I have had 2 sessions so far with Sue. Bon came to live with my herd in Sept 2019 after her owner had her scanned and diagnosed in basic terms with fused vertebrae in her neck so she was no longer able to have a competition career as the owner had hoped. Bon was very guarded and lost, in our first session Sue picked up she had an ‘empty’ heart and she needed reassurance that she was going to spend the rest of her days with me. It was a very emotional session for us all so I did as Sue said and kept telling her she was here to stay. When Sue came for our 2nd session she said Bon's heart felt full and she was much happier. This has continued over the last 6 months and she has come on leaps and bounds and really found her place.
PS Alfie had taken her under his wing when she arrived and wouldn’t let the others near her. Straight after the session when I turned her out she trotted straight past Alfie and went over to the others and he allowed that. She then proceed to canter laps of the field for about half an hour then settled and joined the herd !!!! Extraordinary !!!! From that day on she has been fully integrated into our herd of 6 boys and 2 mares
In the first 6 months we had 3 sessions with Sue, Bon grew in confidence and was able to communicate quite strongly that she didn't want close up healing and Sue ended up being easily 30ft away! The next session she was really happy to be touched as she was comfortable in her skin and comfortable in her mind and body 😊😊😊
I have been hacking regularly 3/4 times a week for the last 9 months, at first all in walk for 20/30mins and we are now up to 60/90 mins in walk and trot with the plan to start introducing canter when the ground allows. Bon has offered canter a couple of times but she is still unsure on wet ground so we are very much lead by her and what she offers. She is still growing in confidence chiding to take the lead on hacks now whereas she used to just tuck in behind. She now hacks confidently on her own on our 30min hacks.
Note to reader. Claire has been an amazing confidence giver to Bon by listening to her and never overwhelming her.