Trainer`s Day 8 update

Sounds like things are progressing nicely.  Between managing the barn (while owners away) and her full time job, she has been working them after dark mostly. Good thing the nights were so bright! But they are handling wallking in strange places, doing new things, in the dark, with little worry.

I worked again with long reining. [Evil Poneh] was much better but still extremely stubborn. All she did though was not want to go forward and then when she did, she decided to do her own little serpentines. Not a big deal since she was at least going forward. We covered 4x the distance this time! By the end she was responsive to me asking her to move forward and seemed quite pleased with herself. After this I took her in and groomed her. She is MUCH calmer in the barn now. She stood ground tied while I groomed her and then ate her food and munched some hay calmly in the stall while I went to get Red.

She was actually born in a barn and spent her first month in a small barn with attached run. So really barns are not the problem. Listening is!

I rode Red! I did not have a saddle on him for this time though. He was very good but a little confused. I took him through the ditch and around trees, working on steering and moving forward. At first he was a little apprehensive to go, but was very much enjoying himself at the end. He was walking on a loose rein at a good pace and did not hesitate (as Narra did) to turn away from home. When we got back he was very snuggly in the barn and kept his eye on me. It was very cute.

Training update for Red and Evil Poneh

I have been getting regular emails from the horse trainer on how the horses are doing with training.  I'm finding this great not just because I am a control freak and nosy, but because this way I also get to "see" how thay are responding to being pressured.  So far her assesment is exactly what I expected they would be like.  But I find this so much better than coming back a month later to pick them up and just getting "she didn't like this, but got over it".  I like details.

I've gotten my trainer's permission to share her email snippets of their training progress, so I will just get you all caught up...

Trainer's Day 3 report:

I worked with your babies today. Since they got out last night, and got into a burr patch (knocked rail down) there was a lot of ground tying and patience work for them. Narra got to work on being in the barn because she decided to jump out of the stall, likely just due to being herd bound. I did some sacking out with both horses who were at first a little twitchy but calmed pretty quickly! I worked on the lunge with both as well and used the cues walk and whoa. Both horses were quite attentive (especially Red). Narra was doing a lot of testing today so we worked a lot on getting over that. Just by keeping her attention on me and then making a HUGE fuss so she realized I'm not so bad. She was pretty cuddly after all of this!
Tomorrow I will be taking them both for a walk with a saddle and bridle (with halter over top), and work again on lunging.
As for the escaping, they met me at the barn door this morning and were VERY excited. Red was confused... Narra wanted to play with EVERYONE! Both horses were uninjured and happy. As for Narra jumping out of the stall, she is ok after that as well. I don't think you have to worry about her being game for jumping or not.
Both horses have also been eating and drinking well.

And that is why I call her Evil Poneh.

Because I know it was her who knocked it down, and promptly led Red astray. And yup, when I went out to visit with the Chiro that day, there was a bunch of poop in the hay shed. Where she had likely spent the night.

I was embarrased.

But EP is soaking up all the attention, everyone thinks she is just adorable, especially her hair cut!

Trainer's Day 5 report:

...was relatively stress free for the horses. We went for a walk down the road with a bridle and saddle on. Both horses seemed like they didn't care at all. Narra did not like to idea of having to listen to the bit at ALL. But got used to it.

I had let her wear a bridle a few times, but just low stress stuff, while grooming, etc... Red had never worn one before. His bit arrived in the mail just days before he went to the barn.

I got brave and sat on both of your horses bareback yesterday and today. In the pasture yesterday we just fiddled around and did some circles. Both seemed to like the attention except Narra was mad that she wasn't allowed to eat. Hah. I rode both horses back to the paddoc after their lesson today Again both were good but you can tell Narra just wants to do what she wants. Getting better though. Oh...rode them bareback by the way. I did not get on them with a saddle on. I like to do those separate. Now that they know both I will be getting on with a saddle in the next few days once their steering and breaks are a bit better.

Red had been sat on before, EP never. But I was not expecting the sitting to be the problem with her!

Today was long reining day. Narra was not a happy girl about that. She tried to fight and I let her tire herself out and just kept her facing straight. About an hour later she finally felt that it was better worth it to just walk up the driveway. And she was good. Although she is herdbound she did not trot home. Her steering and breaks improved a lot! I put her in a stall and she did not try to jump out this time. She pawed a bit but I ignored her and she stopped. She was cuddly afterwards.

Are we seeing a pattern here? lol "We did this... Narra was not happy.  We did that... Narra was not happy"
.

Then there was Red. His steering and breaks were quite decent to begin with. I walked him on the long reins and he even got to trot a bit. He stopped to the command of whoa with a little bit of pressure on the reins. He was happy and listening. This is good, I will be able to progress a little faster with him and he should be good to go for you by the end of the month! I will likely be backing him within the next couple days

This is what I was expecting of him after working with him. I knew he would need a few days to begin to trust her, then he would try very hard for her. Evil Poneh would try very hard to still do what she wanted.

