13. January 2012 by admin.

Its time to start packing up my cottage and set out for the long drive home.  I am pleased that I have made some headway with the horse book and should have time tomorrow to write some more. I am doing a radio interview with the 3Geese on BBC Radio Bristol on Saturday, working on the yard on Sunday, then heading to London on Monday to see a shelter dog that has a problem in the neck combined with some unwanted behaviours which are limiting her chances of being re homed.

I also need to spend some time on the computer sorting out flights for my upcoming trips and have to see a veterinary specialist with one of my dogs on Tuesday. She was diagnosed with a tumour in the mouth just before Christmas which came completely out of the blue and has been quite a shock and although surgery is a viable option she is almost eleven and I am just not sure whether I can put her through that at her age due to the site of the tumour.  Of course I will discuss all the options before I make up my mind but it’s not going to be straight forward and I hope that I make the right choice for her and not let my own feelings influence my decision.

It’s been wonderful spending some time up here and I met up with two inspiring friends on Sunday who work with animals with physical problems so had a social and educational evening out as well as spending time firmly attached to my keyboard.  The renovations here are coming on well and my interest in another little cottage has got the better of me and I am going to view the property on my way home.

The diary is filling fast and I suspect that 2012 will fly past as quickly as 2011. Christmas already seems a long time ago and I am looking forward to new adventures in the coming year.  Spending my time writing and renovating properties certainly holds a certain appeal but in reality I cannot imagine a time when I don’t do hands on work with animals. It is the best; rewarding on so many levels and the people that I meet are really second to none.

Happy New Year to you all.

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13. January 2012 by admin.

I am up in Suffolk attached to my computer.  Miss Cookie Dough Dynamo is with me and I have actually made good headway with the writing I have come here to do.   It’s the only way that I can have consistent uninterrupted hours and as my cottage is so small I don’t have the usual excuses that stop me committing those first paragraphs or even words to paper as I am highly adept at finding ninety eight things that simply must be done before I can sit down at my desk when I am at home or at the farm.  I remember an author once saying he was always compelled to sharpen a ridiculous amount of pencils before he could start work and I can certainly relate to that.

It’s so peaceful here and I hope that I can really utilise this space.  The challenge is finding a good block of time in my diary to drive up here but this year (and I think I say this every year) I am going to try to pace myself to allow more time to write.

I have however managed to find one small distraction whilst driving to Snape Maltings to take Cookie Dough for a walk.  Property is my other great love and I have discovered a small cottage that is in need of renovation and repair.   Restoring and developing property is not dissimilar to working with animals. You should listen to the owner but make your own observations. You never know what you are going to uncover once you start peeling back the layers. You should always be flexible and be prepared to change your approach. Nothing is ever guaranteed. You should have a game plan but not panic if things don’t go according to plan.  If you focus on building a solid foundation and ensure that the basics are all in tact everything else will naturally fall into place.  You should be prepared to work with qualified professionals where necessary to enable the property to be the best it can be.  And having written this I see that it’s no different at all in fact.

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13. January 2012 by admin.

We are back in London and staying at another of our favourite hotels.  Tony, Emily, Daisy and I attended the premiere of The Iron Lady at the British Film Institute last night which is well worth seeing regardless of your political persuasion as Meryl Streep is phenomenal in the role of Margaret Thatcher.  Tony is also brilliant as Geoffrey Howe and even though we have been together for around 28 years I forgot it was him which is a testament to his superb acting skills. He has already left as he is working on another television project so Daisy and I will head home on the train.

The holidays are definitely over and it’s now back to some serious work as the deadline for the next horse book is looming.  I have more work coming in then I care to think about right now and it will take some good juggling of dates to fit everything in so for now I will enjoy this last hour of luxury free from work stress, mud and animal hair.

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13. January 2012 by admin.

I usually spend the first weeks of January without seeing clients and attempting to catch up with things that have been put on hold for far too long such as updating the websites and writing articles that I have been meaning to do for some time.  This year however, with clients already cuing, I have started work earlier than usual and it is already looking as though my plans to catch up are being thwarted once more.  Of course I have a choice as to whether I see new canine and equine clients but if I know there are animals out there in need of help a new article, or a new layout for the website is always going to take second place.  I am often asked what the most common problems are in the horse and dog clients that I see and although there are indeed issues that I see on a regular basis they usually involve something going on with the neck.  I have written about this before I know but am going to write about this again as the neck is so crucial for movement and well being and when it comes to horses in particular this important part of the anatomy is often over looked when talking about structure and balance.

