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Sylvia
Scott's
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
Truly enjoy Sylvia's products. They work!
S. D. - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
I have been walking my filly up and down our drive in her halter and she is doing really well. No napping and leads brilliantly since I've studied your whispering way methods...She walks past my husband's tractor now so we have met some scary things. She walks past carrier bags tied on bean poles, traffic cones, walks up to tarpaulin and sniffs it, walks through water, walks past our sheep (was tricky at first as she wanted to take flight and chase them with me on the end of her line!!) and cattle, walks past the dogs and has a pigeon living in her stable so is now used to pigeons flying up. I have been putting the radio on for her whilst she is in her stable to get her used to this.
I have spent many hours of fun with her - trying hard to spook proof her as you do, but at the same time allowing her to be a baby so only do this a couple of times a week so she doesn't get bored. She gets brushed every other day and loves it. From a pony which would not lead next to me and was stroppy/marish, she is now calm and listens to my voice. I thank you for your DVDs and words of wisdom - it's turned my wild filly to a manageable one now.
S. W. - Crawley, West Sussex, England
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
Hi Syl, Thought I would take the time to update you yet again on my horse's progress. I think it was 2009 when I first sought your help with this horse. Since that time you have helped me on several occasions when I felt we were going no place. I am so pleased you told me to throw away the watch and just take my time. This fellow is turning into such a lovely trusting horse without a mean bone in his body. We still have a long way to go and he is nowhere near being ready to ride, but my, what a journey he has made and what a joy to be part of his progress. As soon as I relaxed and stopped trying to force the steps on him and went back to getting his trust and relaxing him, he was a much happier boy. The steps are progressing nicely, but at his pace; sometimes he surprises me by accepting a step that had been a mighty issue in the past with no problem at all. This has been especially the case with desensitization; it just suddenly happened without my doing anything in particular. He is a different horse, his head is down and he is inquisitive rather than terrified. He sometimes has kind of flashbacks when he leaps away from me in fear, but then he stops, licks his lips and slowly comes back to try again. He is ponying off my old horse and loves going bush, still unable to handle other people, but I'm sure that will come with time.
Thank you for your help and especially your bonding techniques; this horse would have been a nervous quivering mess for life without it. It has been an absolute privilege to learn from you. I have a depth of understanding of and a real connection with my horses. Thanks again and may you long pass on your knowledge to others. To other people with abused horses I say if you aren't prepared to put in the time, then don't start, but with time and effort and Sylvia Scott, you can work miracles.
S. E. - Nerrigundah, New South Wales, Australia
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
Hello. I've been looking at your site lately and have found some very good tips regarding training my horse. I have tried the round pen exercise on your website also and it worked very well - I was amazed with the results!
M. O. - Internet
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
Thank you for your devotion to your trade. You have provided more help via answers to training questions on your website than I've seen on all other internet searches combined. I have a wonderful horse....that freaks out when the trailer is moving. By purchasing your DVDs, I have some hope now about being better able to understand my horse and better help him get over his fear of traveling in a trailer. I can't bear to see him hurt himself ever again, I don't want to get hurt, and I look forward to more enjoyment with him as I re-start him from scratch.
B. H. - Montrose, Colorado
LETTER OF THE MONTH:
March 2011
Good afternoon Sylvia. I’ll try to be succinct but still pass on the whole story...which is somewhat long.
I got a call last August from a friend who said “their” friend (no one I knew) was in desperate need of finding a home for their 10-year-old thoroughbred. I always have “sucker” written on my face when it comes to horses in need so I told them we (my husband and I) would come take a look at her before we committed. That was on a Tuesday. Two days later (Thursday) we went to see her and found a scared-to-death mare living in squalor. She was on a dry lot with junk yard trash and exposed sheet metal with what they called a “stall” to get into - which was more of a death trap. She had been living by herself (with no companions except chickens) for almost 9 years. They supposedly had ridden her at one time but had not been on her for over three years. Her halter had obviously not been removed for some time evidenced by the scars and missing hair all over her face. She hesitantly tried to come forward for some loving but was so scared that she was shaking all over. Her owner’s husband put a lead rope on her and she literally freaked-out – pulling back, rearing, and squealing. I couldn’t stay any longer. We told them that we would be back for her the following Saturday (8 days later).
