A mare who wants to keep busy

I recently had the pleasure of working with a horse called April, who had a lot on her mind. On reflection, perhaps her telling me “Come on get ON with it!!” might have had something to do with the fact that her human and I had to reschedule a couple of times, but her mind was also very “fizzy” to me. Hard to describe the sensation, but the closest I can get to it was when I worked with a Spaniel and got a sense of just how quickly his mind whirred - this wasn’t an inattentiveness, April’s mind was definitely SHARP and able to process every. single. piece. of data she paid attention to at warp speed!

The thing about working with animals is that they will tell you the truth about what they experience with their owners. I make a deal with the Universe that I never receive information that I am their people can’t handle, but it’s always with a little caution that I pass on critique in case it doesn’t go down well. In this case April’s rider was listening in to the call and laughed when I told them that April said that she got ahead of the movement when taking off over fences, as she knows that it’s a weakness of hers - so now she’s definitely got to listen to her instructor because her horse has independently verified what she’s been told, and expressed that it’s causing difficulties for her in her take-off.

I don’t diagnose or treat, but I did recommend that April’s people got professionals out to examine her saddle fit and her back.

April is a sensitive girl, and when she naps it could be about anything from one of her bridle’s keepers has slipped down and is irritating her, to her saddle cloth has slipped and is uncomfortable - I do feel for her people having to work out why each time because it seemed like doesn’t suffer fools gladly and would let her people know in no uncertain terms that she’s unhappy about something, so they will need to keep on top of everything to keep her happy!

She showed me the special way she shows her love for her people, which is to breathe that wonderful warm air from her nostrils onto them - they confirmed that she does seem to like doing that to them during cuddles.

She’s an ambitious pony and I think she really feels at home despite only having been with them less than a year, and as long as they keep her physically comfortable she is going to have a LOT of fun getting out and about doing pony club type things with this rider!

Is it about time you had a check-in with your mare about her opinions? Here’s the link to book