Another uneventful evening on the yard tonight (just how I like it!). Well I say uneventful, there were no heart-stopping startles, and lots of generally relaxed grooming and hoof-picking-up.
However, I have noticed that Faith is very, very subtly trying to move me around with her shoulders. It is too subtle to say that she is being bargy or pushy, or even getting ‘big’ with her shoulder. It is just a very minute invasion of my space, as if she is just trying to ascertain if she can move me around.
Now Faith is a very sensitive horse, and we are obviously still in the early stages of relationship building, and the last thing I want to do is anything that will frighten her, or anything that she will perceive as punishment. Yet on the other hand, I do not expect to be able to walk into her space without her consent, and I expect the same consideration from her.
So my current solution to the problem is to do a very passable impression of Marcel Marceau, and his ‘glass wall’ mime. I put both hands up in front of me with my elbows bent, as if on a glass wall. I make sure to keep my energy low, and I do not look directly at her. So there is no ‘pushing’ of energy, just the setting up of a barrier, that can be removed as quickly as it goes up.
So far, this has worked really well, and she has stepped back out of my space, or stopped in her tracks, yet still looking relaxed and not at all offended.
Just need to find some greasepaint and white gloves to complete the look!
Wednesday 26 May 2010
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Jumping Beans!
Nothing much to report on the Faith front really. We are just following the same routine of grooming and picking up feet on the yard every evening.
Although Faith is definitely more relaxed, and less reactive than she was, one thing still bothers me. She will occasionally have the odd ‘startle’ which will be more or less dramatic depending on her mood. Most of the time I can’t tell what is causing it, although often it’s things like Tommy sneezing all over her (fair enough), or the cat doing something bizarre. I have no problem with this, as it is a natural part of being a flight animal, and I am not looking for some automaton that doesn’t react to it’s surroundings.
My problem is that when she jumps, I jump too! Now I am aware of the importance of being a ‘sea of calm’ around the horse, and I think in general, I manage this most of the time. But sometimes when Faith has a particularly dramatic startle, I end up having one too, and my heart nearly stops. Quite often I see the funny side of this and almost a split second later we are back to what we were doing. But I can’t help feeling that this is a bit crap on my part, and in some way I should train my reactions to be slightly duller. How exactly I would go about this, I have no idea, but all suggestions are most welcome!
Although Faith is definitely more relaxed, and less reactive than she was, one thing still bothers me. She will occasionally have the odd ‘startle’ which will be more or less dramatic depending on her mood. Most of the time I can’t tell what is causing it, although often it’s things like Tommy sneezing all over her (fair enough), or the cat doing something bizarre. I have no problem with this, as it is a natural part of being a flight animal, and I am not looking for some automaton that doesn’t react to it’s surroundings.
My problem is that when she jumps, I jump too! Now I am aware of the importance of being a ‘sea of calm’ around the horse, and I think in general, I manage this most of the time. But sometimes when Faith has a particularly dramatic startle, I end up having one too, and my heart nearly stops. Quite often I see the funny side of this and almost a split second later we are back to what we were doing. But I can’t help feeling that this is a bit crap on my part, and in some way I should train my reactions to be slightly duller. How exactly I would go about this, I have no idea, but all suggestions are most welcome!
Friday 21 May 2010
Fortune favours the brave!
Well Faith has well and truly said ‘Pah!’ to the ‘drain of doom’. It frightens her no longer!
After the grooming and feet rituals were concluded, Faith showed me that she was in an exploratory mood this evening. Of course the area that gets most of her attention is the area where hubby keeps all his cr@p, oh sorry, I mean ‘tools’. Now I have tried to cordon this off as best I can with some jumps, but Faith seems to have this incredibly telescopic neck which allows her to reach in and sniff and snuffle things I thought were out of her reach.
Actually, she knocked a couple of things over this evening, and although this resulted in a couple of ‘Eeeek!’ moments, I can see that she is clearly less reactive about stuff, and her sense of curiosity is really coming to the surface. This is what I have been waiting for, as to start with her reactions were so quick, as to make clicker training a really daunting task. As she gets more used to stuff, and less reactive, I am becoming more confident that we will reach a point where I have a fighting chance of using the clicker with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Until then, I am happy to just carry on as we are.
Another exciting development is that she is really starting to respond to my body language, and will come to me when I invite her too. She also keeps an eye on where I am, and I feel that she is looking to me for reassurance, in the same sort of way that my little boy likes to be a bit more independent, but still likes to know where I am.
I have to say that she is looking fantastic. I have however purchased a Youngstock supplement from NAF just to make sure she is getting all her vits and mins for growth. Currently she is pretty much on the same diet as my more mature fatties, and although she is clearly a good doer, I want to make sure that her growth is supported, without her getting fat and silly. This is new territory for me, and there is a big gap in my knowledge as far as youngstock feeding goes. All the books say x amount of protein etc. and seem to suggest that I should be shoving buckets of food down her neck. But the horse I have in front of me is not telling me that at all, and her breeder has advised me not to shove lots of specialist food down her, as getting too fat will put a strain on her young joints, and too much protein etc. will make her silly. So I am going to go with my instinct on this one and avoid starchy, high protein diets. However, anyone with experience in this area and advice to give would be most welcome to comment.
After the grooming and feet rituals were concluded, Faith showed me that she was in an exploratory mood this evening. Of course the area that gets most of her attention is the area where hubby keeps all his cr@p, oh sorry, I mean ‘tools’. Now I have tried to cordon this off as best I can with some jumps, but Faith seems to have this incredibly telescopic neck which allows her to reach in and sniff and snuffle things I thought were out of her reach.
Actually, she knocked a couple of things over this evening, and although this resulted in a couple of ‘Eeeek!’ moments, I can see that she is clearly less reactive about stuff, and her sense of curiosity is really coming to the surface. This is what I have been waiting for, as to start with her reactions were so quick, as to make clicker training a really daunting task. As she gets more used to stuff, and less reactive, I am becoming more confident that we will reach a point where I have a fighting chance of using the clicker with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Until then, I am happy to just carry on as we are.
Another exciting development is that she is really starting to respond to my body language, and will come to me when I invite her too. She also keeps an eye on where I am, and I feel that she is looking to me for reassurance, in the same sort of way that my little boy likes to be a bit more independent, but still likes to know where I am.
I have to say that she is looking fantastic. I have however purchased a Youngstock supplement from NAF just to make sure she is getting all her vits and mins for growth. Currently she is pretty much on the same diet as my more mature fatties, and although she is clearly a good doer, I want to make sure that her growth is supported, without her getting fat and silly. This is new territory for me, and there is a big gap in my knowledge as far as youngstock feeding goes. All the books say x amount of protein etc. and seem to suggest that I should be shoving buckets of food down her neck. But the horse I have in front of me is not telling me that at all, and her breeder has advised me not to shove lots of specialist food down her, as getting too fat will put a strain on her young joints, and too much protein etc. will make her silly. So I am going to go with my instinct on this one and avoid starchy, high protein diets. However, anyone with experience in this area and advice to give would be most welcome to comment.
Thursday 20 May 2010
Anything you can do......
I brought the neds in early this evening in an effort to avoid the flies (just where are the Swallows when you need them?). I gave Faith a lovely groom while she was loose on the yard, and picked up her feet.
I started work on her tail, but she just wasn’t settling and becoming relaxed. I think I am ‘wanting’ it a little too much, and perhaps she is feeling a little too pressured, so I stopped that completely for this evening.
I haven’t been sleeping well recently, and little’un has had me up at night as he has a dose of the lurgey, consequently, I just feel completely knackered. So I went across to the far side of the yard, and plonked myself on a jump block, and satisfied myself with simply admiring my horses.
I could see that Faith wanted to join me on ‘that’ side of the yard. This would of course mean crossing the ‘drain of doom’ to do so. She spent some time chatting with Tilly and Tommy, then went and spied on the neighbours a bit. However, I noticed that she kept looking over at where I was sitting, and would periodically walk up to the drain and paw the ground.
So I got up and crossed the yard and gave her some scratches and a bit of carrot, then went back over to the other side, and invited her over to me with my body language. Faith thought about it for a bit, then calm as you like crossed the ‘drain of doom’ to the other side of the yard. Cue lots of fuss and scratches.
I have a small tarpaulin on the ground inside our open fronted bit. There is a pile of loose bedding on it that spilled out of the bedding bags that the mice destroyed. Now that a lot of the bedding has been used up, a fair bit of tarp is visible. As Faith was clearly of a mind to explore this side of the yard, I encouraged her to stay close to me as I touched it with my toe. Faith looked at me, then decided that the wheelbarrows were more worthy of her attention, and wondered off to peruse those.
After a little while, I asked her to come back into her stable so I could give her her tea. She stood looking at me thoughtfully, walked away from me, touched the corner of the tarpaulin with her nose, crossed the ‘drain of doom’, calm as you like, and put herself to bed. Clever, clever girl!
I started work on her tail, but she just wasn’t settling and becoming relaxed. I think I am ‘wanting’ it a little too much, and perhaps she is feeling a little too pressured, so I stopped that completely for this evening.
I haven’t been sleeping well recently, and little’un has had me up at night as he has a dose of the lurgey, consequently, I just feel completely knackered. So I went across to the far side of the yard, and plonked myself on a jump block, and satisfied myself with simply admiring my horses.
