Macha and Patience are half sisters by an ID stallion out of Tb mares. I
purchased them as weanlings. I consulted Max not because I was having
problems but because I wanted to avoid them!! With Max's guidance I
learnt about groundwork and that the foundation to anything I wanted to
do or might want to do in the future was for my horses to understand
pressure release and to be obedient to my requests and suggestions.
In Macha's case I learnt that she had to be able to work things out by
waiting and thinking about what had scared her rather than panicking and
scaring herself more. This proved easier than it may sound! So for
example when she was hosed off after work for the first time she was
very worried about the hose. My job was to watch her body language and
be a reassuring yet firm presence using the ground work to keep her from
jumping on me. Her job was to think about what I was asking her to do
and decide that she could cope because the hose was not hurting her. We
began to build a strong relationship and though we had hiccups when I
was very glad of Max's help and experience she has turned into a lovely
mare. |
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Patience was easier in some ways because she rarely reacted so violently
as Macha however she posed different challenges because she believed
herself invincible. Max taught both horses to load and that was one of
the best days training. |
| I have since taught other youngsters to load
happily. I also learnt the importance of doing your homework as Macha
reacted that day to a simple request to turn left even before Max had
got her to the trailer and I realised that I had not continued her
education from the last visit. I thought that I had but under pressure
Macha showed that I hadn't . all was not lost though and Max saved the
day!! Macha will turn either way now, load, leave home whatever she is
asked really.
Patience was easier in some ways because she rarely reacted so
violently as Macha however she posed different challenges because she
believed herself invincible. Max taught both horses to load and that was
one of the best days training. I have since taught other youngsters to
load happily. I also learnt the importance of doing your homework as
Macha reacted that day to a simple request to turn left even before Max
had got her to the trailer and I realised that I had not continued her
education from the last visit. I thought that I had but under pressure
Macha showed that I hadn't . all was not lost though and Max saved the
day!! Macha will turn either way now, load, leave home whatever she is
asked really. |
| But back to Patience . In the
early days Patience was always the easy one. Then she spooked in
a gateway and caught herself on the hinge. There was a gaping
hole and she was on three legs. I truly thought she was going to
die. We called the vet who was a superstar and booked us in to
Rossdales and stayed with her whilst we collected a friends
lorry. Patience had only ever been in a trailer with her sister
and yet she followed me up the ramp with no hesitation.
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Rossdales
operated in the early hours under a local anaesthetic to remove
fragments of her pelvis and she stayed in hospital for three weeks.
Every day the wound was flushed and cleaned and Patience was a real
favourite with all the staff because she was so well mannered. She
didn't barge or pull away even when it hurt. She was the only horse on
the yard to be lead out without a chifney and was so good that she was
grazed in hand. No one believed she was two years old!Patience came home
and healed. Macha remembered her manners even though she had lost her
friend and protector. Boy was I glad she had manners as Macha was around
16.3 by now and rather upset that Patience had gone. The reunion was not
touching as neither of them "talked" for a few days but then eventually
they started grooming each other again and both horses seemed to mature.
I made the difficult decision to cut down on horse numbers but couldn't
bear to sell either of them so I put them on loan to two of my students
from Inverness. They were collected by Scothorse and initially I think
the driver thought he might be spending a while in MK loading a pair of
three year olds but he was on his way again in under ten minutes. I was
very emotional but very proud as they walked up the ramp. I heard from
Scothorse at every stop that the girls had new members of their fan club
as they were so well behaved and respectful.
Macha and Patience were easy to break in and not at all upset by
their house move. They live on a farm with chickens, geese, peacocks and
have not bothered about living on a commercial yard with riding school
and quad biking centre attached. They are a joy. I can't imagine things
would have run so smoothly if I hadn't consulted Max. I can't praise him
highly enough and the skills he taught me have helped me progress in my
own training and competition. Alison Kenward BHS II SM regd. |
