Well there goes my lovely sand and rubber surface 👋😭. Washed off down the track in the apocalypse rain that we just had ⛈️. And this is where it’s ended up, right down and along the bottom of the track 😩
Well there goes my lovely sand and rubber surface 👋😭. Washed off down the track in the apocalypse rain that we just had ⛈️. And this is where it’s ended up, right down and along the bottom of the track 😩
Still, it could be worse, at least we’re not flooded, although the arena did look like a swimming pool for a while and I think a lot of the sand has washed out of that too.
Hope everyone else’s yards have survived the storm
Working through the ‘Labyrinth’ with baby Fell pony, Sula. First on the ground and then ridden (probably should have made it a bit wider actually just to make it a bit easier for her). Also just reminding Sula not to mug for treats, which she does know, but sometimes forgets and gets a bit excited for her treat. So just a little reminder that the treat doesn’t arrive until her head is forward, away from me 😊.
The Labyrinth is such a great exercise to do with your horse. It helps with flexibility, balance and coordination. Sula is a bit of a mare on a mission 😂, so you can see how this just helps her to slow down and think about where she’s placing her feet.
The Labyrinth also has a great calming effect on most horses, so I always have one set out in the arena as it can be so useful for if a horse gets a bit worried or tense.
Starting Youngsters - Fell Pony, Sula’s, first trot under saddle
Some little snippets from last week of Baby Fell Pony, Sula, being ridden around the big arena for the first time under saddle. Some walk/halt transitions. Some ‘50p’s’ to help her learn the turn aids. Also her first attempts at trot under saddle. What a good girlie 🐴😍👍
Bruce enjoying the scratching post, and promptly destroying it 🙈
Little Brucey enjoying the new scratching post, and promptly destroying it 🙈
Starting youngsters - Fell pony, Sula 🐴😍
Some little snippets of little Fell pony, Sula’s, progress. After learning the basic aids of Stop, Go and Turn in the little pen, it was time to venture out into the rest of the arena and do the same. Doing very well bless her 🐴😍.
Pony Zoomies
Think it’s safe to say Bruce was very pleased to be back out with the others 🐎😂. Snowy and Rooster very sensibly hung back initially, until things had calmed down a bit. Although new girl, Alice, was quite happy to join in with Bruce 😍
Bodywork for Bruce
Little Brucey enjoying his bodywork session today from Equine Bodyworks by Mary Sargeant 🐴🥰
Mutual grooming for Rooster and Bruce 🐴💕
Nice to see Bruce and Rooster having a good groom over the fence 🐴💕. Hopefully this is a good omen as I’m hoping to let Bruce back in with them soon (if I dare do it to Snowy, as he did terrorise him last time 🙈).
Snowy thinks he’s a racehorse 🐎💨😂
Harriet sneaking off the other way as it’s less muddy that way. Snowy says “Oi, were you off? Well I’m still gonna beat ya 🐎💨” 🤣🤣🤣
Bless little Roo trying to keep up at the back 🥰
Horses Allogrooming
So the two ponies who never used to be big into mutual grooming, Snowy and Harriet, actually having a groom together, how lovely to see 👏😍.
Then they got shy cos I was filming ☺️. Naughty me, I should leave them to it 🙈
Horses Alogrooming 🐴💕
Rooster and Harriet having a good grooming session this morning. Friends are important to horses 👩❤️👨
Happy hacking with Baby Bruce 🐴😍
Nice little pootle out on Baby Bruce this morning. I’ve had to get him some little ear muffs as when the sun (yes there is such a thing you know 😱) occasionally shows it’s face, the flies are driving him mad, to the point he’s almost becoming a head shaker 😫. So the ear muffs seem to help.
