Sunday Morning and...

... I'm listening to Russell Brand on BBC Radio 2's listen again thingy and it is most excellent, except it makes me start talking very sillily and in a pseudo cockney accent. Don't worry. It wears off after a whiley while!

Righto - what else... these site meter things. Hmmm. I've got Statcounter which tells me lots of interesting things like how many people stop by each day, and how long you hang around for (though not who is who obviously!). I also have a Technorati account, and that serves to tell me that my blog is ranked 182,641 out of hopefully a bigger number than 182,641, and that I have an authority of 34, whatever that means?! I also have 1 fan. Boo Hoo! Just 1? More recently I got Feedburner and that tells me what people have searched for to arrive at my ickle bloggiewog (Stop it Russell!).

So this is what you've been searching for:

"Embarrassing Stories"

My life is full of these. Yup.

"Pitt Rivers Museum in Novel"

Ah. Sorry. I did do a piece on Pitt Rivers but didn't put it in a novel.

"Favicon How"

So glad that's been useful to someone out there!

"Maktub Andalucia"

This means that some poor Spanish person has turned up thinking they're going to find a Spanish language site, only to find tons of English. It also means that people are searching for Maktub Andalucia and that's utterly wonderful because they are utterly wonderful!

Si no habla Vd Ingles y quiere Vd hablar conmigo en Español, por favor, algo mejor mandame un email y responderé a la pregunta si puedo!

"Lisa Ratcliffe"

Found me!

"Bleeding Moon Poem"

Beg your pardon?!

"Smeaton terrorism comparison us die"

Does this person speak English as a first language?

"Alan Halsey"

You'll be wanting Rob Sheppard's pages methinks.

"Vagina discomfort from riding horses"

I'm sure I never said that! I would never use such a word on my blog - it's just not that kind of blog, dear!

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Horses (I did warn ya!)

*Saying of the week: Green on Green = Black and Blue*

It's been an interesting week.

On Tuesday I went to meet a friend's horse - well he belongs to her teenage daughter. He is not a school horse, and I'm a baby beginner, so there's work to be done here, for both of us. He is a big bargy boy who wanted to use me as a scratching post, and I'm a bit nervous which he can sense. Hmm. I think we'll just have to get to know each other slowly, and I'll let you know how we get on. So far I've had a little ride around the manege which was okay once he'd stopped freaking out about having someone new on his back. Singing works. Singing saves lives!

On Friday I had a group lesson with Toucheé and he was, as I'd been warned, very difficult with other horses, but towards the end of the 45 mins he started listening to me and I got a real buzz from that. For anyone who thinks riding is just a case of sitting there, kicking 'it' to go, and yanking the reins to make 'it' stop, please think again. I have calf muscles like tree trunks already and it's far more complicated than learning to drive a car ever was!

Going Natural

Now sadly, I'm a bit wary on the ground since that pony bit me last year and I'm confused by the amount of conflicting advice. I don't want to die at the hands (or hooves) of a pissed off pony, or through my own lack of handling ability, but at the same time, I keep thinking there's gotta be more to working with horses than shoving a bit in their mouths and whacking 'em with a whip. So I've been watching and researching Natural Horsemanship. This is what I've discovered so far.

Pat and Linda Parelli

Savvy is the key word here. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw these two with their horses. You can watch them on Horse & Country TV. They play their Parelli Games and teach people how to get the best out of their horses based on 'Love, Language, and Leadership'. They use American and English Saddlery, as well as bare-back and bridle-free. If I ever get a horse I'll try to learn these techniques - carefully!

Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling

Natural Horse Meditation. This guy's DVD is well impressive. The critics tell us we'll get ourselves killed trying to emulate this guy and they're probably right, but we can still learn an awful lot just by watching. He goes out walking with his horse as though it is a dog - running and playing. Total trust. A proper relationship. This would be something to dream of with a horse of my own but I think you'd need someone to teach you.

Nevzorov Haute Ecole

This is the ultimate in horse/human relationships. The photos on the website are exquisite but can't be reproduced here due to copyright so you'll need to pop over to the site to see. Choose ENG for the English version. I'm in love! Nevzorov has written a book called The Horse Crucified and Risen. He is against all forms of horse abuse and has the most wonderful working relationship with horses I have ever seen.

Here's a taster of his work.



Want to see more?!



The first few minutes are disturbing but they are meant to be. It's well worth it to keep watching!



Isn't he fab?! And for those of you out there who are going to start shouting at me about traditional methods (horse people seem to be very shouty for some reason!) don't bother! I'm not stupid. I know I can't begin to do this stuff with school horses, or other people's, but I just want to show what is possible, what can be and to give myself something to aim for. I don't expect the horse to carry me, and am grateful when he does. Does that make me a naive fool? Given the choice between a horse who wants to play with you, and work with you in partnership, or an animal who has given up, lost his spirit because he knows the bit will pinch his mouth, and the whip will sting, I know which I would prefer!

And for the record, I don't like Monty Roberts. And I don't like his halter contraption either.

Rant over!