What a Week!!!!

I had the most amazing week last week! On Thursday I went to Greenwich for the first day of the Olympic dressage which was just awesome! Everything about it was wonderful - the journey on public transport to and from the venue, the organisation, the venue, the people working there, the atmosphere, the dressage itself - it was a fantastic experience with a carnival atmosphere and one I will never forget. The scale of the stadium, which was all constructed from scaffolding, was just jaw dropping, the scenery was beautiful and the whole experience made me very proud to be British. I couldn't get over the fact that I was actually there, at an Olympic Games!!!!!                              

The view from our seats.

One of the beautiful flower arrangements.

Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Horjis

The big screen very near to us.

Mike was working and couldn't come but my non-horsey companion who loved every moment of it, much to his surprise, and mine!!!

The stadium is just visible in the background.

The Cutty Sark which is very near the venue.

Then on Sunday we went to Dorset in pursuit of a brand new business venture! We stayed overnight at a guest house at Lulworth Cove, which is stunningly beautiful.

The view from the hotel window

Early the next morning I walked along the very steep coastal path to Durdle Door. This was the view looking back down the path to Lulworth.

The bay before Durdle Door.

Durdle Door itself.

The views from the path on the way back.

Lulworth Cove

Stair Hole

We then went to Monkey World which is the biggest Ape Rescue Centre in the world and was lovely to visit. I especially liked the Golden Cheeked Gibbons and the Orangutans.

This Lemur came down from the tree and walked along the fence to a bench where some people were sitting. The Lemur's minder asked the people to move as it is her favourite bench! She then sat down, surrounded by people like me with cameras, snapping away at close quarters, curled up and went to sleep!

A Squirrel Monkey looking very cute! 

Now for the reason we went to Dorset in the first place! Now that we are married we fancied starting a brand new joint venture- something that's ours as a couple right from the start, and hopefully one which will at least pay for itself, so we're going to start a very small Mediterranean Miniature Donkey Stud.

Mediterranean Miniature Donkeys are a proper breed which have more or less become extinct in their native countries of Sardinia and Sicily. The breed was saved by becoming very popular in the US and they were first imported into the UK in 2000. They are still quite few and far between in the UK and it's been quite difficult to find any quality mares for sale but we've been very lucky and managed to buy 2 lovely foundation mares to start our stud.

Country Music Patsy Montana II and Wolfheart Cash Quixote Kia were imported from the US as foals and they are now 6 years old. They are just 33" tall (the max height is 36") and they are in foal to a multi championship winning (both in this country and in the US) jack, Itsy Bitsy Tomcat, who is just 29" tall. The foals are due next April and will be about the height of a wellington boot at birth!

We are hiring a lorry and going to collect the girls on 21st August

Patsy

They are VERY friendly!!

                                                                     Kia and Patsy

This is the jack they are in foal to - Itsy Bitsy Tomcat.

It's all very exciting! We've got loads of plans for taking them to county shows and other events so more people can find out about them, setting up a website, etc. I've really missed breeding something and I was never very comfortable breeding animals for meat. We were looking for something that that we would love and really enjoy, and that there would be a demand for, and I think we've found the ideal project!

Don't Shoot The Dog - Karen Pryor.

I've just finished reading Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor, which I loved and found very useful, and two things especially resonated with me.

In the final chapter on Clicker Training, in the section 'Learning and Fun' Karen writes "A punished or correction-trained animal learns to give the minimum necessary in order to stay out of trouble. These learners are "good soldiers": They do what they're told, and they never volunteer. Under this regimen, even if obedient, learners remain far more interested in their own doings and private life than in whatever you or any voice of authority might want. They are therefore not only vulnerable to distractions, they are hoping for distractions."

That seems so obvious to me now it's been pointed out but it's not something I'd thought of before; that, pre clicker training, my horses were actually hoping to be distracted! I knew at times they were looking for trouble where their seemed to be to be none but assumed that they were nervous and didn't trust my judgement enough, not that they wanted to be distracted because they weren't enjoying what we were doing!  I know that nowadays they try so hard to ignore distractions because they love what we're doing together and the last thing on earth they want is to be distracted from it!

The other part that has really stuck in my mind is in the chapter on 'Reinforcement in the Real World'. Karen writes that "A curious but important corollary to training by reinforcement is that it breeds affection in both subject and trainer". I certainly know that to be true! She says "A trainer rapidly develops an attachment too.................The trainer is the source of interesting, exciting, rewarding, life-enhancing events for the subject, and the subject's responses are interesting and rewarding for the trainer so that they really do become attached. Not dependant, just attached. Comrades in the battle of life".

I so wish I'd written that last sentence! Wouldn't it be wonderful if humankind could all regard each other in the same way too - as 'comrades in the battle of life'!!!

Our Wedding Music.

This was the music we chose;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYh9DCN8ads&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLDC07DD38CE982813

Our Wedding Day!!

      With my mum, dad, brother and his wife.                                                          

With both sets of parents                                                              

It was, without doubt, the best day of my life! The ceremony was very small and relaxed with only very close

friends and family at the registry office (they are all in the above photo) - and a cannon to pose with, which is why I picked that venue!!! 

In the evening we had about 120 guests back here for a hog roast. I'd spent weeks getting the garden ready and hired a marquee in case the weather didn't behave (it was a glorious, very hot day and we were very lucky!). Again it was all very relaxed and informal and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The hog roast, Pimms fountain and chocolate fountain were fantastic and everyone raved about them. 

Unfortunately I forgot to take any evening photos until nearly everyone had gone home but I'm hoping that other people did. Here are the afternoon photos with family and friends who came to the registry office.

The dogs got far too much to eat and slept practically all the next day!

It was a really wonderful, magical day. I couldn't really see the point of getting married until we did it but I'm so glad we did now! I love being married - it feels great!!!!!

Sorry there's not a lot happening on here at the moment but there are only two weeks to go before our wedding now so I've been a bit busy!!! Normality will be resumed after the 28th June!!!

Videos of Bella Jumping at Liberty, Spanish Walk and our Silly Walk!

I'm afraid I filmed these myself again so there's still too much footage of the ground, my boots, etc.!!!

This is Bella jumping at liberty, which she loves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68EufdXMHzY

And this is of the silly walk we've now perfected and Spanish Walk. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APTixWLiSj4

Bella got a bit confused about what I wanted in Spanish Walk because I tried to get further way from her to get all of her in shot. Usually I stay close to her so she thought maybe I wanted something different, then closed the distance between us instead! There is quite a bit of grass in the school and I never bother shutting the gate but she enjoys herself so much she never tries to graze or depart.

Video of Training Bella to do Levade.

Here is a video of our second session this afternoon. I'm already getting fussy about the quality of the movement as Bella is a superstar and catches on at lightening speed. It will take time and practise before she develops the strength to hold the position but I think this is a great foundation. If you freeze frame the video at 1.10, 1.18 and 1.40 you can see just how much she's sitting. Unfortunately her ears vanish from the screen and I wanted to take some still from it!!

h?v=FPkFCOKbHlE&feature=prev&list=HL1336078http://www.youtube.com/watcbf_744