“I USED to get just the crazies, the horses on the last stop before the abattoir,” says Richard Maxwell.
He might still be a place of last resort, but with 1,000 equine clients a year, from cobs who won’t load to Olympic eventers shy of the start box, Richard is a go-to horseman for many of the industry’s biggest names when they can’t find the key to a horse.
I first called Richard in despair from the bottom of a ramp while my own horse was snorting and spinning around me, having burst out of the trailer like a champagne cork. My yard manager Sophie Allison, a former European eventing young rider who had enlisted Richard to solve “seven very different problems” over three decades, said there was only one solution.
A month later (Richard is in high demand), the three of us are sheltering in the tack room after four hours in drenching rain while Richard calmly taught my horse how to use the left side of his brain (the parasympathetic nervous system) rather than defaulting to his fight-orflight instincts and trying to kick the trailer into orbit.
Loading horses has been Richard’s bread and butter, after he put a small ad in H&H in the 1990s saying: “Want to go to a show and can’t load?” and his phone exploded with new clients.
Competition horses are what really make him tick, but all behavioural problems get similar treatment. Using his home-made pressure halters, he works with the horse on the ground, “asking it questions” – to go forward, backward, in a circle, move away from him – until it trusts him as the “passive leader”. Once this is established, the rest usually follows.
Denne historien er fra April 18, 2024-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
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Denne historien er fra April 18, 2024-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
'Sorry, but I wasn't feeling it'
Fresh from the opening meet, Tessa Waugh hasn't quite yet been bitten by the hunting bug. Without the crisp autumnal air and cheek-pinching cold she hoped for, it's a sluggish start
New pair pull off a win
A former European Championships pony is on form with his new rider, while elsewhere former showjumpers and eventers take ribbons
Lording it over the rest
Horses who have returned from injury, a second generation homebred and a long format specialist score on the final weekend of the British season
Smith hits flying form
A \"her way or no way\" mare helps Zoe Smith to an impressive ribbon haul and a rider beats his own boss to the top spot
Jankorado hits the jackpot
Paul Sims is triumphant despite his interrupted jump-off preparation and a borrowed horse comes up trumps
Peanut
From \"dangerous, scary\" to hedge-hopping brilliance, hunting has been the making of this unstable but very lovable equine character
She's a corker
Communication, says long-standing and highly respected Belvoir master Lady Sarah McCorquodale, is the key to all, as Catherine Austen discovers
Access all areas Cavalier Centre
The Cavalier Centre is a fully accessible, state-of-the-art equestrian centre designed to improve lives through horse-based activities. Ellie May Forrester pays a visit
'Use it or lose it'
Not everyone wants to reach for the pipe and slippers at a certain age. Becky Murray speaks to some veteran horse-and-rider combos for their secrets of human and equine longevity
A new way forward
Worm control in horses is vital, but established methods will not remain effective for much longer. Tim Mair FRCVS explains why and how we need to change