Orion's First Winter

Orion was our only colt foal in 2011, and it was tempting to keep him entire to see if he'd make the grade as a stallion. However, when we sat down and really thought about it, we realised that keeping him entire would mean we'd almost definitely have to sell him. We sold Ziggy, his dad, because we couldn't keep a stallion safely on Ilkerton Ridge. Also, it's difficult finding suitable fields for a stallion and some mares back at the farm because we have several riding horses, we take in visiting horses and our neighbours on two sides have riding stables. The third reason why we sold Ziggy was we'd kept back some of his daughters (who are Orion's sisters) and breeding from such closely related animals isn't a good idea.

All in all, the sensible and expensive option seemed the right thing to do, so we asked Simon Joiner, our vet from Western Counties Equine Clinic, to come and castrate Orion. Simon has gelded several of our Exmoor ponies over the years, and we've got a pretty good system which works well. Orion was particularly well-behaved, so the operation was performed with him standing up but heavily sedated. (Sometimes Exmoor colts battle against the sedative so fiercely that they have to be given a general anaesthetic.) Afterwards he was pretty groggy and, despite pain killers, obviously in quite a lot of pain for a few days. His sisters ran circles round him while he moved as little as possible. Although the weather wasn't too good, the vet advised us to keep him outside because he'd be less likely to pick up an infection. Also, the swelling would be reduced by excercise. Seeing him standing miserably in the rain made me feel extra guilty for what I'd done to him! Luckily ponies never seem to look for something or someone to blame in times of adversity. They just try to make things better for themselves.

Within a week or two, Orion was back to his usual self, playing around with his sisters again. The ponies were put into a steep field by the barns, where they could have access to silage and could see lots of activity in the farmyard. The cattle had been brought in for the winter, so the sheds were now fully occupied.

Orion's field companions were a motley crew: Gaia and Demeter (his sisters), Hell's Angel and her surprise foal Hell's Bells, Pixie (a fairly tame four-year-old mare with a few white hairs on her forehead) and Luke and Johnny (two geldings born in 2010 who were looking extremely malnourished having spent most of the previous year roaming the high moor with Pixie). Anyone who says that horses are never nasty to each other should see how the rest of the ponies picked on Luke and Johnny - presumably because they were so weak. Perhaps the reason for this is that in the wild a weak member of the group can draw attention to the whole herd, making it vulnerable to attack by predators, and therefore the herd tries to drive away weak members. Whatever the reason, there was a distinct possibility that Luke and Johnny would be killed, so we brought them into the barn to live with the cows until they were strong enough to stick up for themselves. The ponies had as much silage as they could eat, plus a mineral bucket. We've found that extra minerals make a huge difference to growing ponies, even hardy Exmoors who should be able to cope with our local mineral deficiencies.

As lambing time drew closer, the ponies were moved over to the other side of the farm, to a field we call Moor Field because half of it is pretty wild, with wet ground, a bit of woodland and a stream. Exmoor ponies seem to love it in this field, and they do a great job of grazing back the rushes and rough vegetation.

Very sadly, Ziggy (Orion, Gaia and Demeter's dad) was fatally injured by a car on the road above Countisbury during the Easter weekend. It was a great shock for all of us, especially James and Roz, his new owners. I must admit that for a while I wished I hadn't had Orion gelded, as Ziggy was such a lovely stallion with a very rare bloodline on his mum's side, but on reflection having an adolescent colt to handle and keep separate from any mares, with no guarantee he'd pass the stallion inspection at two years old, wouldn't have been much fun.

In the past month or so, Orion, Gaia and Demeter have changed immensely, like teenagers on a growth spurt. Their legs seem to elongate daily and they're no longer chubby, fluffy babies. Their winter coats are coming out in tufts, and they definitely have a lot of attitude. They're constantly sparring and, I'm afraid to say, they seem to delight in bullying Luke and Johnny. Orion seems to have found a special friend in Pixie, so much so that when I bring him back to the farm to continue his training I think I'll bring her back too.