I could see that Faith wanted to join me on ‘that’ side of the yard. This would of course mean crossing the ‘drain of doom’ to do so. She spent some time chatting with Tilly and Tommy, then went and spied on the neighbours a bit. However, I noticed that she kept looking over at where I was sitting, and would periodically walk up to the drain and paw the ground.
So I got up and crossed the yard and gave her some scratches and a bit of carrot, then went back over to the other side, and invited her over to me with my body language. Faith thought about it for a bit, then calm as you like crossed the ‘drain of doom’ to the other side of the yard. Cue lots of fuss and scratches.
I have a small tarpaulin on the ground inside our open fronted bit. There is a pile of loose bedding on it that spilled out of the bedding bags that the mice destroyed. Now that a lot of the bedding has been used up, a fair bit of tarp is visible. As Faith was clearly of a mind to explore this side of the yard, I encouraged her to stay close to me as I touched it with my toe. Faith looked at me, then decided that the wheelbarrows were more worthy of her attention, and wondered off to peruse those.
After a little while, I asked her to come back into her stable so I could give her her tea. She stood looking at me thoughtfully, walked away from me, touched the corner of the tarpaulin with her nose, crossed the ‘drain of doom’, calm as you like, and put herself to bed. Clever, clever girl!
Wednesday 19 May 2010
You Scratch My Back.....
Poor little Faith came in dripping with sweat tonight. The flies are just awful at the moment. She must have been honing about the field trying to get away from them. I have ordered her a fly mask, but whether she will let me within ten miles of her with it is another question!
So obviously a groom was out of the question. Nor could I let her out on the yard, as the flies were dreadful there too, and the stables are the only place where the neds get any relief from them.
So I just spent half an hour scratching all her itchy spots. It is amazing how well a horse can communicate clearly where the itchiest places were, and she expertly positioned me at just the right places to give her the best scratches.
Apart from the pleasure of being able to give Faith some relief from her itchiness, I was also able to handle her tail a good deal as well. She was itchy all over the top of her rump, so I scratched there, and was able to ‘nibble’ with my fingers all the way down her dock, and lift her tail away from her legs, running my fingers through it a bit before letting it fall back. I managed to do this several times before she cottoned on to what I was doing and side stepped away.
So obviously a groom was out of the question. Nor could I let her out on the yard, as the flies were dreadful there too, and the stables are the only place where the neds get any relief from them.
So I just spent half an hour scratching all her itchy spots. It is amazing how well a horse can communicate clearly where the itchiest places were, and she expertly positioned me at just the right places to give her the best scratches.
Apart from the pleasure of being able to give Faith some relief from her itchiness, I was also able to handle her tail a good deal as well. She was itchy all over the top of her rump, so I scratched there, and was able to ‘nibble’ with my fingers all the way down her dock, and lift her tail away from her legs, running my fingers through it a bit before letting it fall back. I managed to do this several times before she cottoned on to what I was doing and side stepped away.
Tuesday 18 May 2010
Ain't No Mountain High Enough!
All the biting beasties were out in force tonight! I am now covered in bites, with one particularly bad one on the back of my neck.
Poor old Tommy also came in with a bad bite on his behind, and I have a strong suspicion it was given to him by something considerably larger than a mozzie! Both Tilly and Faith are pleading ‘not guilty’ to that one, so investigations continue. Poor Tommy had to suffer the indignity of having Dermoline rubbed into his bottom. Not very macho at all! The girls just stood sniggering quietly.
I had another lovely session with Faith on the yard, and this time she managed not to brain herself on any stationary objects. I managed to pick up all her feet, and I even managed to give her tail a bit of a brush. She doesn’t seem to mind it if you brush it hanging down, but she gets a little bit worried if you lift her tail away from her to brush it out. However, this is a step in the right direction, and I am thrilled to bits.
Another development which is making me very happy, is that Faith is starting to follow me when I invite her with my body language. This evening was the first time that I genuinely felt that Faith was more interested in me than in chatting to Tilly and Tommy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to have her more attached to me than the other neds. It is my dearest wish that she feels strong bonds with my other two. However, it is obviously important for training purposes that she considers me a comfortable presence, and one that she is happy to listen to.
So she will follow me up and down the yard, but one thing she will not do is cross the (to my mind) innocuous drain in the middle of the yard. To her credit, she was really thinking about it, and while watching her wrestle with the problem, I couldn’t help myself but break into (to my mind again) a dulcet version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. This at least helped Faith make her mind up – she turned her back on me and walked in the opposite direction.
So, note to self, Faith is obviously not a fan of Motown.
Poor old Tommy also came in with a bad bite on his behind, and I have a strong suspicion it was given to him by something considerably larger than a mozzie! Both Tilly and Faith are pleading ‘not guilty’ to that one, so investigations continue. Poor Tommy had to suffer the indignity of having Dermoline rubbed into his bottom. Not very macho at all! The girls just stood sniggering quietly.
I had another lovely session with Faith on the yard, and this time she managed not to brain herself on any stationary objects. I managed to pick up all her feet, and I even managed to give her tail a bit of a brush. She doesn’t seem to mind it if you brush it hanging down, but she gets a little bit worried if you lift her tail away from her to brush it out. However, this is a step in the right direction, and I am thrilled to bits.
Another development which is making me very happy, is that Faith is starting to follow me when I invite her with my body language. This evening was the first time that I genuinely felt that Faith was more interested in me than in chatting to Tilly and Tommy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to have her more attached to me than the other neds. It is my dearest wish that she feels strong bonds with my other two. However, it is obviously important for training purposes that she considers me a comfortable presence, and one that she is happy to listen to.
So she will follow me up and down the yard, but one thing she will not do is cross the (to my mind) innocuous drain in the middle of the yard. To her credit, she was really thinking about it, and while watching her wrestle with the problem, I couldn’t help myself but break into (to my mind again) a dulcet version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. This at least helped Faith make her mind up – she turned her back on me and walked in the opposite direction.
So, note to self, Faith is obviously not a fan of Motown.
Monday 17 May 2010
Heads or tails?
Faith was brilliant this evening. Once again I had her loose on the yard giving her a groom, and rewarding her for standing still with groomy scratches and carrots. I managed to pick all four feet up twice with no issue at all.
So I thought we would see how it went with touching her tail. Now madam is still in season, so I do appreciate that she is going to be a little sensitive around that area generally. So I just gave her a lovely scratchy on top of her bum, and then just started stroking down the length of her tail in a long slow sweeping stroke. She was absolutely fine, and got a bit of carrot etc. I just kept doing this from both sides, and she was very good. So I left it there.
However, it would seem that Faith and I share a problem with ‘hormone impaired spacial awareness’. The poor dear clonked herself right between the eyes on the corner of one of the top stable doors, and gave herself a little graze. At that point I thought it best that we return to the relative safety of her stable , for a cuddle.
Before I forget to mention it, something really lovely happened last night. I went to the stables just after 10pm, as I normally do to give everyone their last hay ration. Tilly and Tommy were standing up snoozing, but Faith was lying down. I dished out Tilly and Tommy’s hay, then rummaged around in the barn for Faith’s portion. I was amazed when she let me walk into the stable, shake out her hay, then turn and give her a stroke on the nose, while she was still lying down! I have never done that with any of my horses before, and I was really, really touched that Faith trusted me enough to let me do that.
So I thought we would see how it went with touching her tail. Now madam is still in season, so I do appreciate that she is going to be a little sensitive around that area generally. So I just gave her a lovely scratchy on top of her bum, and then just started stroking down the length of her tail in a long slow sweeping stroke. She was absolutely fine, and got a bit of carrot etc. I just kept doing this from both sides, and she was very good. So I left it there.
However, it would seem that Faith and I share a problem with ‘hormone impaired spacial awareness’. The poor dear clonked herself right between the eyes on the corner of one of the top stable doors, and gave herself a little graze. At that point I thought it best that we return to the relative safety of her stable , for a cuddle.
Before I forget to mention it, something really lovely happened last night. I went to the stables just after 10pm, as I normally do to give everyone their last hay ration. Tilly and Tommy were standing up snoozing, but Faith was lying down. I dished out Tilly and Tommy’s hay, then rummaged around in the barn for Faith’s portion. I was amazed when she let me walk into the stable, shake out her hay, then turn and give her a stroke on the nose, while she was still lying down! I have never done that with any of my horses before, and I was really, really touched that Faith trusted me enough to let me do that.
Sunday 16 May 2010
In your own time
Tonight I was really hoping to capitalise on the success of yesterday. It has been another lovely evening, but without the horrendous clouds of midges we have had recently, which is a blessing.
I let Faith out of her stable to have a mooch about the yard. I was going to give her a nice brush, and just pick up her feet a couple of times. Faith had other plans however. She spent some time having a chat with Tilly and Tommy over their stable doors, investigating the chickens, and just generally pottering.
She wasn’t really interested in standing to be brushed, so I just sat on my jump blocks and admired her until she was ready to stand for a bit. It didn’t take many minutes for her to complete her investigations, but it really brought it home to me that this type of work, with the horse at liberty, really encourages you to slow down, and go at the horse’s pace. I spend most of my time complaining about the fact that I am rushing around like a blue @rsed fly, so actually this is a really nice, restful process for me, and is doing the world of good for me as well as Faith.
Anyway, my patience paid off and she let me pick up and handle both her back feet with absolutely no problems at all, and in a relaxed fashion.
I let Faith out of her stable to have a mooch about the yard. I was going to give her a nice brush, and just pick up her feet a couple of times. Faith had other plans however. She spent some time having a chat with Tilly and Tommy over their stable doors, investigating the chickens, and just generally pottering.
