Week 1
Day 1-
Nova arrived home last night and started settling in nicely. Today I sat with her and read a book while she ate some hay.
Day 2 -
This morning I went in with every intention to sit and read my book. I was very surprised when she tentatively started to approach me as I entered her yard.
Ok, well it looks like Nova has others plans for our time together today. So instead I went and grabbed a biscuit of hay and sat in the same place as I did the day before when I read my book. The first few bites were cautious and then she started to grow confidence.
I slowly got up and walked away. I repositioned myself in another part of the yard and waited to see what her decision would be. If she was still willing to interact, I was open to it and if not, that was fine also... I could always go and get my book. Over she came again.
We repeated this pattern a few times before I gave her a bunch more hay to eat in peace.
Day 3- Today was very similar to yesterday, keeping things the same and allowing her time and space to be confident enough to explore her curiosities.
Overall this past few days Nova has settled in nicely and I'm really enjoying my time with her.
Tori
Week 3
This past two weeks Nova has settled into farm life here really well.
She is a very sweet and inquisitive mare and is growing in confidence everyday. Her curiosity in new things combined with her growing confidence has meant she has at times taken herself out of her comfort zone to explore new things and trusted that everything will be ok.
I have not been in any hurry to get a headstall on Nova. I feel at times we as humans get really set on the end goal and forget the journey.
Nova has realised that she can communicate with me and I will do my best to interpret and react to her body language so that she never feels threatened or fear from our interactions together. Our progression together has gone from me sitting in the yard with her, to her cautiously approaching me, eating hay from my hand and eating chaff from my hands (first touch of my fingers on her muzzle).
Her allowing me to place my hand on her neck, then different parts of her body. More recently my touch has turned from a touch to a stroke and then a curry comb.
The first time I gently started moving my hand and Nova got a fright, jumped forward and kicked out. This doesn’t make her a dangerous horse, just a prey animal reacting off instinct. The movement of my touch caught her off guard.
As she ran away I spoke to her calmy and reassured her it was ok. Shortly after she settled and returned back by my side, this time she was accepting of my hand moving gently.
I think its important to remember only a few weeks ago these horses were un- handled and not so long ago they ran wild.
Overall I'm really enjoying the journey with Nova and look forward to the next couple of weeks.
Week 5
For the readers out there who may be reading this. In this update there is both "little to see" and so much positive change. Our progress to some may seem small. But in reality Nova has taken some of the biggest leaps of faith, of trust, she ever will in her life.
In the past two weeks, she has shrunk half a hand. Softened in her eye. Follows me around the open field and has allowed me to both place a headstall on and lead her.
To me, taking the time and waiting for Nova's consent to touch her, to approach her, to place a halter on for the first time- are some of the most important interactions she will ever have in her life.
The reason these interactions are the most important is because, how I choose to react to her communication while she is so new to human interaction, dictates whether she chooses to trust me. If Nova trusts me it means us working together is because she has given her consent.
Or....
If i was to be in a rush, my body language would be showing her that her communication and consent is irrelevant to me.
These initial interactions are the most important. Rushing the first interactions can be the reason a horse is hard to catch for the rest of its life. The reason a horse becomes shut down and internalises. Or even the reason someone ends up seriously injured in hospital.
Everyday I work with Nova, the only thing that matters is that I continually ensure everything I do with her is in her best interest. Not in the interest of winning a challenge or prize money.
The best reward is knowing that I've done the very best I can to set Nova up for a successful future.
Week 7
Training through an absence of "Training".
Around the beginning of July I asked my friend Emma Loftus Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy for Horses and Humans to do a remote healing session with Nova.
The beauty of energy healing is that is may also be done by distance. It never ceases to amaze me just how profound energy healing can be. Everything in this world is made up of energy, everything vibrating at a different frequency. You and I are energy. Thoughts too are energy. Hence the saying be careful what you wish for!
At the time I initially spoke to Emma she noted that Nova was not ready to engage with her and that she would hold space for her until she felt she was ready.
The fact that Nova did not yet feel safe enough to open up to a healing session, also corresponded with what I was feeling- Nova was not feeling ready for our work together to progress any futher either.
The past couple of weeks with Nova have been fairly quiet. After our last update I let her out in the paddock with my mare, Honey. Since then Ive been going about life each day as normal, feeding eveyone and working other horses. Asking nothing of her just allowing her to be present.
I think the power of allowing a horse to simply "be" is often under estimated. Each and every day I walk past Nova, in-front of her, behind her, beside her on my way to do other things.
Some of the most valuable training is done without doing any training at all.
On the 1st of August I noticed a change in Nova, she nickered at me as soon as I came close to her paddock, she then began following me around with a new found confidence I had not seen in her before. The night of the 1st of August I recieved a message from Emma Loftus to say that Nova had given consent to a remote healing session.