So that's the next thing: in a little while we'll bring Orion and Pixie back to the sheds, and the other ponies will be let loose on the moor for the summer. I hope Orion hasn't forgotten everything he learned last autumn. We'll have to wait and see! 

Sherman the Shire horse by Sarah Eveleigh

 My Gentle Giant (This story first appeared in The Exmoor Magazine "My Favourite Horse" feature. It was written by our daughter, Sarah.)

I was about 8 years old when Sherman arrived at West Ilkerton Farm, and I was rather scared of the snorting, fire-breathing beast that stood at the top of the lorry ramp. He was by far the biggest, most powerful horse I had ever seen.

However, my initial fears went very quickly and, being slightly naive and fearless, I was soon climbing on his back and riding him about the yard. I created a bond with him that I had never had with a horse before. I would tell him about my life and what was happening at school. I soon came to the conclusion, after some difficult times at school, that he was the ideal friend as he was never mean to me, always accepting and always pleased to see me. We all loved him. He was such an impressive horse with such immense power, yet so kind.

When I was about 15, Sherman and his working mate, Spec, were sold and my parents gave up the horse-drawn tour business. I understood why my parents had to sell Spec and Sherman, and I tried to keep a brave face on the whole situation as I could see that Mum and Dad were as upset as I was. I went with Dad in the lorry to deliver the two horses. It was possibly one of the hardest days of my life so far. It was an end of an era for us all, and a big part of life at West Ilkerton seemed to have gone.

Years went by, but Sherman was always playing on my mind. The horses had been sold on condition that we would have first refusal if they were sold, but we found out they had been sold on, and we couldn’t find out where they’d gone. Mum eventually managed to track Sherman down through his passport number and reassured me he was alive and well in Dorset.

I finished my finals at Cirencester, and on the 1^st June this year I decided to go home for a break. I arrived home and everything seemed normal. Mum came out of the office when she saw my car, and suggested I should go and see Winaway, my horse, in the barn. As I went into the barn to say hello to Winaway I saw a big, white unmistakably shaped blaze. I did the biggest double-take I have ever done in my life! There, standing back in his rightful place, was my gentle giant, my friend, my Sherman!!! I flung my arms round his big neck in an overwhelming whirl of emotion. Mum and Dad had tracked him down and bought him back so he can spend the rest of his days back home for retirement!

Now he’s back it seems like he’s never been away. I go down to the barn every day, climb on his back and tell him what’s been happening, I’m sure he must already be bored of my stories, but like a true friend he never lets on.

Orion The Exmoor Pony 4: Preparing the foals for their Exmoor Pony Society inspection