She wasn’t really interested in standing to be brushed, so I just sat on my jump blocks and admired her until she was ready to stand for a bit. It didn’t take many minutes for her to complete her investigations, but it really brought it home to me that this type of work, with the horse at liberty, really encourages you to slow down, and go at the horse’s pace. I spend most of my time complaining about the fact that I am rushing around like a blue @rsed fly, so actually this is a really nice, restful process for me, and is doing the world of good for me as well as Faith.
Anyway, my patience paid off and she let me pick up and handle both her back feet with absolutely no problems at all, and in a relaxed fashion.
An unexpected success.
One of my horsey friends popped round to admire Faith yesterday. Naturally she lapped up all the attention. We had a cup of coffee and a chat about horses, and very pleasant it was too. However, all this socializing put me a bit behind schedule, and after having poo picked the field and topped up the water troughs, I decided I didn’t have much time to do anything with Faith.
However, I was loathe to let the evening pass without at least giving her a nice groom. So I got her brushes, opened her stable door, and let her mooch about on the yard, while I gave her a brush, and tickled her groomy bits. I decided to carry on with my plan of rubbing her up and down that ‘difficult’ near hind. She cocked her heel and rested her toe, for which I gave her a bit of carrot and a wither scratch. I ran my hand down her leg again, and she picked it up for me. I held her hoof and rubbed my hand all over it.
Resisting the urge to leap around the yard, whooping with joy, I just carried on giving her a lovely brush, and twice more, when she was looking particularly relaxed, I picked up her near hind again and rubbed my hands all over it.
She was totally relaxed about the whole thing, and although she could have moved away at any point, as she was completely ‘nekkid’, she didn’t. I am really pleased with that little bit of progress.
Now I just need to work on being able to brush her tail, as she doesn’t like that very much for some reason!
However, I was loathe to let the evening pass without at least giving her a nice groom. So I got her brushes, opened her stable door, and let her mooch about on the yard, while I gave her a brush, and tickled her groomy bits. I decided to carry on with my plan of rubbing her up and down that ‘difficult’ near hind. She cocked her heel and rested her toe, for which I gave her a bit of carrot and a wither scratch. I ran my hand down her leg again, and she picked it up for me. I held her hoof and rubbed my hand all over it.
Resisting the urge to leap around the yard, whooping with joy, I just carried on giving her a lovely brush, and twice more, when she was looking particularly relaxed, I picked up her near hind again and rubbed my hands all over it.
She was totally relaxed about the whole thing, and although she could have moved away at any point, as she was completely ‘nekkid’, she didn’t. I am really pleased with that little bit of progress.
Now I just need to work on being able to brush her tail, as she doesn’t like that very much for some reason!
Friday 14 May 2010
It's all gone a bit Biblical!
Seriously, we have a plague. A plague of midges has descended on the village, and most of them are in my yard and fields. The neds were going bonkers in the field tonight, and I was anticipating fun and games getting them all in in an orderly fashion, but they were as good as gold.
There was no way I could work with Faith on the yard tonight, so we settled for a lovely groom in her stable. I have bought some beautiful soft goat hair brushes for her. There is a tiny one for her face, which is shaped just like a shoe brush, only much, much softer, which is perfect for her tiny little head. The other one is a body brush. I flicked her over with the flicky dandy brush first which she really likes, then I started using the soft body brush on her. She has a very sensitive groomy strip down the midline of her tummy, and she went into an almost trance like state as I was grooming it with this brush. The goat hair brush also makes a rather mesmerising ssssshhhhh sound as it runs over her hair, and we were both starting to nod off a little, and probably would have if the midges hadn’t of discovered their way into the stable.
After her groom, I decided to start doing a little targeting with her. I have had the lurgey for the past couple of days, and pretty much lost my voice, so I thought that if I couldn’t talk to her, I could at least still click. I have another incredible grooming tool, about the size of a large sponge, and which looks like the result of an unholy union between one of those bobbly bath mats, and a bright pink sea urchin. I thought this was a suitably eye catching yet intriguingly fluffy object (although I am not sure that being intriguingly fluffy is a necessary prerequisite for a target!). Anyhow, she was on it straight away, and did some lovely stretches as part of the bargain. Although we did also have a few minutes where the brim of my baseball cap seemed an even more intriguing target, and she managed to take my cap off a couple of times, and had great fun flapping it about!
As soon as Tilly and Tommy clocked what we were doing, there was lots of whinnying and hopping about, so everybody had to have a go. Eventually I had to stop, as midges seem to adore the tops of my ears!
There was no way I could work with Faith on the yard tonight, so we settled for a lovely groom in her stable. I have bought some beautiful soft goat hair brushes for her. There is a tiny one for her face, which is shaped just like a shoe brush, only much, much softer, which is perfect for her tiny little head. The other one is a body brush. I flicked her over with the flicky dandy brush first which she really likes, then I started using the soft body brush on her. She has a very sensitive groomy strip down the midline of her tummy, and she went into an almost trance like state as I was grooming it with this brush. The goat hair brush also makes a rather mesmerising ssssshhhhh sound as it runs over her hair, and we were both starting to nod off a little, and probably would have if the midges hadn’t of discovered their way into the stable.
After her groom, I decided to start doing a little targeting with her. I have had the lurgey for the past couple of days, and pretty much lost my voice, so I thought that if I couldn’t talk to her, I could at least still click. I have another incredible grooming tool, about the size of a large sponge, and which looks like the result of an unholy union between one of those bobbly bath mats, and a bright pink sea urchin. I thought this was a suitably eye catching yet intriguingly fluffy object (although I am not sure that being intriguingly fluffy is a necessary prerequisite for a target!). Anyhow, she was on it straight away, and did some lovely stretches as part of the bargain. Although we did also have a few minutes where the brim of my baseball cap seemed an even more intriguing target, and she managed to take my cap off a couple of times, and had great fun flapping it about!
As soon as Tilly and Tommy clocked what we were doing, there was lots of whinnying and hopping about, so everybody had to have a go. Eventually I had to stop, as midges seem to adore the tops of my ears!
Thursday 13 May 2010
The shape of things to come.
I actually wrote a shaping plan today. Seriously that is a big deal for me. There was a time when I swore that’ life was too short’ for shaping plans. Well, no longer. I have decided that to address the ‘issue’ of Faith’s near hind, I need to be scrupulously thorough, and make sure that she is absolutely comfortable every tiny step of the way.
I would put it on here, but I have left it in the tack room. However, step one was that she should be completely comfortable with being loose on the yard, and me running my hands all over her.
Now I think that is not a bad first step, and an important thing to do in any case. So tonight that is what we did. She mooched around the yard quite happily, had a chat with Tilly and Tommy over their stable doors, and let me scratch and rub her all over. I discovered a new groomy itchy spot on her tummy, and she was even happy to let me rub up and down her legs, and even handle her teats. Of course this was accompanied with lots of wither scratches and bits of carrots. Eventually we had to retire back to the stable for a nice groom, as the midges were out in force this morning, and they seem to love munching the tops of my ears, as well as bothering Faith.
Faith even offered her near hind to me a couple of times. However, I didn’t yet take her up on it, just rewarded her for lifting it slightly for me. Even though I have not yet started to use the clicker, i am attempting in my own way to shape anti-mugging behaviour by only giving her a treat when she is facing ahead, never when she has her head turned towards me. So far it is ‘working a treat’, if you will pardon the pun.
Mum came to watch us at work this evening which is really nice. Mum is Faith’s co-owner, and Faith is the second horse of her dreams, her first being Schivago, her wonderful Anglo Arab Gelding who sadly had to be PTS when I was about 10 years old. It is important to me that Mum gets to enjoy Faith’s company as much as I do, as she has really fallen head over heels in love with this wonderful filly. Mum’s views on horse management are very traditional, however, she is being really supportive of my intentions for Faith’s training, and in doing so, she is taking a bit of a leap of faith herself. I really appreciate her efforts in doing this. I have been through this conceptual leap myself, and it isn’t comfortable, so I am really grateful that Mum is making the effort to support me in what I am doing, even though it goes against the grain for her to do so.
I would put it on here, but I have left it in the tack room. However, step one was that she should be completely comfortable with being loose on the yard, and me running my hands all over her.
Now I think that is not a bad first step, and an important thing to do in any case. So tonight that is what we did. She mooched around the yard quite happily, had a chat with Tilly and Tommy over their stable doors, and let me scratch and rub her all over. I discovered a new groomy itchy spot on her tummy, and she was even happy to let me rub up and down her legs, and even handle her teats. Of course this was accompanied with lots of wither scratches and bits of carrots. Eventually we had to retire back to the stable for a nice groom, as the midges were out in force this morning, and they seem to love munching the tops of my ears, as well as bothering Faith.
Faith even offered her near hind to me a couple of times. However, I didn’t yet take her up on it, just rewarded her for lifting it slightly for me. Even though I have not yet started to use the clicker, i am attempting in my own way to shape anti-mugging behaviour by only giving her a treat when she is facing ahead, never when she has her head turned towards me. So far it is ‘working a treat’, if you will pardon the pun.