It's the special moments like these that are the milestones when working with animals because for the first time Nova had opened her heart space and said yes of her own accord.
Week 9
This past fortnight with Nova I have been working with her only sporadically. More so than working with her, I've been mostly spending time with her. Being in her presence.
I think sometimes as humans we overlook just how important it is to allow time and space for our horses to, "just be a horse".
In the scheme of things 9 weeks is not much time at all.
When I think about my friends and family, people who I love and trust and the many memories we have together it reminds me just how much time and how many memories it has taken us to build the special bonds in which we share.
To expect Nova to share and unbreakable bond with me in just 9 weeks would be delusional.
However I feel we have started on a path whereby we are creating memories and an understanding that will one day lead to a strong partnership with alot of trust.
I feel sometimes people mistaken densensitisation for trust. I wanted to talk about my views on this further.
Desensitisation vs building trust.
Desensitisation seems to be a real buzz word in training circles, especially when working with young horses. Many people are very focused on desensitising their horses because they want to make sure that whoever is working with/ riding the horse is safe- if and when challenging situations arise.
But, is densensitisation really the answer? Maybe we should instead be focused on a foundation of trust.
When a horse is introduced to a new stimuli and is worried, they communicate with body language. Worry may be communicated by;
*rapid/ increased breathing
*widening of the eye
*change of posture- hollows over the back, high head carriage
*a gelding may drop their penis out.
*pinning ears
*biting/ mouthyness
*unsettled, moving around wanting to flee.
*excessive licking, chewing, blinking. (All ways to release stress and tension.)
These are all indications that the horse is operating within its sympathetic nervous system.
The job of the sympathetic nervous system is to survive. Survival instincts of a horse are fight, flight and freeze.
Trust comes from two way communication and knowing when your horse is emotionally, physically and mentally reaching their limit. Learning to understand and interpret your horses' body language and react accordingly.
I think sometimes we can mistake desensitising for building trust. However, exposing a horse to something that scares the pants off them, continuously, until they stop trying to fight or flee does not enable the horse to build trust. Instead they result in the "freeze aspect" or fight, flight or freeze. They internalise their emotions, blocking the scary thing out and trying to ignore it instead of processing it.
A foundation built off trust will always be slower.
It’s the difference between a "work horse" who does as their told at every turn, and a "war horse" who thinks independently and works in partnership with their person.
Week 11
These past two weeks with Nova have flown by, they have also been a little different in terms of the type of progress in which she is making. Until recently, most of her progress has been working on a mental and emotional level, building familiarity, confidence and trust.
This past fortnight, while I am are still prioritising her mental and emotional wellbeing, progress has also become evident physically (more visible to the human eye.)
Just because something becomes visible to the human eye doesn't mean that there isn't still a lot happening on an energetic level.
This past 2 weeks Nova has loaded the float for the first time, I've done her feet for the first time and she has started working with me in hand to improve her posture. I've been able to do all of these things with her with ease. Whilst I still use aids and cues for her to understand, what is more important is our communication and understanding on an energetic level.
Intention is more important than giving aids.
On occasion I've had people mention that some of the aids I use are very similar to each other and ask how the horse knows the difference.
The answer is simple. Your intention is much more profound then your aids.
The secret is to be "mindful" not have your "mind full".
When working with animals, or even people, I feel it's important to be in that moment, not in the past or the present.
The more we are able to train our minds to be in the present the less we experience emotions of worry, anxiety, stress etc. Leaving more space for possibility and energy exchange. I know myself before I teach a clinic I was always get nervous, sometimes to the point where I cant sleep much the night before a clinic. I think its just a little self doubt kicking in- however as soon as the first lesson begins my mind is only in that moment, in that lesson, and all my worries dissapear.
Our horses dont speak our language, however they are very intune with the energy of other horses and another being. Ive written previously about our horses being a mirror of ourselves. If I go into the paddock an anxious mess, the energy feild around me is full of those same icky anxious vibes. As soon as my own energy feild overlaps with the energy feild of my horse they feel what I'm feeling.
Friends of mine who use to run a lot of psychic development and animal communication classes had a sign at their gate that said, "leave your shit at the gate". Meaning, clear your mind of everything you did yesterday or have to do tomorrow and leave space for new experiences.
Our intuition becomes much stronger as we are better able to regulate our own nervous system and become truly present in the moment.
Dr Joe Dispenza has proven that meditation can and does alter brain wave frequencies- You can train your brain to "slow down" and be more present. If you practice this regularly not only does your intuition improve, your intention becomes more clear and you attract more of what you want into your life. People who practice mindfulness experience better health and more joy.
