Equine Online September 2016 by Equine Online NZ

F R E E M O N T H LY E Q U E S T R I A N M A G A Z I N E

Equine Online www.equineonline.co.nz

september 2016

anyth i n g equ estrian d ressage day photo spread

HOt Tips

feeding your horse

ELLIE

O'BRIEN

Common sense horsemanship

SECTION NAME

EDITOR

Yvette Morrissey

CONTRIBUORS

Jacqui Van Buuren, Claire Madden, Jess Land, Marie Gordon, Senara Caddy, Grace Gray.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Claire Madden.

FR O M T H E EDI TO R

CONTRIBUTE!

We are always on the lookout for new contributors. If you are interested in becoming a part of New Zealand’s first free equestrian e-magazine, send us an email: editor@equineonline.co.nz

We would love to hear from you. Send us an email: editor@equineonline.co.nz

Yvette with her horse Regi

Owning a horse has its share of ups and downs. Legs and fences, mysterious paddock injuries, coughs and colds- I’m sure every rider has had their fair share of these frustrating events. I’ve had my turn this past month- one of my horses was doing his best ridden work to date and next thing I know, he’s hopping lame. How did it happen? I’m assuming he got a bit too playful in the paddock and tweaked something. It must have been incredibly frustrating for one of our New Zealand eventers at Rio, Jock Paget, to withdraw from competition when his horse, Clifton Lush, cut his face in a stable accident.

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But alas, that’s horses for you. We could wrap them in cotton wool and they would still find a way to hurt themselves! On the flipside, the unpredictability of our sport is what makes it so exciting. On a side note, it was thrilling to watch our riders compete in Rio, and even though the eventers didn’t bring home the medal they worked so hard for, they are still heroes in my opinion. Enjoy the issue. Yvette Morrissey

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Editor

september

contents 6 | NEWS

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24 | WILD AT HEART: PART 3 26 | COLUMNS

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NEWS

THE HORSES BACK: PERFORMANCE AND THERAPY The Dressage Academy are holding an educational seminar this September that will bring riders up close and personal to the horse's spine and pelvis. The seminar will be presented by Nicolett Geldermann and Dr. Guy Alexander, and is being held at the Dressage Academy on September 17. It will include presentations, a skeletal display, ridden and in-hand demonstrations. Nicolett is a qualified equine physiotherapist and founder of Living Anatomy of the Horse which offers physiotherapy and chiropractic care for horses. Guy has a broad range of experience in equine surgery and lameness diagnosis gained in many

countries. Guy is one of the most qualified vets in New Zealand for neck, back and pelvis problems. Guy's latest professional development was spending time with with Dr. Denoix - considered the world’s foremost equine musculoskeletal system anatomist as well as a leading equine diagnostic ultrasonographer. Those attending will also have the opportunity to ask questions about their own horses' back. Tickets cost $60 for adults and $20 for Pony Club members, students and children. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit thedressageacademy.co.nz.

5 KIWIS FINISH IN TOP 10 AT BURGHLEY By Diana Dobson The rails fell freely for most of the top 10 at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials but five Kiwis filled the top ten slots and Tim Price finished second in the cashrich FEI Classics Series.Andrew Nicholson and Nereo were second, with Jonelle Price aboard Classic Moet third and Tim Price aboard Ringwood Sky Boy fourth. Chris Burton (AUS) notched the biggest win of his career, holding on for the win aboard Nobilis 18 despite garnering 16 jump faults in the final phase. He is just the third Australian to win Burghley. Caroline Powell and Onwards and Upwards finished in eighth, with Sir Mark Todd aboard NZB Campino ninth, Blyth Tait and Bear Necessity V 11th and Dan Jocelyn with