When we went into the enclosure where the foals were running loose on the second day, it was almost as if we hadn’t done anything with them! They still seemed petrified of us, and they bunched together in panic as we approached. Gently, we guided each foal into its individual pen, making sure they had the same places as the day before. We’ve found that if we do this for the first week of handling it gives them a sense of security, and by the end of the first week they’ll more-or-less put themselves into their own pens as soon as the gate is opened. Horses are creatures of habit. When you want to try something new that can be a great disadvantage, but you can definitely work it to your advantage when trying to gain their trust.
Once in their pens, the foals settled relatively quickly. Orion’s amazingly laid back character hadn’t been a fluke on the first day, and he allowed me to walk up and fit a head collar on him without any fuss. Gaia and Demeter still had to be caught with a long rope, but they weren’t quite so anxious about being touched. Gaia, especially, seemed to be incapable of standing still and relaxing. Given half the chance, she’d run ‘through’ us (ie past us) so we had to teach her that wasn’t allowed by blocking her when she attempted it.
Interestingly, once we started teaching the ponies to lead, Gaia and Demeter were easier than Orion because their first instinct was to move whereas his was to stand still.
However, it was a different story when we tried to pick up their feet. Orion learned what we wanted incredibly quickly, and before long he was picking up any foot, fore or hind, when I touched above the relevant hoof and said, “Up.” He never panicked or tried to kick. In contrast Gaia was obviously terrified of having any of her hooves picked up. As her first reaction was to flee from anything scary, it was a big deal for her to give up that ability by giving us her hoof. For a couple of days I thought we’d never teach her. She was positively explosive, especially when we tried to handle her hind hooves, but she was incredibly brave and tried her hardest to do as we asked. We rewarded the slightest try – even a shift of weight in preparation to lift her foot – and after a week and a lot of hours of encouragement she’d lift each foot off the ground for us so we could pick her hooves out and examine them. Seeing how hard she tried to please us although it was the scariest thing for her to do was truly awe-inspiring.
I’d better explain here that ‘us’ was sometimes me and our daughter, Sarah, and sometimes me and a good friend called Caroline Fardell who was staying in the self-catering cottage for a week. Both Sarah and Caroline were a huge help.
Well, by the day of the inspection all the ponies would be caught in their pens without the aid of a rope (Orion was by far the best at this), would lead (Orion was still the worst at this!), would pick up their feet (Orion was a pro, Demeter was just about okay and Gaia was okay if you were really careful and did nothing to upset her) and would have their teeth inspected (Demeter was the most sensitive about her mouth being touched).
On inspection day, the inspectors seemed to be in such a hurry that they ignored my request to let Sarah and me handle the foals and pick up their hooves. This was a great shame because the three foals were understandably alarmed by strange people handing them. At least the foals don’t have to be branded with hot irons anymore. Since microchipping became compulsory it’s now up to owners to decide whether they want their ponies to be branded as well. I personally hate branding, so I don’t do it now, but it is a very useful means of identification for unhandled ponies on the moor – especially as Exmoor ponies all look similar, with no white markings. At present, microchips can only be read using hand-held devices which are placed next to the pony’s skin. As you can imagine, this can be tricky with a wild pony! Branding, if done well, gives a pony an easily identifiable mark for life. However, in the past an unnecessary number of brands have been used and brands have often turned out to be illegible, especially in winter. Thank goodness work is now in progress to devise a better system.
After our ponies had been inspected and registered, we decided to turn them out into the small field (called a splat on Exmoor) behind the shed so they could relax. They came out into the back yard cautiously, but as soon as they entered the field they were off – galloping, bucking and chasing each other in circles. This must have done wonders for their spirits (and it did wonders for mine as I watched them) but it didn’t do the grass much good. It’s easy to understand why Chris doesn’t like having my Exmoor ponies in his carefully tended fields!

Orion the Exmoor 3: Orion's First Close Encounter With A Human

This is a brief account of the first handling session we gave Orion and his sisters, Gaia and Demeter. I hope it gives some idea of how different each individual foal can be.
After they’d been weaned, the foals spent a few days running loose with a tame mare in a large shed which opens onto the farmyard. They watched us walking around, but we made no attempt to touch them. In turn, we were watching them to see what sort of characters they were. Sometimes there’s a bully in the group and all the ponies are constantly unsettled. I don’t know whether the older ‘nanny’ mare was keeping them in order this year, or it may have been because there were fewer foals than usual, but there seemed to be remarkably little friction between them all. Gaia was inquisitive, and initially we thought she’d be the easiest to tame because she seemed to be the boldest. Orion, on the other hand, was always hanging back behind his sisters, watching from a distance. We thought he’d be the most difficult one.

So, this is what happened on the first day of handling. The foals were in one side of the shed, and we made three pens in the other side out of round pen sections (fairly expensive to buy, but worth every penny). Using long sticks with stuffed gloves on the end as extensions to our arms, we guided each foal into an individual pen. This was easier said than done, because they bunched together and moved fast; we knew they’d try to jump impossible obstacles if they became too scared. We’ve discovered that you have to think you’ve got all day, be very calm towards the ponies and fellow handlers, read the ponies’ body language and have just one or two people helping who are in tune with each other. The pressure on the ponies increases with every additional person in the shed, and they can tell instantly if someone’s anxious or impatient. Chris, Sarah and I now make a good team, but it’s taken us a few years. When you're with domesticated horses for most of the year, it's easy to forget how reactive unhandled foals can be. 
One of the golden rules of horse training is you shouldn’t have a time limit, but the reality is that everyone has a time limit of some sort. My deadline was eight days, because that was when the Exmoor Pony Society inspectors were due. Before then, I wanted each foal to be easy to catch, relaxed about being touched all over and relatively happy about having its feet picked up and mouth opened.
Once the foals had been shut into their pens, we left them alone for a few minutes so they could get used to their confinement. Gaia made a terrible fuss, whinnying and charging around looking for an escape route. Demeter had a similar reaction, but she tried to burrow under the pen rather than looking for a way over the top. Orion was much more laid back. He inspected the pen at a walk, and then stood in the middle of it and looked at us. I decided to handle Orion and let Sarah get to know Gaia!
Having made myself as calm as possible, I entered Orion’s pen and stood just inside it, expecting him to move to the far corner or rush around its outer limits, but he stood still. After a couple of minutes, I took a few steps towards him and then backed away again. He stood still. Worried that he might have shut down with fear, I took a good look at him, but he seemed perfectly alert and interested in what I was going to do next. It wasn’t completely plain sailing (once or twice I approached too quickly and he backed off or did a circuit of the pen) but after about ten minutes he let me touch him. He was always keen to face me, so it took a bit of patience to get him to stand still while I touched his sides, but once he realised what he was supposed to do he stood still. Like a lot of unhandled ponies he was much more tolerant of being touched on one side (his right) than the other (his left). Each time he did what I wanted, I rewarded him by moving away. He learned quickly, and after about an hour I left him alone with some food and water.
Meanwhile, Sarah had resorted to a rope and stick (explained later) to catch Gaia. I must admit I felt rather smug, and allowed myself to think that Orion had been so good because I was becoming much better at handling wild foals.
Full of confidence, I entered Demeter’s pen. She instantly fled, desperate to get as far away from me as possible. After she’d calmed down, I started gently advancing and retreating towards her, determined that I was going to touch her without the aid of a rope around her neck to keep her steady. She allowed me to get so far, then rushed round the perimeter of her enclosure, with me standing in the middle. After about half an hour, I decided that I was getting nowhere fast; we'd settled into a pattern of her fleeing at the same point every time. In fact, I wondered whether I had been inadvertently teaching her to flee. Time to think again.
I fetched the rope and stick, and noticed that Sarah had finished her session with Gaia, who seemed much more relaxed about life.

"Shall I go in with Orion while Gaia’s having a rest?" Sarah asked.

"Help yourself, but go steady. The next stage is to put a head collar on him," I said. "But I should put a rope round his neck first, just to make sure." Secretly a teensy weensy awful part of me was hoping she’d be slightly less successful than I’d been.

 
I hung the noose of the rope over the long stick, and entered Demeter’s pen again. Despite introducing the contraption slowly and carefully using advance and retreat tactics, she fled whenever it came too near, dashing around and looking for an escape route near the ground. This sort of reaction to something scary is, I find, very difficult to deal with. It’s tricky to get a rope around a pony’s neck if it’s facing away from you with its head touching the ground! After about five attempts I managed to slip the noose over her head and remove the stick, and I retreated to let Demeter calm down. Glancing into the next door pen, I was astonished to see that Sarah had a headcollar and lead rope on Orion.

"How did you do that so quickly?" I asked.

"Walked up and put it on," she said.

"No need for a rope or anything?"

"Nope. He was as good as gold."

Back to Demeter: I now had a very nervous little foal with a soft rope noose around her neck. She was still keen to flee from me and try to burrow under the pen, so the first thing I had to teach her was to stand facing me. I did this by exerting just enough pressure on the rope to cause a reaction from her. If she gave to it at all (by stepping in the right direction or lifting her head to look at me) I let the rope slacken, averted my eyes and walked away. She learned fast. Within about ten minutes, she was responding well to signals from the rope. Within another five minutes I’d touched her for the first time. That first touch was pretty traumatic for her. She leaped backwards and tried to flee, but couldn’t because of the rope around her neck. Interestingly, once she realised that fleeing was no longer an option she became much calmer. Perhaps I shouldn’t have persevered for so long trying to touch her without the aid of a rope. I touched her on both sides, and then let her have a well-deserved rest.
Afterwards I felt that, although we’d got there in the end, I hadn’t handled Demeter’s first lesson at all well. I could have been a better teacher. She’d taught me what I should have known already: ego isn’t at all helpful when handling wild foals and, although general principles still apply, every pony needs to be approached differently.

