23. August 2010 by admin.

Our house is full and has been for a few days. Lovely Carrie Humble (founder of the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre) came to visit for a few days and my sister and nephews are now with us until the end of the week. It is my nephew’s 6th Birthday today so we are busy baking cakes and wrapping presents before heading out for lunch at a local farm shop. I am now on a deadline for another horse magazine who want a series of articles for the winter. Despite a hectic schedule ahead I have to put three articles together including photographs by the 6th September but as my diary is already packed for the coming weeks I am not sure how I can do this?!

Training clinics start again in a few weeks time but this year will be different. It won’t matter how bad the weather is as the surface for the indoor school was completed last week. Finally! There is more building still to be done but at least we can now use the space. Our lives have been transformed and I am now able to plan riding clinics and workshops throughout the year.

I shall enjoy a few days at home with my family before heading back out on the road to attend All About Dogs in Norfolk. Next week will be catch up week before I drive up Liverpool and another visit to the sniffer dogs in Cheshire then young horses will be coming in for training so the yard will be packed once more. Life is busy but very good indeed.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

My life is filled with amazing experiences at the moment. Tony and I went to Paignton Zoo today. We left Bath yesterday and spent the evening in a lovely suite in a hotel near Exeter. We were held up on the hotel drive by Arabian foals who graze the land in front of the property as they were hugely interested in our car. From my Bitterroot days I know well that young Arabian horses like to scrape cars with their incisors and these were no exception!

We made it to the hotel after gently shooing them away and shut ourselves in our room. The hotel staff were wonderfully accommodating and brought spectacular food to the room so that we did not have to eat in the public dining area. We spend an inordinate amount of time in the company of people and it’s good to be entirely on our own occassionally.

We continued down to Paignton this morning where Tony was opening the new Amphibian Ark exhibition. Frogs are facing huge problems worldwide due to climate change, loss of habitat and a fungal infection that has affected frogs on a global level and up to 50 percent of the frog species is under threat. Paignton have built a dedicated amphibian unit to breed endangered frogs with the long term vision that they may be reintroduced into the wild if and when the fungal infection can be successfully treated and controlled.

We were treated to a VIP lunch and had the good fortune to be seated next to Neil Bemment who is the Director of Operations and curator of mammals at the zoo. Neil is hilarious and after a visit behind the scenes in the Amphibian Ark, Tony and I were whisked away to meet the Giraffes and Gorillas. Neil took us into the private areas and we hand fed the Giraffes. It was amazing. We spent ages with these magnificent creatures and then went to hand feed strawberries to the Gorillas. The Silverback had quite a lot to say when Tony walked in. He had ignored me and Neil but threw himself against the bars as Tony passed so it’s official. Tony is obviously extremely masculine!

We also watched the staff clicker training the giant Tortoises and went in to the enclosure to meet them. I have worked with Giant Tortoises before and they are extraordinary animals. The staff at the zoo are wonderful and we have been invited back any time we want, so I think a day trip for everyone involved at Tilley Farm is in order. It was really hard to tear ourselves away but we left at 4.00pm and drove to Surrey to meet up with friends.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

It has been another hectic few days and I am lacking in sleep. Friday was reactive dog day at the farm with two clients who own dogs that have serious issues with people. Both dogs were flying at me (muzzled) at the start of their sessions but the changes were phenomenal and both settled beautifully. I couldn’t touch the first dog but her owner was able to calm her down and she stopped flying at me within in a relatively short space of time. She also walked straight past a man who was working on the indoor arena and her owner said this was the first time ever that she had been calm in the presence of a male stranger as she would usually have jumped up to bite him.

The second dog settled really quickly and we went up to my fields so that he could have a run off lead. Something he can’t usually do. I ended up taking his muzzle off and doing body work all over him. Brilliant!

Saturday was another trip up the M6, this time to Staffordshire. Tony and I were guests at Lee Pearson’s wedding party and we had another brilliant evening together in the company of farrier Ian Hughes and other great equestrians. Lee and Mark are a wonderful couple and we MUST get together when they return from their honeymoon. Life is so ridiculously busy that we only manage to see each other once a year but this time we are going to go for a record and see each other twice! We got home at 3.00am this morning and were up early as we had the annual Maremma Fun Day at the farm today.