Mum came to watch us at work this evening which is really nice. Mum is Faith’s co-owner, and Faith is the second horse of her dreams, her first being Schivago, her wonderful Anglo Arab Gelding who sadly had to be PTS when I was about 10 years old. It is important to me that Mum gets to enjoy Faith’s company as much as I do, as she has really fallen head over heels in love with this wonderful filly. Mum’s views on horse management are very traditional, however, she is being really supportive of my intentions for Faith’s training, and in doing so, she is taking a bit of a leap of faith herself. I really appreciate her efforts in doing this. I have been through this conceptual leap myself, and it isn’t comfortable, so I am really grateful that Mum is making the effort to support me in what I am doing, even though it goes against the grain for her to do so.
Wednesday 12 May 2010
The wrong side of the bed!
This was clearly where Faith emerged from this morning. I had turned Tommy out first, and given him some grass nuts near the gate. Faith decided that it was necessary to disappear through the barn at the rate of knots, then jump around for a bit before standing as quiet as a mouse to let me take her headcollar off.
She then rudely pushed Tommy out the way to get at the nuts. Tilly came next and simply avoided the two quarrelsome ones. Five minutes later, Faith had Tommy cornered between the barn and the electric fence, and was giving him both barrels. Tommy had no option but to turn and defend himself, and for a horrible few seconds they were bum to bum, totally going for it. Tommy managed to clip Faith’s hock, and she hopped away on three legs. My heart just sank. Then she put her foot on the ground, walked a couple of strides, then trotted off, sound as a pound. I checked her again before I left for work, and she was fine. Talk about a ‘brown trousers’ moment though!
So this evening my farrier came to give her a trim. I have to say, I was dreading it. However, she was an absolute poppet, and my farrier said he could totally see how I had fallen in love with her. So the first three feet were absolutely no problem, and we just chatted away, while I fed Faith bits of carrot. I have to say, it was such a relaxed procedure that my mind quite drifted off, but I was sharply called back to reality when my farrier asked me to kindly stop trying to stuff a bit of carrot in his ear as he was doing Faith’s front hoof!
However, there was one problem. She would not let him do the near hind. She just wouldn’t. I thought it was quite strange that she had stopped eating her treats, and had gone a little tense around the mouth. She was anticipating this foot being done. So we gently tried a couple of times, but it was clear that she was not, for whatever reason, at all happy.
Rather than rattle her, and because she had done so well, we agreed to leave it for now. He is coming back in two or three weeks to trim Tilly and Tommy, so I said I would work on it, and we would try again then. He said no problem, and would pop back whenever I liked even if we didn’t manage to get it done then. I have a bliddy wonderful farrier!
So all in all, I am relieved and very pleased, and just so proud of my little Faith.
She then rudely pushed Tommy out the way to get at the nuts. Tilly came next and simply avoided the two quarrelsome ones. Five minutes later, Faith had Tommy cornered between the barn and the electric fence, and was giving him both barrels. Tommy had no option but to turn and defend himself, and for a horrible few seconds they were bum to bum, totally going for it. Tommy managed to clip Faith’s hock, and she hopped away on three legs. My heart just sank. Then she put her foot on the ground, walked a couple of strides, then trotted off, sound as a pound. I checked her again before I left for work, and she was fine. Talk about a ‘brown trousers’ moment though!
So this evening my farrier came to give her a trim. I have to say, I was dreading it. However, she was an absolute poppet, and my farrier said he could totally see how I had fallen in love with her. So the first three feet were absolutely no problem, and we just chatted away, while I fed Faith bits of carrot. I have to say, it was such a relaxed procedure that my mind quite drifted off, but I was sharply called back to reality when my farrier asked me to kindly stop trying to stuff a bit of carrot in his ear as he was doing Faith’s front hoof!
However, there was one problem. She would not let him do the near hind. She just wouldn’t. I thought it was quite strange that she had stopped eating her treats, and had gone a little tense around the mouth. She was anticipating this foot being done. So we gently tried a couple of times, but it was clear that she was not, for whatever reason, at all happy.
Rather than rattle her, and because she had done so well, we agreed to leave it for now. He is coming back in two or three weeks to trim Tilly and Tommy, so I said I would work on it, and we would try again then. He said no problem, and would pop back whenever I liked even if we didn’t manage to get it done then. I have a bliddy wonderful farrier!
So all in all, I am relieved and very pleased, and just so proud of my little Faith.
Tuesday 11 May 2010
On the loose!
Well my lovely farrier is coming tomorrow to trim Faith’s feet. So I decided that Faith needs to have a chance to have a mooch around the yard, just so she is familiar with it, as that is where she will be having her trim.
As everything is pretty scary to Faith, and I didn’t fancy having my toes completely squashed, after a little while of being on the end of a leadrope, I let her loose on the yard to explore for herself.
Michael has a lot of ‘Man Stuff’ on the yard at the moment, so I corralled it all together in one place, and put up some jumps around it to make it all a bit safer for Faith. Typically though, that was the part of the yard that she found most interesting!
She was an absolute poppet, particularly as my neighbour had his tractor working in the next field, and Tommy kept trying to take chunks out of her behind as she walked past! We only had one Scooby – doo moment when the cat decided to do some acrobatics on top of the ride-on mower, but any horse would have jumped at that.
So here are a couple of vids from this evening. The quality is pants as I took them on my phone. I should also explain that I don’t normally go around sucking helium balloons, although it may sound that way. Also, I never, ever say “Good Jaaaahhhhhb!” in real life, only when around horses, and that is a hang-over from watching my Alex Kurland vids. I started off saying it because I found it funny, but now it seems to have stuck. It is very embarrassing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feavMs1Y-Bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blzi0oGuvrM
As everything is pretty scary to Faith, and I didn’t fancy having my toes completely squashed, after a little while of being on the end of a leadrope, I let her loose on the yard to explore for herself.
Michael has a lot of ‘Man Stuff’ on the yard at the moment, so I corralled it all together in one place, and put up some jumps around it to make it all a bit safer for Faith. Typically though, that was the part of the yard that she found most interesting!
She was an absolute poppet, particularly as my neighbour had his tractor working in the next field, and Tommy kept trying to take chunks out of her behind as she walked past! We only had one Scooby – doo moment when the cat decided to do some acrobatics on top of the ride-on mower, but any horse would have jumped at that.
So here are a couple of vids from this evening. The quality is pants as I took them on my phone. I should also explain that I don’t normally go around sucking helium balloons, although it may sound that way. Also, I never, ever say “Good Jaaaahhhhhb!” in real life, only when around horses, and that is a hang-over from watching my Alex Kurland vids. I started off saying it because I found it funny, but now it seems to have stuck. It is very embarrassing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feavMs1Y-Bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blzi0oGuvrM
Monday 10 May 2010
Hello Mr. Rug!
Faith came in tonight very much with a ‘right what are we doing tonight?’ attitude, which is great. I gave her a lovely groom, and did a little bit more work with her feet, and she was excellent. Then we played another game of ‘Hello Mr. Rug!’
She was ace, after about five minutes, I could place the rug over the stable door with a fairly theatrical gesture, Faith would step back calmly, then immediately step forward and target the rug. Woooohooo! I am still holding off using the clicker, but she seems to still be getting the idea of what I want her to do pretty well.
Tilly and Tommy were getting ridiculously excited as I was working with Faith, so I did some targeting work with them as well. I went and fetched my spangly cheerleader’s pom poms, and after about five minutes of targeting, Tilly and Tommy were happy to have them rustled all over their faces!
My horses are blimmin' fantastic!
She was ace, after about five minutes, I could place the rug over the stable door with a fairly theatrical gesture, Faith would step back calmly, then immediately step forward and target the rug. Woooohooo! I am still holding off using the clicker, but she seems to still be getting the idea of what I want her to do pretty well.
Tilly and Tommy were getting ridiculously excited as I was working with Faith, so I did some targeting work with them as well. I went and fetched my spangly cheerleader’s pom poms, and after about five minutes of targeting, Tilly and Tommy were happy to have them rustled all over their faces!
My horses are blimmin' fantastic!
Sunday 9 May 2010
It's all jolly good fun!
Faith was rather reluctant to leave her stable this morning, evidently unsure what colour the world was going to be today. She is just very careful where she puts her feet bless her, and to be honest, that is not a quality I mind in a horse.
Yesterday, I bought her a Jolly ball, and this morning I put it in the field, to see what Faith would do with it. She walked over to it, and poked it, looked at me, then rolled it with her nose. She looked at me again as if to say; “Seriously, why would I want to play with that, when I have my very own Haflinger to play with?” She then mooched off to poke Tommy to see what he would do.
This evening, I fancied have a go at putting her rug on. However, when I draped it over her door, she reared right up , and pretty much tried to climb the back wall of the stable! Bizarrely though, when I left it on the stable door, she was happy to sniff it and give it a little chew.
So I gave her a little groom, and then we spent the next 20 mins or so just putting the rug on and off the stable door, and rewarding Faith for being calm and relaxed and standing at the door. Now I know that Faith has worn a rug before, but clearly, for whatever reason, she isn’t happy with the idea at the moment. So that is fine, we will just start over from scratch, no problem.
I am not yet using the clicker with Faith. Her reactions are so lightning fast, that I don’t think that my timing can consistently guarantee that I mark the right moment. So I am just using a much more generalised positive reinforcement, keeping –R to the absolute minimum that I can, and rewarding each little try that I can.
Yesterday, I bought her a Jolly ball, and this morning I put it in the field, to see what Faith would do with it. She walked over to it, and poked it, looked at me, then rolled it with her nose. She looked at me again as if to say; “Seriously, why would I want to play with that, when I have my very own Haflinger to play with?” She then mooched off to poke Tommy to see what he would do.
