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Bronson Says Goodbye
New Video posted on his adoption page
Today is Bronson's last day at Chestnut Hill Stables - he starts the New Year with a foster family while he awaits adoption. Bronson's journey through the Horse Rescue Series has been relatively short, only 1 month, but he has learned a lot.
Bronson came with some trust issues and head shy issues. For the most part he is a sweet boy, but just needed consistent handling from trustworthy people. Bronson had bridling issues, but now he is pretty easy to work with - it still requires patience, but he will continue to become easier and easier until you won't even know he used to have really bad bridling issues.
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New Bronson Video!
There is a new video of Bronson on his page - visit http://www.lfequestrian.com/Bronson.php
Bronson did very well this past week. His bridling issues are improving immensely - this weekend Laura worked with him for the first time and it only took about 10 minutes for Bronson to choose to accept the bit. Laura also played with him on the ground and rode him.
Laura worked with Bronson to develop some basic manners, like standing at the mounting block. There is a video of Laura playing and riding Bronson on his page.
Bronson is still looking to be adopted - if you are intersted in adoption please contact Claire from Heaven Can Wait. If you want to come see Bronson (and you have already spoken to Claire about adopting him) then please contact me to set a time to come see him.
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Bronson - a jumping star?
 Everyone at the barn is falling in love with Bronson. He is an absolute sweetheart and is very gentle. He gets along great with his two new girlfriends in the paddock, and he is very gentle and polite when out in the field. He is super easy to catch, loves to cuddle, and greet you in the field.
Bronson is quite an easy horse to lead and handle, however, I did discover that he is a smidge herd bound. In the evenings when I bring Bronson in, there are horses in their stalls so the barn is cozy and comforting. During the day, there are no horses inside and Bronson will call for other horses. He is not unmanageable or dangerous by any means, but he does miss his friends. I think after his relationship with me continues to develop he will no longer call to his friends for comfort. When working in the arena he doesn't call to his buddies - just when he was standing bored in the barn.
I continue to work with Bronson's head shy issues. When I bring him in and make a move to remove his leather halter in exchange for the rope halter he lifts his head high. I work with him to ask him to continue to lower his head as I remove the halter. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes of encounter, wait, revisit. Then I can remove the halter and put on the rope halter with ease. Putting the leather halter on at the end of the session is easy... but at that point we have done a number of exercises together and he is trusting.
Putting the bridle takes patience. Bronson doesn't do anything aggressive or dangerous - he just raises his head very high. I continue to work with him to lower his head with the principle encounter, wait, revisit. It takes anywhere from 10min - 30min for Bronson to choose to take the bit (I never force the bit in his mouth, I always wait for him to open his mouth willingly for the bit).
I jumped Bronson for the first time on Sunday. It's hard to say what his past experience in jumping is. He is very willing and honest over the jumps. Over the first fence we did a trot approach, and he went up and over like he had done it a million times before. Beautiful form, and flowing movement. When it came to cantering jumps, he did try every time and had no refusals, but he didn't always get the correct take off spot. Sometimes he was short or long, but he always tried which was a nice surprise.
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Eclipse aka Eve Moved Home
I was so excited to get my girl moved today…..she handled it all like an old pro…. We put her in a stall for the half first hour - she was calm and quiet in the barn while the other horses took turns coming in to eat and then go back outside…..once everybody was back out, we turned Eve out in the mud too…. All the horses are turned out together in one herd ( of 16 now including Eve + the cutest little miniature I have ever seen) . She didn’t seem particularly phased by the transition but Prince (Claire you’ll remember him) came to greet her and she turned her butt on him so he left….even the herd leaders haven’t taken much notice of her yet so perhaps she’ll hold her own okay. She’s just hanging back on her own for now taking it all in, in a calm, contented, back hoof cocked up kinda way…. The pasture is lovely and large and has lots of variety, bush at the back, lots ankle deep muck today with all the rain and the gorgeous coating of wet snow we’ve had falling all morning, but lots of higher dry land beyond the 4 round bale sites…..there is a good sized shelter as well up by the barn…..
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Welcome Bronson to the Horse Rescue Series!
