It was all go both sides of the border. Here at Balsam Hall, Tori Morgan gave a ground handling clinic. It was very interesting and brought up several points I had not thought about for a long time. As eventers we all need to be able to jog our horses beautifully, but Tori took it a lot farther and leading from both sides, she encouraged the horses and handlers to walk, halt and jog repeatedly until the horse was going forward smoothly and the handler was able to stay at it’s shoulder throughout, not as easy as you think. We all get into bad habits it seems.
There were also challenges and exercises to perform. Being asked to stand still while the handler walked away, raised walk poles, reversing either straight or around a 90 degree corner, slalom through the markers and for the ultimate challenge, walking over the tarpaulin. Just like riding it’s all a matter of teaching and trust. It was amazing to watch just how quickly the horses were able to respond to the strange questions being asked of them. There was an edible treat for all at the end of the sessions. See that little Sean the Sheep in there? I rescued him for myself.
Some of the horses had shown some problems in the past, you would hardly have known it watching them. One OTTB had been a stallion in his previous existence and every now and then he feels the need to stand up on two back legs when we are leading him in from the paddock. He is a poppet under saddle, but his long gone hormones seem to kick in sometimes on a cold windy day when he is coming in for his dinner. He visibly improved, and very quickly. This is him being led by Tori Morgan before going through the course with his owner Kelsy Flewitt. He is from the Adena Springs re-homing program. He is a really lovely horse.
The second photo is another OTTB, Alex Morgan’s lovely mare. She is acing it, standing on the tarpaulin while her mummy walks away. Not bad for a first go!
South of the border Selena was catching up with the horses that didn’t go to Carolina. The two OTTBs had the week off, King Brian’s owner took over the ride and Bruce’s riders stepped in to take care of Riley, Solo and Thunder. We are lucky in having an arrangement where Bruce’s helpers take care of our horses at home and we muck in with them the same way. With everyone working as a team we can cover all the emergencies and keep the barn and the programs running smoothly.
Benny and Rummy were both lunged in the Pessoa. They are being lunged in the Pessoa once a week now. It is the first organized contact that they have felt. All their work has been on long/loose reins whenever possible, just letting them find their balance with a rider with very long legs and a saddle that is twice the size and a completely different shape to the ones they are used to. Now as they are stronger and better balanced we introduce them to a rounder shape while lunging or as we call it, Pessoaing them. The Pessoa does not tie them in anywhere unlike side reins. It lets them get a feel of the contact without there being anything they can lean on. If they lean it gives on the jaw and tightens a little behind them, urging them to tuck their bottom under, rather than keeping their heads back. I like it, it is a kind and thoughtful piece of equipment as one would expect from the great Nelson Pessoa. As you can see from the slack at the sides, there is no force involved, only encouragement.
