30th June 2010

Ok, where to start.

We put them all in the small field. I sat down on a rock and Charlot came up for a chat. He was nervous but steadier. I let him come to me rather than the other way around. The nosier Shetlands came up for a scratch so Charlot felt he could manage it a little too.

I got up and he rushed off and I thought "here we go again". I shouted to Jo and Daisy that we had to catch him today as he was not going to get away with this behaviour and we were not going to let it escalate either. I caught Spring, his Shetland friend, and tried circling Charlot to get him to follow but he would have none of it and cantered off to the other side of the paddock.

We decided to herd him behind Spring who was being led out of the field and Charlot turned around to face me. I lowered my gaze and shoulders and went up to him talking softly. He let me touch his face but walked backwards. So I stopped, and again put my hand out to touch his nose and cheeks. I moved closer and caught him by his chin hairs where he stood like old times perfectly happily. Daisy gave me her headcollar and I put it on him with no problems and led him out, with Spring following this time.

Once in the school, I brushed and combed Charlot's mane and tail while Jo drove Spring. He was a bit jumpy but remained cooperative and fairly calm. I stood by his back and brushed that. Jo finished with Spring and we let him go out. We then all looked at Charlot to decide what to do next with him.

So, Daisy and Jo stood on buckets and I asked Charlot to walk in between the wall and them. He was nervous, surprised and alarmed but based on trust and constant reassurance, he did it over and over again every which way. Jo and Daisy would touch his back stroking him and he would jump out of his skin at times. Silly boy!

Then Daisy lay on his back!

She stood on her bucket and laid over his back. She even managed to let go with her feet and he supported her weight looking a bit surprised but not reacting badly. So then Jo supported Daisy's leg and she laid over his back without the bucket and we walked a step forward. Although not totally happily, Charlot did it, looking to me for reassurance that this was normal behaviour!

Then back onto the buckets. I asked Charlot to walk through them each way without flinching or reacting. He had to do it because I would not let him go backwards or do anything else. His leadrope was loose and I would ask him to walk on and stand between Jo and Daisy while they patted him or stroked his back. He did look to both Daisy and Jo independently for reassurance. Eventually after a few attempts, Charlot could walk through, stand on request and not react. His reward was to walk through without stopping and he didn't rush and remained calm.

I took him back to his field and we will put yesterday down to a huge aberration and hope that tomorrow is another day!

29th June 2010

Charlot, Charlot, Charlot.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

The worst day ever.

"Day 1 in the Big Brother Diary Room" all over again.

I sent Daisy, my eldest, to catch him. She came back 10 minutes later empty handed so I dismissed her trivial efforts and went out to do the job myself muttering "if you want a job done properly". 10 minutes later I had lost a carrot and got no pony on a lead rope.

Charlot wouldn't let me near him. He was bonkers mad and gibbering all over the place. It was odd because 2 days before a friend had come to meet him and he let her pick his feet up in the field without any fuss. Today he was a wreck, running around us, nodding his head, avoiding any contact.

We tried for a while and we decided he could not win this game so we opened up the gate into the small paddock and he ran in. When he realised he was on his own he tried to kill the dogs, chasing them and stamping if he could. We quickly removed the dogs so he chased them up and down the fence, charging it and stopping just in time. Daisy quickly caught a Shetland pony and walked him through the small field and Charlot followed, galloping after him. We took both into the shed.

Charlot was a nervous wreck. He would not look at us, he would not be caught and he was so tense, to the point of hysterical. Jo and I got him in a corner and Jo eventually put a headcollar on him. His body was taut, ready for battle, pain, anything. He would not listen at all. So she walked him around, picked up his feet (he was compliant) and generally talked to him. With the help of the Shetland pony, Spring, who managed to get in everyone's way all the time, Charlot calmed down and realised it was the same old routine, nothing had changed and maybe we weren't going to kill him today.

We let him go again in the school and asked Daisy to catch him. He has taken to walking backwards rather than let you stand beside his head. Again, with some help, Daisy put his headcollar on. With Jo at his head, talking to him, Daisy stood on a bucket. Charlot was terrified. Spring helped and calmed Charlot down by generally taking his mind off things, trying to get any reward first. Charlot was boggly-eyed with fear. With repetition of getting off and on the bucket, Charlot soon got bored of being terrified of Daisy. She is smaller than Jo and so we decided she might be a better candidate for the bucket thing. She could lie on his back but he still was not happy. He accepted the situation but was not happy.

Again, we let him go and I tried to catch him with no food. This time, he walked backwards for a while with me in front of him. I walked around his side and stroked the side of his face talking all the time in a calm voice. He was so wary of me flinching at any touch. I put his headcollar on and off, on and off a few times, stroking his back, his chest, his neck and just keeping on talking. He eventually calmed down and was back to his usual self.

What is going on? We put his old mad friend back in the herd today - is it that? We are having the house picked and pointed so there is noisy drilling going on during the day - is it that? Is there a full moon? We have no idea and are none the wiser.

Whatever it is, we could not let him win or end anything on a bad note. We will see what he is like tomorrow.

19th June 2010

We think Charlot has been ridden before.

He went mad when Jo stood on a bucket to lean over his back. It wasn't the leaning over Charlot minded, it wasn't the saddle, it was the fact that she stood on a bucket to be the right height to do this. He wouldn't let her near him despite happily letting her put a saddle on his back and lunge him.

Today started just the same as ever. I caught Charlot, did a spot of lungeing and then Jo put a small saddle and crupper on his back to see how he would react with the stirrups dangling. He didn't mind at all, walked and trotted around without a flicker.

Then Jo got a jump bucket to stand on and Charlot flew off in a blind panic. He wouldn't go near her because of her instant height. Eventually he let her lean over him but he was not relaxed at all. We tried this a few times, and he got worse and worse, winding himself up into a nervous wreck. We ended up against the wall so he couldn't evade the issue. I held Charlot's head, as usual, and Jo slowly stepped up onto the bucket, keeping her shoulders rounded and body bent. He let her lean across him and then two other Shetlands appeared for moral support. Charlot eventually tolerated Jo but he was not happy.

Perhaps he was ridden as a youngster, something happened and he remembers. This was not a happy reaction but one of panic. We will keep trying. Poor lad, we ended on a good, if nervous, note.

12th June 2010

Wow, what a good Charlot day!

He was easy to catch and we also caught a little Shetland too. Jo walked off with her Shetland while I turned around to shut the gate. I thought I would see what would happen if.....I looped Charlot's rope over his neck and turned my back to him. Now Jo was walking away with her pony and Charlot had two choices, to follow Jo and her pony or to stay with me. He just turned around to face me and waiteduntil I was ready to go.

We walked happily to the shed together and, as Charlot was obviously in a trusting mood, we decided to trim his back feet. With me on the front end chatting to him, Jo picked up a back and trimmed it and then the other one. He was a good boy and got small bits of carrot for his efforts.

Then, we showed him the foot stand. Charlot was not sure about this and danced about, so Jo put a front hoof on and rasped that before she tried again with a back. He succeeded very quickly and was calm and trusting. Jo said that she felt she could trust him and was happy to put herself in a more vulnerable place to do a better job. Before he has to be trimmed almost at arm's length with a twitch on. I hope that makes sense - badly put really!

As a reward, I took Charlot to the house to get some more carrots from the fridge. He happily stood by the front door waiting!

Anyway, well done Charlot! What a huge change. He still has a thing about waving arms so I fed him a carrot doing a wavy arm dance. If he wanted the carrot pieces, he had to allow me to behave very oddly.

A very calm day. A very good day and one we will remember!