Mary Wanless Symposium and Kate in her new rug.

I bought my new horse, who is now called Kate, a new rug yesterday. It's a bit bright but Crystal has the same rug and at least they won't get lost while wearing them!!!

I haven't had time to do anything with her yet as Mary Wanless and Dr. Hilary Clayton had a one day symposium at a yard a few miles away from us today. I went there with three of my friends and had a great day out. It was very interesting, especially Dr. Clayton's exercises for unlocking the horse's core, through stretches and muscle lifts that anyone can use. I bought the book and DVD and also a support belt to try to address my not being able to stand upright without thinking about it anymore.

Dr. Clayton called the exercises pilates for horses and spoke of also trying to develop exercises using very specific muscles for remedial work in horses. I asked her afterwards if she had come across Alexandra Kurland and Microshaping, and was very surprised to hear that she had never heard of her. She asked me to write down the name and website for her.

The riding part was very interesting but a little joyless I found, with not much in the way of positive reinforcement in evidence as far as the horses were concerned. It made me even more convinced that I have found the perfect way for me and my horses to interact together.

Mary Wanless also talked of the difficulties that teaching riding and putting actions and feelings into words presents. I am only too aware that this is my downfall when I try to help people with clicker training. I get quite frustrated with myself over this and convinced that I will never have the skills necessary to be a good teacher of people but, as I found it hard to even talk to people a few months ago, perhaps the skill will evolve over time. Today certainly made me want to convince more people to give clicker training a try, to show that the carrot need not just be lack of the stick and excellent results can be obtained without the need to begin with 10lbs of pressure in each hand.

I am also wondering about the possibilities of one day doing some sort of corporate clicker training days to show managers more sympathetic ways of managing their staff, as quite a few of my friends suffer from poor, unsympathetic and unappreciative management at work. I become more and more convinced that politeness and empathy at all times and in all circumstances are the ways to produce happy horses and happy people, and are the best way of motivating both to exceptional levels of co-operation and effort.

Heather Blitz was the expert rider at the symposium and spoke of the need to hold her frame in the face of all onslaughts from the horse - never to let it change her body alignment no matter what it was doing beneath her. I aspire to do that too but I also aim to try and hold my values of always being polite and understanding whatever horses are doing, reinforcing the things and attitudes I'm looking for and ignoring the rest whenever possible. I want my horses to love the learning process and to try their hardest for me because they want to. Clicker training gives me the tool to achieve that.

I listened to someone talking about National Service the other day. They said that the job they did was the sort of job they would have loved had they been allowed to choose to do it but, as they were conscripts with no choice in the matter, they moaned and groaned about it constantly. I want my horses to be volunteers and not conscripts. I hope that one day I can produce exceptional results with my horses to show that this way works even in ordinary horses, managing to produce extraordinary results from them.