John
is a natural horseman and has kept horses since 1973 and each one has
taught him something.
John ran his own business called Dingle Joinery specialising in building
and restoring old timber frame houses. John compares working with horses
to building timber frames, if the foundation beam isn't put down on a
solid base it will carry the building for a while, but it will gradually
give way causing structural problems so it is important to insure a good
foundation. And deal with any problem areas as they arise which is exactly
the same for horses.
Horses have always been part of John's life, always training his own;
he promised himself that one-day he would turn Shawls Farm into a horse-training
yard. John saw Monty Roberts on QED and then on the 20th of March 1998
John completed his Monty Roberts Prelim Certificate at West Oxfordshire
College and has been a Recommended Intelligent Horsemanship Associate
for four years. John thoroughly enjoys working with horses and their owners
and finds it very rewarding.
'When we enter the horse's world, our responsibility is to be a leader
who is considerate and giving. Never take more than the horse will give
and always give before they feel they have to take. If you respect the
horse, he will return that respect, you must be solid as a rock, keeping
calm when ever he gets worried which will show him that there is no need
to be afraid and we are not there to hurt him. We are there to help and
to keep him out of trouble: it takes time and patience to build trust
between you and your horse. It is in the nature of the horse to test your
ability to lead.'
Johns Rider, Daisy Forwood
John
rides the horses himself but also has a rider, Daisy Forwood. Daisy has
ridden from a young age and has always brought on her own horses. She
has worked in Ireland at Kilpedder Stables and at the age of 16 she enrolled
at Hartpury College and completed her First Diploma at distinction level.
Then she went on to do her National Diploma in Horse Studies and worked
for six weeks at Ypaja Equestrian College in Finland. Daisy has had lots
of experience in the equine industry and is sympathetic, sensitive and
confident when riding youngsters and problem horses.
"I have always wanted to be in harmony with horses and my horse
Black Magic was the horse to show me how. Magic is a Welsh cob at 15.3hh;
I bought him as a challenge, which is what I got. I heard about John and
he came out to see Magic - I sat on the fence watching John work Magic
and realised that that was how I wanted to be around horses as Magic melted
in Johns hands."
I have been working for John for 2 years now and have found the answers
to many questions I could not answer. Problem horses or horses that we
find a problem have always interested me. If I had met John before, I
am sure that I would not have got into some of the situations that I did,
although I learned from them. Now I know the importance of being a leader
for your horse and if something is going wrong it is probably due to lack
of communication.
The first thing John said to me was "you can't make him do anything"
and "if you had two equal hands full of sand you would only need
one grain to be in control".
This got me thinking.