Nikki & Echo's Training Journey

This is the story of me (Nikki) training a young horse; my first time doing this from scratch by myself and Echo’s first time doing this at all!
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It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but not been sure of my ability, excitedly tapping into my inner ‘Indian Brave’ on the one hand, and struggling with a certain amount of fear on the other.  This has been a challenge. Horses need us to be calm, consistent and confident – fear or self doubt can be none of these things!

Echo came to us as an 18-month colt, now rising 5.  He is, by nature, gentle and curious.  This makes him a joy to work with.  Though, on the flip side, he is so darn cute you have to be careful not to settle for less than his full potential, just because he looks at you doe-eyed.
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He has run with a herd in big open terrain his whole life.  I think this has been another important factor in his ‘trainability’.  Being around other horses, he has learnt to be a ‘proper’ horse, understanding how they communicate with each other, and has experienced all sorts of enriching environments.  In the early years, I simply peppered in short lessons to build confidence and understanding, such as leading, basic manoeuvring instructions, standing tied in the barn, and essential care like vaccinations, farrier and dentist visits.  I always say his ‘serious’ training started this year as a 4-year old, but I should not undervalue how important the early days were in just raising a well-rounded, resilient young man, ready to begin his career as a ridden horse.

​His ‘higher education’ started with a range of groundwork exercises drawn from our (mine and Cara’s) experience of various natural horsemanship techniques we have studied over the years.  These exercises were to create better communication, to teach ‘how to want to learn’ and gymnastic movements to increase his flexibility and strength. I particularly loved a younger trainer called Joe Midgeley www.joemidgleyhorsemanship.co.uk whose basic technique just made sense to me, simple yet effective. One of Joe’s key ideas was to use pre-signals, so that before using physical pressure such as aids, the horse can learn to follow the lightest of instructions and develop responsiveness.  This is a great trick. More recently Sean Coleman, www.appliedhorsemanship.com, provided invaluable guidance in teaching him how to learn with motivation, which included starting Echo at canter in the arena. 

Echo and I spent a lot of time on our relationship, we would go for walks together, exploring the hills around our farm, or just stand together in the field having a scratch.  This connection and investment in our relationship budget made his training much quicker and more effective – as he sought spending time together, trusted me and understood that relaxing time together was a reward.
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He learnt games, movements and simple lessons such that by the time we came to tack and riding, these were just ‘today’s lesson’ rather than a big deal.  The first few times I put the saddle on we just went for walks together up the hill.  I first rode him in the arena, just a couple of times to master the reins.  The switch from halter to reins was one of the few things that confused him a little, but we worked it out together.  Riding outside the arena was really very straightforward – our favourite hill walks from the early days had paid off - and he showed confidence, trust and curiosity.  

Because of this, after only three hacks (6 rides in total), we decided to take him with us on our annual migration to the Knoydart in the West Highlands, one of our most beautiful and challenging rides.  Within a week he was climbing mountains, swimming in the sea, cantering on an open beach and jumping small ditches.  Oh, and did I mention how he got there!  He went in a lorry for the first time, a 6-hour drive, followed immediately by a 1hr crossing on a landing craft boat!  He took it all in his stride – such a legend.

For me, one of the best parts of Knoydart was seeing him gain in maturity – we like to call it empowerment through adventure – or learning on the job.  From shyly stepping in the hooves of the lead horses, he was starting to pick his own way and trust in himself as well as in our partnership.  I honestly couldn’t be more proud of him.

After 6 weeks on Knoydart, we came home and he seems different, older, wiser, fitter, stronger, and I would even go as far as to say he looks proud of himself!  Of course, one has to always be careful not to overwhelm a young horse, but I also think we don’t need to baby them, especially when they are curious – this we should nurture and empower.  This morning, Echo and I had our first play date in 2 weeks and he was a joyous, cheery, playful boy – I hope he never loses this.

I want to thank Echo for being my student and my teacher, I could not have wished for a better first.

- Nikki