19. December 2010 by admin.

I can’t quite believe this is the final entry for this year.  Where has the time gone?  The London trip was perfect, it always is and I laughed so much that my stomach muscles still ache from all the merriment.  The girls went ice skating at Somerset House, we shopped, and had a deliciously late night on the 15th celebrating Emily’s birthday with Emily and Daisy’s hilarious friends.  At one point Tony and I were crying with laughter and I just kept thinking how lucky I am to have such wonderful people around me.

I taught my last workshop on Friday for Dogs for the Disabled but had to cut it short due to a sudden and quite heavy snowfall. We have snow here now as well and I have to confess to being rather childishly excited when I woke at 5.00 am on Saturday as we had had a good 8cm of snow overnight.  I couldn’t get back to sleep (how old am I?) and persuaded poor Tony it would be a great thing if he got up early as well.

The scenery was stunning and I adore the silence that a good snowfall brings.  Jon (who lives at Tilley Farm) drove in to get Tony’s mother from Bath and we all watched Daisy in the teen urban musical Rules of Love on BBC Switch.  I am so very, very proud of my daughter.  She was brilliant and the whole cast did a spectacular job. I can’t believe that the show was filmed in just 10 days.

It was a good day in the Head household on the entertainment front as Emily was in a radio play on BBC Radio 2 in the evening.  She too, was amazing. And I am so, so proud of her as well.

The farm is looking stunning and the Icelandic horses are particularly thrilled with the snow.  I am heading out dog walking in a moment before I start oiling soles and turning out the horses who want to go out.  Work is over for the year, the presents are bought and the house is beautifully decorated.   We all have work booked in for next year and can enjoy taking a few weeks out for a well earned break. Yes.  Life is very, very good indeed.  Merry Christmas everyone and here’s to a Happy New Year.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

19. December 2010 by admin.

It’s been another busy week filled with dogs.  I was teaching at Dogs Trust in Uxbridge on Monday, spent Wednesday morning working with the Sight Hounds from Greyhound Rescue West of England which was filmed by ITV regional news and have been in court today as an expert in a dog bite case.  I am very pleased to say that we won and the destruction order was lifted which has given the family who own the dog an early Christmas present.

I have one more workshop to teach next week and I am finished for the year.  I am looking forward to spending some time with Tony, Emily and Daisy next week when we all go to London to stay at our favourite hotel to celebrate Emily’s birthday and finish the Christmas shopping.  Two whole days together free from mud, frozen taps and animal hair - hurrah - and I am certainly looking forward to the break.  I have worked so many weekends this year and the end of the year has been as manic as ever.  Whilst I wouldn’t change anything I can’t wait to spend time relaxing with my family and having fun. 

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

19. December 2010 by admin.

Karen and I are just getting ready to head out for supper with Barbara from the SPCA. It is our last evening in Malta.  I am almost on my knees after another hectic day and we had a horribly late night last night as we were all invited to supper with Jane at her beautiful home. The Maltese are extremely hospitable and like to share wine with anyone who so much as knocks on the door and Jane and her husband are wonderful hosts. It was gone one by the time we were dropped back at the hotel and we started early again this morning.

We were at the shelter all morning working with cats and a dog named Queenie who is selective about who she will let touch her then I was off working with more private clients.  I finished at 7.30pm totally exhausted but feeling great.  I feel very at home here on the island and it has all been extremely rewarding.  Naomi’s natural gift with horses extends to cats and dogs and I have offered her a full scholarship to come and train with me here in the UK.

She will be such as asset to the SPCA and the SPCA do such wonderful work which will be further enhanced if they have their own TTouch Practitioner. I am proud to be involved with this charity and will definitely be coming back next year.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

19. December 2010 by admin.

It has been a brilliant day and I have met some truly wonderful people.  The morning session was a power point presentation on dogs and cats and what to look for in terms of Tension Patterns and body language, with tips and video clips on how to help the animals overcome their concerns.  We had a lovely mix of participants including Police Dog Handlers, shelter staff, animal lovers, a physiotherapist who trained in the UK with someone I know so yet another UK/Malta connection, and people who are studying behaviour.  There was a small hiccup as the projector didn’t work and needed to be swapped but I started without it and everything went well. One of my client dogs from the previous day came in to see me and he was markedly more confident and made a brilliant demo dog.

The afternoon session was on horses and after the Power Point we all drove to a nearby stable to work with a young racehorse owned by one of the SPCA staff.  The little horse lacks confidence and naps when ridden so I talked about this in the meeting room saying what I would expect to find in terms of muscle development and tension in his body.

Everything I said I would expect to find in a horse that has these behaviours was clearly visible for everyone to see.  He was tight in the neck, blocked and tense through the lumbar area and fidgety.  He was a great horse to work with as he responded so well and was so clear in his body language and muscle tension.  I still find the connection between posture and behaviour as fascinating as I did when I first started working with animals and watching for signs of stress has certainly kept me safe over the years.  Today was no exception.  As I was talking to the group I saw the horse’s eye change and took the line from the owner.  Karen was filming some clips for the SPCA website and having worked with me for many years also saw the horse change so jumped out of the way.  Her timing was perfect.  As she moved to the corner of the small enclosure we were working in the horse just exploded bless him as his friend was calling from the other side of the yard.  He reared and bucked and then went to shoot around me but our lead lines are nice and long so I let him do his thing and then quietly settled him again.  Needless to say we didn’t get any of that on film as Karen was sensibly running for cover but it was a good demonstration of how to quieten rather than escalate behaviour through being totally neutral.

Again it was a great group of people and included the physiotherapist, a farrier and a racehorse trainer.  The horse’s owner, Naomi has a really good feel for animals and I will be working with her tomorrow with the cats and dogs at the SPCA.  She is so keen to learn more that will help her little horse and I have offered to teach her as much as I can if she can come and stay with me in the UK.  She has something really special about her.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

19. December 2010 by admin.

I am in Malta and it is certainly warmer than the UK.  It was an early flight and we hit the ground running. I worked with two private clients today who between them had five dogs that needed some help and I also filmed something for the news channel that will air tonight publicising the two presentations I am giving tomorrow.  I am here to raise funds for the SPCA as I met Jane and Barbara from the SPCA at ICAWC some years ago and promised I would come here to teach the shelter staff some TTouch techniques for the animals that are in their care.  I was also emailed by a girl called Karen who wanted me to visit Malta after my television series Talking to Animals was aired out here and the final connection was meeting the dynamic Sue who is helping to raise funds for the SPCA through Dogs Trust.  I can’t believe I have finally made it out here and it is lovely meeting up with everyone as we obviously all share a common passion.

Karen Walsh, who was the director of Talking to Animals, introduced me to Sue a few months ago and Karen has come with me to film some segments for the SPCA websites. I am giving two presentations tomorrow on dogs and cats, and horses so an early night is in order as it has been a long day.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »