Our reply and advice: Hi Pauline, This is a really tricky question. The way CC&C works is that it enables
the brain to work as nature intended. It does exactly the opposite of sedatives which stop one nerve cell talking to another so impair brain function. When suffering the sort of nutritional deficiencies
that CC&C fixes the brain often reacts inappropriately to external stimuli - like a different and exciting environment like a beach. Your earlier reports suggest that CC&C is having the right effect. Had Tara
always been on CC&C she would presumably never have been exposed to situations that scared her silly and probably would take to beaches in an inquisitive rather than threatened way. However she no doubt does have
some bad experiences in the past and the unanswerable question is how much they will affect her when you take her to the beach for the first time. My suggestion is that you make sure she has plenty of
CC&C in her for the whole day. That means giving her some 45-60 minutes before loading and more during the day (if she will eat). You can't overdo it in the short term. I have no problem with her getting 3 days
worth in one day. I might take some Sedalin but only use it if she really loses the plot on the day. Finally I think you need to take care on the day. It might be great to splash through 2 feet of salty
water but that would probably be too much for her on her first visit. A few years ago my wife and I had a ride on some top endurance horses in New South Wales (Australia). These horses lived by the sea and were trained
in the sand dunes every day - despite that most were not very keen on getting their feet wet! Have a great day out and please send me the photos! Malcolm Green 
Pauline's report
Hi Malcolm, My girl was a superstar !!! I have sent you some photos. She loaded and unloaded, stood still to mount, went for a walk around the car park, then a two hour hack
along the beach, then a wee wander through the dunes, a munch at the grass and then home. She wandered off into the water herself without much encouragement from me. When she came out she
had a little jump because she's not used to her feathers slapping off her legs ! She had a trot in the water too. We mostly walked and trotted with a couple of little canters. She behaved beautifully
throughout. Very light in the hand and no pulling or getting strong. She absolutely loved it. We met millions of scary things. Bins, buckets, seaweed, children's playground ! We also passed four horses
going in the opposite direction but they just had a little look and went passed. Tara was splashing about so much in the water ( with her massive feet ) that Alison and Timmy got soaked.
The lorry was late so we rugged them up and let them graze in the car park for a while till it came. All the cars were slowing and looking, kids waving etc. but she hardly looked up from the grass ! She was
slightly reluctant to go back in the lorry but only because she didn't want to leave the grass ! You would have never thought that her and Timmy had never seen a beach before. In fact Tara has only
been in a lorry a couple of times. I drove behind the lorry and both horses were sticking their noses through the little windows and having a good sniff - they got a few strange looks.
So we are saving up to hire the lorry again next month and go again. Even my very best scenario didn't play out as well as the actual day went. I just love my horse !!! Pauline & Tara ( the seahorse !) x Tara's favourite pastime - munching! ---> EquiFeast's comment
We love stories like this but we would hate readers to think that every horse will behave this well - and Tara had been on Cool, Calm and Collected for four
months by the time this trip to the beach occurred. Every horse is different and while CC&C expands the comfort zone of most horses it does so in lots of
little increments over time so we generally encourage people with spooky horses to take things slowly, go for lots of little gains rather than one big one. Sometimes you will get it wrong and push the horse
too far. Once it pumps too much adrenaline it will get stressed whatever supplements or drugs you are using. Set backs like this are inevitable but not generally a major problem.
Of course spooking on hacks is trickier to deal with than spooking in a school. In a school the 'scary objects' can be repeated time and time again and on CC&C most horses become more confident after a
few repetitions. On a hack every scary object is new and some are quite unpredictable. So a greater level of sensitivity is required during the training process. CC&C will help enormously to reduce spookiness
and improve trainability. So please ring us and talk about your specific horse. We are always happy to give you the best advice we can. Hi Malcolm,
Will keep you up to date with our adventures. I bought a brand new Ifor Williams 511 and a Landcruiser so we are out at least three time a week at " scary places " . We are also doing a sponsored
ride for Equine Grass Sickness in September and I am planning a little showing next season. We may even have a go at hunting as Tara is a dab hand ! From a head shy horse who wouldn't let you put a
hose, sunblock or fly spray on her, she stands like an angel for all the before mentioned ! I could probably clip her now without a whole syringe of Sedalin - what a difference. Pauline & Tara x
Hi Malcolm, We are at Dean Castle in Kilmarnock. It is a trailer ride from the yard . We didn't ride because when we took the horse out the trailer and began to tack up, I
realise that I didn't bring a girth ! So I decided walking in hand would be good for Tara as it is often easier to be on her back if she plays up , so this would be a good learning experience for her.
The other girl is Claire who works at our yard. Her horse is called Cleo (Skippy). Her sire is Sandyhill Boy and grandsire the famous RID Skippy. Oh and the other little person is my son Rhys ! lol
Pauline. Tara's first show!
Hi, Today I took Tara to the Marymass Show at Eglington Park. She was very well behaved (as well
as looking utterly gorgeous !) and she won a first in the 'Best Cob' class. There was a lot of hanging about and she coped very well considering she is not always known for her
patience - hehe. She also tolerated the "show preparation" extremely well. She was never a fan of the hose, however she stood patiently, almost asleep, while she was bathed, pig oiled, chalked etc. What a
star ! I on the other hand feel like a need a hip replacement. Keeping up with Tara's extended trot is not an easy feat. Especially when my legs are half the length of hers !
I don't think we will take showing up as hobby due to the lengthy periods of "standin' aboot!" I am however over the moon that she has added another string to her bow and that other people think she is
just as beautiful as I do. Photos to follow. Pauline & Tara xxx |
