.....getting better all the time.

I think we may be finally winning with Murphy……It has been a long road with lots of pain and heartache, but at last I think the horse that we have always seen in him is coming out: Yesterday, for the first time ever I was able to be in his box with him when he had food available and he was, wonder of wonders not trying to kill me! As we have given him more and more trust recently he has repaid it many times over by starting to become the inquisitive playful giant we had hoped for, rather than the angry frightened chap he once was.
There were lots of individual techniques that we used on him over the last three years to turn a potential killer into a horse that is rewarding and a pleasure to handle, pressure halter training playing a significant part. The biggest part however is love and belief: The first thing you need is to want to change the animal enough: you have to fall a little in love with it, and refuse…… just a little….. to remove the rose tinted spectacles. Then you have to gain belief both in the animal and yourself. With that belief you may not be able to conquer the world………..But Murphy allowing me to be his friend...... is quite enough of a conquest for me.