Orion the Exmoor 2: Tips on Handling Wild Foals

Some Thoughts on Taming Wild Foals 
There are many different ways of taming wild foals and, as with most things in life, there’s no 'right' way. However, some ways give much better results than others, and some are much kinder than others.
  I’m most definitely not an expert, but I’ve developed a method which seems to work well for me, feels right and makes use of the equipment we’ve got here on the farm. It’s based on what I’ve been taught by a horsewoman called Vanessa Bee, tips I’ve picked up from other people, information gathered from books and videos on the subject, and also what I’ve learned from our wild foals themselves.

The equipment I use is:

A large barn which is divided in two with secure barriers and gates. The floor has a deep bed of straw so the ponies won't slip. The ponies run loose together in one side of the barn. There are three round pens (made up from about six or seven segments each) on the other side of the barn. Initial handling is done in these round pens.

Round pen segments I bought some mesh round pen segments a couple of years ago, and they were a great investment because they make handling so much easier. A round pen can be made out of lots of different things, though - big bales of straw, for instance. A normal stable or any enclosure with four walls will do, but if it's got corners it will make handling the pony more difficult.

A long, thick piece of yachting rope with a noose and stopper at one end. This is for initial catching, before the pony has learned to be caught. It is like a thicker version of a lasso.

A long stick which is forked at one end You can use this to ease the noose of the rope over the pony's head, (unless you're good at lassoing!).

A head collar which is strong, fits well and is easy to put on and take off.

A good-quality lead rope which is about 10 feet long

Before I describe handling Orion for the first time, I think it would be useful to talk a little bit about the way in which I communicate with our wild ponies. Horses and ponies usually communicate silently (despite what you may believe if you've watched the film of Warhorse!). Most of the time, they use their bodies and their inner energy, and tremendous results have been achieved by people who have perfected the art of communicating with them in this way.
Here are some basic things I’ve learned:

First and foremost, always try to be as safe as possible. Prepare everything beforehand so you've got the best chance of achieving what you've set out to do. Practise rope skills and things like putting on halters beforehand. Do initial handling in a confined area which is large enough for the pony to have its own space. You should have an escape route out of the pen, but the pony shouldn't. The surface of the handling area should be non-slip and soft (sand or shavings are ideal, but straw is also okay). Wear a hard hat, non-slip gloves, non-slip boots and clothing which doesn't make a noise when you move. Ponies are very sensitive to smell, so be clean but don't wear perfume!

• Try to have a clear, still mind. Control your inner energy and emotions. I find it helps to follow Vanessa Bee’s advice and imagine a flame deep inside which I can turn up and down according to how much energy I want to project (like a Bunsen burner – do they still have them in science labs?). Try to keep in balance with the pony's energy, so your total energy is a notional 100%. Therefore, if the pony's energy is high (around 80%, say) you want to drop your energy to 20% so that the total energy you are both projecting is 100%. When dealing with horses, you should keep your ego (the part of you which makes you think you're something special!) locked away where it can't do any harm. There's an old horsy saying: Pride comes before a fall. It's true.

• Your eyes are very powerful tools. Make eye contact only if you want the pony to move. It’s possible to make a pony move a particular foot just by looking at that foot. Eye-to-eye contact is very scary for a wild pony. Ponies are also very sensitive to breathing, so try to breathe calmly and regularly. If you hold your breath you'll make the pony nervous, but if you sigh deeply it can be relaxing (for you and the pony!).

