British Dressage Day Out

On the 15/11/11 Janice & Andrew took Borris & Marchje Fan Fjildschit to a British Dressage Competition.

Missy & Andrew did Novice 20 & Novice 27 and they scored 62% and 4th in the first, and 63% and 3rd in the second class.

Janice & Borris II did Elementary 50 and came 2nd with 63.95%

All these tests can now be seen on our new Fir Tree Stud YouTube account http://www.youtube.com/user/jennawhitaker

Fir Tree Stud Dressage Team

We are very pleased to say that the Fir Tree Stud Dressage team for the Dressage Anywhere Team Challenge has won 2nd place in the spring / summer event!

Dressage Anywhere (www.dressageanywhere.co.uk) is a website judged by top class British Dressage list 1 judges and participants from around the world can enter.

Keep up the good work everyone!

Equine Massage for Horse Owners Course

We ran an equine massage course for horse owners on the 6th Nov, it was a very successful day, and lots of fun was had! Everyone enjoyed learning new skills that they can use to make their horse feel wonderful!

We will be running the same course again in early 2012, if you would like to register your interest, please email Janice at fts@firtreestud.co.uk and we will get back to you in Feb 2012, with future dates.

Other courses will be run later in the year, including a Equine Reiki course for those who have completed our equine massage course.

Yard Update

Fir Tree Stud would like to welcome Socks a 3 year old Thoroughbred, he is here for re-training & starting.

You can follow his development on our Facebook www.facebook.com/FirTreeStud

On the 1st of November, Janice & Borris II competed British Dressage E 49 Q at Port Royal, they came 2nd with a score of 63.33%.

Bo Joins Fir Tree Stud

Bo a timid cob, (we've met a few!), has come to join us for some remedial training, with the view of building a partnership between her and her owner, Caroline in the next few weeks.

If you want to see more about Bo's first day, and her join up, find us on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/FirTreeStud

Marchje Fan Fjildsicht Overall Ridden Friesian Champion

Marchje & Andrew competed on Saturday Oct 1st at the Friesian Association of Great Britain & Northern Ireland's National Show (FAGBNI) in the Ridden Mare class, which they won and then went on to win the overall Championship of Ridden Horses.

They also competed in the dressage and came 2nd and 3rd.

Marchje's owner Lisa Ebnet was there to see her girl receive her award. It has been a strong team effort between Janice, Andrew & Lisa which has achieved this successful outcome.

Equine Therapy 1 Day Course

The Fir Tree Stud Equine Back Day mentioned in previous posts has been re-scheduled to the 5th/6th November.

The day will teach participants a full body therapeutic equine massage and stretches to ensure your horse is comfortable in between back visits. A full schedule for the day is listed further down our blog on the 26th July.

The day will cost only £65 and participants will get to practice all skills learned under supervision.

If you are interested, and require further information, or would like to book a place, please email Janice at fts@firtreestud.co.uk

Dulcie & Robbie Qualify for British Dressage Area Festival Championships

Dulcie & Robbie went to the Area Festival Regional Finals at Fry's on the 10th September. They did Prelim 19, and qualified to go to Hartbury College next April 2012, for the Pet Plan National Championship.

Dulcie & Janice have been working very hard on improving Robbie, who, little star that he is, did the job on the day!!

Dulcie has only been affiliated with British Dressage for a couple of months, and this is a fabulous result for them.

You can see Dulcie riding her test at http://www.jumpforit.co.uk/110910pp1/9c9c0596.htm

Fir Tree Stud Dressage Team

Fir Tree Stud Dressage Team is currently in second place on the Dressage Anywhere Team Scoreboard www.dressageanywhere.co.uk. The August competition results featured Fir Tree Stud in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 6th places in Intro, Preliminary, Novice & Elementary classes.

Everyone has done extremely well with Sheena & Pogo winning the Prelim class, with 70.83% and Janice 2nd in the Elementary with 67.33%.

Kalama & Laura got 3rd & 6th Places respectively in the Intro Class, and Mel got her best result yet with Darcey in the Prelim, with 63.33%. Andrew got 3rd & 5th in Prelim and Novice.

