Charlie The Trick Pony

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Charlie The Trick Pony

Charlie was rescued from a meat truck at 5 months old. He has a cataract over the lens of his offs

Charlie The Trick Horse
Tricks And Tips
Pony Training
YouTube https://youtube.com/channel/UCLYQBYhWqo_WPVdz9MFkCtA

22/11/2024

18/11/2024

THIS....Never fails to delight me, even though it happens every day! In fact he's normally waiting at the gate by lunchtime, but today I had just added to the track system, so there was lots of fresh grass to eat. 😍

17/11/2024

First time Tack Room wood burner has been lit this season. So nice to come into a warm tack room for a coffee break 😄

15/11/2024

Phase 2 of The Winter Track System finished today. It's called the Wild Corner. It's very sheltered so I wanted it done before the promised snow. Two happy ponies, Track Robin and my Kestral friend 🧡

13/11/2024

https://youtube.com/shorts/597pu9yVd8M?si=04dRX_o1NqHna2nc

12/11/2024

It's Mini Blog time!! It's cold, wet and windy and I was done and dusted by 10am, due to having to get back for a Drug Delivery. NOT the fun kind, the Keep You Alive Kind.
So October was filled with Treasure Hunting both with Top Barn and AEC. Top Barn hunt is very straightforward.....30 x items to be found 3 x each, and a pledged mileage. I did that with Daisy, and we completed easily, although she gained a new lease of life, and had lots of frilly rearing moments. 24 year old Highland pony that identifies as a 4 year old TB!
The AEC Hoofprint Hunt is absolutely mental, lasting over 6 weeks, with new lists coming out every 2 weeks. With Daisy I did Out and About class and with Charlie At Home Class and Pairs with Claudine Schäfer.
Lots of Bonus points to be had with the ♻️ items. Daisy's ♻️ items was 5 Bar Gates. I now have 70ish photos on my phone of 5 Bar Gates! And I have the location of every 5 Bar Gate within a 50 mile radius stored in my brain. They are taking up space alongside Charlie's ♻️ objects which was metal objects beginning with the letter C. I need time out in a dark room thinking of nothing but pink fluffy clouds to cleanse my brain.
Meanwhile Charlie and I just about managed an entry in October's Horse Agility. We were scuppered by a nest of wasps in the Playpen, suddenly coming to life and swarming at us. We both got stung more than once!! I put everything I could think of down that hole, but even now there are still a few buzzing about.
Then a bloody Storm destroyed my tunnel and curtains! Luckily I film all the time so was able to submit an entry, although it's not our best work and we only scored 96/100.
Jo has been struggling hugely with the daily poo picking etc, so while she waits (and waits) for her new hip, the Shetlands have gone to live in Aldeburgh, with Sarah and her herd, and Jo can have a rest. It's been strange without them. I'm certainly missing my daily chats with Coco. She's the sort of pony you can tell anything to.
The first week I had a kinda energy surge and set up the start of the new Track System in the 4 acre. With only 2 ponies to look after, I found I had loads of time, so Charlie and I started working on the November Agility Course. The On line Advanced * which we haven't been able to do, due to his fear of long lines and being driven from behind. We were finally getting somewhere!!!! They say Pride comes before a fall. I don't know who 'they' are, but 'they" are right. You'd think after getting knocked out a couple of years back, when Charlie stood on a trailing line and panicked, that I would be more careful. But apparently not. This time his head caught me right tit on, and he kind of spun me. On the video it doesn't look much, but there's some damage done. Mark the Muscian (formerly known as The Mechanic) and Part Time Horse Whisperer is very knowledgeable about the Human Anatomy from being a Black Belt in Karate. Now he thinks I've cracked a rib. The stabbing pains and difficulties breathing certainly remind me of previous rib cracking incidents. But I can't think there was enough force in that bang. I'm rather thinking I've ripped my pectorals. This happened last Friday, and although I'm still eating Paracetamol like Smarties I am now able to survive without monging myself out on Co-codemol and my range of movements is slowly growing.
Huge thanks to Sarah and Jo who came to the rescue, helping me move the ponies and heavy stuff like lorry battery and water buts to the 4 acre. Not to mention poo picking and emptying the trailer for the last 3 days. Today I managed all by myself, albeit very very slowly (nearly an hour to pick up 38 poos and offload them to the muckheap).
The ponies are bored though, hanging about with me wickering to come in and do something fun. Hopefully in a couple of days ponios!
So I'll leave you now with some of my favourite Treasure Hunt pics!
P.S I am saddened by the news of Phillip Ryder-Davies passing. He was my vet for many many years for my private ponies and yards I worked on. He was a brilliant vet and called a spade a spade. His sometimes gruff attitude didn't quite hide the kindness in his heart. His dry sense of humour made me laugh in the grimmest situations. I have many funny memories as I'm sure many people do. And memories of the times he went above and beyond. I will never forget sitting in a wet muddy field with a colicky Skittles, who had already been tubed once. I was crying when PRD arrived (again) . "What's wrong with you?" He barked. "Nothing it's rain" I said wiping my tears away. "Well Pull yourself together girl, We are not going to let this damn Pink Pony die! Although I will be seeing you again tonight, around midnight I suspect. I'll be waiting for your call". Sure enough by midnight she was going downhill again, having still not passed an entire stable of Barley Straw she had scoffed. With some trepidation I phoned and was answered by his lovely wife Mary. "He's already loading the car up and will be with you shortly dear" We did indeed tube her a 3rd time and she finally started passing the blockage. He insisted I phone him at 6am with an update.
The man was a complete legend, not only a brilliant vet, but also did so much to save the Suffolk Punch. R.i.p PRD (Or God as many clients called him).