The horse uses his neck to balance and any tension in the neck will impede the natural movement of the horse.  This is pure mechanics and unless the neck can telescope forward bringing the withers up, the back muscles cannot lengthen and ultimately strengthen.  The power muscles of the hindquarters cannot engage and a host of unwanted behaviours and poor performance is almost guaranteed.

When I look at a horse’s neck I also stand in front of him and note the position of his ears.  If one ear looks further forward or lower there is probably tension around the upper part of the neck.  If he cannot lift through the whither, he will develop incorrect muscles through the bottom line and around the upper part of the neck. There may also be a dip in the top line in front of the shoulder and this is often accompanied by muscle loss around the back of the shoulders.  Bracing muscles develop in front of the shoulder and the horse will usually be on the forehand because mechanically he does not have any choice. Tension around the base of the ears will also link to how the horse is working under saddle and most horses stand with their neck off to the left due to the habitual movement of the horse and our own habitual handling of him.

Some horses panic when you ask them to take their neck to the centre and become more tense in hand or under saddle. They often start rushing or find it hard to move off from the leg and one horse that I was working with my colleague Tina Constance actually took off when we asked her to straighten her neck. We used to use two lines attached to the head collar for horse’s that are crooked so that we can support them on one side but I have adapted this and now use a sliding line so that I can remove it quickly if the horse panics.  I can also gently vibrate the line by slowly moving it back and forward through the ring on the side of the head collar which encourages the horse to lower his head and start lengthening the neck.

None of this is rocket science.  It is fact and I do get demoralised when even well meaning people say that a horse that is muscled so incorrectly is simply ‘trying it on’ when he tires under saddle or cannot round over the jumps and so on.  

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13. January 2012 by admin.

Christmas was utterly perfect.  Our family festivities started on Christmas Eve afternoon with a visit to the Colston Hall in Bristol to watch Coram Boy. We also took my mother in law Helen, whom I adore, and the production was outstanding.  The play was directed by Melly Still, the director of the sold out production at the National Theatre, and it was one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen. With a cast of 140, a full orchestra and choir, the audience was taken on an emotional and, at times gut wrenchingly powerful journey through a period in history when babies born out of wedlock were left dying on the London streets and slavery was rife.  Not your average Christmas show for sure but Emily was incredible in the role of Melissa and I have a rekindled love for Handel’s Messiah.

Last night was spent in London at a party near the Thames and we stayed in the Haymarket Hotel close to Trafalgar Square.  We don’t usually do much for New Year’s Eve as I personally dislike seeing the end of what is usually a wonderful year but we had decided to accept an invitation from friends a few months earlier and I am so thrilled that we went.  There were so many people that we hadn’t seen for a while and being in London was jolly good fun.  Until the walk back to the hotel that is.  I was wearing lowish heels (as far as the fashion industry and my daughters are concerned) but given that I spend most of time in my outdoor Uggs or my Ariats, they were HIGH.

We had walked along the embankment watching the crowds congregating along the river in sight of the London Eye and the atmosphere was great. Personally I am not sure that I could ever be motivated to sit in a London gutter in the rain just to see some albeit spectacular fireworks some four hours on but it was nice being a part of the build up for a while.  We spent several hours at the party chatting and cheering in 2012 and decided to leave around 1.30am.  The walk had been effortless on the way to the do, but after five hours my feet were beginning to hurt.  I would have taken my shoes off but the crowds of jolly families waiting to ring in a bright New Year had dissipated leaving the hard core drinkers staggering around in their wake.  The streets were littered with vomit and broken glass and our passage was slowed by staggering drunks. It was gross. By the time we got back to our hotel I was crippled. My feet were on fire and I figured this must be the closest a human can get to experiencing the pain of laminitis.  I could barely put one foot in front of each other by the end of the walk and although Tony was being thoughtful in offering a supporting arm he kept taking me across cobbled areas which was making it worse!  I have never been so thrilled to see Landseer’s Lions in my life.

My feet still hurt this morning and my hips are now giving me grief as well. I am not even old but am clearly well past it on the party stakes.  Unless I wear flip flops of course.   If I was a horse I think I would probably be put to sleep as I can barely move.  Thankfully we decided to bring my truck up to town so I only have to shuffle round the corner to the car park and enjoy a leisurely drive home.

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