Post by wildhorsetrainer on Sept 25, 2007 11:44:00 GMT
Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Ian, Michelle, Jo (Humans) Misty, Tegan and Bracken (Horses & Ponies).
If it was a general animal forum we would also have to introduce the cat, rabbits, chipmunks and hamster. Fortunately we won't have to do that.
We have recently ventured into the world of owning horses/ponies (us humans that is) and because we enjoy a challenge we have got ourselves three rather interesting ones.
Misty (8/9 years old, approx 13.1 hh) has had a rather unpleasant life in the past by the sound of things. Although most of her history is unknown to us it has been intimated that she has known a fair amount of violence. She has never been broken and has only once worn a head collar which was since she came to us. From what we can tell she has simply been herded from place to place or into a horse box. At the moment she holds the position of herd leader.
Tegan (3 years old, 14.1 hh) is Misty's daughter. She is very friendly and inquisitive. When we got her she was only halter broken but we have started the process of braking her in. She is a lovely horse with a great temperament and an eagerness to learn.
Bracken (9 years old, 13 hh) is a bit of a loner. Although she has joined the herd she hasn't quite managed to fit in yet. This is more due to Misty's determination to keep Tegan to herself than anything else. That is something we will be dealing with over the next few days as we are going to separate Misty for a while. When she isn't being timid Bracken is a lovely pony, very well behaved and quick to respond. She has brilliant confirmation and as a result she has been gifted with flowing paces. Before she came to us, Bracken was kept by a lady who, although she didn't know much about ponies, regularly wormed her and had her visited by the farrier. Recently she was given to a local riding school that sold her on to us.
As far as the humans are concerned:
Ian is thirty something (mumble, mumble, in my day) and has worked over the years in various media fields. Recently he has begun making documentaries which he considerer's more fun than most of the other stuff he's done and watching paint dry.
Michelle is nineteen and works as student groom at a yard that practices caring horsemanship. She is the proud owner of a series three Land rover, which she has lovingly restored to the point where although it is still something of a shed, runs beautifully. It has been adopted by the yard dogs, that love its warm but grubby interior. Michelle has a natural instinct when it comes to horses and other animals (you can tell she's not writing this) and is currently working towards an NVQ2 in horse care. After that who knows, the sky is the limit.
Jo is nineteen and works with Ian as a camerawoman. She has an interest in wildlife and loves to read. She does not like pina coladas but she does like getting caught in the rain (she asked me to put that in as she says that this sounds like dating advert. She isn’t looking for a date though). She has little experience with horses but she does take nice piccies of them.
Recently Ian and Jo made a documentary about Vanessa Bee in which she tames a wild Dartmoor pony. This may have been a contributing factor to the whole horsey thing. Watching Vanessa work was amazingly inspiring. It was one of those experiences that make you think you’ve been missing something. It turns out we had.
If you would like to know more about that project you can take a look at the website www.wildhorsetrainer.co.uk . That’s a terribly gratuitous plug. Sorry about that.
Anyway, that’s who we are. We live in a nice remote little bit of Devon right next to our horses. We are looking forward to training them to be everything they can be in a way that both they and we will enjoy. We will keep you posted as we do. Michelle is even threatening to keep a log on the website above. We will have to see if she has enough time.
If it was a general animal forum we would also have to introduce the cat, rabbits, chipmunks and hamster. Fortunately we won't have to do that.
We have recently ventured into the world of owning horses/ponies (us humans that is) and because we enjoy a challenge we have got ourselves three rather interesting ones.
Misty (8/9 years old, approx 13.1 hh) has had a rather unpleasant life in the past by the sound of things. Although most of her history is unknown to us it has been intimated that she has known a fair amount of violence. She has never been broken and has only once worn a head collar which was since she came to us. From what we can tell she has simply been herded from place to place or into a horse box. At the moment she holds the position of herd leader.
Tegan (3 years old, 14.1 hh) is Misty's daughter. She is very friendly and inquisitive. When we got her she was only halter broken but we have started the process of braking her in. She is a lovely horse with a great temperament and an eagerness to learn.
Bracken (9 years old, 13 hh) is a bit of a loner. Although she has joined the herd she hasn't quite managed to fit in yet. This is more due to Misty's determination to keep Tegan to herself than anything else. That is something we will be dealing with over the next few days as we are going to separate Misty for a while. When she isn't being timid Bracken is a lovely pony, very well behaved and quick to respond. She has brilliant confirmation and as a result she has been gifted with flowing paces. Before she came to us, Bracken was kept by a lady who, although she didn't know much about ponies, regularly wormed her and had her visited by the farrier. Recently she was given to a local riding school that sold her on to us.
As far as the humans are concerned:
Ian is thirty something (mumble, mumble, in my day) and has worked over the years in various media fields. Recently he has begun making documentaries which he considerer's more fun than most of the other stuff he's done and watching paint dry.
Michelle is nineteen and works as student groom at a yard that practices caring horsemanship. She is the proud owner of a series three Land rover, which she has lovingly restored to the point where although it is still something of a shed, runs beautifully. It has been adopted by the yard dogs, that love its warm but grubby interior. Michelle has a natural instinct when it comes to horses and other animals (you can tell she's not writing this) and is currently working towards an NVQ2 in horse care. After that who knows, the sky is the limit.
Jo is nineteen and works with Ian as a camerawoman. She has an interest in wildlife and loves to read. She does not like pina coladas but she does like getting caught in the rain (she asked me to put that in as she says that this sounds like dating advert. She isn’t looking for a date though). She has little experience with horses but she does take nice piccies of them.
Recently Ian and Jo made a documentary about Vanessa Bee in which she tames a wild Dartmoor pony. This may have been a contributing factor to the whole horsey thing. Watching Vanessa work was amazingly inspiring. It was one of those experiences that make you think you’ve been missing something. It turns out we had.
If you would like to know more about that project you can take a look at the website www.wildhorsetrainer.co.uk . That’s a terribly gratuitous plug. Sorry about that.
Anyway, that’s who we are. We live in a nice remote little bit of Devon right next to our horses. We are looking forward to training them to be everything they can be in a way that both they and we will enjoy. We will keep you posted as we do. Michelle is even threatening to keep a log on the website above. We will have to see if she has enough time.