Tony and my daughter Daisy cooked a wonderful supper for us all and when I finally got home at 8.00pm having finished the yard work after the Maremmas had left, I was exhausted. I feel totally blessed to have such a brilliant family and we are now sitting watching a programme on camping which is bizarrely highly entertaining. I have never been a fan of camping but as my life gets busier and busier the thought if hitching up an airstream and heading off in to the sunset is starting to have a strange appeal.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

I am so overly excited it’s ridiculous. I have had an amazing day. Tina and I drove up to Cheshire yesterday and worked with the sniffer dogs. I can’t stop smiling. The dogs were amazing and responded so well to both TTouch and clicker training that the handlers almost had their jaws on the floor. One young dog is a little over enthusiastic in his searches and gets carried away. When he first came into the training rooms he skittered about crashing into things and although he did find the article his indication was weak and he was pawing at the block that contained the hidden article. We took him outside and I ran my hands over his body.

Not surprisingly he was wriggly when touched which is classic with horses and dogs that lose focus easily. I popped a Thundershirt on him which is a great new product from the US designed originally for dogs that are fearful of thunder and fireworks but I use it for calming excitable behaviours in general. I was then able to do a little body work with him and introduced him to the clicker which will enable the handlers to gradually shape the indication to one that is more focused and prolonged.

We gave him a break and then took him back in to the training room. Instead of leaping up and down barking as he had done in the morning session he stood calmly by the handlers side and when he was released he moved calmly around the rooms without knocking anything over. When he found the article he stood staring at the new location and did not paw at all. He was totally brilliant and we were all stunned. Of course I knew (or hoped) that these techniques would help him but I never assume anything is going to happen and his response to such a short amount of work was spectacular. He could not have been better.

I also worked with a second dog that is involved in wildlife searches. The company Wagtail UK have been in South Africa looking for scats so that the big cats can be tracked and are also involved in research projects here in the UK. The projects here are still a little hush hush, so I can’t say what the dog is being trained to find but again the results were truly outstanding. The company is now hooked on both TTouch and clicker and I am going back to train the staff in a couple of weeks.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

Tony and I have had a great weekend together. We spent Saturday at the Arab Show at Three Counties Showground as guests of our lovely friends Susan George and Simon McCorkindale. We adore both of them and time in their company is as effortless and comfortable as it is fun. Susan had also invited some other mutual friends and the entire day was relaxed and highly entertaining. The George Arabian horses were beautifully turned out and did well in their classes. Their horses are also extremely well mannered and confident and polite around people as they are trained with positive reinforcement. We spent the end of the afternoon in the stables with the stunning stallions and there is certainly a magical quality to them all.

Today was work day but also great fun. I did the yard early and Tony and I drove off to Dogs Trust Salisbury where I was giving a demonstration in the main ring. The event was really well attended and I worked with two lovely dogs from the shelter who proved to be perfect demo dogs. I spent a few hours giving advice and working with dogs who were attending the day with their owners on the TTouch stand that was organised by one of our great practitioners Garry Hinton, and Tony posed for endless photographs for fans. We are lucky that we both love each other’s job and really enjoy accompanying each other to work. All in all it has been a perfect weekend!

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23. August 2010 by admin.

The TB’s left today and one who was a slow loader when he came to the farm only hesitated briefly at the bottom of the ramp even though we had not done any direct loading practice. Proof yet again that improving proprioception and posture through body work and ground work helps to overcome loading issues too. Their owner emailed this afternoon to say that the trainer barely recognised them and is thrilled. We will miss them both as they have been true stars but they are probably going to come back when they need another break from training, so I know we will see them again.

