HELP FOR HORSE RIDERS. OUR PROBLEM HORSES

Tilly was a character. We knew that from the start. Her ears went back more often than they went forward. She wanted one-to-one attention (which is what she was used to) and didn't like either being ignored or sharing favours with anyone - not even another horse.

That was her problem. From a yearling, she'd only had one owner and he adored her. She lived like a princess, with everything laid on. And if Tilly didn't like, Tilly didn't do. It was as simple as that.

In fairness, her owner had worked hard at the things she ought to do, like standing still for grooming and picking up her feet and tapping them gently with a hammer, in preparation for shoeing. That was an intelligent thing to do!

He also spent many hours teaching her how to load into his trailer and did an exceptionally good job of that. He liked playing around with her, but didn't know what else to do. So when she came to us for breaking and training, Tilly was outraged. She wasn't having that.

First, she had lost her loving owner who let her do what she wanted. Then, she had to share her life with a load of other horses. She didn't like that - so they didn't like her, because she had no social skills whatsoever. The only thing she could do well was assert herself, driving away intruders and saving anyone else the bother of doing it. Gradually, she started earning respect, making friends with the other horses and mixing with the group, like a normal horse would.

Predictably, she didn't take kindly to basic training. She didn't mind the saddle or bridle. No horse ever does, but when it came to riding and doing what we wanted - that was a different story. She had "stubborn" down to a fine art and niggled or fought over everything. Having lived such a sheltered early life, she was also very nervous and spooked or startled at just about anything. An unhappy combination.

The one thing she settled to nicely, was formal schooling. Going endlessly round in circles didn't bother her too much as long as we kept it easy. On a long, loose rein, she was completely obliging and answered to everything that was asked.

She even has something of a tail-carriage, which for Tilly is quite an achievement. Usually, it was clamped to her bottom, a sure sign of annoyance. She has the potential to become a nice little novice dressage horse, ideal for beginners.

She is now a completely different horse. She hacks out very well, alone or in company and is perfectly willing to take the lead. For the stubborn horse she was, this is quite an achievement.