Have we killed Spirit?

I like this article, all about how we have "killed" Spirit. (That's the stallion from the animated film Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron, by the way, for those of you who didn't have a daughter obsessed with it, the Bryan Adams soundtrack got a bit wearing after a while!)

I love the use of language in this post, especially right at the beginning which is mostly taken directly from a book about a certain short, hairy-footed creature that lived in a hole ;-)

For those of you who don't speak French, here's my attempt at a translation:

"We’ve killed Spirit

This post, written by a non-rider who suffers my equestrian stories on a daily basis, is committed, without a doubt, as is this blog. As well as writing a criticism of what has become normal in the horse world, he is calling for people to question this normality, no matter who we are, where we come from or what we do with our horses.

In a stable there lived a horse. Not a nasty, dirty, wet stable, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, it was a luxury stable, and that means comfort.

This horse was a noble descendant of Pegasus. He carried his head high and proud, his mane was full on his well-defined neck, his hocks were well-muscled and his coat was the colour of……..well what colour is your horse?

In the long row of immaculate boxes we find the highest quality straw and not a dropping in sight. No heavy farmyard odours either, instead we breathe in the pleasant smell of cleaning products. And in these lovely 3 metre by 4 metre spaces are superb horses straight out of the pages of a magazine, impeccably shod, shining coats, expertly plaited manes and plumed tails. These noble creatures, impassive, watch the strange brooms of the bustling grooms with a haughty eye (or is that dull-eyed, who knows?) But the horse we’re interested in is not among them. Today he is with his rider. Outside. Well, in the indoor school. Outside it’s dusty and there are too many distractions. It isn’t an appropriate environment for a horse of such standing.

His rider (could be male or female, but it’s not important for our story, let’s say she’s female) loves this horse. If he’s descended from the Prince of Horses then she too is of the line of Bellerophon who knew how to tame him.  She too would give her kingdom for her horse. She’s about your age.  Her passion for horses was born when she played with her little plastic toy horses and was captivated in front of the telly watching the powerful and noble Spirit gallop, with his fierce gaze and indomitable spirit. But in the eyes of her horse, we find nothing but resignation……..

But decked out in his shiny leather tack he shows us his proud paces. Yes, he has this narrow strap that’s painfully tight around his nose, but…..it’s like the warhorses from the middle ages, he has all the trappings, bandages round his legs, brushing boots over those, overreach boots protecting his hooves. On his back, a veritable throne, (not of iron this one) rubber pad, sheepskin pad, saddle blanket and of course a superb saddle, very comfortable for the rider……finishing touch, draw reins, Pelham bit and noseband that give him the head carriage so admired by the judges.

Spurs glitter, reins tighten, and it’s time for some schooling. Our rider always says practise makes perfect. So every day she makes her companion practise the exercises that all good sports horses need to master.

Circle, volte, demi volte. Nostrils pinched and brow furrowed, our athlete bravely obeys (if our horse knew the story of Sisyphus, he would be able to sympathise). A hearty slap on the neck is his reward. Then on to lengthened strides on the diagonal, transitions and shoulder in. The effort causes him to whisk his tail and grind his teeth, but he has to continue, no choice. If he trips, slows down or stops, metal heels caress his flanks. But be not afraid, o noble horse, in a few years you will no longer feel this pain, you will no longer feel the bite of leather, you will no longer feel the pressure of the bit or the weight of the rider. In truth you won’t feel anything at all. And then you’re back in your box again, that wasn’t so hard, was it and of course your rider loves you so much you know! She’s not trying to hurt you! So don’t be ungrateful, don’t fight, endure, and make the most of your straw lined prison and your beautiful gaoler.

Spirit is dead."

My daughter too played with plastic horses and watched that film countless times. Her favourite toy was a soft toy of Rain, Spirit's paint mare. But she doesn't keep her horse in a luxurious prison. He horse is hairy, muddy and unshod, lives out all the time with her herd and is ridden on a loose rein without a bit, spur or tight noseband. Sometimes in fact without any tack at all.

 More and more blogs and websites are asking people to question traditional methods of horse husbandry. The barefoot owners group on Facebook has over 10,000 members. Concordia Equestrians have started holding competitions where bitless competitors are encouraged, and any bit stronger than a snaffle is banned. Epona TV is tirelessly presenting people with videos and articles from experts in many fields presenting alternatives to long established practises. So maybe there's hope for us (and more importantly, for our horses) yet?

If your horse got his own way.....

I came across this blog post today: If your horse got his own way.....

I'm sure a lot of people out there found it rather amusing. But I just found it very sad.

I find it sad that probably the majority of horse owners in this country really believe that their horse does things like kick the door or break through fences just to annoy them. I find it sad that they believe their horse would prefer his "big, comfy stable" to being outside. No stable is big to a horse. In fact, I would say keeping a horse in even the biggest stable is about the same as keeping a human in a Portaloo....yes, I hear people telling me all the time that their horses are waiting by the gate to come in at night because they love their stable. But do they really love their stable? Or have they merely associated coming in to it with getting a bucket of feed?

