In the second part of her series, Tamsin Doar is heading out for a mooch, cautiously trying out loading, and surpassing all expectations at a show
All images: Tamsin Doar
One thing I noticed with The Sass Queen is that she learned and processed by watching. I decided the same was probably true of Squish, so anytime the farrier came to shoe the others, Squish would be brought in and tied up next to them to watch. The noise, the smell … the whole experience initially seemed totally confusing to her, but after a couple of visits she’d happily stand and munch at her haynet and let the farrier give her a trim when needed. Although she won’t need clipping for a few years yet (her current woolly-mammoth state is testament to this), if I’m clipping, she’ll stand next to whoever I’m working on so she can see what’s going on, hear the clippers and see there’s really nothing to worry about. My plan for this winter is to slowly progress to just holding the clippers next to her with my hand in between so she can feel the vibrations.
To some this might seem excessive – she’s still so young – but I’ve found that making them confident while they’re young is far easier than trying to persuade a fully-grown equine teenager: they’re much larger, stronger and far more opinionated.
The Sass Queen is also one of the most bombproof horses I know: trains, tractors, low-flying aircraft, cows … she’s seen it all, and never drops her “I can take on the world” attitude. I’m sure this is largely due to her coming out on hacks as a youngster: my dad would lead her while I rode her mum. Although she made an awful mother herself (that’s a story for another time!) she’s been surprisingly maternal towards Squish, and is quite happy nannying her: even toning down her jogging to just three quarters of the ride instead of the entire time.
Squish has been quite happy mooching along next to her while I ride. If she needs time to stop and look at something, we’ll happily oblige (well, I will … The Sass Queen impatiently stomps, letting Squish and me know that she just wants to get on with it). So far, Squish has seen tractors, cars, dog walkers and motorbikes and hasn’t batted an eyelid at any of them – although she regularly stops at the small windmill that we pass on our ‘round the block’ route (why is it so tall and spinny?!). We’re lucky to have varying terrain and woodland around us, so the outings also give her the chance to learn where her feet are, and to pick her way through different ground without having someone on her back interfering.
The magic travel box
One thing that Squish seemed particularly curious about was the big magic box that The Sass Queen would sometimes disappear into, and then re-appear from at the end of the day, sporting a frilly or two and proclaiming (in her loud and opinionated way) what a wonderful time she had had at a pony party. Surprisingly for some (considering how she now loads herself, marching up the ramp like she means business), The Sass Queen used to be an awful loader. I vowed that my next horse must be a good traveller, even if it only had three legs. I wasn’t sure if Squish was quite ready to start loading, but considering she had arrived sweaty and stressed, I wanted to assure her there was nothing to worry about.
On our first lesson I intended to just feed her on the ramp: no actual loading, just a look inside (with all partitions taken out) to see there was nothing much to be concerned about. She munched on a mouthful of food and merrily walked herself inside with a look of “so where are we going?”. We practised this once a day for a few weeks, and only for a few minutes at a time so as not to overload her. Once she was happy, we introduced the partitions and brought the Grumpy Uncle in to babysit – showing her that sometimes other horses share the space (and the food!). For the first couple of ‘journeys’ my friend drove us around the field with me standing inside reassuring her – allowing her time to adjust her balance and understand the noises were nothing to worry about. I’m sure I saw the Grumpy Uncle (a very seasoned traveller) eye-roll at one point at the amount of praise Squish got for a two-minute journey that didn’t even leave the field! Unfortunately, we’ve now created a monster: Squish has twice broken out from the field when she’s seen the ramp is down, and neatly loaded herself into the trailer…
As with all our training, I made sure we went at Squish’s pace, and only moved on when she seemed completely happy.
She’d taken everything in so well that I decided to enter her in some in-hand classes at a couple of local shows this year, purely for experience (geographically local doesn’t necessarily equal small – one was the G&S and another was Dorset County so there was lots going on for her to take in!).
She exceeded all my expectations: she calmly stood when tied to the trailer, behaved better than I’d expected in the ring and received some lovely compliments from the judges – and she came home with a couple of frillies!
She even saw the motorbikes from the main ring and the carriages as they went past, and gave both a cursory glance before tucking back in to her haynet. A far cry from the shy yearling who came off the trailer just six months before.
Apart from the odd mooch around the countryside, farrier visit and grooming, this winter Squish will be turned out with the others to continue being a baby, giving her more time to process what’s happened this summer as she gently matures. Hopefully next year she’ll go out to a few more shows to gain experience and continue her basic education – and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more times to come where I question my sanity! If there’s one thing she’s taught me it’s that anyone who takes on a youngster needs perseverance, patience, determination … and good friends who turn up with tea, cake and prosecco!
