Jason Webb’s blog: cracking the toughest case I’ve ever had
I hope you’re all enjoying the spring-like weather and the firming up of the ground. We have had such a dry and mild winter, I’m already worrying about getting payback from the weather Gods next winter, so I’ve been rain-proofing the fields by putting in hardcore around the gateways and hard standing areas in the fields. There’s some heavy duty machinery around the farm for the work in progress, so of course, I can’t resist using them as training aids for getting the horses used to heavy traffic!
In my last blog, I wrote about the little gelding who would not stay stabled or in any confined space. I have to say, I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to help, such was the extent of his claustrophobia. He was definitely the hardest case I’ve had to crack, on account of his fear being greater than his regard for his own life. I compared the method I employed to CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) in humans, and I am really delighted to say that he has turned a corner and is now relaxed and happy at being stabled. The next step is to work on keeping him calm and rational in a horsebox so he can be transported without sedation.
When an accident like this happens, I always evaluate how I could have done things differently. My staff do such an amazing job of caring for the horses we have in for training, but in this case, it was my own horse I was loading and I was running late. The old saying, “more haste, less speed” is something I preach continuously to my clients, so I’m kicking myself for not taking my own advice!
That morning, I was on my way to have a dressage lesson with Damian Hallam with “JJ”. The other day, I took a look around the yard and was blown away by the quality of the horses that I now get to work with, so the more I understand about the development of top competition horses, the better I can prepare them for their future careers, hence the regular lessons.
I have worked with Damian a fair bit now and I was so delighted that he won the medium gold regional dressage championships at Wellington with Serupgaards Salento, who I started under saddle a few years ago. The way he has produced him is a masterclass in allowing a young horse to grow and develop in their own time.
I am also enjoying some time with Miriam Goggin, who is a well-respected trainer local to me and I have built up a great network of fellow equestrian professionals who I can turn to for advice, exchange ideas with, and hopefully help out too. For example, I’m looking forward to one of these friends, Ross Emmett, coming over from Australia in late April to run an Emmett Therapy course at the yard, a technique that is incredibly useful to use with horses and riders alike.
Continued below…
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Jason Webb’s blog: One of the worst cases I have ever seen
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