And then there's the feed. Yes, horses will be happy to eat oats and other hard, starchy, sugary feeds, but it's not what they've evolved to eat. I wonder how many of these horse owners know how their horse's digestive system actually works? Do they know that starch can only be digested in the small intestine and too much means that it passes into the hindgut and has a negative effect on the bacteria therein? Do they know that the horse's stomach continually produces acid (unlike the human stomach) so leaving a horse shut in a stable with nothing to eat for hours (because just how long do you think that haylage will last him? All night?) is a very good way of giving him ulcers?

Yes, of course he wants to roll in the mud. He gets itchy. If they insist on rugging him, he can't scratch his itches so well. It's like the difference between scratching an itch directly on your skin or through a really thick jumper. I know which I prefer......

Breaking through fences to be with his mates - is that just to annoy them? Or have they stopped to think for one minute that he's a prey animal that's evolved for millions of years to feel safe in a herd with a whole load of other prey animals and really isn't happy being kept on his own because they are worried about him getting hurt if he's allowed to be a horse in a field with a bunch of others....?

If I'm honest, I reckon many owners can't spot the signs that their horse is stressed and unhappy with the way he has to live and the way he is treated. Many owners aren't really interested in questioning any of the "normal" ways humans "manage" horses. Many owners have never given a thought to how a big heavy bit or a tight noseband feels to their horse. Or how being ridden with a heavy hand on the reins must feel. The list goes on.......

So what do you think your horse would really like to do if he could plan his own day? Try thinking about everything he does from your horse's point of view rather than your own convenience. If you have gaps in your knowledge, if you merely do things because your yard owner/trainer/vet/farrier/best friend tells you that's how it's always done, why not try to find out more about alternative ways of doing things, find out how horses think, how they would act and react if allowed to display natural behaviour, find out why horses do the things they do, find out what horses really want?

Here are a few places to start:

Epona TV
Good Horsemanship
Inside Out Hoofcare
Hart's Horsemanship
Anna Blake Equestrian
Mark Rashid Horse Training

Why are we in such a hurry with horses?

I have just read this excellent article by Nic Barker at Rockley Farm on why we shoe horses. Basically the answer is that shoeing a horse is a quick fix. if you don't shoe, you have to put a lot more time and effort into getting the horse's environment, feed, exercise etc. right so his hooves can function as nature intended. I have heard more than one person say "I'd love to go barefoot, but it would take too long to transition and I need to do x, y and z with my horse this year....."

This got me thinking. It's not just shoeing that we do to hurry along what we want to do with our horses. Let's take rugging. Another thing people do because they want a clean horse, don't have time to brush him, don't want him to get too hairy or want him to look "nice" and clean. I have heard convenience used time and time again as a reason to rug. Not the horse's convenience, when it's 25 degrees (like it is today) and he's sweltering under a rug though.

We're also in a hurry to get on the horse's back. Can't have him standing around in a field doing nothing for too long. People apparently find it normal to back them as three year olds. But they don't finish growing until about 6 and a half. So why do people feel the need to have a four year old jumping over a metre high (something I saw regularly in France) or going eventing? Why rush getting them backed and potentially ruining them, physically or mentally, for the rest of their lives?

Because we are in a hurry, we can't wait, we need to feel we're getting our money's worth out of this animal that many of us are just too busy to bother to find out about properly. How many people spend time hanging out in the field with their horses? Not just popping down to stick a rug on, or grabbing him to bring in to tack up (if he's lucky enough to be turned out, that is, and not kept in a stable for our convenience) but just being with them, watching them interact, giving them a good old scratch, letting them sniff our clothes, nibble our hair?

Cartoon by Fed Up Fred

How many people have time to spend training a horse correctly? Why spend months and years building up her balance and muscles working on the ground before ever getting on when you can just get her used to a rider and away you go. If she doesn't move how you want her to, stick a gadget on, that'll do the trick (draw reins seem to be the favourite in France). And if it still doesn't do he trick, if she can't canter a circle after you've had her for a few months, just decide she's not the right horse for dressage and get a different one.......

But to me, horses are not disposable commodities, they do not "need" to be stabled, rugged, shod, bitted, or even ridden. I do not need to get my daughter a "proper" horse for eventing or jumping, we have the horses we have and we try to enable them to do the best they can for us, taking as much time as they need to be able to do what we ask of them. Some things are just worth taking your time over.......

Livin' in a box.....

So today I notice two of the newspapers (although I guess that's a term you can only loosely apply to the Daily Mail) have articles about a new study that has revealed the astounding news that horses don't like being shut up in individual stables.

Really? Who knew?

Marvellous revelations abound in the Telegraph article such as  "Group housing provides horses with an environment where they are able to display natural behaviour, and contact with other horses improves overall welfare." and "Researchers.......found that the animals became more stressed and increasingly difficult to handle the more isolated they became."

Talk about stating the bleedin' obvious.