 Bronson is a gorgeous and very sweet 15 year old warmblood gelding that has joined the Horse Rescue Series. He came from Heaven Can Wait Equine Rescue. I was told he suffers from some trust issues - which is especially noticed when it is time to bridle him, during vet treatment, going through swinging gates, and leading.
Bronson otherwise appears to be a gentleman - he isn't spooky or difficult to ride. Bronson arrived on Wednesday, December 1. My goal was simple - build some trust. To learn ways to build trust, check out '5 Easy Ways to Build Trust' - http://www.lfequestrian.com/ArticlesBlog.php?post=23
I spent the first couple sessions with Bronson just bringing him in, doing a little ground work and leading, some grooming, and just giving him attention. I discovered that Bronson just loves neck rubs - he makes the cutest faces and really enjoys the attention.
I haven't noticed any leading issues.... he doesn't try to step on my toes, and is very respectful when I back him up. I would have had no idea he once had a fear of swinging gates - he walks through the gates and barn doors at the farm calmly at the farm.
After Bronson had been with me for a little over a week, I decided to work with the bridle. I did some 'Encounter, Wait, Revisit' as I rubbed his face, mouth, and even touching his tongue. I know that there is no point trying to put a bridle on Bronson if I can't even touch his face with my hand.
After rubbing all over his face and teaching Bronson to lower his head, I then started with the bridle. Using 'Encounter, Wait, Revisit' I was able to put the bridle on and off Bronson twice, without any big head tossing (sometimes he did raise his head a bit). Watch the video here
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Eclipse was Adopted!
 Eclipse has found a loving home and a loving owner... to share the story her new owner, Ruth, has written it in her own words:
.....the story..... I don't know about you, but I BELIEVE !
~ I believe everything happens for a reason, even when that reason is hard to understand
~ I believe sometimes we are lucky and get a second chance in life
~ I believe that we create our own destiny
~ I believe life provides us with opportunities to alter & improve the lives of others
~ I believe that change is good, change is positive, change is growth
~ I believe it is ALL about the journey
I am a new empty-nester. Both my children are currently living and pursuing post-secondary educations in Peterborough. This was the incentive for us to purchase a house there earlier this year and hubby & I have enjoyed countless hours renovating and improving the place. Recently I was hunting on Kijiji for a replacement door that would suit this older home and make the sunroom a bit cozier. At one point in my search, my fingers flubbed and instead of selecting the category "home and garden", I accidently clicked on the next heading "livestock & pets" and that's when it happened. (I BELIEVE it was FATE). Again as many of your know, I am an animal lover and I have taken in my fair share of cast-offs and rescues. Three cats, three birds and a hamster currently round out my motley crew of house buddies. Most of you likely don't know that I am a total farm girl at heart and have had several horses and larger critters in my life too. So with my finger flub, up popped the picture of this beautiful big black horse ( a Percheron mare X for those of you who know horses -a member of one of the heavy breeds that you usually see pulling wagons etc). Moved as I was by this ad, I saved her picture to my favourites and casually emailed the owner to inquire if this horse was still for sale. A response came back shortly from HCW Equine Rescue.....naturally intrigued, I goggled it and learned about an amazingly lady by the name of Claire Malcolm, who has a heart the size of Texas and who has made it her mission to find loving homes for cast off, unwanted or unfortunate horses, donkeys, etc....Over the past 13 years she has done so for over 800 critters. I read about the several horses currently up for adoption including the mare by the name of Eclipse, that had captivated my interest on Kijiji. Looking at her pictures and reading her story left me with a swollen heart and tears welling. Claire had arrived at the auction just as the auctioneer said "sold".... to the local meat buyer. When she saw & met this mare she could not let her leave with this guy, so she offered the buyer substantially more money for her than he had just paid and Claire took her home instead. (I BELIEVE that was FATE). Eclipse was being offered a second chance at life ! Given her gentle nature, decent health and evident potential to be a cherished equine companion, Eclipse was fortunate to be sponsored in a natural horsemanship training program with a talented young lady who has a gift with horses, Lindsey Forkun. Claire and Lindsey work together to save, re-train and re-home horses that deserve a second chance. Eclipse has learned a lot about trust, respect and becoming a ridable horse in the 