I mentioned to her I was glad I had apparently gotten her over one her (more amusing) bad habits; when she cannot get her way, she throws herself on the ground and rolls like a toddler having a tantrum. This habit developed after I convinced her that kicking at me when she does not get her way, was a Very Bad Idea!

She went "huh, at one point I thought she was going to roll, then I thought: Nah, that was silly"

Narra may need some more time for her rebellious attitude to subside. I knopw why you call her evil pony now haha. I expected this though. I have been letting her realize a lot that it is better worth her time to and energy to listen. I have a feeling that she will be one of those horses where it will just click with her one day and then she will be quite a good pony!



Red is quite the catch I would say! Very good boy. Narra is just a classic pony!

Manitoba Horse Council membership

How awesome is that?! 

MHC just added a way to buy or renew you membership all online!  You can even print it off right away.  In case you needed it ASAP for an event. 

Just select the "My MHC Online" tab at the top of http://www.manitobahorsecouncil.ca/ and it walks you through the process.  Easy peasy.

Bye Bye horses

Kinda wierd here now.  There are no horses at home for the first time in over 2 years. 

The trainer's other client horse was not able to come by, so she asked if I wanted to bring Evil Poneh by as well, have them both trained at the same time.  So I packed her up and was on the road 2 hours later!



Evil Poneh waiting to be loaded



EP was a dream to load.  Zero issues.  But she did not trailer so well.  There was a lot of trailer shaking goin' on!  Even though I always tie my horses, and drive slowly.  By the time we got to the Barn, she was drenched and hollering!  

Boy, was she happy to see Red!  And I was happy to not be dealing with her herd bound self!  That will be one of the trainer's challenges with her.  And I will be building fencing this year to be able to occasionally seperate the two, so they are more used to it.  My bad.

Narra checking out her new home (for a month or two, at least!)

The trainer has promised to keep me updated with occasional emails on their progress.  I'll be sure to share!

A big day...

Well, I had set myself a goal, but I was still not making it out often enough to get Red properly started.  So I decided to send him out to the same trainer Evil Poneh was going to.  But she could only take one, and since I want to do the mid May CT ride, I decided to send Red out first. 

And today was Moving Day.

This morning I made up ziplocs of his munchies mix, packed all his tack and ran out to do some shopping.  When we got back it was time to put Sqwid down for his nap, and time to load Red.

Remembering The Great Trailering Wars of 2011, I thought I'd start as soon as Sqwid went down for his nap. And with good luck and dogged perseverence Red would be loaded in time for me to run in, feed Sqwid a quick snack, and then leave by 4:30.

So I haltered Red, put his munchies and hay in the trailer and grabbed the longing whip in anticipation of having to make him work. We walked up to the trailer, he snorted (like he hasn't been tied to it for hours over the last two days). I walked up and tossed two cookies on the floor. His ears snapped forward (I felt the rush of wind) and he snuck up on the cookies and gobbled them before they could escape.

I asked him to step in. I got a "No way, Lady!" So I backed him quickly 10 feet, sent him in a tight circle, then approached the trailer and stepped in. He stepped right up. I stood there confused on what had just happened.

We turned around and stepped out. Then loaded right back in.

My nerve broke at this point and I decided to leave him in there with his food until it's time to leave. lol

So there he sat, all relaxed.

Evil Poneh wass a basket case; hollering and running back and forth. Oh, well, she needs to loose weight. 

She did not settle down the whole time, and was a bit sweaty by the time to leave!  I got Sqwid dressed in his snowsuit and put the poor Berner puppy in the crate.

Please don't make me go in the crate!

And we were off.  Unfortuantely, due to an accident, we had to take a long detour that add 20+ minutes.  But we got there before nightfall, barely.  Here is a picture of Red's nosy neighbours.

 And a quick one of Red exploring his new paddock.

The trainer has promised to keep me emailed with regular updates on his progress.  Yeah!

My New Resolution

I've been doing horrible this year for my training resolutions.  I have two untrained coming four year olds just sittign in my yard.  And while I am sure they are perfectly happy just trotting around, having fun and eating hay, I believe it is my responsibility as their owner to see them trained. Horses are not like dogs, where if something were to happen to you, can still find a home relatively easily.  There is not a very good market for untrained horses, and it greatly increases their chance of going to the knackers!  And the more training and exposure to things, the better home they can likely find.

So I set myself a few goals this year.  General ones, like ground work on Red.  Undersaddle work by March, 2-3 pleasure rides at the endurance rides this ride season. 