I was going to get him some hi viz ear muffs anyway just because he’s so dark he literally blends in to everything, so helps us be seen 👀
Persistence pays off 😄
Persistence pays off 😂. Harriet desperately trying to share Snowy’s hay (even though there are plenty of other haynets around). Snowy doesn’t do sharing (unless it’s around a big bale) but Harriet doesn’t give in, so eventually Snowy does 😂
Snoozing ponies 🐴😴. Shift Change ⬆️⬇️😂
Shift change ⬆️⬇️.. Times up for Snowy and Harriet ⏱️😂. Rooster’s turn for a kip now 😴🐴
What to do when your horse gets spooked by something 👻😳
What to do when your horse gets spooked by something 👻😳.
I forgot I had this video from when I took Bruce out for his first hack and we came across these lot 😯!! A big group of walkers which, not surprisingly, startled him somewhat as he’d never seen anything like this before. Of course these spooky looking things were also walking towards him 😱, so this made them doubly scarey than say, a plastic bag in the hedge, or a road sign, etc. which is stationary.
The best thing you can do when your horse gets startled by something like this is to just let them stand and look initially. Try not to let them turn away or back away from it, but stand quietly and just look.
Some research has been done on the, ‘Startle Response’, that suggests it takes on average around 13 seconds for the horse to change from being scared to then being curious about the suspicious object(s). It could take a bit longer, could take a bit less, but while they are still in that fearful state it is best not to put the pressure on and try to make them go forwards.
You can see that I give Bruce lots of scratches just in front of the withers to help reassure him. The scratches can also help to lower their heart rate, as his little heart was pounding out of his chest 💓😳. I do also give him some treats to reward him for standing still, particularly due to the fact that these strange looking things were walking towards him and he was managing to hold it together.
Once you feel your horse’s arousal levels start to come down, (you can usually feel it by them starting to relax a bit, lower their head, or start to look away from the scarey thing), you can then try asking them to go forwards. Even if they only take one step forward, release and reward that little try, before asking to go forward again. Then, before you know it, they are like “Yeah ok, that’s fine, let’s go” ☺️👍
Hope that helps next time your horse gets startled by something 🐴😍
“Down a bit, down a bit, that’s the spot 👌😌”. A strange place to want a scratch but what the Snow Po wants, the Snow Po gets 🐴😍 #lovemypony
Grid work with Vicki & Bobbi 🐎😍
Vicki and Bobbi having great fun doing some grid work in the SUNSHINE, YAY!! 🌞🙌😄🐎😍
Backing my pssm2 / MIM pony in winter 🤨
Great progress with little Brucey this week 🐴😍. He had a few grumpy days again as the fields were too wet to let him out after the snow and rain 😞. Then, with the weather improving this week, he has been able to get out and been a happy boy again 😁. So I managed to have a go at riding around the yard and up in front of the house, Yay 🙌😁.
We had a go at getting on at a different mounting block, which was something new for him (and yes I know I’m not the most agile ‘getter onner’ 🙈, especially when I’ve got my waterproofs on, but I figure if they can cope with me clambering around on them they can probably cope with anyone 😂).
Also the extra challenge was that it was right near the grass where I hand-grazed him when he was on box rest, and he hasn’t forgotten 😋. He did think he might try and make a break for the grass when I first got on, which just goes to show the importance of teaching a good stop response, as I managed to stop him pretty quick, before it turned into, “Wahoo I’m on the grass, Yee ha 🐎💨 !”…. Which I’m sure would have been much more exciting for you all to watch but not what I fancy thank you very much 😂.
We practiced walk / halt transitions, just like before, and also some turns and wiggly lines. Very pleased with him 😍, particularly with how well he’s responding to me squeezing with the my legs to walk on. No angry reactions, which he used to do, so hopefully that bodes well for his comfort levels 🤞☺️. Superstar pony 🌟🐴🌟
Harriet trying to pinch Snowy’s hay while he’s sleeping 😴😂
Giddy ponies 🐎💨
In contrast to the chilled out ponies on the sand, some very giddy ponies pleased to be let back out after the storms. Well Harriet and Snowy that is, poor little Rooster says that little bit of canter was enough for him, not joining in with the rest of the shenanigans 🐎💨. Oh and of course Snowy didn’t get dirty enough in his first roll so had to have a few more to make sure he got the job done properly 🤣