6 weeks she has been in Lindsey's care. Over the next few days, every time I sat down at the computer, I kept opening up the picture of this horse, pulled by some strange connection which I tried unsuccessfully to keep at arms length. I made several inquiries and finally arranged to meet Eclipse last Thursday evening, once I had found a suitable place nearby that I could keep her and ensured that adopting her was something I could and really wanted to do. I was trying hard not to make an emotional decision but when I finally met her it was a "Total Eclipse of the Heart". From her dinner-plate sized feet, majestic size and sweet eyes, to her huge appetite and willing personality, I was/am in love ! By Saturday, it was official, I was her new adoptive Mom !! She & I are looking forward to spending lots of time together, slow and easy trail rides and just basically enjoying life and the great outdoors together. The only thing that wasn't really feeling quite right to me, was her name. She had been given the name Eclipse after rescue, as absolutely nothing was known about her pre-auction life, name age, history, nothing. I wanted a name that had some significance but rolled off the tongue a little easier than Eclipse, something that sounded similar enough that there would be some continuity to her ear. Finally it came to me and after consulting with her, we have settled on her new name....(this is where the tribute to NM comes in).....her new name is "Believe"...."EVE" for short....... It suits her well and provides a nice transition for me too. I intend to change my NM membership to "associate status" by the end of this month when Eve will be moved down to Whitby to be closer to her new "forever family". We will be spending lots of time getting to know one another. I cannot afford both of these hobbies and so needed to make a choice. This change feels right to me at this point in time. While I am still physically capable of work with horses and riding, I want to do that. I basically grew up on a horse and have owned one my entire life - up until we moved to Oshawa a few years ago.....I have missed being around horses very much. Singing with NM has been a wonderful hobby and the world experience incredible and the friendships I have made, are precious to me. I thank you all for being part of my singing journey. While I may wish to return to the chorus down the road, for now I intend to trade in 4-part harmony, for harmony with my new 4-legged friend. I think she needs me more than you do right now...lol...
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Eclipse A Quiet Riding Horse
 Over the weekend we had a fair bit of rain so the only place to ride was indoors. This was Eclipse's first time riding indoors, and only her second time in the indoor ring. She was quiet relaxed and was not spooky at all.
Eclipse tacks up really easily and lifts her feet politely. I still haven't used a bit/bridle on her because I don't have a bridle big enough for her at the farm. She also rides really well in the bitless sidepull - she turns and stops quite easily.
I can hop on Eclipse and go for a walk/trot around the ring while riding various patterns. She also does halt and back up. She can even do a bit of a haunch turn. Her canter is 'so so' - she doesn't seem to think she is supposed to canter (could be if she was a driving horse that they would get in trouble for cantering as driving horses are only allowed to do walk/trot).
Eclipse will canter - but it doesn't feel like a comfortable movement with ease... perhaps with more time and understanding she would be better in canter, but right now she just feels a bit more tense in canter as if she is doing something wrong.
After I rode Eclipse I had one of my students, Laura, try riding Eclipse. She rode Eclipse around with ease and really enjoyed her. I took some video of Laura riding Eclipse and pictures (the above picture in this post is Laura on Eclipse) - I hope to have the videos up this weekend and will post as soon as I have them up!
Eclipse to date has NEVER taken off, bolted, bucked, reared, or done anything 'scary' while being worked with. Her only downside is she is a big girl so sometimes if she gets distracted and starts to look away in one direction you have to pull a fair bit to get her attention back. She is for the most part a very willing and easy horse.
I think Eclipse would work well for a nervous/beginner adult. I wouldn't recommend her for kids only because of her size - although I would feel completely safe having a kid ride her with supervision.
Eclipse would do really well as a trail horse, husband safe horse, or just as a general pleasure horse.
I hope to see her find a loving home!
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Eclipse Starts to Trot
 Eclipse started trotting under saddle this week. When beginning to do trot work it became quite clear that Eclipse hasn't had much riding training (if any). We began in the round pen and before I got on, I made sure Eclipse could do tranistions on the ground.