Well Done Georgia & Blaze!

6 year old Georgia, who trains with Thomas, has been working very hard this year on her Dressage. The partnership she has developed with her pony Blaze has begun to pay off, as they are the Under 12 Dressage Champion's at this years Horse Parade National Equestrian Championships, after gaining a 1st and 2nd for their tests.

Well done Georgia & Blaze, keep up the good work!

Fir Tree Stud in The Journal, East Riding of Yorkshire, August 2011

Fir Tree Stud was featured in the August 2011 issue of The Journal Magazine, an East Riding of Yorkshire publication.
Heather Dixon's article featured the full story of Darcey and Janice's take on helping problem horses. To read more about the article, please see our testimonials page, or you can purchase a copy from retailers in the East Yorkshire region.

Problem / Nervous Horse Training

Recently we have had a really superb potential show cob on training livery. His owner, Liz Falkingham, had bought him and quickly realised that he had no trust in people, and this lack of confidence was affecting his ridden work. Punch also had issues on the ground. It was difficult to pick up his back feet, this problem was remedied.
Punch stayed with us for 4 weeks, Liz remained involved in his training throughout his time with us. He has now gone home and the feedback is all very positive! Punch is a happier, more trusting horse, and is now a much nicer ride than previously before his stay with us.









Thomas & Punch



(Liz & Punch)

Photos taken prior to Punch returning home.

Fir Tree Stud's Equine Massage 1 Day Course

Fir Tree Stud will be holding an Equine Massage 1 Day Course on the 10th September 2011, in conjunction with Liz Harris BSc (Hons), PgDip AM, EBW, CBW, MMAA, BCMA Reg (www.lizharris.co.uk).

This course will enable participants to spend the day learning basic massage & stetch techniques, that you can use on your horse.

The day will take place on 10th September 2011, and is a full day course. The course will cost £65 per person, and spaces are limited to just 10.


Course Overview:

• Introduction to massage – history, benefits, contraindications
• Basic anatomy – superficial and deep muscles
• Massage strokes
• Practice on each other, working in pairs.

BREAK
Demonstration and practice of massage techniques, working in pairs

• The neck
• The shoulder and forelimb

LUNCH BREAK

Demonstration and practice of massage techniques, continued

• o The trunk
• o The hindquarter

Demonstration and practice of stretch techniques

• The neck
• The forelimb
• The hindlimb

• Conclusion of day, including question and answer session and feedback

For more information or to book a place please contact Fir Tree Stud on 07999880296 or email Janice on fts@firtreestud.co.uk

Fir Tree Stud on Facebook

You can now also follow Fir Tree Stud on our new Facebook Page for more news, updates, and pictures!

Find us at www.facebook.com/FirTreeStud

British Dressage Competitions

Andrew & Marchje, who is a Friesian mare that Andrew trains for her owner Lisa Ebnet, took part in their first British Dressage Competition, Preliminary 12. They came 2nd in the class with a good score. The pair have grown into a very good combination that should continue to do well.


Janice and Borris II did their second British Dressage Elementary competition and came third with a respectable score. The pair have only just started competing Elementary and are pleased with the result so far, but it is still a work in progress!!













We also have a new arrival, Jack, a 5 year old piebald gelding, who has come to stay with us for starting, and when he is ready, he will be for sale.

Fir Tree Stud / Natural Horsemanship Update!