Dassett Cool Touch 13th. Tim Price was also 21st on Bango. Run in reverse order, it was a nailbiting finish for all, with Tim Price picking up 12 faults to slip off the podium, Jonelle Price nudging ahead of her husband with her single rail, and Nicholson adding six faults. Just five combinations of the final 38 had clean slates in the showjumping. It was Nicholson’s third runner-up spot and he was clearly proud of his chestnut. Jonelle Price said she felt she had been playing catch-up all week. “I feel like I’ve been digging myself out of a hole all week,” she said. “I wasn’t happy with my dressage, then I took an unplanned long route at the Dairy Farm, but I’ve managed

EQUINE ONLINE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016

to claw my way back and this horse makes my life easy. It is hard to think about what might have been, however at the end of the day it is a top three for Classic Moet – her first at four star level.” They were the fastest of the day in the cross country phase. Husband Tim’s efforts saw him place second in the FEI Classics Series and pick up a $US30,000 prize, with Nicholson third, Clarke Johnstone fourth and Todd ninth. “It is a nice show of consistency in what has been a bit of an inconsistent year,” said Tim. “And it was nice to do it too without the strength of Wesko involved, so it is the icing on the top.”

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BREED PROFILE

APPALOOSA By Grace Gray

Appaloosas are one of the most unique looking horses due to their spotted coats. Due to cave drawings of spotted horses dating back to over 20,000 years ago, It has been discovered that the Appaloosa breed has been around since prehistoric times, during the ice age. It is pretty incredible that even though this breed is thousands of years old, there are still over 570,000 appaloosas registered in the world today. Appaloosas have some interesting characteristics. They have no leg markings and they also have black and white vertical stripes on their hooves. Their coat isn’t the only thing that is spotted either their skin is also spotted. Although appaloosas mostly only grow to 16 hands high they certainly don’t lack any talent. These versatile horses are used pleasure, western riding, dressage, show jumping and much more. M A R C H 2 0 11 U N I V E R S A L M A G A Z I N E

ADVICE

TOP 5forTIPS feeding your horse Feeding is an art. We all want to make sure our horses are getting the best out of what is going in. Feeding mistakes can have disastrous consequences, such as a deficiency or an overload of certain nutrients. Read on to discover our best tips for feeding your horse.

Weigh in. Do you actually weigh your feed or just measure it by scoop? Weighing your feed insures your horse gets the correct nutrition, after all one scoop of barley will weigh differently to a scoop of forage. Weigh your feed, fill your scooper up and mark with vivid on the outside how much of each different feed your horse requires.

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Check the nutrient content of your hard feed. Make sure you calculate the amount of nutrients your horse is getting from his hard feed before supplementing to avoid nutritional overloading. If you are unsure about your horses nutrition needs, talk to your vet or a equine nutritionist. Age is a factor. Most adult horse feeds wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough nutrients for a younger horse, or for a broodmare. Ensure you consider your horses age when choosing your hard feed.

Save the guesswork. Get your horses bloods checked to see if he is lacking in anything. Not only will this save you money on feed in the long run, it will ensure your horse has everything he needs to do his job to the highest standard. New Zealand soils are known to be low in selenium, so ensure you get your horses levels checked once a year.

Pass the salt. Sodium and chloride are electrolytes essential to many bodily functions. These are also the only essential nutrients that are not naturally present in grasses and grains. Both are lost in sweat and must be replaced. The recommended intake is 10 grams per 100 kilograms liveweight of salt/per day. That is at least two tablespoons.

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Feed your horse right with these top tips.

EQUINE ONLINE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016

HORSE OF THE MONTH

Equine Online’s

DID YOU KNOW: THE CLYDESDALE HORSE OF WHAT MAKES YOUR HORSE SPECIAL?

