Published by Sarah Midd on September 12th, 2009 in General
Working hard in maths
12th September 2009
And they are back! It was so lovely to see them on Monday and they sound as though the y have had a good holiday, The weather is fabulous as wells e hav been able to get out and about on the yard this week, which i always a bonus on the first week back. It gives us a real chance to connect with the kids after not seeing them for such a long time. I did ring them in the holidays just to say hello and they sounded as though they were having a whale of a time going on day trips and going fishing.
It has been a busy seven weeks even though the kids havn’t been here, what with kids camps and Warrior programmes and spending hours researching funding and grants for a new project. I’m pleased they are back just for the break!!
This week has mainly been a week of sorting out timetables and contracts with the boys as well as throwing a little bit of learning as we play in. The contracts are something we do at the beginning of every half term. It gives the boys the chance to choose their own consequences and rewards for certain things which may have been an issue last term, as well as the usual things like the obligatory loss of 50p for swearing.
The boys have also welcomed in some new animals this term. We have got two new pigs(nameless) who have been bought as part of our sustainability plans, and two rabbits,whom Robbie has named Jasper & Rebecca, for Robbie to look after. Lee has gained three calves and taken back his role looking after the chickens, although they have gone off lay at the moment which is a bit of a shame.
Thursday afternoon was glorious so we decided that it was time to get the badminton court up and running again with a big team effort. It was also an opportunity to do some spacial maths,which means the boys were measuring the court out on a large scale using a tape measure and string to mark it all out. The picture above is of the nearly finished article. What a great way to learn Maths and then do some fun excercise at the end of it.
We welcomed back two members of last years Mowbray group last friday, they have come back for a second year and are going to take their NVQ level one Agriculture. Last year they came for a taster to see if they would like the course, I am really pleased that they decided that they wanted to come back.
Finally congratulations to Charlotte and Lee. Charlotte passed her NVQ level one in Agriculture with us and is going to come back and take her LANTRA tractor test sometime in the not to distant future and Lee passed his Entry Level 3 English and Food Technology. We are so very proud of them both. WELL DONE GUYS
Good morning
We had a fab time last night doing a demonstration at Holmside Hall in Durham. Danielle who runs the yard asked us to go over and work with three horses. We had Sophie & Lady, Hayley & Chrunchie & Danielle & Dan to work with, helping them through some stuff. Whilst we worked with the owners and their horses Sarah talked to the audience, teaching them about what was really going on.
All three horses and owners made massive leaps forward by the end of the night and we all had a lovely evening.
A big thank you to everyone that came and the amazing team who helped us out - Danielle, Ian & the team from Holmside, Beccy, Hazel, Sarah, Jodie & Karen - they pulled through for us again with brilliant style and big smiles, we couldn’t do it without them.
Published by Sarah on September 8th, 2009 in General
I had a great time on Monday morning watching Cheryl riding. Cheryl lives with my mum who has a training and care home for 8 Adults with varying disabilities. To watch Cheryl is awe inspiring. Sometimes I have enough trouble getting out of bed, but Cheryl seems have her life sussed. Cool stuff Chezza!
Robbie, 15.3hh Shire X
9yrs old, gelding
Black with four white socks, luxurious mane and tail, good to tack up, mount, shoe & load.
Needs an experienced rider. Does have a sarcoid but passed vetting for insurance purposes.
For sale but might consider loan to a secure, responsible home. Price is not the main issue but a good home is.
Contact Michael Wood - 07976 635348
SUNSHINE!!!! I knew it was there somewhere!
As always, there’s plenty going on out on the yard.
Bertie is back in work now that his poorly leg has healed. Silly boy, I think he just wanted a week off really. We are doing lots of repetition with him, saddle, bridle, long lines, turn left, turn right, saddle, bridle…..so on and so on. He’s an internal worrier, so although he looks ok on the outside, he’s holding all his anxieties in, which makes him lose weight, and could lead to ulcers etc further down the line, so by repeating a lot we can make sure he is 100% settled at each step before we move on. He’s also not physically fit enough to handle riding yet so the long lines are a good in between stage.