This evening, I fancied have a go at putting her rug on. However, when I draped it over her door, she reared right up , and pretty much tried to climb the back wall of the stable! Bizarrely though, when I left it on the stable door, she was happy to sniff it and give it a little chew.
So I gave her a little groom, and then we spent the next 20 mins or so just putting the rug on and off the stable door, and rewarding Faith for being calm and relaxed and standing at the door. Now I know that Faith has worn a rug before, but clearly, for whatever reason, she isn’t happy with the idea at the moment. So that is fine, we will just start over from scratch, no problem.
I am not yet using the clicker with Faith. Her reactions are so lightning fast, that I don’t think that my timing can consistently guarantee that I mark the right moment. So I am just using a much more generalised positive reinforcement, keeping –R to the absolute minimum that I can, and rewarding each little try that I can.
Saturday 8 May 2010
Mind the Gap!
The world is a very confusing place for poor little Faith. Just when she had got her head around stepping from light coloured concrete to black stable mats, and vice versa, the universe just has to throw her another riddle to solve!
We have had quite a bit of rain overnight (Yeehaaa! Grow hayfield, grow!). It had blown in at an angle, so when I opened Faith’s stable door this morning there was a foot wide strip of dry, light coloured yard, before the wet, dark coloured yard started. Faith was rather perturbed by this, and took a lot of coaxing to come out of her stable this morning. When she did come out, it was a little bit like the scene of Bambi on ice. The whole yard was a different colour! Eeeek!
We eventually got out through the barn and into the field, albeit in a bit of a rush, and Faith stood patiently while I took her headcollar off, and soothed her with a bit of carrot and a cuddle.
The weather has been pretty pants today, and I felt ever so guilty that Faith was not wearing a rug. My neighbour has kindly given me one of her youngster’s old rugs that he has outgrown, but I have not yet tackled the whole ‘putting on a rug’ thing with Faith yet. She has worn a rug before, but at the moment I am taking everything ever so slowly, as she is such a reactive little poppet.
Interestingly, all the neds have shown a whole lot of interest in a poor little Hawthorn bush that grows inside the field. Normally, it is a round, fat little bush, but I have noticed that the horses have completely stripped all the new growth of the little tree, leaving it with a very bad case of split ends! I have just looked up the properties of Hawthorn in my herbal book, and apparently it is very good for lowering blood pressure, and acts as a vasodilator. Apparently horses with navicular or laminitis are particularly partial to the sprouting buds. This is very interesting, as since Faith’s arrival, the horses have been on pasture that has been rested, so perhaps they are feeling the richness a little bit too much. I shall make a point of taking digital pulses etc. every day. Thanks for the ‘heads up’ Mother Nature!
I gave Faith a lovely groom this evening. This is the first one I have given her. She gave quite an extreme reaction to the brushes when she first saw them, leaping from the front of the stable to the back in a single bound. So I used the brush as a target, and she got a treat every time she touched it, and we slowly built this up until she was happy to be brushed. In the end I was able to give her quite a vigorous grooming, which was just as well, as she has discovered that it is perfectly safe to roll in our fields, and duly caked herself in heavy clay!
We have had quite a bit of rain overnight (Yeehaaa! Grow hayfield, grow!). It had blown in at an angle, so when I opened Faith’s stable door this morning there was a foot wide strip of dry, light coloured yard, before the wet, dark coloured yard started. Faith was rather perturbed by this, and took a lot of coaxing to come out of her stable this morning. When she did come out, it was a little bit like the scene of Bambi on ice. The whole yard was a different colour! Eeeek!
We eventually got out through the barn and into the field, albeit in a bit of a rush, and Faith stood patiently while I took her headcollar off, and soothed her with a bit of carrot and a cuddle.
The weather has been pretty pants today, and I felt ever so guilty that Faith was not wearing a rug. My neighbour has kindly given me one of her youngster’s old rugs that he has outgrown, but I have not yet tackled the whole ‘putting on a rug’ thing with Faith yet. She has worn a rug before, but at the moment I am taking everything ever so slowly, as she is such a reactive little poppet.
Interestingly, all the neds have shown a whole lot of interest in a poor little Hawthorn bush that grows inside the field. Normally, it is a round, fat little bush, but I have noticed that the horses have completely stripped all the new growth of the little tree, leaving it with a very bad case of split ends! I have just looked up the properties of Hawthorn in my herbal book, and apparently it is very good for lowering blood pressure, and acts as a vasodilator. Apparently horses with navicular or laminitis are particularly partial to the sprouting buds. This is very interesting, as since Faith’s arrival, the horses have been on pasture that has been rested, so perhaps they are feeling the richness a little bit too much. I shall make a point of taking digital pulses etc. every day. Thanks for the ‘heads up’ Mother Nature!
I gave Faith a lovely groom this evening. This is the first one I have given her. She gave quite an extreme reaction to the brushes when she first saw them, leaping from the front of the stable to the back in a single bound. So I used the brush as a target, and she got a treat every time she touched it, and we slowly built this up until she was happy to be brushed. In the end I was able to give her quite a vigorous grooming, which was just as well, as she has discovered that it is perfectly safe to roll in our fields, and duly caked herself in heavy clay!
Friday 7 May 2010
There's always something....
Yesterday, morning turnout was calm, civilised and absolutely perfect from everyone. I don’t think it is particularly anything to do with what i am doing, I think it is more that Faith is getting used to the routine.
When I got home from school, Mum shouted over the hedge to me that I should probably get the horses in. It looked rather stormy, and apparently Faith was leaping about because of the sharp windy showers. It was only an hour earlier than I would normally get them in, so I brought them all in, poo picked the field, then went for a coffee with Mum.
I went back over to the stables at about seven, intending to do a little work with Faith’s feet before giving everyone their dinner. Faith seemed a little more tense than usual, she was doing a lot of shallow yawning, which can be a sign of tension, and she had come up in a light sweat. I did a couple of foot lifts and left it at that.
The first thing that went through my mind was ‘Oh cr@p, colic!’ However, I could see that she had done a poo, and other than having this light sweat she seemed pretty much OK. She tucked into her tea with enthusiasm, and was nibbling at her hay. I decided to leave it for then, and see how she was when I did late stables at 10pm.
When I did last checks at about 10.15pm, Faith was nice and dry, and was having a snooze. She had finished her tea, and had done another poo. So I just decided that it was just part of the settling in process, and perhaps she had just had a little moment of anxiety. I have bought her a nice big tub of mint, and will add it to her tea every night just to try and ward off any tense tummies in the future.
When I got home from school, Mum shouted over the hedge to me that I should probably get the horses in. It looked rather stormy, and apparently Faith was leaping about because of the sharp windy showers. It was only an hour earlier than I would normally get them in, so I brought them all in, poo picked the field, then went for a coffee with Mum.
I went back over to the stables at about seven, intending to do a little work with Faith’s feet before giving everyone their dinner. Faith seemed a little more tense than usual, she was doing a lot of shallow yawning, which can be a sign of tension, and she had come up in a light sweat. I did a couple of foot lifts and left it at that.
The first thing that went through my mind was ‘Oh cr@p, colic!’ However, I could see that she had done a poo, and other than having this light sweat she seemed pretty much OK. She tucked into her tea with enthusiasm, and was nibbling at her hay. I decided to leave it for then, and see how she was when I did late stables at 10pm.
When I did last checks at about 10.15pm, Faith was nice and dry, and was having a snooze. She had finished her tea, and had done another poo. So I just decided that it was just part of the settling in process, and perhaps she had just had a little moment of anxiety. I have bought her a nice big tub of mint, and will add it to her tea every night just to try and ward off any tense tummies in the future.
Thursday 6 May 2010
Ahhhh, the joys of Spring!
Turning out this morning was very peaceful, mainly because the delinquent Haflinger went out first, and was occupied with grass nuts. Faith was calmer than yesterday, she let me put her headcollar on over the stable door, and didn’t get herself in a tiz when I led Tommy out. There was also a small further improvement on the snatching away when the headcollar came off.
Tilly and Tommy are totally comfortable now with letting Faith into their space. In fact, I was just thinking how wonderful those two have been. They seem to have really taken Faith under their wings, and are showing genuine affection for her.
As it is my day off on Thursdays I normally retreat to bed after turning the horses out at 6am, and John and I do the mucking out mid morning. So John and I were wheeling our barrows up the railway line to dispose of some old hay, mine full of hay, his little mini barrow full of a racing car and a plastic zebra. Faith was absolutely entranced by John. She floated to the fence in a beautiful trot, and followed us on her side of the fence up the railway line, never taking her eyes off John.
As she was trotting around with her tail in the air, I noticed that she was winking and dribbling a bit, so I guess that she is coming into season. Poor Tommy looks exhausted from following her around, and he has resorted to just standing and watching her while sighing deeply. Faith then galloped back to the other end of the field, putting in a few impressive fly bucks for good measure. She is eerily quiet when she gallops. My other two make a thundering noise when running, but with Faith, it is more of a whisper. She is just so inexpressibly beautiful, she just makes my heart sing!
While I was doing the mucking out, Faith would not leave us alone. She hung over the field gate for about half an hour watching what we were doing, and possibly hoping for a bit of carrot. Then she got fed up with that, and wandered off to join the other two.
I’m thinking that she might be a little bit bored, so am considering putting Tommy’s toy box in the field, or possibly getting a Jolly ball for her. Hmmmm, we shall see.