Tell us and be in to WIN a pair of dressage boots valued at $30 from Pique Equestrian NZ! Nominate a horse you think deserves to be Equine Online’s ‘Horse/Pony of the Month’ and tell us their story- it can be funny, inspirational, sad or plain strange! *Entries should be under 300 words and emailed to editor@equineonline.co.nz

THE MONTH Sponsored by

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EQUESTRIAN

Our June Horse Of the Month winner is Magic, who was nominated by his owner, Laura. Laura and Magic are now the lucky new owners of a browband from Pique Equestrian. “This is me and my horse Lorenzo GNZ aka Rex. Rex was bought for my sister and she didn’t like him because he was different to all of her other horses. We were going to sell Rex because if she wasn’t going to ride him then he would be wasted in the paddock. Since he didn’t have a rider while he was for sale I started riding him. I fell in love as soon as I hopped on him- he was the coolest horse ever! I soon started to jump him to 1.30m as that is what he is best at. We have just started our first season showjumping and it is my first season too, we are currently in the lead for winning the ‘Solway Showjumping Series 2016.’ Rex is a bit quirky but no one understands him like I do. He tries other riders on but he never does with me that’s why he isn’t just a ‘Horse of the Month’ but a ‘horse of a lifetime.’ I will have many more seasons with him and I will never sell him! I hardly ride Rex in a saddle because I find it so much better to ride bareback and so much more fun!”

loren

Pique Equestrian is located in Queenstown, Central Otago and are stockists of bridles, browbands and boots. *Entries are accepted from those living in New Zealand only. For full T’s and C’s email editor@equineonline.co.nz.

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EQUESTRIAN

Stockists of

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• Bridles Browbands • Bridles • Browbands E Q U I N E EOQNULI INNEE OMNALGI N AE ZIM NE A GSAEZPI TNEEMM BA EYR 22001166

F E AT U R E

ellie o'brien:

Cool, kind & connected

By Yvette Morrissey Ellie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, horse trainer and founder of Finesse Equestrian, has traveled the world and worked with many of the best horse trainers to develop her unique style of training.

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F E AT U R E Ellie grew up in Rotorua and started riding when she was just a few months old on her grandfather’s Clydesdale. Her parents weren’t particularly horsey, but she twisted their arm and at age six she began riding lessons. “I had to get my grades up to a good standard before I could start the lessons,” she says. She went to Pony Club and competed in gymkhana games like most horse mad kids. A selfconfessed “speed demon” she quickly became interested in show jumping. Her parents purchased a green five year-old pony for Ellie to bring on, and it wasn’t long before they were competing mini grand prix and speed jumping up to 1.30m. “I have very strong memories of her when she was green- she was stubborn, would buck and wasn’t too keen to go certain places!” The pony was named Soul Sista, who, after Elle sold her to the Lambert family, went on to place second in Pony of the Year behind Amanda Wilson and Showtym Viking. At 17, Ellie then purchased an unbroken, four year-old Irish Hunter mare called Touch of Mischief- her first real experience starting a horse

from scratch. “Because I’d always ridden problem horses or younger ones it taught me to be patient. Starting Touch of Mischief helped develop my interest in horsemanship.” At age 19, Ellie fell pregnant and give birth to her daughter, Bella. “It’s definitely hard juggling motherhood and horses. There’s no such thing as creating a perfect balance- it’s an area you have to integrate.” Being a mother made Ellie more mindful of the risks associated with show jumping. When Bella was 18 months old, Ellie suffered a broken neck after Touch of Mischief fell and rolled on her while jumping. The accident ended her show jumping career. “My accident made me question a lot of things. Show Jumping wasn’t worth the risk, especially after having Bella. I knew I wanted to continue with horses but I wanted to find a better way of doing it. I also wanted to understand horses better.”

BOTTOM LEFT Ellie with Panda, a horse that was sent to her to be restarted. RIGHT Sharing a moment with Lola, one of Ellie's broodmares.

FINESSE EQUESTRIAN In 2011, Ellie met the Double Dans at Equi Days.

