20, 2012 14:28:18 GMT 1
Hi, I have posted a bit here in the past but I generally just check in and in particular watch Avril's videos which I find fascinating and really helpful.
This summer I have spent many happy weeks getting to know my new horse, not one of Avril's, but a horse that I have known for a while who came up for sale, a piebald cob, gelding 15.2 hh. We have had hours of fun on the beach in Norfolk and Avril's training videos proved to be very useful to me!
Miles from home I found myself remembering how Avril talks about you and your horse being a herd of two. I found that so helpful and re-assuring , as much as anything I didn't feel alone out there over an hour away from home with nothing but miles of the beach ahead and behind. That thought of Avril's really helped me connect with my horse, as well as ride him with more confidence, because that was what he needed from me as his herd leader. Avril is so right, we were a herd of two, a little herd perhaps, but very strongly connected and together as we explored our expanding territory. I also remembered Avril saying, that it was important for your horse to stay focused on the rider, that anything else was none of our business, I think this was during some of Sage's training videos. It was something I repeated again and again, especially when we met another solo horse coming in the opposite direction. We were probably 100 meters apart, this other horse danced past us whilst I just kept repeating in my head, This is none of our business. Unbelievably this message obviously reached my horse who walked past politely and we were able to continue onwards. I was so thrilled. I also spent time tapping my whip through long grasses as Avril does on her video, to the initial surprise of my horse. Lastly, on one of our first solo hacks, my little cob,stopped dead, just watching the vast space of the beach that I was asking him to step onto. I didn't have a whip with me, I put on my leg, nothing. I waited for a moment, talking to him, reassuring him, then I tickled him lightly between his ears, he stepped forward. When I retold this story to a friend later, he commented that he felt that my little horse, would really benefit and enjoy some Natural Horsemanship work - that did make me chuckle, little did he know!!! Thankyou Avril for your wonderful and clear training videos, I learn so much from watching them and this summer I found them to be a huge help. Amanda
This summer I have spent many happy weeks getting to know my new horse, not one of Avril's, but a horse that I have known for a while who came up for sale, a piebald cob, gelding 15.2 hh. We have had hours of fun on the beach in Norfolk and Avril's training videos proved to be very useful to me!
Miles from home I found myself remembering how Avril talks about you and your horse being a herd of two. I found that so helpful and re-assuring , as much as anything I didn't feel alone out there over an hour away from home with nothing but miles of the beach ahead and behind. That thought of Avril's really helped me connect with my horse, as well as ride him with more confidence, because that was what he needed from me as his herd leader. Avril is so right, we were a herd of two, a little herd perhaps, but very strongly connected and together as we explored our expanding territory. I also remembered Avril saying, that it was important for your horse to stay focused on the rider, that anything else was none of our business, I think this was during some of Sage's training videos. It was something I repeated again and again, especially when we met another solo horse coming in the opposite direction. We were probably 100 meters apart, this other horse danced past us whilst I just kept repeating in my head, This is none of our business. Unbelievably this message obviously reached my horse who walked past politely and we were able to continue onwards. I was so thrilled. I also spent time tapping my whip through long grasses as Avril does on her video, to the initial surprise of my horse. Lastly, on one of our first solo hacks, my little cob,stopped dead, just watching the vast space of the beach that I was asking him to step onto. I didn't have a whip with me, I put on my leg, nothing. I waited for a moment, talking to him, reassuring him, then I tickled him lightly between his ears, he stepped forward. When I retold this story to a friend later, he commented that he felt that my little horse, would really benefit and enjoy some Natural Horsemanship work - that did make me chuckle, little did he know!!! Thankyou Avril for your wonderful and clear training videos, I learn so much from watching them and this summer I found them to be a huge help. Amanda