• Make all your movements gentle, relaxed and flowing. But be confident, not creepy. If you’re creepy you’ll look like a predator. Ponies respond well to circular movements. Following on from this, they respond well to advance and retreat tactics when introducing something new (especially when introducing people, including yourself). With a gentle, flowing movement, go towards the pony and then away again, getting a little closer each time. Sometimes you don’t even have to move your feet for this to work – just lean in a different direction and change your energy flow. Similarly, introduce a new item like a headcollar by holding it out gradually and taking it away again, getting closer each time.

• Human hands and arms are scary to a wild pony. Introduce your hand with gentle advance and retreat movements, and offer the back of your hand with your fingers curled away rather than an outstretched open hand. (A predator’s claw would be outstretched and open.)  Everything you do should tell the pony that you ‘come in peace’.

• The first time you touch a wild pony (and for several times after that), it will probably jump away, as if it’s had an electric shock. It probably has, in a manner of speaking, because it seems that ponies are much more sensitive to inner energy than we are (or we’ve learned to ignore it to avoid sensory overload in our busy lives). Ponies have very sensitive skin - probably just as sensitive as ours. They seem to respond best to being touched with firm, slow, circular strokes or light scratching. Patting is usually not appreciated, especially a hearty pat which is more like a slap! Some ponies, especially those prone to sweet itch, have particularly sensitive skin and hate being touched.

• If the pony wants to run, don’t stop it, but don’t do anything to scare it either. Just stand passively in the centre of the pen. Running releases the pent-up energy from being frightened (I think psychologists call it trauma energy). If the pony is prevented from releasing that energy it can become neurotic.

• Read the pony’s body language constantly. The eyes, ears, muzzle and tail are particularly good indicators of its state of mind. A truly terrified pony may appear to be good because it’s standing still and allowing you to touch it, but it may have shut down completely – rather like fainting. Signs of this are a rigid body and a vacant, unblinking expression. If you think this has happened, leave the pony alone to recover, keeping a careful watch on it from a distance.

• Remember that being stroked or praised with words is unlikely to be a reward for a wild pony – the exact opposite, in fact. The best way to reward good behaviour is to walk away quietly and give the pony a rest. This has the added advantage of giving it time to realise what it did right. I like to give the foals I'm handling very small feeds in a bucket when they're resting in their handling pens. This means they associate the pen with something nice, and the act of chewing is relaxing for them. I personally don't like giving titbits by hand as a reward, but some trainers do. I find that it can be a distraction, it can make ponies pushy and may teach them to bite - probably because they associate hands with food.

• All horses and ponies are individuals. Constantly adjust what you’re doing to fit the pony’s reactions. Don’t stick to a set ‘one size fits all’ formula, and don’t let time be an issue. Like people, some ponies learn faster than others, or perhaps your method of teaching doesn’t suit the pony. (See my descriptions of Orion and Demeter in the next Orion blog.)

• Ponies will naturally brace against pressure. They have to be taught to give to pressure so they can be led or ridden. They learn to give to pressure amazingly quickly if you release that pressure (a pull from the lead rope, for example) the instant the pony yields to it. Never use more pressure than necessary. Your aim is to decrease the pressure needed until you just have to think something and the pony will do it!

• Keep handling sessions short but regular. Always end on a good note. When you release the pony, always make sure you walk away before it does. You should be in control of the pony’s movements whenever you’re handling it. Don’t let it move your feet.

• To quote Alice in the Katy’s Ponies trilogy, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Training wild ponies is incredibly rewarding but it can also be frustrating and it’s definitely time-consuming. Your aim is for the pony to want you to be its leader because it trusts you completely. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?!
Phew! I’d better stop there, or this will be the longest blog in history. Now you know some of the basics, it will be easier for you to understand my description of our first day of foal handling.

If you're interested in good horsemanship and wild pony handling, the Equine Tourism website has lots of information and a discussion forum. We can all learn so much from each other. 

Vanessa Bee's new book The Horse Agility Handbook has excellent advice about communicating with horses and ponies so that, eventually, you can work them at liberty.