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F E AT U R E

“Meeting them was the first big eye opener that showed me you can make a living off horses. I thought it was unachievable until I met them. I saw how many people and horses they were helping, and I started to think ‘I can do this!’” She stayed with them for a few weeks, watched them teach their horses tricks and got to ride their horses and learn a few tricks herself. She returned to New Zealand, when she discovered Buck Brannaman was going to be in New Zealand the following weekend. “Buck is absolutely amazing, and his style was so different to what I was used to.” She wrote down every word he spoke, and built up the courage to go and speak to him. “It was so funny because I don’t get star struck easily. The first thing I said to him was ‘I want to be like you when I grow up, what do I have to do?’ He smiled at me and said ‘Find a good mentor, take advice from the right people and ride as many horses as you can’.” Taking his advice, she began volunteering at a trekking business that owned 90 horses. “I started a bunch of horses for them, and videoed and wrote down everything I did with them.“ Word spread of her affinity with horses, and she began accepting outside horses for starting and training.

In 2013, Ellie joined her boyfriend in America when he was picked to race NASCAR. While she was there, she contacted Warwick Schiller. “What I really liked about Warwick was what you see online and in his videos is what you get in real life.” She ended up being his working pupil for two months in California. Warwick assigned her horses ranging from problem horses to young horses, and even some top reining horses. “It was great to play around on such a variety of horses, including some of Warwick’s trained horses to feel what was really good.” One of the most memorable horses was a large 17.2hh Irish Draft horse that Warwick gave Ellie as a project. “He knew all the tricks in the book- rearing, bucking, and in every direction you didn’t want him to go, he did.” Ellie recalls holding on to the saddle horn as he bucked when she asked him to go forwards. “He just didn’t understand the cues. I took him through the programme, found the holes in his training, and he ended up leaving in a much better place. The experience was hugely rewarding- and it taught me all of the problems that horses have are symptoms of smaller things.” At only 25, Ellie has met and worked with some of the world’s best horse trainers. While you could put it down to

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F E AT U R E LEFT Ellie (right) works alongside her sister, Hannah (left). Here they are with Yo-yo and Sterling. RIGHT Ellie riding a horse owned by Scott McKenna at a Jaime Amain clinic.

luck, or being in the right place at the right time, Ellie has a simpler explanation. “I just approached them at events they were at or on Facebook. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. Most of the time people are willing to give you some advice or let you watch them train." DISASTER STRIKES Last year, Ellie was riding a young horse when she suffered a serious fall. “He was going really well, and something spooked him. He got a fright, bucked, and I came off. I couldn’t move at all, and I knew something was really wrong.” Her L3 exploded, and doctors were uncertain if she would ever walk again. She needed to undergo an operation, and there was a chance the bone could sever and damage her spinal cord. “I invested a lot into personal development over the years and I used those skills to get through without melting down. I knew regardless of the outcome I would find a way of being happy.” Luckily, the operation went well, and eventually she got her full range of movement back. “There are plates and pins holding me together,” she says.

“I invested a lot into personal development over the years and I used those skills to get through without melting down. I knew regardless of the outcome I would find a way of being happy.” “Now I encourage everyone to ride with their phone. Accidents can happen to anyone at any time.” FINESSE EQUESTRIAN In 2012, Ellie started her business, Finesse Equestrian, which provides services in starting, training/schooling, problem horses, lessons and clinics. She works alongside

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F E AT U R E fellow horse trainer Elise Lett, and her sister, Hannah O’Brien. While many would label Ellie as a natural horsemanship trainer, she says different.

finesse: 1. extreme delicacy or subtlety in action, performance, skill, discrimination, taste, etc. 2. skill in handling a difficult or highly sensitive situation; adroit and artful management.

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“I don’t refer to myself as a horsemanship trainer. That term puts you in a box. To me what I do is just common common sense horsemanship. My goal is to work with the horse in a way that they understand and that keeps them happy so they don’t lose any natural character. I’m always making sure that I keep on learning myself, and that I’m working with each horse as an individual.” While natural horsemanship tends to come from a western background, Ellie believes that the line between western and English riding needs to disappear. “More people are starting to understand that this style of training is not just for western riders and natural horsemanship people. Good riding and training is the same, no matter what tack you’re wearing, or what your discipline is.” Currently, Ellie is taking part in the 2016 Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge. Her adopted Kaimanawa, Tama, is a good example of how effective Ellie’s training is. “If everyone had this knowledge, the amount of riding accidents would dramatically decrease.”