Aside from dog walking, working horses, emails and articles everyday, new requests for training sessions keep pouring in and I am now planning a trip up to Cheshire to work with sniffer dogs! I have worked with search dogs before at Heathrow but this company are involved in wildlife as well as the usual drugs and tobacco and have asked me to show them some TTouch and clicker training to see if it can benefit their dogs by improving the indications and the ability to search more calmly. I love the variety I have with my work and this is certainly going to be something different. Who knows? I may not be of any help to them at all but it will be fun working in a different environment.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

Our little mare who was nervous about poles has gone on to her new home in Jersey. She has been ridden around the roads, around the farm and is able to walk over coloured and rustic poles in hand and under saddle. She is a really sweet mare and her stable looks horribly empty. We are used to horses coming and going but somehow this feels different. Maybe it’s because she has gone to the Channel Islands and we are unlikely to see her at Tilley Farm again. Or maybe it’s because there was something about her that made her totally different to any horse we had ever trained. Perhaps it is a combination of the two. Either way it’s a little sad on the yard tonight.

I seem to be inundated with dog clients at the moment. I am not sure what has spawned this sudden influx but it’s proving hard trying to fit everyone in around the horses and all the work I have to do without asking them to wait too long. Most have serious issues and today I saw two dogs who have fallen out and are fighting in the home. The owner was great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.

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23. August 2010 by admin.

We all had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating the marriage of Tony’s niece Sophie to Tom. It was beautifully organised and the setting was perfect. Murray and Sophie sang a few of Murray’s songs including One Night in Bangkok and Say it Ain’t So (which is one of my all time favourite songs) and we left just before midnight.

It was a busy day on the yard today as we still have our four extra horses in. All horses are coming on well and the TB’s are looking glorious; well muscled and rich in colour. The quality of a horse’s coat is a good marker for their health (physically and mentally) not only in terms of shine but in colour too. Even the smallest area of tension in the skin and/or underlying muscles will often change the appearance and texture of the hair. One of the TB’s has come to Tilley Farm to recover from a back injury and the hair on his back was standing up around the injury site when he first arrived. It was dull and staring. It is now smooth and shining and this change in his coat corresponds with the improvement in his balance, flexibility and co-ordination. His companion came in as a pale bay with restricted movement through the whole back and is now a rich chestnut red and can lift his back a good six inches when given a little signal on his midline. It is well worth making a study of your horse’s coat as you may be amazed at what you find and what you can influence.

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19. July 2010 by admin.

Tony and I had a wonderful meeting with members from WSPA, The Donkey Sanctuary, WHW, Guide Dogs, and The Brooke yesterday. The meeting was held at the Donkey Sanctuary and organised by someone from WSPA as a brain storming/sharing session to discuss ways in which to help working equines around the world. It was lovely to be invited to be a part of the group and it was great that Tony was able to come with me. We invited friends down to our house for supper and Daisy cooked an excellent teriyaki salmon dish with roasted red peppers and a heavenly asparagus salad. This, I could get used to!

The clinic has gone really well and our liveries are also being total stars. The mare that had the issue with the poles has learnt that they won’t actually bite her and has also been ridden around the farm. She hasn’t been doing any ground work on the clinic as we don’t want to run the risk of her being spooked if another horse bangs a pole in close proximity but she has thoroughly enjoyed all the body work. The race horses have had front shoes on and a McTimoney treatment too so are almost ready to return to the racing yard and the three year old has come into season which has made it quite interesting working her in hand!

I have a family wedding to go to tomorrow so must go home and find something to wear but time seems to be running out. Getting up at 5.15am to walk dogs, bring in horses etc still hasn’t given me enough hours in the day and sleep is looking like a far better option than trawling through my cupboards. It will be fun though and nice to spend time with Tony and our daughters; and a real bonus to finish the day clean and not covered in hair.

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19. July 2010 by admin.

It really is non stop at the moment and I confess to flagging slightly. It has been a long day on the yard as I have been mucking out, working horses with Tina, feeding, tidying up, stone picking and getting stables ready for the visiting horses who all arrived this afternoon. Emily is home for a couple of days and Daisy arrived home yesterday so I will take tomorrow morning off as Tina will be teaching and Mags and Shelley will be on the yard to greet everyone and help on the clinic. We also have two work experience girls in but one has been with us on a previous placement so there will be plenty of people around to feed etc.

I think I shall walk the dogs now and then partake of the Pimms that has just been made by one of the participants on the clinic. I shall then go home to bring in the donkeys (I took the girls home last night) before falling into bed.

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