But at the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to be undersaddle by September!  So I have set more exact goals.  With appointments on my e-calendar and reminders that pop up!  Every Wednesday is a ground driving lesson for Red.  Fridays are a short longeing lesson for Red and other stuff to fill in an hour.  Such as carrying a bit while I groom, or hobble training.  Sundays are another ground driving lesson, at least for another week or two, until I feel comfortable to ask someone over to lead us as I sit on his back.

I'll try to keep myself honest by blogging about the training days.  They'll likely be short, and not all will have photos.  So this may get boring for those reading this!  lol

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Two weeks ago I ordered some stuff from a tack store closing.  75% off!!!!  And I have anxiously awaiting delivery.  I got my stuff yesterday, only to have 75% on backorder!  So who knows when it will arrive!

In that order, I got bits for both horses.  For Evil Poneh, who has a normal tongue and good arch, I got a simple 5" loose ring snaffle in German silver.  Since she is going to the trainer in 2 1/2 weeks I wanted to do some basic prep work.  I will be beginning hobble training and bitting her.  Just low stress, pop the bit in and brush her, which she loves!  Unfortunately her bit was one of the items on backorder.  So I ended up borrowing a happy-mouth eggbutt snaffle.  Meh.  I attached it to my stupid simple Snap-On bridle last night and resolved to go outside today and put it on!

So as Sqwid went down for his nap, I could delay no longer *shudder*  I bundled up and brought the bridle outside.  I haltered both horses, and tied Red a distance away so he wouldn't chase Narra away from me. 

Then I got a gander at Evil Poneh's bridle path.  I would categorize her as follically well-endowed.  I would have had to let out the cheekepieces a few notches to get over that fro.  Unfortuately the roaching shears I ordered were also on backorder.  So I re-trimmed her roach (it was starting to flop) using the twine scissors.  Hmmmm... not the same effect.

It came time to try the bit.  I put it on my hand, and she gobbled it up like candy.  She was not too impressed that it was not edible.

But other than constantly mouthing it, she didn't care. 

So I slipped it off, then back on quickly.  Gave her a few treats, and took it off and left her alone.

By this time my pinkies had gone numb, and my legs were freezing so I packed it all up and ran inside. 

It's a start.

Found a Trainer!

It has been difficult trying to find a tainer for Evil Poneh. She will be the Sqwid's pony, so I feel she has to have an excellent base on her. I have called, talked to and checked refernces on 6 trainers before finding the young woman I decided on.

And I never would have even heard of her if it wasn't for a friend of mine. She knew a pony the woman had trained, and liked what she saw of her riding. She also knew the young woman from Pony Club (where I HOPE Sqwid will want to go!) I think PC is a great place for kids to learn responsibility and horsmanship.

I was pretty undecided on type of trainer, as I just wanted a good base. The plan is to put 1-2 months on her, just enough to really get her reliable; solid on transitions, whoa and steering. Have her riden, but not too much cantering as she still has growing to do. Then bring her home and keep up on her exposure to new things and places. Then later, when a little more mature and able to better hold up to a more grueling workout, send her back to get the fine tuning and finishing.

I gave a list of all things I want her to be able to do. She said most of these are what she does for all horses, but a few are new to her! I said I would do the hobble training, as I am now an "expert". lol

Musts:
*excellent whoa (either off voice or seat or legs) gonna be kid's pony
*ground ties (so stops when rope hits ground, gets loose or reins are dropped)
*walk/ trot in hand (so my son can do endurance with me!)
*more responsive, quicker to move off lighter pressure
*longing
*ground driving (would eventually like her in harness for winter fun!)
*MUST be forward, HATE plugs
*a good working trot with impulsion
*hobble trained

Wants:
-willing enough to be ridden in sidepull or hack
-low jumps (to see if likes)
-head down at "eeeasy" command (so kid can halter/ bridle her)
-teach to stand, four square, without moving at "stand" command (got my gelding doing that in just 3 quick sessions) Very useful.
-stops if saddle slips
-clips (because she is a hairy yak late into spring, and for ease of roaching)

Boy, am I glad the search is over! It was hard to find the right trainer. Most of the ones I talked to were not overly fond of ponies, and had no one small to ride them. They would do a lot of ground work, but either could only do a little bit of undersaddle work because they felt they were too big, or would do lots of undersaddle work because they didn;t care if it was too much for Evil Poneh. Bah! And few were really wanting to spend the time to talk to me. They wanted me to drive out to meet them instead of simply talking on the phone (for me to even decide if the drive was worht it!)

This woman came out to meet EP, to decide if she likes her and would work with her and also to talk to me about her training ideas. I liked all that she said. She is smaller than me and so would not stress EP, and can ride more. And she likes ponies! Not many of those around!

So. Narra is off to the trainer's barn on March 1st. I'll be sure to keep you updated!