F E AT U R E

"Good riding and training is the same, no matter what tack you’re wearing, or what your discipline is.” LEFT Ellie with Buck Brannaman. MIDDLE Teaching Sterling the Spanish walk. RIGHT Ellie helping a mare to free up her shoulders, at one of her clinics.

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PHOTO SPREAD

anything equestrian dressage day Photographer: Claire Madden

PHOTO SPREAD

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PHOTO SPREAD

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RACEHORSE RECYCLING

Part VI. In the final of our six part series, Claire takes Ouch to a dressage competition, Yvette reflects on her time with Bomba, Jax is back in the saddle, and Jess juggles keeping multiple horses in work.

TRAINING

CLAIRE AND OUCH This month Claire takes Ouch to the Anything Equestrian Dressage Day. Read on to see how they went!

RIDER: Claire Madden LOCATION: Kumeu, Auckland OCCUPATION: HR Assistant WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH OUCH? Teaching him to canter and to establish leg aids rather than slapping the reins on his neck to get him moving forward. HORSE: Major Ouch (Ouch) AGE: 8 HEIGHT: 15.3hh DAM: Ouch La Fe Fe SIRE: Art Major STARTS: 32 WINNINGS: $30,390 DISCIPLINE: Showing

This month was focused on working towards competing at the final event of the Anything Equestrian Dressage competition. Ouch has become a lot more consistent in his tempo, head carriage and frame so we are down to the fine tuning, except for the canter work which even after a few months of hard work we are still struggling with. Riding in the pouring rain the night before the dressage day didn’t exactly leave me filled with confidence but luckily the weather cleared and the day of the competition was sunny. Ouch is a bit of an odd horse at the best of times and unlike a lot of horses who get to a competition and spark up, Ouch becomes very lazy. After working hard on installing a go button at home and at other venues we have travelled to, this unfortunately malfunctioned at dressage. He was easier to get going than on the first Dressage Day, but he still did not compete at the level I thought we should have. Both of Ouch’s tests were acceptable and certainly an improvement on the first day ,but we certainly have a long way to go

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before he is Valegro. In our first test (0A) we managed 7's and 8's for the first half of the test before dropping to 5’s and 6’s for the remainder or the test to finish on 61.8% and sixth placing. Our second test (0C) again scored 7’s and 8’s until we arrived at the canter movements where Ouch refused to play ball which resulted in three breaks per canter and some four beat canter work, resulting in a drop in points to 3’s, however, this canter work was a slight improvement on the first day. Overall we scored 52.2% and 10th in the class, this left us fourth in the overall high points series for our division which I am very happy with. Ouch is now on a 6 week break while a couple of my other horses come into work and then we will be aiming for some shows over the summer.

TRAINING

YVETTE AND BOMBA In this update, Yvette discusses the past six months of training with Bomba and what's next for him.

RIDER: Yvette Morrissey LOCATION: Christchurch OCCUPATION: Editor WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH BOMBA? Stiffness and not wanting to bend, especially on the right rein. HORSE: Keeparunnin (Bomba) AGE: 7 HEIGHT: 16.1HH DAM: Goldilocks SIRE: Keeper STARTS: 19 WINNINGS: $25, 825 DISCIPLINE: Dressage and showing