Once mounted, we practiced walking, steering and halting. For the most part Eclipse is quite good and fairly responsive. She is quite easy to halt. Sometimes she will resist turning and will pull against me so I end up pulling more than I would like to get her to turn. Stopping is quite easy though, so I decided it was safe to try trotting.
I gave body and verbal cues to ask Eclipse to trot. She had no idea what was expected of her and even got a bit annoyed with me and pinned her ears! After about a loop around the round pen she decided to try trotting and I praised her immediately. We did a few more transitions and pretty soon she was able to trot a half circle around the round pen in both directions.
I allowed Eclipse to graze in the round pen for a reward. Our next steps will be to continue practice trotting and steering, and hopefully get to canter next week. She is a smart and willing horse, not scary or difficult. She doesn't have a lot of understanding in the saddle, but is improving a lot.
She is also much better on the ground and can lead across grass without trying to eat. She is very easy to saddle up.
For more pictures visit: http://www.lfequestrian.com/HorsePictures.php?view=thumbnailList&image=18&category=7
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Eclipse Goes for a Ride
 Eclipse is progressing very nicely in training. She is quite easy to lead and move around. She picks up her feet nicely, and is very quiet and still for saddling and mounting. Her steering is 'so so' while you ride - sometimes she resists the pressure but nothing dangerous or scary, just a little misunderstanding and with patience she understands and is willing.
She does seem like perhaps her training had been ground driving, not riding - just because she tends to get confused sometimes while riding and squeezing to walk on was just ignored by Eclipse as if it weren't a cue (but giving a verbal cue to walk on did work). She is very willing and quiet. I feel quite safe on her.
So far we have only done walking while riding. This is because her steering needs more work before we start trotting - although she does stop quite easily.
She really will be a wonderful family or pleasure horse. I think she would be an excellend trail horse.
Video to come soon!
Pictures can be seen here: http://www.lfequestrian.com/HorsePictures.php?view=thumbnailList&image=18&category=7
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Eclipse's First Ride - or was it?
 Today I went up to play with Eclipse. It was my fourth time working with her since she arrived. A couple people came to watch Eclipse and are interested in adopting/sponsoring her. A great opportunity for them to watch me work with Eclipse because this would be my first time to try the saddle and riding her.
I brought Eclipse in from the paddock and into the barn. I brushed her as usual and then went to pick up her feet. She walked around a bit, but all of a sudden it 'clicked'. Eclipse realized I wasn't going to hurt her, and that really I just wanted to pick up her feet. She then picked up each hoof for me really politely and held them nicely - she was lovely!
I then led her out to the round pen for the first time. In typical Eclipse fashion she wasn't phased by anything. She was as quiet as can be and was actually being a real angel for leading. We would stop and eat grass periodically (on my terms), and then I would say 'up' when it was time to move on and she was very respectful.
We did some leading and moving around in the round pen - on both the left and right side. Eclipse leads quite well from the left, but tends to get distracted and a bit pully from the right, so we practiced leading mostly from the right in the round pen.
Horses being unbalanced on the right side is a very common problem I see. Often people only do everything from left - they only lead, mount, saddle, dismount, etc all from the left. This is actually quite confusing and sometimes quite damaging to the horse. This is because when your ride your horse you are in the middle of the horse - the horse has to look at you out of both eyes.
When on the ground if you only do things from the left then you set everything up as a lie - you teach your horse that everything is always from the left... but when you get in the saddle you expect the horse to be balanced and able to bend to the left and right. Often I see horses that are anxious under saddle, but really when you watch them on the ground you see the horse only looks at the handler out of the left eye (sometimes the horse can be facing the handler but slightly tilts their head so they only look at them out of th left eye).
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Eclipse Arrives!
 With Bella graduating the Horse Rescue Series, it meant there was room for a new arrival. Switching gears from Bella's petite frame and flighty responses, Eclipse arrived to give me quite the change. Eclipse is a Percheron, very large framed and with quite a different personality than Bella!
Eclipse is quite a brave girl, I could take her in the barn , around the arena, and around the property and she isn't scared of anything. She is very relaxed and non-spooky, easy to approach and lets you groom her all over.
