October 5th
I am one happy bunny. Tony and I had a fantastic time in Ireland. We flew out on Friday afternoon and spent a lovely (and lively) evening in the excellent company of Sharon Newsome and her family. Sharon set up the Irish Horse Welfare Trust over ten years ago and is a true ambassador for the horse working hard along with her dedicated team to rescue horses in distress and retrain ex-racehorses before rehoming them through the IHWT adoption scheme.
I gave a Power Point Presentation for the workshop participants on the Saturday morning (I finished it on Thursday night) showing the postural problems caused by poor training, injuries, poor saddle fit, dental imbalances, bracing and tension etc and how the horse is likely to respond to stimulus as a result. The afternoon was spent in the indoor arena showing what body work and ground work exercises are helpful to improve the movement of the horse and therefore his behaviour.
Our first horse was a ex-hurdler called Early Assault who was so jammed in his neck and head that he found contact around his head impossible to tolerate. His neck was solid and he could not stand still so I did some bodywork on him on the move as this was more acceptable for him. At first he gave the appearance of a horse that was calm but in truth the poor chap was shut down. He is dangerous under saddle as he suddenly shoots backwards without any warning and nearly ended up in a drain on his last ride. This doesn’t surprise me one bit as his eye was dull and from what I could feel with my hands (and also see) I would imagine that he is in some degree of discomfort which then reaches overload when he is out hacking. When a horse is so jammed in the upper part of their body, running backwards is an understandable response. Early was a great demo horse as people could see that he was really struggling and not ‘just being difficult’ which is an easy label to put on horses that have problems. As I always say, if you think it is in the horses head, it is probably in his body too. Sharon is so open to any information that will help the horses in the care of the IHWT that I really enjoy working with this charity.
Our second demo horse was the fabulous and very famous Moscow Flyer. He is on loan to the IHWT to help raise much needed funds for the charity and to raise awareness of their work and I wanted to work with him and take him and his rider/carer Bev through the steps to bridle less riding as he can become a little stiff in the lumbar area when ridden. I have to say though he feels pretty amazing through the body and if you weren’t aware of Moscow’s history you wouldn’t have a clue that he had such an illustrious career as there is little evidence of it in his body. He did struggle a little on the right rein when he first came in to the arena but this was quite subtle as he generally has good balance and good movement. I moved the saddle back a little and gave Bev a Balance Rein to start encouraging Moscow to stretch and lengthen his neck before I introduced them both to the neck ring. I was more than ably assisted by two of our Practitioners Gina Sivyer and Theodora Sonnenberg who are both based in Ireland and the results were fantastic. Bev and Moscow changed beyond belief and the afternoon ended with Moscow feeling and looking even freer in walk and trot and working effortlessly on both reins. Brilliant.
Sunday was spent at the IHWT yard. We worked with Early in his stable and he spent most of the time with his head on the floor and his neck popping and cracking as he yawned and sighed. Moscow was initially quite indignant that he hadn’t been turned out but willingly succumbed to the tranquillity of TTouch. If you have a horse that has to be on box rest for whatever reason, I would thoroughly recommend that you learn some simple body work exercises that will help to keep them settled and relaxed. We worked until mid-afternoon with a few more ex-racehorses and a little Welsh Mountain Mare who was pretty nervous around strangers. Her ears were like little ice cubes which is common in animals that are afraid so I started by working on her body where she was less threatened by contact and stroked her ears back against her neck which is often the best way to start working with horses that are ear shy. Gina then went back in with her and continued working with her and was able to stroke her ears. I always feel very at home in Ireland and love working with the IHWT. I had planned to teach more workshops in Ireland this year but it was all cancelled due to my family situation but I am looking ahead to a brighter 2010 and will definitely be going back.