Avril's training videos

[Dawn Perkins]

Hi Avril,
Thank you so much for posting these videos. Your videos are always full of so much information and, as I have said ever since you started doing them, I am learning things which no-one has ever told me before. There are plenty of horse trainers who know these things but they don't actually share them with owners and leisure riders. It is so generous of you to share your knowledge and experience with all of us in this way.

I know that many horses and ponies are sold at three, four and five years old as backed and ready to be ridden when they are, in fact, nowhere near ready, particularly for novices. However, there are even more things I was not aware of, such as a weak horse tending to drift to the edge of the road for support when going uphill.

Although I would never have the experience to bring on a young horse myself, I have found myself gradually accumulating knowledge through your website, training diaries and videos that I could not have acquired anywhere else. You make it seem so logical and clear when, in the past, it has always seemed to be so daunting!

The complete lack of showmanship and ego means that the message in each video gets through really clearly. Thank you, Avril, for always managing to make the horse and the training the focus of your videos when it would be so easy to just show off your expertise!

Dawn Perkins

[avril]

Thank you so much Dawn for your lovely post. It is always rewarding to receive feedback on the videos and to know you learning as well is a bonus. My aim, as always, is to try to show how the various elements of a horse's education, whether they are young or older, can be best established without solely focusing on schooling in a ménage. This is especially true in Paddy's case as he is still growing and developing.

[sarah]

I agree wholeheartedly with your post Dawn - I am learning so much from Avril's videos. Years of knowledge and a deep understanding of horses is shared with us in such a clear and gentle way.

Paddy and Avril have put my riding to shame, and I am going to work hard on my "straightness" or lack of it when riding Custard. ;D

Thank you so much Avril, keep them coming.

Best wishes,
Sarah. xx

[angelac]

I'm absolutely in agreement with Dawn and Sarah.
The video's , blogs, and foundation info with updates are all amazing and so helpful. A big thank you to Avril.

Sarah, quite a coincidence that you should mention straightness.
Having recently started hacking out with my Highland, after a good while off, I I realise that we would do much better if we were straighter. He has been amazing in terms of not being at all spooky but I really need to improve our straightness.
I'm going to hunt around for the videos etc with a focus on this.
Happy hacking !!
Angela x

[picasso]

I shall also be revisiting Avril's vidoes now as I am just starting to take my loan horse, Burtle, out by herself. She is Clydesdale x Dales and effectively a Clydesdale in only 15.2hh.
I will try and get some photos to post soon.

Jane

[Dawn Perkins]

I'm not on Facebook, so have to use the forum to comment on Avril's videos. The videos of both Bella (not started and educated by Avril) and Howie (comprehensively trained and educated by Avril) together show the true worth of Avril's training.

Few people would have Avril's level of experience and sensitivity to try and put right some of the problems which Bella has developed. Very few people train horses destined for the leisure market to such a high level of safety and trustworthiness as Avril does with the horses she trains and sells and very few indeed actually know every horse they are selling inside out!

Dawn Perkins

[sarah]

I couldn't agree more Dawn.

Over the years of buying family ponies and horses, I have never come across anyone who knows their horses inside out like Avril, who cares passionately about their physical and mental well being and who put SO much education and training in place, over many months, to produce happy, confident horses .

There are so many examples of important training that is done at MSC, to name but a few - hacking out confidently alone and in company, not to fear undergrowth rustling or brushing against their sides, to be beautifully balanced on all terrain, to wait patiently in any circumstance, never to rush for home .... I could go on and on.

Custard and Flynn are such amazing ambassadors for MSC - we have had the best summer ever of safe, fun hacking on our new boys and its all thanks to Avril's preparation of them and her ability to match the right horse and rider.

There are so many horses and owners who owe a huge debt of gratitude for what you do Avril.

Best wishes,
Sarah. xx

[avril]

Thank you Dawn for your recent post. Custard and Flynn are so fortunate to have joined your family Sarah, lucky boys! I will endeavour to produce further Foundation Training videos. I have often thought about documenting what is involved with the training but there isn't the time to devote to it right now although it is definitely in my mind for the future.

[mayandmelody]

I can't see any of the videos on the web site :-( they just go blank

[avril]

Hi mayandmelody, I don't know why you can't see any of the videos. I've checked them out, they seem to play fine. To watch the latest uploads, please visit our Facebook page. If anyone else is having problems, do let me know. Thanks.

[Dawn Perkins]

I'm so sorry to keep hogging the forum: I am embarrassed at the number of times my name appears.  However, having watched the Bella, Jupiter and Higgins videos, I just had to say once more (because I'm not on Facebook, so can't comment there) how utterly inspiring Avril's videos are.  