When we got back in the car I was crying. I told my husband that the sweetest of eyes was peering out from under a scared-to-death exterior and that we HAD to take her. He had already decided the same. Now, mind you, we don’t have "horse" facilities, per se. We have land and a fence. We have financial resources, lots of horse friends, and huge hearts. We hadn’t “rescued” a horse before but thought it was a good place to start since she was "healthy." Her owners had maintained vet records and she was a good weight. Her feet were in bad shape but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. We had time, patience, and love to spare.
I couldn’t sleep the next two nights worrying about her. I knew that she had been in this condition for quite some time and tried to reason to myself that one more week wouldn’t make that big a difference...but I couldn’t shake the bad feeling. My husband and I both took off work on Tuesday to go get her; we couldn’t wait until Saturday. In the meantime, I had been scouring your website to read everything I could on your resources. I have your training videos (which are excellent). I found your information on the “belly rope” and decided this might be our best choice for getting her loaded into the trailer to come home.
When we got to the house on Tuesday morning to pick her up, her owner was walking her – on a lead line – and she seemed just fine. I gently took the lead line and started loving on her and she had no problems with me leading her around and even up to the trailer. She sniffed it and appeared “okay” with the idea of loading. Then...the husband showed up. She freaked-out just hearing his truck. It was then that we decided he must have done something to her.
So the next hour was spent trying to get her to load in the trailer. The owner’s husband did nothing more than upset the horse even more. My wonderful, patient husband would spend 10 minutes coaxing her with the belly rope trying to get her to load on her own only to have the owner’s husband come out with a whip and start the chaos all over. During this time the owner’s husband was so upsetting to the horse that she reared up and fell over backwards, twice, onto the gravel driveway. We never raised our voices, never tried to force her, and never got upset. Finally, the owner took the husband inside and by the grace of God (yes! it was a miracle) the horse walked into the trailer.
We slowly drove the 9 miles home on gravel roads to get her to a safe haven. When we got to the house we were very careful unloading and she merely stepped out and stood by us. It was almost like we heard her sigh with relief. We would have NEVER gotten loaded, home, and safe without that belly rope!!!!
For the next few days (and actually probably about 6 weeks) we used the belly rope consistently and she learned in a non-violent way to lead. Within two days--yes, only two days--she was loading into the trailer with no problems at all. It is love, patience, and consistency that wins them over!!! She came home to three pasture mates and was THRILLED to have buddies, green grass, and fresh water to her heart's content.
She has turned into the sweetest most loving horse we have. She tries so hard to do what we want and is learning very quickly. She was already halter and saddle broke, but we are taking our time – 9 months now – and not rushing a thing. Working through ALL the ground work and she is turning into a wonderful addition to our family. She was even featured at the Texas State Fair in the horse area and we got to talk to visitors about proper handling and treating of our equine friends. She loved it! The kids petted her so much that I thought she would be missing more nose hair. She never argued, kicked, bit, reared - nothing. She just wanted to be loved.
She has taught us so much about working with horses and the interaction they have with us. She has truly been a blessing to US as much as we have provided for her. I have to THANK YOU again!!! Your training [videos], tips, ideas, and such have been PRICELESS for us and our horses!!! Thank you, thank you!!!!
When we picked her up that Tuesday we had no idea how God was really working. We found out the following Monday that the owner’s husband had tried to kill his wife, had shot at the neighbor, and had committed suicide. The horse would have been his first victim. God made sure that he put us in a place to take care of her, go get her, and be home safe before the owner’s husband could have harmed any of us. What a blessing.
God is so good and his creatures are such a blessing!!!!!
M. C. - Decatur, Texas
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