Everyone was as good as gold bringing in tonight, and I wanted to do a little bit of work on Faith’s feet. Now I know that Faith is fine to have her feet picked up, and has seen the farrier regularly, but as with everything, it is a case of new place and new people to get used to, so, I am taking the slowly slowly approach, and not making assumptions.
I wanted to work with her loose in the box so that she could move away if she wanted to, and not feel constrained in any way. So I started off as we always do, with a little chat, and find out which itchy groomy spot is particularly itchy and groomy. Once I was sure she was relaxed, I just ran my hand down her leg and asked for ‘up Faith’, which is the cue her breeder taught her. The first attempt was successful, if brief, and I gave her a piece of carrot and a scratch.
So we carried on like this until I was able to lift both feet, and rub my palm over the sole for a few seconds, with Faith getting a bit of carrot after each attempt. Once or twice she moved back from me, and I just took a step away from her and took a really passive stance. Each time she came to fetch me back, and we had a wither scratch before making another attempt at foot lift. I only did front feet tonight, and ended on a positive note.
Faith’s feet are a little long, so my farrier is coming on Wednesday evening to give them a trim. He is a lovely, lovely chap, and very patient, but I do so want it to be a positive experience for Faith. I am also hoping over the weekend to be able to work with her in the yard, so that that becomes familiar territory as well.
Tilly and Tommy are totally comfortable now with letting Faith into their space. In fact, I was just thinking how wonderful those two have been. They seem to have really taken Faith under their wings, and are showing genuine affection for her.
As it is my day off on Thursdays I normally retreat to bed after turning the horses out at 6am, and John and I do the mucking out mid morning. So John and I were wheeling our barrows up the railway line to dispose of some old hay, mine full of hay, his little mini barrow full of a racing car and a plastic zebra. Faith was absolutely entranced by John. She floated to the fence in a beautiful trot, and followed us on her side of the fence up the railway line, never taking her eyes off John.
As she was trotting around with her tail in the air, I noticed that she was winking and dribbling a bit, so I guess that she is coming into season. Poor Tommy looks exhausted from following her around, and he has resorted to just standing and watching her while sighing deeply. Faith then galloped back to the other end of the field, putting in a few impressive fly bucks for good measure. She is eerily quiet when she gallops. My other two make a thundering noise when running, but with Faith, it is more of a whisper. She is just so inexpressibly beautiful, she just makes my heart sing!
While I was doing the mucking out, Faith would not leave us alone. She hung over the field gate for about half an hour watching what we were doing, and possibly hoping for a bit of carrot. Then she got fed up with that, and wandered off to join the other two.
I’m thinking that she might be a little bit bored, so am considering putting Tommy’s toy box in the field, or possibly getting a Jolly ball for her. Hmmmm, we shall see.
Everyone was as good as gold bringing in tonight, and I wanted to do a little bit of work on Faith’s feet. Now I know that Faith is fine to have her feet picked up, and has seen the farrier regularly, but as with everything, it is a case of new place and new people to get used to, so, I am taking the slowly slowly approach, and not making assumptions.
I wanted to work with her loose in the box so that she could move away if she wanted to, and not feel constrained in any way. So I started off as we always do, with a little chat, and find out which itchy groomy spot is particularly itchy and groomy. Once I was sure she was relaxed, I just ran my hand down her leg and asked for ‘up Faith’, which is the cue her breeder taught her. The first attempt was successful, if brief, and I gave her a piece of carrot and a scratch.
So we carried on like this until I was able to lift both feet, and rub my palm over the sole for a few seconds, with Faith getting a bit of carrot after each attempt. Once or twice she moved back from me, and I just took a step away from her and took a really passive stance. Each time she came to fetch me back, and we had a wither scratch before making another attempt at foot lift. I only did front feet tonight, and ended on a positive note.
Faith’s feet are a little long, so my farrier is coming on Wednesday evening to give them a trim. He is a lovely, lovely chap, and very patient, but I do so want it to be a positive experience for Faith. I am also hoping over the weekend to be able to work with her in the yard, so that that becomes familiar territory as well.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Best laid plans and all that!
This morning’s mission was to start working on Faith’s habit of snatching her head away when I take her headcollar off to turn her out.
The first part of the plan was executed without a hitch. I turned Tilly out and gave her some grass nuts to keep her away from the gate, but in the general vicinity. Obviously it is too much to expect Tommy at fifteen years of age to act like a responsible adult, and I was proved right when he started having a tizzy about not getting out first.
Faith then started her own tizzy about Tommy having a tizzy, and while she was executing some mini rears at the stable door, she slipped. Well this was an absolute tragedy, cue much running about the stable in a wild eyed and frantic manner.
Anyway, she stopped all that when I stepped into her stable with her headcollar and a carrot, which she accepted with great relief. We walked calmly out into the field, and I just asked her to stop a minute, and we both drew breath. She had another little munch of carrot, and I stood for a little bit stroking her neck and waiting for her to calm down.
When I felt she was getting calmer, I took her headcollar off, and although she snatched away a tiny bit, it was much better than yesterday. Now I think this is progress given that she had just given herself a fright by slipping in her stable, and Tommy was doing his best not to create a calm atmosphere by frantically hurling himself around in his stable and neighing his head off.
It was another half day again for me, so John, Mum and I took another stroll down the path beside the paddock. Everyone was grazing peacefully apart from Faith who was standing having a snooze. In fact she looked so tired that she could barely stand up. She had stuck her head in a random hawthorn bush that grows inside the field, and looked for all the world like she was propping herself up on it.
By the time we got to the end of the field and looked back, Faith had turned and literally ‘hung’ her tail over the bush and was standing looking pleased that she had at last relieved herself of that much weight.
Tonight I had a parent’s evening, so was late bringing them in. Tilly was determined that she was coming in first, so she did. Then I threw a few grass nuts down for Tommy, and brought Faith in. She was brilliant given that Tommy tried to follow right on her tail, and even more brilliantly she turned around for me in the barn with all the scary things like Tommy’s toy box, and waited while I shut the gate against a Tommy who had once again started tantruming. I then led her round from the wrong side without any protest from her, and popped her in the box.
Then I went to fetch Tommy, and made him wait outside the gate a little, within Faith’s line of sight. Then we slowly walked in through the barn, stopping and having a wither scratch and a bit of carrot etc. just to make the point that Tommy’s tantrums don’t really mean anything, and just because he is having one, it doesn’t mean that anything scary is actually happening.
Once everyone was in, I went into Faith’s box for a little chat and a wither rub. Once again she let me run my hands all over her back and rump, and tonight I was also able to run my hands down both her back legs and all over her tummy. She also let me touch her ears and poll, which she wasn’t keen on before. She is getting a little bit nippy, but I am just keeping one hand on her cheek, and stopping her getting her head too close.
She moved to the other side of the stable and had a mouthful of hay. Unfortunately it didn’t come away cleanly, so we had a massive shy at the bundle of hay that had ‘chased’ her across the floor.
Then she started yawning and yawning, so I gave her a last cuddle before her tea.
The first part of the plan was executed without a hitch. I turned Tilly out and gave her some grass nuts to keep her away from the gate, but in the general vicinity. Obviously it is too much to expect Tommy at fifteen years of age to act like a responsible adult, and I was proved right when he started having a tizzy about not getting out first.
Faith then started her own tizzy about Tommy having a tizzy, and while she was executing some mini rears at the stable door, she slipped. Well this was an absolute tragedy, cue much running about the stable in a wild eyed and frantic manner.
Anyway, she stopped all that when I stepped into her stable with her headcollar and a carrot, which she accepted with great relief. We walked calmly out into the field, and I just asked her to stop a minute, and we both drew breath. She had another little munch of carrot, and I stood for a little bit stroking her neck and waiting for her to calm down.
When I felt she was getting calmer, I took her headcollar off, and although she snatched away a tiny bit, it was much better than yesterday. Now I think this is progress given that she had just given herself a fright by slipping in her stable, and Tommy was doing his best not to create a calm atmosphere by frantically hurling himself around in his stable and neighing his head off.
It was another half day again for me, so John, Mum and I took another stroll down the path beside the paddock. Everyone was grazing peacefully apart from Faith who was standing having a snooze. In fact she looked so tired that she could barely stand up. She had stuck her head in a random hawthorn bush that grows inside the field, and looked for all the world like she was propping herself up on it.
By the time we got to the end of the field and looked back, Faith had turned and literally ‘hung’ her tail over the bush and was standing looking pleased that she had at last relieved herself of that much weight.
Tonight I had a parent’s evening, so was late bringing them in. Tilly was determined that she was coming in first, so she did. Then I threw a few grass nuts down for Tommy, and brought Faith in. She was brilliant given that Tommy tried to follow right on her tail, and even more brilliantly she turned around for me in the barn with all the scary things like Tommy’s toy box, and waited while I shut the gate against a Tommy who had once again started tantruming. I then led her round from the wrong side without any protest from her, and popped her in the box.
Then I went to fetch Tommy, and made him wait outside the gate a little, within Faith’s line of sight. Then we slowly walked in through the barn, stopping and having a wither scratch and a bit of carrot etc. just to make the point that Tommy’s tantrums don’t really mean anything, and just because he is having one, it doesn’t mean that anything scary is actually happening.
Once everyone was in, I went into Faith’s box for a little chat and a wither rub. Once again she let me run my hands all over her back and rump, and tonight I was also able to run my hands down both her back legs and all over her tummy. She also let me touch her ears and poll, which she wasn’t keen on before. She is getting a little bit nippy, but I am just keeping one hand on her cheek, and stopping her getting her head too close.