The last six months have been somewhat of a rollercoaster. Myself and Bomba had a great start with lots of riding and learning, and then winter struck. Combine that with a hectic work schedule and another horse, and you've got zero time to train a thoroughbred! During the past six months however, I have seen a mountain of improvement in Bomba. When he first arrived, all he knew was racing and jumping. Now, he has slotted himself quite nicely into the dressage lifestyle. At first he was this very large, stiff horse that found it nearly impossible to bend through a corner, and a few weeks ago he was doing some of the best schooling in his life, ready to go out and complete a level one test. He learned how to leg yield like a pro, and we went from stretching long and low, to the beginning of self-carriage. It was such a great feeling when I would climb on, and he would be stretching his neck and back out during our warm up! In the last six months we also attended a dressage day. Bomba acted like an absolute gentleman, trying his heart out,

and proving the 'typical' ex-racehorse (and thoroughbred) stereotype wrong. We even came home with a ribbon which was a bonus seeing as I just wanted to test the water to see how he would react, with no intention of flashy scores or ribbons! Unfortunately a few weeks ago, when Bomba was doing his best work yet, something didn't go quite right and he has tweaked something in his back. He is now having a rest, and will be brought back into work once he's better. I am really excited to see what's in store for Bomba in the dressage arena. I feel that because we worked so hard on getting the basics right, this will set him up for a successful and happy career in the big white arena and the show ring!

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TRAINING

JAX AND WILLS This month Jax is back in the saddle and reflects on hers and Wills journey so far.

RIDER: Jax Van Buuren LOCATION: Whangarei OCCUPATION: Mother/ Radio Announcer WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH WILLS? Everything in this month’s column! HORSE: Buffalo Ben (Wills) AGE: 4 HEIGHT: 16.2hh DAM: Princess Dower SIRE: Buffalo Man STARTS: 1 WINNINGS: $0- but sold for $18,000 as a yearling DISCIPLINE: Pleasure and something

So the last time Will and I checked in it was all a bit grim really. I’d recently broken my leg and was looking down the barrel of six weeks off, winter was just ramping up and my poor old dad was hospitalized with cancer and needing open heart surgery on top of that! But that was then and now my leg has healed, the lambs are leaping and dad is slowly healing. Perspective gained, now can I get back to riding? Up until about three weeks ago Wills had been standing around in a muddy paddock looking cold and grumpy. It was quite daunting to think about climbing aboard after such a big turn out time, all in all it was about two months he’d been contemplating life and turning hard feed into poo! The day arrived and my excuses had run out, the sun was shining, the wind stopped and I felt strong and ready. I was totally shocked to find that when I got on he was fully relaxed and we hacked down the lane like old buddies on a Sunday drive. I could only think that it had something to do with his fifth birthday and him now being a big grown up boy!

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Since then we’ve been hacking a lot in a nice, calm, cool way and we’re looking forward to the new season. Last weekend we had a great trial out and about when we joined a couple of mates for a forest ride that included a donkey encounter, a huge bonfire, logging trucks and a paddock of alpacas, Wills exceeded all my expectations, even taking the lead through the scary smoke and ash that the bonfire was producing. I was chuffed. I think that having time off has made me a little more relaxed about our schooling and I’m going about the whole thing with a lot more instinct about what’s right on the day, if it doesn’t feel right I don’t force it. I’ve realised with thoroughbreds you have to take the time to discover their personality, what they lovem and work within those factors. I’m really looking forward to our future and can see that Wills could be my forever horse.

TRAINING

JESS AND SHAKEY In their final entry, Jess discusses her time with Shakey and her hopes with him for the future.

RIDER: Jess Land LOCATION: Christchurch OCCUPATION: Owner of Jess Land Equestrian HORSE: Metalworker (Shakey) AGE: 5 HEIGHT: 16HH DAM: Andalan SIRE: Kings Chapel STARTS: 9 WINNINGS: $4, 375 DISCIPLINE: Eventing and show-jumping

To many horses and not enough time seems to have been the common theme for the last month! Poor Shakey has been a bit on the back burner this last month with not much time to do more than the odd hack. He's just coming back into full work now and is ready to spend the next six weeks playing dressage pony with a close friend while I'm in the North Island working. I've been really impressed with how well this horse has switched over into a sport horse career and while he hasn't been getting much attention on the riding front he's let down well and really settled into the place. I'm very excited to get him out to some shows when I get back and can't wait to see what the future holds for this horse. He's certainly got the movement and from what I've seen so far the brain and jump is pretty flash to!

