WESTERN DAILY PRESS, FRIDAY, AUGUST23, 2002
Edited by Mary Tapping
Sarah Fisher has been working with Basil for a month, helping him to overcome his in-born resistance to being handled. The first signs are encouraging and this week, in her second update, Sarah explains what may be going on in a young horse's mind and body
BASIL, the young Caspian stallion, is doing well. I went to see him two weeks ago and this time he allowed me to stroke him with the schooling sticks straight away. He didn't automatically rear the minute I entered the box and I actually touched him once on the neck with my hand. It was a fleeting moment but a definite step forward, and I am looking forward to working with him today. Jane, his owner, told me last week that she mucked out his stable without him doing the wall of death around the box. Although Basil kept a very wary eye on the proceedings, he stood calmly, eating his hay while Jane was in the box, barrow and all. Jane's daughter Fleur has been able to stroke Basil with the sticks over his back and even though Basil is now fully aware of what to expect when people enter his stable, he is comfortable with the work and improved little by little each day. These small steps are so important. And not just for Basil. Starting any horse, regardless of its age, should be done slowly - allowing plenty of time for the horse to process, rather than merely put up with, what is happening to them. They need time to mature both physically and mentally. Bigger horses mature more slowly than their smaller counterparts and should therefore be left until later, rather than being started earlier. A large framed body is harder to organise and it is no coincidence that the major-ity of top gymnasts are relatively small. While the growth plates in the horse's lower leg settle at the age of two, the growth plates in the back don't settle until six years of age. The rapid period of growth that horses go through in the early years greatly affects balance and co-ordination. Horses that are significantly croup high during their growing years adopt a certain posture to accommodate the