She moved to the other side of the stable and had a mouthful of hay. Unfortunately it didn’t come away cleanly, so we had a massive shy at the bundle of hay that had ‘chased’ her across the floor.
Then she started yawning and yawning, so I gave her a last cuddle before her tea.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Day 3
Tilly went out first this morning, then Faith. To my surprise there was no squealing or arguments between the ladies, just a bit of curious sniffing from Tilly. Faith does have a bit of a habit of pulling away quickly when I take her headcollar off. Today she pulled away before I quite had it undone, but when she reached the end of the leadrope, she stopped and waited patiently until I undid her completely.
I want to stop this. The plan is to scatter a few grass nuts for Tilly so she is in the vicinity and not walking off, then to stand with Faith for a minute or two longer with some carrots before actually removing the headcollar. Anyway, we will see how that goes.
There was a bit of half hearted trotting about, then everyone settled down to the serious business of munching grass. When I had finished the mucking out and was about to go back into the house, I had a last look into the field. I was really pleased to see that Faith and Tommy were having a bit of mutual wither scratching. Tilly looked on for a bit, then calmly walked up to them. She moved Tommy away, and then to my delight and surprise invited Faith to have a bit of mutual wither scratching with her. Brilliant!
As this is my half day at work, I was taking a stroll with my little boy up the path at the side of the paddock. A low flying jet came thundering overhead. Faith had a little startle, then calmly went back to grazing. Excellent, another scary thing to tick off the list!
I am desperate to give Faith a brush with the lovely soft brushes I have bought her. However, I don’t even want to start doing this until she is completely happy and relaxed with me touching her all over. Ideally I want to do this at liberty and in the yard, so that she can feel that she really can move away from me if she is not comfortable with what I am doing. Unfortunately, we are doing a lot of work on the land at the moment, and Michael has had to put some of his equipment in the yard for the time being. I am not prepared to have Faith loose on the yard until all that stuff is out of the way. So I am just doing this while she is loose in her stable. If she moves away from my touch, I step away, and almost immediately she steps towards me again, and we carry on.
So far she has been happy to let me touch all over her face, neck, chest, withers and shoulders. However once I get past her shoulders, she tends to shift backwards. Tonight I was able to give her gentle scritchy scratches all down her back, and onto her rump, where I suspect another itchy groomy spot may be lurking!
While I was doing this, she was investigating my lower legs and my boots. She has started to get a little toothy, so to preserve my calf muscles from a light chewing, I just kept the back of my hand against her cheek, and if she became a little too insistent in her explorations, I just applied a little pressure, not enough to move her head away, but enough to make her stop and think what she was doing.
As this was going on, a heartstopping moment occurred when my ever-cooperative cat leapt onto the top of the stable door. I jumped about six feet into the air and uttered words that would make a sailor blush. Faith gave a minute twitch of surprise, and turned to look at me with a disapproving glare that just said “ And what on earth is wrong with you?” Oh dear, I have been put to shame by a not-even-two year old filly!
I want to stop this. The plan is to scatter a few grass nuts for Tilly so she is in the vicinity and not walking off, then to stand with Faith for a minute or two longer with some carrots before actually removing the headcollar. Anyway, we will see how that goes.
There was a bit of half hearted trotting about, then everyone settled down to the serious business of munching grass. When I had finished the mucking out and was about to go back into the house, I had a last look into the field. I was really pleased to see that Faith and Tommy were having a bit of mutual wither scratching. Tilly looked on for a bit, then calmly walked up to them. She moved Tommy away, and then to my delight and surprise invited Faith to have a bit of mutual wither scratching with her. Brilliant!
As this is my half day at work, I was taking a stroll with my little boy up the path at the side of the paddock. A low flying jet came thundering overhead. Faith had a little startle, then calmly went back to grazing. Excellent, another scary thing to tick off the list!
I am desperate to give Faith a brush with the lovely soft brushes I have bought her. However, I don’t even want to start doing this until she is completely happy and relaxed with me touching her all over. Ideally I want to do this at liberty and in the yard, so that she can feel that she really can move away from me if she is not comfortable with what I am doing. Unfortunately, we are doing a lot of work on the land at the moment, and Michael has had to put some of his equipment in the yard for the time being. I am not prepared to have Faith loose on the yard until all that stuff is out of the way. So I am just doing this while she is loose in her stable. If she moves away from my touch, I step away, and almost immediately she steps towards me again, and we carry on.
So far she has been happy to let me touch all over her face, neck, chest, withers and shoulders. However once I get past her shoulders, she tends to shift backwards. Tonight I was able to give her gentle scritchy scratches all down her back, and onto her rump, where I suspect another itchy groomy spot may be lurking!
While I was doing this, she was investigating my lower legs and my boots. She has started to get a little toothy, so to preserve my calf muscles from a light chewing, I just kept the back of my hand against her cheek, and if she became a little too insistent in her explorations, I just applied a little pressure, not enough to move her head away, but enough to make her stop and think what she was doing.
As this was going on, a heartstopping moment occurred when my ever-cooperative cat leapt onto the top of the stable door. I jumped about six feet into the air and uttered words that would make a sailor blush. Faith gave a minute twitch of surprise, and turned to look at me with a disapproving glare that just said “ And what on earth is wrong with you?” Oh dear, I have been put to shame by a not-even-two year old filly!
Monday 3 May 2010
Day 2 - Joining the herd!
Day 2
So today was the morning after the day before, and I was on my own as Michael was sound asleep in bed.
I popped everyone’s headcollars on, and turned Tommy and Tilly out first in the front paddock. Faith got a little worried about being left, and started doing some mini rears in the stable. I clipped her leadrope on, gave her a bit of carrot, and coaxed her out on to the yard. She was still a bit looky going into the barn, but I just walked slightly in front of her, and she followed me through calmly.
Once in the field I led her to a spot where she could see the other two, and took her headcollar off. I was hoping that she would settle, but for the next two hours or so she paced the same piece of ground in front of the gate, and didn’t even look like she was going to graze.So I bit the bullet, and took the executive decision to open the gates and let them all in together. It was a distinct anti-climax at first. Faith wouldn’t step into the sand pit that divides the two paddocks, and Tilly and Tommy were too busy stuffing their faces to notice that the gates were open.
Then the sweetest thing happened. Faith neighed to Tommy, who neighed back to her, and spotting her predicament, he strolled across the sandpit to meet her and encouraged her to cross back again with him.
Then it all went a bit pear shaped. Tilly decided that she had had enough of this little strumpet getting pally with Tommy, and started to chase Faith around the field. Cue the next half an hour of all three doing passable impressions of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners as they ran around each field and back again, over and over again. Tilly kept turning her bum on Faith and lashing out, she wasn’t attacking her, but just encouraging the filly to keep her distance. Poor Tommy, who isn’t the most streamlined horse in the world was struggling to keep up with his ladies, and was puffing along with his eyes popping.
Eventually they stopped at the top of the back field, so I closed the gate to the sand paddock and switched the electric fence back on.
Since that moment peace has pretty much reigned. As long as Faith keeps a respectful distance, and doesn’t get too close to Tommy, Tilly is quite happy with her presence. By 11am Tilly was content just to move the filly around at a walk, rather than chase her off, and now Tilly has just started to let Faith graze a little bit closer and closer.
The weather has been absolutely appalling though. It has been blowing a gale, and although it is nice when the sun shines, the wind is bitterly cold, and bringing with it short, sharp showers of rain and even hail.
Even though peace and harmony reigns in the herd, today was far from peaceful for Faith. We are doing an awful lot of work on our land at the moment, and we have had tractors with trailers, and tractors with huge hedge cutters buzzing about the place, not to mention the sound of hammering, chainsaws and general destruction. Oh and to cap it all off, the local shoot decided to put in an appearance a couple of fields away. Was Faith bothered? Naaaaaahhh!
I have to say Tilly and Tommy are worth their (considerable) weight in gold in this respect. Faith could not ask for two more unflappable and steady field companions.
So tonight when bringing them in, Tommy came in first. As I put him in his stable, I heard an angry squeal, and I guessed that Faith had got a bit too close to Tilly. Then Tilly came in next, and for the ten seconds that it took me to get Tilly into the stable, it was like Faith’s world was coming to an end. She ran into the gate and started rearing.
Now I don’t know if it is the thing to do, but in these situations, I choose to ignore the behaviour, and just carried on as normal. I do believe that Faith will eventually work out that she won’t be left out on her own forever and ever, and the ten seconds it takes for me to get to her will seem less like an eternity.
So I went into the paddock with her, gave her a carrot and put on her headcollar. She led nicely into the barn, and didn’t try to barge or rush. Then while putting her into her stable, I made two silly mistakes. Firstly I expected her to walk past me into the stable (forgetting that she is still wary of going from light concrete yard onto black stable mats), which to her credit she eventually did. Mistake number two was forgetting that I was dealing with a baby horse, and flicking the leadrope over her back as she went past me.
Understandably this freaked her out a bit, and she flitted from one side of the stable to the other in a tiz. I realised my mistake, and slid quickly into the stable. As soon as I was next to her she stood still, and I took off her headcollar and leadrope without any problems. That just brought it home to me how much I take for granted with my other ponies, and hopefully is not a mistake I will make again. Having said that, there was no harm done, and we had a lovely groomy session with me paying a lot of attention to her itchy spots.