What I find astonishing (apart from Avril's total lack of ego) is that it seems always to have been assumed that horses just are the way they are, with some horses easier and gentler than others.  It has also sometimes been the case that highly talented horsemen and women can do amazing things but with only one type of horse, with whom they can tune in.  Avril, however, seems to "read" each horse that comes to her, whether thoroughbred, French Cob, Irish Cob, Criollo, Quarter Horse or any of the many other breeds of horse and pony she has worked with and, partly through intuition and partly because she has done it thousands of times before, she is able to subtly tailor her "bespoke" training to bring out the very best in each one.

Anyone can work with or train a horse with no issues but it takes a true horseman or woman to be able transform horses with quite serious issues so that they can go back to their owners in a completely different, relaxed state of mind.

Although I shall always be a complete beginner, Avril's videos have changed the way I look at everything to do with training - from the slapping (I had always been told, on the one hand, that you should always slap them because they don't like light handling and, on the other, that you should never slap them because they think they're being hit - very confusing!) to the up and down transitions to prevent "worry", the desensitising to scary objects instead of just avoiding them, and everything in between.

Thank you so much, Avril.  All these things make such perfect sense when you explain them and yet would never have occurred to me if you hadn't!

Dawn Perkins

[avril]

Hi Dawn, thank you for posting more regularly than I manage to do, we are all so much better informed about going barefoot as a result.

Thank you too for your post on our videos, I'm so pleased to have been able to contribute to your equine knowledge base through presenting some alternative ways at looking at horse behaviour.

[Erika & George]

Just to back up what everyone else says about the fabulous resource of Avril's videos. I too have learnt a lot and take that into my handling of George, even he sometimes needs to be reminded of his manners, but very gently. Great to see Ronan looking for a home, quite pleased that he is 16.2hh otherwise the temptation might be too much for me. He is such a gorgeous lad.

Erika & George

[Dawn Perkins]

There seems to be a growing, unpleasant trend for Facebook "gatecrashers" to turn up, uninvited, on someone's Facebook page and, based on a snapshot video clip, to start giving condescending and unsolicited advice and (often inaccurate) observations.  This is particularly rude and potentially damaging when it involves someone's business.  I wonder whether far too much theoretical education and not enough practical experience could be partly to blame.

I came across Avril and her team at the time of her very first videos of Thomas and Bluebell and have been, throughout all those years, impressed by her her unfailing respect and courtesy, both to horses and to people.  I have seen horses like Robson and Briar turned around by her quiet, consistent, gentle methods.  Unlike many horse trainers, Avril treats each horse who comes to her (whether for sale or for training for their owners) as a complete individual and tailors his/her training accordingly.  No horse is taken to the next step without Avril being absolutely sure that he/she is ready for it.  Training takes many months and is never rushed.  Building confidence and trust is key.  

Anyone who has actually taken the trouble to look back at her website history will have come across many testimonials from owners who have bought their horse from Avril and those who have sent them for training/re-training:-

mysafecobs.com/letters

Anyone who regularly follows her Facebook page (rather than swooping in one one, unrelated, clip) could build a much better impression of Avril's gentle way of introducing horses to new experiences at the right time for them.  

I have attended one of Avril's courses and, but for the distance involved, would have attended more.  The horses were all happy and calm.  Bryn, who came to Avril as a very sensitive, worried soul, allowed us to stand with him - untied - in his stable and to practise gently bitting him without banging his teeth or using fingers by allowing him the time to open his mouth to accept it.  Avril suggested leading a bridled horse in a way which does not pull the horse's mouth around.  No-one had ever taught me that method before and I have never read it anywhere.

Others could learn a great deal from Avril's extensive experience, good manners and kindness.  May I suggest this as a good start:-

mysafecobs.com/courses

Dawn Perkins

[Dawn Perkins]

Further to the above post, I note that the Science Council has come up with a new definition of "science":-

"Science is the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence."  

Each horse brings with him/her their own unique set of challenges but they seem to be based on the same sorts of fears or anxieties.  Some horses have been allowed, for whatever reason, to develop those fears/anxieties to the point where expert help is required.  Others are young and have not yet had the opportunity to develop fears or anxieties but, in the wrong hands at such a vulnerable age, could easily do so.  Avril's twin strengths are (1) her ability to embrace and utilise enlightened views on the management and training of horses and (2) her extensive knowledge, built upon many years of personal experience, in what works well to gain horses' trust and to help them build the confidence they need in order to go out into the busy modern world without compromising their own safety or that of their owner/rider.

If that doesn't satisfy the definition of science and science-based methods, I don't know what does!

Dawn Perkins