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PART THREE

Wild at heart Ellie O’Brien from Finesse Equestrian Training is one of six trainers that has been selected to take part in the 2016 Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge. Her stallion, Tama, was sent to her after this year’s muster. In part II, Ellie teaches Tama his table manners and makes progress on a sensitive topic. In this six part series, we will follow Ellie and Tama’s progress from wild stallion to trusty stead. I picked my daughter, Isabella up from the bus stop early one day. “Horses today?” she asked as she always does. “Yup, I’ve just got to finish working with Tama and then we can head home”. Bella groaned. She loves horses but definitely isn’t horse mad like I was when I was her age. In saying that, we never seem to have older horses around for her to enjoy. So I said to her, why don’t you come down and meet Tama properly? She beamed! Down in the round pen I introduced the two of them. Other than the vet two weeks ago when he was castrated, Tama hasn’t had anyone else work with him so I was curious to see how he would react. Tama wasn’t worried in the slightest as Bella worked her way up to his shoulder, giving him a gentle rub. A while later, I suggested she have a wee sit on his back seeing how relaxed he was. After a discussion on how to mount a young horse correctly, Bella stood beside him, leg stretched up to the stirrup and holding on to the front of the saddle while I held Tama in slight lateral flexion as she climbed half way on and rubbed him on his offside shoulder.

Relaxed pony and happy child. “Okay that’s perfect, now step back down again.” We repeated this process a couple more times before we decided he was well and truly ready for Bella to swing her leg over and sit on Tama for the very first time. I think we’ll both remember that moment for a very long time! Another day I was working with Tama in the round pen at liberty, with a focus of creating more refined cues in the trot and canter transitions. With rest being his favourite thing to do, this makes for a great reward. Whenever he gave the correct response, I let him come into the middle of the round pen stand with me. While he stood there relaxed and head hanging low, I took the opportunity to practice picking his feet up. Before this I had only asked him to pick his feet up a few times with the lead rope, applying pressure and releasing as soon as he shifted his weight. Because he’s been extremely protective over his legs, I’ve just been gradually getting him used to me touching a teeny bit further down each session, some days not progressing at all. I slid my hand all the way down and gently rubbed his pas

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PHOTOGRAPHY: HENNAH O’BRIEN

tern as this is where the pressure of the rope has been applied. Tama put his head almost on the ground to look at what I was doing down there, but this time with kind, curious eyes. He then shifted his weight and lifted his foot. I immediately released to reward his try. It worked, and within minutes my wild pony was lifting both of his front feet and holding them up. Not a rope in sight, only a connection of trust and respect. It is always exciting when all the ground foundations begin to come together and we get to see the more visible steps forward, but I don’t think anything compares to when that happens with a wild horse.

You can follow Ellie and Tama’s journey by clicking here and liking their Facebook page. You can also follow the other rider and stallion combinations by joining the Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge Facebook page.

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COLUMN: RETURNING TO RIDING

i bought a horse! After 30 years, adult rider and columnist Marie Gordon is back in the saddle. This month Marie finds inspiration watching the riders compete at the Olympic Games, and reflects on what she has learned about riding so far.

Like many of you I have spent a lot of August watching a lot of amazing equestrian competition on TV. The Olympics are a fantastic opportunity for me as a learning rider to be awe inspired. It has also been a good opportunity for me to reflect. Not too deeply but enough to see how steep and long the curve is between knowing nothing and knowing enough to be amongst the best in the world. If there was a gradient of success with non-rider at one end and Olympian at the other I’m definitely off the starter’s blocks but definitely at the bottom end of that incline. If I was to take the comparison too far I think I’d too easily be discouraged and looking for a less challenging form of recreation but I am not going to so do that as there’s no way I am giving up. While I have no intentions of joining the Olympic club (I don’t think I have enough years left in me without turning amateur equestrian full time!) where I do want to get is made up of far more learning layers than I ever imagined. Realising this has been a positive thing for me. It is not going to be a quick sprint to the finish line. There’s no shortcut or cheat sheet way to get good at this thing, but, with every lesson building on (or in my case repeating or let’s say reinforcing!) the last, I now see this more for what it is. There are times when I feel for my coach. It must feel like ground hog day every Tuesday afternoon when I roll up for my weekly lesson. Thank goodness Sarah is patient and happy to change the way she explains things until it sinks in. As a professional she is actively expanding her own knowledge which means there’s always plenty of ways for her to do that.