Sadly though, in my experience many horse owners, who consider themselves caring, expert owners really do say that they'd rather have their horses "safely tucked up" in a stable under a pile of rugs in the winter than out in the field getting wet and muddy. They claim that their horses are always waiting by the gate ready to come in at night because they want to. But what I reckon is that the horses wait by the gate because they know that when they come in, they get a nice big bucket of feed and a haynet. They accept that they have to go into a stable to get this food, so they are happy to do it. But what about when the owner has gone home and the hay has run out? What do they feel like then with many hours of the night left to go with nothing to do, no interactions with other horses, nothing to eat? Given the choice would they want to stay shut in?

My horses live out all the time for most of the year, but in here on our farm livery in the UK, the rules are that they must come off the land at night for a few months in the winter. Because otherwise the field would get too muddy. This is what it looks like out there when they do come in at night, can't imagine it could get much worse if they didn't, but it's not my land, so I don't get a choice.

They don't go into a stable because quite apart from the negative social aspects of that, Gandalf's COPD would kick off. They go into a yard with an open barn down one side of it, next to the cattle. Do they choose to stay in the barn all nice and sheltered? Judging by the state of them in the morning after a night's rain (soaked) I'd say no, they'd rather be outside......

When we first start bringing them in at night, all the other liveries wait by the gate since they know they're going in for those nice big feeds, which apparently they need, all being thoroughbred types, but mine choose to stay down at the far end of the field. Night after night, we have to go and fetch them. They seem reluctant to come with us, judging by the amount of stopping they do (or buggering off refusing to be caught in Sky's case). After a few weeks of wading through acres of mud looking for them, we give in and start giving them a small feed when they come onto the yard. They eventually get the message and start waiting for us by the gate. But they wouldn't bother if it weren't for the buckets! And in the morning they are all jostling for position by the yard gate to be let back out. Says it all, really.....

Kinna goes for a little outing....

Took Kinns up to the club yesterday as Polo was going anyway and there was a space in the trailer. She was pretty good really, had a look at a lot of things but wasn't spooked or silly

 - apart from when she decided she'd rather eat the grass than ride over it (as per usual) and had a Tigger moment

Ali took her into the sand school after the lesson and again there was another boing as she didn't fancy going round in there when there was grass to be had outside, but eventually she got the message, did a bit of nice canter and we left it at that.

She liked Carole's Arab, Idaa.....

and the new foalie, Crack

Then during the second hour of lessons we had to leave her in a stable next to Idaa who was objecting to being left in on his own, she didn't turn a hair :-)

Don't think we'll have to many problems if Ali wants to have  the odd lesson on her up there.....

TREC again

It's the school holidays so that means Ali's doing a stage at the riding club. Yesterday was all about TREC and as I've apparently done more of it than Carole, she asked me to stay and help.

The girls didn't even get their bum in the saddle all morning, they had a lesson on how to read a map then they took the horses into the sand school for some practise at the in hand elements of the PTV bit. Have to say the horses were a bit nonplussed by this, I suppose they have been conditioned only to be ridden in the school......

Nahiade was great about the tarp and the polework, but getting her to understand we wanted her to trot in had took a while, she had no idea how to do that! I really do take my horses for granted when it comes to groundwork......but she got there in the end and Ali managed to jump in hand without ending up on the floor like I did once at a competition :-/

And for a long old beastie, she can do the maniabilité surprisingly well

We even took them up the track a ways to find some slopes to use for the up and down hill bits. Think they appreciated the change of scene and the chance for a snack :-)

Then after lunch it was up to the big field for ridden practise. Again, Naihade, being a creature of habit, got a bit revved up as she thought she was going to do a round of showjumping but instead she had to do some things at speed (slalom, tree trunk, L bend) and slow down again for others (immobility, S bend). You could see her thinking about it. Will do her good.......

As we didn't have a long, light pole to make a gate like the one we're used to, we opted for the rope version which you do get at some comps. So Carole says, "right, how do you do this, Helen?". Er, as it turns out I have no idea!!! So we had a lot of fun trying but the main problem was the horses being wary of the rope cos it could be an electric fence after all.......

Ali's face pretty much sums it up here!

Carole wants me to help her organise a TREC comp up there in the autumn and the first thing I'm going to suggest is that we make a proper gate with a pole!!!

But of course I had to figure it out so today I got on the boy and gave it a go. If you have to keep the rope in the same hand like you do with the barrier, then it's jolly tricky......

Must check the rules on that!!

Cross country day tomorrow, obviously not going along to teach but to learn.......  :-)

All change.....

Had a busy day today moving horses around. They all need to be off the land at Tanya's for a bit because due to the huge amount of rain we've had, it looks like this:

 

So most of them have gone up to the stables where the girls have their lessons, I think they're quite happy with the new digs!

But as I can barely afford for Fina to go into livery, big G has come home to be with Sky and Kinna. He immediately went for the hay and made it clear he is NOT SHARING! So I've had to do seperate nets for the girlies tonight....

 

G seems happy enough to be here, he was looking very serene in the sun earlier

 

Now we can start the ride and lead work with Kinna in earnest :-)