05/11/2024

Look what arrived today all the way from Oz. Yes it's a mug made by Ineke Keough to celebrate Team Charlie's Angels winning the International Horse Agility Clubs Summer Of Sport competitions.
Charlie's Angels were myself and Charlie, Ineke and Honey and Niki C**n and Ellie.
Huge thank you Ineke 😊

05/11/2024

https://youtube.com/shorts/oihyycU4LFg?si=i5N8HqLlU5-GQTbb

03/11/2024

There’s a common old-school belief in the horse world that says to get respect, you must “move their feet”—often by sending them away or making them circle to show who's in charge. This idea, based on outdated dominance theories, assumes a need to become an “alpha” through control.

But the truth? The dominance model has been debunked. Horses don’t operate in strict hierarchies led by force; instead, they form close social families based on mutual safety, trust, and shared resources.

So, why does this matter?
Because to truly connect with your horse, the goal isn’t to command; it’s to collaborate. Building a relationship through softness, empathy, and understanding—qualities often dismissed as “too soft” or “weak”—will actually bring you closer than any form of dominance ever could. This shift not only improves how your horse responds to you but also fosters patience and compassion in every other aspect of life. A gentler, more understanding approach could just be what the world needs—and it starts with our horses.

Control never birthed lightness, freedom and joy.
So why are we holding on to it, literally, with ropes and straps, clinging, like our lives depend on it?

28/10/2024

Playing Queens and Zombies over the weekend👻

26/10/2024

Such an elegant mount for a Queen @ Alternative Equine Club

22/10/2024

I was already signalling that I was going to turn right! It's a good job the car coming over the hill wasn't going any faster!

20/10/2024

Storm Ashley 1
Agility Tunnel 0

16/10/2024

Oh No. Wasp Nest in Agility Playpen!!

06/10/2024

Took the old lady out Treasure Hunting today. It was.....er....a little different from normal. 24 going on 4!!!! Please excuse the heavy breathing, I was on a S*x Phone Line at the time (No, sadly my Broken lungs can't keep up with shenanigans) 🤣

04/10/2024

Charlie wanted to join in with the unboxing craze.

30/09/2024

Yes, we've all had the urge to iron our cobs, haven't we? 🤔

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Videos

Took the old lady out Treasure Hunting today. It was.....er....a little different from normal. 24 going on 4!!!! Please excuse the heavy breathing, I was on a Sex Phone Line at the time (No, sadly my Broken lungs can't keep up with shenanigans) 🤣

As we all know getting Charlie backed and ridden away has been a mission akin to the preparation and execution of the moon landings. After literally years of false starts, we have been solid with mounting and moving a few feet for at least a year. Him parking at the Mounting Block is my way of asking his views of me getting on. If he moves away, it's his way if saying No Not Today, and I listen. I do not want to move his sticky feet though any type of force or 'getting after him' so we have in fact become stuck. Today we were lucky enough to have a visit from one of my oldest, bestest friends, Mel, all the way from Welsh Wales. Charlie said YES, Let's do this. And this is what we did......

EMS. It's very popular at the moment. Think of it as Type 2 Diabetes which is also very popular. It's basically the inability to regulate blood insulin. The culprits in both cases are too much sugar and too little exercise. Sugar is in all processed foods (both human and horse). It helps us all eat the rubbish that's manufactured for our convenience. Sadly for horses there is also a lot of Sugar in short stressed grass. Most of us horse owners are not lucky enough to have miles of land, so our paddocks remain short and stressed (and full of Sugar). Added to which, our leisure horses do very little exercise, and many spend half the day in a small box. Think of the human sitting at a computer all day, munching on snacks, and sitting all evening watching TV (stuffing more snacks). Go back 100 years. Horses and humans mostly worked physical jobs and ate no processed food. Horses in the wild do not get EMS. They walk miles every day, browsing on scrubby grass, bushes, trees, plants and herbs. So what can we do? We try to keep our horses as naturally as possible. Daisy the Highland has/had EMS. This is how we keep her healthy (along with the other Natives in the small herd). Firstly they all live out 24/7 without rugs. Secondly they are on the best track system I could build in a 3 acre paddock. The track is pretty bare, so they have small piles of hay scattered around. I also throw random hazelnut and hawthorn branches around, or cut nettles or milk thistles. Then there are smaller tracks or pens into the long grass in the middle, which I strip graze, so they have a little each day. The main track is 250m around, and Charlie particularly loves to gallop full tilt around it for no apparent reason other than he can! Next up is Daisy's diet. She is fed once a day. Jo has had EMS ponies before, so did extensive research into what goes into bought EMS supplements. We have found its much cheaper to add our own straight ingredients: Honeychop Lite and Healthy,