Ben
15.1hh Irish Gelding, 6yrs. I'm not sure what job Ben will do, as he is a little timid and unsure about people, but he really caught my eye in Ireland and I could'nt leave him behind. He really has such a nice face and with some time and work I am hoping he will blossom to be a nice little horse wanting to please someone in what ever job seems to suit him. (He remind's me of Oliver when he first came). Please follow his diary with me and get to know him more.
Ben's Diary
This is Ben's diary so you can find out what we've been doing with him and to enable you to follow what he does.
08/08/10
Ben has been hacked out this week.Traffic does not seem to bother him,it is more horses that get to close I think he is scared of being kicked.When I have been schooling him on the flat he is stronger (more balanced) on his left than his right but with more time this will only get better.All the family can catch him now from the field his confidence is improving every week.
31/07/10
Well Ben!!!! His confidence has just blossomed. I really like this horse. I love to see horses just start to trust you. He was so nervous when I first saw this horse and with some time he really has started to accept us. I have hacked him out with Oliver most of the week thinking that I would need Oliver for encouragement, but Ben is fine being in front and behind. When out hacking we have met some traffic (slow cars and buses) and a kind man who turned off his hedge trimmer as we approached him but i'm sure he still would have kept going. He was nervous of cyclists coming behind him so I rode on Oliver's inside.
25/07/10
We have been handling Ben's feet daily and on wednesday James the farrier patiently managed to take his back shoe's off and hot shoe him in front.We felt that we will shoe him allround next time as he has improved so much that I don't want to stress him out and make his first shoeing to long.I have also ridden him this week,only in the school as with him being so nervous I would rather box him up and take him somewhere quieter.Please take a look at the video !
17/07/10
James (farrier) came to shoe Mandy on Tuesday,I asked him to just to take a look at 'Ben' he let James lift his front feet and slowly take his front shoe's off but that is as far as we could get with him without stressing him out,as he was very worried about James even coming near his hind legs.So on wednesday I did some more join up with him and then we schooled him with the Dually Headcollar and then started to handle his feet again which he accepted very well.The next day with the help of Lucy holding him in his Dually headcollar we started to handle his feet as if he was being shod which he accepted very well.Also I have ridden 'Ben' this week,I have started him like a youngster so he can have trust in whatever he does.Please view video below.
10/07/10
Ben has been very quiet since he has arrived. I think he is a quiet type of horse, but is so unsure of us. I have done some join up in the field with him as I want him to know we are on his side and to be able to trust us some more. Today, I have been using a false arm to feel all of his legs as he is a little unsure about them being touched his confidence has showed alot more today. He will hopefully be shod on Tuesday, if not I will ask James (farrier) just to handle him instead. He has got shoes on already, so someone has shod him in a fashion but I want him to be able to trust us. I just like to take my time with an unsure horse, as in the long run this patience with him will shine through in anything he does for the future.
12/07/10
Ben had a physio assessment done today, like Mandy and Melvin. Everything was good, except he needs more topline as he really does not have any muscle tone at all (bless him) but some time with us and he will soon develop this.