So lots achieved today I think. Faith is now part of the herd, and she and I are both the happier and more relieved for it.
So today was the morning after the day before, and I was on my own as Michael was sound asleep in bed.
I popped everyone’s headcollars on, and turned Tommy and Tilly out first in the front paddock. Faith got a little worried about being left, and started doing some mini rears in the stable. I clipped her leadrope on, gave her a bit of carrot, and coaxed her out on to the yard. She was still a bit looky going into the barn, but I just walked slightly in front of her, and she followed me through calmly.
Once in the field I led her to a spot where she could see the other two, and took her headcollar off. I was hoping that she would settle, but for the next two hours or so she paced the same piece of ground in front of the gate, and didn’t even look like she was going to graze.So I bit the bullet, and took the executive decision to open the gates and let them all in together. It was a distinct anti-climax at first. Faith wouldn’t step into the sand pit that divides the two paddocks, and Tilly and Tommy were too busy stuffing their faces to notice that the gates were open.
Then the sweetest thing happened. Faith neighed to Tommy, who neighed back to her, and spotting her predicament, he strolled across the sandpit to meet her and encouraged her to cross back again with him.
Then it all went a bit pear shaped. Tilly decided that she had had enough of this little strumpet getting pally with Tommy, and started to chase Faith around the field. Cue the next half an hour of all three doing passable impressions of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners as they ran around each field and back again, over and over again. Tilly kept turning her bum on Faith and lashing out, she wasn’t attacking her, but just encouraging the filly to keep her distance. Poor Tommy, who isn’t the most streamlined horse in the world was struggling to keep up with his ladies, and was puffing along with his eyes popping.
Eventually they stopped at the top of the back field, so I closed the gate to the sand paddock and switched the electric fence back on.
Since that moment peace has pretty much reigned. As long as Faith keeps a respectful distance, and doesn’t get too close to Tommy, Tilly is quite happy with her presence. By 11am Tilly was content just to move the filly around at a walk, rather than chase her off, and now Tilly has just started to let Faith graze a little bit closer and closer.
The weather has been absolutely appalling though. It has been blowing a gale, and although it is nice when the sun shines, the wind is bitterly cold, and bringing with it short, sharp showers of rain and even hail.
Even though peace and harmony reigns in the herd, today was far from peaceful for Faith. We are doing an awful lot of work on our land at the moment, and we have had tractors with trailers, and tractors with huge hedge cutters buzzing about the place, not to mention the sound of hammering, chainsaws and general destruction. Oh and to cap it all off, the local shoot decided to put in an appearance a couple of fields away. Was Faith bothered? Naaaaaahhh!
I have to say Tilly and Tommy are worth their (considerable) weight in gold in this respect. Faith could not ask for two more unflappable and steady field companions.
So tonight when bringing them in, Tommy came in first. As I put him in his stable, I heard an angry squeal, and I guessed that Faith had got a bit too close to Tilly. Then Tilly came in next, and for the ten seconds that it took me to get Tilly into the stable, it was like Faith’s world was coming to an end. She ran into the gate and started rearing.
Now I don’t know if it is the thing to do, but in these situations, I choose to ignore the behaviour, and just carried on as normal. I do believe that Faith will eventually work out that she won’t be left out on her own forever and ever, and the ten seconds it takes for me to get to her will seem less like an eternity.
So I went into the paddock with her, gave her a carrot and put on her headcollar. She led nicely into the barn, and didn’t try to barge or rush. Then while putting her into her stable, I made two silly mistakes. Firstly I expected her to walk past me into the stable (forgetting that she is still wary of going from light concrete yard onto black stable mats), which to her credit she eventually did. Mistake number two was forgetting that I was dealing with a baby horse, and flicking the leadrope over her back as she went past me.
Understandably this freaked her out a bit, and she flitted from one side of the stable to the other in a tiz. I realised my mistake, and slid quickly into the stable. As soon as I was next to her she stood still, and I took off her headcollar and leadrope without any problems. That just brought it home to me how much I take for granted with my other ponies, and hopefully is not a mistake I will make again. Having said that, there was no harm done, and we had a lovely groomy session with me paying a lot of attention to her itchy spots.
So lots achieved today I think. Faith is now part of the herd, and she and I are both the happier and more relieved for it.
Sunday 2 May 2010
The arrival
So today my little Arabian princess finally arrived. It was her first time in the trailer, and apparently she travelled well. We unloaded her in the field, and walked her into the yard. She was really spooky, as everything was obviously very new to her, but really all she did was to stop and have a good look at everything.
Once she was safely installed in her stable, Tommy plastered himself agains the bars, and immediately started to ingratiate himself with the pretty young new arrival. Faith appreciated this, and soon started nibbling his face and neck gently. Tommy was in absolute heaven!
So we left her to settle in the stable for a couple of hours. Then it came to turning everyone out, Tilly and Tommy in the front paddock, and Faith in the back paddock.
Faith wasn't massively keen on having her headcollar on, so I just spent half an hour in the stable chatting to her, giving her carrots, and trying to find her itchy, groomy spots. After a while, she felt that we had made friends enough to let me put her headcollar on.
Initially, I thought that I would turn her out first, but she really wasn't keen on leaving the stable, and the security of the others. Tommy was getting really impatient to be out at grass, so I turned him and Tilly out first.
Faith was really anxious not to be left behind, so I managed to coax her out of her stable, and onto the yard. However, she was really reluctant to go from the sunny brightness into the dark barn to reach the field gate. We let her stand and think for a bit, then Michael walked through the barn to hold the second gate open. Lo and behold, Faith just followed him, bless her socks! What a brave and trusting little girl.
Once out in the field, she trotted around for a little while, and settled down to eat. She would return to the gate now and again to have another carrot from me, or go to the sand paddock gate to check that Tilly and Tommy were still around. These two were busy stuffing themselves with grass, and only occasionally glanced up to see that the new arrival was still in the vicinity.
So all in all they were out for about four hours or so, and it was all very peaceful and civilised. Then I brought Tilly and Tommy in for tea, and Faith stood at the gateway to the barn whinnying. I went into her paddock and put her headcollar on. This time she led more easily into the barn, although she was still very alert and a bit jumpy. Once back into her stable, in close proximity to Tommy, she visibly relaxed, and started munching on her hay.
After clearing the fields up, I spent some time with Faith just chatting to her, and eureka! I managed to locate her itchy spot on her neck, and spent a lovely ten minutes just scratching and rubbing her neck and back. In return, Faith started playing with the velcro on my sleeve, and quickly discovered how satisfying it is to undo a piece of velcro, and listen to the sound it makes!
So I think Faith had a positive first day. She is desperate to be in the field with Tilly and Tommy, but we will give it a bit more time, and see what tomorrow brings. Particularly as my neighbour is having a new horse delivered as well, so there is likely to be some hysterical neighing and running about from the direction of her place. Plus it is so blinking windy, that I certainly feel a bit unsettled, let alone the neddies.
Faith is a sweet, tusting, brave little filly, and I just love her to bits!
Once she was safely installed in her stable, Tommy plastered himself agains the bars, and immediately started to ingratiate himself with the pretty young new arrival. Faith appreciated this, and soon started nibbling his face and neck gently. Tommy was in absolute heaven!
So we left her to settle in the stable for a couple of hours. Then it came to turning everyone out, Tilly and Tommy in the front paddock, and Faith in the back paddock.
Faith wasn't massively keen on having her headcollar on, so I just spent half an hour in the stable chatting to her, giving her carrots, and trying to find her itchy, groomy spots. After a while, she felt that we had made friends enough to let me put her headcollar on.
Initially, I thought that I would turn her out first, but she really wasn't keen on leaving the stable, and the security of the others. Tommy was getting really impatient to be out at grass, so I turned him and Tilly out first.
Faith was really anxious not to be left behind, so I managed to coax her out of her stable, and onto the yard. However, she was really reluctant to go from the sunny brightness into the dark barn to reach the field gate. We let her stand and think for a bit, then Michael walked through the barn to hold the second gate open. Lo and behold, Faith just followed him, bless her socks! What a brave and trusting little girl.
Once out in the field, she trotted around for a little while, and settled down to eat. She would return to the gate now and again to have another carrot from me, or go to the sand paddock gate to check that Tilly and Tommy were still around. These two were busy stuffing themselves with grass, and only occasionally glanced up to see that the new arrival was still in the vicinity.
So all in all they were out for about four hours or so, and it was all very peaceful and civilised. Then I brought Tilly and Tommy in for tea, and Faith stood at the gateway to the barn whinnying. I went into her paddock and put her headcollar on. This time she led more easily into the barn, although she was still very alert and a bit jumpy. Once back into her stable, in close proximity to Tommy, she visibly relaxed, and started munching on her hay.
After clearing the fields up, I spent some time with Faith just chatting to her, and eureka! I managed to locate her itchy spot on her neck, and spent a lovely ten minutes just scratching and rubbing her neck and back. In return, Faith started playing with the velcro on my sleeve, and quickly discovered how satisfying it is to undo a piece of velcro, and listen to the sound it makes!
So I think Faith had a positive first day. She is desperate to be in the field with Tilly and Tommy, but we will give it a bit more time, and see what tomorrow brings. Particularly as my neighbour is having a new horse delivered as well, so there is likely to be some hysterical neighing and running about from the direction of her place. Plus it is so blinking windy, that I certainly feel a bit unsettled, let alone the neddies.
Faith is a sweet, tusting, brave little filly, and I just love her to bits!
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