From time to time I have to remind myself that I am making progress, and there’s no denying my excitement in those moments when I have a break through. Like the day Sarah had me riding around with my eyes closed. Suddenly the light turned on. “The feel” meant something. I found I do have four seat bones that connect with the saddle. I also found I don’t sit evenly, and my alignment is unconsciously unusual. Rather than look at these things as problems it was an awesome revelation. The connection between my horse and me is not just about my hands and his mouth, nor just about his training, health, and gear. It’s as much about my form as any of those things. Since Sarah starting linking what I needed to learn about me and also about riding technique the world has really opened up for me. I have learned there’s far more of your body to engage in every action than one would credit and I have quite a lot of work to do to improve. When I think of that in my own learning and translate what that might possibly look like for what an Olympian has learnt and applies, and a lot of it is invisible to my learner eyes, it’s almost in the realm of unbelievable. Bring on longer evenings. I have some practising to do!

EQUINE ONLINE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016

COLUMN: COACHES CORNER

the importance of rhythm Columnist and BHS riding instructor Senara Caddy discusses rhythm and how you can improve it with some helpful exercises.

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In the last issue I talked about the horses balance and how to improve it. This flows on to the next subject of rhythm. Consistent and even footfalls are a sign of a wellbalanced and tension free horse. Rhythm is quite simply the regularity of hoof beats. When you sit on a horse with good rhythm it feels like he is dancing. If a horse is going with an irregular rhythm it is symptom of him being out of balance and denotes tension and disharmony. Do you find it difficult to identify rhythm? Try a dance class or listen to a piece of music and identify the underlying beat, you can also try riding to a metronome, but you do need to experiment in order to set it at a speed that suits your horse.

and the horses soon start to pick up a sense of rhythm from each other. It takes a certain amount of discipline to get this to work well, so one rider needs to be in charge and determine the pace. It is then up to the other rider to stick by her partner stirrup to stirrup. But of course the best way to improve your horse’s rhythm is to learn how to take an effective half halt, and that will be covered in my next article. Happy riding, until next time!

Exercise to become aware of rhythm: Try a sequence of trotting poles, start off with a single pole until the horse accepts it in a straight forward way, then build up the poles in a sequence of three or five, make sure you get the distance between the poles right for your horse. Each hind leg should land exactly in the middle of each pole. The distance is approximately one of your large strides but will vary depending on your horse’s length of stride. Be diligent with setting the distance of poles, too short will cause the horse to hurry, too long will cause him to overstretch and put him on his forehand. Exercise to improve your horse’s rhythm: One fun and useful way to become aware of and improve your horses rhythm is to work in a pair, trot around a field together

EQUINE ONLINE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016

C O LU M N : H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S

forearm tightness This month columnist and personal trainer Freya Thompson discusses tight forearms and how they affect your position. Follow FREYA on Facebook

Having tght forearms is typically an office worker issue, however when doing a sport that requires a fist or grabbing for long periods of time you can be left with tight forearms. Doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sound like a big deal does it? But did you know forearms tightness is the main cause of some nasty elbow and shoulder related issues, commonly known as RSI, tennis elbow, and golfers elbow. With horse riding we are susceptible to tight forearms as we are holding onto reins for prolonged periods of time, even with the softest hands these muscles are still working. Add in the daily chores or lifting buckets, mucking out, brushing etc and we start to see that forearms are getting a hiding within our chosen sport.

â&#x20AC;&#x201A; EQUINE ONLINE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016