When working with horses, intention means having a clear image in your mind of what you are aiming to achieve together.
It's something that I've been using alot with Nova as we nagivate this journey together.
Before i touch her anywhere; say for instance I am going to place my hand on her neck. I first picture myself touching her on the neck.
By picturing what you are about to do, you have already emptied your brain of thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow, bringing yourself back to the present moment. In simply doing this your body sheds itself of the anxiety which causes tension, meaning your energy and your body language will be clear and more precise.
Animals are much better at subtle communication then us. Once we can learn to become more mindful, our intention and energy align. We can then develop a "feel". A feel is like a knowing. A knowing of:
*the best time to ask
*the best thing to do in that moment
*when its almost becoming too much for the horse
*when its ok to ask for more
*when the horse needs time to process.
The best horse trainer is not the person who can recite the textbook or get something done the fastest.
The best trainer is the one who can best understand and communicate subtly to the horse.
Week 13
If you have been following my journey and reading my updates you will likely have noticed that there is never updates which indicate what some may refer to as "massive progress" . In fact this last fortnight I've been rather busy working on the farm and also teaching clinics in Southern NSW. Nova and I have had a few inhand sessions together last week before I went away and this week the most we have done is spend time together while she eats her dinner.
In the lead up to equitana I have often found myself reflecting on why I decided to join the brumby challenge.
The truth is no one wants to go to a demostration to watch a horse walk around calmy in what seems to be snail pace and boring training.
Everyone wants to see something extraordiary. The stuff that makes the crowd oooooo and ahhh! ... but is extraordiary always ethical?
I feel often that the things which are truely extraordiary are the little things, the things that are appreciated only by those who understand the subtitles of a horses communication. Those who can see right through a visually impressive performace and dive deep to the heart and soul of how that animal feels about the partnership between itself and the humans in its life.
My motive for joining this challenge was to be apart of the ripple effect for a change toward a more sustainable and ethical way of working with horses. To help spread knowledge which would challenge age old training practices and to inspire others to have a thirst for knowledge.
If only eighteen year old me knew then what I know now I could have saved myself so much heart ache and so many vet bills.
I grew up inspired by watching dressage horses with movement out of this world, and trainers who pushed them to their limits. Side reins, draw reins, behavioural issues and soundness issues all seemed normal things in the day to day lives of many trainers I looked up to.
When I was 18 years old I found myself with one flashy young dressage horse, who through modern day training practices had become rather unsound. His name, Rocco.
I loved this horse so much I found myself looking for alternatives training practices to help him. At times it took alot of strength to trust my intuition and not the loud voices of judgement and unhelpful advice around me.
Rocco started me on a path of learning about biomechanics, the nervous system, energy, animal communication and was even the reason for me attending various psychic development classes.
Over the past 12 years Ive come to realise that there is so much to be learnt and so much our horses can teach us. The more you know, the more you realise you dont know.
Sometimes its hard to look past the impressive performances in the spotlight and judge success instead on a horses' physcial, mental and emotional wellbeing.
How Nova feels about being around and working with me is so much more important than our pointscore or performace in the Australian Brumby Challenge.
Alongside my friend, and collegue, Maggie Ashley from Evolution Equine Services - Maggie Ashley -Maggie is a wealth of knowledge in all things anatomy and healthy movement.
We look foward to sharing Nova's story and a holistic approach to training, at Equitana on Friday November 15th at 1.15pm in the Duncan Equine Group Arena.
Week 15
🌠 Whats next for Nova? 💫
Now that Nova is building confidence with human interaction the next step is to book in xrays.
Why xrays?
When I first met Nova I noticed;
* A roach over her lumbar, which has reduced, however is still visible.
* A ribcage shelf, which indicated lack of muscle mass and strength over the back, indicating she would not be able to sustainably carry the weight of a rider just yet.
* Stress lines present in the muscles, predominately over her scapula and hindquaters.
*Tension through her sacrum
*Over development of Bracio and Omo muscles in the base of her neck.
All of these visual markers indicated to me that her ventral and dorsal muscles chains were not working together in harmony.
There so many possible reasons that Nova could have developed this posture and overtime a corresponding muscular deveopment. Seeing photos of her when she was first captured I could see that her giraffe like posture had been her default way of going for many years. Maybe due to always being on high alert. Maybe an injury at some point, maybe even possible birth trauma, or maybe she's been this way since a youngster.
A horses' dorsal muscle chain should be longer then their ventral muscle chain.
Nova's ventral muscle chain was longer then her dorsal muscle chain. She had adopted a giraffe like posture.
By taking xrays it will give me a good indication of where her body is at skeletally.
Due to her posture, and lack of tensegrity through the musculoskeltal system, her back lacked strength and appeared hollow.