Milly is a 3yr old Welsh Sec D who’s here for backing. (See pic) Although she has done a little, she has learnt along the way exactly how to move people and she’s learnt to lead situations. So I’m working a lot with her brain. She’s up to being long lined at the moment and I’ve been on her bareback, but as she had some gigantic wolf teeth out on Friday she can’t have the bit in yet.
Eric is doing brilliantly, he is such a sweetie. I can now scramble on to him from fencing, gates and blocks without him batting an eyelid. He’s really settled in himself. He’s here till Saturday to hack out and carry on with.
And, my big news, is Max. Max is a 7yr old dressage horse who I had in for loading last week. Max’s main issue was that he wouldn’t load on to the wagon at home - anywhere else he was fine but leaving home was an issue. Although by day 2 he was loading himself, we were worried about the amount of tension he was holding through his whole body, and so he had some Reiki sessions. We also worked him in the Pessoa to teach him about self-carriage and help to soften his muscles off, without him having to carry a rider and work with their imbalances too. I went to Newcastle to load him at his home for his final session on Friday and after thinking about not going on briefly he ran on…phew!
I texted Petra yesterday, his owner, to find out how he was, and he’s loaded straight up at home, no questions asked, and come 1st and 2nd in his first two dressage classes! I did look silly stood crying in Boots in Harrogate when I got the reply! I’m trying to get a photo to show you.
Anyway, I’m going now to clean some more stables (its like a never ending cycle of shovelling poo round here at the minute!) and enjoy the sun while it lasts. I suggest you do the same.
Have fun
Alex
Published by admin on September 29th, 2008 in Courses, Events
October 13, 2008
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October 17, 2008
Christine and Murphy sucessfully completed their first Partnership Course last week.
Christine arrived with her confidence in tatters, and hadn’t ridden out on Murphy in 10 months. With coaching and unconditional support from Tracey, Christine was hacking out by the end of the week, and has been enjoying the countryside since getting home. We are looking forward to seeing them again when the weather perks up and wish the pair the best of luck with their new relationship.
15 members of the TopTriangle Team came to Learning To Listen last Sunday for a team building day with a difference. Split into 3 groups, each had a horse to work with, building relationships with their new team member and working through tasks. The afternoon brought more horsey exercises, including riding - a first for most of the team members. A great day was had by all and we felt we learnt as much from them as we hope they learnt from us.
Since being back at work, all of the group have reported positive changes to an already thriving team, with them all feeling that they are thinking along the same lines and working towards one giant goal.
Published by admin on September 26th, 2008 in Courses
This week, 5 more enthusiastic horse lovers descended on Learning To Listen. Pete, Chuck, Lynn, Lynn and Leisa were all greeted by some very unusual sunshine, which suprisingly stuck around all week!
During their week they covered everything from Joining-Up and long lining to bombproofing, bareback riding, stunt work (as demonstrated by Pete above!) and even got in a trip to study the mares, foals and stalltion at a local stud.
Their week finished with a gorgeous demonstration in front of their friends and family. We wanted to thank them for a great week and can’t wait to hear what they get up to when they get home.
Published by admin on September 26th, 2008 in Equine Training
Last weekend we waved goodbye to Chance and Princess (now named Foxy Princess!). Both mum and baby travelled home well, and are now out at gras enjoying the sunshine with Victoria’s other mares and foals (Foxy pictured above, right, with new friend Bombay Sapphie).
“Chance is like a different horse, she comes trotting over to see me when I go into the field” - Victoria, owner of Chance and Foxy
Internationally reknowned equine behaviourist Richard Maxwell ran another clinic at Learning To Listen last weekend. Four horses and their owners turned out, along with 45 spectators, to learn all they could from Max during the day.
We would love to run more clinics at Learning To Listen and would appreciate your thoughts on what you would like to see. If you have any ideas, please let Alex or Tracey know.