First, sorry for break in the blog. We have been too busy to get around to it!
Where do we begin...
Toby the lovely Section D pony we had for sale sold almost immediately to a lovely home in North Yorkshire.
Rubin, who you will remember is the remedial horse we have been working with. When we last wrote about him we had him long reining in the round pen. As this work continued Rubin struggled with the confidence to work with the two lines. We came to the conclusion it was best not to stress him by insisting that he followed the 'expected route'. Instead we looked at his strengths, he had no problem with dealing with the plastic bags on a stick, infact he was one of our best performers where that was concerned. He worked loose in the round pen with Janice beautifully, it was almost like dancing, and to say he was joined up, was an understatement!
With this in mind we introduced him to a dummy rider which he took to easily, and then trained him loose in the round pen with his friendly 'auntie lil' as she is affectionately known.
From here, we tried to introduce the real thing in the shape of Thomas. Rubin knew the difference and was too dificult for Thomas to mount in the round pen.
Knowing Rubin as we now did and having sucessfully introduced new concepts to him in his stable, (saddle, bridle & dummy) which is the place he feels the safest. Our instinct told us that if he was going to let someone mount him, that would be the place it would most likely happen. We were right. Rubin allowed Thomas to mount him.
The work we had done with the dummy was invaluable because the first time Thomas put his leg over and sat on, Rubin slightly relaxed, and seemed to understand what we wanted and stayed with us.
It clearly wasnt going to be a quick fix to progess from the stable to the round pen and his owner felt it was time to take him home with the view to returning when they can.
In his time with us we helped Rubin to:
Accept a headcollar easily
Pick up his feet
Allow the farrier to trim his feet
Have rugs taken on and off easily
We taught his owner strategies for catching him in the field when he resisted
How to lunge & long rein
Work loose in an enclosed area with people
Accept the saddle and bridle
and finally
Allow someone to sit on his back

Fir Tree Stud March 20th

Mel & Darcy had hoped to get out to their first competition last year, then the snow hit!
Finally, they went and had a great day! Mel had never entered a Dressage competition before and neither had Darcy. They had a go at prelim 10 and got a very creditable 58% score! Someone should have told Darcy that flying changes were not needed!!














Toby a 14.1hh Welsh Section D, who we have produced over the winter, and is currently for sale £2600 ono, also did his first dressage competition. His young rider Kalama helped him to an outstanding 70% 2nd place, also in prelim 10.




























Andrew took one of his horses out just for some experience after the long break and came 4th with 69% in his class.














Well done to all of them for a good days work!

Congratulations Kieran!

Andrews client Kieran, aged 7, has been nomminated for the Selby "Superkids 2011" award after impressing staff at the Doncaster Racing College last year.
Everyone at Fir Tree Stud is very proud of him and wishes him the best of luck in the competition.

Natural Horsemanship / Rubin in the Round Pen

Rubin has been struggling with the concept of the two lines, however, today he took a massive step forward with his mum Michelle.
It has taken patience and perserverance, but Rubin settled enough for us to feel like we were able to begin communicating with him when he is being long lined. He very much goes into the pressure, so we have to be very careful what connection we give down the lines. This means that we have to rely on the body language that we have used previously to move Rubin around. Using these techniques we are able to change his direction and by doing so, are gaining more control of the situation.
Here are some pictures of Rubin and his mum Michelle, long lining in the round pen.

Natural Horsemanship / Rubins Progression

Today was a very windy day, so it was a good opportunity to introduce Rubin to the bridle.
We used a straight bar rubber bit, which is soft. He chewed on it and then when something distracted him, he forgot it was there, which is great.
The real issue he had was how the bridle felt around his ears.
Rubin is very wary of anything he does not understand, so we took the introduction around the ears very carefully and used the same desensitisation techniques as before. He allowed us to put the bridle on but there is still some work to do.
He is settling nicely into the saddle, and we have been lunging him with it on.
Lets hope for quieter weather next week!

Natural Horsemanship / Rubins Progress

The previous ground work has really paid off. Today we introduced Rubin to a saddle.
The result as the photograph shows was totally successful. He remained calm throughout the process and had to be asked to trot on and did not buck once.

Well done Rubin!!!

Natural Horsemanship Training

Rubin joined Fir Tree Stud before christmas, he is a three year old Section D, who has been mishandled before his owner Michelle bought him last summer.
He was very timid and paniced in a variety of situations. We set about building his confidence and his desire to be around humans.
This achieved, we started to move him around the arena and from that, we have started to do some desensitisation work with him.

We thought he might be very frightened by the plastic bags on the end of the stick, but as often happens, the situations that he hadnt experienced previously, prove less daunting than trying to re-learn the basics.
Below is a picture of Rubin learning to trust.