Unlike ourselves horses do not have a collarbone, meaning the only thing "holding up" the ribcage within their body is a group of muscles that come together to form what is known as the, "thoracic sling".
When a horse travels with a hollow back, the thoracic sling is not engaged, the horses back "drops", meaning the spinous processes of the thoracic and lumbar spine lack space between them.
Over time what can happen is they begin to touch and rub together (what we know as kissing spine.)
If a horses thoracic sling isnt engaging the only other way in which the body is able to stabalize the ribcage is its attachment of the lumbar to the sacrum and into the pelvis. The surrounding soft tissue in these areas hold on for dear life- compensating for the thoracic slings inability to function as it should. As a result the horse may develop a roach, hunters bump or feel rock hard on palpation.
In addition to the above a lack of lift of the ribcage means the bony column allignment and footfalls of the horse become compromised as a result of ongoing compensation. Overtime this can also cause damage to the joints and surrounding soft tissue structures.
My decision to x-ray Nova is so that I have a baseline of where she's at skeletally and how much space she has between her spinious processes- particularly the end of the thoracic and into her lumbar. Also base of the neck, as a hollow back also causes compression through the base of the neck (c6, c7 into the start of the thoracic).
I will continue to xray her as time goes to. Particularly before I start riding her, the stronger she becomes, the spaces between the spinious processes should increase.
As her body maintains a better allignment, the concusion to her joints will decrease, giving her the best possible chance of a long and happy career.
I look foward to updating on the finding of Nova's xrays.
Week 17
There is a lot of magic in the little things. This past two weeks with Nova have been full of many little moments of magic.
Nova has made many new human friends, explored off property, and let a few more of her anxieties fall away.
In the past fortnight my good friend Erika bought two of her horses up with her from Victoria and spent a week with me.
In the time Erika was with me she spent some of the time working with Nova. Until recently the majority of Nova's human interaction has been solely with myself mostly.
Having Erika stay offered a great opportunity for Nova to make a new human friend, and to also build trust in someone that wasn't me.
Seeing Nova communicate and enjoy the company of another human would have to be one of the most rewarding moments for me on this journey so far.
I couldn't help but smile.
Week 19
As I sit here writing this update, I can't believe just how fast the time has gone by. It feels like only last week I was picking up Nova from the Victorian Brumby Sanctuary.
The past two weeks have been polar opposites of each other.
The week following our last update was very busy indeed, with Nova having her teeth done, getting xrays and enjoying a couple of outings to visit my friend and her herd.
And this week, whilst I have been away in NZ teaching, Nova is enjoying down time.
I wanted to share with you the findings of Nova's first visit to the tooth fairy....because... tooth be told, the before and after pictures have made me smile. 🦷😁
I have noticed, (and even more so in recent weeks) Nova has been expressing discomfort whilst eating- hay and pellets in particular.
Alongside expressing her discomfort, visually there was obvious inflamation on the offside of her mandible.
I had hoped that I would have been able to get Nova's teeth looked at earlier on, however until recently I had felt she had not been quite ready.
It has been important to me to ensure that Nova had a handful of positive outings, in unfamiliar surroundings and with new people, before she was sedated and had someone poking around in her mouth.
These photos show Nova before and again 12 hours after her dental. Noting a significant reduction of the inflamation in her offside cheek.
The inflamation a result of many sharp edges which had caused ulceration of the surrounding tissues- making it rather uncomfortable for her particularly when eating.
Post dental, Nova had much more mobility through her jaw and was comfortable once again while chewing her hay.
Whilst Nova's dental issues would have caused her more issues if not addressed.
I also think it's a great time to ask the question, would Nova have experienced these same dental issues if she was still running wild? Maybe... but also maybe not.
Many brumbies live happy, long and healthy lives out in the wild without human intervention.
They are survivors and have generational adaptations that allow them to thrive in the conditions in which they live.
When we bring a wild horse into captivity, we bring them into an un natural environment where they consequently become reliant on us- their new owners to supply them with a balanced diet, hoof care and dental care, why? Because their new environment doesn't allow for them to cater for these needs themselves.
I'm not saying this is a positive or negative, however I feel it is important to acknowledge the reasons behind why these horses can thrive in the wild, yet tend to require more care in captivity.
The lifestyle in which a wild horse lives entails many kilometres of incidental movement. Brumbies are constantly moving to fresher pastures and water sources. Movement allows for self trimming.
Constant grazing and foraging allows for more grinding of their teeth, increasing their ability to be able to better maintain their dental health.
Lastly, brumbies have a great ability to rotationally graze large areas of land, allowing access to a varying range of plant life, each plant they choose to eat playing a role in a collaboration toward a balanced diet.