Eclipse has an interesting past - she was actually sold to a meat merchant at an auction. This is when Claire from Heaven Can Wait Equine Rescue heard Eclipse declared sold to the meat merchent. Claire then spoke with the new 'owner' and paid a lot of extra cash to be able to take Eclipse home.
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Bella Gets a Home!
Bella graduated from the Horse Rescue Series at the end of September. She had come a long way from the nervous horse that had first arrived 12 weeks ago. She is now very easy to work with, very easy to pick up her feet, very easy to saddle, and get on. Bella is quite responsive in the saddle and understands walk, trot, halt, and back up.
On the ground Bella understands transitions including into canter. We didn't quite get to canter in the saddle due to my bike injury that prevented me from doing a lot of riding in the last part of September.
Bella now has a home with a family that has two other Appaloosas. Bella will be a pleasure horse for her new family. She has a lucky 100 acres to roam on, a loving new family, and all the care and attention she could need.
Congratulations to Bella for finding a new home!!
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Bella at 8 weeks
 Bella has rounded out 8 weeks of training with the Horse Rescue Series. In the first 4 weeks we conquered some trust issues that prevented Bella from letting us touch her legs or pick up her feet. She also was fairly nervous being led by us through the barn and shy of new things.
We transformed Bella into a curious girl that is very trusting of people. She often comes to greet us at the fence and will walk right up to us in the field. She ground ties in the barn and stands quietly for grooming, picking up her feet, and saddling (see video here).
Bella is very good to mount and dismount and is quite comfortable taking various people for pony rides around the indoor arena, outdoor round pen, and even just going through outdoor paddocks! She has learnt a lot of ground communication and knows circles (similar to lunging), back up, forehand turns, haunch turns, etc. To watch a video of working with Bella and Bella's first ride ever please visit: http://www.lfequestrian.com/page6.php
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Progressive Milestones
 Yesterday I went to the paddock to get Bella - she was in the far end of the paddock... about 300ft away from me. She saw me enter the paddock and I started walking towards her. Her ears pricked forward and she gave a soft nicker and came right over to greet me... what an easy catch!
I brought Bella into the barn and she was as calm as ever. She stood perfectly still while I groomed her - just ground tying (I just let the rope drop to the ground.. she isn't actually tied to anything). I brushed her all over and picked out her hooves... all while she just stood in the aisle - not tied to anything at all.
We saddled up and headed for the indoor arena. I wasn't sure how Bella would react because we don't do a lot of work in the indoor ring (the breeze outdoors is usually much more enjoyable). It was a cool and drizzling day, so indoors was the best place to be. Bella came in the arena and was a little looky and distracted at first.
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Bella Goes for her First Ride Ever - and its caught on tape!!
Bella has been doing great and is much more trusting of people. Just yesterday I went to see Bella in the paddock and she walked right over to me as soon as she saw me. She is such a pet!
Last week I decided to take Bella for her first ride.... and caught it on tape!! It was the post of the fence that did the filming, but now you can watch as Bella takes her first few steps ever with a rider! Take a look at http://www.lfequestrian.com/page6.php
Bella continues to do work under saddle and is working on steering and halting. She understands the walk on and back up cues quite well... just sometimes she gets confused when it comes to steering versus stopping.
I will do another video near the end of the month to show you her progress!! If you are interested in sponsoring Bella please contact us!! http://www.lfequestrian.com/Contact.php
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Getting on Bella!
Yesterday I was working with Bella and thought it would be nice to start doing some more riding work with her.
I started with Bella in the barn - she was quite relaxed and stood very nicely while I groomed and saddled her. I spent some time working with her feet. She is excellent at picking up her front feet now - I can pick them up, hold them, and then place them down where I like. Her back feet are a bit of a different story. She picks them up okay, but usually tries to put them down right away. I wait for a good lift where I put the foot back down, and then to reward her I leave her alone.
Time to head outside! I decided to work Bella in one of the small paddocks - its a good size with nice safe wooden fencing all the way around. Using different locations with horses will help the horse to be more adaptable - which means the horse won't get stuck in a routine and will be more likely to stay calm on a trail ride, or if you do something differently the horse is less likely to get anxious.
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