Tina – Case Study
“When we bought our pony CP, it was so that our daughter Sophia could have some fun riding and doing a bit of everything. The problems started however when CP refused to settle in his new home. He had been with his previous owner for eight years but when he moved to us, he was quite clearly not a happy pony. He quickly became strong to lead and handle, and suffered extreme separation anxiety when his field mates were taken away. Sophia started to become nervous of him and so we needed to find some help. We tried magnesium calmers to settle his anxiety and then we stabled him away from home to try and get him used to different surroundings but nothing seemed to work which is why we called in Michael Peace.
Michael took CP home to his yard to work with him on his own and establish some boundaries and then to give Sophia some guidance on how to handle him more effectively. All along, Michael was calm and encouraging and above all, he made us believe we could work through the problems and gave us coping strategies for when it went wrong. When CP became strong to lead, Michael showed us what to do to break the pattern of behaviour and his strategies worked for Sophia in just three attempts. Sophia was also given some lessons to help with her ridden work and get him listening to her aids.
After a few weeks we took CP home. I watched as Sophia put all the skills she had learnt with Michael into practice, working through the problems and refusing to give in to him. Slowly they found a middle ground. I watched them grow and learn together and develop a strong relationship where neither horse nor rider was afraid of the other. CP is now out doing lots of shows and rarely comes home without a rosette. He is a talented and kind pony and has proved to be a real gem. Yes sometimes he can be a step ahead of us but Sophia is patient and gentle and she continues to learn from him.
I think we underestimated the length of time it takes a horse to fit into a new environment, but aside from this, we have learnt so many skills from Michael that Sophia will be able to use in the future on all the horses she rides.
Michael is calm, kind, humorous and down to earth. We have learnt a lot about our pony and ourselves and I think it is safe to say that meeting Michael has made CP’s life much better and, in turn, ours too!”
Tina
